After several moments of awkward silence, a chuckle finally escaped from Glade's pursed lips, which in turn was answered with a corresponding laugh from Kedryn. And like that, the dam holding back the accumulated stress of the last few days of flight and battle broke, each escalating the other’s response with louder laughter until tears streamed down their faces.

  “Why are we laughing,” Kedryn gasped after they had calmed down enough to breathe. “That wasn’t even that funny.”

  “Doesn’t matter,” Glade said, wiping tears away with his sleeve. “It happens. Thank the heaven’s it happens. I’d have gone mad long ago if it didn’t.”

  Kedryn nodded, an easy smile plastered to his face.

  “By the way, you did great back there,” Glade said, catching his breath.

  “Really? I thought I screwed up the conversation with Krazzik,” Kedryn admitted.

  “Oh, you’re right. You really botched that one,” Glade snorted. “I thought Krazzik’s eyes were about to pop out of his head when you mentioned Army of Darkness.”

  “No, what I was referring to was your timing during the various battles with the Gnoll’s. I can honestly say we couldn’t have done it without you.”

  “Thank you, sir.” Kedryn said. And that was it. No gushing of emotion. No beaming with pride. Just a simple thank you. The Kid really had grown.

  “Get some rest,” Glade said, slapping the Kid’s knee. “I can see your stamina and mana are low. I’d like you and Riya to join myself and Krazzik when we head out.”

  “Yes sir,” he said, closing his eyes. He was asleep within moments. Riya too had drifted off at some point and was sleeping soundly.

  They were close enough together that Glade threw his overly large blanket over the two. Then he pulled up his long list of notifications

  Now that he had time to think about the skill, he realized he must have acquired it after he had shown the dwarves how to make a simple pike and shot formation, effectively making a death trap for the advancing Gnoll’s.

  The bonus to attack and defense that came with the skill were great, but Glade still didn’t understand how those bonuses came into play. There was still so much he didn’t understand.

  But what really caught his attention was the note about enhancing unit cohesion. One of the greatest challenges for any leader was ensuring their team was in sync with one another. If the strange mechanics of this world did that for you, it would be a significant game changer. The extra XP was just an added bonus.

  Glade shook his head as he realized he was already thinking like a gamer. What was this world doing to him?

  Ignoring the charisma bonus for now, Glade focused on the synergistic skill bonus.

  No sooner had the thought crossed his mind than another prompt appeared.

  Glade couldn’t keep his jaw from dropping. Any of these skills, paired with his newly acquired leadership skill, could have significant impacts not only for himself, but others. And if he was reading the description correctly, Leadership would allow him to pair with other skills later on.

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  Riya’s voice came unbidden to his mind that he needed to wait to talk with one of her elders. But for once, he didn’t feel that waiting was the best option.

  Glade immediately ruled out cooking. Not that being a chef was bad, it just wasn’t for him.

  Reflection was tempting, but he didn’t see an immediate application. If he had to choose something, he wanted to ensure it would be something helpful in the near term.

  Glade stared at the new prompt. Did the universe, or whatever was managing these prompts, just reward him for pondering about reflection?

  Not wanting to think too deeply about who, or what, might be watching him that closely, Glade continued reviewing his options.

  He dismissed the telepathy skill. Hive mind sounded just plain wrong.

  Unfortunately, Astral wasn’t available due to his damaged mana channels. He felt blind, unable to see the inner workings of the world or detect the minds of whatever was around him.

  Shoving the unexpected emotions of loss aside, Glade focused on the Tactician ability. It made the most sense and provided an immediate benefit to himself and those in his care. Any edge, however small, could mean the difference between life and death on this planet.

  “Awesome,” Glade whispered.

  “What was that?” Kedryn mumbled.

  “Nothing,” he muttered, pulling up the remainder of his prompts. “You can go back to sleep.”

  The Kid rolled over and was back to sleep in moments.

  Glade shuddered, the feeling of leveling washed over him.

  He pulled up his last prompt.

  Glade pulled up his status page, feeling an overwhelming sense of accomplishment at what he saw.

  Not only had he gained a level, but he had increased his base willpower by another point.

  After studying the page, Glade closed his eyes and focused on the twin root and branch technique. For once, he had plenty of time.

  From a distance, Krazzik and Bragden argued in low whispers, glancing every other minute toward the human and his strange companions that had crashed head first into their lives.

  Even from this distance, they could tell that Captain Glade hadn’t fallen asleep like the others. Instead, the man looked to be processing mana with damaged channels, which had to be excruciating.

  Except, the human didn’t look in pain. Instead, he was smiling contentedly.