After the training session that morning, we stopped by the tavern to discuss some things moving forward at my suggestion. I sat down and folded my hands under my chin with my elbows on the wooden table. Taking a deep breath, I mentally rehearsed everything I would be discussing before starting.

  "First of all, I am impressed," I said with a smile, truly meaning what I said. "None of you are weak, and you can all hold your own in a battle." It was a true lifesaver, as it meant I didn't have to pn around a burden, which was another nightmare for tacticians. I turned to Kimmel and Sarde, who performed the best, in my opinion, and told them, "I was especially impressed with you two. Your teamwork was beautiful, but..."

  "You can't say the same thing for the rest of the party?" Kimmel asked, taking the words right out of my mouth.

  Nodding quietly, I turned to Batti and said, "It'd be nice if you teamed up with Lucia and learned to coordinate your attacks like Kimmel and Sarde, but even before all that, you fight way too recklessly." He sat there and listened quietly, which was quite a surprise as I thought he didn't approve of me. What made him change his mind? Competence is a shield, I thought before continuing, "The way you killed that Centaur was impressive, I admit. I've never seen anything like it, but what would have happened if Centaurs surrounded you?" He averted his gaze and looked downwards, probably guessing at what I was implying, but I wanted to spell it out for him, "They would have killed you in a heartbeat!"

  I was starting to raise my voice, and other tables were looking over at me, so I calmed my breathing and looked him in the eye. "Look, I'm not telling you to overhaul your fighting style, as I know it's not easy to ask a warrior to do that. I just want you to take a more measured approach to all this. For example, you could buy a hatchet for situations like these or a tomahawk."

  "Tomahawks are expensive," He managed, but I wouldn't be taking any excuses.

  "We have the funds for it," I countered with a triumphant smile on my face. The rights to the hunting ground only cost about 225 gold coins, so we had 125 left over. That was enough to st us for a few months, so we could afford a few tomahawks. He sat there silently with a hard-to-read expression, but something told me he had taken my advice to heart, so I turned to my next and final target.

  "Lucia," I began, "As reckless as Batti was during that fight, he at least had his HP to fall back on, but I can't say the same for you." She wore an uncomfortable look as I continued, "Sure, they were magical enemies, and as a mage, you probably have high magic defense, so I can see where you're coming from, but that doesn't mean that I approve of it."

  Mages had atrociously bad HP at the lower levels. They could hit hard with their spells and bypass physical defenses, and they were fast, which made evasive maneuvers easy for them, but they were fragile. They were like gss cannons that hit hard but would break the second they were attacked, and this could be by a css with a high strength or magic stat. I sighed, thinking to myself once again, Why would you put your life at risk like that? But I felt it would be insensitive to ask such a question here, so I shelved it for ter.

  Just as I was about to round things off, Phildina interjected, saying, "Why won't you let me fight?! I was flying around the hunting grounds, thirsting for combat, but you wouldn't let me!" Ah, this pain of a girl! Out of everyone here, she was the worst. If I started with her, we would be here all day, so I chose to ignore her. "Ahem, in conclusion..."

  "Why are you ignoring me?!" She asked.

  "I'm not changing my mind!" I shot back. We were almost like a pair of bickering kids, but I didn't mind. I couldn't have her enacting her pns. It would ruin everything, so for now, she had to sit this one out. That reminds me...

  "What are your levels?" I asked. How hadn't it occurred to me before? I couldn't make a pn moving forward if I didn't know their levels, so I took the opportunity to get the question out of the way.

  "35," Kimmel began, setting an example for the others to follow.

  "38," Sarde followed soon after. Ooh, this is looking good!

  "I'm level 37," Batti answered next.

  "28," Matilda spoke shyly. How cute...

  "Um," Lucia fidgeted around nervously. "Can I tell it to you privately?" She asked. It was a viable option that usually meant one of two things. Either she was close to promotion like Phildina or too embarrassed to share her level publicly. I hope it was not the tter.

  "Sure," I answered with a reassuring smile.

  She heaved a sigh of relief, muttering, "Thanks," under her breath. What a strange girl, I thought to myself. I now knew their levels and who to start investing in, so I could use that information for my pns, but for now, I needed to address the party's biggest issue.

  "In conclusion, you are all strong individually, but the party's ck of cautiousness and overall teamwork are holding it back from its true potential." I would have said more, but I felt it was right to end things there, as I couldn't have said it any better. There would also be other opportunities to have meetings like these, so I moved on to the next thing mentally. Hertz. More specifically, it was what he whispered to me as our party approached this morning,

  "Meet me at the gate tonight." I didn't know what it was that he would tell me, but I felt like it would change my outlook, pns, and motivations moving forward. Hertz, what do you know? I wondered as I made my way back to the inn.