"The question is, though, who will be the party leader?" Brandon asked, "Markus is the highest level and has the most experience fighting."
"I don't think I should lead, I can't always be online," Markus quickly waved his hands to Brandon as he leaned away. Edward was surprised by Markus's reluctance. Markus had always been the type of person who liked to be in charge— not because it allowed him to boss people around, but because it allowed him to easily make sure tasks were accomplished effectively. At work, Markus was often talking with coworkers and subordinates in an attempt to get to know them better. Edward thought Markus would be perfect for the position, "I have too much on my plate at the moment, so I think Edward should be the party leader."
"Me?" Edward exclaimed, surprised, as he pointed to himself. He looked at Markus and raised an eyebrow, "I just want to be able to level up quickly— whether or not I'm leading isn't a concern of mine. Honestly, I thought you would take the position."
"I don't know any of you well enough, so I'd probably be a bad choice," Leila said with a smile. She pointed at Edward, "He's the one that gathered us all together like this, though, so I also think Edward should lead."
Markus nodded his gratitude to Leila before looking back at Edward.
"You're on the most out of all of us," Markus smiled, "You're the only one with the ability to tame dragons, as well. If you're going to be in charge of an army of them in the future you might as well get some practice right now."
"Ugh," Edward muttered. He saw the logic in Markus's argument and chose to not resist. Brandon looked from Markus to Edward, then shrugged his shoulders.
"I don't care who leads, so long as it's not me," Brandon smiled. Then he folded his arms and leaned back in his chair. With a cheeky smile, he looked at Edward and joked, "It looks like you've been elected into the position. Good luck."
"Fine," Edward sighed. He looked at Markus and shook his head. He didn't want any sort of leadership position. He knew the leaders of smaller parties often became the leaders of larger guilds— a position that was largely known to be stressful and complicated. Thankfully, though, Edward had already studied his newfound abilities as party leader online. The position was more than a name. As party leader, he would have access to all of his member's status screens as well as a shared inventory. He could also allocate all of the XP gathered into different areas. That would allow him to speed-level one of his members. Lastly, he would be able to upgrade the party into a guild.
Such an upgrade hadn't yet happened in the game so there weren't any guilds. It was an expensive endeavor as it required one hundred gold coins. Edward didn't know what a guild would be capable of— though there were rumors that it would allow functional parties with more than five people.
"Yay," Brandon smiled as he clapped his hands. Leila looked amused as Edward turtles in embarrassment from his brother's encouragement. Markus leaned his cheek against his fist as he rested against the table. After a moment, even Ikarus seemed amused— though the little guy didn't know what was happening.
Edward quickly opened his menu and friended Brandon. Then, once that was accomplished he created the party. At that moment, a notification appeared in everybody's vision signaling the party's creation.
"Congratulations," Markus said. Ikarus rushed away from his lap before climbing back onto Edward's shoulder, "So? Any pieces of advice?"
"I'd have to look at your stats to see what I'm dealing with," Edward sighed. He first turned to Leila and appraised her. Usually, the resulting notification would be limited to only a few lines of information. Now that they were in the same party, though, the resulting status was much more detailed.
︽
Lvl: 1
XP: 0%
Title: The Forgotten Flame
Origin: Dragonkin
—
HP: 5
MP: 10
SP: 10
HUNG: 2/5
—
DMG: (Pyrokinesis - 7) 9
DEF: (Leather Armor - 5) 6
—
POW: 1
AGI: 2
END: 1
WIS: 2
LUC: 1
—
Skills: [Master Pyrokinesis]
︾
"It looks like your stats are how mine were when I was your level," Edward said, though he quickly noticed one discrepancy, "though it looks like your Wisdom is higher than mine was. So long as you continue putting stat points into Wisdom, your abilities will follow. I suggest choosing the [Draconic Language] skill when you level up, though, so you can talk to Ikarus. He doesn't understand English.
"Is that a requirement?" Leila asked. Edward laughed and quickly shook his head.
"No, definitely not. If you find a skill better than that, choose it," He said. Then, he next turned to Markus.
︽
Lvl: 4
XP: 0%
Title: None
Origin: Warden
—
HP: 100
MP: 20
SP: 30
HUNG: 94/100
—
DMG: (Great Sword - 7) 21
DEF: (Plate Armor - 10) 30
—
POW: 14
AGI: 6
END: 20
WIS: 4
LUC: 1
—
Skills: [Greater Provoke], [Ground Smash], [Minor Heal]
︾
'He's a walking tank! Holy shit!' Edward thought to himself as he studied his friend's stats. He was disappointed that he had such low Wisdom and Luck, but he was even more confused when he saw that Markus only had three skills.
"Did you upgrade one of your skills? You should have four," Edward said. Markus nodded.
"When I got to level three, I upgraded [Provoke] to [Greater Provoke]," Markus explained, "It's much stronger, but it uses a lot of MP."
"Right, you only have four points. Shouldn't you be upgrading your Wisdom more?" Edward asked. Markus smiled nervously at him and scratched the back of his head.
"I thought my health and damage was a greater concern," Markus confessed, "Until recently I fought monsters on my own, so I didn't have any need for support skills."
Edward nodded in understanding before turning to Brandon.
︽
Lvl: 3
XP: 40%
Title: None
Origin: Bounty Hunter
—
HP: 40
MP: 5
SP: 35
HUNG: 40/40
—
DMG: (Flintlocks - 4. Rapier - 7) 11 - 11
DEF: (Leather Armor - 5) 13
—
POW: 4
AGI: 7
END: 8
WIS: 1
LUC: 15
—
Skills: [Quick Reload], [Quick Shot], [Sprint]
︾
'He's very well balanced. He's put points into what he needs and has been ignoring what he doesn't,' Edward thought to himself, 'but if he ends up with a skill that uses MP, he'll struggle.'
"Luckily, none of my skills use MP. They all use SP," Brandon grinned. Then, as he leaned forward on the table he chuckled, "How do I look, Doc?"
"Good, for the most part. Which weapons have you been using the most?" Edward asked.
"The pistols. I only ever use the rapier if my enemies are too close," Brandon answered. Edward nodded. He looked at the level distribution in the party and decided to even the playing field. For now, he made it so Leila gained more XP than anybody else in hopes she would catch up to the others.
"Alright, everybody ready to go hunt some creatures?"