As they passed through the other side of the teleport gate, the view of Lushfort opened before them again.
According to the others, they were also around the three-month mark of being adventurers.
"We are literally, like, a quarter of the way to being adventurers for a year," Jax had said, somehow energetic now that his bones had healed and he had finally been released from his body cast. "Isn't that exciting?"
Aiden and Selene seemed less excited.
That mostly seemed to stem from the fact that Aiden had to spend another five thousand gold to get them back to Lushfort, while Selene had to spend eight thousand gold repairing the destroyed transmission.
Both of them had been scolded by the elven mechanic, who was apparently a class called Technomancer.
Selene had been scolded because she destroyed the transmission so thoroughly it needed a full replacement.
Aiden had been scolded because, after months, he had never even given the vehicle a proper title beyond "vehicle."
He ended up naming it the A.T.V.
Apparently, it stood for Alchemist Transport Vehicle.
As they drove down the street, Beatris found herself watching over the sides of the trailer.
Behind her, Jax, Thalia, and Liora were all hanging out.
Jax was running alongside the trailer, muttering something about his muscles getting small during recovery.
Thalia was making a small wooden doll out of a block of wood using a little knife.
Liora was engrossed in a book with a cover that read The Seven Stars.
That left Beatris relegated to people-watching.
Her mind drifted back to the last time they had been here.
Back then, she had not trusted Jax and had been worried he was trying to kill everyone.
Victor had been with them before his whole big reveal as…
Well.
Beatris did not want to think about that.
They had also been traveling back just to visit Aiden's home for a bit before leaving.
Then the whole necromancer dungeon thing happened.
Even still, it was strange to think about everything.
Beatris was an adventurer now.
She had paperwork and everything marking her as a person.
Just a month ago, she would have been chased out of town and forced to live in the woods based on what she could hunt.
Now she was just allowed into places like restaurants to order food.
Hot water.
Clean bedding.
Safety when she slept.
These were common things for people in towns.
But for someone who had grown up basically alone because of the system screens, they were luxuries.
And yet, even still, something had her worried.
"Wooooooh," Jax said as he jumped back into the trailer and stretched out. "Can you believe I'm already tired from that?"
Patches of sweat soaked his fur, but based on his smile, he seemed to be enjoying himself.
"Hey, Aiden," Jax called toward the front, "when we wake up tomorrow, we have to put some extra effort into conditioning. I feel like a wet noodle."
There was still a strange feeling of unease on him.
Beatris's ears twitched.
"I'm gonna head up to the ballista perch," she said, moving past Jax and heading for the ladder.
As she began to slowly climb, she did so with great care.
Partially because the A.T.V. was shaking.
Partially because she still was not completely confident in the method Jax had shown her for using ladders.
Liora looked up from her book.
"Why?" she asked. "Don't you have trouble with ladders?"
"For as much trouble as I have with them," Beatris hissed, "it's better than smelling Jax all sweaty. He reeks."
Jax gasped like he had been betrayed.
Beatris just barely managed to reach the top.
Then she flopped onto the perch and took a few moments to breathe, slowing her heart rate after the confusing and apparently necessary effort of climbing.
Below her, the others settled in.
From the roof, she could hear Aiden's muffled voice explaining how to properly drive to Selene while Selene asked questions and seemed to get confused by certain parts.
Beatris looked up at Sera and Malt.
Then she asked quietly, so the others would not hear, "Hey, Sera. Malt. Why is that bad feeling that was on Jax before still there?"
They took a moment before turning back to her.
"Well," Malt said, crossing his arms as he leaned back as if against an invisible wall, "it's because of the Warlock class's hidden attributes."
"That," Sera said, putting a hand on her cheek as she gave Jax a pitying look, "and what you are feeling is the remnant insanity inside Jax's head."
Beatris looked down at him.
"It never fully goes away," Sera continued. "It is like a fire where, no matter what you do, the embers will not go out. Once there is fuel, they will flare back up, and he may act just like before."
What Sera said sparked as something important in Beatris's mind.
But her focus was drawn more to what Malt had said.
"Wait," Beatris said, "Malt, what do you mean by hidden attribute?"
Malt glanced over with a raised eyebrow.
Then he shrugged.
"It's something the system grants but doesn't explain," he said. "Basically, every class has a hidden benefit and flaw."
He gestured toward Beatris.
"Warlocks are sensitive to malice, and since insanity is so closely related, you can feel those embers inside your friend."
Sera nodded.
"Your flaw," Malt added, "is that you are more susceptible to outerworld effects. Think angelic and demonic stuff."
Beatris glanced down at Jax and tried to strain her eyes.
She wondered if it was possible to see the embers of insanity in his form.
Before she could, Jax looked up at her.
He gave her a smile.
Then he set his head back down to take a nap.
Beatris turned back to Malt.
"Do you know what the hidden attributes of the others' classes are?"
Malt scratched his chin.
"Well," he said, "Alchemists are able to identify what they did wrong while brewing potions. Wind Mages are favored by wind elementals. Mutants can help people regrow lost limbs or regrow their own."
He hummed.
"The only negative ones I know off the top of my head are the Warlock one, and I know Mutants struggle against magic that changes their form, like polymorphing spells."
Beatris nodded as she glanced at the others.
However, she found herself staring down at Jax again.
A mix of worry and pity settled in her chest.
Malt lightly elbowed Sera.
"Looks like somebody is getting Stockholm syndrome."
Sera whipped around, her expression a mix of annoyance and anger.
"That is not what is happening here," Sera snapped. "In no way is she a hostage or captive."
She pointed down at Jax.
"Plus, that mutt is way below her!"
Malt held up his hands in mock surrender.
Beatris felt a pang of annoyance.
Despite understanding their words, the system did not explain what Stockholm syndrome was.
"Hey," Malt said, chuckling as he floated back out of the way of a loose punch Sera threw, "she didn't exactly ask to join this party. One minute she was in the woods, the next Jax saved her, and she started traveling with them."
He grinned.
"While it may not be a captive situation, it loosely fits the bill here."
Not wanting to be stuck listening to their bickering, Beatris began tentatively making her way down the ladder.
Behind her, Sera got hold of Malt and started shaking him by the collar.
"Gods, there are days I wonder if you're actually a demon!"
Liora looked up from her book as Beatris descended.
"Changing your mind on the ballista perch already?" she asked, glancing up as if looking for what was wrong with it.
"Malt and Sera are fighting about me having Stockholm syndrome," Beatris said, "whatever that means, and I didn't want to listen to the bickering."
That caught both Thalia's and Liora's attention.
They stared at her.
Their mouths opened slightly in surprise.
Their hands stayed frozen halfway through what they had been doing.
Slowly, both of them glanced down at Jax.
Then they looked back up at Beatris.
A moment passed.
Then both doubled over, tiny bits of sound escaping their mouths as they shook with barely restrained laughter.
Beatris stared down at Jax.
Suddenly, she was very worried about what Stockholm syndrome meant.