Chapter 48 Fetch.

Chapter 48: 48 Fetch.

"An Adventuring Party," she repeated. "It’s the System concept for which the Hero’s Party is named. When in a Party, our attacks won’t damage each other if an accidental friendly fire situation occurs, and we will share XP evenly, rather than having the one who dealt most of the damage take it all."

"Sort of," Elsa contested lightly. "Sir Grey will still claim more XP than either of us, Ayra—since he is lower in level."

"Really?" I asked. "This party system is a real thing?"

The Princess had already found a patch of grass and settled onto it like she was at a picnic. "Of course. Ayra and I have an established Party with Juniper, but you aren’t in it."

"Why didn’t you mention this before?" I couldn’t keep the incredulity from my voice. "Seems like kind of an important detail."

Elsa waved a dismissive hand. "I wouldn’t have thought to invite you to the Party because I was never the one who handled such administrative nonsense back in our world. That was always Juniper’s responsibility. It occurred to me once or twice, I suppose, but it seemed like such a hassle to figure out."

"And I assumed the Princess had already added you," Ayra apologized, casting some annoyed side-eye at her friend. "I only realized that she hadn’t after last night. Let me fix that right away."

She closed her eyes, clearly accessing some menu I couldn’t see. Her face scrunched up in concentration as she navigated whatever interface the System provided her.

"It’s not the most intuitive design," she muttered while making little swiping motions in the air. "Ah! There we go."

A blue notification appeared in my vision:

[ PARTY INVITE! ↓↓↓ ]

[ Ayra Moonfang has invited you to join an Adventuring Party: "The Hero’s Party" Accept? YES / NO ]

"Yes," I said out loud this time.

A warm sensation spread through me, different from leveling up, but I couldn’t quite say just how.

After some fiddling, I could suddenly sense Ayra and Elsa’s presence on a new level, beyond mere line of sight. It was a bit like knowing where your limbs are without looking at them, if I had to put it to words.

[ PARTY JOINED! Congratulations!

You are now a member of "The Hero’s Party"

Current Members: Elsa Silverleaf, Ayra Moonfang, Juniper Bloodberry, Grey Coleman. ]

"This is... weird," I admitted, trying to get used to the new awareness. "But cool."

"Now you’ll see our health indicators," Ayra explained, pointing to nothing I could see so far. "And if either of us is in danger during combat, you’ll know immediately."

Sure enough, when I focused, I could make out faint red bars floating above both women, presumably representing their remaining health. Elsa’s was full, while Ayra’s showed just a tiny sliver missing.

"What happened to you?" I asked Ayra, gesturing toward her bar.

She grinned sheepishly. "Stubbed my toe on a rock coming outside with you. It’ll regenerate."

"So now that we’re an official Party," I said, testing the weight of my sword, "let’s see what this new skill can do."

"Yes! Show me what you gained!" Ayra bounced on her toes, clearly excited to see the demonstration.

I took a deep breath and focused on the new ability I could feel within me—Return Blade.

I gripped my sword, trying to visualize the motion in my mind before attempting it.

"Here goes nothing," I muttered, and threw the sword like a giant, lethal frisbee.

The blade spun through the air, slicing an arc that would have been impossible without the System’s influence. It traveled about thirty yards before I instinctively reached out my hand, calling it back.

The sword responded immediately, reversing its trajectory and spinning back toward me.

I caught it by the handle with surprising ease, like I’d been practicing the move for years.

Normally the sword could materialize in my hands when it was far away, but now I could do it when I had it in my sights too.

"Holy shit," I breathed, genuinely impressed with myself. "It actually worked."

Ayra was practically bursting with glee, bouncing up and down in a really distracting way. "Try again! Aim for that tree!"

I took aim at a distant oak and let the sword fly. This time it traveled even farther, striking the trunk with a solid thunk before returning to my outstretched hand like a loyal pet.

"That is so damn cool," I laughed as I enjoyed the rush of discovering a new ability. "Think of the combat applications."

Ayra was staring at the sword with an expression I hadn’t seen before—something beyond excitement, almost... a primal need. Her eyes followed the blade as I swished it in her face. Her body tensed, ready to spring.

Then she dropped to all fours. "Throw it again," she urged, her voice gone husky.

"Um, okay," I grunted. Needless to say, I was slightly confused by her sudden intensity, but also curious. I hurled the sword once more, sending it in a wide arc across the field.

Before it could return, Ayra launched herself after it, moving with astonishing speed on all fours.

She leaped into the air at the perfect moment, catching the blade carefully between her teeth as it spun.

I froze, feeling my heart in my throat, certain I was about to witness a horrific accident. But the Party system must have been working—the sharp edge didn’t seem to affect her at all.

She landed gracefully, trotting back toward me with the sword in her mouth, tail wagging proudly.

"Ayra, what the hell?" I asked as she reached me, still carrying my weapon like a prize stick. "That could have been dangerous!"

She made a muffled sound around the blade, offering it to me with shining eyes. When I reached for it, however, she growled playfully and pulled back.

"Give it," I said, as I glowered at her, trying to pull it back. "Come on, give it!"

She held out for another moment, then relinquished the sword with a happy whine. As soon as it left her mouth, her expression shifted from canine joy to mortified realization.

"Oh!" Her hands flew to her cheeks, which had turned bright red. "I don’t... I mean, I didn’t..."

"Do you want to be spanked for your rebelliousness?" I asked, already knowing the answer.

"Yes! I mean, no! I mean..." She took a deep breath. "It was instinctual. I saw the object flying and part of me just... reacted."

I couldn’t help but laugh. "No discipline needed, honestly. It was actually kind of impressive." I raised the sword again. "Let me practice using this ability more. I want it to feel natural."

Her tail immediately resumed wagging at tornado speeds. "You mean...?"

"Yeah, we can play fetch for a bit. It’s actually good training for both of us."

She didn’t need to be told twice. She dropped back to all fours with her amber-gold eyes locked on my sword with laser focus.

For the next twenty minutes, we developed an unusual but effective training routine.

I would throw the sword in increasingly complex patterns, practicing my control and recall, while Ayra would intercept it mid-flight, sometimes bringing it back, sometimes making me chase her for it. Her speed and agility were astonishing. They were also skills that would definitely be useful in actual combat.

I was getting better with each throw, learning to curve the blade’s path and even bounce it off multiple targets before recalling it.

The skill was more versatile than I’d initially thought, like a cooler, deadlier version of Captain America’s shield.

We were so engrossed in our training game that neither of us noticed Elsa had fallen asleep in her patch of grass until she suddenly sat bolt upright, blinking in confusion.

Her gaze fell on us—me with my arm extended, recalling my sword from midair where Ayra had just released it after another successful catch.

For a moment, she just stared, processing the scene before her.

"What," she asked in a severe tone, "the actual hell is going on here?"