Astrid read and then reread her new quest, still unable to believe what it said. This had to be a mistake.
New quest from the God of Deception
You are surrounded by monsters and must fight your way out
Objective: defeat monsters 0 of 10
Reward: 10 large coppers
Ten monsters were a lot. There was no way she would be able to defeat that many without extensive training and the right equipment. No one could. She doubted she could even handle one in her current state. Even if the reward was more than she had ever thought she would have at one time in her life, it wasn’t worth risking her life over.
“This is not fair,” she shouted, her voice reverberating through the spacious temple room. “You can’t ask me to do this.” Maybe the god of Deception would hear her and change his mind. She waited for a while, but nothing happened. Just as she was about to give up, a new message arrived.
I hope this is good, she thought, suddenly worried that her outburst could end up making her situation worse. Was that even possible at this point? Delaying would do her no good, so she focused her mind and read the message. It was short. Just three words long.
New items received!
She opened her belt pouch and saw three new objects taking up every available slot she had in the small bag. Carefully, she retrieved one to get a better look at it.
Removing the black leather sheath revealed a pointy dagger with a steel blade. The grip was wrapped in the same material as the sheath, and the pommel was decorated with a little green stone. Had Sham given her the dagger to aid in the quest? How was that going to help her? She had no experience with knife fighting or any other weapon for that matter, and monsters were strong, not to mention really dangerous. The item came with a description that, hopefully, would give her an explanation.
Divine Dagger of Deception
Level 1
Received as a gift from the God of Deception
Normal attack, stab: deals 5 hp damage
Normal attack, slash: deals 5 hp damage
Special attack, backstab: deals 50 hp damage when the target is caught by surprise
This sounds like the kind of weapon an assassin would use. She looked at the dagger with contempt. The idea of wielding such a weapon disgusted her, but it was the only one she had. Maybe she could kill the monster in one hit if she managed to use the special attack? Reluctantly, she admitted that her only chance to get out of here involved using the dagger. After returning the dagger to the sheath, she secured it to the rope around her waist for easy access.
Then she moved on to the next item. It was a black wool cloak with a hood so large it could completely obscure her face. Sham's cloak looked a lot like this one did. The cloak also came with a description.
Divine Cloak of Deception
Level 1
Received as a gift from the God of Deception
A piece of cloth armor that offers the wearer some protection from damage as well as keeping them comfortable in most temperatures
Special ability: aids in hiding and disguising the wearer in any way desired
Armor would be good to have when fighting monsters. Still, Astrid couldn’t help thinking it would only make her die slower and, therefore, more painfully. At least she wouldn’t be cold when the monsters ate her. She didn’t know if she should laugh or cry at her own bad jokes. This whole situation felt so unreal, it had to be a fever dream. She was even less qualified to be a monster slayer than the chickens at home. Well, her old home. It was unlikely she would ever go back. There was nothing left to return to.
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Don’t think about it, she reminded herself, and reluctantly put the cloak on. It fit her better than anything else she had worn in her life. She instantly hated it, so before she could change her mind about wearing it, she pulled out the third object. It turned out to be a circular piece of metal attached to a silver chain. The metal piece had a symbol on one side and an inscription on the other. The symbol belonged to the god of Deception, and the inscription simply stated, Follower. This object too had a description.
Divine Amulet of Deception
Level 1
Received as a gift from the God of Deception
This amulet marks you as a follower of the God of Deception, allowing you to identify yourself to other followers and gain access to restricted areas
Special ability: if worn with other Divine Items of Deception, it gives those items more power
More power sounded good, so she put it around her neck. Even though it was pretty light, it felt heavy, like the chains of a prisoner. Now she could no longer deny that she was a follower of Deception. There was no coming back from this. Everyone who saw her amulet would know which god she served, and they would despise her.
A quick shake of the head chased the thought away. Other people’s opinions of her would make no difference if she never made it out of this forest. For now, she had to focus on what to do in the moment, and everything else could wait until later. Staying at the temple just led to a slow death. Sure, there were no monsters, but also no food or water unless Sham brought it. How long would he be willing to do so, and what happened when he ran out of patience? It was likely not something worth experiencing, so that left only one option. Fighting monsters.
She went over the item descriptions again, trying to formulate a plan. Maybe the cloak could hide her enough to let her sneak up behind a monster unnoticed. Then she could stab it. If her new dagger’s special attack was as strong as she suspected, there was a chance she could avoid real combat entirely.
She imagined that she was invisible and then felt a light ripple pass through her entire body. Had it worked? She could still see herself, so she wasn’t sure.
There’s only one way to find out, she thought, taking a steady breath before leaving the temple and making her way up to the barrier. None of the monsters reacted as she got closer, so she took that as a sign that she was invisible. As she scanned her surroundings for the least scarry-looking monsters, her gaze settled on a sheep-sized rabbit as her target, sitting a few feet from the barrier. With her heart beating in her throat, she stepped outside the protective barrier. Nothing attacked her. The monsters didn’t even look in her direction, so maybe her plan would work.
With her mind made up, she crouched down, taking a few steps towards the rabbit monster while pulling out her dagger. She held it tightly, aiming at the monster's back. She knew it was a coward’s tactic, but she didn’t feel very brave, and her new dagger dealt the most damage if she took the enemy by surprise. All her gear was designed for assassination, so that was the tactic she had to use.
Before she could rethink her actions, she stabbed the blade into the monster. It let out an ear-piercing screech that made Astrid winch. Then it collapsed on the ground, twitching a few times before going still. Messages flooded her consciousness, and on instinct, she began reading them.
You have unlocked the knife-fighting skill
knife-fighting is level 1of 10
You now have instinctive knowledge of basic knife-fighting techniques
You have unlocked the monster-slaying skill
monster-slaying is level 1 of 10
you now have the ability to identify monsters and gauge their level as long as it doesn’t exceed you own by more than one
Quest update
You are surrounded by monsters and must fight your way out
Objective: defeat monsters 1 of 10
Reward: 10 large coppers
She was so engrossed in checking out her new skills that she didn’t notice the danger until it was too late. Claws sliced across her chest, and she staggered backwards with a gasp until her legs gave out under her. The finishing blow never came, even as she lay helpless on the ground. Burning pain radiated from her chest while the rest of her body grew cold. Blood seeped from the wound, dying her dress red, and her breath came in raspy gasps.
Her vision went blurry as a new message appeared.
Warning!
You are suffering from bleeding
Health will be lost continuously until bleeding is stopped.
Current health it 3/10
How had this happened? She had been invisible, so how had the monster seen her, and why wasn’t it about to eat her? The only explanation she could think of was that somehow, she was back inside the barrier.
Current health is 2/10
The realization hit her that she was dying. The pain she had experienced yesterday was nothing compared to now. Her brain screamed at her to get up and do something, but her body refused to move.
Current health is 1/10
The wolf’s howling echoed through the forest as everything went dark.