Max silently watched for several minutes, seeing no movement but hearing snoring even from here. He finally decided little risk remained and ventured over to them. As he neared, the smell of sweat and feces nearly made him gag. He couldn’t help a muted cough or two while burying his nose in his sleeve. Up close, they were as unpleasant as their image on the character creation screen. He scrutinized the first few he came across and saw a weapon tied to the waist of several of them. As he focused on it, information popped up.

Riven Dagger: Double-bladed Dagger

Quality: Very poor

Rarity: Common

Speed: Very Fast

Physical Attack: +10%

Magical Attack: NA

Bonuses: -1 Intelligence, -1 Wisdom, +2 Morale

The weapon looked like a regular dagger except it had a blade protruding from both ends. Someone could stab up and down, or left to right, in alternation without having to change the grip. No wonder it was rated very fast. Most of these riven had one and if they swarmed like their description said, it was no wonder they were feared.

He eyed each riven who had one to see who it would be easiest to take the dagger from, based on their position. To his surprise, a quarter of them were female. He stopped and carefully untied the sloppily done knot of a ragged string that held a dagger to one’s waist. The smell was overpowering this close and what he’d read about the diseases they carried had him worried about contracting something. Maybe this wasn’t a good idea. There was no telling how contagious they were and with what. If something was on the handle, he might get infected. But if he didn’t have a melee weapon, that could be fatal in a hand-to-hand fight. This would do as a backup weapon to his fists.

After getting the knot undone, he looked around and grabbed a few leaves to lift the dagger itself with. The moment he picked it up, he felt more fear overcome him. Was this the effect of the morale debuff at character creation? A notification told him he’d just earned the Pickpockets skill at level 1 and another 25 XP, and then came the better message.

You achieved Level 2!

You gained 8 Hit Points

You gained 2 Mana Points

Class bonus: You gained Dexterity +1, Intelligence +1, Charisma +1

You gained (2) proficiency points

You have (2) unassigned proficiency points

You have (1) additional spell you can have in your hotlist!

Max avoided celebrating aloud, given that he was straddling two sleeping riven. The question about gaining proficiency points with levels had been answered. He could apparently gain skills or upgrade them when he advanced a level, or by using them. It seemed that the game wanted to reward him for smart or skillful play and not just killing things all the time. He could get behind that, deciding how to advance and play the game. He wanted to pick skills right now but this wasn’t really the time.

He began stepping over the small bodies, which were left, right, and centered on the dirt path. Most of the riven had oozing sores on their skin or a rash. Their hair was cropped short, but haphazardly. Their clothes were soiled with dirt, food, and sometimes dried blood. Sweat stains were at the arm pits. A few had darker stains along the crack of their asses and Max decided right then to stop scrutinizing them.

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

Riven dagger still in hand, he had made it most of the way by them when he froze. Slumped against a tree in an upright position sat a female riven, heavily-lidded, violet eyes on him. He was close enough to see that the pupils were horizontal slits. Was she asleep with her eyes open? Or was she awake? Max couldn’t tell. The riven hadn’t reacted. A rustle out in the forest caught his attention and he decided not to stay in case something – like him – woke them. But he stared at her as he took another step over a body and felt his heart skip when the eyes moved with him. Max glanced at the others on the ground ahead of him and how many steps he had to take to be clear. Another five. If she moved, he was running.

He continued on, the riven turning her head to watch. The eyes had opened more, her hand going for the riven dagger at her waist.

“Shit,” Max muttered. He stopped looking at her and skipped over the remaining figures one by one until clear.

You have used the Stealth skill and gained 15 XP!

Max looked at her to see that she was rising. Apparently, she wasn’t included in his successful use of the skill. That she had seen him hadn’t impacted him being awarded for sneaking past the others. It seemed clear that the Sleep spell hadn’t gotten her because she was farther away.

Seeing her watching him, Max took off down the path at a quiet, careful run, avoiding any jutting rocks or loose branches and hoping to get some distance. Once he rounded a curve in the bend, the trees blocked his view behind. The sound of his own steps made it hard to tell if she was following. He just continued for five minutes before stopping, afraid to run too far in case he ran right into another threat. How quiet were riven? They were small and didn’t have much on them to jingle. Would he hear her coming? He listened for a bit and heard nothing, so he set off again, this time at a walk.

But he couldn’t shake the feeling he was being watched. Maybe it was paranoia. Every time he reached a curve in the path, he paused to look ahead, seeing no one on it. But he also wanted to see how far it was before another turn because that’s how long he’d be in sight if something was following him and came around behind. And that’s when he decided on a ploy. A straight section over a hundred yards long lay ahead, so he went about halfway before ducking behind two trees that had trunks close together, providing him with better cover.

A minute later, she appeared, jogging down the path with more stealth, caution, and determination than he expected. Unless she ran past him without seeing him, he had made a mistake. Wasting no time on regret, he decided the sling might not do much damage even if he hit her, and he didn’t want to get close enough to use that riven dagger. Sleep had too long of a cooldown to use again. That left him with Hand of the Grave and Orb of Doom. His MP was full, like his HP. He rearranged his hotlist spells to remove Sleep from there and add the others.

She stopped halfway to him, listening and sniffing the air. She looked around as if suspicious. Did she know he couldn’t have made it to the end without her seeing him? Was she smart enough to know he had to be hiding? Out of caution, he assumed so despite the dull look he’d seen in her eyes when closer. Orb of Doom might make enough noise to bring another threat here, one he didn’t know about. How many HP did she have? Was Hand of the Grave enough to kill her? The spell was quieter. She continued toward him as he readied Orb of Doom, peering around the trunk at her.

Riven, Level 1 Brawler. 5 HP. The basic fighter class among riven, they are just as likely to stab themselves as you with their riven daggers because they only fight in one state – frenzied. Kill them form a distance if you can. And if you miss, run!

So he could potentially kill her with Hand of the Grave. He switched the spell in his mind and waited for her to get within twenty feet, the spell’s range. He also had to step back from the tree because he needed to stretch out his arm and was hoping to do it without sticking his arm out where she’d see the movement.

“Feel the touch of Krairon,” he whispered, gesturing with the hand not holding the river dagger.

The spectral hand appeared and soared across the ground toward the riven, four feet above the path. Max wondered if only he could see it but soon got his answer. She stopped, a look of alarm animating her ugly face. She began to back away and Max feared she’d escape, so he stepped out, ready to pursue. Her eyes darted to him and back to the hand. Snarling, she retreated more quickly and Max broke into a run. She turned and ran, too, and with the spell only lasting ten seconds, he feared she’d escape. He’d have to wait to cast it again. She was faster than he expected and kept ahead of him until the hand vanished and he stopped. Hearing this, she did, too, turning back, eyes darting around for the spectral hand. Then she seemed to accept that it was gone. A sinister leer split her face, revealing yellow teeth with half of them missing.

“Gather air!” Max said, holding up his hand. He felt the swirling orb hovering there before he hurled it.

Whether she saw it or just understood the throwing motion, the riven dove to the path and the Orb sailed past her with a whoosh, hitting a tree branch behind her and cracking it. She got up and ran toward him, arms pumping up and down, the dagger in one hand reminding him of his peril.

Max cursed and ran.