Ben waved goodbye to his dad as he headed to the school fields. He was far too early for class but it had become a routine since he had begun trying to get the [Throw Item] skill.

Since he was fourteen, Ben had already learned about the kingdom, taxes and other boring stuff. He had waited for years for the 'learning skills' portion of his education to start. It had only been a year since the school had begun helping him gain skills and he loved every moment of it.

His walk through the cobbled streets of his hometown, Hamfield, turned into a jog and then a run. He would probably arrive sweaty and a bit tired but he just couldn't contain his excitement.

The school fields were at the top of Ham's Hill which was part of Hamfield. The hill was named first followed by the town which had just been a village back then. If Ben remembered his studies correctly, Ham was a great hero and it was all named after him. He didn't remember what Ham had done exactly but it was heroic and a long time ago.

The main street went straight up Ham's hill with homes all beside it. As the townfolk always said, "Going to work is easy, walking back home is the hard part."

As Ben ran, he made sure to stick to one side of the street so he wouldn't bump into anyone. It was quite busy at the bottom of the hill but as he climbed, he saw fewer and fewer people. When he was nearly at the top, he was alone so he could afford a small distraction. He checked his Status.

Name: Ben Manafield

Species: Town Human

Age: 14

Class: None

Attributes:

Strength: 17

Dexterity: 7

Endurance: 8

Mana: 0

A quick look at his Status showed no change from yesterday, his Strength was still his highest Attribute by far and that wasn't from his hard work but rather from a bit of luck at birth.

Traits. Muscular

Muscular: Your body is stronger than others of your species. Gain one Strength per year until the age of twenty-five.

When he was old enough to realise how lucky he was to get a Trait, he was very happy and proud of it. His father had the same one and he was very strong. The Trait was great but he would need to make the most of it with his skills and future class choice or it would go to waste. It was as Mr Pann had always said, "Your skill decisions and class decision are the most important decisions of your life. Make sure you think long and hard about them. Speak to your parents, speak to your neighbours. Do not make the decisions lightly."

With his Muscular Trait, it was an almost foregone conclusion that he would need skills based on Strength and his ultimate class would be Strength focussed. He hadn't decided what class he would eventually get but like the rest of his class, being an adventurer was the most popular by far.

Everyone had read the stories of knights and mages that defended the world in the past. It was exciting but when Ben had asked his father about it, his father had given him the 'honest truth'. Adventuring was overcrowded and most of the monsters of old were dead. The scary forests were gone, replaced by fields and the world was safe. There was more fighting happening between humans than monsters.

It had been a disappointment and Ben had wondered if his father had been lying to stop Ben from leaving town.

Ben caught his breath on the top of the hill and took in the view. As far as his eye could see, there were fields and fields of different crops. Iron's River stood out in the distance because its river bank was the only place in the region where real forests could be found. The town's herbalist, Pete, often spoke about the forest because it was the only place where he could get some of the rarer herbs he needed for his potions.

"Oi! Ben!"

He turned to find his classmate, Leon, running over. Ben smiled at the shorter boy.

"Hey Leon, you are early today. Did you get [Sword Mastery] yet?" Ben grinned at Leon. [Sword Mastery] was an Expert skill that they would never be able to get at their age.

Leon chuckled and shook his head. "Of course not, you know I can't. But my dad has been teaching me and I am getting better. Want to spar?"

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Ben shook his head as his smile faded and was replaced by a look of determination. "Nah, not today. I am getting [Throw Item] today, I can feel it."

Leon rolled his eyes, "Again? Aren't you Strength focused? Why do you care about [Throw Item]? Aren't you going to just remove it anyway?"

Ben nodded, "I know, I know but Mr Pann said we needed to get a skill representing each Attribute. I thought [Throw Item] was a cool choice for Dexterity and I was right!"

Ben gave Leon a big grin to show his enthusiasm even though it was clear that Leon didn't believe him.

"Fine. Be stubborn. I am going to practice my sword forms, I will see you when class starts."

Ben nodded at Leon and they parted ways. He walked to the ranged weapon practice area which had a large number of bows and arrows. There were, however, a series of boxes filled with 'junk'. They were random items that the school had found or been given like dolls, balls, wooden cubes and other hand-sized trinkets. The [Throw Item] skill didn't care what the item was as long as he could throw it. The reason for the variety of items was to help the user get [Throw Item] instead of [Throw Stick], [Throw Doll] or the infamous [Throw Ball].

[Throw Ball] was one of the easiest skills to get and most kids had gained it during their childhood when playing with friends. Since Ben wanted the more general skill [Throw Item], he had been avoiding practising with balls at all as per Mr Pann's recommendation.

He walked over to one of the round targets. It had several painted rings on it and was filled with arrow holes. One of the reasons that Ben liked to get to school early to practice was because there were many archers within the school. Most of the younger kids didn't bother him but the older ones made fun of him when he missed the target, which often happened.

When Ben first started practising throwing items, he quickly realised that he was not good at it. He was big for his age, easiest the tallest and widest in his class. His size and poor coordination made his throwing look funny so he made it a point to practice when there was no one around.

With his high Strength, Ben had found many of the physical exercises to be easier for him so when he discovered something that he was not good at, he found it refreshing.

He put the target ten large steps away from himself and then got into position next to the boxes of the trinkets. He closed his eyes and calmed himself before reaching into the nearest box. He grabbed a cube and opened his eyes as he focused on the target.

He stretched his arm back, his eyes never leaving his target and then threw the cube.

It sailed through the air, completely missing the target.

Ben sighed. It wasn't the greatest start but he just needed more practice.

* * *

An hour of practice had not gained him the skill yet but he didn't give up. Most of his free time, before and after school, he spent practising to get [Throw Item]. Mr Pann wouldn't let him practice during school time because he didn't want Ben to fall behind on other skills and his teacher didn't approve either.

"Still trying to hit a target an arm's length away? just give up kid."

Ben turned to look at the speaker, already knowing who it was. His name was Yak, his father was a Hamfield [Ranger] which was a cool job and class to have. Unfortunately, Yak was a mean final-year student and had made fun of Ben almost every day since he had started practising outside of school hours.

"Leave me alone Yak. There are enough targets for both of us." Ben didn't even look at the older boy and instead focussed on the target and threw a doll at it. The doll was covered in dirt and was missing an arm but it flew true and hit the outer circle of the target.

He smiled happily before he was shoved to the ground. Despite what his Status said, his high Strength didn't help him much because he was still a fourteen-year-old boy who was still smaller and much weaker than the eighteen-year-old.

Ben knocked into one of the boxes of trinkets and the contents spilt out into the dirt. His clothes were covered in dirt and he could hear and feel balls bouncing around him.

Ben moved to get up but stopped as he felt a leather ball near his hand. Yak was looking down at him smugly so Ben decided to get some revenge. He grabbed the ball and threw it at the older boy.

His first throw missed wildly but his second was closer. Unfortunately, Yak easily dodged the closer balls, much to Ben's disappointment.

"This is exactly why you should give up. You can't even hit me. What a loser."

Ben gritted his teeth and grabbed the next ball. He really wanted to hit Yak, to prove to himself that he wasn't a loser and that he could improve.

He withheld most of his Strength from his throw because he knew that he lost a lot of accuracy if he threw it like that. He stared at Yak's laughing face, the world around him grew quieter and dimmer as he focused on his target. He wound his arm back and then threw with everything he had learned from his practising.

Ben watched the simple leather ball as it flew through the air. It had a damaged seam and would probably completely break apart soon.

The ball flew straight towards Yak's face. The older boy had been distracted by his own laughing that he could react fast enough.

The ball hit him on the bridge of the nose and Ben grinned widely as his heart lept.

You have gained the skill [Throw Ball].

His heart sank as he realised that he had received the [Throw Ball] skill. He would have to remove it to get [Throw Item]. However, before he could pull up his Skills to remove it, he found himself distracted by several notifications.

He didn't understand what he was looking at and before he could, Yak became charging at him.

Yak had a bleeding nose and a raised fist, ready to put Ben in a lot of pain. Ben realised it and began scrambling to get up and run away.

He was far too slow and got kicked back down before being punched in the head. Ben groaned as he took the hit to the chest. The punch to his head made his vision blurring. He felt disoriented and before he could even take stock of the situation, he got kicked again in the ribs. The pain was too much and he began to cry. Crying didn't stop Yak from kicking him so kept an eye on Yak's leg.

When the next kick came, Ben rolled out of the way the best he could. Everything hurt and he tasted dirt as he rolled but he managed to dodge the kick.

He was grateful for the reprieve but he knew it would be short-lived so he curled into a ball to protect himself and waited.

He waited a full minute before he looked around. He was alone. Fear gripped Ben as he looked around in case the older boy had used a powerful skill to become invisible or teleport.

Yak was gone.

Ben frowned in confusion as he realised that the threat was gone. The pain came rushing back and he began coughing up dirt.

Everything hurt.

He whimpered and closed his eyes.