“Team for Gorok? Newly Awakened?” The attendant asked our group as we stopped in front of him. Once he saw all of us nod, he continued, “good, go on and head straight through. Try not to die,” he said in a monotone voice, before looking past us at the next group behind us. Zack and I looked at each other for a moment somewhat nervously, before we walked towards the glowing and very intimidating portal in front of us. Zack stepped through first, and instead of watching his body slowly disappear as he put each part through like I expected, the second his body touched the portal he was gone, causing me to freeze in surprise. I quickly stepped forward so Gary didn’t walk into me from behind and then closed my eyes shut tight as I forced myself to step into the portal. I forced myself to take three quick steps forwards before I opened my eyes to see another large guild hall similar to the one in Brightswell. I glanced behind me and saw Gary stepping out of the light blue portal that I had just come through.
“Well that was much better than I expected, I thought I was going to throw up as soon as I got through but I didn’t feel a thing!” Gary said to the two of us. I nodded in agreement and zoned out his and Zack’s conversation as we waited for the other two to join us. I looked around the hall and noted the same design as the last guild, with the portals on the side that we were standing at and a large wall filled with notices to our left. Receptionists worked in front of a long line of adventurers in front of us with stairs leading to another floor and the entrance to the guild on the right wall. Dozens of tables filled with relaxing adventurers filled the center of the guildhall.
“We’re all here. Let’s go look at the notices.” Aaron said shortly, clearly impatient to get moving. I started walking towards the notice board and veered to the right where I saw primarily younger adventurers.
Blood Fields Dungeons
F Grade Dungeon Core - 5 Silver
E Grade Dungeon Core - 50 Silver
Monster Cores
F Grade Monster Core - 50 Silver
E Grade Monster Core - 5 Gold
Rare Materials
Bloodmoss - 1 Silver\bag
Warg Fangs - 5 Copper\pair
Interestingly, it looked like there were no actual missions for us newly awakened to take, just requests for the useful materials found in the Bloodfields. I followed Gary after he got our attention and gestured towards the exit of the guildhall. I found myself thinking that I didn’t feel prepared to go into a dungeon with these people that I had just met. I decided to say something once I knew where we were going since Gary just walked off after studying the board. I stepped outside into the midday sun and followed Gary for a few paces before waiting for the rest of the group.
“All right. From what my brother told me, it will take us about 2 days of walking to reach the Bloodfields. After that, it could take us anywhere from two days to a week to get a dungeon heart or enough materials to earn a profit, and then 2 days of walking to get back. That’s 11 days of food for each of us, so we’ll be heading to the market to stock up first. Follow me.” Gary quickly explained before heading along the street towards some nearby market stalls. While I knew that I would need to purchase supplies before leaving on my first mission, I wasn’t expecting that I’d have to carry that much. I didn’t want to fall behind so I quickly followed a couple of steps behind Gary while I tried to take in the sights. I had never even left the city gates of Brightswell city before then. After a short walk, we arrived at a bustling market and entered a large stall selling provisions.
“Good afternoon, adventurers. Are you looking to make your way to the Bloodfields? I have pre-made ration packs that are easy to pack and last 15 days. ” The gray-haired shopkeeper spoke up cheerfully and with a small bow as we walked into the large awning. “The price is just 1 silver 50 copper, coming to just 10 copper a day. I assure you all, the cheapest you will find in Gorok for experienced adventurers like yourselves.” he finished off his speech with a smile. I winced as I heard the price. My parents were able to send me off with three silver for my expenses before I left. My hope of buying some better gear to take with me would have to wait for the future. We all paid the shopkeeper and stored the tightly wrapped packs of rations into our bags after a short discussion.
“All right, we’ll be heading straight out the east gate of the city. It looks like there are about four hours of daylight left and I’d like to make some progress before we stop to camp for the night,” Gary said after we all finished buying rations. I nodded along with the rest of the group and followed Gary as he led us towards the gates. As we walked I thought about how expensive the rations were. Unless we were able to secure a dungeon core on our first expedition as newly awakened it would be difficult to save any money. I had another silver and 50 copper left, so even if this trip didn’t go as planned, I would still be able to afford another two weeks’ worth of rations. I quickly found myself realizing life was going to be harder than I expected for a while.
Outside of the city, we found ourselves walking along a dirt road wide enough for a few wagons to ride side by side. The road stretched due east, with only dirt and sparse grass scattered along the horizon.
“What’s up? Not the grand adventure you were expecting this morning?” Aaron asked after he noticed the expression on my face. Despite his slightly condescending tone, I decided to let it go and answer his question regardless.
“I just didn’t expect to spend so much money right away. If we don’t manage to defeat a dungeon we won’t even make any money. I’d always heard adventurers were rich.” I explained with a worried expression. Zack walked over and started to match my pace along my other side after I finished talking.
“The successful adventurers are all rich, that’s for sure. The truth is almost all newly awakened who aren’t nobility die before they manage to level. Adventurers improve quickly, but only if they manage to survive long enough.” Gary said from where he was walking in front of us. “My brother told me that he almost didn’t recognize himself after his first expedition. Skills all advance quickly during combat, and if we do well we could reach level two from this trip alone.” I had heard that before from my father, but it was good to hear it confirmed. I decided to pull up my skill screen to see if there had been any change in it from the two times I had used barkskin so far.
Level 1 Druid
Barkskin - Level 1\10 - Upgradeable
Experience - 5\100
Interestingly, it looks like I had earned 5 experience from my two casts of barkskin. Maybe I got more experience from the first cast on myself since I left it applied for a longer period, or I got more for my second one for casting it on someone else. I hadn’t realized that I would be able to level up my skills just from training. The two days of walking that I had ahead of me suddenly didn’t seem like such a waste of time at all.
“Barkskin” I cast on myself as we walked, feeling my skin tighten and harden over a second. I focused on how full my core felt before and after I finished. I could manage three more casts before I ran out of energy.
“Can you cast that on me again? I’d like to get used to how it feels, especially since I’ll be fighting with it on,” Zack asked as he noticed me using the spell on myself.
“Of course, I should have thought of that myself.” I quickly cast the spell one at a time on each of my team members, stopping before Gary with a grimace. “I can’t do the fifth just yet, I think four casts is my limit for now,” I explained to his questioning look, a bit disappointed in myself. As far as I’m aware I can’t grow the essence in my core without leveling up, although maybe with practice it could grow.
“Not bad. Even being able to buff four people is impressive at level 1. Have you been Awakened for long?” Gary asked as we continued along the road, with the sun getting closer to the horizon in the distance. My legs were beginning to get tired and I felt worn out from the long day.
“Not at all,” I laughed, “I just awakened today. What about yourself?” I asked.
“Yeah, I awakened this morning as well,” Gary said back with a grin. “I think I’ve looked at my status screen a hundred times since I took my class.”
By the time Gary led us off the road and towards a group of trees in the distance my legs and back were incredibly tired and sore. The five of us worked together to quickly set up our tents and start a fire before we pulled out one of the large bags of dried rice and beans to heat up for a meal. I looked at the bags of rations and realized I had no idea how to turn anything into a proper meal.
“Seriously? Do none of you know how to cook?” Gabrielle said in a huff, looking at each of us staring uncomfortably at our bagged supplies. I felt my face heat up in embarrassment as I glanced at her. “Don’t worry, unlike the rest of you, I know how to prepare a meal on a campfire. My father is a hunter outside Brightswell, and I’ve gone out with him a few times so he could show me how to survive in the wilderness after I joined the Guild.” Gabrielle said with some pride. She began preparing a large meal of rice and beans in a couple of our pots.
“Thanks,” I said after grabbing a bowl filled with steaming rice and beans from Gabrielle a few minutes later. The sun was finally setting, leaving me momentarily dumbstruck as I stared at the deep purple skies covering the horizon. After a second I noticed Gabrielle looking at me standing in front of her still with a raised eyebrow as she waited for me to move so she could hand Aaron his bowl. I jerked forward as I realized where I was and mumbled something that sounded like a sorry as I walked back over to where I had been sitting near the fire. I quickly ate the bowl of food and found myself struggling to keep my eyes open. I sleepily washed up my bowl with some water from one of the two large jugs I’d brought from home and then pulled myself into my small tent and immediately fell asleep.
I woke with the sunrise and winced at the soreness in my legs, arms, and back. My parents had told me that even though they were unawakened they had increased their statistics with hard work, so I wasn’t too annoyed by the feeling. Before I got out of my tent I decided to check my skill page, wanting to see how much experience I’d received from casting Barkskin as we hiked yesterday.
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Level 1 Druid
Barkskin - Level 1\10 Upgradeable
Experience - 35\100
I grinned in appreciation once I saw the experience I earned from yesterday’s training along the road. We hiked for about six hours before camping for the night, and I had cast barkskin on each member of the team multiple times as my essence recovered. It took me about forty minutes to recover fully after I cast four Barkskins in a row. I pulled up my Statistic page with a thought.
Eli - Lvl 1 Druid
Strength-3
Dexterity-3
Perception-2
Vitality-4
Spirit-4
Willpower-3
My parents had given me some lessons on how our statistics worked before I unlocked my Status so I knew that a higher Spirit allowed you to hold more essence in your core. If I leveled my willpower I would be able to recover my essence faster. Although I wasn't able to increase my Essense-related stats before I unlocked my status, I had done exercises in my parents' yard to train my physical stats for the past few years. My father often bragged about the 8 Dexterity that he earned over his years working as a tailor. After quickly putting my boots back on, I pulled my way out of my tent and looked around. Despite the early hour, everyone besides Aaron was already out of their tents getting prepared for the day. With a quick nod to the others, I started pulling my tent apart and carefully packing it back at the bottom of my pack. I looked over to see Gary starting another campfire to prepare breakfast. I dropped my pack next to the fire and asked Gary if I could cast barkskin on him again. I wanted to see how much progress I would gain in Barkskin today if I cast it as much as possible. I also thought emptying my core of essence repeatedly might help to increase my Spirit and Willpower as well.
“Hey Gary, good morning. Do you mind if I cast my spell on you again? I’m going to try to train as much as possible today.” I asked after he finished lighting the campfire.
“Morning, Eli. That’s fine with me.” Gary said as he sat down on his pack a few feet away from me. The rest of the team was slowly heading over to the campfire once they finished packing up.
“Barkskin” I cast my skill with a brief second of focus, feeling as if it was slightly easier than yesterday. Gary stretched his arms and hands briefly, clearly trying to get familiar with the feeling again. “Do you know if we’ll reach the Bloodfields today?” I asked as Zack took a seat beside us.
“We should arrive tonight, and then tomorrow morning we will slowly and carefully make our way into the fields while we search for a young dungeon,” he replied seriously.
“Morning Zack, I’m going to be casting Barkskin on you guys throughout the day again. Ready?” I asked.
“Morning Eli! Hit me with it!” Zack cheerfully replied. I cast the spell on him, then Aaron and Gabrielle who had just walked up and heard me ask Zack. Gabrielle prepared the team another breakfast of rice and beans that tasted exactly like the previous night. After throwing on our packs and walking a short distance we found ourselves back on the wide road stretching towards the bloodfields. I found myself walking next to Zack and since we’re all on the same adventuring team I realized it would be important to know each other's capabilities.
“So what skill did you unlock when you Awakened?” I questioned him. Zack walked next to me with a large canvas pack with a rectangular wooden shield attached to one side, and a metal mace on the other. Despite all the weight on his back, he didn’t look like he was struggling at all as we walked along the path.
“Vigor. It’s a passive skill that increases my strength and vitality, with the option to activate it for 30 seconds and double the boost. If I use the active portion of the skill I lose the passive buff for the next two hours. Pretty good, right?” Zack said back.
“That sounds fairly useful,” Aaron said from just in front of us. “My skill is called Drill Shot and it increases the strength and the penetrating ability of my arrows. I can use it about three times before running out of Essence.” That’s good to hear, I was worried we didn’t have any powerful ranged abilities for now, but that made me feel better about not unlocking Thorn Bolt.
“I can use Fireball six times before running out of Essence,” Gabrielle stated with a grin before she focused and looked to the side of the road.
“Fireball,” she said while holding her arm out in front of her. As soon as she finished speaking a ball of dense-looking flames about a foot in diameter grew in front of her before it shot out and impacted a bush 20 meters away from us. After it hit the bush the flames spread a little bit around, but there wasn’t any noticeable explosion.
“Wow. That was bloody awesome.” Gary said after the whole team watched Gabrielle cast her skill. “It doesn’t seem very impressive now, but my skill is called Charge. It’s probably better to just show you.” Gary said before he dropped his pack and gripped his spear with both hands.
“Charge,” he said before a cloud of dust appeared where he was standing and he moved in a blur about twenty paces with his spear held out in a thrust. After we walked up the road to catch up he continued, “I can use it about twice with my Essence reserves right now, and that’s the furthest distance I can go. With me and Zack holding our front line, Gabrielle and Aaron providing our long-range damage, and Eli buffing us we have a pretty impressive team for just a group of newly Awakened.”
“I’m looking forward to getting my second ability or a weapon, I don’t want to just stand around and watch while the rest of you fight everything for me,” I responded with some discomfort. I’d never spent any time learning any weapons skills while I grew up, so I hadn’t planned on using one unless it went with the class I chose.
“From what my brother told me, the goblins that infest the Bloodfields fairly commonly have bronze weaponry, so maybe we can grab you something to use soon after we arrive,” Gary said. From there each of us focused on our thoughts and hiking down the dirt path. I cast Barkskin constantly on the rest of my team every time my Essence started to feel almost full and by midday, I felt that I’d cast it about as many times as the entire day yesterday. I pulled up my Skills screen with a thought.
Level 1 Druid
Barkskin - Level 1\10 Upgradeable
Experience - 74\100
It looked like I should easily be able to reach the second level of my skill by the time we stopped for the night. I don’t have much information on what happened to skills as you leveled them other than hopefully an increase in strength. I assumed that I could upgrade the skill once it reached level 10, although it’s probably by spending another skill point on it. I felt myself growing hungry, but by the other’s expressions, no one wanted to stop to make a campfire and cook a meal before we reached the Bloodfields. Another few hours quickly passed and in the distance, I could see what looked like large red trees covering the horizon a few kilometers away. As we got closer I could see dozens of tents arranged in separate camps all along the edge of the Bloodfields.
“Looks like a lot of adventuring groups are camped on the outskirts of the Bloodfields, maybe we can get some information before tomorrow,” I said to the group as we reached the end of the road. There were about 200 meters between the end of the road and the sparse dark red forest in front of us that continued into the distance.
“Yeah, I think most groups just venture in for the day and always came back out on the edge of the fields. Let’s go set up our camp and eat before we go around asking anyone for information.” Gary replied while he led us to an empty area a good bit away from the other groups. We quickly set up camp and ate, all of us looking forward to talking to another team and getting some more information about what to expect. After cleaning up Zack and I walked over to a group camped closer to the road, while the rest of the group went to talk to another group in the opposite direction. As we walked up I studied each of the adventurers in the group we were approaching. Of the four members, one had a large double-headed ax with a large frame to support swinging it, another had an odd-looking staff with a slightly glowing stone on the tip, and the other remaining two had large bows. It seemed like a fairly unbalanced group, and they were all newly awakened. Bandages peaked out from under their ripped clothes and sparse leather armor.
“Good evening. My team just arrived at the Bloodfields and we were hoping you could provide us some information or tips before we enter tomorrow.” I said as we arrived. The four were all sitting in a small circle around a low-burning fire without any of them talking before we got there. The heavily built boy who sat with the large ax sitting balanced in his lap met my eyes as I talked, and I saw the pain in his expression.
“Yeah, all right. We went in this morning, headed straight in, and killed all the stinkin ‘gobs we found, no problem.” the boy spat on the ground, shaking his head. “For the first few hours, we only found maybe 2, 3 ‘gobs at a time. We figured we were gettin close to a dungeon, the groups started gettin bigger, one of them had a warg. Tough bastard, half the reason I got these bandages covering my arms.” he stopped for a second to lift his bandage-covered arms and chuckle morbidly for a moment.
“We kept pushing on, the five of us, not lettin a couple of tough fights and a warg stop us after we were nearly at a dungeon. We shoulda turned back there, it seems so obvious now, but we didn’t. Another few minutes pushin through the trees and we found a clearing with a small goblin camp, obviously protectin the entrance to their dungeon. Well, no point sayin anymore, there were too many ‘gobs in that camp, way more than we could handle. Brandon died fast, swarmed by the damn things, the rest of us barely made it out. Luckily we didn’t see any ‘gobs on our way out, not sure the rest of us would have made it.” he finished talking with a sigh. The rest of his group didn’t speak up, most of them continued staring dejectedly at the fire while the last quietly said good luck. Zack thanked the boy before we slowly walked back to our camp, both of us showing troubled expressions on our faces.
“Damn, that sounds much more difficult than I expected. I don’t think we have any chance of taking on a dungeon, we should probably just focus on the smaller groups of goblins for a few days.” Zack said with a serious look on his face. I nodded quickly in agreement, only worried about how many coins I’d be able to make from just killing goblins.
“Yeah. We might be a little better prepared to fight goblins than that group, but fighting an entire camp? No way, not while we’re all still level one at least.” I said back. I needed to level as fast as I could before the hordes, but that didn’t mean I should push too fast. Survival would be my number one priority, advancing in level would be my second. Zack and I sat in our camp while we waited for the rest of the group to show up, both of us lost in our thoughts after listening to the other team. A few minutes later they arrived back at our camp, all three of them showing serious and slightly fearful expressions.
“From what you two look like I assume you got pretty similar information as us,” Gary said as Gabrielle, Aaron and he sat on their packs next to us. “The group we spoke to has been here for three days, each day they push into the fields towards a dungeon they located on their second day when two people in their group died pushing to clear the entrance. They combined with a second team to bring their numbers back to five today and focused on killing the small patrols of goblins and the occasional warg. Unless any of you have a better plan I think we should spend a few days focused on killing the patrols like that team to work on our skills as well as our teamwork while fighting.” Gary finished speaking and all of us nodded our heads in agreement. None of us wanted to push our luck and end up like the rest of these teams losing one or more people on our first trip out here. We all decided to get to sleep early so we could get an early start tomorrow. As I laid down in my tent I brought up my Skill screen with a thought.
Level 1 Druid
Barkskin - Level 1\10 Upgradeable
Experience - 97\100
I woke up feeling a little bit less sore than yesterday and I quickly left my tent to see that I was the last one up. I spent a couple of minutes packing up my tent before I sat next to Aaron with a quiet good morning. My eyes lit up, I felt suddenly awake as I realized how close I was to reaching level 2 Barkskin. I cast the spell on myself and then Aaron next to me before a message appeared in front of me.
Level 2 Barkskin reached!
I thought about the formation of Essence I use to cast the skill and realized it had changed slightly. I quickly dispelled my previous casts and used it on myself again, noticing that it took about 10% less Essence than before. I couldn’t tell if it was improved in any other way, but I realized with a grin that I could most likely cast it five times in a row with full Essence.
“I leveled my Barkskin ability, and I think I can use it five times with full Essence now. I don’t know if it’s increased in strength at all, but from what I’ve heard it should have.” I said to the others as Gabrielle handed out our usual bowls of rice and beans to the team. I looked at the meal without excitement, I already felt bored with the rations.
“Great! Good work, Eli. Make sure to save the rest of your Essence for now, after we eat we’ll be filling our waters at the well and heading inside.” Gary said over his bowl. The rest of the team congratulated me, only Aaron saying his skill was at level 2 as well. We quickly finished eating and cleaned our bowls before packing them away and walking towards the well at the edge of the road. We filled our water jugs and quickly arrived at the entrance to the Bloodfields. It was a sharp contrast between the dusty dirt and scattered tree-covered land we were coming from to the dark red forest in front of us. I felt some nervousness when I stopped next to Gabrielle, looking up at the tall trees and vines covering the fields.