After exiting through the southern gate, Owen took in his surroundings. It looked like the path he took from the western side except reversed. With grassland and sparse trees on the left and a forest to his right, Owen continued down the road. The sun appeared directly overhead, so he assumed he had a few hours at least. Stepping off the road and into the grassy area, Owen drew his sword and tried going through some motions. The pack didn’t seem to throw off his attacks, but Owen still seemed concerned. “While it can protect me with the extra padding, what if something grabs it or snags on something.” Owen decided that while it was possible, he didn’t want to take that chance. Storing his backpack, he saw it appear in his Inventory as a “Medium Pack.” Re-summoning it to double-check its contents and disable the light show it produced, Owen felt confident storing it away for the most part. Happy with his decision, Owen made a few more honest attempts at using both a sword and shield; after fifteen minutes, a notification appeared.
Skill gained: Basic Shield Mastery
Happy that his impromptu training had paid off, Owen continued to walk out into the grasslands with his eye on his mini-map.
“You know, I really should have hummed ‘Eye of the Tiger’ or something while doing that. Besides ass’ing around, I need to figure out life here. Like, cool, I got a job killing some monsters, but then what. What the hell am I supposed to do here? Calm down, Owen,” he chided himself, “Basics first. I have something to trade. I have a job that provides shelter, with an income to get food. I need to learn the local customs, which means learning the languages and culture of this area. I wonder if Murphy can help with that? He mentioned it was mandatory for promotion, so they must know something.” While Owen continued to think aloud, his awareness never waned because as soon as three red blips appeared on his Map, he was ready. Looking over in the direction, Owen could see three of the Gobbo creatures running towards him at full speed. Like the ones he saw earlier in the day, these were also unarmed, and a quick Inspect told him the rest.
Gobbo | Level 3 Gobbo | Level 3 Gobbo | Level 4
Confirming his thought, Owen positioned himself behind his shield as best he could with his blade held forward.
“Man, I need to look into some kinda ranged options. This world has magic, right? I need to get me some Fireballs or something.” He muttered as the Gobbo’s drew ever closer while he watched them with a critical eye. They displayed no tactics as they all seemed to leap for him simultaneously. Jumping to the left, he could dodge the furthest attacks while blocking the closest with his shield. Once he landed and had solid footing, Owen struck back, stabbing through the closest one’s skull. Dismissing the kill notification, he continued the counterattack until all three were dead.
Combat Exp gained 60. Rewards: F-Grade Mana Stones x3 Skill increase: Basic Swordsmanship. Skill increase: Basic Shield Mastery. User’s stats have increased. User has one Attribute point to distribute.
Putting that free point in Luck, Owen brought up his Status screen.
STATUS Inventory Armory Other Name: Owen Grest Class: Marine Species: Human Level: 3 EXP: 39/195 Health : 287/327 Stamina : 278/317 Mana: 116/146 Stats Strength: 21 Endurance: 18 Dexterity: 17 Vigor: 17 Intelligence: 12 Focus: 12 Faith: 11 Luck 4 Attribute Points: 0 Skill Points: 0 Skills Basic Swordsmanship IV Heavy Slash II Summon Weapon II Double Strike II Basic Inspection I Sneak II Assassinate I Fear Resistance II Eagle Eye II Basic Shield Mastery II Font of Wisdom Dae’s Gift Unyielding
“Oh shit, all my stats really did go up. Alright, farm just a bit more.” After slaughtering his way through four other packs, Owen was getting close to another level. He had ranged from out in the grassy nolls into the forest itself. He kept going until he noticed the sun was beginning to dip into the horizon. “Shit, alright, got time for one more pack before I need to head back.” Looking over to his Map as he wandered back to the path, he froze. Six red dots were showing up on the far end of it. “Six, there’s never been six before; it’s just been three or four today.” Curious, he began to make his way towards the monster’s location. On the way, he made a mental note: I’ve definitely gone further than 100 yards. Does that mean my Map has expanded since yesterday? Is this related to all my stats going up? As he ranged closer towards the enemy, Owen began to slow down and be careful about his footing.
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Taking it slow and remaining behind cover whenever possible, he stalked forward. As he crept closer, he began to hear strange sounds coming from a clearing up ahead. Checking his Map, he estimated that was where this group was. Dismissing his sword and shield, Owen laid flat on his belly and crawled forward. Upon reaching a bush near the clearing, Owen could finally see what produced the strange noises. Inside the clearing were six Gobbo’s, but they were acting weird. Two of them were sitting near a fire roasting some type of animal. Three others were fighting each other, with one of them just watching. Just then, one of the fighters managed to pierce another’s neck. The wounded one fell while the other two swarmed it; in a puff of black mist, the Gobbo was gone. The two remaining fighters backed off while the onlooker walked over and claimed the mana stone before returning to its spot. Owen then noticed at its feet was a small pile of mana stones. Curious Owen used Inspect on the Gobbo.
Gobbo Warrior | Level 5
Class: Warrior Species: Gobbo Level: 5 EXP: 40 Stats Strength: 7 Endurance: 4 Dexterity: 3 Vigor: 3 Intelligence: 2 Focus: 1
Taking in a deep breath, Owen inspected the remaining enemies.
Gobbo Warrior | Level 5 Gobbo Warrior | Level 5 Gobbo | Level 4 Gobbo | Level 4
Shit, it seems at level five, they get some kinda intelligence, is that what they are trying to do. Make the weaker ones fight and force level them. Owen’s thoughts were threatening to run rampant until he calmed himself. It’s fine. They are literally killing themselves. Just let that happen, then ambush the survivors. You’ve killed level five’s before; this is nothing new.
With that thought, a new box appeared in his vision.
Summon Weapon has finished its upgrade. A new weapon form is available for the User; the new form is M1911.
Owen stared at the box for a few seconds, dumbstruck by what he read. Backing up as quietly as possible, Owen hid behind a tree before pulling up his skill.
Summon Weapon* ( II ): Summons a mana-forged weapon scaling with the User’s level. The User may manipulate its form into any of the available forms. Cost 10 Mana. Current available forms: Ka-BAR | Iron Short sword | M1911
Owen’s breathing quickened as he summoned the weapon; feeling the mana pull, he guided it as he remembered his trusty sidearm. Opening his eyes, he looked down and inspected his weapon.
Mana-Weapon: A weapon summoned from the User’s soul, this form allows the User to fire mana projectiles. Mana cost 20 per projectile.
Grinning like a madman, Owen muttered under his breath, “Fuck yea, ok, 20 mana, so I got five shots safely. I got this.” Getting back on the ground, Owen crawled back near the opening. Upon reaching it, he noted that there were only four Gobbo’s this time, and a quick Inspect confirmed why.
Gobbo Warrior | Level 5
Noticing that the other three Gobbo’s had their backs turned on the new Warrior, Owen took aim. Steading his breath, he slowly squeezed the trigger. With nothing more than some slight recoil and a flash of blue light, the new warrior was down. Dissolving into black mist, one of the Warriors turned its head and made strange sounds before walking over to where its mana stone lay. Bending down and picking the stone up, the Gobbo made more noise as the other two seemed to be cackling. Once again, Owen squeezed the trigger, and another Gobbo was down. The strange cackling stopped as the other two Gobbos grabbed their crude weapons and walked forward on alert. Squeezing off another round, Owen was down to the last one, but he must have given away his position as the creature looked in his direction and hefted its weapon as if to throw it. Sighting in on the last target, Owen fired off a controlled pair, with the weapon and creature falling to the ground together. A slight headache was building as Owen checked his Map for potential ambushes before moving. With no red markers in site, Owen got up while checking his mana.
“Shit, 24 mana left. I cut it real fucking close there. Time to loot and get a beer when I get back.”