Smiling at his determination, the Captain revealed what she knew about the rumors surrounding the lord.
“There have been multiple reports, from various sources, that villages would just disappear. Once cycle, they were there; the next, nothing. Checking against the local records has no results. The Merchants don’t tend to use the same route, so they are unreliable. The worst part is anyone who says they knew someone from that village or is a survivor gets sent straight to labor in the Dungeon until they die. The fact that we reported a destroyed village, then the next day, his lackeys just so happen to catch you as they left the city. A Knight and Cleric have no need to leave the city, so they are heading to Grest to begin whatever their scheme is. You sound like you have familiarity with the military, Owen; you are aware of what reconnaissance is, correct?”
“Yes Captain.”
“Good, go to Grest. Find out what they are up to. Once you think you have a good idea, ensure only you return from the village. Understood Private.”
“Yes, Sir,” Owen responded while saluting once more. Seeing him salute again the Captain began to laugh as she got up from her desk. Confused Owen watched as she walked over to him. Grabbing his right hand, she moved it over to his sternum, then had him fold his fingers flat, perpendicular to his chest.
“There you go Grest, a proper salute for the people of this region. We’ll talk more once you return, but speed is important, so get going.”
“Yes Captain,” Owen said before he turned and left the room. As he made his way downstairs, he heard Todd call out to him. Turning, he quickly responded, “Sorry, Todd, I’ll be back later, okay. Kinda busy.” He didn’t see anyone else in the Hall as he reached the doors. Trying to make his way as fast as he could without drawing too much attention, he made his way back out the Western gate. Once he made it further down the path, he began to jog. He knew that whatever they were doing, they wouldn’t want to be caught, so once the woods got close enough, he entered into them. Keeping the path in sight he made his way through the woods until he noticed seven enemies appearing on his Map. As he neared them he saw it was instead six Gobbo’s surrounding one of the flint deer. They cackled as they dove their tiny claws into the creature, too focused on it to notice as Owen stored his sword and shield, opting to use his new axe. As he summoned it with a flash of light, he swung with all his force, trying to imitate a baseball player. With no resistance the edge cleaved through three creatures and left a deep gouge in the deer’s flank. Using that chaos the deer gored one of the Gobbo’s as Owen reversed his swing to hit the rest of the monsters. Not bothering to finish the heavily injured deer, Owen continued on his way to the village while dismissing his notifications.
Combat Exp gained 130. Rewards: F-Grade Mana Stones x7 Skill gained: Basic Axemanship Skill increase: Sneak Skill increase: Shadow Step Skill increase: Assassinate
After finishing off another pack of Gobbo’s Owen could finally see the outline of the village appear in his Map. Slowing down, he opened his Map, and he could see two gray dots near the entrance to the village. Making his way along the tree line he kept his eye on the dots until they turned and moved to the far side. Taking the chance Owen did a low run as he made his way to the ditch surrounding the village. From there, he slipped in using the damaged wall, doing his best to be quiet. Hiding behind one of the homes, he noticed they hadn't moved from their spot. Wait, isn’t that where I buried everyone? He thought as he made his way across the central street. Ducking into the house he initially hid in he could hear the men speaking just beyond the wall.
“What, you really think they would bother burying all these people with their valuables.” The voice of the Knight rung out in frustration.
“Yes you fool. My Skill is telling me they have coin. Since you want it so badly, why don’t you find a shovel so we can take it.”
“You better not be deceiving me, Wallow, or I swear to Isaeckac, I will cut you down,” Ashtian swore as he left to start looking for a shovel. Now that they were isolated, Owen knew it was the best time to strike. While waiting for the Knight to be far away, Owen snuck out of the house and summoned his sword. Creeping up on the Cleric, Owen thought about using Heavy Slash. Once he felt the mana begin to pull, he helped it along as he imagined it coating the edges of his blade. Coming up behind the Cleric Owen heard him mumbling to himself. Pausing, Owen instead pushed himself against the side of the building as he eavesdropped.
“There are no signs of survivors,” The cleric said, speaking into a strange object, “The number of graves matches the list we got from the registry.” A static voice was heard replying, but straining his ear, Owen couldn't make it out. “Yes, I would agree the Mercenary must have buried them. So either they're smart and stay in their place, or we’ll gain some new playthings. Either way, I’m running low on mana, so that’s all.” More static was heard before everything went silent. Taking his chance while he still could Owen pushed himself off the wall and walked over to the man.
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“Ah, Ashtian, did you finally find a?” The cleric was cut off as Owen’s hand slammed over his mouth and his blade through his heart. The man attempted to thrash, but having almost twice his strength, Owen held him firmly in place. A few moments later, Owen got a notification.
Cleric | Level 18 Slain
Storing his blade, Owen grabbed the man and carried him into the house he was just in. Setting him on the floor, leaning against the far wall, but facing the doorway, Owen stood up as he heard a voice call out.
“Wallow, where in oblivion are you!” His partner called out; looking around the small house, Owen reached out and tipped over the nearby table. Summoning his pistol he took aim at the doorway.
“What the hell are you doing just standing there.” But before Ashtian could process that the man standing there, was not Wallow, Owen pulled the trigger. The round struck him in the head and exploded out the back, with the Knights corpse crumpling on the spot. Taking a deep breath, Owen began going through the Clerics belongings until he found the strange object from before.
Sending Stone: Allows the User to transmit their voice to a paired stone using mana. Mana cost 1 per second.
Pocketing the stone, he then turned his attention to the Knight. The only thing he found was a hefty sack of coins. Loosening the string, he tossed it near the feet of the dead Cleric. Done with them he then stepped around the pooling liquids, exiting the home. Making his way into the tree’s, Owen leaned on one of them for support as he tried to control his breathing. As he took deep breaths, Owen went through his notifications.
Skill increase: Assassinate Skill evolved: Mana Edge Achievement gained: Shadow’s Embrace Combat Exp gained 440. The User has Leveled Up. The User has one Skill point available.
Having finally gotten his breathing under control, Owen began to walk further along the woods as he examined his new Skills and Achievements.
Basic Axemanship ( I ): Aids the User with most axe weapon attacks and movements. Slight increase in Damage dealt with any bladed weapon.
Mana Edge* ( I ): Evolved from Heavy Slash. Coat’s the edge of any weapon with mana to increase durability and cutting power. Cost 15 Mana.
Achievement: Shadow’s Embrace – Successfully assassinate a target designated by another. Prerequisite ~ Assassin. Increases DEX and FOC by 2.
“Good to know Skills can evolve before they hit the max, just like my sneak attack did. Is that just part of ARMS? It's just another thing I can do, apparently. Speaking of things for me,” Owen said as he brought up his show and confirmed his purchase of the Deployable F.O.B Skill.
Deployable F.O.B ( I ): Using Primordial magic, create a simple, defensible structure. Contains amenities and provisions for four individuals. Cost 200 Mana.
STATUS Inventory Armory Other Name: Owen Grest Class: Marine Species: Human Level: 8 EXP: 245/600 Health : 418/418 Stamina : 370/418 Mana: 236/285 Stats Strength: 23 Endurance: 20 Dexterity: 20 Vigor: 20 Intelligence: 14 Focus: 17 Faith: 12 Luck 6
Without looking back at the village Owen continued further into the woods. “ I’ll cut through the woods and enter the town through the south gate. Maybe I’ll try out my new Skill if I get the chance. No more running from my guilt; I must change to make them proud.”