The exit through Belacre was not as silent as Meera had expected. After she told Eppie who she was, he must have spread the news last night. As the celebrations came to a close, she saw a line of people coming to the inn. At first, she thought all those people were staying in the inn, but by morning, she saw that nearly the entire village of Belacre and a few others from other villages camped outside the main doors.
She slowly crept outside her room and peered down the stairs. She heard Lanis barking at someone to get out and that if Meera wanted to meet with them, she'd meet with them outside.
Meera definitely did not want to meet with them. It wasn't that she feared crowds, but she did fear this one, for she didn't know what they wanted of her. She ducked back inside and stuffed her things into her bag, which weren't many. She dropped a silver coin on the table as Eppie's tip for being nice to her last night.
Then slowly stepped out of her room and made for the window at the end of the hall. She peered out the window, and no one was lurking down this way. She hefted her pack on her back and let Climbing do its magic. She jumped over the window, and through various timed jumps, she got to the street in no time.
Meera confirmed no one was coming after her. Then she took the long way around to the main street while keeping her head down. At one point, someone thought they saw her. She jumped over a house fence and hid among the clothes on a clothesline.
Most of the clothes were just regular clothes, but one stood out amongst the rest. It was a black cloak of super soft material that seemed to drink in the light. She used Identify on it.
[Traveling Cloak – Fine Quality]
My class does have a Stealer in it. I'm sorry, whosever this is.
She yanked the cloak off the line and put it on. It went around her shoulders to cover her completely, and it even had a hood. She pulled the hood on and jumped over the fence after making sure the street was empty.
The hood limited her vision a little, but it also prevented anyone else from seeing her. A perfect cloak for an assassin. She was sure she could get better cloaks in a big city, but for now, she had to make do with what she had.
She moved down the road, and although she got double takes, no one recognized her. She left the village of Belacre behind and was onto the main road in no time. She smiled. Oh, I think I'm going to enjoy being an assassin.
The walk to Ebonton was even more boring than she had thought. There was hardly anyone on the road. The road was nothing more than a well-traveled patch of dirt that did not have grass growing on it. That was it. The day turned to afternoon, and she stopped to eat some berries she had picked along the way. If not for the crowd outside the inn, she would have asked for a meal or two for the road.
Still, her stomach growled, but with no option, she kept on moving. She swore if she could earn skills, she would have earned the Resistance to Hunger or the Walking skill for sure by now.
But regardless, she moved on down the road, whistling a sad tune. Overhead, the afternoon had turned to night when she decided to call it a day. Farms had fallen behind, and a forest grew on both sides of the road, or at least woods did. Not as dense as Rothedon's Forest, neither as tall, but it was a good place to rest her head.
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She was about to move for this tree when she saw a rabbit hop out from around a tree trunk and in plain view of her. She licked her lips and slowly took off her chakram. Activated Eagle Eye and let her chakram fly. The rabbit tilted its head and was about to jump when the chakram took its head off.
*ding!*
[You have killed a Black Hare – Level 2]
*ding!*
[Class Ability Activated. You have stolen the skill Nimble Ears. Nimble Ears – Type: Passive. Your ears will pick up even the faintest sounds and warn you of approaching danger or hidden enemies. Would you like to acquire this skill?]
Meera just stared at the notification for a moment. That was perhaps one of the best skills she had gotten, and she got it from a rabbit. Are you kidding me? She, of course, accepted the skill.
[You have acquired the skill Nimble Ears – Level 1]
She turned off Eagle Eyes and activated her new skill right away, expecting a bombardment of sounds, but it was more of a crispness of sounds as if every sound got sharper. She could hear the bird cooing that she couldn't before. She could also hear something hopping on leaves past these trees. She figured these to be more rabbits or squirrels.
She smiled. With this and Eagle Eye, there is nothing I cannot hunt.
She went to the rabbit, drained its blood, skinned it, and stored the skin. Everything was taught to her by the brothers. They had taught her more than just how to improve her skills. They had effectively taught her how to survive in this world.
She started a fire—another skill she did not have—and cooked her rabbit over an open flame. It was stringy meat but tasted like chicken. Meera regretted not stealing some salt from the inn, but still, it was better than berries, and in no time, the rabbit vanished into the gaping pit that was her stomach.
After the meal, she was about to roll out her sleeping bag when she heard a howl in the distance. It was quite far away, so she knew she should be safe but decided to check anyways. After all, she had a new skill just for this occasion.
She activated Nimble Ears and almost shit her pants. Not only did she hear the howl up close, but she heard the crashing of padded feet on the ground littered with wet leaves. A few moments later, she could even hear the panting of the wolves.
With no other option, she scurried up the tree to rest on one of its branches. A moment later, the wolves jumped out of the underbrush into her small campsite. There were three of them as far as she could see. She used Identify on them.
[Gray wolf – Level 10]
[Gray wolf – Level 10]
[Gray wolf – Level 12]
For a moment, she panicked before remembering she was at a much higher level than them. She took off two chakrams and easily killed the two lower leveled ones. The last one ran for the bushes, but it didn't get a chance to get far. She killed it by splaying its side open and spilling its guts.
She called the chakrams back and simply stared as the wolves lay dead below her and how easy it was, then she began laughing at the realization that she was not so helpless anymore. She jumped down from the tree as the notification bells went off, but she put a stop to them. She would look at them later. She went to inspect the wolves. If she could get their meat, she could eat for days without worrying about going hungry, aside from the meat going bad.
Just as she had checked on the first wolf, four more jumped up from the bushes, and Meera's blood ran cold. Why did I turn off Nimble Ears?
She slowly straightened. Three wolves were more or less like the Gray wolves she had killed, but one was bigger and had a brownish coat. She used Identify on him.
[Pack Leader – Level 20]
Meera pulled off her chakram without care, held it in her fist, and charged the beast. The wolf barked and lunged for her. Using Monkey Fist and her chakram, she ripped off the lower jaw of the Pack Leader. The beast buckled and howled so badly that she ripped his throat open to put him out of his misery.
If the other three wolves could widen their eyes, they would've, but instead, they tucked their tail and ran.
Meera cracked her knuckles. I guess the hunt begins.