Taking my leave early in the morning before the town was active reminded me of my early days at the mine. I prepped my pack in the mess hall, adding enough supplies for a week out. My quiver would hold 20 arrows and Rocks had crafted me a separate wooden tube that would hold another 20 and keep them secured to my pack. 10 major health potions clanked around as I shifted items to make more space. I added two hallowed light potions and a new lantern that Arthur had given me to hold them. It felt surreal to have access to so many supplies in contrast to my early days alone.

Rian and Ryen were on guard up in the outpost tonight. The brothers would have to pull extra shifts alongside the other guards until I returned. I traded goodbyes and let them know the general route I would be taking. Most of the residents of Burch didn’t have access to a map skill like my natural explorer. They could use and view traditional maps that could be updated by someone with a map skill. All of the town guards however were granted a map of the town’s borders.

Harvesting more marten flowers, the crucial ingredient to major health potions, would take ranging to the deeper forest. The ones nearby had already been harvested and took time to grow. Arthur had plans for a garden to grow the precious resource inside the wall he wanted to build around the clearing.

A loud chirp from my shoulder marked the beginning of the journey as I took off towards the unexplored area of the map with the most resource markers. Once I was in range of the resources my natural explorer skill would change the mark if it was known. This trip was mostly to harvest the marten flowers but anything that could be useful would be gathered as well. There were plans to make contact with other towns that bordered the forest for open trade options.

My pack was strapped to my back in a clever way designed by Rocks to allow me to run at a steady pace without it flopping around. This allowed me to make great time as my enhanced stamina and strength gave me a tremendous amount of energy and my agility kept me from tripping. The differences in my stats as compared to the others at the mine had become evident over the weeks. I was the strongest, fastest and needed by far the least rest of the residents, even Arthur who was a career soldier and blacksmith.

Arthur had known the maps of the forest well from his position in the Eter army. The places I described from my dream of flying over the deepest parts were added by the framework, he had decided. No contact had ever been made with a resident of the forest that was not of Eter. Eter as a nation had been around for a few hundred years in its current form and it kept well maintained and consistent records.

The journey towards the closest unexplored area would take me half the day, leaving the other half for resource gathering. This had quickly become my favorite part of exploring. There was a strong sense of satisfaction every time I successfully harvested anything. The framework classified it as foraging and my skill level had risen rapidly. It was now level 11 allowing me to harvest faster and more efficiently.

Harvested ingredients required storage in a normal way, unable to be placed in the inventory system. Camile had explained that certain classes were able to manipulate the inventory in different ways, the tutorial suggesting that using it would grow easier as one gained levels. The framework system had begun to feel normal, it was difficult now to remember a time before it unless focused on. Details began to blur about life before the initialization. Every day I made it a point to fix my mother and fathers faces in my mind, not letting the framework erase them.

The small dusk falcon jumped off my shoulder and flew up to circle around the massive trees that dominated the area. There was minimal vegetation in this part of the forest, only shrubs that need little sunlight could grow here. I watched the falcon lazily glide in circles and smiled. It was uncanny how similar it acted to the late falcon that had saved my life.

There was a shriek as the falcon plummeted down in a sharp dive before pulling up with a small rodent in its beak. The falcon dropped the rodent down to the ground before me and began to eat. There was a sense of satisfaction pouring through the bond we shared. I did my best to project pride and happiness back through as I started jogging again towards the first marker on the map, trusting the falcon to catch back up when it was finished.

If I focused on the falcon in my mind I could always tell which direction it was in and even how far away it was. The small bird caught up a few minutes later and hooked its feet to the new straps on my right shoulder that would allow the bird to rest in place, another gift from Rocks. It let out a satisfied chirp and closed its eyes. The bond reflected trust and peace.

There was a loud crash up ahead as I rounded a copse of trees and saw a massive shape slam to the ground. I triggered Identify.

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Forest Ape - Intelligent Beast - Level 14 - Health 120/120 - These apes live in packs deep in the forest. Fiercely territorial with an alpha male leading each pack. Physically powerful with high strength and stamina. Engage in ranged and melee combat with a collection of rudimentary tools.

It stared at me and I felt a sensation that reminded me of Identify. These beasts had skills? My guard was up and the falcon sensed my anxiety, waking up and letting out a shrill cry before taking to the air. The ape began to slowly beat on its chest and let out a challenging roar. The roar was answered from the trees all around me as I noticed more apes dropping down to the ground around me.

Surrounded again, the framework reminding me that peace is always temporary. I pulled out two smokers and tossed them behind me and to the side. I wouldn’t use the bombs again but I still had a few more low risk traps. Limiting the apes' vision to buy time, I knelt down and placed two manglers behind me. The one in front of me continued to beat its chest and call more of its pack to our location. Was this the alpha? I placed a large tree to my back and sent a thought of keeping watch up to my little companion flying above me.

Readying my bow and letting my first shot fly, the arrow struck the ape in the stomach. It bowled over and roared in pain before charging directly at me. My dagger was in my hand as I readied to receive the charge. My superior agility allowed me to dodge at the moment of impact and slash the ape across the eyes, blinding it.

Hunting and fighting the hyenas over the previous weeks had given me experience fighting beasts that traveled in packs. As soon as the one who made the initial challenge was too injured to continue, or dead, the rest would attack. A loud cry sounded from where I had left the mangler hidden by the smoke. Wheeling around there were four more approaching me from the forest floor.

Spinning and firing my bow in rapid succession, I danced around the trees to create space. Vastly preferring to use my bow over close ranged combat, I took down three more apes, I triggered Identify. The beasts health were critically low and would die from their injuries, it was hard to kill quickly with the bow unless you hit a vital organ directly. The falcon cried out from the air and sent a panicked thought that was indecipherable. Reactively dashing away, the largest ape yet jumped down from the tree I had been using for cover.

Looking up revealed dozens of the apes converging on me from up high in the trees. Their strong bodies and long limbs allowing them to jump from one tree to another using branches or just the trunks. The ape roared and slammed its massive fists against its chest as I triggered Identify.

Deep Forest Ape - Intelligent Beast - Pack Leader - Level 20 - Health 240/240

I shot it in the gut while it roared and checked its health. It had only gone down by 20, the base damage of my bow. This beast was tough, it reached down and pulled out the arrow with a grunt and charged. I continued to shoot at it during its approach. Only managing to hit it twice before it got too close. I ran to stay out of melee range, my dagger was strong but not strong enough to risk close combat with this massive ape.

The falcon dove down and let out a cry as another of the apes jumped from a tree and landed to my right. It pecked it in both eyes as the ape roared. The falcon danced around the slower beast while I focused on the pack leader. It was bleeding from the three arrows but still had over 150 health. Taking a quick glance around me to look for other apes before looking back to the leader had given it enough time to catch up. It barreled into me, knocking me off my feet and straddled me on the ground.

Panic rising, I grabbed my dagger and began to stab it in its side. It smashed its fist against my face and my nose broke, blood gushing everywhere. My health bar went down by a fourth. My sight was blurry as I continued to stab and watched a small gray shape slam into the head of the ape and peck it furiously. It roared and smashed its fist down. I avoided it with my head but it caught my shoulder and I cried out as I felt bones break. My dagger found purchase under its thick neck and I pushed with every ounce of strength I had left.

The ape smacked away my hand and ripped out the dagger, blood rushing from the wound. It grabbed its throat in a vain effort to stem the bleeding, giving me a chance to push it off and roll away. The falcon still dancing around its head looking for a chance to attack.

A furry leg popped in my vision as a kick slammed against my side. I grunted, health bar dropping close to half, and popped up to my knees. Another ape tackled me down before I could get my bearings and my injured shoulder slammed to the ground in a bout of agony. Slashing out blindly with my knife, I scored a hit against flesh. There was a pained cry from one of the apes, a brief opportunity to gain the upper hand. I rolled over on top of the ape and savagely stabbed down with my dagger.

Quickly standing up and turning to face the remaining ape, I instead found a sobering sight. There were another dozen of the apes surrounding me between the forest floor and the trees. The pack leader was still groaning and grunting on the ground, the rest of the apes watching it. Walking over and stabbing downwards to where I assumed its heart was, it died with a whimper. The rest of the pack stood still before slowly turning and walking away.

My heart was racing as I watched the scene play out. My vision was blurry and pain was ringing from my broken nose and shoulder. The falcon gave a defiant shriek before landing on my shoulder and cuddling its body to my head. Popping a health potion and finding a tree to rest against, I sent a mental prod to the falcon to watch over me while I rested.