I continued south for the rest of the day until it began to darken. I found a stream running through and drank deeply, washing myself as best as I could. I was covered in gore and absolutely filthy. I took off my uniform and waded as deep as I could to the center of the stream and relished in the cool water flowing over me.

After air drying as best I could I began to place my uniform back on when another notification triggered in my vision. I brought it to the front with a quick thought and was surprised to see a rough model of myself in my uniform.

Equipment - Armor

Head

None

Chest

Stryker uniform

5

Arms

Stryker uniform

2

Hands

None

Legs

Stryker uniform

5

Boots

Stryker uniform

2

Weapon

None

I checked my character interface again and two new categories had been added to the bottom.

Armor

14

Health

50

My stryker uniform gave me a base armor of 14. I wasn’t sure if that was a lot so I just took it in stride and tried not to think about it. My health at 50 was interesting. I didn’t know how that worked and really didn’t want to find out as it likely involved me getting hurt. I knew I was being silly and decided to test it out later. I found a tree with a good branch to curl up on and climbed forty feet up to nestle in. I wasn’t sure what lived in the trees down here but I really didn’t want to find out what lived on the ground.

I decided to head back west the next morning, I still had not found any food and was starting to get desperate. I ran for as long as my legs would carry me and then walked once my energy level started to wane. I had never been so fit in my life, I could run for hours without being winded even after not eating in two days. I knew I was getting close to the large grassy plain that Etes sat upon when the forest growth started getting sparser.

I had seen a few animals in the distance but luckily avoided anything aggressive or any Norx soldiers. I hesitated to leave the forest completely and be without cover so I found the tallest tree that I could near the border. My new agility of 14 made climbing easier than ever and my strength of 10 was so far beyond anything I had ever felt. I could pull myself up with one arm. I climbed the tree to the top of the canopy and looked out of the plains and my heart sank. I could see the devastation of fighting everywhere.

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It looks like the base camp of the 3rd army had fought a fighting retreat and had been routed. I saw supplies strewn out over the field with wagons and tents upturned for miles. There were scouts in the Norx dark uniforms moving across the field, presumably searching for survivors. I couldn’t see any movement from the direction of Etes and hoped it was just too far to see what was left of the 3rd. I thought of my mother and hoped she had made it out and went back home to Etes.

I sat in that tree for a while watching the plains. I was devastated, my only hope had been to find the 3rd army and explain what had happened and resupply. I was starving and deep behind the enemy lines. I needed to get down and keep heading south towards Etes or even the cities farther south.

There was no way Norx had already razed the capital, it was a large city of fifty thousand people with strong walls and a fully manned army. If I could get ahead of them and into the city I could still save myself. My stomach growled as the hunger gnawed at me. I made a risky decision to climb back down during the night and try to make it to a supply pile and see what I could find. I needed anything I could get my hands on or I wouldn’t make it long in the wild.

Once I had spotted the closest supply dump, I settled in and waited for nightfall. I pulled up my character interface again and tried thinking of each stat to see if I would get a description of them. Nothing changed until I thought of my level, I noticed a small bar appear in my vision that was three quarters full. It must be the progress I have made towards the next level, which would be ten. Focusing on my health I got another bar, this one red to pop up in my vision. It was completely full which I assumed was a good thing.

Nightfall came quickly and I snuck down to the forest floor. I padded across the plain as quietly as I could until I reached the first wagon wreckage. There was a random mix of supplies scattered across the ground. I found some containers of dried meat, empty water skins and some knives, likely for cooking. I found a small but whole pack and started to fill it. I found another pack and started to move it when a loud clank sounded from inside.

I tensed in terror at the sound and crouched as low as I could get to the ground. I waited and listened for any response but didn’t hear anything. It was too dark now to see far and I hoped no one would be able to spot me. I didn’t know if vision was upgraded as stats were upgraded, it was too subjective of a thing for me to notice. I inspected the pack that had made the noise and found it full of bangers, smokers and a few manglers.

I pumped my first in the air and almost let out a yell. I had never imagined being lucky enough to find some of these, the Norx must not know what they were to just leave them out like this. Confidence growing I began to add to both packs until they were bursting full. My increased strength meant I could carry them easily.

I ended up making several trips back and forth to the scattered camp and taking anything of value I could find. I did not encounter any of the Norx soldiers, they must have headed south towards the capital and did not expect anyone behind them. The implications of that troubled me. I gave up on the idea of circling behind the army of enemy soldiers. They likely knew the terrain better than me and had too many scouts.

If they had found us so deep in the forest they would likely watch all pathways into the main land of Eter. I decided to head back into the forest and find a safe place to spend a few days and get my head in order. I found another tree to hide in for the rest of the night, this time I placed several manglers hidden around the area as well as trippers connected to poppers as an alarm system. I had managed to find an intact bow with a few arrows but based on my previous experience, I knew not to rely on that. I debated placing a banger farther out but scratched that idea. I wasn’t ready to deal with the new skill and what might happen.

I dreamed of my mother that night, of our last meeting and her storming off to her tent. I knew that if she was dead I would relive that moment for the rest of my life. I desperately wanted to see her again. Any hope of my fathers survival seemed less and less likely, if he was alive why didn’t he return? Surely he had to know what was happening. I knew I was being selfish with my thoughts but I couldn’t help but blame him for not being there. I thought of my friends, how scared they must have been, I hoped their deaths had been instant. I made a promise to avenge them briefly before remembering that the Norx scouts that had captured them were already dead. Thoughts of sadness and despair warred in my brain as I fell asleep to the sounds of the wind passing through the trees.

I woke suddenly, not sure what had woken me, I remained perfectly still and strained my ears. I heard a low growl and looked below as two large panthers circled each other slowly. When I focused on one of the panthers I got a notification, I minimized it with a thought as to not get distracted. One of the panthers stepped over the tripper and clipped it with its paw, the popper went off immediately. The panther panicked and turned to run but stepped directly on a mangler and let out a yelp of anguish. The other panther backed away out of sight and left the small clearing. The panther with its paw in the mangler continued to cry pitifully.

I wasn’t sure what to do but I knew that its cries would draw more animals to the area. I strung an arrow and shot down at it, the arrow struck in the gut and the panther cried out again. I felt pity warring with fear and dropped down from the tree. I grabbed the knife I had found in the camp and put it directly through the panther's eye. More notifications flashed in my vision as I felt myself getting sick again. I hurried away from the corpse of the panther and ran for a few minutes until I felt there was enough distance between us. I climbed into another tree and tried to relax. It had almost worked until I saw the branch I was on moving.