As it turned out, a pair of magical, ethereal shields radiating kinetic energy did not make effective tools for digging a path out of a semi-solidified pit wall.
The sun had begun to set by the time Ross managed to dig himself a ramp high enough to climb out of his crater. His shields had passed through the wall at first, not making any noticeable headway in his endeavor. He then tried using just the brass bases of the shields to dig, which did next to nothing. After a particularly rough pound against the dirt, Ross flopped forward, cracking his head against the firm dirt wall. He howled in pain, then noticed his AP had risen by 13 points. The damage would regenerate in mere moments, and he screamed in frustration. He poured another 100 AP into the shields with nothing left to try, leaving him at 12 AP. Only then did he see a new notification pop up in the corner of his overlay.
[Your shields’ charges have both reached 1000! They can now physically interact with objects without needing to be hit with an attack first!]
The sheer rage that pulsed in Ross’s head threatened to give him another migraine.
Instead, Ross decided it best to aim that anger towards a new goal. He pounded the shields mercilessly into the walls, and finally, packed stone began to give way. He used his shields like shovels the best he could, burrowing into the earth before him like a man possessed. His eyes were somewhat shrouded in sweat, but he didn’t stop until he was able to reach the sides of solid ground on either side and pull himself up. He rolled onto his back, spread eagle on the fresh grass, watching the sun set behind the distant mountains peeking just above the treeline. After a few minutes spent catching his breath, he looked first to his left, then to his right.
Two new notifications popped up in his face, but he quickly minimized them. He thought he saw movement nearby, but seeing as he laid in a clearing, there wasn’t much place for animals to hide from him. The trees near the clearing were a good 75 meters out from any direction, and Ross could tell this clearing was the best case scenario for him. If he’d landed in the trees, he may have taken more damage than just the initial impact, which would have killed him outright. If he’d landed near or over water - an option he didn’t see at the time - he could have splattered against it going so fast. No, this field was the only reason he was still alive. He glanced back at the pit and the pseudo-ramp he’d created. If he absolutely needed to, he’d spend the night in the chasm. Only if he couldn’t find an alternative.
Another blur of movement, this time from the opposite side of his periphery, made his breath catch in his throat. Ross swallowed hard, eyeing the direction of the movement. The crater option was becoming more and more attractive.
He decided that, if he couldn’t stay above ground without being swarmed by horrifying hallucinations or creatures - whichever it was he saw just then - he’d at least choose a place he could reasonably defend. Sure, he might get ambushed, but he had regen and couldn’t be taken out by a single attack. He’d be able to regain the upper hand in nearly any situation. With a shaky breath, Ross slowly shuffled back to his ramp, slipping back onto it and covering everything but his face with the loose dirt. His eyes darted around wildly, trying to catch any movement he could possibly see, but no more silhouettes crossed by his periphery. He quietly sighed in relief, ignoring the discomfort of trickling dirt in his new pants and footwraps. He silently accepted the notifications as he kept an eye out for the moving shadows.
[Congratulations! You’ve unlocked four new Specializations!
* Miner
* Improvised Weapon Fighting
* Hunter
* Adventurer
Check your Character Sheet for more information on these Specializations!]
Ross knew exactly where the first two of them had come from, the memory of the anger causing him to tense momentarily. He took a sharp inhale as he thought he saw two more ghostly shapes nearby, trying his best to relax again. He opened the other notification, which answered how he’d managed the third and fourth specializations.
[You have killed (31) animals, and have gained EXP for each due to surviving until nighttime!
Rabbit Lv. 2 (x5) - 150 EXP (30 EXP Per)
Cougar Lv. 6 (x1) - 400 EXP (400 EXP Per)
Wolf Lv. 4 (x11) - 1,300 EXP (200 EXP per; {Pack Bonus} +125 EXP Per)
Dire Wolf Lv. 10 (x1) - 1,000 EXP (800 EXP Per, {Pack Bonus} +200 EXP Per)
Insect Nest Lv. 2 (x7) - 700 EXP (100 EXP Per)
Squirrel Lv. 1 (x4) - 40 EXP (10 EXP Per)
Silver Bear Lv. 29 (x2) - 14,000 EXP (7000 EXP Per)
Total Animal EXP Gained: 17,590
Hunter Specialization: Level Up! Level 1
Hunter Specialization: Level Up! Level 2
Hunter Specialization: Level Up! Level 3
New Specialization Trait Unlocked: Tracker
Hunter Specialization: Level Up! Level 4
Hunter Specialization: Level Up! Level 5
Hunter Specialization: Level Up! Level 6
New Specialization Trait Unlocked: Waste Not, Want Not
EXP until Hunter Specialization Lv. 7: 3410
You have killed (5) Monsters, and have gained EXP for each due to surviving until nighttime!
Goblin Patroller Lv. 7 (x4) - 2,800 (700 EXP Per)
Goblin Patroller Elite Lv. 13 (x1) - 2,600 (2600 EXP Per)
Total Monster EXP Gained: 5,400
Adventurer Specialization: Level Up! Level 1
Adventurer Specialization: Level Up! Level 2
Adventurer Specialization: Level Up! Level 3
New Specialization Trait Unlocked: Novice
EXP until Adventurer Specialization Lv. 4: 600
You have gained 500 Mining EXP! Unlocked Mining Specialization Lv. 1!
EXP to Mining Specialization Level 2: 500
You have gained 10 Improvised Weapon Fighting EXP! Unlocked Improvised Weapon Specialization Lv. 1!
EXP to Improvised Weapon Fighting Specialization Lv. 2: 990
Overall EXP Gained for the Day: 23,500
Level Up! You have increased your {Full_Counter_ERROR} level from (1) to (6)! You have gained (50) unused Stat Points! Open your Character Sheet to assign the stat points!
EXP Points needed to Level Up {Full_Counter_Error} to Lv. 7: 8,090
You have gained (2) new Subclass Trait Evolutions!
* Advanced Kinetic Regeneration I
* Advanced Grazing Blow I
Check your Character Sheet for more information.]
Ross gawked at the numbers. He hadn’t touched a single living thing since he’d gotten here, much less fight with any. He racked his brain in a vain attempt to figure out when or how he could have done it.
“The fall.” He whispered.
Thinking back on it, he hadn’t seen any clearings this big, and he doubted he’d gotten lucky enough to blow into one while his vision was clouded with tears and haze. The impact of his fall must have leveled this whole span of forest into a perfectly flat plane. But why had the grass on the forest floor been untouched? Where were the fragments of tree and bush that should have been littering the ground?
His mind spun with the possibilities. He finally squeezed his eyes shut, held his breath, and counted to ten. This, as it always did, calmed him down enough to think. He began humming 'You May Be Right' by Billy Joel out of sheer instinct.
Unfortunately, neither classical rock nor proper thinking would help him at this moment.
Instead, he decided he’d just allocate his points and try to sleep. He may have had a lot of physical energy left - the digging workout had warmed him up rather than tuckered him out - but he was mentally exhausted. He pondered where he should put the stat points into, when he saw yet another pop-up in his vision. He heaved a sigh, irritated by the bombardment of information all at once. He just wanted to clear his overlay and sleep. He clicked on the new tab, only to find a wall of texts in regards to achievements. Luckily, there was a button to hide the achievements he’d already acknowledged and seen, so he pressed that checkbox immediately. He mentally read the names of each achievement to himself as he went so he might see what they were for.
[Achievements: 26/9,062 - Please speak the name of the Achievement for more details and to claim rewards for gaining that Achievement!
Specialization
Acquisition: Unlock a Specialization
Reward: +500 EXP to each Specialization
Multi-Faceted
Acquisition: Unlock 3 or more Specializations
Reward: +1000 EXP to each Specialization
Novice
Acquisition: Reach Level 3 in the Adventurer Specialization
Reward: +1 Level to Adventurer Specialization
If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.
Dedicated
Acquisition: Reach Level 5 in your first Class/Subclass
Reward: +1 Silver Coins, +10 Copper Coins, +5 Stat Points
Overachiever I
Acquisition: Defeat an enemy 5 times your Level or higher
Reward: +1 Gold Coin, +5 Stat Points
Overachiever II
Acquisition: Defeat an enemy 10x your Level or higher
Reward: +5 Gold Coins, +10 Stat Points
Overachiever III
Acquisition: Defeat an enemy 15x your Level or higher
Reward: +10 Gold Coins, +15 Stat Points
Overachiever IV
Acquisition: Defeat an enemy 20x your Level or higher
Reward: +15 Gold Coins, +30 Stat Points
Overachiever V
Acquisition: Defeat an enemy 25x your Level or Higher
Reward: +30 Gold Coins, +50 Stat Points
Two Birds, One Stone
Acquisition: Defeat two enemies of the same type with a single attack
Reward: +5 Str, +1 Luc, +5 Stat Points
Natural Talent
Acquisition: Have one or more stats reach 30 at Level 1
Reward: +1 Platinum Coin, +5 Gold Coins, +1 Luc
Demolitionist
Acquisition: Destroy all non-living objects in a 50-foot or larger radius
Reward: +5 Str, +2 Luc, +1 Gold Coin, +10 Silver Coins, +100 Copper Coins
Packed and Sealed
Acquisition: Defeat a pack of wild animals
Reward: +1 Silver Coin, +10 Copper Coins, +2 Dex
Exterminator
Acquisition: Find and destroy 5 or more Insect Nests
Reward: +1 Wis, +1 Str, +5 Silver Coins, +50 Copper Coins
Legendary Collector I
Acquisition: Obtain a Legendary-grade item
Reward: +1 Platinum Coin, +1 Luc
Legendary Collector II
Acquisition: Obtain 2 or more Legendary-grade items
Reward: +2 Platinum Coins, +2 Luc]
Ross took another sharp breath. This was a lot to take in, and he still had no clue if he’d make it through the night. After mentally confirming to ‘accept all’, he huddled deeper into the dirt pile, silently praying for the night to go by quickly and uneventfully. He couldn’t even imagine applying his stat points now; he was too scared, too frantic. He’d make a slip-up and fuck himself over later. He closed his eyes and tried to drift off, only succeeding after what felt like hours.
He was abruptly awoken by a loud howl, which caused him to scramble to a sitting position, making the loose dirt around him slide, bringing Ross with it. He landed hard on his rear, grunting. Looking up, the sun wasn’t visible in the sky yet, but the faintest increase in light hinted that day would soon be upon him. Tentatively climbing back up and looking to see what had made the sound, Ross swallowed hard. Off in the distance, he saw a pack of wolves.
No, a pack was an understatement. He saw a swarm of wolves, running directly towards him.
In a flustered flurry of uncoordinated movement, Ross dragged himself out of the ramp’s remnants and looked around rapidly. All around him was seemingly endless forest, and nothing indicated even a hint of a proper trail or road. His eyes moved back to the wolves, who had picked up their pace upon seeing him scramble up the slope. He tried counting them, but couldn’t see the end of the massive herd. There had to be hundreds of them, if not thousands.
He briefly considered sitting and fighting, maybe building up some AP, but quickly shoved that thought out of his mind. He knew that would be his end - if it were one giant beast then maybe he could survive, but this was death by a thousand paper cuts. Immovable Object wouldn’t help him here.
He turned the opposite direction of the swarm and ran, feeling his eyes grow hot. His legs didn’t want to work right, after sleeping on the hard ground. This was not helped by the fact that he was essentially trying to run on legs he hadn’t really walked around on before, and it caused him to nearly fall over more than once. The wolves were gaining rapidly, and Ross was starting to panic.
He pulled up his stat sheet, praying to see an ability that he missed, but all he found that could help were his stats. He then looked at the number of unused stat points and his eyes bulged. One hundred and eighty points unused… This was most likely his only chance to get away safely.
Ross dumped every single point into Dexterity out of sheer panic.
Next thing Ross knew, he had crossed the 30 or so meters between the clearing and the woods, legs pumping beyond naturally. His balance was flawless, easily maneuvering around trees and stones, leaping over tangled root systems and ducking under low-hanging branches. In mere seconds, he had all but fully lost the mass of wolves. He came skidding to a halt, panting. A new pair of notifications popped into his screen, but Ross ignored it for now. His stomach felt completely empty, and his body was screaming for sleep. After such a short jog, Ross’s endurance had been fully drained. It was only after a moment of contemplation that he realized it was most likely due to his rash decision. A Dexterity at nearly 200 with other stats so low as early double digits? He couldn’t be sure without learning more about the overlay, but he was pretty sure he’d need to bolster his Constitution or something in order to keep so much exhaustion from draining his body so severely. He coughed and wheezed for a moment, mouth dry. He took stock of his body.
He felt like he could hold an arm so straight he’d be able to pass as a statue or another tree. His hands felt as though they could thread a microscopic needle with little effort, and his legs roared with speed and nimble potential. He also felt like running that fast again right away was a good method to end his life early.
Ross slumped against the tree he was leaning against, eyes fluttering. He knew it was a bad idea to sleep here, but he didn’t have the energy to keep moving. His defiance was quickly overtaken by a cloudy mind, and he drifted into dreamland despite his mind's muffled protests.
________________________________________________________________
It was mid-afternoon when Ross awoke once again. His eyes lazily observed his surroundings, beams of soft light drifting between the leaves rustling in the wind. The crisp yet warm air gave his lungs a pleasant break, and small animals sniffed around his feet. It was then that Ross looked at himself, quickly wishing he hadn't.
His body was chewed, mangled and bruised, one arm hanging half dead at his side.
He let out a scream even as his wounds were healing, and he looked back to his AP, afraid of what he’d find, madly scrambling to find an answer to how he hadn't woken up from the aggressive scavengers or predators.
[Absorption Points: 1,903/∞
Kinetic Regeneration Boost: +2 HP per Second]
He screamed again, a pained yell turned into a wet gurgle as he coughed up a clot of blood. He bit his lip after a moment of thought, so as to not attract whatever predators had gone after his unconscious body. His regen was letting him heal quickly, yes, but not quickly enough for his liking. His HP was down to just under half. He focused on his Kinetic Regeneration and paid as many AP as was needed and held his arm painfully and slowly back in place, feeling relief as his body healed over at a far more comforting pace.
[Absorption Points: 1,473/∞
Kinetic Regeneration Boost: +1 HP per Second]
Getting up as fast as he dared, Ross scoured his surroundings with a suspicious eye, trying to make out anything he might need to run from or fight. At the moment, it seemed as though he was more of a threat to other creatures around him than they were to Ross. He sighed, tried to stand and felt his legs nearly give out. He still needed something to eat.
He eyed the wild animals, stomach violently wrenching from a combination of starvation and disgust. He really didn’t wanna hunt animals for food, but he also didn’t know what plants or berries were safe for consumption. He moaned in annoyance as he steadied himself and hobbled at still alarming speed through the woods in a random direction. As he walked, he opened more of his alerts. He started off with the tedium of more Achievements.
[Achievements: 33/9,062 - Please speak the name of the Achievement for more details and to claim rewards for gaining that Achievement!
All In
Acquisition: While you have 100 or more unused Stat Points, put all unused Stat Points into a single Stat
Reward: Title - All or Nothing
Growth I
Acquisition: Have one or more Stat reach 100
Reward: +1 Gold Coin, +1 to each Stat
Nimble I
Acquisition: Have your Dex reach 100
Reward: +1 Gold Coin, +10 Silver Coins
Runner I
Acquisition: Run at 30 mph or faster
Reward: +1 Silver Coin, +10 Copper Coins, +100 Adventurer EXP
Survivor I
Acquisition: Survive for 1 day in {Terraegnus}
Reward: +20 Base HP
Full_Counter_ERROR I
Acquisition: Have a total of 1000 or more Absorption Points
Reward: +1000 {Full_Counter_ERROR} EXP
Trollkin I
Acquisition: Regenerate 1000 or more HP in 24 hours
Reward: +1 Mythic Unique Gear ]
Ross had done nothing but wake up a few times, get half-eaten alive presumably more than once over the night and run from wild animals, and somehow he’d managed to unlock 33 achievements; it almost felt like the system was taunting him. He silently spoke the words ‘accept all’, venom lacing every syllable, and a blinking red light flashed above his head. Ross froze and looked up, only to see the words “All or Nothing” floating over him. The title followed him just as closely and accurately as the overlay did, and he grunted in irritation. He’d figure out how to hide titles later, hoping the wild animals couldn’t see them like he could. He began power walking again and opened the next notification, hoping it was some good news.
[Alert: You have been wounded by a pack of wolves. Seek medical attention to ensure
no diseases can be gained from these wounds.
Alert: You have been wounded by a panther. Seek medical attention to ensure no
diseases can be gained from these wounds.
Alert: You have been wounded by nighthounds. Seek medical attention to ensure no
diseases can be gained from these wounds.
Alert: You have been wounded by a silver bear. Seek medical attention to ensure no
diseases can be gained from these wounds.
Alert: You have been wounded by a pack of goblins. Seek immediate medical attention
to ensure no diseases can be gained from these wounds.
Alert: Your Advanced Kinetic Regeneration I has treated the following conditions and
diseases, keeping you from developing worse injuries:
Rabies
Lockjaw
Paralysis
Internal Bleeding
Arthritis
Infection
Severe Infection
Neurotoxin
Concussion
Hepatitis B and C
Actinomycosis
HSV
Syphilis
Tetanus
Tuberculosis
Canine Distemper
Parasitic Infection
Please ensure your safety in a nearby town or outpost to ensure you do not contract diseases unable to be treated by Advanced Kinetic Regeneration I.]
Ross choked, but kept moving. He thought it was bad enough to wake up half-eaten and needing to heal from that, but the list of diseases he could have contracted… He’d rather not think about the consequences of some of the running rampant through his system.
[You have increased a physical Stat above the recommended amount for your level by (149). Until you level up to level (40) in your Subclass {Full_Counter_ERROR} or you increase your Stats to match (199), actions you take in regards to Dexterity will cause you to become exhausted faster by a factor of (1490%). You may fix this by finding a Stat Point Refunder in a local village or town located by Town Hall, by finding or earning a Stat Reset Token, or by increasing the rest of your Physical stats to (199).]
“No wonder”, Ross mumbled aloud. He was winded so easily because his body was, as he had thought, not ready for so much speed. He actively slowed to a mild walking pace after a stomach cramp nearly pulled him to his knees, and despite barely doing more than shuffling through the forest, he was still moving far faster than his old running speed. He opened the next notification, heaving a sigh at the glowing icon of Achievements which lit up once again. He ignored it with his teeth gritted and grinding, clicking on the other alert.
[Your trainer has been alerted to your presence here, and has begun to track you! Your Trainer is currently {913} Miles from your Location, traveling on foot! They should arrive in approximately {45.65 Days}!]
Ross was livid. No guaranteed help would be coming to him for a month and a half. Any other help would be iffy at best, not to mention he'd more than likely need to get extremely lucky to find anyone else out in the wilderness. He’d need to somehow survive long enough to meet the individual who'd give him his tutorial, and that meant finding some food. He knew animals could be eaten, and he knew which ones were safe to eat from his own world. He just hoped it was the same here.
Ross bit back his insistence against hunting, taking a shaky breath. He did have that Hunter specialization, after all. He had killed over thirty animals already, so what was a few more? Sure, it hadn't been intentional, but shooting a man with a misfire is still shooting a man. What makes animal killing any different? He also had that Trait from Hunter, which let him avoid wasting any and all food, and it could serve him rather well here. If he was only hunting small game - which Ross wasn’t afraid to admit was the case - he’d need all the meat he could get from the bones. He shuddered, then turned to a nearby rabbit sleeping by the tree he sat at. The blank, content look it gave him made him remember Eduardo. He nearly cried at the cruelty of what he knew he had to do next.
“Not like this…” he muttered under his breath, before slowly raising his fist over the rabbit.