Only a short time later, Luna woke up again. Something had disturbed her sleep and from the lack of sunlight creeping through her window shutters, it seemed like it was still early dawn.

Remembering that Skill integration, Luna focused on her new Skill and the curious feeling of diving into her own brain appeared again. In complete darkness, she saw a kaleidoscope of stars. The skill told her that these were memories and that she could only interact with those shining brightly in her mind. Right now, only one of them seemed to be waiting for her and Luna focused her will on the star, quickly moving closer and diving into it.

At first everything was dark, but then her vision returned and she saw people around a fire surrounded by carts, which seemed packed full with their belongings and material for construction. It seemed like this group were some kind of settlers and her guess was confirmed as she listened to the people talking.

A huge mountain of a man with an impressive beard, sitting next to the fire, was currently addressing the other people around them. "We have finished the majority of our travel, only a few days left until we reach Creek Springs. Apart from the few predators getting overly curious we have not seen anything remotely dangerous so far, but that does not mean we can let our guard down. There should not be anything dangerous anywhere inside the kingdom borders, but this is the most remote stretch of road we are going to travel. We will have more people on watch during the day, and double our guards during the night. I know everyone is tired, but it is only for a few days and then everyone can take a break."

Tired nods came from the other people around the fire, nobody contesting the orders. Luna was very curious about these people and why she was here. It took her a while to realize that she was watching the happenings from outside the firelight, bundled up in blankets under one of the carts in a makeshift bed.

The smell of the blankets was curious and reminded Luna of something, until with sudden clarity everything shifted into focus. This was not some random memory, this was her! She was experiencing her own memories from eleven years ago and she was part of a group of settlers heading for Creek Springs.

This meant one very important thing. Her parents were here.

Emotions clogging up thoughts, Luna failed to realize that someone had come over and knelt down beside her head. She craned her neck and the face of the bearded giant who had spoken earlier came into view. "Emiluna, you must be very tired from the long day. Why don't you try to sleep? You will need your stamina tomorrow and you know how bad sleeping on a moving cart is on these roads. Your mother and I are on early watch, but we will join you very soon, promise."

He tucked her in tightly and pressed a kiss into her hair. Then he stood up, grabbed a bow and quiver from the cart and headed off to somewhere out of sight to guard the group during the night. Most people had brought out some blankets and were sleeping right next to the fire and quiet descended on the camp. Young Luna must have fallen asleep as well, as the next thing the memory showed was a burned down fire, but noises and yells from the surrounding darkness meant that something was terribly wrong.

Everything started to happen very quickly at that point. Strange men in armor, swinging axes came out of the darkness. Most of the settlers had no chance, the warriors quickly pushing into their little camp and striking down the defenseless people. They gave no quarter, ignoring any and all pleas for mercy.

Luna was frozen in fear, hidden in the darkness of the cart. All she could do was watch people being butchered right in front of her eyes. Suddenly a hand covered her mouth and she and her bedding were pulled deeper into the darkness of the cart.

"Stay quiet." A female voice whispered next to her ear. "Your father will distract the attackers and we will flee into the darkness. Maybe we can lose them. I will find a place for you to hide and turn back to help the others."

Luna was felt being lifted up and slung over a shoulder. She grabbed tightly with her small hands as they quickly moved away from the battle. Over the shoulder she could see the warriors killing the last remaining people around the dying embers of the fire. Outside the ring of carts, the man she now believed to be her father was holding back three attackers on his own. Wielding an axe and a knife he was skillfully parrying the attacks aimed at him, but unable to strike back against the superior numbers.

The fight was quickly lost in the darkness as they gained distance from the camp and bushes and trees further obstructed the view. As they reached a small ditch with a stream running through it, the woman put her down and pushed her into the darkness under some bushes.

"Emiluna, stay very quiet. I will come back soon, I only have to help your father escape them." The woman was about to say more, but she was interrupted by voices nearby.

"I am sure I saw someone run away. The captain said we had to make sure to get all of them! Just one survivor could spoil the whole thing. It has to look like a random monster attack. Spread out and find them."

In the scant moonlight only three shadowy forms were highlighted against the night sky. They split up, one on each side and one moving down the middle of the ditch. Apparently the wamen came to a decision, an unearthly glow started in the woman's eyes and she mumbled some syllables under her breath. The bush which Luna was hidden under suddenly started to move, building a shelter around Luna, hiding her from view. With a last look at Luna, she stood up and sprinted away into the night, drawing away the men looking to take their life.

Luna only heard one word in the voice of a young girl before the memory faded. "Mommy!"

Back in her own body, Luna realized that she was covered in cold sweat and that the sun was up outside. Apparently she had spent quite some time in the memory. Still caught in inner turmoil over the memory she just experienced, she could not bring herself to get up.

The decision was taken from her when her mother called her to breakfast. Her mother, now that was going to need some time getting used to. Finally being able to put a face to her mysterious birth parents suddenly did not feel so great. She had basically witnessed the last moments they spent together. For reasons unknown Luna was certain that her parents had not survived that night. She could not tell why, but she knew.

While she was grateful for not having witnessed their death, it did not change that she had just remembered being the witness to a coldblooded massacre. She could vividly remember the sound of an axe striking flesh and the screams of dying people. It made her sick to her stomach.

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

But beside all the horrible things, there were things she could remember over everything else. The man in the darkness mentioning a captain, a plan to make it look like a monster attack and one armored warrior swinging an axe in one hand and holding a half covered shield in the other. Half covered because the black fabric covering the shield had been damaged and slipped, revealing one half of a coat of arms. A golden gryphon on a green field.

But that was neither here nor there now. Breakfast with her parents waited and it was time to do some explaining. Luna slipped into a pair of pants and a simple shirt, sitting down at the breakfast table. A steaming cup of tea was already waiting for her and going by the smell coming from the kitchen, her mother was preparing bacon and eggs. Luna had made it just on time, as her mother came over with the pan and split the bacon and eggs on three plates.

"Before you start asking questions," Luna said, "please wait until I had the time to eat while it is still hot. Okay?"

Getting an affirmative grunt from her father and a nod from her mother, Luna devoured the bacon and egg breakfast. After all, she had missed two meals the day before and she was ravenous. Sadly there was only so much breakfast and she was now sipping her tea while contemplating how to explain things. Luna decided to just go with the facts, it was not as if she had any explanations anyway.

"So, when I touched the class stone I got to pick my two classes. Just as anyone else and just as I was taught would happen. I got Hunter and Scout, just as planned."

Luna looked over to her parents to make sure to not miss their reaction. While she did trust them, the changes to her status were alarming and certain things should stay private.

"I received another two messages. One unlocked a personal skill and I can now remember a bit more about where I came from. The other lets me see better during the night. The memory skill took quite some time until it stopped causing me a headache, but when I woke up during the night I snuck out to check the Class Tablet."

"My true, full name is Emilia Lunare Silvenlake, but my parents used to call me Emiluna. And yes, I can remember them now, or at least I remember the last days I saw them and why I was found out there all alone."

Luna spent the next hours trying to answer her parent's questions. She did not tell them about the change about her race or that she now had a skill that used mana. Everything about that was highly suspicious. Mana was reserved for magic classes and priest and very rare crafting classes that dealt with the arcane. She had to find out more, what this meant for her, her classes and future.

But first, she had to find out when her duties as a newly minted Hunter started. It still felt weird to think of herself as an "adult now". It might be how things worked, but that did not change that just one day ago Luna was considered a child. Going from carefree playing at being a Hunter to the reality of picking that class and all the responsibilities that came with it, that was something else entirely.

Leaving the house Luna made her way towards the village center. Her parents had given her a few coins to buy some equipment, in case she needed to. It had been a while since someone had picked the Hunter class, but the Headman should still have some spare items stashed somewhere. Normally the village would provide Hunters with the basics, as it would be rather useless to have people guarding the village without any gear.

Luna knocked on the thick wooden door studying the intricate wood carvings on and around the door knocker. After all, the Headman's house was one of the few finer looking ones in the village. It did not take long for someone to open the door and usher Luna inside, she was expected, as it was customary to visit the village head the day after the Rite. This was especially true for new people with combat classes, who would have to be assigned a trainer and integrated into the duty roster.

The headman and Jonas were sitting at the living room table and Luna quickly joined them. Surprisingly it was Jonas who spoke first.

"Good morning Luna. Headman Roland and I have been talking for a bit already. He wanted to know how you have been doing and if I was still willing to be your official trainer. Until now everything was an unofficial tag-along, but once this decision is made you are under my supervision. Before, not following orders could have meant getting hurt. But from this day onward I will be your superior until the day you will take over your own route." Jonas looked at her seriously. "Understood? Do you still want me as your trainer?"

Luna's confirmation, "Yes Sir!" made headman Roland smile and stifle a laugh.

"Looks like you got her well in hand Jonas. Now first things first. Luna, while in these rooms you can address me with Roland. All Hunters do so, I only insist on formality while in public. Now let's get down to business. I will have a full set of equipment made ready for you. I can get you the simple items right now, a standard bow, quiver and arrows, hatchet, a small buckler suited for a Scout, a good long knife and a multitude of other accessories."

The headman got up and inspected Luna with a critical look. "While you might be a fine looking lass for your age, you will most likely keep growing for quite a bit. Since I knew you would be our newest Hunter, I already had work started on some pieces of armor. Nothing fancy, just a few items made from boiled leather to protect you in case you get attacked. Quite handy that my first class is Tailor, takes just one look for the basics, 172cm tall and a weight of 67kg. Not a very popular ability with the Ladies, I can tell you that. Everything is planned to be a tad bigger than it must be, so you can still grow some without it getting too tight."

Up until this point Luna never seriously considered what the headman, "Roland" she corrected herself, was actually doing for the village. Being the headman had been just that to her. The man heading the village. It seemed like Luna had underestimated him, he had seriously planned ahead for her class choice and arranged for her to get the equipment she needed to do her job.

"Thank you. I appreciate it very much. When can I check the equipment? I need to make sure it is fit for use before I head out. I would be really silly to only realize something needed maintenance or mending when I have to use it."

Roland simply grabbed a bundle from the floor and slid it towards me on the table. "Everything is here, you can check it while we discuss your duties and training further."

The rest of the meeting went over quickly. Roland reminding Luna several times that she was now considered an adult, even if she did not feel like it. It meant she had serious responsibilities and the lenience for children no longer applied. The gear seemed to be in working order. Roland and Jonas had both told her so, but she had to check herself. Sadly she could not judge the quality of the items herself yet, lacking the [Evaluate] skill. It was one of several skills coined "Observation Skills" which could display information about items, people, monsters or even magic itself.

[Evaluate] only worked on items, raw materials or other goods. It was used to identify the quality of crafted items or goods and purity or potential of raw materials.

[Identify] on the other hand only ever worked on people, animals or monsters. Depending on skill level it would display levels, names and classes for targets.

[Analyze] is the last of the three observation skills and works on magic phenomenon, showing the effect of magic in for example traps, items, ritual circles or formations.

Nearly every class gained access to at least one of the skills at some point. It was after all of equal importance to all crafting classes to evaluate raw materials and final products. And guard duty without [Identify], now that would just be asking for trouble.

The discussion finished and they parted ways. Jonas was heading out for his round, Roland had to oversee some repair work on a house and Luna had gone to check on her armor. She had been assigned a five day patrol shift with Jonas and two days to spend on her own. Luna had asked about the possibility to use those two days for hunting and confirmed that she was now allowed to leave the village on her own.

That set the plan for the coming week. Five days of training and then she would have the chance to finally go out on her own.