I don’t have the time to worry so much about me. Freya and Sylas are probably in a much worse position. I’ll reach level 10 quickly, using everything I have. Bryn thought as he looked at his unassigned 12 points, using 8 on dex and the remaining 4 on agi.
The total Dex is now 32, which should be enough for a while. The following levels will go to Str, Agi, and Vit. I can only survive with a minimal amount of these three.
During training, his spirits were nothing compared to the previous days. He was silent, more precise, and daring in his moves. Daniel knew that the conversation from the night before had impacted Bryn, but looking at him now, he was sure that Bryn had tapped into his anger. During lunch, Bryn asked for Thrain, discovering he had been spending his days at the village forge. Bryn had never gone there, so he decided to visit.
From the square, the forge was easy to get to. Bryn found it without a hitch. Arriving there, he heard the sound of metal hitting metal. “Mr. Thrain, are you here?”
“In here!” a faded voice mixed with the sounds of the forge said.
Bryn went inside to find Mr. Thrain and a woman beside him, working on an item together. “Hello, Mr. Thrain. Nice to meet you. I’m Bryn.”
The woman looked at him from head to toe, moving her eyes back to Thrain before answering. “You can call me Seraph.”
“Mr. Thrain, I would like to ask you something.”
“Sure, go ahead.”
“I wish for you to help me forge a bow.”
“Why would you like a bow?! Daggers and short swords are much better than a bow!” said Thrain, almost barking at Seraph.
“Well, I’ve been hunting, and a bow seems the best weapon to help me improve my levels.”
“You should increase your dex and agi enough to throw daggers and short swords for tougher opponents…” said the Dwarf.
“Stop influencing the kid; not everyone is as addicted to daggers as you…” countered Seraph.
“Fine… We can forge a bow. You’ll need to bring me the materials and help with the process.”
“Perfect! How do materials work?”
Thrain left the forge and anvil with Seraph, walking to one of the stations to get a paper and write down a few things before giving it to Bryn. As he was handing the paper, he hesitated for a moment.
“Don’t worry, I can read just fine.” Bryn said, beeping at the corner of the paper and taking it for himself. “I’ll bring this as soon as possible!” he said, running outside.
“Wait a second, Bryn!”
Hearing Thrain, Bryn stopped near the door. “Yes, can I help?”
“Please try that sword on the counter.” said Thrain.
Confused by the statement, Bryn walked to the side and looked at the sword. The back of the blade was slightly arched, and the back portion looked rustic, like stone. A sharp edge only on one side, as the rustic look ends and a dark shiny metal becomes apparent. Both its hilt and the guard matched the blade aesthetic, pitch black, dark as the night.
Grabbing the weapon, his heart beat stronger as if responding to the blade. Trying to lift it as his previous blade, the sword barely budged from its weight. Focusing on the sword before him, he took it and waved it around. The extra weight helped the balance and strength behind his movements.
“Did you like it?” asked Thrain.
“I love it.”
“Fauns don’t have as many status points, so I figured you would like to be an assassin-type character… I mean, “hunter”. It focuses on surprise attacks.” said Thrain, using his fingers to accentuate the “hunter” part.
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Looking at the sword, its information appeared.
Item Appraisal
Unnamed Short Sword (Rare)
Designed not to be noticed in the dark. Additional damage in stealth mode.
Affinity with magic.
Attack power: 35
The description is a bit sinister, but I love the pre-modern Japanese looks.
“Can I name it?”
“Of course you can. We did it for you…”
Bryn thanked both Thrain and the woman next to him. Looking back at the sword, he murmured. “Akusashi.”
“Interesting name. I never heard it, but I can sense the weapon liked it.” said the woman.
Bryn held the weapon close to his heart, Thanking both once again before leaving and running towards his meeting point with Michelle.
“Peculiar fellow, this faun. Why are you helping him?” said Seraph, looking at Thrain.
“His story is horrible, but that is not the main reason. If you interact with him, you’ll notice both his eyes and way of acting. If he doesn’t die, I’m sure he’ll be a great one… Did you see his status as a level 7?”
“Dwarfs and their legends… Are you all the same? Now that you mention it, he is a faun and had higher dexterity than usual…”
Michelle and Bryn walked towards the forest in silence today. Michelle tried to make conversation, but Bryn was not very open, so she let it go.
Like the previous day, the archery warm-up was done with small competitions. The distance and difficulty increased daily, but so did Bryn’s skill. He had increased his initial archery skill level to 3, possibly reaching 4 by the end of the day. After learning how to time his walk and shooting at an immobile target, it was time for hunting.
Like the previous day, on each rabbit they could find, Michelle chose a different bow skill for him to try. Sometimes, she asked him to shoot after the rabbit noticed them, others to shoot moving unnoticed. The second was the hardest to master and Bryn was far from it. The first few rabbits instantly noticed him because he nocked on a branch or tripped on roots over the grass. Still, his accuracy had improved considerably from his first day.
I should be near level 8 already, one or two more rabbits… I need to calculate how to reach level 65.
“You are pretty good today, Bryn… It is time we start upgrading your prey!” Said Michelle as she approached him while he was recovering the arrows.
“You are just a good teacher… Sure, what are you thinking?” Asked Bryn.
“If we go that way, it’s wild boar territory. Let’s go for one of them.” Michelle pointed south.
As both ran in that direction, Michelle told Bryn a few of the patterns of wild boars and that their hide was strong; he would have to use everything he learned on the hunt. It took them an hour moving inwards to the forest before Michelle found traces of the creatures. Bryn asked all he could about the creature's patterns and what signs he should look for to locate one. Michelle answered everything she could, even stopping to explain some things to him, but not everything was easy to comprehend from the eight-year-old. Sometimes, all he got was, "That is what Uncle told me to look for…”.
Bryn Was able to locate the trace of one of the creatures. The footprints were double the size of the rabbits, almost approaching the elks'. They slowed the pace after finding the tracks. He took the lead, trying to find the animal.
Bryn could hear a small scream, still not in his eyesight. But rivers usually were the best water source for mammals. His speed dropped once again, trying to hide all his presence. Soon, the boar was visible, drinking from the river. Its hide was gray, both fangs visible from behind, and its size was much more significant than Earth’s counterpart. Bryn looked at Michelle, who simply waved both hands forward.
Bryn kept getting closer to the creature while considering his options. Ok, game time. I’ll start by sending a volley at him, then moving and shooting as much as possible. In the worst case, I have Akusashi with me. His right hand instantly touched the blade’s hilt. Once again, his heart beat more strongly than usual. It's like it wants to be drawn out… What are you thinking… Weapons are not living beings. Focus.
He stood behind a tree, about 8 meters from the wild boar. He had yet to train at that distance, but he felt it would be impossible to approach it further. Bryn readies his bow, aiming at the animal’s right ribcage. His eyes were not blinking anymore. He inhaled, focusing on where he wished the arrow to fly, and as he exhaled, the string was released. As the first arrow was shot, his legs started to move toward where he thought the boar would run towards when it got hit. Another arrow was ready and sent flying even before the first step was over. Readying his third arrow, the first one hit the boar. To his surprise, the arrow didn’t penetrate as much as the rabbits or even the elk.
Oh shit. He thought as the creature turned in his direction, and the second arrow hit its head, not damaging it in the slightest. The boar let out a grunt as it charged at Bryn. He stumbled backward before running, never considering that the animal might sprint towards him. Both the rabbit and the elk ran on his experiences.
Running, he realized he was gaining distance from the creature.
What difference does it make? If I stop to shoot, it will hit its hard head and have no impact… Think Bryn, think…
While Bryn started running from the animal, Michelle was over a tree looking at the situation laughing… Remember when Uncle Jonas took me boar hunting… As he said, “We should humble you a little bit after so few rabbits”.
Bryn tried firing a few arrows, but running at full speed differed from walking and shooting. He missed most of his tries; the ones that landed were as predicted.
Suddenly, he stopped before a tree, the biggest one he could find. The boar still coming at full speed. He had never attempted such a maneuver. As the boar approached, he ran towards the tree, kicking the ground and the trunk. As he flew into the air, the boar followed his movements with eyes and head, but its legs stumbled on the roots on the floor. It was unable to decrease its momentum. Bryn’s increased dex allowed him to perform the flip perfectly, drawing a shot in the air. The aim was not easy, but at that distance, it didn’t have to be. Bryn fired an arrow one meter away from the hog. For the first time, the boar oinked in a sharp pitch.
“Yes!” Bryn screamed as his hooves landed on the ground. Looking at the animal with two arrows lodged into its right side, Bryn backed away from it instantly.
It shook its head before rushing in Bryn’s direction. The creature grunted as its body trembled whenever the back right leg touched the ground.
A smile appeared on Bryn’s face. It was now a patience game. If the creature was injured, he would have good opportunities. Bryn ran from it and maintained a safe distance. This time, he didn’t enlarge the gap between them.
The hog’s speed diminished from dash to dash. At one point, it started to make small changes to where Bryn was and stopped after not hitting its target. Bryn’s eyes were focused as an eagle’s. As the momentum of the boar stopped, Bryn jumped to his left, drawing shot after shot. The hog was not able to evade all arrows in the volley. Compromised by the injury, its right side gave in, and two more arrows perforated through. It couldn’t move anymore. Bryn decided that as the creature was already on the ground, he would end its misery.
Unsheathing Akasashi from the waist, Bryn and wild boar's eyes met. The feeling of prevailing against a new and different prey started to overwhelm Bryn as his blood pumped harder and stronger with every step he took in its direction. He held akasashi with both hands pointing downward as his entire body came down. The sword easily penetrated the hide, releasing blood wherever it passed. The smile on Bryn’s grew as a notification he was familiar with appeared.