Whatever it was, it had way more momentum than it needed to take me down, so it rolled over the top of me and slid, eventually coming to an abrupt stop with a thud at the base of a tree root.

I reeled from the impact. My interface danced around my vision like an open laptop in a rolling vehicle. It toggled, seemingly on it's own, from tab to tab a dozen times over before I was able to mentally swat it away.

I scrambled for my dagger.

Where did it go?

On my knees, I spun this way and that until I saw it in the dirt next to a moss covered stone. It had flown a good ten feet. It’s blade glistened gently in a ray of dim morning light that pierced the canopy.

Just as I got to my feet I caught a glimpse of what attacked me. The lighting in the forest wasn’t exactly studio quality, but I could still make out some sort of cat figure shrouded in the shadows. A green colored panther or something, only it had two distinct tails and a face more resembling a serpent than a kitty.

It was up on all four paws now, shaking its head, maybe fifteen feet away. Apparently, slamming into the root had stunned the creature, but it quickly recovered. It’s gaze darted back and forth between me and the dagger and I got the distinct impression it knew I wanted it.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa—nice kitty,” I said, my hands up. “Good kitty cat. Okay. We’re okay. I’m just gonna …” It growled at me and I let the sentence drift.

I took a step towards the dagger.

It roared, then ran towards the dagger to meet me.

“Nope,'' I said, then turned and ran the other way.

Notifications popped up in my peripheral all over the place, but I ignored them. I climbed over a boulder, slid down a root, and trudged high-speed through a cluster of knee-high thorny bushes while hissing, “holy shit, holy shit, holy shit,” every step of the way. Adrenaline pumped so hard I barely registered the pain of being barefoot.

When I heard it roar again I didn’t look back, just kept running. I ran and ran until I just couldn’t breathe anymore. I came to rest against the trunk of a tree, sucking in and blowing out as quietly as I could. My head and heart pounded in sync to a sickening beat that made me want to vomit.

I had no idea if it saw where I went, no idea if it followed. The way the roar echoed in the trees made it seem it could be anywhere.

I picked up a sharp looking rock as if that was going to do me any good. I shook my head and dropped it. I needed a real weapon. I needed that damn dagger!

I opened my interface with the intent on writing “help” in the notes tab but was distracted by what I saw on the open notifications tab.

Congratulations! You have chosen a profession. Woot Woot!

Profession: Spacialist

Open your Profession tab to learn more about this monumental decision you just made. Let’s hope you don’t catch a case of buyer’s remorse because there’s no going back.

“The hell?” I hissed. “No I didn’t.”

I opened the profession tab and there it was. Apparently, during my panic struggle to close my interface, I’d selected yes while the Spacialist profession description was up.

Another roar echoed through the forest.

“Okay, okay, what do you got for me?”

I drilled down past the Spacialist description to see if there was anything useful.

There wasn’t.

Quickly, I toggled to the abilities tab.

There were two new abilities.

Spacialist Ability, Small Inventory—lvl 1

Congratulations. You’ve earned a new ability simply by choosing this profession.

Spacialists are the only type of adventurers who can store items without having to carry them. Isn’t that convenient? That means you can carry a lot of stuff, or at least as much as your Small Inventory will allow you to. Don’t tell too many people about this, or you’ll end up like that one guy in the neighborhood who had a truck and was always getting calls to help move people.

To add an item to your inventory, simply touch it and acknowledge the acceptance notification.

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You cannot place anything that is alive in your Small Inventory—only items, or dead things, I guess, if you really want to. Limitations on weight, size, quantity, and other factors may apply.

A new tab has been added to your interface titled Small Inventory.

The next ability was directly below it.

Spacialist Ability, Thumb Candle—lvl 1

Congratulations. You’ve earned a new ability simply by choosing this profession.

Spacialists often find themselves deep inside of dark pockets of empty space. I’m not talking about your mom, I’m talking about physical areas hidden in the fabric of Lynn Ella space/time. So here's something to light your way. You’re welcome.

You can activate this ability by simply snapping and blowing on your thumb. Yeah, it’s that easy. Note, your ability level will determine the amount of light you can emit.

To put it out, just blow on it again, or smother it. Heck, stick it up your bum for all I care. And, no, it won't burn you—shouldn’t, at least. Unless you’re doing it wrong. Then yeah, it will probably hurt. But, honestly, this is the easiest spell in the game. If you can’t figure this one out then you’re probably going to suck at everything else. Have fun snapping and blowing incessantly for the next half hour or so.

Oh, one more thing. Thirsty? Need to instantly boil some water for a purified sip? Here’s a trick: Try sticking it in some, blowing the thumb on your dry hand, and watch what happens.

The bushes near my feet rustled and I dismissed my interface. Two yellow eyes appeared moments before the cat-thing leapt at me. I had no time to think, so I did the only thing currently top of mind.

I whipped out my thumb and blew on it.

A flame erupted from the tip a good six inches before settling down to half that height. I nearly singed my eyebrows off before extending it out and shielding my eyes.

The cat slid to a stop inches from the flame and hissed. It turned back and ran into the bushes.

I blinked.

I blinked again.

Was I dead? Did that work? Was it gone?

Holy shit, I think that actually worked!

As in response, a low growl rumbled from the bushes. The cat was still there but the fire had set it at bay.

“Yes,” I laughed, letting out a heavy, hysterical sigh. “Hell yes!”

I took a step to my left, then another, my arm fully extended, pointed at the beast.

“Is the kitty afraid of the fire? Does the poor kitty have to skip her breakfast today?”

I took another step, slipped, then caught myself. My thumb went out and the low growling stopped.

“Oh shit,” I said, blowing it on again.

The growling continued as I made my way backwards. I didn’t really have a place to go—all I knew was that I needed to get back to my dagger.

The cat followed, keeping a good five to ten foot buffer between us. As long as I kept my thumb candle lit, it kept it’s distance. I was hoping it would get annoyed and run off, but no such luck.

Damn cat.

Once it attempted to circle around and come at me from another direction. That didn’t work, so it climbed a tree and hopped from branch to branch trying to sneak up on me from above.

That didn’t work either.

About twenty minutes passed like this and I got a sinking feeling I’d gone the wrong way. There was no sign of my dagger and everything in here looked exactly the same. My suspicions were confirmed when the ground began to soften and I could hear moving water. It came from behind me, getting louder and louder, but I dared not take my eyes off my pursuer.

I stepped backwards into a shallow stream. The water was cold as ice and the rocks as slick as butter. The cuts on my bare feet stung. I took another step and slipped falling on my ass and hands. The Thumb Candle went out with a sizzle.

The cat, ever observant, leapt at the opportunity (pun intended).

I blew on my thumb but it didn’t light. I blew on it again and again but it refused to ignite.

Did I run out of fuel or something?

Uh oh.

I scrambled to my feet and splashed through the stream.

Way in the distance, a massive waterfall fell from a cluster of cavities in a mountain wall. Mist floated above a large pool at the base of the waterfall. A number of streams and rivers extended out from it, the most prominent of these curving away from where I was. The forest canopy had thinned out in this area so the light was much better now. It was easy to see that the only remnant of the waterfall near me was this shallow stream and a few stagnant pools here and there.

Almost to the other side now, the stream bed opened underneath me and I fell waist deep into one of the pools. I pulled myself out on the other side just in time to see the cat splashing towards me.

The sudden drop off from the stream into the pool surprised the cat. It let out a roar cut short by a gurgle.

I was just about to stand up and keep running when something I’d read recently bubbled to the forefront of my mind, something from the description of the Thumb Candle ability.

Here’s a trick: Try sticking it in some, blowing the thumb on your dry hand, and watch what happens.

I dried my left hand off best I could, plunged my right into the pool, and blew. What happened next scared the shit out of me, almost as much as it scared the cat.

The stagnant pool instantly came to an explosive boil, steam rising and swirling. The beast shrieked, paddling this way and that, confused and terrified. The super heated water had no effect on my submerged hand, but it was devastating for the cat. The creature only lasted about ten seconds before it gave out.

I pulled my hand out and slid backwards onto dryer land. The physics of what just happened didn’t make any sense at all, but who the hell cared about something as trivial as natural laws in a place like this?

I laid flat on my back for a good long moment. A full body shudder overtook me, then came the laughter.

“Son of a bitch,” I said, shaking my head. What have I gotten myself into?

“To be honest, I had my money on the other one,” came a crackly voice from behind me.

I sat up, whipped around.

Built into the trunk of a nearby tree was a small abode, and in the doorway stood a short, elderly woman, slow-clapping for me.