The overly blue sky hung above him, Jake staring up at it as he lay on his back in the middle of the clearing. It had been a while since he’d even tried to move, just breathing the cool air as he basked in the lack of pain of his ghost form. Around him, the muted sounds of the pups at play echoed in his spectral ears, making Jake smile. Then the screen appeared in his vision, Jake just giving a sigh as he read over it.
Your body has been destroyed!
You may no longer resurrect at your body.
“Right,” Jake blinked as he sat up, looking around the clearing as the pups darted about, chasing each other closer and closer to the edge of the grass, only returning when Luna growled at them. The large wolf looked up as Jake stood, dusting off his spectral clothes as he started to walk towards the Shrine, hopping to her feet and following after him.
“It’s okay, girl,” he said softly, ruffling his hand through her fur, “I’ll be back soon enough. You stay here with the pups and make sure they don’t hurt themselves, okay?”
Luna just snorted, before returning to her spot on the grass and settling back down to watch her litter play fight some more. Nodding his head, Jake turned back to the forest and began to run.
Jake quickly discovered that he moved exceptionally fast while in ghost form. So fast in fact, that he had run face first into multiple trees, gasping as he expected to bounce off them, instead passing straight through. After that discovery, he had made even better time thanks to not having to constantly dodge around them, reaching the Shrine in barely over half an hour where the usual journey would often take almost three.
He approached the altar, the white stone stark against the blue light of the spirit world, pulsing with green power. Reaching out, he touched the stone, getting a notification a moment later.
Would you like to resurrect?
Y/N?
“Yes,” Jake said, gasping as the world seemed to shrink and expand around him at once, before snapping back into place. He stood for a moment, revelling in the cool wind and warm sunlight, before the feeling of exhaustion washed through him, two familiar icons appearing in his vision, their timers ticking slowly down as he collapsed against the altar.
Sliding down the cool stone, Jake managed to sit himself against the rock, breathing heavily as he rested, or at least tried to, the notification icon blinking in his view. Shaking his head, he opened it.
Skill [Medium Armour] has levelled up.
Skill [Evasion] has levelled up.
Skill [Medium Armour] has levelled up.
Skill [Free Movement] has levelled up.
Skill [Nature Magic] has levelled up.
Skill [Short Swords] has levelled up.
Jake nodded as he read over the level up screens, dismissing each as they appeared, raising an eyebrow at the next few.
You are the Victor!
Rewards:
Title: Owner of the Dark Woods
Title: Mayor of Machiville
You have gained a large amount of experience.
Experience modifier detected.
Calculating…
You have gained a huge amount of experience.
You have levelled up to level 13!
A slight tingle ran through Jake’s body as he groaned, quickly opening his Character Screen to check the changes.
Character Profile
Name
Jake Grey
Class
Champion
Level
13
Reputation
Unknown
Health Points
270
Mana Points
240
Stamina Points
310
Fate Points
4
Power
21 {+7}
Intellect
22 {+2}
Agility
25 {+6}
Wit
22
Vitality
22 {+5}
Charisma
20
Skills (17/20)
Titles
Combat
Evasion [3]
Hunting Bows [2]
Medium Armour [4]
Short Swords [3]
The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.
Utility
Aim [2]
Free Movement [5]
Inspect [6]
Observe [6]
Silent Movement [1]
Creation
Alchemy [5]
Butcher [3]
Cooking [3]
Crafting [7]
Gathering [6]
Skinning [3]
Magic
Nature Magic [2]
Shadow Magic [1]
Owner of the Dark Woods
Frontrunner
Giant Slayer V
Pioneer
World Breaker
Touched by Corruption
Champion of the Wilds
Mayor of Machiville
“Great,” Jake muttered as he leaned back against the cool stone, ignoring a strange pressure in his chest, “Now what?”
“Now, I think you should be worried about the men invading the forest,” Gaia hummed as she sat down next to him, Jake snapping his head to the side to stare at her.
“Invading the forest?” Jake asked, “Since when?”
“For around the last half an hour now,” Gaia replied, looking up at the sky as she hugged her knees, “You should probably rest up and then get on that.”
“Rest up?” Jake asked, immediately forcing himself to his feet as the images he’d seen in the flames came back to him, “I don’t have time for that. I have to get back to Luna and the pups! I can’t let them get hurt!”
“Calm down,” Gaia said as Jake stumbled into the forest, sighing as she shook her head, “Seems like just words won’t work. Oh well, maybe he’ll learn a valuable lesson from all this.”
------
Maurice Machie stomped through the woods, sending birds and squirrels scattering as he pushed his bulk between the trees.
“Stupid bastard,” he growled, “Kill me Da, I kill you!”
“Keep your voice down, brat,” the sneaky man said beside him, making Maurice spin to glare at him.
“No, you shuddup!” the half-giant snarled, “Me Da were yer boss, but he dead now, so I’m yer boss now!”
“That’s not how it works, kid,” Bertram sighed, shaking his head.
“Where he go?” Maurice grunted as he turned away from the human, looking into the trees, “Him body go poof, an’ he a Traveller, so that mean he back, right?”
“Right,” Bertram grumbled, looking back at the small horde of hunters behind them, those that had decided to follow Pereion’s son into the woods, though whether because they were stupid or just looking for revenge or glory, he didn’t know, “His tracks point to somewhere in the middle of the forest.”
“Den dat’s where we go,” Maurice growled, shoving a tree to the side, the woods groaning as the roots were ripped up, leaving it standing at an angle, “If he back, I kill him again!”
“Then he’ll just come back again,” Bertram muttered, earning another glare from the half-giant.
“Den I kill him again and again ‘til he no come back no more!” Maurice snarled, his usually childish language devolving further as it became little more than grunts of anger.
“I have a feeling that I’m going to be the one to regret this,” Bertram sighed as he hurried after the raging man-child, darting ahead of him easily as Maurice practically tore up the forest in his way.
------
His lungs burned as he forced himself forwards, barely stopping to catch his breath as Jake glanced at the timers on his two debuffs. They had reset after he had started to move, ticking back up to their full duration each time he moved. Shaking his head, he forced himself forwards again, not knowing how long he’d been moving for, only that he had to get back to his camp as soon as possible, the pressure in his chest growing by the moment.
Achievement: Beyond your Limits!
You have continued moving for one (1) hour with both the [Tired] and [Exhausted] debuffs.
Rewards:
Title: [Persistent]
1 Fate Point
Jake stumbled when the screen appeared, gasping for air as it blocked his vision. He dismissed it with a tired thought, taking another step forward before his legs gave out under him, sending him crashing to the floor. Coughing up a mouthful of dirt, he rolled onto his back, checking the timers on his debuffs again, eyes widening slightly at what he saw. Both timers had been reduced, the [Tired] timer having been cut by ten minutes, and the [Exhausted] by five minutes. Curious, he opened his Character screen and checked his new Title, wondering if that had anything to do with it.
Persistent
You have pushed past your limits!
Rare Title
Reduces duration of physical debuffs by a third.
“Okay,” he panted, “That’s actually kind of useful.”
“Are you done?” Gaia hummed as she leaned over him, Jake looking up into the burning green orbs that man her eyes, “If you continue to push yourself like this, you’ll be useless in a fight when it happens.”
“I…yeah,” Jake muttered as he sat up slowly, moving over to a tree to rest, “I just…I was worried. About Luna and the pups.”
“Understandable,” Gaia nodded, “But you must remember, Luna is strong and smart, I doubt she would let anything bad happen to her pups just because you weren’t around.”
“Yeah,” Jake muttered again as he watched the timers on his debuffs tick down, flinching as the pressure in his chest flared, “What is that?”
“What is what?” Gaia hummed as she lifted her legs, lounging in the air.
“This…feeling in my chest? I thought it might just be anxiety or something, but it feels…different?”
“That would be your connection to the Dark Woods,” Gaia nodded, Jake looking at her in confusion, “As its Owner, you have an intrinsic link to your territory, able to sense when others enter it. This link is only strengthened by the fact that you are also my Champion, which gives you a powerful connection to nature and the Wilds itself.”
“Okay,” Jake said slowly, gasping as his chest twinged, “So why is it hurting?”
“Someone is probably damaging your territory,” Gaia shrugged, rolling onto her front in the air, shaking her head as Jake made to get up, “No, finish resting first. You won’t last a moment in a fight with any of them if you’re both [Tired] and [Exhausted].”
Jake grumbled as he settled down again, knowing that the goddess was right. Instead, he leaned his head back on the tree he was resting against, closing his eyes. A strange sense of peace washed through him, Jake embracing it as he began to feel the forest around him, the leaves rustling in the breeze as the sun shone down on the crowns of the trees. He felt the birds flying through the air, squirrels in the branches and various creatures under the ground. It was peaceful. Beautiful.
Then another twinge pierced his chest, Jake gasping as he focused on the source, his mind flying through the woods to the heavy tramping of feet. He couldn’t see so much as feel as the half-giant from the tavern shoved another tree out of his way, breaking roots, and crushing undergrowth beneath his large boots. Behind him walked at least twenty other men, though they all moved far more carefully. A soft patter drew Jake’s attention forward, spotting the hidden figure as he darted from branch to branch, barely shaking one as he jumped to the next.
Jake opened his eyes, watching as the last few seconds of the debuff timer ticked away, the symbol vanishing a moment later. Energy flooded his body, allowing him to stand with ease as he rolled his shoulders, Gaia still floating in the air beside him, her eyes flashing as he looked to her.
“You were able to feel the forest, weren’t you?” she asked, Jake just nodding, “Good, you have taken another step to understanding your role as my Champion. Now go, Jake Grey. Defend what is yours from these invaders. Show that you truly deserve to call these lands your own.”
Jake just smiled as he jumped into a nearby tree, hopping quickly between the branches as he vanished into the shadows.
------
Bertram was pissed.
Not because his former boss was dead. No, he was actually kind of glad about that. But because the man’s stupid brat had bodily grabbed him the moment what was left of the Traveller’s body had burst into light and vanished, forcing Bertram back into the damn forest. Now he was leading a group of idiots through the woods as their self-proclaimed “new boss” tore up the trees around him. Shaking his head, he paused as he thought he felt something looking at him, sweeping his gaze among the tree branches, but seeing nothing.
“You’re getting paranoid in your old age,” he muttered to himself as the feeling vanished a moment later, “Let’s just get this over and done with.”
“Bert!” Maurice hollered from behind him, making the Assassin grimace, “Where we? How long?”
“About halfway,” Bertram called back, “We’ll be there in an hour at this pace.”
“Too slow!” Maurice spat, stomping forwards and shoving trees out of his way, almost knocking Bertram off of his perch as he damn near ripped the tree the Assassin was standing in out of the ground, “We go faster! Find Traveller bastard an’ make him pay! For Da!”
“Yeah!” several of the hunters behind the eight-foot-tall man cheered, “For the boss!”
Maurice let out a bestial snarl as he forged ahead, making Bertram scowl at the simplicity of his thinking. They were up against a Traveller, after all, an immortal warrior that would only get more powerful the more they killed. Not for the first time did Bertram wonder what other Titles the man called Jake Grey had managed to get during his time in the woods. A loud howl suddenly pierced the air, interrupting Bertram’s thoughts and making everyone pause as Maurice glanced around fearfully.
“Bert! Where wolves?” Maurice demanded.
“Straight ahead,” Bertram replied flatly, listening closely as the howl sounded again, “About an hour away, I would say. Though it only sounds like one of them, so probably the Traveller’s pet.”
“One wolf?” Maurice grinned, “That okay, I kill one wolf. Den I kill Traveller!”
“Right,” Bertram sighed, watching as the half-giant continued his destructive path with even more vigour than before, “This is only going to end badly, I know it.”
------
Jake smiled as he heard the howl, getting the message loud and clear from his bonded companion.
Luna was going to take the pups to the East Oak, out of the way of the intruders, and far away from the potential influence of the Devil in the Cave. How Jake knew this, he wasn’t sure, but he didn’t really care as he jumped through the trees like a monkey, barely holding in the woops of joy as he moved.
Skill [Free Movement] has levelled up.
Skill [Silent Movement] has levelled up.
Jake grinned at the two notifications, continuing to move through the trees like a shadow. It took him another hour to reach the clearing, pausing on the edge, just outside the barrier. He watched as the trees shook on the opposite side, several being force to the side as they were ripped from the ground. Each one sent a twinge through his chest, though Jake had learned to ignore the discomfort for the most part, simply observing as the half-giant from the tavern emerged into his clearing, looking around the camp in annoyance.
“Where he?!” he shouted, “Bert! Where Traveller?!”
“Probably far away from us, you loud oaf,” the familiar voice of the Assassin grumbled as he also emerged from the trees, “You made so much noise coming here, it wouldn’t surprise me if he could feel your footsteps shaking the earth.”
“Den you go find him!” the half-giant snarled, looking at the Assassin in anger, “Find and bring to me. Den I kill him!”
“Fine, fine,” Bertram sighed, looking around the simple camp in interest, “Just give me a minute to find his trail, shouldn’t take long after that.”
Jake watched as the man inspected the ground around the tent and firepit, then the tent and firepit themselves. He paused as he found a patch of flattened grass, the place Luna usually lay to watch her pups, running his fingers over it as Jake swallowed. Shaking his head, Bertram returned to the tent, looking around a little more, before standing up and stretching his back.
“North,” he said, “The Traveller went north.”
“Go find him, den!” the half-giant shouted, “I wait here in case he come back.”
“Fine, fine,” Bertram sighed as he trotted across the clearing, pausing at the edge to sigh, before delving back into the woods.
Jake watched as the man passed under him, keeping Shadow Mantle active until he was sure the Assassin had moved far enough away. Looking back into the clearing, he felt a grin begin to form on his face as he saw the hunters start to walk around, several lounging around his firepit as a few more half-heartedly patrolled the outer edge of the clearing. He felt the spark in his chest ignite again, burning with a powerful heat of excitement.
The hunt was on.