Jake sighed in disappointment.
He’d spent the last several hours researching various things about Primal Magic but had found very little on the subject that wasn’t just wild conjecture or speculation. Apparently, Salazar had been right when he called it a Lost Magic, as there was almost no information on it at all. In fact, the few books he’d grabbed from the ground floor had been more useful to Jake.
They were basic books about Skills and Ascending them, one even having a list of common Skills and what they could become. The one that had interested Jake the most was [Identify], a Skill gained by Dual Ascending both [Observe] and [Inspect] together. Apparently, it would allow him to see information on both monsters and items with the same Skill and would also provide more information than the basic Skills themselves. He had also learnt that to Ascend his Skills a second time, he would have to not only get them to level ten, but also complete certain hidden conditions to unlock the next stage. What those conditions were, however, almost no one knew.
Getting up, Jake returned the books to their places, heading down the stairs to the ground floor where Andy was waiting for him. The Defender had spent the entire time chatting to the librarian, the pair becoming quite well acquainted with each other. On seeing Jake return, Andy bid the librarian fair well and walked out of the library with him, a wide smile on his face.
“Any success?” he asked, Jake just shaking his head, “Damn, that sucks. But now let’s get you on the road to a proper build!”
“What?” Jake asked.
“It’s time to go see the Ranger Class Trainer, Jakey,” Andy explained, laughing as Jake blinked in realisation, “What? Did you forget about that?”
“Maybe,” Jake blushed as they walked through the town, Andy greeting several of the natives as they went.
They quickly made it to a large barracks, a walled off yard in front of it filled with practice dummies and archery targets, as well as a shallow pit filled with sand. Jake watched a pair of guards as they practiced in the pit, a woman in heavy armour watching them. Andy quickly pulled him over to the archery targets, another woman standing nearby as she fiddled with a bow, apparently checking the string.
“What can I do for you?” she asked as they approached, not looking up from her work.
“My friend here wants to learn a bit about being a Ranger,” Andy explained, the woman finally looking up at them.
Jake felt his ring pulse, the woman scowling at him as she stood.
“Class and bow Skill?” she barked, Jake starting at the sudden question.
“Uhm…Champion and [Hunting Bows]?” he answered slowly, the woman nodding, before tossing him the bow she’d been working on.
“Use that to fire a few shots at a target,” she said, “No extra Skills, just show me your form.”
Jake nodded as she handed him a bundle of practice arrows, using [Inspect] on both the bow and arrows.
Practice Bow
A bow made for practicing archery.
Quality: Common
Practice Arrow
An arrow made for practicing archery.
Quality: Common
Jake sighed as he swapped out his Steel Arrows for the Practice Arrows, taking aim at one of the targets at the far end of the shooting range.
“Stop,” the woman said before he could fire the arrow, walking up to him and adjusting his stance slightly, “Better. Fire now.”
Jake nodded slowly as he released the arrow, the shaft striking the target on the edge, surprising him.
“Thought so,” the woman muttered, “You’re pretty much entirely self-taught, aren’t you? Your stance is okay, but the rest is pathetic. You may have an Ascended Skill, but you have no idea how to use it.”
“Bertram said the same thing,” Jake sighed, the woman just grunting.
“Dunno who that is, but they sound smart,” she huffed, “Anyway, I guess if you’re here to learn about shooting a bow, I could help you. For a fee.”
“How much?” Jake asked.
“Basic lessons are five copper coins,” she said, “A full training regime, taking the whole day, is a silver.”
“Then I’ll take the full training regime,” Jake nodded, handing over the coin, the woman smiling as she nodded appreciatively.
“Good, let’s get started, we’re burning daylight as it is.”
------
Wind whipped through the air as Amelia shot towards the Queen Bee once again, several other players taking care of the Worker, Soldier, and Warrior Bees that came out of the hive, leaving the World Boss all to her. Wind blades the size of Amelia’s torso tore up the ground just behind her as she ran, poison needles leaving patches of melted and smoking earth. She dodged or outran all of it, steadily drawing closer to the Queen.
After her initial defeat, Amelia had respawned in the Temple of Healing in town, resting to recover from the two debuffs that players always gained on using an altar to resurrect. Then she’d gone to a local tavern and eaten and slept, letting her body and mind recover from the past several days. It wasn’t something she did often, but it was necessary if she wanted to properly fight the Queen Bee, after all.
On waking up, she’d gathered all the off-timers of her Guild, leading the three full parties into the woods around the town and having them take on the insect monsters in her place. They had made their way through the forest slowly, but it was necessary for Amelia to be fresh when fighting the Queen. When they’d reached the hive, she had ordered them to kill every add they saw but leave the World Boss to her until she died.
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Amelia had no doubt she wouldn’t beat the level ten monster this time. Hells, she was sure it would wipe out the other three parties as well once she was gone. But this was necessary, both to her increase in level and Skills, and also to her growth as a fighter and leader. While she wasn’t exactly “leading” per se, she had at least used her guilds resources for once, which she counted as progression.
Getting back to the fight, Amelia bobbed and weaved through the near constant stream of attacks, the other players drawing off the numerous smaller insects as she drew closer and closer to the Queen. A quick jump saw her narrowly avoid being bisected by a wind blade, Amelia smiling as she cast her movement Spell, invisible energy rushing around her and gathering at her feet. With a burst of wind, she leapt, sailing through the air towards the Queen.
Such a tactic was simple, and obviously stupid, as she couldn’t really dodge in the air, but Amelia had already noticed something. The Queen Bee could only fire wind blades in sets of three, after which she would fire a stream of poison needles from her stinger. Once she had done that, there was a three second period where she would simply fly around, obviously waiting for the Skills to recharge.
This is when Amelia struck.
That three second window was more than enough time for the Spellsword to crash into the Queen, driving her rapier into the insect’s abdomen, the point barely managing to pierce the thick carapace. But that was all Amelia needed, immediately using one of her Class features as she grabbed her sword with both hands, channelling the spell into the iron blade. A pulse of air Magic shot from the tip, Amelia able to feel it enter the internals of the Queen, bouncing around inside the hard shell.
The Queen let out a shrill scream, making everyone in the area flinch in pain, including Amelia. The act was enough to distract her from the wrist thick leg that slammed into her side, throwing her off the Queen as the insect flew around madly, the rapier still embedded in her abdomen. Amelia gasped as she hit the ground, the warning for her Health being below twenty five percent appearing as she rolled, pulling a potion from her inventory, and drinking the dull red liquid. It barely healed twenty points of Health, but it was enough to get her back to her feet and glaring at the Queen.
For its part, the Queen Bee was holding on quite well, charging around in fury as green ichor dripped from its jaws. Amelia was forced to dodge a powerful charge as the Queen tried to body slam her into the ground, wind blades following soon after. Amelia could barely keep up with the onslaught, nearly being hit by the erratic spray of poison needles from the Queen, before the massive insect tried to tackle her again, screaming as it smashed into the ground belly first, more green ichor spilling from its jaws.
Staring, Amelia suddenly realised what was going on, a grim smile forming on her face. Racing forwards, she ducked under the first of the three streams of wind blades, jumping the second as she managed to get within reach of the Queen’s dripping jaws before the third could be released. Sliding along the ground, just barely avoiding the snapping mandibles, Amelia managed to make it to the bent sword still stuck in the Queen’s body.
Grabbing the handle with both hands, Amelia clung on as she cast Air Bolt into the sword once again. The Spell juddered inside the twisted sword, used to having a straight path to follow, but now being made to move along the bent metal. Amelia snarled as the magic just built up inside the sword, refusing to move, pouring another casting of the Spell into the rapier. Still, the magic refused to move, even as Amelia was weathering a slew of blows from the Queen’s wildly flailing legs, her health already below ten percent.
With a final cast of the Spell, Amelia felt the build-up of magic in her sword start to move, the iron glowing red hot as the excess of mana pulsed down it and into the Queen. The next few moments happened as if in slow motion, though couldn’t have taken less than a second. First, Amelia’s twisted sword exploded, air Magic blasting out of it as she was hurled across the battlefield. Then the Queen Bee howled, her abdomen being torn open by the combination of the exploding blade and the massive amount of air magic inside her. Finally, both landed on the ground, barely moving as several shocked cries went out from the players.
Amelia coughed as pain rang through her body, waiting for the sweet relief of death to take her. It didn’t happen, instead her pain abating as several Healers threw Healing Spells at her, making her gasp. It didn’t take long for Amelia to be back on her feet, looking at the twisted and melted handle of the rapier in her hand, little more than slag now. Staggering forwards, she managed to get back to the Queen Bee, who was still spasming on the ground, green gunk and organs pouring from the wound on its chest.
“Ha,” Amelia laughed, no mirth in her voice, “I did it.”
The Queen seemed to glare at her in hatred, snapping its mandibles as it tried to drag itself closer to her. A quick Air Bolt to the wound on its chest was enough to make it splutter up more ichor, before finally falling still. Amelia stepped forwards confidently, placing her hand on the monster and looting it. She quickly checked her inventory, pulling the weapon she had just received out of it.
“Queen’s Stinger? A Rare Quality weapon, it seems,” Amelia hummed as she looked at the rapier. The blade was more like a thin pole, with no edge but a needle-sharp point that constantly dripped a purple poison. The handle and basket guard were striped in black and yellow, giving the impression of a bee’s body. Amelia just nodded as she sheathed the rapier at her side, a slight smile on her lips, “I can use you. For now at least.”
------
Jake panted, tired but happy.
The woman, who Jake had discovered was called Robyn Tyne, had really put him through his paces. He had spent the first eight hours of the twelve-hour full course just shooting dozens, if not hundreds, of arrows. Now Jake felt more comfortable with a bow than he ever had before, his stance and technique far better than when he had started. The last four hours had, surprisingly, been about melee combat.
“You’re not bad with your weapons,” Robyn said as she sat on a nearby bench, “But I would recommend getting a second short sword, especially if you’re going for the [Dual Wield] Skill.”
“Bertram said the same thing,” Jake hummed, looking down at his Ritual Dagger of the Wilds, “He said that it would unbalance my Skill if I kept fighting with two different weapons.”
“And he’d be right,” Robyn nodded, “Not that I’m saying replace that dagger anytime soon, just keep it as a backup.”
“I suppose I can do that,” Jake nodded back, “Anything else?”
“Yeah, shoot that bow of yours at one of the targets,” Robyn said, pointing to the Hunting Bow of the Wilds on Jake’s back, “And use its Ability while you’re at it.”
“What? Why?”
“Call it a favour to an old woman,” Robyn laughed, “So quit asking questions and just do it.”
Jake sighed as he walked back to the archery range, Robyn following him as he took out his bow. He pulled out a Steel Arrow, taking aim and activating the weapon’s Ability, bathing the shaft in green light. Firing the arrow, it shot through the air, striking the target just shy of the bullseye, before the green energy pulsed and turned red, the straw target suddenly bursting into flame.
“Well blow me down,” Robyn laughed as Jake panicked, “A fire Ability?”
“Uhm…no,” Jake shook his head, “It actually gives a random Status when you use the Ability. I’ve only seen it give Paralysis before though.”
“Random, huh?” the woman hummed as she watched the target burn, “A bit dangerous and unpredictable, and will force you to adapt to whatever it does, but not a bad bow all the same.”
“Thank you?” Jake said slowly, Robyn just grinning at him.
“Well, you’ve finished the full training regime,” she hummed, “And did better than most who try it, so I guess you’re my best student so far. You want to become a fully-fledged Ranger?”
You have been offered the Ranger Class.
Accept?
Y/N?
Note: Accepting will replace your current Class with the new Class.
“Oh, no thank you, sorry,” Jake shook his head, the woman just shrugging.
“Not a problem, kid,” she chuckled, “I get the feeling whatever your fancy pants Class is, it’s a good one. Now, bugger off and go get some sleep, you look like you’re about to keel over.”
“What?” Jake asked, before letting out a loud yawn, “What?”
“You haven’t slept in like four days, Jakey,” Andy reminded Jake as he and Eta approached the man, having been watching the entire time, “Like I was telling you before, you have to sleep every now and again to reset your brain. Come on, let’s go get a room for you at the Basket.”
“Right,” Jake yawned again, following after his friend as they left the training yard.
“Oh!” Robyn called out after them, “And I would consider getting the [Track] Skill as well if I were you. If you want to be a real Ranger, that is.”
“Noted,” Jake nodded, blinking his eyes tiredly as they waved to her and left.