We walked until it got dark and then found a small clearing to make camp in. As the others gathered around the small cook fire I walked away, sitting on the trunk of a fallen tree as I opened my menu.

I’d been desperate to learn about the specialty skills since the moment I’d read the notification but until now, it hadn’t seemed like a good time to do so. I knew many people above level ten including Nora and Jacob but neither of them had said anything about something like this. It was frustrating to know they hadn’t thought it worth mentioning.

I navigated to a new screen I’d not seen before that was a little intimidating. It looked a lot like a spider web that branched off a single point. With each new row, a new selection of options was displayed as a circular image. The first four available seemed to be the specialties assigned to my class. One of them was already lit up, meaning I’d acquired it before this screen had even become available. I didn’t know if that was normal or if I’d somehow stumbled upon a useful glitch. Because it was already something I had obtained the next tier of that specialties skill tree was lit up as well. The others, beyond the initial option, were greyed out.

I focused on the first of my new options, depicted by a bow and arrow, and read the description.

Archer

Thieves that choose this style become masters of ranged combat. Choosing to avoid close combat attacks they rain fire and pain down on their foes from afar. They can develop skills to better avoid close combat, fire bolts or arrows at multiple foes, and even learn fletching techniques to craft arrows or bolts with devastating effects.

I could see the usefulness of this option. It would allow me to fight more effectively with my bow and stay far away from the dangers of close combat. It didn’t excite me though. I’d become attached to my blades and preferred that method of combat over the bow. Still, it had a lot of merit. Something that I could see myself diving into and developing.

I moved on to the next, a little more excited by the depiction of two crossed swords.

Dual-wielder

Thieves that choose this style become masters of dual-wielding daggers or shortswords. Deadly and fast, the thief’s blades slice through enemies’ defenses in perfect harmony. They can develop techniques to leave lasting bleeding effects, learn skills to drive multiple enemies back in a single blow, and even perfect their form to increase the chances of critical hits.

Now this was a little more my style. I could feel myself salivating at increasing the effectiveness of my dual-wielding techniques. At the moment all I had was my backstab talent. This opened up a lot more attack options that would attune to my battle style. The ability to increase the chances of critical hits was also interesting. It would up the power of my attacks without me being forced to add precious points to my strength stat.

I moved on to the next, this one depicting the silhouette of a man running.

Shadow

Thieves that choose this style become masters of chaos. Their dirty tricks leave enemies floundering with an array of physical effects that make them easy targets for a sharp blade or arrow. Shadow thieves work best when they can’t be seen, favoring traps and poisons as they lurk in the shadows avoiding close combat. They can poison weapons, form debilitating or outright explosive traps, and learn skills that help them remain hidden in combat.

I paused over this one, finding myself intrigued by the possibilities. I already had schematics for a basic trap and poison that I had gotten from Vincent Voss. I hadn’t utilized them yet however and in truth that seemed like a waste.

Being able to stay hidden in combat would be useful too. At the moment the best I had was Shadow Rush. It was a skill I loved and used often but the possibility of others that were just as useful was tantalizing.

I didn’t think there would be an option other than Dual-wielder that would interest me but this was on par with it.

I moved on to the next, this one depicting a growling wolf’s head. This was the one that was already lit up and offered me the next tier of specialized options.

Ranger

Thieves that choose this style become masters of the wilderness and those that reside in it. A ranger is a warrior of the wilderness favoring stealth, speed, and skills of the hunt. They can learn to track their foes or sense the nature of upcoming danger, attune with their environment to move stealthily anywhere, use environmental advantages to add potency to their attacks, and befriend wild animals who will fight for or with them. Rangers value intelligence to aid their spells.

I frowned, unsure about the description I was reading. It was not the same as the description I’d read when I gained the specialty after my battle with Vincent Boss. Granted, it was very similar. Perhaps just a more fleshed-out version of the same description. Still, it was odd that it was different.

The fact that it relied on the intelligence stat concerned me. Aside from magic, it was my lowest stat at only two points. Sure, that was something I could work on as I leveled up but it was a little intimidating starting from such a low point.

I already had the specialty so I wasn’t sure what the benefit of continuing down that line would be. Not when there were the Dual-wielder and Shadow options that did not require intelligence to master.

I looked at the next tier of options in the Ranger category, hoping it would solidify my decision to choose something else. There were three options available, all of them different from the others.

Summon Familiar

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The Ranger calls upon the magic of the wilds to summon an animal companion to aid them in the fight. Power and duration of the summoned familiar are dictated by player level and intelligence.

That was no good. It was just another thing that required a high intelligence score. Besides, I already had three animal companions if you included Frank. I’m not sure how many animal companions a player needed but three seemed like a good enough number.

Camouflage

The Ranger, like the chameleon or octopus, attunes to the environment to blend in with their surroundings. Duration is dictated by player level and intelligence.

This was a little more interesting. It would be useful to just disappear into my surroundings at any time. It would have helped a lot back in Castle Condamine. I wouldn’t have had to dress as a beggar or a member of the Fellowship of Fayum. I could have just walked among everyone without them even noticing. But again, it required high intelligence, something that would take a lot of time for me to build. It was absolutely useful, but not ideal at my current level.

Identify

The Ranger develops the ability to look upon an object or person and see the value they hold hidden within. The amount of information available is dictated by player level and perception.

This one had me enthralled. Perception was one of my highest abilities, only behind Agility because of my Pickpocket title bonus. I wasn’t quite sure what it meant by the value an item or person had ‘hidden within’, but I’d be lying if I didn’t say I was dying to know.

I hesitated. Staring at the single point that glowed at the top of the page. I so badly wished that number was much higher. I didn’t even know how I gained these points. Was it something I got with every level up from now on or did I only get them with every tenth level up like I’d gotten this one? Would I be willing to wait another ten levels to get another specialty? Would the other specialties even be available if I chose to follow the Ranger path?

Argh, it was too difficult. I didn’t like choices like this. If you made the wrong one you were stuck with that decision for the rest of the game. That meant the rest of my life in this world. Maybe further down the line, I would run into an object or book that would let me reallocate my points like some other games had but that was far from a given.

I ran my fingers through my hair as I thought about it. Dual-wielder and Shadow were great options but they wouldn’t give me anything that would help right this second and for some reason, I felt a powerful need to have something now. I didn’t want to wait.

My choice made, I focused on the Identify option. I watched it light up, my stomach doing backflips inside me as I worried I’d chosen wrong. Taking a shuddering breath I closed out of my menu and looked around, summoning my new Identify skill.

Words appeared above so many things like the names of monsters did in battle. I looked around, spying a mint herb in the underbrush, in the trees I could see a level-five owl, and looking at the fire I could identify the pot bubbling on the fire as bush kangaroo stew.

I focused on my companions and the wealth of information almost unseated me.

Nora Nightingale – Level 18 Two-handed warrior

Stella Griffon – Level 22 Berseker

Son-of-a-Bitch Percott – Level 19 Elemental battlemage

Miranda Sillford – Level 13 Necromancer

Theo Thundershield – Level 28 Champion warrior

Gabrielle Thundershield – Level 16 Archer thief

I couldn’t keep the smile from my face. Now I had information other players always hesitated to tell people. Would I see more, perhaps even their stat levels, if I kept developing this skill? That would be wonderful.

Nora turned to me and said, “what are you smiling at Joe? Keen for kangaroo stew that much are you?”

“You bet I am,” I said, jumping to my feet.

The descriptions faded as I stopped focusing on the skill. I watched them go, the same thrill that filled me when I Shadow Rushed swept through me. I felt powerful even though I now knew I was the lowest-level member of our group. It didn’t matter, now I knew. I could use that information.

I had a lot of skills now. Probably not as many as I could have but still a lot. I fiddled with my menu as I ate the stew Theo handed me until I found a way to list them all. I read through them, reminding myself of what I had. Sometimes, it was easy to forget. Even after so long, I wasn’t used to being a game character.

Animal charmer

Animals now find you 10% less offensive. Only effective against noncombative animals.

Magic Resistance (I)

Being blasted with so much magic has made you develop a slight resistance to its powers. Magic spells are now 2% less effective against you.

Pickpocket

While unseen the option to view other players' held goods is now available to you. Be cautious though; looking is fine but touching may cause your head to decorate a pike.

Shadow Eye

Hiding spots will now appear to you at a greater range. Hiding spots are marked by pretty sparkles. Remember, if there is glitter in the air, you’ll be safe there. Well, most of the time.

Enhanced Shadow Rush

You have submitted to the siren call of the shadows and they have blessed you with greater power. With nothing but sheer will, you can transform your body and that of a party member into nothing but a shadow and traverse short distances in seconds. Magicka usage is determined by the combined Intelligence score of members submitting to the shadows. Be wary, the shadows can be addicting. Staying insubstantial for too long will make it impossible to return to your true self.

Golden Tongue (I)

Merchants now offer you better pricing on goods based on the player's charisma skill so long as you don’t piss them off. Be warned Golden Tongue is a temperamental skill and can be lost as easily as it was given.

Gnome tongue

You have learned an intermediate level of the guttural language the gnomes speak. You can now communicate effectively enough to ask for directions to the library with a dusting of swear words thrown in.

Evasion

Passive skill. Through trial and error, you have gained an otherworldly ability to sense danger. This talent allows the thief to better evade physical attacks. +15% chance to dodge physical attacks. +20% to avoid physical effects such as Knockdown and Stun.

Identify

The Ranger develops the ability to look upon an object or person and see the value they hold hidden within. The amount of information available is dictated by player level and perception.

Nine skills. Almost one per level. Not too shabby in my opinion. I smiled as I closed out of my menu, holding my bowl up to scrape every drop of stew into my mouth. I hated to admit it, but Theo was almost as good at cooking as Phlegm the Goblin had been. I guess he wouldn’t be the worst traveling companion after all.