The chittering sounds of the Level 22 spiders filled the air of the forest. From where I was hiding, I was sure I was undetectable by most creatures. I had enough experience with bugs in this system to know that there was probably a boss somewhere. Insects tended to gather around a giant one of their kind. If that past data was consistent here, a Colossal spider in this area would probably be around Level 25-27. I probably wouldn’t be able to handle one of those quite yet, but these two were nothing.
As they got closer, I rested my hands on my pistols. My [Quickdraw] made the action meaningless as my hands could fly down and draw them in an instant, but it made me feel better. The spiders were part of a quest that one of the Rabbitfolk in Whispercreek had given me.
Eight-Legged Freaks
Objective: Kill 0/6 Level Lakeside Spiders
Reward: 800xp, 400g, (Chitin Hood: 15E+8 DEX, +5 AGI)
The quest rewards were impressive. I needed the gold and the experience, but I had so far gotten absolutely zero applicable Epic-tier gear. I had looted one or two over time, but it was either so low level that it was useless or it fit an entirely different class. Cain had found himself an Epic shield over the last week and Graham had found an Epic pair of boots. I wanted that hood.
Normally I’d invite a few others on the quest and share in the rewards. I felt like being a little selfish today. I had been hard at work planning and rallying and speaking and consoling. Katrina was spending the day with Nick as she worked on getting to Level 10 and her second animal form. I finally had some free time and if I wanted to kill spiders with it, that’s what I was going to do.
The duo of Lakeside Spiders got just close enough for me to feel confident with my aim. I drew my pistols, aimed at their row of eyes, and fired twice rapidly. The two critical hits met with my [Bone Piercing] to instantly kill the spiders. 46 gold and 2% of the experience to reach Level 23 were my reward.
I had done more research on my [Bone Piercing] over the last week. I had found a Level 11 Wolf. It took me 6 normal shots to kill it. After re-activating [Bone Piercing], it took 6 shots. It seemed ineffective.
I then found a Level 12 Termite. It also took me 6 normal shots to kill it. However, after activating [Bone Piercing], it took only 4 shots. This was repeated several times. I have come to the conclusion that the ability, when applicable, adds around 50% extra damage. I’m not sure how much the level of the skill comes into play yet, but I’ll test more when I can. Who knows? Perhaps I’ll find some codex or something that describes some of my more vague skills in greater detail. I still wasn’t sure what [Diplomacy] did and [Resolve] felt more or less useless. I regretted picking that. [Tracker] was rarely effective for group situations, but situations like this quest were where it really shined. [Analyze] had been doing some good as of late too. I could feel my percentage of critical hits increasing. This was tripling my damage every time I landed that critical strike. I was weaker, slower, and had less energy than most, but holy fuck can I shoot like Clint Eastwood at the end of a western movie.
Two spiders down with four to go, I activated my [Tracker] skill. With my mind focused on Lakeside Spiders, faint golden tracks began to appear. I had leveled it up to the point where the tracks will increase noticeably in brightness the more recent they are. I followed the trails of yellow dots as they got brighter and brighter. When I estimated I was only one or two hundred yards out, I slowed my walk to a calm and careful shuffle through the underbrush. The trees around me could host all sorts of dangers as I focused only on the tracks, but I was confident in my ability to either fight them off or at least escape with my life intact.
As I got 50 or so meters out, I could hear them. I moved slowly and carefully as I took in my surroundings. It’d be nice if there was a perfect little clearing that they were gathered in. Instead, they were somewhere in the underbrush in front of me. That [Camoflauge] skill that I passed on a while ago seemed like it could have been very useful right about now. I could hear them, but I couldn’t see them. I could only hope that they couldn’t see me.
I thought I saw a flash of black in front of me, but it took me a minute to realize that it was a shadow. I looked up to see the hissing body of a spider. The pistols practically teleported into my hands and I fired a quick [Multi-Shot]. I had long ago learned my lesson about engaging an enemy without reading its profile, and I was scared. Luckily, the skill instantly killed the dog-sized arachnid as it fell from the tree and landed in front of me. Its legs were curled up and the light was gone from its eyes. The hissing didn’t stop though.
I looked around to see several more spiders on trees. I calmly scanned the profiles. They were all Level 22-23. Good. I only needed to kill three more of these creatures and I could skidaddle back to Whispercreek.
I fired several shots at one, watching it fall. It wasn’t dead, but it was close. One of the other spiders charged at me, and I met it with several shots to the face. The beast died before it got within 8 feet of me. I spotted another, blowing it apart on the tree it was hissing from. I was surprised when a large stringy web appeared from nowhere and hit me in the face. I could feel it burning my skin. I could see the red profile of the injured spider as it emerged from the underbrush to assault me with another web. I fired my pistol. Miss.
It had been a long time since I really and truly missed. I fired again. Miss. Twice in a row? Jesus.
The spider pushed its attack and another web hit me. I was now covered in the burning string as it seared grill lines across my flesh. I turned in just enough time to fire one more bullet before it bit my neck. The bullet flew through its skull and the creature dropped dead. As it died, the webs vanished and left me standing there, burnt and in pain.
I popped the low level health potion I had picked up in town and felt a bit of my strength coming back to me. I was exhausted from the fight and headed back to Whispercreek to collect my reward.
I was overjoyed to see my experience bar rise and my gear enter my inventory. I was even more happy to see the notification that I had finally reached Level 23. The system asked me to select a passive skill from the traditional list of 5.
Discovery
See outlines of potential enemies within a short distance.
Harvester
Loot more crafting materials from hunted creatures.
Beastbane
Deal more damage to and take less damage from “Beast” type creatures.
Hawk’s Eye
See profiles from much further away and under less-visible conditions.
Pain Tolerance
Take less pain from injuries.
This seemed like a solid set of skills. I wanted all of them. [Discovery], like most skills, probably increased with level. It also seemed very similar to [Hawk’s Eye]. While [Hawk’s Eye] could probably detect from further away, [Discovery] seemed much more useful. [Hawk’s Eye] was out and 4 options were left.
[Beastbane] felt like a solid skill and I wouldn’t be disappointed to have it, but I was gearing up for a human war. This wasn’t the sort of skill I wanted in a battle with humans. 3 options left.
You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.
[Pain Tolerance] was cool, but it wouldn’t make me any less dead. Maybe it would help with my focus while I was injured, but it was really and truly a willpower skill. It might have been smart, but I was far too proud to take it. 2 options left.
[Harvester] was great, but I wasn’t a crafter. It would make me more gold, but I could worry about that after my family, my home, and myself were safe. That was out. It really only left one option.
It wasn’t the coolest option, but [Discovery] was the smartest in my opinion. I clicked accept and watched it join my profile along with my gear. I went ahead and put 2 of my points into Wisdom. I was starting to get more tired again, and needed to be able to sustain my skills. The other point went into Agility. It was a safe place to put a point when I was either confident with my other ones or felt as though they were unnecessary like Strength.
NAME
Jeremiah, L.
CLASS
Ranger
LEVEL
23 (10%)
GOLD
805
STRENGTH
10
DEXTERITY
48 (18+29)
WISDOM
17
AGILITY
44 (23+21)
CRAFTING SKILLS
Cooking (2)
SPECIAL SKILLS
Diplomacy (2)
ACTIVE SKILLS
Multi-Shot (13)
Quickdraw (10)
Ranger's Mark (7)
Cover Fire (3)
PASSIVE SKILLS
Tracker (9)
Resolve (8)
Bone Piercing (7)
Analyze (3)
Discovery (1)
MAIN-HAND
Black Dawn Pistols (15R)
[+11 DEX]
OFF-HAND
N/A
HEAD
Chitin Hood (15E)
[+8 DEX, +5 AGI]
CHEST
Shackleford Vest (12C)
[+7 AGI]
LEGS
Gnoll Hunter's Leggings (12C)
[+4 DEX, +3 AGI]
BOOTS
Scout's Boots (14U)
[+6 DEX, +6 AGI]
With my skills assigned, I went into the tavern in Whispercreek. Cain had been doing his best to work on this place. We hadn’t talked much lately, but I could see the effort he was putting into this. The settlement now had over 60 rabbits and was nearly complete in its construction of the walls around the town. Cain had led an expedition to clear an old logging camp from goblins, and the Rabbitfolk had been making use of it ever since. While Harehill had large quantities of stone architecture, Whispercreek had much more wood in its buildings. While this meant they were less sturdy, the structures were going up much faster.
I took a sip from a tankard of ale and smiled. Maybe we were going to lose this war, but we were going out with a bang. Cain had also been working on a nice little project that would, hopefully, give the Red Liberty a run for their money.
---------------------
Eastland, TX - Current Time
“You can’t be serious.” Danny was scared. The advisor put in place by the Red Liberty to ‘assist’ Danny in protecting Eastland was currently informing him on the current situation.
“Oh…I am.” Dr. Riley didn’t seem too happy about the situation either. “So we need to make sure this place is in tip top shape when he arrives.”
“How long do we have?” Danny had heard many tales about the tendencies of their special guest to place the blame of poor experiences where he believed it belonged: on the leaders.
“Last I heard, he’s gathering his battalion and will arrive in around two to three weeks. Klein is not a man to mess around with.”
Dan nodded. Commander Klein, head of 2nd Liberty Battalion, was the commander most infamous for his outbursts of violence. He was mean, cruel, wicked, and every other synonym for evil that one could come up with. Armistice had chosen him purely to drive fear into the hearts of enemies. “Why is he coming here?”
Riley sighed. “Your friends up north killed an entire company.”
“What friends? And an entire company?"
The doctor gave a smirk. "Don't play coy, Danny. We know about you and Jeremiah. Raphael and his men vanished off the face of the earth. Last word from them was their intention to vassalize the Commonwealth. Some scouts saw signs of a battle outside the main gates of Harehill.”
Dan scratched the back of his head. He knew Jeremiah had some tricks up his sleeve, but to take out an entire company was unheard of. Even when the Crusade resisted, they had maybe managed to kill a company’s worth of men across the whole Liberty force. At least, that's what he had heard. “That’s insane.”
“Indeed. Klein has been ordered to put a stop to this.”
“What’s he going to do?”
Riley shrugged. “Most likely what he did here. Imprison the resistors and those responsible for the company's demise, and allow the survivors to thrive under the flag of Liberty.”
Dan could tell that Riley didn’t quite believe what he was saying, but Riley had a job to do and he was doing it to a letter. “I’ll get the place ready.”
Riley nodded. “O! And one more thought Danny-boy...”
Dan turned, looking at the doctor. “Yes, sir?”
“Klein has a tendency to like the more…dramatic situations. I'd advise you to not interfere in anything he does while he's here.”
Dan grimaced and gave a nod. With a short bow, he walked out the door. He walked the streets of Eastland, giving little looks left and right to the townsfolk. He was once admired. Now, he was either feared or hated. He strode across the street to a small house along the main street. With a few careful steps up the stairs, he arrived at the front of the door. He paused for a minute before committing and giving the door a few hard knocks.
Pastor Gabriel opened the door with a mildly surprised look on his face and a smile. “Hey, Danny.”
“Hey, dad. Did I wake you up?”
Gabriel's normally neat hair was disheveled and the bags under his eyes showed he hadn't been sleeping much anyways. “Not at all. What’s wrong?”
“Can I come in? I….I need help.”