The window, in hindsight, was a terrible vantage given the shooting arc it made available. Too quickly the rat things found their way up against the wall, such that I'd have to stick my torso out for a clear shot.

I pulled back through the window, wincing at the sound of them gnawing at wood.

[Reinforced Walls] (Uncommon)

The section of the house most exposed to the elements. These walls were built sturdy, by the hand of someone fully intending them to last. Powerful wood, harvested from [The Woods] themselves constitutes these walls and offers durable protection from the elements.

Effects:

+12% structural integrity

+1% self-repair rate

I sighed in small relief. They were, in fact, made of rootwood, that is, any type of enhanced wood harvested from the areas affected by Root's power. To say the stuff was sturdy was slightly insulting, it would take an experienced lumberjack three times as long to chop down one of Root's trees. For these [Rat Wolfs] it might be easier to ruin my walls than cut through them completely.

I was surprised by that self-repair rate, but that made sense. Root's power tended to regenerate and repopulate the forest where damage was done. It was that reason that rootwood was so expensive, not many had the right tools to harvest it. Fully clearing it was nigh impossible. It was a strongman lumberjack that I was referring to, by the way, a lumberjack with enhanced strength would actually take time to cut down a tree. That statement alone should be evidence enough of its structural integrity.

I headed to my attic. In the direction of my bedroom, past the kitchen from the living room, there was a hatch above. I pulled it down, allowing the ladder to unfold. My attic was dusty, rarely did I ever need to put things in here, but it was where access to my antenna came from. Which meant it had access to the roof through the means of a small window and skylight.

I popped out bow first, feeling the nightly chill against my skin. Below me, over the edge of the roof, something between a bark and chitter.

"Creepy." I murmured to myself.

I glided to the edge. The height of the drop was less perilous than what waited below should I slip. Fortunately, my DEX was in the superhuman range already. That included my balance and bodily control. I toed the very edge of the roof, comfortable despite the stiff breeze of the night. Here, catching them unaware, I had now a perfect vantage point.

Slowly, ever so slowly, I trained my bow on the rat bastard that dared to gnaw at my house. Two quick arrows, only further quickened by my power found fatal points as I used [Cleanshot]. Two dropped dead in helpless yelps. Panicked yelping, a sudden bark, then silence followed. The pack leader getting them in order, presumably.

I paced the roof, creating a patrolling circuit. My ears strained against the night, drowning out the rustling leaves and the sound of the nightbirds calling out to the stars. I focused on the sounds between, not where there were quiet murmurings of nature, but where there was unnatural silence.

My ear twitched.

I turned on a dime. One had gotten on the roof. It abandoned its stalk and sprinted at me, galloped towards me. The sight of it, my first clear view, threatened to freeze me. It was like no animal I had seen before, midnight black with the face and posture of a rat, but all the ferocity and speed of a wolf.

Instinct kicked in and time resumed. Dodging to the middle of the roof I avoided a snarling mouth fulling intending to rend flesh. I rolled forward coming up to my knee with an arrow knocked.

"Crap, how'd you get up here?" I frowned, tracking him briefly. It did well to redirect its momentum, but too slow. "[Cleanshot]." The shot went wide, striking its shoulder rather than its heart.

The pain didn't stop it and it barreled into me, forcing me near the edge with a bruised grunt. I caught the thing's snarling, chittering head on my arm, forcing its vicious maw upwards. My left arm abandoned my bow, reaching its shoulder and ripping the arrow out from it. I stabbed the creature multiple times before I realized it was planning to just push me off completely.

Its claws bore into me as it positioned its mass to shove me harder. Before I could completely get sent off the edge, in what perhaps was my first taste of real superhumanity, I leaned backward, teetering on the edge, caught the [Rat Wolf's] stomach with my legs, and launched it off the roof. A confused whimper escaped its mouth as it found all its leverage gone, and all its momentum redirected towards the stars.

Bow back in hand and bloody arrow in the other, turning around I had just enough time to see it realize it was sailing through the night sky. Fairly confident that it would survive, I made sure to replant the arrow in its eye right at the apex of its launch. It landed in a limp heap, colliding with the ground in a cloud of dust.

I turned around wondering how it got up to the roof only to find another one of its kin scrabbling up. An arrow sprouted from its eye and I heard its body scrape against the house as it fell. I approached the edge carefully, not anticipating any more of them, but being prudent nonetheless. It had used the porch as a lower platform before leaping up here. I watched for a few moments until I was confident no more were coming.

I surveyed the surroundings from my roof until I was certain nothing was left. When I ducked back into the attic I made sure the window to the roof was shut tightly and moved a few things to block it for good measure.

When I made to make my way down the attic's ladder I heard the pattering of feet.

"That's not Parvus." I whispered to myself, slowing at the noise.

I cautioned myself to a crouch and tried peering through the hatch. Unfortunately, nothing was directly below or at the necessary angle for me to see them. I kept my bow ready, however, as I stayed quiet sentinel. Parvus was down there, I could only hope he avoided the creature somehow.

What did I have up here? I quickly rummaged around finding everything less than useful. Old glassware I never got around to using, a flimsy curtain rod, and an old axe I knew would fall apart immediately being used for what I intended to do.

I frowned, giving up the search. Pulling the ladder up was loud and conspicuous but that didn't matter too much anyway, I had only one way out either way. Shooting upside-down wasn't a particularly necessary skill, but it did come in handy when the angle for a kill, or a shot between the trees was uncomfortably awkward otherwise.

I dropped upside-down arrow nocked, poking out from the hatch opening. My sudden movement garnered no attention, no reaction. I was on edge, however, since at such close quarters reaction time could only go so far. A bow too, for that matter.

The room was clear, nothing in sight. Slowly, I lowered myself to the floor, dropping down silently. I held an arrow in my left and right hands, ready to use them as piercing daggers if the draw time was unrealistic. Or ammo if not. Rounding the corner, I heard something chuffing, moving through kitchenware if the clattering of utensils was any indication. The sounds of a scavenger.

Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

Another sound, like something dense falling, and the chuffing stopped. Immediately, chittering snarls broke out and I heard things breaking. A pained yelp exploded helped with the scrambling of claws on tile. 

Darting out from the hallway I found Parvus with one of the larger kitchen knives, taller than he was. The [Rat Wolf] had him backed into a corner of the kitchen, but brandishing the knife kept the wolf's face away. Parvus swung valiantly, I could see the rage and fear on his face. 

Right then, I learned something new about Parvus. He was a fighter at heart, whether he knew it or not.

A quick pull on my bowstring and the thing died. [Cleanshot] left minimal blood as the creature keeled over, slain and collapsing in a heap right at Parvus' feet.

Event Completed: [Rat Wolf] Attack (Uncommon)

Establishing a Base in an uncharted and unoccupied Zone always carries the risk of retaliation. However, as a [Woods Man] you belong in [The Woods] so no such retaliation will occur. A Zone will always work to keep itself in balance, however. A [Rat Wolf] presence has recently disrupted that natural balance. This pack of [Rat Wolves] has found your Base.

Objectives:

+Defend your Base 1/1

+Survive the night 1/1

Optional Objectives:

+Eliminate the entire [Rat Wolf] pack 1/1 

Rewards:

+40 EXP

+[Ring of the Rat Wolf]

+[Fang of the Alpha Rat Wolf]

 Immediately, I felt the items settle on me. Inexplicably finding their positions on my person without my input, yet resting comfortably all the same. 

I ignored them.

"Parvus, you okay buddy?" I stepped surreptitiously in front of the carcass, blocking his view. The little wooden man was trembling in fear, staring at me guarded. I held my hand out to him. "Parvus?" I waved at him.

He snapped out of it, looking up at me again, then the corpse behind me. He waved at me in that way he did, the motion was shaky and unsure.

"Come on. You haven't seen the worst of it, trust me." I told him, conscious of his trauma but refusing to coddle. It was a method typical of my father. He climbed onto my shoulder, looking questionably at my torn [Robes of the Animator]. I shrugged.

Dragging the body out was easy. I opted to carry the thing less blood smeared across the floor. I was lucky it died on the kitchen tile than the living room carpet. When the number of bodies became apparent, I felt Parvus' eyes on me. I left him to his own thoughts, however, as I dragged the last one to a pile.

I noticed the new ring on my finger when I finally gathered the [Rat Wolf] bodies all up. Come to that, I became conscious of the new weight on my hip as well.

[Ring of the Rat Wolf] (Uncommon)

A ring carved of [Rat Wolf] bone, detailed with intricacies much too small to appreciate. A scavenging fierceness radiates from it.

Effects:

+1 STR

+1 DEX

[Fangs of the Alpha Rat Wolf] (Rare)

A two-pronged dagger crafted with the twin fangs of an [Alpha Rat Wolf]. It imbues the user with the command that only an alpha of a species knows. Ferocity and confidence radiate from it.

Effects:

+2 STR

+1 DEX

+1 Max Number of Companions

I marveled at my loot and wondered just how lucky I was to attain all of this in one day. Then I paused, I realized exactly what was happening. It must have been it. Something lesser-known, that I only had the pleasure of being privy to through vested research. Who didn't love to fantasize about supers, after all?

It was, of course. the Origin Effect. The phenomenon following a super's Origin wherein the individual's power becomes fully explored and extremely responsive.

There were a number of reasons people believed this to happen. One being so that the super themselves would have a deeper understanding of their power. The noted extreme responsivity supports that claim. When super's have very subtle powers the Origin Effect functions as training wheels. It was the initial taste of your power and what more it could be.

For some more destructive powers, this meant entire city blocks or homes destroyed. Others resulted in the violent tearing of mortal minds, opening themselves to their new psychic pathways. Some experienced hour-long trances, in tune with their new brand of energy. Some attracted animals, others elicited wild growth. 

This wasn't to say the Origin Effect demonstrated the entire breadth of your power, but it tried to. There were many case studies wherein supers discover entirely new aspects of their power. For example, a telekinetic might realize they were, in fact, not manipulating things with their mind, but a fundamental force of the world instead; gravity. That was the hero Presence, the famous hero who could subdue entire city blocks with a thought. Or perhaps, a strongman who's initial power might seem like regular super strength when in fact it grew proportional to his regular strength. There were cases too many to count which made many super-related theories and phenomena hard to prove or support in any real measure.

The Origin Effect, however, has been witnessed enough times and without fail that it is generally accepted.

It turned out, mine seemed to be exposure. I had already come across so many systems, for lack of a better term. Equipment, Quests, Events, Dungeons, Achievements, Zones, Bases. Whatever might follow would be news to me. That wasn't to mention anything already covered in the Tutorial. Plainly speaking, for the first day, it was a lot to encounter.

I shook my head.

"Inside Parvus, I'll barricade the door and windows." The wooden man complied, sitting quietly in thought on my shoulder. 

During this time, I looked at my loot more closely. The [Ring of the Rat Wolf] was a simple stat boost, one that I enjoyed. The [Fangs of the Alpha Rat Wolf] was much more interesting. A two-pronged dagger by itself was eye-catching, but this one curved upward and looked downright deadly in my hands. What more, those effects were interesting.

I decided to look into some things while my body went on autopilot securing my house.

Companions

Companions are a general term that refers to any entity that accompanies you in your adventures. Such entities are limited to the individual by type. For [Summoners] they may have a Max Number of Summons of three. For [Beast Wardens] they might have a Max Number of Animal Companions of three. An increase in the Max Number of Companions can count toward either one. 

I nodded, this brought my Max Number of Animated to two. I'd have to think of something interesting to [Animate]. 

It was a pertinent question given the effect of my loot. That piece of Rare equipment certainly lived up to its name. I'd definitely be the alpha of my own pack. I looked at Parvus and his diminutive height. Although, that pack would, admittedly, be very small.

I brought my attention to my next curiosity; what just happened.

Events

Events are random encounters that offer a variety of Rewards if completed. Events can range from any number of things given that their impact upon the environment is notable enough to warrant one. Events are optional, often dangerous, and usually, must be reacted to in the spur of the moment.

Again, I nodded. It was basically what happened, although I wholeheartedly disagreed that this particular one was optional. They had attacked my goddamn house.

While I was at it, another curiosity netted me additional information. [Treetop Heights], after all, was a very lucrative first dungeon dive. Except, truthfully, I wasn't entirely sure what constituted a dungeon in the context of my power.

Dungeons

A dungeon is an entire territory accessible by a single point in space. They are filled with danger as well as riches. Often, these dungeons garner a particular characteristic or theme throughout them. Naturally occurring dungeons enrich the environment they are found in and function separate from regular space. However, they may have notable effects on their location depending on the dungeon's influence. They form in places of importance, grandeur, secrecy, meaning, glory or otherwise. 

[Treetop Heights] happened to fit all of that. Especially that last line, all except glory really fit the location of it. The snippets of information cleared things up for me, contextually. I had a neat understanding of everything I've encountered so far.

Nearly done with barricading and there was a knock on the door and a familiar voice. 

"Ludus? What the hell are these things, man?"