Chapter Sixteen: Learning to Fly
Rook was able to repeat the trick three more times. During his third attempt, he was even able to trap all three of the juvenile wolves.
While clearly smaller than the others, each was nearly as large as Rook, and certainly could have killed him easily in a fair fight.
There was something inherently distasteful in the way he was handling the wolves. Rook felt a small pang of guilt as he dispatched the helpless animals, but, having grown up on a ranch, he had little sympathy for wild animals that would kill him out of pure instinct.
Even a single wolf on the ranch was a disaster, as the domesticated pack animals had no defense at all. If the fight was fair, neither would he.
Rook understood that this was a fight for his life, one in which he was ridiculously outmatched. If he was going to survive, he needed to use any tool or trick he could.
After the fourth attempt, however, it appeared that the strategy had changed. Rook had hoped that by removing the bodies of the wolves, the pack might not catch on to his tricks. But with nearly half of their number missing, even wild animals can sense that something is amiss.
According to the map, they were spreading out more. Perhaps they were simply trying to cover the same area with less members, but at the same time, they started movings slower. They seemed to be acting more cautious.
The last wolf that had fallen into the poison trap had almost caught on. It hesitated before testing the meat Rook had dropped. Rook was leaving more pieces spread around now, which was how he caught the three young wolves, but the last wolf had moved between them cautiously.
Only after surveying the whole area and smelling each piece of dried meat, did the wolf cautiously test the bait. Luckily, it was enough, and soon, Rook was outside, ending the sixth wolf.
There still was no sign of the black wolf, and several of the others had already moved outside the range of Rook’s detect skill. He knew they were still around, however. They were just hunting in a pattern larger than he could sense, and would move in and out as he continued to monitor them.
Rook quickly collected the dropped loot, another large pile of coins, and other random objects, mostly bones and some odd stones.
He had now more than doubled his coin reserves. Never having a single coin to his name, Rook had never been concerned with the economies involved. Of course, everyone knew that most of the coins used were actually harvested by hunters and mercenaries. A human would get one coin each day, but a hunter could harvest hundreds of coins from a single kill.
In the village, a single coin could get you a bed in the inn, including two meals. Having so many coins in his soul space at one time was warping his perspective.
If you wanted a house, you built it yourself. You might exchange favors with others in the village if you needed help and supplies. If you wanted food, you would trade, using things you make or grow yourself. This was common sense.
Coins were for luxuries. This was also common sense. When you had nothing to barter, or wanted something special, like brand new clothing, or a bottle of distilled wine, then coins were traded in small quantities.
The amount of coins that Rook now possessed exceeded the wealth of anyone he had ever seen. Including the skill stones, he could buy the entire ranch, or maybe even pay someone for a house in the village.
The problem was that he might never get a chance to spend a single one. Instead of spending or saving the coins, however, he now had a third option that he had never even known existed. He could use the coins.
After looting the dropped coins and storing the carcass of the sixth wolf, Rook returned to his soul space to think of a new strategy.
［Not a bad haul this time. Those pups were a disappointment, though. This last guy dropped more coins than those three combined.］
“I think they are catching on. I don’t know if the poison meat thing is going to work anymore.”
［That’s kind of a moot point. You are out of meat anyway.］
This brought a frown to Rook’s face. He had enjoyed the meat, and had been getting used to it. Food might be an issue soon. Technically, he had a large amount of meat if you included the wolf carcasses he had collected, but Rook had no idea how to process the meat. He knew there was a butcher in the village who could do it. The large, round man would purchase any animals on Rhaeger’s ranch who died, or was injured, and when he did, Rhaegun would always brag that they got to keep some of the leftovers.
That meant that he only had the hard bread rolls left. There were other things he could eat, but that was it for food he could eat without starting a fire. It also meant that they needed a new strategy.
Luckily, they now had more coins to work with.
“I think we should find some good attack skills.”
［Are you kidding? Besides, the only offensive skill stones you have are the one from that merc boss, and that creepy one. I don’t think either will help you much in this situation.］
“What do you mean? Why wouldn’t fireball help? I could roast those wolves in a big—“
［At a basic level, all you could do is singe their fur. That is, if you could hit them at all. You are just as likely to light a tree on fire. It’s kind of hard to sneak out of the forest if you are burning up a path for people to follow you. Nope. What you need is defense and mobility.］
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The ones that Obi had selected were another green stone and a bright yellow one. Green stones came primarily from forest animals, so most of the ones they had collected were green. That included the cure, heal, and detect skill stones Rook was already using.
Yellow stones came from beasts high in the mountains, so they were relatively rare. The stealth skill was yellow, and the second stone Obi had selected was the only other yellow stone that they currently possessed.
［Fortitude and Boost. Fortitude will increase your defense. The skill is called Toughness. Boost will give you movement abilities. This one is Leap. I think you can guess what these skills will do.］
“Yeah, but—“
［I also think we should use coins to boost their levels. Now that Detect has gone up, this would give you four, tier-two skills.］
“Detect reached full proficiency?”
“Yup, just a little while ago. Here, check out your status and you can see the new ability.”
SKILLS
CORE: RESTORE/CURE
Basic cure: Negate the effects of poisons and negative status effects.
Proficiency: 5 / 100%
CORE: RESTORE/HEAL <2>
Intermediate heal: Greatly increase the speed and effect of natural healing.
Proficiency: 3 / 100%
CORE: DETECT <2>
Scan area: Detect and monitor all activity in the surrounding area.
Proficiency: 1 / 100%
CORE: STEALTH
Hide presence: Sound, smell, and aura are suppressed.
Proficiency: 45 / 100%
CORE: CREATE WATER
Fountain: Create water in exchange for mana.
Proficiency: 4 / 100%
CORE: CREATE FIRE
Spark: Ignite fuel with a focused blast of extreme heat.
Proficiency: 26 / 100%
“How is that different from before?”
［Well, the new skill is more powerful. The range has almost doubled, and it looks like you can detect more than just living things. I think you can also see mana. Hopefully, that means we can finally track that black bastard.］
“That’s great! Maybe we won’t even need to use any more stones.”
［The problem is MP consumption. Just like intermediate heal, the scan area will deplete your mana even faster. What would be great is if we could find a way to boost your mana.］
“Is that possible?”
［Uhhh, I dunno. Maybe?］
“Are you serious? You said before—“
［Look. I don’t have a lot to work with right now. Maybe if we can find a way out of this death forest, we can optimize your build. Until then, we just need to do what we can to live another day.］
“Fine. Can you see all the wolves now?”
［More or less. There is still no sign of that black one, though. I don’t know if he’s left the area, or has some way to block the skill. Either way, don’t let your guard down.］
“Right. So what should we do now?”
［For now, let’s add the new skills and bump them to tier two. Then, you can start working on raising proficiency in your skills while you get back on the move. We’ll keep an eye on the wolves, and be ready for more sneak attacks.］
“Alright. Sounds good.”
SKILLS
CORE: FORTITUDE <2>
IRON SKIN: Resistance to physical damage is greatly increased. While active, agility is reduced.
Proficiency: 1 / 100%
CORE: BOOST <2>
Sprint: Running faster and jumping higher. While active, movement is greatly increased, and stamina consumption is slightly reduced.
Proficiency: 1 / 100%
［So, What do you think?］
“Those… those are pretty good. Can I really do that? Jump and run… and Iron skin? Is that what it sounds like?”
［Well, you should try them out. Don’t rely on a skill in battle until you know their weak points better than their strengths. Unless you want a repeat of your run-in with the big bad wolf.］
After checking the map and the view from the totem, Rook left the soul space and looked around the forest.
It was late in the day, and if possible, he would like to find someplace to sleep. He did not like the idea of moving through the forest in the dark, even with his improved skills.
Activating his new sprint skill, Rook started to move. As soon as he took the first step, he immediately changed his mind about the skill.
He couldn’t help himself as a giant grin appeared on his face. He could now run, and jump like a hillcat.
While he didn’t feel any stronger, each jump or step seemed to take far less energy than it used to. He also instinctively knew how to angle his feet to control his movement to glide through the thick forest with ease as though there was some force pushing him.
In a short while, Rook had managed to cover several times the amount of distance he had previously.
“This is… amazing. I’ve never felt anything like this before. I feel like I am practically flying.”
［That’s at level two. Can you imagine what it will be like at even higher levels?］
“Really? Is that really possible?”
［Yes… but you should have already noticed that the rate your proficiency increased after reaching tier two is much, much slower. With each tier, you can expect it to keep increasing dramatically in the amount of work, time, and resources required to level up.］
“Well, I’m not complaining about this. It really feels amazing. Maybe I can outrun the wolves with this skill alone.”
Don’t count on it. Now that you are out in the open, it looks like they can tell somehow. Look, they are starting to follow you again, and they can move just as easily through these trees as you; probably better.
Rook stopped and checked the map. Sure enough, the orange dots were following his position. Then he saw it. A new dot appeared out of nowhere on the map. It was not orange like the other wolves. Instead, it was a dark purple.
“Wait. What’s that?”
［Well, I’ll be… That’s your friend from earlier.］
“The black wolf?”
Yup… if, in fact, that’s what it is.
“What? What do you mean?”
［I mean… All living animals appear on the map with the orange markers, unless you change the settings, which you can’t, because only I can do that. Anyway, the purple is a different category altogether.］
“Huh? What does that mean?”
［It means… It means that I am not sure that it is a wolf at all. If it was, even if it had skills, it should show up as orange. But purple…］
“What is purple for?”
［Purple is just the color I set for… other stuff. For things other than the things I was expecting.］
“So? What is it then?”
［Like I said. It’s the color for… other. I can say for sure that it’s not a normal wolf.］
“It’s not a wolf… then it’s…”
It’s… something else. I think that’s why detect couldn’t see it before.
Then, just as suddenly as it appeared, the purple marker disappeared.
“Wait… how?”
［Watch out!］
Rook watched as the purple dots reappeared on the map.
It had appeared right behind him.