Unfortunately, he was forced to wait, and after another year, he was growing quite impatient with it. He was still too young to be granted to0 much knowledge of magic, and though he had learned of tomes of specialized magic that were housed in a local repository, those tomes were so rare and precious that there was absolutely zero chance of the tribe entrusting them to a child only three years old.

It was with this knowledge that he gazed consideringly at the details of a skill he'd recently acquired:

Stealth - Level 1

DESCRIPTION: When you wish to avoid detection, you do. Blend in with the shadows, move silently, and utilize your knowledge to convince other creatures to overlook you.

Please sneak responsibly.

(Successfully avoiding detection of nearby creatures will raise the level of this skill over time)

EFFECTS: Upon activation, provides a 0.25% chance to avoid detection per level of Stealth, multiplied by (Dexterity + Intelligence). A high opposing Perception skill reduces chances of success.

Additional actions can be taken to improve chances of success:

* Camouflage: Clothing and coverings that blend in with the target environment will decrease chances of visual detection.

* Lightfoot: Decreasing the weight of your footfalls will decrease the amount of noise your movements produce. Aggregate weight of user and all carried gear will be taken into account, offset by user Dexterity.

* Gear Materials and Fit: Well-fitted, softer materials will reduce chances of detection. Footwear provides double the bonus or penalty.

* Cunning Actions: Distractions, disguises, cover stories, and other clever devices can further reduce the chances of detection. Different contexts call for different solutions. Bonus points for creativity; none for stupidity.

Current Stealth Percentage: N/A (Deactivated)

He'd read and re-read the Skill description a thousand times over the past year. It was the reward for completing the first part of his quest, Act Natural! He knew it was a useful Skill to have, but he was leery about using it for actual legerdemain.

Now, though, he was seriously considering using the Skill to sneak into the repository just to read the tomes on magic. He might also be able to find more mundane books to help familiarize himself with this new world. His ignorance had nearly gotten him killed, and it couldn't hurt to learn as much as he could.

The more he thought about it, the more enticing the idea became. He would have to try out the Skill and run a few tests to know whether he could even make it work. He'd gained a bit more Intelligence, but his Dexterity hadn't seen much change, which meant at his current Skill level, he had roughly a 10% chance to avoid detection—basically, a greater chance of being caught than not. He'd have to raise his Skill level before he made an attempt on the repository, but he didn't even know how many levels there were or how quickly he could level them up. He really wished there was someone he could ask about all this.

He was surprised to see a notification in his action log beyond the usual ability checks and updates.

> User requesting special dispensation of information packet...

>

> Request Granted

>

> Downloading information packet...

>

>  

>

> Download successful.

>

> Deliver information packet now? Y/N

He mentally responded in the affirmative, and a piece of worn paper appeared on the floor in front of him. He didn't need to see the Wisdom deduction in his action log to know that he'd made a mistake.

> Wisdom -1 (Total: 33)

>

> When you don't know what will happen, plan for the worst.

His eyes darted quickly around the room, and he nearly fell over with relief when he confirmed there was no on else around. That could have been catastrophic. Why didn't it just deliver the information as one of the glowing messages? Or better yet, beam the information directly into his brain?

No messages were forthcoming in the action log, so he just sighed and dismissed the thoughts. He hadn't been caught, so there was no real harm done. Plus, he learned that the system could create objects, which would be helpful to know in the future. He also learned to be a little less trusting of the system and a little more cautious when accepting its gifts.

Looking down at the slip of paper on the ground, he noted that there were just a few paragraphs, very clearly written in English. That was a bit of a mixed bag: it was a good thing because his parents still hadn't taught him how to read Elden, but it was bad because he would probably be killed if his parents found him with it. He'd have to destroy it when he was done with it.

He stared at the damning document for a moment before reaching down and picking it up. He quickly scanned the room again before reading the contents of the information packet he'd accidentally risked his life to acquire.

"Information Requested: Skill Levels

"Over the course of your life, you will gain new knowledge and capabilities that can by quantified as System Skills. Each Skill refers to your affinity for a particular process or action. To obtain a Skill is to have your talent for the associated tasks officially recognized by the System.

"Obtaining a Skill is only the beginning. Once you have acquired a Skill, it may be improved by using it in the appropriate context and obtaining further knowledge about the Skill and its usage. Different Skills have different requirements to obtain and improve them. The speed of improvement and the efficacy of a Skill may be enhanced based on the Attribute(s) most closely related to that Skill.

"You may earn the Swordsmanship Skill, for example, by picking up a sword and swinging it around, but you would improve the Skill by swinging it intentionally and analyzing the effectiveness of your swings. Studying the styles of famous swordsmen may accelerate your results, but the Skill still requires active usage to improve. Dexterity, then, would most directly affect Skill improvement, though Intelligence and Strength would also provide bonuses, such as tactical thinking and attack power.

"Your aptitude with a particular Skill is represented by a Skill level. Each Skill has five levels, each adding new or enhanced functionality to the Skill. Your own usage of the Skill can affect the way that it develops at each level milestone, often resulting in additional functionality to make the Skill unique to your most frequent needs. Consistently training in a particular way increases the likelihood of developing a contextually appropriate addition to the basic Skill."

Aden read the paper a few times to commit it to memory, then looked around the room for some way to dispose of it. Their home was a simple one, with a single main room and a bedroom separated by a curtain. As he cast his eyes over one corner of the room, he spotted the jar of water that they used for drinking and cooking, and he knew what to do.

The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

Walking over to the water jar, he used a cup to get some water and pour it over the paper in his hand. Once the paper was thoroughly soaked, he rubbed it between his hands to break it apart, then he spread the pieces in the garden just outside the house. Now, even if someone stumbled across the scattered evidence, they'd be unable to either link it to him or read its contents.

With that handled, he turned his mind to the issue of how to evaluate and improve his Stealth skill. Perhaps he could do it at night and sneak around his sleeping family? But then he ran the risk of waking them in the middle of the night, and he wanted to avoid that. Maybe he could try it now, just to get a baseline of what his Stealth level would be in broad daylight.

He activated the skill where he stood, next to the garden, and immediately, the world was cast into stark contrast, both the shadows and light around him intensifying. His instincts were suddenly screaming at him to get out of the direct light, while the darkness seemed to call to him in comforting tones.

Looking down at his body, he noticed a harsh red outline glowing against his skin. He turned his hand over and over in the light, wondering at what it all meant, and in the next moment, he had an idea. He walked over to the shadowed area directly abutting the house and stuck his hand into the cool darkness there. Wherever the shadows fell on his arm, the bright red outline changed to a softer yellow, still alarming but not giving off the same sense of dangerous urgency as before.

It seemed that this was a feature of his stealth skill that warned him when he was entering a well-lit area. The yellow could mean that body part was hidden, or maybe that he was only partially hidden. He'd have to test some more to find out.

He stepped fully into the shadows, and sure enough, the outline around his entire body shifted yet another color, a barely visible blue. So, this must mean that his stealth was a success, or at least that he had the minimum stealth percentage for success. Opening the Skill details showed that his current stealth level was around 20%. That didn't sound like successful stealth to him.

Maybe the blue color simply meant he was successfully avoiding detection at that moment? that would make sense, since there was no one else around. It could also mean that—

The yellow outline suddenly returned, covering his entire body this time, and Aden looked around in alarm. Behind him, by the door to the house, stood Ryl. She was looking right at him. "What are you doing, Kady?"

Aden was at a loss for words, searching his mind frantically for something perfectly normal to say. How did this even look to her? Could she see the glow around him? "I..."

An amused smile bloomed on her face, and she gave him a knowing look, "Playing out here all by yourself, huh? Well, that's no good. Come with me."

She poked her head into the house, shouting to their mom that she was going out to play and bringing Kadir along. Even after a couple years of hearing it, Aden was still getting used to his new name here, and it took him a few seconds to realize that she was talking about him.

Ryl led the way down the dirt path to their house, and when Aden didn't follow right away, she shouted back at him, "Come on, it'll be fun! They've all been dying to meet you."

She'd brought a few friends by the house before, but they'd never really interacted with him before. Well, they'd tried to interact with him, but he'd opted to play the part of the shy little brother to avoid undue attention for his presumably odd behaviors.

If he was being honest, the shyness wasn't completely an act. He was constantly worried about saying the wrong thing, which made him nervous about talking to people. When his mom periodically brought him around town to run errands, the feeling kicked into high gear, as his old-man wisdom reminded him that adults were more likely to kill him for saying the wrong thing, while children would only make fun of him. As a result, he spent most of those trips hiding behind her or muttering hasty hellos to strangers.

As he followed his sister down the dusty road, he wondered if there was any way he could get out of this, but Ryl seemed excited to show off her little brother. She'd been really good to him, and he didn't want to disappoint her, so he decided to play along. Maybe he'd even have some fun.

She told him about her friends as they walked. Davin was apparently the mastermind of her friend group, always coming up with new things to do—and new ways to get in trouble. She told him about a time when they'd gone collecting snails, which had been fun enough on its own, but then Davin had suggested they take turns to see how many snails they could stick on the lookout hut before the lookouts noticed them.

Tenk was a quiet girl most of the time, but when you got her excited about something, she would shout you out of existence. She was usually the one who voiced the reasons why they shouldn't do something, but she always joined in the end. She was the one who got the record number of snails on the lookout hut: twenty-six.

Finally, there was Gerrin, Tenk's brother, who was her opposite in every way. He was loud, bold, and always happy to get into trouble. He was the one who had distracted the lookouts when they discovered their hut was covered in snails. Gerrin led them on a brief chase before hiding away. Since his face was the only one the guards saw, he was the only one to get punished for the stunt when the guards told his parents.

Ryl shared all of this in the brief trip from their house to the edge of the woods. He'd never known Ryl to talk so fast, and he could clearly tell that she loved her friends dearly. It made him a little less nervous to meet them.

When they reached the meeting spot, they found it empty. Ryl paused and looked around before giving Aden a wink and gesturing for him to wait where he was. She approached the treeline and loudly announced, "I guess we're the first ones here. I guess we'll just relax until everyone else arrives..." She sat down with her back against a tree, let out a dramatic yawn, and pretended to go to sleep.

At that moment, her friends jumped out from behind the trees to scare her. A tall boy, presumably Gerrin, jumped down out of branches of Ryl's tree. Despite their roars of victory, Ryl just continued "sleeping" away, even going so far as to fake-snore. They looked at her, then at Aden, then rolled their eyes.

The shorter boy, Davin, spoke, "You know, it's no fun when you know we're here."

"Says who?" Ryl asked, peeking one eye open, "I, for one, found it highly entertaining."

They all laughed as Ryl got up and walked back to where Aden waited. "This is my brother, Kadir," she said with a pat on his back, "I kinda like him, so I need you all to play nice. We're gonna show him how to play Seekers today."

Gerrin groaned, "Seekers? Again? Didn't we play that last time?"

"Well, yes, but my brother was trying to play all by himself back home, and it just broke my heart," Ryl said while dramatically blinking away fake tears. "You shoulda seen him, sneaking around in plain sight. We've got to show him how it's done."

Based on Ryl's words, Aden was pretty sure they were talking about some version of hide and seek, but he asked anyway, "What's Seekers?" He looked at each of them in turn, noting that Tenk refused to meet his eyes.

"An Eld who doesn't know Seekers," Davin said, "is like a troll who's never seen a cave. Everyone knows about the Seekers."

Ryl gave him a hard look, "He's three, Gav. Give him a break." She turned back to Aden and explained, "Eld Seekers are world-famous for their tracking and hunting skills. They can down a deer, or even a man, from a mile away, and they can find you anywhere in the world."

"I heard they have a special blessing from the gods that lets them see anywhere in the world," Gerrin offered.

"Nah, the blessing makes them hit any target they shoot at," Gavin said.

"Our uncle was a Seeker," Tenk interjected in a half-whisper, before glancing anxiously at Gerrin.

"Yeah, and he found those bandits who kidnapped the baron's daughter within an hour of accepting the job." He grimaced before continuing, "But they didn't like that, so they got together and killed him."

"Oh no," Aden exclaimed, forgetting his shyness for a moment of compassion, "I'm sorry to hear that!"

"That's okay," Gerrin replied, "He died in honor, especially since it took so many of them to take him down."

Ryl looked awkwardly around at the group before her eyes came to rest on Aden once more, "Anyway, you get the idea: Seekers are great at finding people. The game is for everybody to hide, and one person has to look for us."

Aden nodded along excitedly. Just as he suspected, it was just another version of hide and seek, which seemed like the perfect opportunity to test out his new skill. He was interested in learning more about these Eld Seekers, too, but... one thing at a time.

"That sounds like fun," he told them, "Can we play that?"

Ryl smiled down at him, "Of course, silly. I already told you we're going to play. Now we just have to figure out who will be the first Seeker..."

Davin's hand shot up, but Ryl's next words shot him down, "...but not Davin, because he doesn't play fair."

Davin rolled his eyes, "That was one time, Ryl. And I only did it because you hid inside a tree!"

Instead of responding, Ryl just looked at Aden and winked. "Anyway, I think that we should let Tenk be the Seeker."

Tenk's eyes lit up for the first time, and she nodded eagerly. Gerrin and Davin exchanged a resigned look, then reluctantly agreed. "At least it'll be a short round..."

A few moments later, Tenk started counting, and everyone else in the group scattered, running off to hide in various places in the woods. As Aden made his way through the unfamiliar woods, he mentally reviewed what his Skill had told him about effective stealth. He noted shadowy areas where his Skill would kick in, but he grimaced as he looked down at his plain, off-white shirt. It would stand out among the dark browns and greens of this fertile forest.

He activated the skill as he ran, noting the shadowed places that the Skill caused to call to him. One tree had a small hollow beneath it, hidden away by brush and twisted roots. It looked like he'd barely be able to fit underneath the tree, but it would be a bit of a squeeze. The others wouldn't even be able to fit in there, so he figured it was the perfect hiding place.

He pushed his way past the roots and settled down as quietly as possible beneath the tree. One difference between Seekers and Hide and Seek was that there was no, Ready or not, here I come, to announce when the Seeker was done counting. He didn't even know how high she had to count, so he waited with bated breath as he listened for the sound of pursuit outside his cramped and dirty sanctuary.

The calming blue aura on his skin soothed his mind, reassuring him that he at least hadn't been discovered yet. As the minutes passed, his surroundings began to feel more and more comfortable, the calm warmth of life seeming to pulse through the roots around him. His eyes became heavier and heavier, and he unwittingly drifted off to sleep.