Like a viper an arrow pierced out from the thorn ridden brush before piercing through the side of a wild pig, the tip driving it through the heart. Before the fat brown target could squeal in pain it collapsed, dead. The brown-haired owner of that arrow followed out from the bushes only a moment later, a short bow in his left hand and a quiver of arrows on his right hip. The young man held no excitement on his lightly tanned face, just a small glimmer of satisfaction in his own abilities hidden in his emerald eyes.
With careful movements his calf-length leather boots slid through the brambles he’d hidden behind, taking care to not ruin the dark green trousers that tucked into them.His short tunic was the same color, and was tucked into a simple cloth belt that held the quiver on one side and a short knife on the other.
As he stepped closer to the animal he released the bow completely, which did not fall but broke apart into small motes of light that winked out one after another in the air as it faded out of the world and returned to his soul. His hands now both free he stopped down to handle his prey. With a deft jerk the arrow came free, a clear crack in the shaft being visible immediately along with the simple iron head now only equipped with a single sharpened blade as the other broke off against a rib when it struck the pig. A sigh escaped his lips as he looked at the broken arrow.
“Should have known that five copper for twenty was too cheap,” he mumbled to himself with a frown as he rolled the arrow between his fingertips to look at its entirety. “If I ran into anything with any actual levels these would just explode when striking the target instead of doing any lethal damage. Looks like spending a few coins on learning the fletcher skill is a must afterall.”
With a grunt he grabbed a front and back leg and flipped the heavy animal up onto his shoulders before he pushed himself back up, carrying his latest hunt back into town with heavy footsteps. With a slow and steady gait he retraced his steps back to the familiar wooden walls of Lenth. Almost as soon as he spotted the gate and it’s two guards one of them waved to get his attention.
“Arcus! How was the hunt?” The man’s mellow voice carried over empty space between them as if it had wings. If it wasn’t for the last twelve years they’d known each other the young man would have assumed the guard was using a skill instead of just being naturally loud.
A smile broke out on Arcus’ face as he recognized the voice, and his pace quickened a little as he called back to the man, “Aren’t you the one who should be telling how it went Drake? Or are the old hawk’s eyes finally starting to dim?”
The old man roared with laughter before retorting, “What, you expect me to see such a tiny piglet from all the way over here? I have the eyes of a hawk, not a god!”
“You two cocks are going to anger the Captain again if you don’t stop crowing!” the other guard boomed with a voice like thunder.
Stopping in front of them with a smile that spoke of mischief on his face Arcus adjusted the dead hog higher on his shoulders before opening his mouth again, “What was that Francis, you fancy Auntie Mavis?” The voice knew no limits as he called out this time, the sound echoing through the village.
“Go on before I skin you for being a damned imp already!” There was no thunder this time, just a gruff grumbling as the now red-faced guard tried to play off the taunting and planted a firm kick across the laughing man’s backside.
With a small hop to keep himself from stumbling forward from the kick Arcus turned, his smile less mischievous now. “Just confess you old goat. Everyone already knows you’re head over heels for her and since the Captain hasn’t killed you for fancying his little sister it’s a sure thing as long as she says yes.”
“Go put a muzzle on it and quit yapping! There is no way that goddess could ever look at me favorably! If she had the Captain would have already mounted my head above the barracks mantle ages ago.” The redness in his face was gone now and instead was the somber look of a general who’d lost a war before it began.
“Old chicken heart here may have a point,” Drake interjected as he scratched the back of his head. “Miss Mavis hasn’t shown any many the slightest bit of fancy since she was a tyke. I don’t even know of a hero could stir her heart.”
Arcus’ face contorted as if he’d bit into an unripened lemon, “Bah! Excuses of a couple of old hens! I thought I was in the company of men, not a pair of boys with no spines!” In a glorified huff he stomped off until he turned the corner towards the butcher’s. Only then did his feet lighten and his expression soften. “Poor Auntie to love such a coward of a man. Where is the fire in his belly to sweep her off her feet and take her as a bride?” With a heavy sigh and just as heavy heart he made his way through the open door to the small butcher shop.
As his foot crossed the threshold the young boy at the counter perked up from the thin book he was reading, “Arcus! Here with another of your trophies to show off?”
The young man softly chuckled at the young boy’s teasing and gave a small shake of his head, “only if your old man can’t afford this fine pig! Go fetch him for me so I can talk it over with him.”
Like a bolt of lightning the boy shot out of the room, only for a tall, thin man to come back in. If it wasn’t for the slight stink of animal blood that seemed to be permanently leaking from the man’s pores it’d be easy to mistake him for a scholar on a good day, and a scarecrow on a bad one. “Oh my, that does look like a fine hog you’ve got this time. How many arrows did you use?”
Arcus grinned, “Why? Worried I damaged the meat?”
“More worried you’re planning on charging me for them again.”
The grin only grew larger in response, “Fear not, it only took a single arrow to kill this fine oinker. Besides, he walked within ten paces of where I was hiding. If I couldn’t hit him at that range I should snap my bow and become a cripple.”
“Keep grinning like that and eventually your mouth will meet in the back and your head will fall off.” Patting the counter the thin man gestured for Arcus to put the pig down to be inspected.
With a bow the brown-haired man slid his trophy from his shoulders and onto the counter, “Bah. Like that old wives tale means anything to me.”
Not even bothering to look at his customer anymore, the butcher’s thin fingers traced over the animal, probing the skin for hidden wounds, parasites or infections. “Skin looks pretty good. Using only one arrow to drop a pig this size isn’t too bad for someone who hasn't chosen a class. You may qualify for the Hunter class if you keep improving like this.”
A flicker of a frown crossed Arcus’ face before he turned away from the other man as if the suggestion was beneath him, his arms crossing to emphasise his disagreement with the idea, “We both know that if that was my aim I’d made that transition years ago. The only reason I other wasting money hunting is because all my work for the guards covers my food and board but doesn’t give me money for anything else.”
A small upward turn on the other man’s lips broke the coldness of his face as he rolled the pig over to look at the other side, his fingers probing the brown skin once more, “True, but you’ll never get past level one without a class. It’s impressive you can do this sort of damage with your lack of levels and skills. I’d recommend picking something soon. I mean we only have one life, and it's better to spend that time wisely.”
“I know,” his arms fell as he spoke, his shoulders taking on a small curve of defeat. “Heck, with you reminding me nearly everyday it’d be more impressive if I could forget. Sometimes I think you just want me to be a hunter because I bring you the best meat.” His gaze slid over his shoulder to meet the gaze of the other man who was rather pleased looking, at least up to when he noticed that he was being watched. At the moment he noticed his gaze fell back down for a moment before he stood up again, his expression as blank as it usually was.
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“I’d be lying if I didn't say I wanted to ensure a continuing supply of good meat, but at the end of the day just pick something that makes you happy.” He paused for a moment and pushed his glasses higher up the bridge of his nose with his wrist before continuing, “Now I have to admit this looks like a fine catch you brought today. No signs of parasites or poison, not too much fat with and he weighs a little more than my son. I can give you sixty copper coins and a string of sausages. I’d offer more but honestly I don’t have enough money so I’d need to pay in food.”
The mood in the room lifted a little as Arcus’ face relaxed “Sixty is good. Besides, who could turn down some of your famous sausages?”
The thin man’s expression soured a little as if he thought he was being made fun of, “Famous in this tiny place doesn’t really count for much. If it did I wouldn’t make most of my sales by bartering.”
“I’d say that has to do more with how poor we are more than something lacking in your work. Besides, you run this place without even using a skill to help you! That alone should give you some credit.”
“True. But sometimes I would like to have a cooking skill. With enough ranks even the simplest foods become heavenly.” A sigh escaped his lips as his eyes drifted off as if he was remembering something. His tongue traced over his lips as he savored some meal long passed.
Arcus gave a slight cough to interrupt the man’s trip into his memories, “While true, I still enjoy food made the normal way just fine. There’s just something about doing it yourself instead of having it just appear out of that menu that I admire though.”
The other man nodded without saying anything as he pulled the money and sausages from his inventory, the small bag of coins and sausage links fading into the air with small glow as motes of light condensed together. “Here you go. If you want any meat off this one come back in a couple days and I’ll have everything cured and ready for use.”
With a small nod Arcus accepted his payment before putting the coins into his hip pouch and hung the sausages around his neck. “Thanks. I’ll be back for some shoulder in a couple of days then.” With a small wave he stepped out and made his way through town greeting familiar faces with a wave, a small nod or a few kind words. He only paused when his feet reached the square in the center of town, his eyes turning towards the space in the middle. Standing atop a circle of grass stood a column of black stone the height and width of a man, it’s glossy surface adorned in countless engraved symbols. Other than the subtle indentation of those symbols the surface was free of tool marks as if the stone column had formed that way.
He froze only half a dozen paces from the column, and rocked from side to side for a short while as he felt the short hairs on the back of his neck starting to rise as he felt the feeling of something rolling out from the black stone in waves. With a small shudder he pushed the feeling down and kept walking. A few curious eyes were on him as he reached it, and placed his hand on the stone. His skin crawled as he realized that the stone was almost as warm as a person and seemed to pulse lightly.
“Not this time you creepy rock,” he muttered under his breath, “I’m here for a class, so let’s see my options.”
His eyes clenched back the tears as a sharp pain lanced into his head as if reproaching him for his choice of words before words appeared in his mind.
‘Choose your class’
A small sigh escaped his lips and the tension in his body relaxed as he focused on the three options that first out in his mind. Each was accompanied by a brief description that explained them:
‘Hunter: a class specializing in tracking and killing beasts. Gains damage bonuses against beasts’
‘Assassin: a class specializing in stealth and killing humanoids. Gains bonus damage against humanoids’
‘Mercenary: a class specializing in their wide range of skills.’
As he considered those basic class options he looked at the bow specific classes that the stone offered:
‘Nighthawk: a class that gains bonuses to damage when attacking from dark places or at night. Bonuses dependent on how dark it is.’
‘Royal Archer: a class that changes the bow into a massive war bow. Specializes in warfare techniques used by the Lost Kingdoms.’
He paused there. A class that changed the weapon? That alone was enough to be interesting, but the idea of stronger shots attracted him the most. Doing more damage with every arrow meant needing less arrows to do heavy damage when he hit. A heavier bow also meant that he had a lot more range as well, something else that was attractive. Without thinking about it further he mentally made his choice, prompting a new information to fill his mind:
‘Royal Archer: A class based on the archers of the lost kingdoms. Equipped with a warbow. Draw weight scales with strength stat.
Levelling bonuses:
Strength: +.3
Vitality: +.2
Agility: +.1
Perception: +.2
Starting Skills:
Marksmanship (Support) (Passive): . Improves the hit % by 12.5% per rank (max 100% at SSS)
Rain of Arrows (Combat): When used while firing an arrow it doubles the number of arrows fired. Each increase in rank multiplies the previous rank’s effect by x2 (example: x4 at Rank E). Must have enough arrows in your inventory to support the total number of arrows fired, or it will fail.
Eagle Eye (Combat): A short range shooting technique for supporting allies in combat. When used the shot will be 12.5% more accurate in hitting enemies who are engaging allies per rank (maximum 100% at SSS). This effect stacks with the Marksmanship skill.
“A combat skill for supporting allies?” his brow wrinkled as he considered the class differently now. “If I take this class then it’d be best to work with others it seems. But if I take this, what about gaining a Hero Class later? If I take this class I’ll be able to level, but I’ll lose the levelling bonuses a Hero Class can give while levelling is easier.” His free hand drummed fingers against his leg as he considered the balances before he let out a sigh. “Who am I kidding? I’ve been waiting for the last twelve years to get my hand on one of those gold class stones. At least this class has some good benefits and might give me a better chance of finding a group to enter a tower with.”
With a small conscious push he accepted the class and the class description fell away. There was a small tremble that started at his head and ran to his feet felt a feeling buzz through him as something changed inside his body. A small line greeted him in his mind as the buzz faded away:
‘Level Up’
He didn’t open his eyes right away to appreciate the change just yet, but chose to instead look at the new words that were now available in a list as the notice faded away:
‘Status’
‘Inventory’
‘Soul Weapon’
‘Party’
Briefly he toggled the inventory with a thought, adding the contents of his pouch, quiver, and the sausages into the new storage space. The items vanished from his neck and waist as they turned into motes of light that quickly vanished. Ignoring the Party option for now he looked at the Soul Weapon option. In his left hand the bow quickly formed from motes of light and he could feel its changes innately despite not opening his eyes. It was no longer the wooden shortbow he had before, but now a head taller than he was and almost three fingers wide in the middle. The brown wood of the old bow was now an ivory colored wood that was carved to form a rounded square grip in the middle with and twisted decorative knots going a third of the way up and down from the the limbs from the center. The change from one kind of bow to another didn’t change him as he felt that despite the differences he could easily use this weapon as well, if not better, than the old form.
Dismissing the weapon in his hand he turned to the status option to see what his new abilities looked like:
‘Level: 1
Strength: 1.2
Vitality: 1.1
Agility: 1.5
Perception: 1.6
Skills:
Marksmanship (Rank F): 100 XP to Rank E.
Rain of Arrows (Rank F): 100 XP to Rank E
Eagle Eye (Rank F): 100 XP to Rank E’
1.0 was the ability of an average person, and based on his stat increases that meant that before he gained his first level his strength was slightly below average, as was his vitality, while his agility and perception were above average. It seems that living as a commoner the past twelve years had left him weaker and with a lower vitality than the average person. The feeling of the sudden change made his body feel a little lighter, and as if he had just taken a wonderful nap. Likewise, when he opened his eyes he could more clearly make out the blades of grass a little more clearly, as if he was kneeling down to look at them.
“The benefits of taking a class really can’t be taken lightly. Just the increases I’ve gained would make hunting a lot easier,” a loose grin hung on his lips as he looked around at the few people who were watching him. Giving them a small nod he decided to head home before the news of his choosing of a class beat him there. It’d taken him twelve years to finally break down and admit that his chances of finding a hero class stone in such a tiny village were pretty much non-existent and choose a class. Even if it was only a Common Class, it meant he now had the right to enter a Tower. If his luck was good he might even find a Hero Class Stone inside and if he did then he could consider the benefits of changing classes.
For now though he needed to share his news with Auntie and the Captain. Maybe if he was lucky he could convince his shy Auntie to do a little pursuing of her own instead of waiting for such a cowardly man to grow a spine and confess.