Elijah leapt out from the shadows, thrusting his dagger into the side of an ape’s neck. Its loud cries were cut short as the assassin twisted the blade and ripped it free, dropping to the ground and tumbling out of the way as the beast crashed to the earth behind him.
“Well done,” Avery said, emerging from the foliage dragging a makeshift sled with a dead deer on it. “The apes aren’t posing much of a threat anymore.”
“Are these monkeys the only thing in this forest?”Elijah asked, wiping the blood on his dagger off on the ape’s hairy arm and returning it to his side. “It’s been two weeks, and these ugly things are all we’ve found.”
“Have you forgotten about the deer? They’re the only thing we’ve found so far that doesn’t explode into blue light.”
“Meh. Those aren’t as interesting as the big four armed monkeys. They don’t even give level up points.”
“The monkeys aren’t giving much either at this point.”
“Yeah. That was what, number twelve? It took one kill to level up the first time, but we’re still only level four.”
“It was. And we should level up after this one disappears.”
“It’s getting a lot slower,” Elijah grumbled. “And we haven’t gotten any new cool stuff since we first leveled up. Hopefully we get something interesting this time.”
“We’ll see,” Avery said, unloading her small crossbow. “I think it might be time to make our way out of the forest as well. It’s not worth our effort anymore.”
Blue light washed over the ape. It faded away, transforming into streams of light that flooded into Elijah and Avery.
The increasingly familiar rush of adrenaline coursed through Elijah’s body. What were quickly becoming his favorite words flickered into existence in his vision.
Level up!
“Yes!” He crowed. “Give me magic!”
The screen popped up as soon as he thought of it.
Elijah (Dove) Fleet
Human [Level 5]
Class: Spellblade [MODIFIED]
Strength: 13
Agility: 15
Endurance: 12
Intelligence: 10
Wisdom: 17
Charisma: 19
Luck:3
ABILITIES
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Shadow Step [MODIFIED]
Spellblade: Bind
Spellblade: Infuse (Lvl 1)
“Yes! I’ve got new toys!” Elijah poked his two new spells with his finger, bringing their information boxes up in the air before him.
Spellblade: Bind
The user performs a simple binding ritual with a weapon of their choice by focusing on it for one minute. Upon completion, they can then cast Spellblade abilities through it.
Spellblade: Infuse (Lvl 1)
The user infuses their weapon with an element.
Currently unlocked elements: Fire
Elijah cocked his head, then pulled his dagger free and focused his eyes on it. A minute later, he blinked and glanced up. The weapon didn’t seem any different to him.
He envisioned the blade of the weapon bursting into flames. The dagger shimmered as a slight haze rose off of it and the weapon’s tip started to glow a dull cherry red.
“Hey, look what I can do!” Elijah said, turning to Avery and showing her his dagger. “I can set my dagger on fire.”
“I can tell,” Avery said, eyeing the weapon warily. “Maybe don’t swing the red hot poker around in a forest with dry leaves.”
Elijah sighed, allowing the weapon to return to its normal state. He made to put it back at his side, but paused. He brought the back of a hand close to the blade, then brushed it carefully. It was cool to the touch.
With a shrug, he returned the dagger to its normal spot.
“So, what did you get?” Elijah asked.
Avery made a motion, sharing her screen with him. Elijah did the same with his own, allowing her to read it.
Avery (Spider) Kim
Human [Level 5]
Class: Witch [MODIFIED]
Strength: 9
Agility: 18
Endurance: 11
Intelligence: 20
Wisdom: 15
Charisma: 12
Luck: 1
ABILITIES
Hex
Witch’s Eye
Witch’s Eye
The user can create an invisible sphere that they can control with their mind. By concentrating on it, the user can both see and hear through the orb. It can move up to a distance determined by their Mananite levels.
“I would have killed for something like that back home,” Elijah said after reading the spell’s description.
“It should be helpful to us,” Avery agreed. “With this, I think we should leave the forest. I don’t see a reason to stay here further. The trees seemed to thin towards the south east, so we should head in that direction. There was a stream that I believe leads out of the forest - if there is civilization, we’re likely to find it.”
“As good as any,” Elijah agreed.
He took the sled carrying the deer carcass from her and the two of them started back through the trees towards the creek.
After about an hour of walking along the creek, the treeline started to break. The low sun grew brighter and the day grew warmer as the two assassins emerged from the forest.
The creek turned to a river as it twisted away from the forest and into grass-covered plains. At the horizon, the shadow of a small town was silhouetted against the setting sun.
“Well, you were right,” Elijah said, raising a hand to block out the light as he squinted at the town. “Do you think they’ve got anything to eat other than deer?”
“We’ll find out,” Avery said. “We should be wary as we approach. There could be monsters in the grass.”
“It’s like half a foot tall,” Elijah pointed out as they started walking again. “We should be more wary of whoever lives in the town. Who knows how they treat outsiders.”
Avery nodded, her face turning grim. “We can make a more informed plan once we get close enough to get a better look at it. I can use my new spell to take a look assuming I’ve got enough Mananite to get it there before we can be spotted.”