Unfortunately, Rayni didn’t know much more about the Inspect Skill than Ana did. While she did admit to having a Perk in it, which she didn’t want to reveal, she also hadn’t noticed any difference between her current level and level 1.
With that, it felt like they were done with System stuff for the morning. Ana’s head was stuffed full of new information to digest, and she wasn’t even sure what she might be missing. “Thanks,” Ana said. “All this was really helpful, you know?”
“Yeah, my pleasure. If nothing else I got that level of Teaching out of it, which was more than I’d expect from just teaching you the basics.”
“Glad to hear it. One last question, and then we start breaking camp?”
Rayni looked at the sky, then nodded. “Go on.”
“How the hell does Skills leveling up work?”
“Oh. Ah, they level up from getting better at whatever it is, but more so from using them. Guess I must have missed that part?”
“Or I did.”
“Doubt that. Anyway, we know that both are important. People have tested it and all: if you take two people and have them practice something for the same number of hours, the one whose technique is better at the end will have the higher Skill level every time. Being good at it is probably the least important for leveling the Skill up, though. What I was taught is that it depends on how much you use the Skill, how intently you use it, like… how much you’re thinking about using it, I guess, and then how much pressure you’re under when you use it. How hard it is, how important it is that you get it right, kind of. Does that make sense?”
“I guess.” It did, mostly. Ana had spent hours upon hours practicing her martial arts, and she’d taken it seriously. She was skilled. Her technique was good. But all her skill had translated to a Skill level of 4, which had quickly risen to 5 from a few moments of brute strength, and then again to 6 just as easily. She definitely hadn’t learned anything new since coming here. “So if I want to level up my Skills as much as possible, I should just use them and put my life on the line every time?”
Not that she wouldn’t try to actually get better. She had some damn pride.
Rayni snorted. “Sounds brilliant. Just try not to test that out as long as I’m with you.”
By the time they had the camp packed up, there was a rose blush on the clouds. By silent agreement Ana had most of the weight on her back, leaving Rayni free to range, checking possible trails and feeling for danger or prey. Two hours in Ana had a rabbit hanging from her pack, which she’d shot with her crossbow. It was the third one that Rayni had tracked down for her, but one out of three wasn’t bad, Rayni didn’t seem to mind, and she’d recovered all the bolts.
Ana was enjoying the cool morning air. Her steps felt surer and lighter than ever. She was listening to the birds and trying to keep her eyes open for tracks and her ears sharp for sounds of movement the way Rayni was teaching her, when the Huntress returned from one of her regular side-tracks.
“Take the pack off,” Rayni whispered. “Get your arms ready, and let’s get our stuff up a tree.”
“What did you find?”
“Demon. Fox, about 40 inches at the shoulder. Messed up legs. Serious to me, so level 11 to 13. Not something I’d tackle alone, but between the two of us it should be doable.”
They got their gear stowed safely up a tree, and Rayni led the way. She went slowly, having Ana step where she did and turning around to correct her every so often, and it took half an hour before Ana heard a wet snuffling up ahead, followed by the creature coming into sight.
Ana had to take Rayni’s word for the thing having been a fox. That, and the label: Possessed Fox (Threat: Considerable). The tail and ears were missing, as was much of the fur, the skin of the bloated thing looking scabrous and covered with weeping lesions. It was several times the size of any fox, and its front legs split at the knee joint, giving it four front paws which did a worse job of getting it around than two would have, due to a jerky, limping gait. It was moving in a large circle, sniffing the air and the ground, looking more confused than predatory.
“The body’s degrading,” Rayni explained in a whisper, barely audible. “It should fall apart on its own in weeks, possibly days, so it’s a lower threat than it might have been otherwise. Should be a great target to see if we can do this.”
“How do you want to do it?”
“Ready your crossbow,” Rayni said, nocking an arrow on her own bow. “We loose at the same time, then you move in with sword and shield while I hang back and take whatever shots I can.”
“Sounds good,” Ana agreed. She laid her sword and shield on the ground in front of her, cocking her crossbow and readying a bolt as silently as she could. “Ready.”
Rayni nodded and drew. “On one. Five, four, three…”
Two. They loosed.
Ana’s bolt flew fast and flat, hitting the demon in the side below the ribs just before Rayni’s took it where the heart should be. Not that a heart-shot stopped the demon. It gave a wet cough and turned. Hidden as they were it still saw them, or detected them somehow, and started a jerky sprint in their direction. And Ana came alive.
It had been days since she’d been in combat. Days since Guardian Angel had triggered. Days without the rush of every part of her, body, mind and soul, becoming more. She thought about it every day, and here it was. Finally.
The demon was so slow. Even as she put down her crossbow and picked up her sword and shield, she had time to notice how it favored its right leg over its left, how the mass of eyes of the front of its face seemed dimmer, less aware than those on the sides. She smelled pine and mulch and decay, and behind her she felt, vaguely, excitement and anxiety in equal measure from Rayni. The Huntress’s bow creaked as she prepared to loose a second arrow, but Ana set off, trusting her to only take a clear shot.
The second arrow passed six inches from Ana’s arm and sunk deep into the demon’s left shoulder just before she met its charge. The demon stumbled, losing some of its momentum. Ana used it. Instead of shoving her shield into its jaws the way she had intended to, she sidestepped it at the last second, skipped, and pushed off its right side with both feet, sending it tumbling to the ground.
Ana was on it in a moment, delivering a rib-snapping kick to its side as it tried to rise and knocking it back down before hacking at its neck with her sword. The thing twisted, trying to snap at Ana, who danced back. It was no use. As it focused on Ana, Rayni came in with her hand axe, having dropped her bow when she saw a chance to end the fight before it began. Ana baited it with her shield, letting it snap its jaws around it, and Rayni delivered a two-handed blow, utterly devoid of finesse, that drove two inches of thick steel into the center of its skull.
That, amazingly, didn’t kill it. The thing jerked a few more times, but as Rayni controlled its head via her grip on her axe, Ana hacked away at its neck, severing its head for good measure. And that was that.
“Wayfarer’s arse, that was good!” Rayni panted, an excited grin on her face.
“Yeah,” Ana agreed, feeling deflated after her bonuses left her. “Good shot at the start there. I doubt I could’ve knocked it down if it hadn’t stumbled.”
“What was that—” Rayni mimicked Ana’s skip-kick. “That was fucking amazing!”
“Thanks. Kaira would have yelled at me for it.”
“Yeah, but she would’ve loved it, too. She loves crazy shit like that, she just has to pretend not to when taking out casuals. Notifications?”
“Right,” Ana said, checking hers.
Skills partially calibrated, based on use.
Congratulations! Your Party has defeated: Possessed Fox (Threat: Considerable). Based on your contribution, you have been awarded: Growth Crystal (Medium). For fighting in the defense of your object of devotion, you have been awarded: Growth Crystal (Minor) as a bonus.
This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.
A quick check revealed a new skill in the Survival group: Stealth, at level 3.
Stealth: Improved ability per level to hide, to move without being detected, and to conceal items or other willing creatures.
“Oh, that’s lovely,” Rayni said. “Got a Minor Crystal out of that! That’s a full day of good hunting, if I sell it. From a single fight!”
Ana didn’t think of herself as devious, but she could see an opportunity when it presented itself. “What do you usually get during Delves?” she asked, trying her damndest to use Charm.
Rayni shrugged. “From the fights, mostly Leasts. Sometimes Lessers. A Minor is a once in a blue moon kind of thing. Closing the Delve is where the real profit is for me, so the last one was a real windfall.”
“So this was some good earnings for you, right?”
“A Minor from a fight? Lady, that’s great for me.”
“So screw deer and foxes! Want to make some real money on this trip? Let’s hunt some more of these bastards!”
Rayni opened her mouth to speak, hesitated, and crumbled. “You know what? Yeah! Let’s do it! I can risk wasting one trip if this is the payoff!”
Congratulations! Your Skill Charm has improved to level 4! You have been awarded: Growth Crystal (Minor).
Another level of Charm off of Rayni. Ana had mixed feelings about that. She hoped that she hadn’t just talked Rayni into doing something she didn't want to. And it felt like her skills were going up too fast. But higher Skills could only be a good thing, and every Crystal was a step closer to financial and physical independence.
She swallowed her doubt and grinned at Rayni, who was working up some real excitement. “All right, great! Let’s go!”
For all her excitement, Rayni still shook her head. “Nah, if we’re doing this, we’re doing it properly. Get your knives out. You’re harvesting this thing.”
It took a while. Digging the teeth out was the worst part.
----------------------------------------
“How do you feel about switching weapons?” Rayni asked as they took a breather.
“Not against it, but why?”
“I’m no expert, but I don’t think swords are right for you. You hack instead of cutting. It doesn't look like a skill issue, either. I think you’d just rather be chopping or bashing.”
Ana thought about it. It wasn’t like the sword felt natural to her. She only used it because it was what she had, and Tor had offered to teach her. Maybe Rayni was right, and it just wasn't for her.
The fact that she was thinking about what kind of killing implement she vibed with was more than a little disturbing, but that was just her new reality.
“So how about it?” Rayni was extending her own handaxe, the fighting axe, not the utility one, haft first. “Want to get a feel for it? Learning by doing, kind of thing, if we find another weaker demon?”
“What about you?” Ana grasped the axe and hefted it, trying to find her grip.
“I know how to use a sword in a pinch. Have the Skill, at least. I could take your sword if you take my axe, and if things go to shit we’ll try to switch back.”
“Yeah, sure!” Ana gave the weapon a few practice swings, liking the feel of it already. It was like the thing wanted to bite, to hack into things. With most of the weight in the head, almost all the force behind it should go into whatever was struck, too, and Ana could generate some serious force.
Who needed skill? All she needed to do was hit! With barely a second thought Ana untied her scabbard from her belt, handing the sword over while Rayni did the same with the leather strap she used for the axe.
“Not bad,” Rayni said, testing the gently curved blade after binding it to her belt.
“So I’ve been told. Haven’t tried many swords.”
“I’ve tried a few. Good length, decent balance, and I prefer curved to straight. Don’t see myself switching over from axes, though.”
“I’m liking the feel of this.” Ana was still twirling the axe around, relying on Dexterity and Strength rather than any skill. “If you can find something like that fox we killed or weaker, I’ll give it a shot.”
“Great! I’ll see what I can find. Just stay on the path, and I’ll let you know when I have something!”
With that, Rayni handed her pack over to Ana, who strapped it to her chest without complaint, and took off among the trees. The Huntress hadn’t questioned it when Ana offered to carry both packs while Rayni searched for prey. She’d seen how inexplicably strong Ana was, and she knew that Ana was hiding some kind of powerful Class. As far as Ana could tell, it was a combination of being scared to ask too many questions, and not looking a gift horse in the mouth if she could get out of carrying her gear. Ana didn’t blame her. Who the hell wanted to carry fifty pounds of gear around if they didn’t have to? Ana didn’t exactly love carrying everything. She was strong as hell, but she still felt the extra weight. But not having to carry her gear made Rayni much more mobile, which made her more likely to find something interesting, so Ana sucked it up and tried to focus on how much easier it was than it would have been back home.
If she had her numbers right, her Strength when she arrived, with no bonuses and no Multipliers, had been an 11. Her endurance had been at 13. If that was supposed to be compared to some kind of human average at 10, then her Strength felt fair considering her size and gender. She felt a little short-changed on the Endurance, though, not that it mattered. As she walked along the trail she checked her Summary, and her Strength was at 23, her Endurance at 24, both around double what she’d arrived with.
All that to say, she was carrying over a hundred pounds, and she could continue to do so all damned day if she had to.
Rayni moved around tirelessly. Ana could feel her out there, circling her. Sometimes the direction changed quickly, indicating that she must be fairly close, but otherwise it was hard to tell. She came back every so often, to drop off a rabbit that she’d shot or to report that she’d felt something they shouldn’t tangle with in a certain direction, or just to check in. It was well into the afternoon when Rayni came back, eyes shining with excitement.
“All right,” she said, “I’ve got something! Possessed deer, but a small one. Should be great if you want to try out the axe.”
“Lead the way!”
----------------------------------------
Demon-possessed creatures, so far as Ana could tell, never really stopped moving. That was part of what made Rayni so valuable: she could not only find the things, she could also track them down to wherever they’d gone while she reported back to her party.
They’d again secured their packs in a tree, and now moved along behind the [Possessed Deer (Threat: Considerable)] that Rayni had found. Ana couldn’t tell what kind of deer it had been before the demon took it, but it was smaller than she would have expected, just like Rayni had said. Its head was level with Ana’s own. That head, though, was absolutely covered in horns, sharp, nasty-looking things that pointed in every direction, including many that swept back to cover the thing’s neck.
That was fine. The Delve had taught Ana that if you had the guts, horns were really just convenient handholds. And while this deer was the same threat level as the Revenant Elk she’d fought, it didn’t look nearly strong enough to slam her around like the elk had. She might be underestimating it, of course, but there was only one way to find out.
Their plan of attack was the same as it had been against the fox. Simultaneous shots slammed into the creature. There was the flash of a notification, but Ana was on her feet, moving in with shield and axe at the ready. This time she would be more careful, though. Nothing flashy, no matter what the adrenaline wanted. She was going to get a feel for the axe, and to do that she needed to be able to actually focus on the weapon, not trying to wrestle or deliver fancy kicks.
The haft of the axe was a foot and a half long, the head thin and narrow. It was surprisingly light, made for quick, puncturing swings and probably useless as a tool. The reverse was a spike for penetrating skin, shells or skulls that the bit couldn’t handle. As Ana and the demon closed in on each other, the weapon felt agile and responsive in her hand, and though the demon jerked its head back from her first, warding swing she quickly recovered, easily deflecting its return attack with her buckler. Ana swung the axe at its head, but a twist of the demon’s neck caused it to bite into one of the multitude of horns instead of the thing’s skull.
That began a back-and-forth exchange, with the demon attacking relentlessly, Ana dodging or deflecting and then counter-attacking. And while most of her swings hit, strength alone didn’t seem to be enough for the axe to truly bite.
But Ana wasn’t alone. Rayni was pumping broadhead after broadhead into the demonic deer, and it soon began to slow as far too much of its foul, dark blood covered the forest floor. Ana was afforded more and more time to really pay attention to her own strikes. She finally got a solid hit on the demon’s neck, staggering it, and saw the flash of another notification just as her danger sense screamed, and there was a wordless scream of fear from Rayni, followed by, “Ana! Behind us!” as the Huntress rushed forward. Between her Perception and Acuity, Ana could hear Rayni draw her borrowed sword as something crashed through the undergrowth.
Ana gave the deer a swift kick that made it stumble, one leg finally folding under it, and risked a look over her shoulder. Rayni stood back to back with her, and in front of Rayni was the revenant of a huge boar, mostly bones with patches of decaying flesh still hanging to them. A moment’s thought, and she decided that Rayni could most definitely not handle that thing on her own. The bastard was chest high on the Huntress, and Ana doubted that she could even hold it off for a few seconds. And the deer was down, but not out.
Ana made a quick decision, and focused on Command, hoping that she was doing it right. “Rayni,” she barked, “circle the deer!”
“But…”
“Now!”
Rayni didn’t even hesitate. She jumped to obey. And Ana ate 2450 points worth of Crystals, ignoring the slight rush that came with them and immediately opening up her Summary.
Time stopped.