“No point in trying. It’s impossible, you know.”

Sure, that’s what they all say, but this time’s the charm.

With my net in hand, I take a deep breath and slide my foot forward ever so slightly, careful to avoid the leaves on the ground. My target rests on the trunk of a tree just six paces ahead, completely oblivious to my presence. Capturing it would be like landing the jackpot in terms of the coins we could earn.

As I inch forward slowly, I can’t help but admire the beautiful insect. Mosaic butterflies like this one are known for the stunning red and purple patterns on their wings, as well as their ability to sense other living things. More importantly, they’re known to produce a golden sap that can be used to create Potions of Greater Mana Regeneration. Those bad boys fetch a hefty price and they’re always in high demand. That’s the real reason I don’t wanna mess this up.

Having slithered forward about a foot’s length, I keep my focus honed in on the insect. If I can get within three or four paces, I might be able to swoop in and cover the remaining distance with my net. The only question is, will it sense me before then?

I continue at a crawling rate… 5 paces… 4 paces… 3- The butterfly leaps off the trunk and flutters away, its bright wings almost hypnotic in motion.

“Damn it!” I call out in frustration. Failed yet again.

Father lets out an I-told-you-so laugh behind me. “Not even close, Kip. Like I said, it’s impossible. They can sense mana, and your intent gives you away.”

“Mana or no mana, I’ll catch a mosaic butterfly one of these days.” My words may be tough, but my voice betrays me. It’s clear that even I don’t fully believe I’m saying. When you fail at something enough times, you eventually gotta learn to let it go. I struggle with that sometimes.

“Remember what I told you?” Father says. “You’d need the Sneaking skill of a high level Hunter to catch one of those.”

“Yeah, yeah.” I point to the blue bird that’s resting on his shoulder. “Can’t we use Remy to catch them? Mother would kill to have their golden sap for her potions.”

He shakes his head. “Foxbirds like Remy are only good for scouting. But that reminds me. Go ahead, little guy. Have a look around.” He raises his shoulder, causing Remy to take off and soar over the dense trees that largely blunt the setting sun’s rays. Seeing a normally lazy bird like Remy effortlessly glide through the air is always impressive.

“Shouldn’t we get going soon?” I ask. “Mother will get angry again if we don’t make it back while dinner’s warm.”

“That would be a good idea. There’s only so many times I can charm my way out of being late. I’ll start marking the trees for tomorrow. You collect whatever remaining ingredients you can find. Still got the list?”

I nod, pulling out Mother’s note from my pocket. At the very top, she’d written Golden Sap in bold letters, but even she knows that we aren’t likely to bring any back. That one is just there as a bonus. As long as we come back with at least half of her ingredients, she’ll be satisfied.

The next item on her list - Kenjin Root - is common in Illune Forest, and I spot it just a few feet away. When I bend over to pick up the red-brown root, Father interrupts me. “That isn’t Kenjin root.”

“Huh? You sure?”

“That’s Kenlon root. The one you’re looking for is right there.” He points toward the ground to my right.

I walk over and pick up the real Kenjin root, not noticing any differences. It looks the exact same as the Kenlon one; just another red-brown root that smells of damp soil.

“Look closely at the pattern on the skin,” Father says.

Bringing them side by side, I study both roots and I find… nothing. They’re the same damn thing. “You’re just messing with me again, aren’t you?”

He chuckles. “No, I’m being honest this time. I promise.” Father can certainly be a jokester, but I can tell he’s being genuine.

“Well, they look the exact same to me. You can only see the difference because you have the Woodsman class, right?”

“Not quite. I can tell the difference because I’m a Naturalist. That’s how I got the Identify skill. You’ll be able to get Skills yourself when you Awaken. I wonder if you’ll be a Naturalist, too.”

“Ah, the old Awaken thing again,” I say with impatient annoyance. “Can’t wait when that happens in 50 years.”

Rummaging through my pack, I find an empty container and place the correct root inside, the other I toss away. One should be enough for now, and space is getting hard to find in my already-burdened pack.

Next on the list is one small container of Yandrik leaves. This one I can surely identify on my own, though I have to be careful not to wander too far away. Illune Forest can often feel like a living, breathing maze, and it can be difficult for anyone to keep track of their location, let alone one who’s Unawakened.

I spot my target and bend down to the small plant. Its orange leaves bloom out almost like a rose, and each petal hosts a web of blue arteries that run through it. I pluck a single leaf and watch as the blue veins vanish, almost as if the life within is dissipating. This plant has to be the one, but just to be sure, I bring it to show Father.

“Please tell me this is a Yandrik leaf.”

Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

He chuckles. “Yep. Very impressive. You sure you didn’t just Awaken and unlock an Identify Skill?”

“Very funny. I saw something similar when I helped Mother make some potions. She wanted a container’s worth this time, so I better go get the rest.”

“Remember to ground them up before they lose their mana. And don’t forget to remove the stems.”

“Yeah, yeah.”

Returning to the Yandrik plant, I set my pack down beside it and retrieve my mortar and pestel. I have to do this quickly, but I’m sure I can do four leaves at a time. Careful not to include the stems, I slip a single leaf between each of the fingers in my left hand and yank out four of them in one motion. I toss them in the bowl-shaped mortar and quickly start pounding the leaves with the pestel. As they break down into small pieces, I add a twisting motion to ensure that they’re well grounded. The crunching sound is always satisfying.

It takes multiple repetitions of this process, but a single plant has enough leaves that I’m able to fill a small container. Satisfied with the haul, I return to Father, who’s running his finger across the trunk of an Orn tree. “I think that’s enough for today. We really should get going.”

“Just gotta finish marking this last tree, aaaand done. That should be enough mana to last until tomorrow.” He turns to face me. “Let me guess, you wanna carry today’s haul home all by yourself?”

I open my mouth to respond, but Remy interrupts me as he swoops in from above, chirping at Father to get his attention. His eyes blast open as he listens to the foxbird’s voice. “Goblin? Where?” Remy launches upward again, shooting straight through the tree branches directly above. “Come on, Kip. Our day’s not done yet.”

Father takes off at a brisk pace, and I follow right behind. How he manages to track Remy’s movements I’ll never know, but I stay just a few steps behind as we drift around some trees and barrel over a large, felled log. If this is an opportunity to take out one of the remaining goblins in Illune Forest, we certainly can’t waste it.

As we reach a clearing in the branches above, Father comes to a halt, and he sticks out a heavy arm to prevent me from overstepping forward. He signals to be quiet and points around the thick Orn trunk to our left. We both peek around it and sure enough, a goblin stands some 10 paces ahead of us.

The red-skinned creature is clearly foraging for berries, its minuscule frame not even tall enough to reach my chest. If we aren’t careful, we might alert it to our presence, and the lack of overgrowth in this part of the forest would make it difficult to trap the goblin. Best to take it out while its unaware.

Father removes the bow strapped across his back and hands it to me, followed by a single arrow from his quiver. We both know I have to be the one to do it.

Killing a goblin is a rite of passage, considering all the pain they’ve caused to Riledon, and I’m long overdue. Well, that’s been for good reason. I’m awful with a sword and even worse with a bow, and I certainly don’t have the guts to kill something with my bare hands.

To be honest, I don’t know if I have the guts to kill anything at all. I’ve always been soft in that sense. But I have to do it eventually, and I should probably want to. I still remember the time Father said, ‘There aren’t many creatures I’d call truly evil. But goblins are one of them.’ If they can make a gentle man like him say those words, then I have no excuse.

Taking a deep breath, I ready the bow and aim at the unsuspecting goblin. My stomach flips on itself and I try to steel myself. I’ll shoot in just a bit… a bit longer… Every time I think about firing the arrow, my hand whimpers. I’ll definitely miss the shot.

Father must sense my hesitation as he whispers, “You can do it, son. Imagine if that one got near Bren and Syra.”

The thought of a vile creature harming my brother and sister is more than enough to overcome my hesitation and upside-down stomach. I take another breath and pull the bowstring back, the goblin dead in my sights. With that fire filling me up from within, I actually think I might hit the damn thing.

Here I go.

3… 2… 1… Fire!

Just as I let go of the string, something flashes before my eyes, ruining my concentration and causing my arrow to fly well wayward. The goblin jumps back with a high-pitched cry then scurries away, deeper into the forest.

Father lets out a sympathetic sigh as he puts a gentle hand on my shoulder. “It’s okay, Kip. You’ll-”

I don’t hear what he’s saying, and I don’t care. A volcano of excitement erupts through me as everything else falls to the wayside. “I- I’ve Awakened!” I blurt out in jubilation. I look at the blue screen sprawled out before my vision once again, just to make sure I’m not dreaming.

Mana integration complete.

Soul Awakened.

Name: Kip Morro

Path: None

Class: None

Soul Level: 1

“I’ve actually Awakened!” I yell out again, hugging Father and barely stopping myself from bouncing around like a child.

The disappointment washes away from his face, replaced by golden pride. He hugs me back, almost popping me like a grape with his tree-trunk arms. “Congratulations, son.” His voice quivers slightly, and the embrace lasts for what feels like a minute. The entire time I fight to keep tears from forming in my eyes. Finally, after all this time of waiting and wondering when or even if I’ll ever Awaken.

When Father lets me go, he clears his throat and wipes at his eyes. “Now, let’s get to the important stuff. How do your stats look?”

“My stats? I’m not sure, I don’t see them.”

Father laughs out loud. “Of course not. You have to give the mental command. Come on, I’ll teach you on our way back to camp.”

Even after hearing the explanation, it takes me a couple of minutes to get it right. Turns out that you don’t just give a mental command, you have to do it with a certain intent. Stats Screen.

Stats:

Health: 85/85

Mana: 110/110

Stamina: 42/50

Strength: 7

Constitution: 8

Dexterity: 10

Mind: 19

Endurance: 9

Will: 20

Spirit: 13

I read out loud what I see to Father.

“Sounds about right. With stats like that, I know you’re not faking it. Now I have to ask, have you given any thought about what you’re going to pursue?”

“Yep. I know exactly what I want to become. But I want to tell you and Mother at the same time. Let’s hurry home. I’ll carry today’s haul all by myself.”

“You sure can do it with such low a Strength stat?” he asks with a completely flat voice.

“Very funny. Screw the stat. I feel like I can do anything right now!”

Father shrugs. “As long as you don’t hurt yourself. I wouldn’t mind getting a little break.”

The walk back goes by in what feels like a flash, and we arrive home to the delicious smell of fresh bread. I rush to the kitchen where Mother is finishing dinner preparations. Surprisingly, we made it back on time, probably because of the eager pace I’d set.

Mother greets me with her usual warm and comforting smile. “Oh, what’s got you beaming from ear to ear? Don’t tell me you got the golden sap.”

“Nope, even better.” I pause for a moment for dramatic effect. “I Awakened!”

She looks at me, then at Father, then back at me, and her face lights up. “Oh, congratulations, Kip! I knew it would happen soon.” She pulls me into a loving embrace, smothering me tightly. “I’m so happy for you, dear.” She lets go just as Father walks into the kitchen.

“Are you finally gonna tell us what you’re going to pursue now that you’ve Awakened?” he asks.

“Yep.” A huge smile flashes across my face. I’ve been waiting to say these words for a long time. “I’m going to become a spell crafter!”