Lucas stared at his notifications in awe. In hindsight, he didn’t know why he did that. He was always a very logical person and didn’t make many decisions based on instinct, and when he thought about it, it seemed very stupid to throw your only weapon like that mid-fight. But he discovered that when he was fighting, he couldn’t help it. He saw an opportunity and took it. And that was awarded with a skill, much to his surprise and glee.
Before he could dwell on it further, he realized everyone was looking at him, more specifically to the left side of his head. The adrenaline made him overlook the extent of the damage, but now he was starting to feel the burning sensation of pain.
“How bad is it?” he asked.
They kept quiet, looking at him with weird expressions. Lucas wasn’t the best at reading people’s expressions, but if he had to guess, it would be pity.
“Your ear… fell off,” George said hesitantly.
“What?” Immediately after, Lucas raised his hand to his ear and yelled curses in pain.
Everyone went quiet for a while. Lucas was sullen. It’s only the second day and I’m already missing an ear. That can’t be good.
However, Lucas wasn’t the only one to be injured in this fight. Dan had what looked like a broken arm, and was awfully quiet. But despite this sour taste that the injuries left, they were still pretty happy. Lucas and George had gained two levels; Dan and Tina had gained one. Two levels for killing an enemy, three levels above the highest of the group, was to be expected, but they were happy nonetheless.
Angela was the only one who didn’t get anything, but she was apparently fine with it, probably excited about the prospect of having something to eat—that was always something that made people happy.
While they made the preparations for their meal, Lucas and Dan were left to rest. Lucas took this opportunity to look at his status.
Status:
Lvl: 3
Name: Lucas Romano
Race: Human
Class: N/A
Health Points (HP): 160/190
Mana Points (MP): 130/130
Stamina: 85/110
Stats:
Strength: 9
Agility: 8
Toughness: 0*
Perception: 8
Vitality: 13*
Magic: 6
Distributable points: 6
Achievements: Special Unique Constitution.
Abilities: Beginner Craftsman 1. Disembowelment. Beginner Skinner.
Skills: Flying Axe (Basic)
He first noticed that the Flying Axe skill, was separated from the rest of his abilities. Did that mean that a skill was used during a fight and abilities were used when crafting and doing other day to day stuff? He wasn’t sure.
After that he checked out his health points. It looked like, despite losing a lot of blood due to his ripped-off ear, that didn’t take much of his health pool. By the way, what is with this blood?
He had weak bones, all right, but when did his skin, tissues and everything else became so soft? If it was only this time, he would be fine with it; after all, it was his ear. But his skin would burst open with blood with even the slightest laceration; that happened every time he tried to sharpen a rock and even happened once when climbing a tree.
Did it have something to do with that symbol next to Toughness? It had to be. Maybe his Special Constitution transformed his body in some way, making it weaker, but that symbol next to Vitality…
“Hey, Dan! Can you tell me how long it takes for you to recover a health point?”
“Why?” He looked at Lucas, still a little gloomy due to his broken arm. “Can’t you see yours?”
“It’s just that I want to see the difference in regeneration, taking into account stat points. I probably have higher Vitality points than you, so this way we could know how much faster I recover and see if it’s worth it to invest in this.”
“Yeah, that makes sense, but I’m not sure if Vitality works this way.”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, it could be only related to how many Health Points you have and not about how quicker you can regenerate, at least when talking about only a few points in difference.” Lucas had to admit that he hadn’t thought of that. “But I will let you know when I recover a point. I have eight in Vitality, by the way. We don’t have a clock, but we should be able to make an estimate when the time comes.”
Dan looked interested in finding that out as well, Lucas could tell. It seemed that the action part of the RPG was his least favorite; he seemed like the type of guy who would be much more focused on the mechanics than actually playing the game.
Turning his attention back to his status, Lucas started to think. He had six points to spare, and he needed to think carefully. He decided to take the same approach he took the last time, analyzing his last battle and making choices based on that.
This time around, he didn’t feel that it was his strength that was lacking. The problem was that his weapons were too low-level, to the point that whenever he met an enemy that had some kind of shell, he would be useless unless he used some other method to attack.
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On the other hand, he felt that he could use a little more Perception. He wasn’t sure what that stat did, but he imagined it could give him greater insight on how to approach a foreign beast. Besides that, he was planning to continue to explore this new planet, and a little Perception couldn’t hurt when travelling unknown lands.
The other point that he thought he was a little lacking was his Agility. Since he couldn’t take a direct hit without being severely injured, and he still wasn’t willing to waste points in Toughness, his only option was to dodge the attacks. After a little more consideration, he finally decided to split his points between Agility and Perception, bringing both to 11.
Lucas was satisfied with his progress, and that even made him forget about his missing ear for a while—that is, until they started talking about it over the meal.
“You know, it’s not so bad,” Angela said, smiling, while chewing a big piece of meat. “At least now you have something to match that blood-stained shirt of yours.”
“What are you talking about…” Lucas looked down and saw—he didn’t know how he hadn’t seen that before—but there were various red stains on the fur of his vest, making the whole thing look even more atrocious. “Damn, I didn’t know those were there.”
Everyone laughed at his statement said in an almost sad tone.
“Hey, it’s not like I chose these for fashion. My shirt got torn off in my previous battle, and I didn’t have anything else to wear,” he shrugged.
“Maybe I can fix it up for you, if you want,” Tina said, seeming a little less shy toward him.
“Don’t worry, it’s not that bad.” Lucas knew how much of a hassle making clothes was, and he wouldn’t put this burden on someone else. But what she said next made him change his mind.
“Please, I want to, that way I can return the favor,” she said, raising her bow.
Lucas didn’t think it was such a big deal to make that bow for her, because honestly, he just wanted to. But based on what she said later, it helped her a lot. She wasn’t very confident in going hunting and only accepted because she didn’t want to be alone. With the bow, however, she felt useful.
“If you put it this way, I can’t refuse. Thank you,” Lucas said and delivered his vest to her.
He could say no to a good thing once, but he couldn’t say it twice, so he just accepted her offer. He wasn’t sure if she would be able to improve his vest, but seeing as it would be hard to make it look worse, he wasn’t worried.
Having theirs stomach filled made everyone happier, and they spent the rest of the meal joking with each other. Even Dan joined in after some provocation from George, due to his broken arm. Lucas felt genuinely happy among them. Even back on Earth, it was rare for him to have moments like this, so he cherished it.
After the meal, Lucas took claim over part of the hide of the beast for two things that he was very much in need of: a pouch, where he could store water, and a bag, to carry whatever he could find. At the moment, his axe.
While he had an idea of how to make them due to his craft skill, it would take some time to get them ready. Considering he would be bringing some food back to the camp soon, he thought he could get someone to make it for him while he was at it.
Some time later, Tina delivered his vest. It now looked like a real vest instead of that horrendous thing he had made, and he had to admit the result was pretty good. He could even identify the object now:
Low-quality Fur Vest
Required level to use: 0
“I received the Beginner Craftsman ability too!” she said excitedly. She was feeling pretty bad before, since she was the only one who didn’t get it.
Lucas assumed the reason he couldn’t identify it before was because of his poor job when crafting. It was just so boring making them; he couldn’t be bothered. Besides, it didn’t give him any extra protection; it just looked better. But he was thankful to Tina either way. At least now he wouldn’t scare little kids when passing by.
They killed some time before going hunting again. They wanted to hunt for the rest of the camp, Lucas didn’t care much but would stick around to see if he could gain some more levels before call it a day.
While they rested, Lucas tried something that he had been thinking about ever since the end of the battle. Could he gain the same skill, but now with his spear?
…
He threw the spear for the twentieth time, now finally better at it, but still no skill. What am I doing wrong? Confused, he picked up his axe again and threw it at a nearby tree. He miscalculated, and the axe handle was the one to hit the tree. Why… He stopped for a second and looked at his new ability again:
Skill: Flying Axe (Basic)
Desperate, your weapon leaves your hand, in a last attempt to take down your foe, striking him perfectly. The damage will be 10% stronger when you throw your weapon at your enemy during a battle, and you are more likely to hit your target.
So it had some conditions to it. It didn’t make his aim better overall, only during a battle, and probably only as a last attempt. How would the system know if it’s my last attempt? I guess I’ll have to find out during a battle.
Either way, it wasn’t something he could practice alone; he would have to be in a battle and in a desperate situation. It was also possible that the skill worked on other weapons as well. He would have to wait and see. This opened up a world of possibilities for Lucas. Many new skills were waiting to be unlocked; he couldn’t help but feel excited.
Before they went hunting again, Dan talked to him.
“It raised a point now,” he said casually.
What? I had already forgotten. How long has it been…?
“I’d say it took about two hours. What about yours?” Dan said, answering the question that was in his mind.
Lucas couldn’t think for a while. The difference was too great; that couldn’t be merely due to a difference in stat points, it had to be his special constitution. So that was what it did? Make his whole body weak, but with higher regenerative powers. Was that all? He wasn’t sure. If it were just this, wouldn’t the system have already told him? But then again, why would they hide whatever it was? He would need to think this through the next time he leveled up. Maybe I should start investing in Vitality?
“Lucas, are you listening?” Dan asked again, a little annoyed.
“Oh yeah, mine was about the same, but I think it took only an hour and a half,” he lied; the truth was too shocking.
“What?! The difference is that big?” Dan asked, shocked.
Oh, you have no idea, buddy.
“It’s probably because I have a higher Vitality: thirteen.”
Dan nodded but still looked intrigued. They dropped the subject and prepared themselves for the next hunt. This time around they only found a bunch of low-level beasts. It didn’t even take much effort, since they ambushed most of them, and the rest were too weak to resist. Only Angela gained a level from those. Soon they were back on the camp, each carrying part of the beasts.
Everyone looked very happy with the arrival of the food, especially the parents with kids. After handing the meat to the people responsible for cooking, Lucas went to talk to the craftswoman George had mentioned.
George told her how Lucas had helped them in their hunt, greatly embellishing his feats, much to Lucas's embarrassment. Fortunately, she promptly agreed to make him the water pouch and bag. She even shared excitedly that her crafting skill was now level two, so making an extra couple of things was no problem at all, and that they should be ready by nighttime.
After a while they all gathered to eat, and despite his previous prejudice against them, now that they were all eating together and he saw the hope and happiness on their faces, he couldn’t help but feel glad to me sharing that moment with them. The sight made Lucas think of his mom. How was she holding up? Did she have good friends with her?
Lucas knew that even if he wanted to move forward, the burden of leaving her would forever stick with him. In life, you needed to live with the choices you made, and he still stood by his, but it was hard.
While eating, the people from the camp started discussing what their next steps should be, Lucas just sat there and nodded. They just needed some time to adapt, but he was confident now that they would succeed; the spark of hope, of better days to come, was there, and this is all they needed.
This transition was different for each person; for some people, it was a nightmare, something to just survive through, taking one day after the other. But for Lucas, it was really a second chance. An opportunity to be something that he could never be on Earth; someone who chooses their own fate.
Deep down, he knew he needed to keep going, however; he couldn’t just set up camp like the others, despite a part of him deeply wanting to. It wasn’t because he didn’t appreciate the environment and the company of the others. On the contrary, it was because he liked it too much. He feared that if he gave in to that warm feeling and decided to stay, he would fall back into the same way of life he had been living until now: always avoiding danger and watching others go on all kinds of adventures from the sidelines.
His mentality had greatly changed since then, but it was still fresh, and he still didn’t trust himself not to fall back into his old ways. So, he decided it would be best to leave before he started putting down roots.
He thought about inviting George, Tina, Angela and Dan to come with him, but they seemed happy there, and they were needed too.
Today was a good day. Two levels and a new ability. He sighed as he lay there under the stars. It was going to be good to sleep without the fear of falling off a tree, but tomorrow he would begin a new journey.