Once Tim had managed to pull himself up, Meifeng attempting to help pull the rope but finding it too difficult, she was able to get a full, proper view of him. He was a fairly tall man, taller than her at least, he stood at around six foot three inches, and his uncut shaggy black hair grew until it reached past his shoulders, partly covering his moss green eyes for the moment. His frame was wider than any of the other men's in the village and most certainly larger than hers. His breathing was ragged, and he slumped over naturally for the moment. Despite the size of his frame, there was barely any muscle there, hunger and starvation having robbed him of what strength he did once have.

Tim looked at his savior in return, and after so long in the pit and the wild, he was certain he was looking at an angel. It had to be, her golden hair braided and to her side shining like light off of the sun, her kind face and sky blue eyes complimenting that rather well. Her light skin nearly flawless, apart from some remnants of past marking by her forearm, the 'Archers Tattoo' as some people back on earth called it, mostly gotten by inexperienced archers holding the bow incorrectly, at least he figured that's what it was by the bow and quiver she had slung on her back. He noted the pointed ears, but it was nothing important at the time.

"Are you o-" Meifeng would begin asking but then stop herself before continuing, "No, you can't be okay, not after being stuck in a Pitroot Tree's pit for so long, sorry for taking so long. Once we get to my village I'm sure we can help you!"

Tim would listen carefully and, after noting that there didn't appear to be a language barrier, say "No,-" He himself pausing at his own voice, he wasn't the kind of guy to talk to himself or think out loud so after not hearing it for a month, it's usual lower intonation mixed with the new harsh hoarse sounds were quite surprising, and a touch unpleasant.

Continuing after pausing he said, "No, rather, thank you so much for coming to rescue me. It's been far too long since I've seen something that wasn't one of those damned boars or bugs."

Meifeng said, "Boars? I suppose you mean the Tuskore, and those bugs in there were Roteaters and their maggots. More importantly, come on, I have enough rations for us to split on the way back to my village, I'm sure the elders will want to talk to you. I also have some basic medical supplies, so I can do what I can for your leg."

Hearing this, Tim's mood and face lightened quite considerably, beneath the bloodstains of course. Meifeng lead the way back, walking with Tim on the ground. In mostly silence, they returned to the camp Tim had set up.

Once they returned, Meifeng climbed up one of the trees and searched through a large pack, made from some kind of leather Tim didn't have the ability to recognize, and retrieved a smaller pouch filled with berries Tim didn't recognize either, as well as some large leaves and some thin ropes. After hopping down from the tree, with a simple but graceful landing, Meifeng handed Tim the pouch.

Removing Tim's makeshift bandage, she quickly applied the leaves to cover as much of the wound as possible, they stung like hell to Tim, before holding them in place by tying the strings around his leg and the leaves.

"There you go," said Meifeng, "Sorry about the sting, but the Eldertree those leaves came from is known for it's healing properties, so it should heal in time. Given how deep it was, I'd say it should take a few days after we get back to my village for that to completely heal."

"Thanks," Tim said, "Well, I say we get back as soon as possible, lead the way."

Meifeng Said, "Are you sure, don't you need some rest-"

Tim said, "I've had plenty enough rest, that's all I could do between, meals, down there. So yeah, I'm quite certain I want to get to your village as soon as possible."

After that, as much as I'd like to tell a tale of how interesting the journey back to her village was, I would be lying if I said anything that masked or eluded from the truth, being that they only encountered two Copper Tuskores, which had been promptly shot lethally from a respectable distance, and later cooked and eaten when they stopped for the day.

Yes, perhaps the only few odd things that happened during the trip was firstly Tim's large appetite, which would've run them out of rations had it not been for the Tuskore. The reason for his appetite being brushed off as 'He's lived off of raw Tuskore and Roteater maggots for thirty days, why wouldn't he eating so much, and his size also counts for that as well.' While those were indeed valid reasons, they left out the whole 'Corpsetaker Arachnid in the Stomach' thing.

The other odd thing, which wasn't odd at all once given some thought, was that during the second to last day on the trip back it snowed lightly, given that it felt like winter, this wasn't all that odd, as I said this very sentence. The only thing making it remotely odd in fact was that this forest definitely seemed more similar to a tropical rainforest, where it should have rained as opposed to snow. However, this posed no real issue, as Meifeng had a pair of warm, if well used before, blankets in her pack for the nights it snowed or was particularly cold.

The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

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Meifeng looked out at her village, the familiar two-story buildings with some built into or around some trees, being a welcoming sight. Not quite as welcoming, however, as seeing instructor Faolong waving to her and most of the village, including the elders, standing nearby. Well, it was a welcoming wave, for a few moments, before she saw the ragged, unshaven, blood still in his hair Tim trailing just behind Meifeng. Even after having had the time to somewhat recover from muscle atrophy and a diet only meant to keep himself alive, he still certainly didn't look to be in the best shape.

Seeing Tim, Faolong held a hand up to her mouth before turning to some of the other rangers in training in the crowd and said,

"Someone get him inside, quickly! Town hall will do, now hurry!"

At this, two villagers ran over to Tim and began showing him the way to Town Hall. Meanwhile, Meifeng would rush over to her Instructor.

Faolong said, "That poor man, just from the look of him alone he had a hard time surviving in the Bloodweb forest, I'd hate to think of what might've happened had you arrived later. On better news, Welcome back Meifeng."

Meifeng said, "Thank you, instructor. It's good to be back."

"For now,  go home and rest briefly while I talk with the man you rescued, but I expect you to come over to my home later, for a full report on everything that happened, and then dinner. Alright?" Faolong said, ruffling Meifeng's hair briefly.

"Alright Instructor!" Said Meifeng, quite cheerful.

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In Xaolem Town Hall sat Tim, no longer in his half of a t-shirt, but instead in the largest spare clothes they could find, still being somewhat tight. The blood was also no longer stuck in his hair or on his skin since he had been given a bucket and rag and was able to get pretty much all of it out. All of this changed his description a decent amount, going from Ragged to more, Rugged let's say. So one vowels worth of cleaning himself up later, Faolong had arrived and sat across from Tim, who was currently seated at one of the smaller tables to the side.

Faolong began, "Hello there, my name is Faolong, and I'm the instructor of the girl who brought you here to the village of Xaolem. I'd like to talk to you."

Tim said, "Ah, sure. I'm Tim Allens, what do you want to talk about?"

"Firstly," said Faolong, "I'd like to ask why you were in the Bloodweb Forest to begin with."

"To be honest, I don't know. I just remember being transported somewhere, then we crashed, and next thing I know I wake up and have to fight for my life against some Boar thing, what did she call it, a Tuskore I think." Tim said.

"Alright, I'll have to trust you there, more importantly then, how was Meifeng, the girl who brought you here?" Faolong Asked.

"Huh?" Tim said, rather confused.

"I mean," Said Faolong, "How was she as a guide, did she seem to know her way around? Did she use her bow and arrow? Was she accurate? Did she bring enough rations? As her instructor, I want to hear it from you before I hear it from her as well."

"Oh," Tim said, "Yes, she knew her way around much better than I did. She only used her bow twice and both times she killed a Tuskore in one shot, once through the eye, the other in the neck and it died shortly after. If it weren't for those we might have needed to go a day or two without food, but given my size and my, condition, I would hardly say she wasn't prepared."

Faolong said, "I just want to know as well, what happened before she got there, and how did it lead to you having an important item?"

Tim said, "Well, Firstly I fought a Tuskore to the death after it interrupted me while I got some sort of 'Choose Your Path' message, it nearly killed me before I was able to get a rock, break off a tusk and kill it, then I got a rudimentary camp set up where I had a fire for a night. The next day I ended up trying to get some low hanging fruit off of a red and purple leafed tree with white bark, when the roots fell out from under me, and then for about, thirty or so days I lived off of the Tuskore that fell down and what I later learned were 'Roteater Maggots'. Then I ended up choosing a path, which showed me a different message that told me my Name, Title, and Path, as well as 'Skill Points', Earned and Base Skills, Available Skills, and as you asked Important Items."

Faolong shuddered as he finished and said, "By- You survived in the Pit of a Pitroot Tree and on the ground of the Bloodweb forest, Pathless, for around thirty days, and then given how Meifeng hadn't mentioned you use any path related skills, made the journey here without using anything either. That-" Faolong stopped, pulling out a Copper Tuskore Tusk, "That explains on its own how this item got its name."

For in Faolong's hand was Copperwound. Faolong handed it back to Tim, and said, "Thank you for talking with me, why don't you join Meifeng and I for dinner, is that alright?"

Tim smiled and said, "That sounds perfect."

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So, one report by Meifeng later, and a more proper introduction between her and Tim, and they soon sat down for dinner. When Faolong had brought up the fact that Tim had been pathless and that he only recently got his path, Meifeng couldn't help but ask Tim, "Why haven't you spent any skill points?"

Tim said, "Well, I want to talk to someone else with the same path, and see what they went with."

Faolong said, "That is a rather good idea, have you tried reading through your available skills descriptions first?"

Tim said, "Wait, you can do that?"

Meifeng giggled and said, "Yes! You didn't know?"

Faolong, also having stifled a small laugh said, "It's fine, he only got his path not long ago and likely hasn't checked his status since. I'm sure someone would be glad to help you with this, even the elder with the path would be happy I imagine. What's your path?"

Meifeng added, "Actually, why not tell us the whole introduction, Name, Title, and Path!"

Tim scratched the back of his head and said, "Alright, alright." He got up and made a grand bow, amusing both of them, before saying,

"My full Name, Title, and Path are, Tim Allens, Tenacious Hive Lord!"

At this, Meifeng said, "Wow, I've never heard of that before, I don't know if we have one of those here! You're one of a kind here in Xaolem!" Before returning to dinner.

Meanwhile, Faolong had stopped for a few moments, her food halfway between her and her plate, before continuing to eat.