After just a few minutes, the town had become alive with activity and people. Many were trying desperately to put out what fires remained, but, for the most part, the damage had done its work and those buildings that had been wreathed in flames were beyond saving. Duke had apparently searched and destroyed only shops and storefronts in search of Stella. So, while many people were killed, most had been hiding in their homes. Had I not come though, I doubted anyone would have been spared by the goblin-kin. Anyone who knew me well enough from before I had been transformed into a Hunter had come up to me directly, but were addressing me mostly as a Hunter. I was a bit surprised that they now treated me differently, but Stella helped me understand what was happening.
“They are able to recognize you now as a Hunter by just looking at you, so even though they have long memories of you, the fact that you’re a Hunter has become front and foremost in their minds,” Stella said when I had a moment to speak with her alone. “Plus, remember that you are no longer human, but a half-elf. My guess is the System stepped in and adjusted their memories to avoid any conflict of you being an NPC before all this. Nothing like this has happened, so it’s going to be hard for us to predict how people who knew you before are going to react.”
“Yeah, I get that. It’s just odd, you know?” I replied as another person I had known for years approached us. “That’s Alder, he’s the parent of a friend of mine. He could be a bit crotchety at times. We did get into trouble more than a few times as we played near his shop.”
Alder was a tall man, towering a full foot over my now-lithe frame. His thick auburn hair started to show gray at the sides. “Thank you, Hunter Xaz. You’ve saved us from those deviling creatures. Without you, I doubt my family would still be alive. I am forever in your debt,” he said with genuine appreciation. I had never seen this part of him before. Usually, he was curt and stern with me, though I was usually up to no good with his son, Darrien. Darrien and I had forged a strong bond early on, even though he was a couple of years younger than me.
I hesitated a moment, unused to the level of respect and gratitude being shown. “You are welcome, Alder. I’m glad that your family is safe. Where is Darrien, I haven’t seen him yet.”
“He’s back at our shop, thankfully it wasn’t set on fire like so many others, though several of those damn goblins had rampaged within making quite the mess.” As he spoke, Alder had pointed out to the south. His store was mid-way through town and I hadn’t recalled seeing it when I was hunting for the boss. “But, how did those creatures even get in here? We were supposed to be protected.”
“I believe a Hunter, named Duke, was somehow able to take down the barrier. That allowed the mobs in.” I said with an undertone of anger at the mention of Duke’s name. Everything that happened here was Duke’s fault. I was caught off guard slightly though when I spotted Alder bearing a confused look.
“Monsters. They were the ones that were able to get into town.” Stella said a moment later, understanding the man’s confusion before I had. That’s right, these people didn’t know game terms so didn’t understand that ‘mob’ meant monster.
“Well, I’m glad that another Hunter came to our aid. If there is anything I can do, please do not hesitate to ask. We owe our lives to you, as well as your flying friend.” Alder said then eyed Stella before finally reaching out a hand to me.
“You’re quite welcome, Stella and I are glad that we were able to stop these creatures before any more harm could come to our town.” I shook Alder’s hand, he had a firm grasp before he turned in the direction of his shop and left.
Alone with Stella again I found myself a bit surprised at how well everyone that made it was taking this whole disastrous affair. Stella must have been able to discern my inner thoughts, so hovered up to my shoulder, the both of us watching Alder depart. “My guess is that this is not the first time something like this has happened. You have no memory of an attack, but most Hunters are not friendly. People like Duke are far more common, unfortunately. I think that’s why most are able to move on so quickly. Either that, or there are some behind the scenes happening with the System.”
“I suppose it could be worse,” I said. “A lot of people died today, but the living need to keep on living. I wish there was more that I could do.”
“You already are. Duke’s gone now and, unless I miss my guess, the protective barrier on the town will restore itself soon enough. The question is, what are you going to do?”
Looking out at the devastation was unsettling, yet, hope remained. I could see it in the eyes of those doing their best even now to repair what had been broken. The town would move on. My duty, what I felt in my heart, was firm. I knew what I needed to do. “We need to find Duke. I want to make sure he is not able to do this again.” I turned to Stella who was floating over my shoulder. “He killed my family, my family in this life, and I intend to make him pay for that.”
Stella nodded at my words. I could see the resolution in her eyes at my proclamation. “And I will help you do that.”
“So, let’s find out what we can about Duke. Maybe someone saw him leave and we can pick up his trail. We’re not strong enough, yet,” I empathized the word. “So, before we head out, let’s see if we can gear up a little. Some of the stores are still up, though I have no idea what they sell. It never seemed important to me before today.”
“Sounds like a plan,” Stella replied. The sun was shining directly overhead with just a few clouds here and there. We made a difference today. We had saved lives. With Stella by my side, I knew where my journey would take us. I had a mission and together we would find Duke. We would make him pay.
We reached out to anyone nearby and inquired if anyone had seen Duke in all the chaos. We were close to the north exit of town, so I was confident he would have left somewhere around here. One person, Grace, a midwife I had only met once before shared she had seen Duke through her second-story window. He had been going from store to store leaving destruction and fire in his wake. She spied him heading out of town when he paused for a moment. To her, it looked like he was casting a spell when the magical barrier surrounding the town flared a brilliant red and then shattered into a million pieces. He left right after, never once turning back. Grace said that it was an hour later when the goblins arrived. No one was able to muster any type of defense against their brutality and it was all everyone could do but to hide and pray they wouldn’t be found.
I thanked Grace for her help. We knew now where Duke had left, but I wanted to gather more information and, hopefully, gear, before we followed. We walked south, following the main road as it curved this way and that. Many nods and shouts of thanks followed up as the survivors continued to salvage what they could. Stella and I stopped at several of the stores, to see if the owners would be interested in selling any of their goods. Without hesitation, we were ushered in gratefully. Most of their items were just everyday things, with just a few things being magical in nature.
While speaking with store owners, I found that it was indeed Duke who had killed my parents. The goblins that I had run into were just there to feast on what was left. A neighbor told me how he saw Duke in my parent’s store making angry demands and ‘having to find it” before he ultimately took their lives. There was no way my parents could have known anything about Stella and had no way to defend against Duke’s sword as it felled them both where they stood. It was hard to hear in detail what had happened, but it felt like I needed to know. Even more, my need to bring vengeance against the evil man became more resolute.
“I’m sorry, Xaz,” a neighbor, Zypher, who lived across the street from my parent’s shop had said. I had known the elderly man my whole life. I often spent time playing in his backyard with Darrien. The friendly man had always enjoyed watching us whirl around the playground he had built for his own son, so many years before.
Zypher placed a hand on my shoulder before pulling me into a warm embrace. I hadn’t caught that he didn’t use my title, I was only aware of his sympathy and compassion. He had always been friendly to me, unlike so many other adults. He had once told me how I reminded him a lot of his son. I had never met his son, unfortunately. He had died years before I had been born. I didn’t realize it before now, but Zypher had been like a second father to me.
“I’m glad you made it through all this, Zypher,” I said after our embrace. “I’ll be leaving soon to hunt the man who killed my parents and brought such destruction to our lives.”
“I believe you,” Zypher said, a single tear running down his cheek. “Before you go though, I’d like you to have something.” I followed him to the back room of his house. Opening a door, we saw a room full of bookshelves. I had never been in here before. The room was a dozen feet across and was filled with the smell of dried ink and parchment. I took in great breaths, filling my lungs with the inviting aroma. “I once had a store, much like your fathers. Though I never could find one with any interest in this book. I think it will help you on your journey to bring justice for all of us.”
Zypher reached out and took a dusty book from one of the shelves, handing it to me. It was heavier than I expected, with a thick weathered leather cover. The writing on the front was unlike any I had ever seen before. Zypher nodded at me when I looked back at him, so I inspected it.
You have found: {Tome of Minor Heat Blood}.
{Tome of Minor Heat Blood}. Quality: Well Crafted. Rarity: Uncommon. Type: Spell Book - Consumable. Durability: 100/100. Properties(s): Teaches the spell [Minor Heat Blood]. Note – This is a single-use item and will be destroyed when used.
After reading the tome’s description, the spell name was highlighted in my vision. Hoping it would give more information, I mentally selected the spell. Sure, enough the description popped up and I was thrilled at the spell’s potential.
[Minor Heat Blood]. A blaze of magical energy strikes a target within 100 feet. The target is afflicted with the ‘Heated Blood’ debuff which causes the victim’s blood to come to a near boil. After 30 seconds, the target's blood cools and the debuff expires. This spell causes 10 plus n spell damage immediately and every 6 seconds thereafter, where ‘n’ equals intelligence. Cost: 15 mana. Cast Time: 1.0 seconds. Cooldown: 1.0 second. Duration: 30 seconds. Plus 10 feet maximum range plus 2 base damage per spell level.
“This is an incredible gift,” I said in sheer amazement. My mind was already racing with the possibility of this spell. It was much like my firebolt spell in that it caused damage, but whereas I would need to continue to cast firebolt over and over to do damage to an enemy, I would only need to cast this spell and it would slowly drain the health from a target. My eyes returned to Zypher and I offered him my sincere appreciation. “Thank you, truly. This will help me, of that I have no doubt.”
“Well, go on and use it,” Zypher said gesturing at the book, a bright smile on his lips. “It’s been a long while since I saw one of my magic books being used. I remember always being in awe, though I never had the privilege myself.”
There was nothing to it. Holding the book, I simply thought of my desire to learn the magic within the book and a new message appeared.
Do you wish to learn the Spell: [Minor Heat Blood]? Note – This spell book will be destroyed in the process. Yes/No?
Selecting yes, a wind picked up around me, slowly at first, but then picking up speed. Only I was affected as I could see Zypher's clothes not drift an inch while mine were swirling at this point. The tome opened of its own accord, now lying flat on my two open palms. The pages started turning and my eyes were drawn to the mystical symbols drawn on the pages. Fast and faster the pages turned and, with each new page that flew by, knowledge was implanted in my brain. What felt like years of memories studying the spell, how to articulate my hands in times with the magic phrases, everything down to the finest detail was seared into my mind. It was entirely painless thankfully. When the final page turned, the book slammed shut and turned to vapor, its magical properties spent in teaching me the spell. It was an exhilarating experience, to say the least. I just knew how to cast the spell, as if I had always known but only recently had uncovered the long-forgotten memory.
With Zypher right there, I decided to wait to talk with Stella once we left his home as I had many questions for her about the spell. Based on the description, it is what is known as a ‘damage over time spell’, or DOT for short. In the right hands, they could be used to devastating effect. If I could learn several of these spells, I would have the ability to ‘stack’ DOTs on my enemies and, as the damage added up, it would essentially cause a monster to bleed to death. Or, in this case, have their blood boil. That image wasn’t all that pleasant to think about, but what different was it than flinging firebolts at a nearby goblin, right?
Zypher's smile was as wide as ever. “May that spell serve you well. In the meanwhile, you look less clothed than the Hunters that came through back in my day.” He gestured for me to follow him to another room and opened a tall dresser wedged in the corner. After a moment of hunting around at the plainclothes within, he found what he was looking for. The older man turned and held out two short pieces of fabric. They were the color of a late morning sky and appeared delicate to the touch. Looking at them closer, each was about half a foot in length and was cylindrical in shape. I was a bit confused as to what they could be until I inspected them.
{Sleeves of Minor Intelligence}. Imbued within the weaves of this fabric is a subtle arcane energy that seeks to empower its user. The age of the material has soaked in ambient mana, further strengthening the enchantment. Quality: Well-crafted. Rarity: Uncommon. Type: Cloth. Slot: Arms. Durability: 100/100. Armor: 2. Effect(s): While worn, intelligence will be increased by +2
“Here, let me show you how to use them,” Zypher said taking hold of the two sleeves. He had me put a hand through one, bringing it up my arm to touch my leather tunic. “Think about equipping it and it will magically attach to your equipment." Doing as he instructed, the sleeve attached itself without fanfare. To my surprise, a thin shirt appeared under my tunic. Zypher repeated the process with my other hand and within seconds both were firmly attached to my new undershirt as if it had always been there. Feeling the shirt, it had a similar fabric to the sleeves, reminding me of silk. “If you ever remove the sleeves, the shirt will vanish as if it had never been there. While the sleeves offer a very small amount of protection, the shirt underneath will not.”
You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.
“Thanks, again, my friend,” I said. “I will make good use of these gifts.” We left Zypher's home shortly after. The man followed us to his door and, with a final wave, we continued our way through town.
Stella and I spent perhaps another hour, speaking with anyone who showed interest. As with earlier, people were saddened with the loss but optimistic about rebuilding the town stronger. Stella again reminded me that the System was helping them heal from the raid which had me shaking my head at the thought. “At its base, this is still a Game, and it wouldn’t work well if the next Hunter that came through found the residents unable to carry one. And, no, before you ask, the System no longer modifies your memories. You’re truly free now.”
We didn’t speak too much after that. We stopped at a few of the remaining stores before deciding we had gathered enough supplies to wander out after Duke. In my bag of holding were several more mana and health potions, both the minor and regular variety, several weeks’ worth of travel rations, and water skins. The only other magic item we had been able to find was a ring of intelligence which granted one more point in that attribute. It was a small bonus, sure, but better than nothing.
Waving back at the only home I had known in this life; we took the north road out of town following in Duke’s unseen footsteps. Where he had left only pain and suffering in his wake, I felt secure in the knowledge that we had helped mend some of those wounds. Passing through the reformed protective barrier eased my conscience somewhat. It was my hope that my friends and their families would never have to be at the mercy of such a villain. That hope though was fleeting while men like Duke remained to do as they wished to those unable to protect themselves. With Stella by my side, I hoped to grow enough to challenge and defeat any who thought like Duke did. The barrier would protect them now, I hoped I would be able to protect them beyond what we did today.
As we walked north, I inspected my new spell again. Stella could tell I was excited about its addition to my repertoire, so I shared my inner thoughts. “I always liked these types of spells,” I said, excitement clearly evident in my voice. “Unlike normal damaging spells, this one does its damage over a period of time. Instead of a bolt of fire striking and inflicting damage all at once, these spells work kind of like a poison. Now, I only have this one so far, but imagine if I had five of them damaging the boss goblin back there.”
“Yeah, I can see the advantage,” Stella said happy to add in. “Direct damage spells cause a spike of damage all at once, then again once you cast it again, much like hitting something with your axe. The damage only comes when you hit the enemy. Damage over time spells, by contrast, will do consistent damage over a period of time. The advantage is that you can cause several DoTs at the same time. The damage you are capable of dealing ramps up over time and usually will be more in the end. If we take your firebolt spell, you spend five mana for twenty-eight damage currently. Your heat blood spell, at the cost of fifteen mana, will deal one hundred thirty damage, but over thirty seconds.”
“Yeah, and if I would have had that spell with the boss, I could have cast it and then gone on the defense,” I said as the imaginary battle floated in my head. “Then, I could have added in an additional hit here and there if the opportunity presented itself. The boss slowly bleeds to death, essentially, and I can add damage on top of that. Direct damage spells and melee attacks have large spikes of damage, but the amount of damage I can inflict is static, not considering critical hits though. I see myself starting most battles from now on with heat blood and then having options of what to do next pretty open.”
“Sounds like you can’t wait to get more of them,” Stella chucked at my enthusiasm.
“You bet I do,” I replied.
Stella tilted her head a little to me, before finally adding, “Don’t forget that you can dual cast that spell too.”
That stopped me in realization, my eyes going wide with the possibilities. “Oh, yeah! I totally forgot about that.”
We carried on for another hour, making small talk here and there, but always on guard. Duke had something like a half a day’s lead on us and, as Stella mentioned, he could have a type of movement spell or ability. There was no way for us to know just how far ahead he was. In my gut, I knew we would catch him eventually, so we would just need to remain vigilant as we followed in his footsteps.
The gravel road mostly kept a northerly direction, taking us next to a small forest or rocky outcropping at times, but it was easygoing. We had mostly an open picture for miles ahead of us and still no hint that Duke was around. At one point Stella caught me eyeing up my new sleeves. “You’re starting to look the part,” she said.
I laughed, turning an eye her way, “The part?”
“The part of a Hunter,” Stella continued confidently. She gracefully flew ahead then swiftly turned around, flying backward, all the while eyeing me. She brought a paw up against her cheek as if she was deep in thought. “Well, not a very intimidating one just yet. I suppose that’s a good thing since it's my understanding that most Hunters would rather kill you than look at you. Well, that’s what Stouter always said, anyways.”
“I’ll take that as a compliment,” I said, once more trying vainly to figure out how Stella was able to fly around without a peep of sound or power emanating from her. System stuff, I guessed. “It’s unfortunate that most Hunters come here only with the intent to harm others. I just can’t see myself doing that. I always wanted to try to make some type of positive impact on the world around me.”
Stella paused in the air until I caught up to her before turning around and taking what was becoming a customary position over my shoulder. “I’m glad that I found you. You remind me a lot of Stouter, you know. I bet he would be happy that we found each other.”
It was amazing to see how real and personable Stella was. She explained early on that she was artificial intelligence, but it never felt that way. Her easy-going nature, her empathy, everything about her was alive, unlike any machine I could imagine. Had I not known she was an accelerator, ignoring her ability to fly around effortlessly, I would swear that she was a real talking, albeit miniature, dog. “I’m glad I found you too, Stell.” Even though today had been among the worst in my existence, this small friend was a sun among that darkness.
“So, what do we have to eat?” Stella asked, catching me off guard.
I chuckled at the random question, “You know exactly what we have, we bought it together.” Pausing a moment, I turned to her. “Can you even eat anyway?” I genuinely didn’t know the answer to that one, now that I thought about it. Opening my inventory, I found the travel rations we had purchased before leaving Winterfalls. Taking one out, it was not too bad actually. Rolled up in a thin piece of cloth was some jerky, various nuts, some dried fruit, a particularly hard piece of bread, and a slice of salted ham.
“Well, of course, I can.” Stella turned a nose to the ration, giving it a few small sniffs. As she brought her face closer to it, I held it out for her wondering what exactly would happen. “I don’t need a whole lot, as you can imagine. In actuality, my body doesn’t need any food to sustain me, though I’ve found with Stouter that I quite enjoy a good slice of meat. That ham does look tasty. Do you mind?”
Shaking my head at the question, I wasn’t particularly hungry at the moment myself, so I handed the ham to her. Stella bit the corner of the ham and, to my amazement, set the piece down in the air in front of her, giving it a big sniff one more before taking biting off a piece. She raised her head and gulped it down, all the while the other part of the ham just floated in the air. Once she was finished with that, Stella ate the remaining ham in short order. She smiled and let out a satisfied grunt.
“So,” I inquired with a hint of amusement in my voice. She must have picked up on that as she immediately turned to me, her eyes narrowing. “Where does that go… How does it, you know, make its way out?”
Stella hadn’t stopped narrowing her eyes as I finished my question. Her small body was perfectly still before she finally answered, her voice flat and monotone. “Wouldn’t you like to know,” I turned away shyly, my face turning a slight shade of red. Seeing my reaction, she apparently got the effect she was hoping for, she sprung up doing a quick circuit in the air. The swift move caught me off guard. “Ha,” Stella yipped in triumph. “Nothing happens actually, the System does its magic, and poof, it’s just gone. Thankfully, I get to still enjoy the taste.”
“Nice,” I said, amused. “I guess I’ll finish off the rest of it then. You know, you eat the best part and all.”
Stella winked at my comment before we continued on our way. The rest of the ration was pretty good. I wasn’t always one to enjoy nuts, but the seasoning and salt hit the spot quite nicely.
“Pushing food as we go along is a good idea,” Stella said after I finished up the hard tack. To my surprise, even though it was the hardest piece of bread I’d ever eaten, had a nice flavor to it. It had just the right hint of salt to it. “With your troll tunic, your health regeneration is doubled outside of combat, and food, like that ration, will do that and more. Higher quality food which we’ll find later on will have even better bonuses. For now, though, when you eat and drink what we bought from Winterfalls, it will increase your mana and health regeneration by two hundred percent.”
“Good to know. That will help me get back into fighting shape faster. Is there a limit, though? Like can I eat in between back-to-back fights?” That could be a bit overpowered though if I could quickly get to maximum health, stamina, and mana by taking just a minute and swallowing a ration, granted I would have to have enough stores of the stuff. With my bag of holding, that was a distinct possibility, though it might be more than I could afford right now.
“Not to the level you’re thinking,” Stella said as she flew just over the top of grass stacks on the side of the road. She was running her paws just enough to lightly tap the tall stalks of grass and occasionally tapped a flower or dandelion, causing a bloom of white seeds to go flying behind her. “You can only eat as much as you’re used to doing. So, you can’t just keep stuffing food in your mouth unless you want to have it come back up in, let’s say, undesirable ways.”
“Got it,” I said. “In a way, I’m glad it works that way. I could see ways to take advantage of that if you could just eat however much you wanted to nab the regeneration bonus.”
“Uh huh,” Stella confirmed. She was buzzing around, this way and that so it was a little hard to hear her. After another moment, she glided back over, taking a spot a few inches above my shoulder. “Foods good to get you back into fighting spirit if you know you’ve got something big coming up and you have a few minutes beforehand.”
We continued following the road in silence for some time, both of us taking in the sights and, quite honestly, splendor around us. Fields of beautiful grasslands seemed to dominate the world around us. It was approaching early evening so we would need to consider finding a place to settle down soon, but the cool, crisp breeze and fresh scents of flowers in the air were refreshing. Glancing up at the sky I found rolling clouds that were drifting lazily causing the waning sun to peak out from time to time. It was alive around us with a flurry of bees, birds, and small wildlife. All were bounding around in a chaotic, yet calming manner. Several flights of birds were flying above making small, chirping noises to each other as they passed by.
I was about to ask Stella to help find a spot where we could rest for the evening when the road ahead bent around a sparse collection of oak trees. It looked well enough for me. Stella was humming a tune to herself as our footfalls carried us closer. “This is looking like a nice place to try settling down for the evening. Let’s keep an eye out for where we can set up camp,” I said as we were a few dozen paces away from the bend. Stella nodded her head at the thought and once we came around, we saw the road turn into the small forest before us. The trees were spread out sparsely, their boughs waving briskly in the breeze. Trying to eye up a good place to bunk down, an unusual scent hit my nose. The trees had been growing denser and taller as we progressed, casting shadows all around us. We looked at each other and bunched up our noses. “What is that? It smells like… burnt garbage?”
“Yeah, whatever it is, it’s quite revolting,” Stella said, her eyes scanning our surroundings. Both of us tried to figure out what was the cause of the rancorous odor. It was like someone set a bin on fire that was full to the brim with rotten seaweed and gangrenous flesh.
“Let’s be on guard. We need to figure out what that is before I could even consider getting a wink of sleep,” my tone had dropped to a whisper and we both took on a careful demeanor. While this world was obviously full of beauty, it also carried a dangerous side. A flash of goblin teeth flashed in my mind's eye before I willfully shut the memory out. I was crouched low and making a conscious effort to cause as little sound as possible. The sun, though I couldn’t see it anymore past the copse of leaves, was dipping even lower in the sky. It would be dark in less than an hour, I guessed.
The road ahead bent around to the left, entirely out of sight. We wouldn’t be able to see what was ahead until we came around it. The smell was stronger than ever and nearly had me gagging. I motioned for Stella to pause as I needed to settle myself or I was sure my stomach would give us away to whatever was up there. Breathing through my nostrils was worthless with the horrid stench as strong as it was. It was all I could do to not vomit, so I settled with breathing through clenched teeth. That would have to do. Trying to think of what we could do to remain unseen; I spotted a small gap in the trees to the left an idea hit me.
Xaz: Let’s try going quietly through just there between those trees to our left. Do you see it, that small gap?
Stella: I see it.
Xaz: Ok, follow me, but keep quiet. I’m hoping we can cross through those trees and get a sight of what’s ahead if the road continues around. Let’s be careful. I have a bad feeling about this.
Dread was filling my chest. The smell was rank with death and decay but had something extra to it unlike anything I could place to it. Creeping forward, we pressed into the trees wound tightly around us. There was enough room to maneuver, though I lamented having to fight in here if it came to it. The sound of running water reached our ears, so I pulled my battle axe out, gripping it tightly. Stella had landed on my shoulder, her small paws gripping tightly to my leather tunic. Certain there was a small stream ahead, the smell of burnt refuse was ever present, though my nose was going numb to it, thankfully.
Doing my best to avoid snapping a tig or crushing a pile of dried leaves, we eventually spied the area opening up ahead. As expected, the road had come right around ahead of our position before coming to an elevated wooden bridge. The bridge was just wide enough to allow a wagon to pass over it. It looked sturdy and well maintained though sections were covered in a green moss. It spanned over what was likely a small brook about a dozen feet wide given the length of the bridge. At the edge of the tree line, we didn’t have an angle to see down on the river, but even if I could, my eyes wouldn’t have left what was before the bridge.
Even back when we had entered the forest, I had started seeing small signs of someone having passed through before us. The many oak trees above had surrendered numerous leaves that covered patches of the road here and there. I was hoping the long foot strides carrying the piles of leaves forward with them had confirmed Duke passed here, his heavy boots leaving clear signs of his passing. Compared to those signs earlier, the one before the bridge looked like a tornado had gone through instead.
It looked nothing unlike someone who had been turning long, wide circles, almost as if in a dance. The pattern in the leaves before the bridge had swoops and swirls, back and forth. If I didn’t know any better, I would have said someone had battled here as I spied the large arcs in the leaves and other smaller, tight circles. The more I looked, the more I was sure of it. Someone had been moving and spinning back and forth in tight circles causing ruts to appear as they did before us. As the realizations connected in my mind, a pair of notifications popped up in my vision, one after the other.
Congratulations! You have acquired the skill: Tracking.
Your diligence in studying the world around you have unlocked a new ability for you to gleam secrets from those who have come before you. You are now able to better spot footprints, tracks, and other signs of passage. This passive skill will automatically highlight important aspects of your vision. No detail too small shall escape your sight as this skill grows! Each level in this skill will increase your chance of noticing something interesting by two percent.
Congratulations! You have acquired the skill: Stealth.
Your slow and careful approach has allowed you to remain undetected by hostile forces. As you increase this skill, you will become harder to be detected. It is rumored that masters of this skill are invisible to the world around them! Each level in this skill will decrease your chance of being detected by an additional two percent. Additionally, damaging attacks and abilities while using Stealth will cause 50% more damage, increasing by two percent per skill level.
My muscles froze tight as I read the last message. Well, if that doesn’t scream that something’s ahead, then I don’t know what does, I thought dryly.