Fully recharged and ready to explore the forest ahead, I quickly glanced at my current Status.

Name: Rokthar Dreseus

Level 15

Title: Fight Above Paygrade (Grade D)

Inherited Title: Eye Of The Dronawk (Grade A); Cover Of The Grixivyne (Grade A)

Age: 17

Race: Human

Gender: Male

Class: Eidikos of Nexyna

Trademark: Phantom Whisper (Awakening - Grade E)

Stats:

Strength: 46

Dexterity: 28

Constitution: 17

Wisdom: 11

Perception: 37

Will: 13

ASP: 4

General Skills:

Identify Lvl 14

Cooking Lvl 4

Active Skills:

Phantom Shroud (D): The Shroud of Eidikos allows the user to move quickly and quietly through the environment

Silent Arrow of Nex (D): Specialized technique of Nexyna that allows Eidikos to stifle the sound of arrows fired.

Phantom Blink Shot (D): The blink shot of Phantom Whisper enables the wielder to instantly teleport to where it lands

Charged Shot of Phantom Whisper (Unique): The Phantom Whisper enables Eidikos to channel their strength and focus into a single arrow, increasing the power and range of the shot

Passive Skills:

Bow Mastery (D): Grants wielder minor proficiency with handling bows. Minor bonus to accuracy, range and damage when wielding a bow

I checked the [Hunter’s Sigil Ring] - it has recharged sometime yesterday and the amber gemstone in the silver band is glowing again. The [Phantom Whisper] bow is stowed and I could summon it in an instant if needed and the [Phantom Shroud] is active since the moment I woke up.

The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

I ventured through the forest, leaving the riverbank behind and heading further into uncharted territory. For the first few miles, the familiar brown bark and red leaves of the Crimson Ember Oak trees were a constant sight as I moved swiftly, fully alert and attuned to my surroundings, watching for any signs of nearby beasts.

Before long, the landscape shifted - thick tall trees with red leaves gave way to even taller trees with slender, smoother bark, their branches adorned with deep brown leaves. After an hour of travel, I caught a glimpse of movement about a thousand feet ahead slightly to the left, barely through the dense thicket of trees and shrubs. I crouched low and slowly made my way through the five-foot-tall underbrush. Realizing that the movement was heading in my direction, I climbed one of the unfamiliar trees - its smooth bark made the ascent a bit challenging than usual but I decided to conserve my mana and avoid using Blink Shots more than necessary.

[Cover of the Grixivyne] activated soon, and I perched invisible, waiting for the group to come closer. Within a few minutes, the group of beasts came into clear view.

[Gnoll Skirmisher - Lvl 21]

[Gnoll Skirmisher - Lvl 19]

[Gnoll Skirmisher - Lvl 19]

Gnoll Skirmishers are lesser gnoll beasts, relying on numbers and ferocity to swarm enemies.

Core Qualities: Agile Maneuvering, Bleeding Bite

Upgrade: Identify Lvl14 -> Lvl15

The Gnoll Skirmisher is a bit taller than the Gnoll Scout, standing at six feet tall. Its dark red fur glistened with a menacing sheen, contrasting sharply against the greens and browns of the forest surroundings. The skirmisher’s elongated snout is filled with sharp teeth and its piercing yellow eyes glinted as it gazed ahead of its path. Its pointed ears are a bit shorter than the Gnoll Scout’s, yet they twitched attentively to the sounds of the forest.

Still under camouflage, I activated the [Eye Of The Dronawk] - my left eye flared and I assessed their weak points based on the shades of red I see across their bodies. Dark red shades marked its upper head, neck and middle of its chest. A lighter shade highlighted its ankles, ribs and joints.

The beasts’ current path won’t bring it near my perch; at its closest, it will pass about two hundred feet away from my tree. When the pack of beasts were about four hundred feet away, I took a deep breath and summoned my bow.

——————————————————————————————————————

The trio of Gnoll Skirmishers moved in a practiced, instinctive rhythm along their patrol route. The two in the lead focused on scanning their sides and the path ahead, their eyes and ears sharp and alert. The third crouched low, its snout barely above the underbrush, sniffing intently for any unfamiliar scents along the trail.

*Vsst* The lead skirmisher on the left twitched its ears, picking up a faint whisper, like the buzz of a fly darting nearby. A split second later, a soft thunk sounded just behind the skirmishers at the front.

The two beasts whipped around and sprang back, snarling, only to find the trailing skirmisher frozen mid-stride, with an arrowhead jutting out from behind its eyes. As the beast crumpled to the ground, the remaining skirmishers looked around, their eyes darting wildly as they searched for the attacker.

The skirmisher on the left zeroed in on the direction from where it heard the buzzing whisper dart by. It braced itself for an attack from the bushes, its claws raised in front. Its piercing yellow eyes snapped up to the subtle movement of a shadowed figure pulling its arm back, not amidst the low bushes but high above concealed in the dense leaves and branches.

It let out a guttural snarl and bounded toward the tree, this time picking up the faint echo of bow twang amidst the forest sounds. The beast glimpsed the projectile whizzing its way, but it was too fast to dodge. The arrow pierced its chest, just enough force to puncture its heart. The skirmisher faltered and dropped to its knees, momentarily halted by the impact. With fierce, murderous intent, it fixed its gaze on the phantom-like figure drawing its arm back again.

The wounded skirmisher sensed what was coming. With a pained twist, it rolled to the side, just as it heard the twang. A snarl echoed from its companion, who had leapt past, charging toward the dark intruder, only to take an arrow directly in the thigh. It stumbled but quickly recovered, diving behind a tree, breaking the line of sight to the phantom attacker. It leaped and stepped onto a nearby tree bark, before bouncing off it to land on another tree branch twenty feet high.

The dark intruder back in its sight, it leapt sideways as the twang sounded from the phantom but its leap slowed by its bleeding thigh, couldn’t avoid the strike. Shunk. It growled in pain as the arrow buried itself in its abdomen, tearing through its insides. The skirmisher tumbled backward from its perch, landing heavily on the forest floor, where it lay still.

Meanwhile, the other skirmisher, now bleeding profusely from its chest, summoned every last ounce of strength to stand. It turned its gaze from the shadowed predator and up toward the sky and let out a piercing howl - lasting only an instant before it collapsed, with an arrow in its throat.