Chapter 4: Scaling Mountains

Panting and weary, Alexander pulled himself over the edge of a large rock and then rolled onto his back. He was breathing in heaving breath while his body was free from exertion. The only relief to his exhaustion was the sudden appearance of a familiar screen:

[https://i.imgur.com/8ytQBnQ.png]

The youth's sense of accomplishment was drafted by his joy of receiving the Mountain's Blessing. This gift only lasted for a day, but it boosted his stats and made it easier to progress the level of one's Skills. Like so, relief filled his body as the blessing took hold.

His mother climbed over the rock soon after, her face flush through either wise unphased. She looked down at her child and remarked, “Alex, I'm the one that's dying here, so why is it you're always the one that looks so terrible.”

Glaring up at the woman, the youth complained, “Can you not pity me for just one moment.”

After considering this, the woman responded, “No…” She reached down to grab his hand and added, “Now up, I want to take a picture together.”

The boy obeyed and smiled as best he could. His body was covered with sweat and dirt, and even his basic outfit was worn up, causing him to look like a crazy hermit. Still, he posed happily with a vast mountain range behind him as his mother took the photo. Once the picture was taken, he was startled as a window popped up:

[https://i.imgur.com/ayWEim5.png]

Following this, a sub-window emerged:

[https://i.imgur.com/tRzVQyP.png]

The youth had been expecting this achievement from his mother's guidance and closed the screen happily. With bright eyes, he chimed, “I just got the One Who Admires Nature Titel.” He rubbed his empty belly and asked, “Can we eat something.”

The woman’s face lit up as she exclaimed, “That's great, dear!” She smiled and added, “I think some lunch is a wonderful idea.”

Like so, they sat down and retrieved a collection of nuts, berries, and roots they had gathered from the wilderness. As elves, it was taboo for them to hunt wild animals for food; however, if the animal was domesticated, they could eat it with no problem. Unfortunately, such commodities were over a hundred miles away, so they could only live off the land.

In Eden, there was a hunger system where if one went without food for too long, you would become weaker and even die from starvation if you weren't careful. There wasn't a stat that would tell you when one needed food or not. You simply had to listen to your body and use some common sense.

Like so, they said a brief prayer together, which was their custom both inside and outside the game, and then began to eat.

Once they had finished, the two looked at the vast world beyond for a few minutes before Alexander’s mother stood up and clapped, “Okay now, let's not waste time. The Mountain's Blessing only lasts for a day, and that's in Game Time. It's time to practice your skills.``

Alexander felt like deflating, but he nodded as he got up, “Fine.”

His mother brought out a long stick she had found while traveling as her son did the same. They made eye contact and, in the next moment, began to spar. Neither of them much enjoyed fighting or killing creatures just for fun, but it was important to be able to defend oneself from Mobs and other players. Like Alexander, he was diligently trained in his mother's weapon of choice, the staff.

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The woman's Skill Level greatly exceeded his own, but luckily, she toned down her abilities to offer him a challenge that was too daunting. This still meant he got his butt kicked, but the youth did learn a lot from the experience. In this way, near the end of the spar, a screen popped up which stated:

[https://i.imgur.com/DgvxHv6.png]

The young acute mother noticed his change in ability and, once the spar was over, happily exclaimed, “I'm so proud of you; you're already at Level 7. It took me a whole year to get that far.”

The boy, whose body was covered in bruises, snarly retorted, “Yeah, by ‘Getting Beat Up Skill’ is already at Level 10.”

His mother rolled her eyes and responded, “Don't be so melodramatic…” Her eyes flashed as she added, “How then, if you wanna treat your injuries, you know what to do.”

Alexander grumbled as he brought out a wooden bowl, which he had carved from a chunk of wood, and then added to it a number of plants he had gathered along their journey. His mother was a Medicine Synthesis by trade on her Server and had been diligently passing on her knowledge. Although they lacked quality tools, given her years of experience, Alexander was still able to develop the Plant Identification Skill and Basic Medicine Synthesis Skill. They were both still relatively low in level but were enough for him to create a paste that would help heal his bruises.

He seemed to be on a role that day as once his medical paste was made, another window appeared:

[https://i.imgur.com/WF6ggLw.png]

With a smile, he looked over to his mother and stated, “Basic Medicine Synthesis just hit level 4.”

The woman beamed and locked him in a happy hug while responding, “You're doing amazing, dear.”

They had been traveling for half a year now and had scaled 23 of the Green Mountains to date. During this time, the youth had made many advances that had earned him praise, though he never got tired of them. Contently, he responded, “Well, I have a good teacher.”

At this point, the mother pulled back and, with a devilish smile, responded, “Thank you, dear, but that won't help you avoid your running practice.”

The youth scowled at this ad and said, “Fine.”

He got to his feet, eyeing the opposite end of the mountain peak, and investigated it. After identifying a path, he took in a deep breath a leap of. What came after it could only be considered a mixture of falling, parkour, and luck. How tired his bets to only take ten or so foot jumps at a time, though often he missed his mark. Like so, his body soon became scuffed up, and his legs hurt from the impact of falling. This death-seeking action was only possible thanks to his proficiency in his most challenging Skill to date, called Elven Running.

This was a race-specific skill that could significantly decrease the energy consumed by normal movement, increase one's speed, and also make one's body lighter. Best of all, it was a passive skill that required focus training but none to use in his everyday life. Reflecting on what a high level in this Skill could do, Alexander noted his mother followed him as gracefully as a butterfly. She seemed to float from one stone to another at a fighting speed, demonstrating no signs of fatigue or pain from impact.

Halfway down the mountain, Alexander had to stop as his HP had taken a serious hit due to him missing a landing. Elven Running had recently advanced to Level 4, which had made his weight decrease by 20%, so the impact wasn't as bad as it could have been. But it was still too much for him, and his mother continued traveling without worry.

His guardian arrived by his side, ready to taste, but suddenly tensed and blurted quietly, “Be still.”

Acting on instinct, the youth activated his Stealth skill, which his mother had taught him to help avoid Mobs. The level of this Skill wasn’t high, only two at the moment, but on an opponent who hadn't already noticed him, its effect was potent.

The next moment, a giant bear came meandering through their location with aggressive eyes. From experience, Alexander could tell they had stumbled into its territory, so now this normally peaceful creature had grown aggressive. They looked around, confused by the loss of their enemies, though, and then began to smell the air. The dice of fate had been tossed, and the next moment, it let out an angry roar and managed words to the boy.

In response, the boy leaped away, breaking his Stealth skill and angering the beats even more. He summoned out his staff and shouted, “Bonk.”

With a wack, he hit the beast's head and luckily caused it to become stunned, though the Skill was at level 6, which helped significantly. At this point, he raced around his body and glanced at his mother, who smiled and laughed, “Looks like today is going to be exciting.”

They began to bound down the mountain again; all the while, Alexander’s heart thumped with excitement and fear. His body ached with anxiety as he thought about how terrible it would be to die and have to respawn back at Camelot, but soon this feeling faded. Instead, he focused on the moment, the exploration, and his mother, who let out a whoop of happiness as they galavanted together. He let out his own cry of joy as they darted off towards the next peak.