I stood in front of one of many straw dummies on a packed earth yard. The yard itself was quite expansive at 160ft wide and 230ft long. It was surrounded by a 6ft tall stone wall that would cut it off from casual outside observation, but would easily be overcome by people determined to find out what the noise on here was all about. Not that anyone that didn't already know would be coming around here, as we were currently at the Adventurer's Guild's facilities. The one we were currently using was primarily dedicated to people below level 25 and free to use as a community service provided by the guild. Apparently the devices and tools were cheap to produce and good experience for the guild's novice crafters. Training grounds for higher levels would require membership and either a fee or special dispensation.
River stood 10ft to the side and watched me like a hawk, the rising sun behind her was barely peeking over the stone wall. We had just gone through the sword drills she has had me practicing on this yard for the past three days.
The leather armor that mom and dad had gifted me for my birthday was strapped on tightly but still loose enough so it wouldn't impede my movement. A dark brown vest with layered pauldrons over the forest green tunic I usually wear, a lighter brown leather skirt that went down to just above my knees, my favorite black pants were barely visible beneath the buckled leg-guards, new boots went up to where the leg-guards ended at the shin and were equally heavily buckled, and to round it all out, arm-guards that went down to where the hand-guards began. A helmet came with it, but I quickly found out that I could not wear it because it impeded my peripheral vision, which distracted me immensely. I'd still carry it with me, just in case I ever needed more protection for my head.
"Alright, take your stance!" I squared my shoulders and moved my right foot forward until it rested half a step in front and my stance was as wide as my shoulders, the blue sword in my right hand was centered in front of me with the tip pointing toward the head of the dummy, my left hand held flat under the pommel so it wouldn't get in the way.
"Looking good for your fourth day of training, now kill the dummy!" I quickly lifted my sword over my head, the left hand followed the pommel without touching it. I let the tip of the blade tilt to the right before I brought it down in a diagonal strike, my hip twisting into the movement to lend it more power. The cut went across the chest of the dummy, the momentum of the blade halting next to the hip of my straw opponent. I lifted the blade a second time and stepped in further with my left foot to perform the same strike but this time cutting from the upper left to the lower right, as soon as the blade halted in its momentum, I stepped back and lifted my left hand from the pommel to point it at the enemy, before a thin bolt of lightning erupted from it and struck the dummy on the head. I let out a small 'whoop' in celebration of my victory over Straw McStuffedFace.
You have killed Level 0 [Training Dummy]! 0 EXP rewarded!
Congratulations! Spark has reached Level 3!
I smiled at the messages, as effort was tangibly rewarded with my spell growing more potent.
"Well done, your movements are still very stiff, but for someone who was planning to be a mage, you're pretty good!" River said as she walked towards me.
"Thank you! Dad has been teaching me about how to fight with weapons every week since about six months ago. He said I'd need to be able to defend myself when the frontline goes down or my [MP] run dry." I replied as I sheathed my blade and directed my smile her way.
"That's good advice. But if he has been teaching you already, why did you jump at the chance to train with me the way you did?" She asked as she started poking around the cuts and the burn on the dummy.
"Well, to spend time with my favorite sister of course! Also, dad usually just had me run static sets of movement. He also wouldn't let me use any real weapons, only random stuff that I'd either always have on hand or find lying around. Knives, clubs, bottles, that kind of stuff. Hand-to-hand combat too, but that also never went beyond the barest basics because we couldn't find someone who'd be a reliable opponent as well as Level 0."
River seemed to conclude her investigation of the dummy to her satisfaction and turned to face me with a contemplative look.
"Right, I'm your only sister though. And that sounds roughly like what he taught me too. I'm not going to lie, it did come in handy during bar fights. Must be because he was a ship cook and that was the kind of stuff he had at hand when shit went down aboard their ship."
She looked up toward the clock on top of a pillar in between the dummy section and the sparring section of the yard.
"Hey Windy. How do you feel about getting your first level before you start your journey? I know you said that you want to follow our little family tradition and get your first kill on the road, but let's be honest, doing that would be stupid in your case. You may have two skills already, but unlike others you won't immediately be able to pick up your starters, because you don't get the skill points."
Startled that she'd try to talk me out of something that was important to me, I took a second to think this over. She wouldn't have brought this up unless she was really worried about me. She did have a point with the skill thing. And I still don't know how quickly I'll be able to accumulate soul fragments. I slowly drew in a deep and heavy breath, before releasing it in an equally slow sigh. It would be for the best, I decided. A safety net was exactly what I needed to figure out my [Boon]'s quirks before things got serious and River was the best safety net I could imagine.
"Yeah, you're right. I don't like it, but I don't know enough about the intricacies of my [Boon] to completely rely on it. I might need to prepare some specific supplies to make up for the power it lacks right now." I agreed with a pout.
"Great! Amazing! You have no idea how much that has been worrying me! Let's visit the forest, if we get walking now we'll be there before midday!" She said as she started dragging me towards the exit of the yard, which led through a small administrative building the guild had put here to make sure people didn't mistreat the facility or each other. We passed by the counter, which was currently manned by a pot-bellied man who was peacefully snoring in his chair.
We exited onto a street that had the beginnings of a small 'rush-hour', as adventurers were making their way to training yards appropriate for their level. Luckily though, the traffic in the opposite directions was a lot more sparse and we had an easy time of getting back to the main road, which was much wider than this side street at the north end of town. Less lucky was the fact that we needed to cross the entire town to get to the south gate, beyond which the forest lay.
The trip to the south gate took roughly 40 minutes with only the occasional traffic stop as a result of the usual morning bustle near the center marketplace. At the gate we had to wait in line, as we had arrived just in time to get caught up in the morning rush of lumberjacks, foragers, adventurers and the less amazing hunters of this town. The good hunters were out there since before dawn and the really good ones were already returning with their catch for the day, getting the stink-eye from their lazy colleagues. I busied myself by checking over the buckles on my armor, making sure everything was secure. It may have been slightly unnecessary, considering that the armor was new and of the highest quality one could get in Westport without enchanting it.
"Hey girls, what are you doing out here? Didn't you say you wanted to work out at the guild's training yards?" The familiar voice of our dad called out from the left.
As I looked up from my armor to greet him, I saw that he was walking toward us with a dead boar of at least 400lb slung over his left shoulder.
The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.
"Oh, hey dad. Yeah, we went there too. But we decided some real world experience would be better for Windy. Were you out hunting?" River replied with a raised eyebrow.
"That's good! I'm glad you thought better than to follow our silly little tradition like you had planned at first. Adaptability is important on the road! And what do you take me for? Of course I didn't hunt this myself, I have better things to do. I asked Alendus to bag us a big fat boar for our farewell feast tomorrow!" He said with a laugh and walked off in the direction of our house.
A few minutes later River and I arrived at the front of the queue, presented our identification cards, received standard tracking talismans and were let through.
While the south gate may be the closest exit to the forest, the distance between those points still meant a good hour of walking before we reached the edge of the forest. At least there was a ruddy dirt road, worn into the fields by those whose jobs lead them to the forest each day. On the way, River ran me through what she had planned.
"I'll interfere as little as possible. I have some healing potions on me right now, so even if I should be unable to protect you in an emergency, which is unlikely to say the least, you'll be fine. That means I will let you get hurt. If you make a mistake, I will prevent only those attacks that would be immediately fatal to you. Anything else, you will bleed for."
"Rivy, I know. There's no need to lecture me on the seriousness of adventuring. The guild records are freely accessible and paint a clear picture. 20% of solo newbies die before they reach level 5. I won't be among their numbers." I said as I gave her an angry look. Like I wouldn't fucking research this shit.
River immediately came to a halt, which had me concerned, so I stopped behind her. The path to the forest was well travelled, but not always safe. Monsters could be anywhere outside the warded walls of the town. River slowly turned around with a surprised expression.
"You read the guild records? Really?" Bitch. Of course that's what this was about.
"Okay, first of all, fuck you. Second, yes. I read the fucking guild records, where else would I have a chance at learning about your exploits as an adventurer, when you're just gone for two years? Third, I'm serious about being an adventurer. Of course I do research. Don't be an asshead." For good measure, I crossed my arms in front of me and glared at her.
"Well shit, I'm sorry Windy. I guess I did go a bit far with the dramatic slow turn." At least she had the decency to look sheepish.
"Alright, apology accepted. But let's keep moving, don't want to be out here all day." I punched her on the shoulder as I passed by her. Barely reached the shoulder there. Damn giantess.
"Yeah, alright. What do you think dad is going to cook tonight?"
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We finally arrived at the edge of the forest just as the sun reached its apex. A little later than we planned, but still early enough for our purpose.
"Okay, let's find us some goblins!" River, with renewed enthusiasm for helping me level, decided to take the lead.
As we passed the first few rows of trees, I felt the ambience shift. A thick roof of branches and leaves filtered the light in a way that shaded the undergrowth, but let just enough light through to let us see about 90ft, before our vision was instead obscured by the trees. As we travelled in further, the trees grew closer together and splayed out in an even denser roof overhead. Some 200ft into the forest, River found the first traces of what we were searching for.
"Look at this. They must have been disturbed while feeding." River said as she pointed at a half-eaten deer carcass.
"Let's track them from here and try to get the drop on them." River was in full team-leader mode as she started following the goblin tracks. Which was the sign of a very good captain, that even though goblins have no chance of threatening her, she still takes this very, very seriously. Not one to argue with good plans, especially not ones that are so obviously the best route forward, I followed as quietly as I could.
About another ten minutes passed, while we were tracking the monsters. Eventually we found an earthen cave with a 5ft entrance, that was framed by the root system of a large tree. The light situation had steadily gotten worse, to the point that seeing more than 60ft ahead was impossible. We stopped about 30ft away from it, behind another large tree. At this point I was truly glad for my Endurance Training skill, without it, I would definitely be slightly out of breath right now.
"Well shit, I don't think we should go in there. I'd have to almost crawl and if anything were to happen, I'd be too slow to get to you quickly. We should probably lure them out or wait for them and prepare an ambush in the meanwhile. What do you think?" She looked at me with an expectant expression.
"I think we should lay an ambush. There will likely be at least one goblin already roaming out here that will have to come back. One monster is all I need, after all."
"Good thinking. Usually I'd say we split up bu-" River interrupted as she jerked me to the side.
I was just about to ask what her deal was when with a loud THUNK a crudely fletched arrow burrowed its way into the tree next to me, where my head was just a moment before.
What the absolute fuck!? I almost fucking died! I'll murder the cunt that did this!
Looking around for whatever archer had done this, I spotted something squat, thin and green about 40ft away, opposite of the direction the cave laid in, before it could hide behind a tree.
"River, that one is mine." I didn't even turn to her, my gaze still fixed to where the goblin was, I started running toward it.
With the knowledge of where my opponent was hiding, I quickly glanced at the forest floor between my goal and I, no roots to trip over in my direct path. Good. I drew my sword while ducking behind a tree, about 30ft away from my target and an arrow flew past me. I ducked out of cover immediately after the arrow passed by and ran closer. This time I ran a distance of 20ft before I saw the goblin jump out of hiding, not with a bow, but a knife this time. I started channeling [Spark] with my left hand, right as the goblin lunged forward with his knife aimed at my midsection. The dull knife the goblin wielded glanced off the thick leather of my armor, I grabbed his head with my left hand and unleashed [Spark] right into its left eye. A flash of light exploded into the shaded forest from the small tendrils of lightning that danced across the goblin's head. Even I was momentarily blinded, but quickly regained most of my sight. My enemy didn't seem to fare as well as I did, as he was currently twitching on the floor in what I suspected to be the stun effect of [Spark]. Not one to waste a good chance, I jammed my sword into his head and ended his life.
Congratulations! You have killed a Level 2 [Goblin Archer]! 3 EXP rewarded! 0 soul fragments rewarded!
Congratulations! You have reached Level 1! 10 Free stat points rewarded!
You may now choose a class!
I was elated to see the system respond to my accomplishment. Sure, it was just a stinking goblin, nothing strong. But I did kill it! And I leveled up as a result! I could choose a class! And then I took a closer look at the kill notification.
"Oh, come on! 0 Soul Fragments?! A common skill takes 100! What is this bullshit [Boon]?!"
"What? Wow, that sucks. But there is probably a good reason for it. The system doesn't give out useless shit [Boons]." I turned around to look at River with a raised brow.
"Well, you could be right. But even then, this pisses me off. When exactly is my [Boon] supposed to become powerful or even useful?"
"I don't know, but we'll find out. Let's head back first, okay? This was your first real life or death fight and you made it out unharmed. That's good!"
"Fucking bullshit. Fine. Let's pick up what this asshat dropped and get going." I turned towards the goblin, which still had my sword stuck in its head, gripped the haft and yanked the blade from the corpse. As the weapon left the body, the remains both on the ground, as well as on the blade slowly decayed into a purplish-blue mist. A minute later, the dissolution of the dead had concluded and where the corpse previously lay, I found an oval crystal the size of a fingernail and a bone knife. I pocketed both and sheathed my now clean blade, before turning back to River with a grumpy look on my face.
"Cheer up, I know things don't seem to be going well for you right now, but I can still guarantee that your [Boon] is very powerful." River said with a knowing smile, as she led us out of the forest and on the path home.
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We arrived at home in the late evening, before dusk turned to night. As we entered through the front door, the scent of tonight's dinner wafted out. I couldn't quite tell what it was, but beef was definitely involved and it smelled amazing, especially after a day like the one I'd had. Now sitting in our small entrance hall, we exhaustedly got rid of all the armor that was strapped over our normal clothes and pulled our boots off our feet. Having rid ourselves of the extra weight, we sorted it all into the armor closet and locked it.
"Mom, dad, we're back!" River yelled, as we walked down the hallway.
"Oh! Girls! Get in here, tell us how it went! Honey, do you have something cold and fizzy on tap for them?" Mom's voice sounded from inside the kitchen
"Of course, I do! Gorrel recently got a large shipment of ginger, I fermented most of what I bought according to his instructions and it should be ready right about now. Let me get some for all of us."
Sounds of the pantry opening, glass jars clinking and things being shuffled about grew louder as we entered the kitchen, where mom was sitting at the new kitchen table that River had brought, she held a mug of tea and a kettle stood on a heating contraption on the table, a candle inside the contraption was keeping the kettle hot. A big pot was bubbling away on the stove in the background. We hugged mom and took our seats on either side of her.
"Ah, here it is! Gorrel called it 'Ginger Bug' or something. The recipe didn't include any bugs though. Anyways, let's talk about how our days went over a meal!" Dad said with a happy smile on his face.
As I sat back in my chair, sipping 'Ginger Bug' and listened to dad explain more about this fizzy drink, I felt a smile creep up on my face despite my anger and disappointment over my [Boon]. Maybe it wasn't all bad. I'd fix it. Somewhere out there, I'd find a solution to this. And if I couldn't, if there was no solution out there, I could always come back, I would always have them.
I started laughing when River retold our day from her perspective. I guess I was a bit much to deal with today. We ate, drank and laughed until after midnight.
When I finally drifted off to sleep, I dreamt of epic fights and grand journeys.