Note from the author: Chapter 0 is intentionally shorter than the average chapter.  Chapter 1 will be released a few minutes after chapter 0, enjoy!

The Gold District was the most expensive part of Zephtal to live in, but at midnight, the darkness that covered the normally brilliant architecture lost a lot of its sparkling appeal. This thought ran through the Ranger's mind as he sat perched on the rooftop of Nelson’s supply store, munching on some potato chips he had bought on sale that day. Quests like these always annoyed the Ranger, despite the minimal amount of work it required. Sending a fake message to a couple of people, setting up a trap, and waiting with chips were all that was on the day's to-do list.

The city had changed considerably since he had arrived. The elemental Rift, the goblins, and now Everwatch are letting the franchise owners expand to other territories. The ranger smirked as he ate another one of his nacho-flavored vices. He felt his Enhanced Hearing Skill activate, the sound of the tripwire he had set up in the alley 4 blocks away vibrating ever so slightly.

Got em.

He rolled up his bag and took a chip clip out of his pack.

“I’ll be back for you, don’t go stale on me now,” he said to the bag, sealing it and not waiting for a response before he ran with supernatural speed toward the alley. Jumping from rooftop to rooftop, he felt his Animal Spirit Skill flow through his muscles with significantly more ease than when he had first acquired it. The cheetah spirit especially made him hungrier, and he briefly considered going back for the chips before he decided better of it and continued forward.

The alley behind the Cleric Clinic near the border of the forest district was the easiest place to get the local Sneaks to meet up for fake deals since it bordered 2 districts and local law enforcement was thin those areas. Ever since the Shrouded Web set up shop last year, the “catch this thief who dared to steal from me” quests have gone through the roof, and people with a vendetta pay more. The Ranger hopped onto the roof of the clinic, activating his nature's blanket skill upon landing. The invisibility aspect of the skill allowed him to lean casually over the roof without fear, looking down at the group of 4 Sneaks struggling in a pool of glue glowing with Den.

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

“I should buy drinks the next time Bryn and I go out, he saves me a ton of annoying work,” the Ranger said as he jumped down off the roof. Falling through the air he casually pulled his bow off his back. As he aimed at his first target and his relaxed hand skill activated, he felt his hands steady on their own and fired his first shot. As the arrow left his bow, he realized he would want something sweet before going home.

One headshot, 3 seconds to the ground.

“The cake shop in the floating district is open 24 hours, that’ll probably be the move,” the Ranger said as he loaded and shot another arrow with blistering speed.

2 headshots, 1.5 seconds to the ground.

As the ranger spun mid-air and fired off two arrows at once, he contemplated whether he should get cookies and cream or whisper berry.

4 headshots, half a second to the ground.

The Ranger activated his Pathfinder Skill, targeting the roof of Earls Herbals. In the blink of an eye, he found himself lying on the roof he had landed on so many times. He stood up, attempting to get up slowly in case Pathfinder's nausea side effect came back. At this point, he was probably used to it, but cleaning this armor post-vomit was incredibly annoying, so better safe than sorry.

The Ranger looked down at his former targets and confirmed their lack of movement. He still found it to be extreme to kill thieves who just stole some jewelry, but rich people are petty and they can submit requests just as much as anyone else. Plus no one will miss members of the Shrouded Web these days, they’ve been causing too much trouble. His favorite part of these quests was when they didn’t request the cleanup, though it would save them a lot of money if they did. When the city cleans this, they’re gonna charge an arm and a leg, but it wasn’t the Ranger’s problem anymore.

He looked toward his apartment to the west, reminiscing about how difficult this life used to feel. It had been a long grind to get to this point and some days it didn’t feel worth it. However, right now it felt like things were going well for him. The points were stacking, his party was thriving, and a house in the city was looking to be a realistic possibility. As he began his commute home, he saw the layout of the city that used to terrify him, now looking upon it with a mixture of pride and healthy caution.

The Ranger enjoyed his job these days.