The sewers under the Flower District did not smell the same as it did up top. Jordan lamented this fact as he walked along the path next to the flowing river of waste. He had to admit it smelled better than the Georgina’s extermination he did 3 months ago, but slick rats are an enemy modern hygiene could never be prepared for. As he turned the corner, his Sense Weakness skill detected his targets injured leg less than 100 feet away. He was thankful his skill had evolved to not rely on smell any longer, specifically on this mission.

Jordan unsheathed his sword as he approached the corner he knew his target would be around. He stopped 6 feet before the corner and took the hood off his cloak, tossing it in front of him. Once the cloak passed the wall, a small shadow pounced on it, stabbing a knife directly into where the neck would be.

“That’s not me silly” Jordan said with a smile as he ran forward.

The goblin fell to the ground, scrambling in the hood in confusion. Just as Jordan drove his sword toward the goblin’s neck, it disappeared in a cloud of red smoke. Jordan accidentally inhaled some and began coughing loudly, before he felt a sharp pain in his calf. The goblin had appeared behind him, and went for another strike with its dagger.

“No Ranger is taking me back to Everwatch, you know as well as I do my bosses pay way better.” The goblin said as Jordan delivered a backwards kick to his face. He screamed in pain as blood and spit flew from his mouth, and Jordan grimaced as he felt some of it land on his leg. “That’s going to need a lot of disinfectant” Jordan said as he turned around. The goblin shrieked with rage, and with red den crackling around his dagger, Jordan knew from the report what was coming.

The previous month when Jordan and Bryn were discussing the Everwatch 3-on-3 tournament, Bryn had brought up a trip they should take. That trip was to sign up for a Journey Quest, a type of quest sponsored by the Zyphtal Everwatch Branch that allows adventurers from the city to take on quests in far off locations. Instead of normal quests that take 1-2 days and are finished within the city, Journey Quests require the party to leave the city and live in the quests location for 1-3 months. Due to the requirement of leaving their homes, these quests pay extraordinarily well, both in gold and guild points.

Jordan and Bryn had agreed to continue to grind quests in the city until 3 months before the tournament, then leave on a Journey Quest to give them enough of a boost in points to qualify. Bryn had reserved their spot already, so all they had to do was qualify when the day came. Soon after the battle with the Minotaur, the Desert Dungeon was closed by a party of black rank wizards. With that source of quests cutoff, Bryn did the math and figured out it would be more beneficial for them to split up and do individual jobs.

Bryn focused more on gathering and transport jobs to try and make connections while trying new ingredients, and Jordan focused more on combat quests to sharpen his skills. His most recent quest was to track down Bermuth, a goblin rogue who had gone rogue (haha) from Everwatch and was doing work for Red Hank, an infamous crime boss who controlled the flow of illegally modified weapons and potions for most of Zypthal.

As Jordan took a defensive stance, he concluded Bermuth was coming at him with the Vital Strike Skill, a rogue skill that multiplied a single dagger strike to be 20 times its usual strength. Jordan took a brief moment to think of his options, knowing he couldn’t take that strike or even let Bermuth get close.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

So he threw the sword, sticking it into the goblins forehead and dropping him to the ground.

“I don’t think that did it” Jordan said, frowning as he went to collect his sword. Normally he preferred fighting with a bow, having the mobility and range it provided played to his strengths better in combat. However, that morning when Jordan looked at his viewing stone, a new skill popped up.

Peculiar Skill: Sword Of The Lost One

“That’s dope, that’s so cool” Jordan said, furiously nodding his head upon seeing it in his apartment. A peculiar skill was unique to its owner, with no other adventurer having that skill. Although, because no one else had it, there was no way to know his the skill worked outside of trial and error.

So it seemed he could check throwing the sword off the list.

He walked over to the goblin's body, retaking his sword and cutting off the goblin’s ear. He sighed as he got up, lamenting the fact this peculiar skill was still a mystery to him. As he traveled through the sewer, he found the entrance he had come in from and climbed up.

He emerged on the border of the Gold and Flower District, and made his way to the Everwatch office, ear in tow. As he made his way down the street, he noticed an unusual amount of noise coming from an alley he was approaching. Peeking around the corner he saw 2 men, a large half elf and a skinny human,in hoods cornering a young elven woman. She had a look of fear on her face, and the men were surrounding her.

“Time to check some off the list” Jordan said as he walked over, unsheathing his sword. “Ok guys let’s calm down, I'm sure you can see how bad of a look this is so-” Jordan said as the 2 figures immediately dashed toward him. “Ok surprisingly aggressive!” Jordan shouted as he jumped back. He took a moment to examine the assailants, his perception improving with every level he gained. Based on the speed at which they were moving and the gear they had, they couldn't have been higher than level 4.

The perfect opportunity for practice.

Jordan lunged at the elf, who barely sidestepped out of the way. The human kept low, going for Jordan’s leg with a dagger. Spinning out of the way of the blade, he struck down on the small man, cutting deeply into his back as he let out a pained scream. The elven man dashed and got behind Jordan, a ball of lighting forming in his hand. He threw the crackling sphere of den at Jordan, who barely ducked out of the way as it exploded against the wall next to him.Jordan looked over at the wall, hoping to assess how strong his magic was.

The girl laid slumped against the wall before him, covered in burns.

Jordan froze when he saw her. She must have tried to escape when the fight started, and he was too focused on the fight to notice. He didn't even remember she was there for a moment. All he had been focused on was swinging his sword and figuring out this skill. It would have been simple to change his positioning to ensure her safety, but he dove right in so he could use his sword.

Jordan looked up at the human, who struggled to his feet as his wound continued to bleed. With blinding speed, Jordan took his bow off his back and fired a shot into his leg. The man fell to the ground once again, his moans of pain echoing through the alley. Without looking, Jordan equipped a paralyze additive and fired at the elf, striking him in his shoulder before he could fire off another spell.

He rushed over to the girl, opening his pack and pouring a high level heal potion in her mouth. He watched anxiously, hoping he was still within the potions time limit. He breathed a deep sigh of relief as he saw the burns fade. He walked over to the paralyzed elf, smacking him in the head with his bow as he fell unconscious. After taking the girl to the nearest Cleric Clinic, Jordan reported the thugs to the guild and began his walk home.

He had never felt more ashamed than he did at that moment. A ranger’s job is to survey the battlefield using their exceptional perception. Rangers are generals, captains, and… leaders. But a leader doesn't let someone innocent get hurt to feed his ego. If something like that happened on the Journey Quest, both he and Bryn would be dead very quickly. Jordan tightened his fist as he walked, the frustration he felt with himself nearly causing him to shake.

As he approached the Shadow District and got closer to home, he took a few deep breaths in an attempt to calm himself. “It’s my job to see everything, I need to remember to look” he said, the darkness of his home district feeling oddly comforting for the first time.