As Mark scrambled up the log pile, he took the loop of rope off his shoulder and picked out a clear limb on the overhanging tree; one that wasn’t too obstructed by foliage. Once he reached the log summit, he forced himself to focus and take aim with the rope. Putting all his faith into that 18 Dexterity, Mark muttered an aimless prayer and tossed the rope as high and hard as he could, keeping a firm grasp on the other end of the rope with his off-hand.

To Mark’s great shock, the spool of rope sailed true, easily clearing the branch and unrolling on the other side as gravity pulled it to earth. He was left with one end in his hand and the other end dangling on the other side of the log pile, just as he had planned. It caught him so off guard that he almost forgot about the giant rat bearing down on him from behind. The crashing of the rat through the brush pulled Mark out of his awe, and as soon as he realized how close the creature was, he frantically tried to tie the end of the rope in his hands, but the panic and exhaustion was causing him to repeatedly mess up the pattern.

“C’mon, rat. Go under the pile,” Mark panted, his eyes glancing up as his hands fumbling through their motions.

The rat seemed to sense that something had changed. Now that Mark had stopped running, it chose to proceed more cautiously, much to Mark’s annoyance. The two opponents stared at each other, considering, until the rat finally broke the stalemate by climbing its way up the pile towards him.

“Damn it!” Mark swore. Now he had to force the rat into a course of action it didn’t want to take.

Biding his time, Mark waited for the rat to finish the steep climb up the log pile. Then, when the rat’s head got level with the uppermost log, he took two steps forward, and absolutely field goal kicked the rodent in the face.

NEW FIGHTING STYLE LEARNED!

Brawling – Skill Level 1 (Tier-0)

Kick kick, punch punch. Good, you learned how to hit things. How is this not a Skill you’re bringing over from Earth?

50 XP Earned

The paper was a mild distraction for Mark, but the kick in the face was a major distraction for the rat. Not only was it stunned by the blow, but it also went flying backwards off the log pile and tumbled to the ground. It hit with a thud at roughly the same time the paper disappeared, something Mark knew he would have to look into. He couldn’t have paper waving in front of his face in the middle of a fight. Whatever that would require, he could look into it later if he survived. For now, he had the rat to worry about.

In an ideal world, the fall to the ground would have broken the creature’s neck, but Arenia was anything but an ideal world. Instead, the rat scrambled back to its feet, now enraged over the situation. Abandoning its earlier attempt at subtlety, the gigantic rat threw aside any idea of going under the pile and instead scrambled upwards toward Mark, this time bracing itself and attempting to dodge when Mark lashed out. Mark was able to kick it off again, but this second go-around was nowhere near as convincing as the first. Mark knew he wasn’t going to be able to keep going forever, and he was pretty sure the rat knew it as well.

“Just go under the pile, you dumb bastard!” Mark shouted as the rat got to its feet and once again defied Mark’s hopes by heading up the pile.

No! He needed it to go under the pile! How could he possibly make the thing—

Realization struck.

“I am such an idiot,” Mark said. Of course the rat was climbing the pile. That’s where Mark was! The only way the rat would switch tactics was if it thought Mark had resumed running again. Sure, that would require Mark to jump off the pile and simply wait at the bottom, hoping that the rat went under the pile, all while knowing that if it went over the top, he was going to end up wearing a 90-pound rat as a toque; but staying on top of the pile was a surefire path to dead-dead land. So not much of a choice, really.

Now set in his decision, Mark prepared himself to knock the rat off the pile one last time. Unfortunately, this time when Mark kicked the creature, it was able to hang on by digging its claws deep into the rotting wood.

It glared at him with feral hunger.

“Are you kidding me?” Mark shouted. He started kicking the creature again, but this time the rat’s hold was too good. Instead of sliding backwards, it began pulling itself onto the top of the pile.

Now frantic that he wouldn’t be able to dislodge the beast, Mark tossed the end of the rope he was still holding off the far side of the pile, kicking at the rat like a 6-year-old at a soccer game. For all Mark’s efforts, the rat refused to budge, even managing to get one of its hind legs onto the top of the logs. In a burst of panic, Mark changed tactics and charged the rat, ramming into it with his shoulder as he attempted to shove it off the pile. The manoeuvre caught the rat by surprise and flipped it onto its back, but it was still able to reflexively bite Mark on the shoulder, even though it couldn’t properly clamp down and had to settle for merely inflicting a raking gash that tore Mark’s shirt and flesh.

With the rat now in a vulnerable position, Mark immediately regretted his lack of a weapon. Heck, if he’d had a short sword, he probably could have killed the creature then and there. Since that wasn’t the case, he instead thrust his hands under the creature’s body and heaved for all he was worth, surging forward as he rolled the rat off the pile. He heaved so hard in fact that it was only by grabbing a nearby branch at the last minute that Mark was able to prevent himself from tumbling to the ground after it.

As soon as the immediate intensity of the battle disappeared, Mark became aware of the raking scratches the rat had been able to carve across his chest with its claws, shredding his shirt and leaving him bloody. He didn’t have time to think about it, though. Soon the rat would reorient itself, and Mark needed to make a big show out of scrambling down the other side and disappearing from the rat’s view.

Mark watched as the rat twisted itself back onto its feet and turned back towards the log pile. It raised its head towards Mark, and the instant the creature’s eyes were upon him, Mark bolted in the opposite direction, making as much noise as he could during his scramble down the far side of the pile.

Now Mark was committed. As soon as his feet hit the ground, he looked for the tree branch with his rope slung over it, spotting it only a couple of metres away. The ends of the rope lay still in the dirt, and Mark ran over, grabbing one of those ends in bloodied hands and forcing them through the motions of making a noose as he ran back to the logs, knowing full well that if the rat came over the pile, he was a dead man.

NEW GENERAL SKILL LEARNED!

Rope Use – Skill Level 6 (Tier-0)

You do realize that this Skill is meant for sailing, setting up tarps, tying down hay bales, things like that?

*Since this Skill predates your arrival in Arenia, it has been set at a level commensurate with the practical ability you already possess.

300 XP Earned (cumulative)

“Please, please, please,” Mark whispered. “I know there must be gods here, and if you’re listening, I really need that rat to go low, not high.”

Whether or not a god did reach out to answer his prayers, Mark had no idea. What he did know was that when next he heard from the rat, it was as a scratching sound inside the logs instead of 40 kilos of Fire Swamp cosplay landing on top of his head.

“Thanks, boss,” Mark whispered skyward before refocusing on the logs.

A period of anxious anticipation passed as Mark waited for the dire rat to emerge from the pile. He heard it nearing his position, then as soon as the rat’s disgusting face emerged from the log pile, Mark lunged at it and threw the noose over the creature’s head.

For a moment, Mark felt a surge of hope that he could pull off his daring plan. That celebration was short-lived.

The instant Mark turned his back to grab the other end of the rope from where it dangled over the tree branch, searing pain shot through his leg, dropping him to the ground like he had been shot. Letting out a scream of agony, Mark turned to see that the rat had plunged its enormous incisors almost completely through the calf of his left leg and was refusing to let go, using Mark’s leg to pull itself free of the log pile.

No!

Mark was too damned close to give up now. With a focus fuelled by desperation, he turned his back on the rat and lunged for all he was worth, literally dragging the beast behind him as he stretched to his absolute limits, finally managing to close his hand around the dangling end of the rope, and with it, a chance at survival.

There was no time for celebration. The moment Mark stopped pulling away from the rat, it instinctively tried to pull him back towards the hole from which it was emerging. Not surprisingly, that resulted in a hell of a lot of pain for Mark, but it also allowed him to quickly take up all the slack in the rope.

As soon as the rope went taut and the rat felt the noose around its neck tighten, it doubled down, biting even harder into Mark’s leg. For Mark though, that changed nothing about the equation.

The plan had been simple. Get a rope over a branch. Form one end into a noose and loop it around the rat’s neck, then haul it into the air until it was dead. But even the simplest plan doesn’t survive initial execution, and with the rat now clamped onto Mark’s calf, he’d effectively formed a circle where every ounce of force he used to pull on the rope created an equivalent force on his own leg. A pull that was being funnelled through the gigantic rat teeth embedded in his calf. Which meant that if he wanted to choke this rat to death like planned, he was going to have to eat pain and a whole lot of it.

“NyyyyyyaaaaAAAHHH GOD DAMN THAT HURTS!” Mark screamed as he hauled on the rope, the fire in his leg exploding into a new sphere of agony.

If pain had been Mark’s only reward, he might have given up right then and there. But that wasn’t the case. Instead, Mark’s pull caused him and the rat to slide across the ground, each pull dragging them through the dirt until they were directly under the branch that was acting as an impromptu pulley. The success of Mark’s actions emboldened him to continue, and so he did, soon being rewarded with the feeling of the rat getting hoisted off the ground by the neck. Mark’s superior weight kept him on the ground, but the pull of the rope caused the dire rat to begin rising off the ground, its hind legs kicking and scratching as it tried to get free. Mark held firm though, fully expecting the creature to let go of his leg. Much to his dismay, the rat refused despite the increasing tension of the rope, its glassy black eyes staring down at Mark with predatory hate.

Fury overcame pain, and Mark roared, pulling so hard on the rope that his own body got hoisted into the air along with the rat, the combined weight tearing at the vicious wound in his leg.

Constitution +1

Yeesh. What are you planning for an encore, pulling out your own intestine and choking an egghound to death with it?

Mark was oblivious to the reward notice, his focus entirely devoted to his battle with the rat.

“Come on, you bastard! Just admit that you’re dead already!” he screamed, his body swinging inverted beneath the squirming creature.

How long they stayed like that, Mark couldn’t say. His arms burned, but with everything it had taken to get to this position, there was no way he was letting go of that rope. Ironically, the only time he did almost let go was when the rat finally released his leg. The broken connection caused Mark to suddenly drop to the ground while the rat was simultaneously yanked higher into the air, resulting in Mark having to scramble to keep his hold on the rope.

When his grip was secure again, Mark took a moment to simply lie on the ground, staring at the dire rat above him. As he realized the significance of what had just happened, he began laughing uncontrollably, his tone growing increasingly unhinged.

Realizing that he was starting to sound insane, Mark forced himself to focus on the state of the creature hanging from the tree. He watched as it continued in its struggles, but over time those struggles grew gradually weaker until finally, all motion stopped.

The rat swung back and forth. Unmoving. Its swollen tongue dangling out the side of its mouth. Despite those seemingly clear signs, Mark couldn’t bring himself to believe that it was indeed dead.

You have slain a Level 2 Dire Rat.

Congratulations on your first kill since arriving on Arenia. Even if it was very disturbing to watch.

200 XP Earned

“Good enough for me,” Mark said. He moved aside and let go of the rope, the body of the dire rat thudding into the dirt next to him.

After staring at the dead beast for a moment, Mark did a quick once over to evaluate the damage he’d inflicted upon himself. It didn’t take long to work out that his leg was going to be a problem.

“Shit,” Mark muttered, staring at the destroyed leg that was still bleeding freely. He had to do something immediately if he wanted to avoid bleeding out. At least it wasn’t spraying arterial flow everywhere—there was at least a chance that a compression bandage would be enough to staunch the flow. Fortunately, that was within Mark’s range of skill.

“Looks like the Boy Scouts are going to save my ass twice today,” he muttered.

Taking the knife out of the backpack, Mark used it to cut off the already-shredded pantleg that surrounded his wound, then pulled a clean undershirt out of his backpack to use as wadding. Forming the shirt into a shape that he could tie in position, Mark stuck the cloth on the wound and held it tightly in place as he tied it down firmly with the remains of the pant leg.

Mark examined his handiwork and nodded to himself. It wasn’t perfection, but it was enough to stop the bleeding.

NEW SURVIVAL SKILL LEARNED!

Field Medicine – Skill Level 6 (Tier-0)

Now you know why most people don’t wander around in the woods without healing potions.

Note: Tier-III (Journeyman) in this Skill requires the profession of “Barber.”

*Since this Skill predates your arrival in Arenia, it has been set at a level commensurate with the practical ability you already possess.

300 XP Earned (cumulative)

Ignoring the snarkiness of the pages, Mark noted that this time the paper barely materialized even though he had full awareness of what was written on it. Perhaps it was a result of his prior thought about the papers being distracting?

Mark knew he had to move, but before he could, another page flitted through the periphery of his vision.

Luck +1

The odds of you pulling off that fiasco were way, way off the charts. You saw your Luck score, right? Why would you even TRY something like that?

Yeah, say it like he had a choice. And now he was exhausted, wounded, and lost. At least—

Mark felt a lightness in his head, and his hands fluttered. It was the slightest movement, but it was enough to send him into a panic. His head spun around, searching somewhere, anywhere, for him to hide. He was exposed, out in the elements, and with a large pile of soon-to-be rotting meat on the ground next to him.

Where could he go? He needed someplace small. Small enough that he could get in, but nothing larger than that.

Mark’s eyes snapped to the tiny hole in the log pile the rat had squeezed through. It was barely half the size of a playground tube slide, but he launched into a hobbling run regardless, practically diving inside and attempting to drag himself along by his elbows, desperate to get his whole body inside before—