Author's Note: Lots of cool stuff to come over the next few chapters. Anyway, I'd like to thank ngt for providing this cover art for Sole Survivor. Looks really fantastic.

Spoiler :

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Chapter 26: A Walk In The Park, pt. 1

Vivian, Syl and Tala entered the room that Tom had dubbed the "War Room". The room was unusually well organized. On one side of the room there were wooden racks placed against the wall. These racks held bronze swords that were neatly stacked side by side. On the other side of the room were more wooden racks with hanger knobs. Wooden bows were hung up by their string off of these knobs. All of the arrows, Tom had gathered were piled up underneath the bows.

In the center of the room were two foldout tables that stood in front of two white boards. The white board on the left had the dotted maps of Xoth and Earth taped to it. The board on the right had various notes and smudges from repeated erasing of the dry markers.

On the two tables were piles of papers, half a dozen books and a laptop that was plugged into an extension cord. Various windows were opened on the laptop. One window displayed a map of the world and another was a word document. A final window displayed a picture of a page from the Xoth Bestiary.

Tom was leaning over one of the tables staring at his laptop computer while Reia examined her spear for imperfections. Upon hearing Reia's friends enter the room, he looked up from his computer with a tired smile. Tom was up early to work on his books.

"Ah, you're here! Did you three enjoy your breakfast?"

"We did, it was delicious," Vivian said.

"Now I asked you three to come here at this time because we have some equipment to give you three. This is a bit of short notice so this is all we can offer at the moment. They are items we got on previous quests."

Reia walked over to the closet door in the back right corner of the room. She took out a key from her pocket, unlocked the closet door and opened it. Reia walked in and then back out after a moment. In one hand she held Tom's bow, the Explorer's Bow, and in the other hand held the Inferno Staff.

"The bow is for you Syl," Reia said as she handed her the bow.

Sylmae grabbed the bow and examined it. "I have never seen a bow of this quality."

"My race had a few eons to improve the design," Tom said. "That bow is top-of-the-line. Seeing as you have the bow skill, I believe you would be a better owner of this weapon than me."

"Don't you also have the Bow Skill?"

"I do, along with the Club Skill. I have only used them once each, really. I mostly experiment with abilities and skills to help gain an understanding of how the SYSTEM works. Since there doesn't appear to be a limit on how many skills you can have, I don't see the harm in having them. Chances are I'm not going to be using them again. My primary skills are sword and magic related. With your stats and skills, you are better suited to being the team's archer."

Sylmae held the bow up and drew the string. It felt extremely easy for her to draw the string back. Syl then released the string to feel the bow's full power. Despite the ease in drawing it, the string launched forward with more force than any bow she has ever handled.

"How does it feel, Syl?" Reia asked.

A grin came to Sylmae's face. "It's amazing. Thank you, Tom."

"No problem," Tom said with a smile.

Reia held up the Inferno Staff in front of Tala. Tala's eyes widened upon seeing the staff in front of her. She was on the brink of drooling over it.

"When I first saw this staff, I knew it was for you," Reia said.

"Is it really okay for me to have this?" Tala asked while looking at Tom.

Tom felt that Tala was selfless and polite to a fault. Regardless, he would remain patient with her. "Of course you can. I can't exactly do much with it anyway. Better for you to have it then allow it to gather dust."

Tala grabbed the staff and hugged it against her body while staring into the pretty crystal on top of it. "Thank you..."

Tom smiled and nodded. He then turned to Vivian. Tom reached in his pocket and said, "Regretfully, all I can currently offer you is this Black Bandanna." He pulled out the black cloth and handed it to Vivian. "It offers some protection against physical and Darkness damage. I'm sorry it's not as fancy as an advance bow or magical staff." Tom's tone was playful as he handed the cloth to Vivian.

Vivian reached out and grabbed the bandanna. "It's alright," she said. "Any damage protection is great. Though, maybe in the future, keep an eye out for hammer-type weapons."

"I'll be sure to do so," Tom chuckled. "I'm hoping to get you all better gear today. For now, there is two things I wish to address. I'll go to the quicker one first. When I first met Reia, she told me her two sisters had an unknown title. I was able to see as much when I saw your status screens. However, Reia never told me that you also had an unknown title, Vivian."

The three friends stiffened in place, their mouths went agape and their eyes widened.

"Did I say something wrong?"

"You can see that title?" Vivian asked.

"Yeah, why?"

"You're the only one besides us who can see it," Sylmae said. "Anyone we tried to tell about that title thought we were liars because they couldn't see it."

"Oh..." Tom muttered. "Wait a minute! Reia, why didn't you have that same reaction when I noticed you had that title?"

"I- Uh... I'm so used to my friends knowing about that title, that I didn't... really... think about it," Reia reluctantly answered.

Sylmae sighed loudly hearing Reia's response. "Sometimes you can be so absent minded, Reia," she said. "Look, maybe the reason why he can see our unknown title is because he's an Agent of Kara."

"A possible theory," Tom said. "If that's the case then that would mean that Kara is involved in those titles of yours. Until we know for sure, we cannot one hundred percent conclude that my title has anything to do with it. Maybe over time we can figure this out. All I know is this. It can't be coincidence that you four happen to have an unknown title and be teleported to this world. There has to be a connection."

"What was the other thing you wanted to address?" Sylmae asked.

"Well, I have an ability know as Teacher. It allows me to instantly teach anyone my skills. It has restrictions, of course. At its currently level, I can only teach D and C ranked skills of mine. I also can only teach a few skills per person. Levelling this skill will allow me to teach higher level skills and teach more of them per person. So this is where I find myself... I have only a handful of skills I can teach any of you. Persuasion, Heal, Purify, Nonchalant, Sword Skill, Massage, Cook, Club Skill, and Bow Skill. All of you already have the Heal skill so we can forget about that. Since seeing your skill sets, I have given it thought to what I should teach you all to benefit us all."

"So what skills are you going to teach us?" Vivian asked.

"I believe that teaching Purify to everyone would be extremely useful in case any of us gets a disease, poisoned or cursed. As for my other skills, I don't think any of them would be extremely useful. My limit of teachings forces me to be conservative. I don't want to teach any of you a useless skill in case I learn a useful skill later. So after some thought I think I have come to a decision of what skills to give each of you. Sadly, I don't have any skills that would really benefit you, Tala."

"It's alright," she said shyly.

"Vivian, you'll get the Club Skill, Sword Skill, and Purify. Being a warrior class, having multiple combative styles is always useful, even if you only use them occasionally."

"Nice!" Vivian cheered while fist pumping.

"Finally, Reia and Sylmae will get Purify. Hopefully over time I can get better skills for everyone. Now let's get started. Teach Vivian Club Skill."

VVVVV

Everglades National Park, Florida, United States

50 Kilometers West Of Miami...

A group of tourists followed behind a guide dressed in the Everglades park uniform. The trail they followed, while not paved or covered in a wooden walkway, was worn down to dirt. On each side of the trail was a swampy forest filled with shrubs.

"Alligators are fairly prominent in this area in particular, so everyone keep on the pathway and away from the bushes," the guide announced to the group. "Along with our scalie friend, the Everglades hosts a widen variety of animals. On this tour you may see possums, foxes, white-tailed deer and hogs. The Everglades is also home to dozens of bird and snake species."

"A python!" one of the tourists called out.

A python had its body draped over a tree branch. The tree was a few feet away from the side of the pathway.

"That would be a Burmese python," the tour guide said. "Originally this snake was introduced to the state after many pet owners opted to release this snake into the wild after they grew too big. The python ended up thriving and multiplying in the Florida ecosystem and has quickly become one of the most invasive alien species of Florida. The danger they pose to the local ecosystem is so grave that the authorities offer a bounty for every snake killed."

"That's barbaric!" a middle-aged tourist complained to the tour guide.

"Sir, while what is done to manage the python population is unpleasant, the snake is an invasive specie that eats everything in the local ecosystem. Here the python has few predators to keep its population in check. Without someone or something to keep their population down, the python would quickly multiple, take over the region and make many local species extinct."

The sky started to rumble as purple clouds quickly formed in the skies above. The rumble grew in volume and frequency. Lightning started to strike downwards to the ground and streak across the clouds.

"Odd, there wasn't supposed to be a storm today," the guide muttered to herself. "Okay, everyone, there is a shelter just ahead. We'll just go in there and see if this storm will pass."

The guide quickly directed the people towards the small shelter. It was a small hut with three walls and a wooden roof. On one wall was the map of the local trails, on the other was a bench where the eldest of the group quickly sat down on.

The storm grew in strength as the tour group stayed together in the shelter. The wind blew through the area at high speeds making the trees sway. The sound of the lightning was loud enough to force everyone to cover their ears. The ground shook from the nearby lightning strikes.

Finally a large flash of light blinded everyone in the tour group. The sound it produced was like an explosion going off next to them. With that finally assault on their senses, the storm quieted down and the clouds dissipated. The tour guide looked out from underneath the shelter to look up at the sky. The clouds were gone and the sky was blue once again.

"Looks like the storm passed us," the guide announced to the group. "Florida weather is very unpredictable these days. Thankfully is has not affected the tour. Everyone ready to go?"

"Yes," everyone replied.

"Great, let's carry on."

The group followed the guide. The guide continued her lecture about the local animal population. Despite the tour going on as usual, everyone felt something was wrong around them. The birds that were chirping all around them had suddenly stopped. Even the insects were quiet.

The bushes near the walkway started to shake. Unusual chirping and cooing came from the bushes as they shook. The group looked at the bushes where the chirping came from. More bushes shook as whatever was hidden moved towards the group. The amount of chirping and cooing increased as the hidden creatures moved closer.

"Excuse me, Miss," one of the elder tourists said. "Do you know what kind of bird is making that chirping noise?"

"Hmm. To be honest, I'm not sure. I've never heard an animal call like that before. Considering that the sounds are coming from the bushes, it might be wild turkeys."

The group could hear tapping movement around them but couldn't see the source. One of the tourists screamed out as his right foot was pulled out from underneath him. By the time the group reacted to his scream, they just saw him with his lower torso in a nearby bush while he was holding onto a root sticking out of the ground.

"Help me!" he cried out. "It has my leg!"

Two of the men in the group ran to his aid and grabbed both of his arms. They pulled back but felt that whatever was holding onto the man had great strength. The creature had a tight hold on the man.

The tour guide grabbed a large tree branch on the ground and rushed over to help. She went behind the bush to see what was holding the man. On the other side of the bush she couldn't see what had a hold on him. All she could see was the bush shaking.

Unable to see what had the man, the tour guide held her branch up over her head. She slammed it downwards hoping she could hit whatever had the man. She felt the branch bounce back from striking an invisible presence. The creature squealed from the attack and released the man. The guide saw the bush shake again and then a series of small splashes went through the water.

The two tourists dragged the man, who was attacked, out of the bushes revealing his torn apart leg. It was bleeding profusely and his shin bone was exposed. The tour guide rushed to his side and examined the wound.

"What the hell was that?" one of the tourists demanded. "Gator?"

"Not gator," the guide replied. "Gators tend to do death rolls as soon as they grab their prey."

More splashing was heard around them.

"Carry him, we need to get him-" the guide tried to get out.

The injured man was quickly dragged away into the bushes at a greater speed than before. The man screamed as he was dragged into the bushes. His screams were quickly silenced as it was replaced by the sounds of several animals gorging themselves. Blood spread across the water causing everyone to go into a panic.

"Everybody keep moving," the guide ordered everyone. "Gah!"

The guide felt something bite into her calf and pulled her to the ground. She raised her tree branch to attack the invisible creature. She swung downwards and once again saw the branch bounce back from hitting an invisible creature. The creature squealed and released her. The tour guide quickly looked back and saw the other tourists ran off leaving her alone.

Splashing noises around her caused her to refocus on her situation. The water splashes were coming in from every direction. The guide forced herself to her feet to attempt to run away and catch up to the tour group. The guide felt one of the creatures run into the back of her legs causing her to flip onto the ground.

Landing on her back, she felt the air from her lungs escape making it hard to breathe. Again she felt the invisible creature bite onto her injured leg. The guide tried to raise the tree branch but another creature latched onto her wrist forcing her to release the branch.

The two creatures started to pull opposite directions increasing the pain the woman felt. The guide cried out as the two creatures tugged at her. A third creature ran up to her and bit her throat ending her screams. With her dead, the creature continued to pull at the corpse. The creature at the throat gave one last tug and tore the woman's head off.

As the three monsters feasted on the woman, more splashes appeared in the water. Each of the series of splashes moved in the direction that the tour group went. More and more splashes appeared in the water until there were dozens of series of splashes.

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Character Stats:

Spoiler :

StatusNameThomas "Tom" EverettLevel22Experience13320/13850ClassMagic BladeRaceHumanAlignmentGoodCurrencyCanadian$10,510,014.23Xoth0 platinum 4 gold 66 silver 30 copperTitleClever One, Determined, Giant Slayer, Vaccinated, One Of The First, Sole Survivor, Generous Healer, Interpreter, Selfless LoverBuffsAgent of Kara2x experienceBestiary of Xoth+10% damage towards the creatures of XothBrief History of Xoth+10% persuasion chance and friendliness towards the inhabitants of XothDebuffs--Health1250Health Regeneration/min33.99Mana1190Mana Regeneration/min40.3Stamina1190Stamina Regeneration/min8.2Fame3900Infamy0Strength125Intelligence119Wisdom130Perception58Endurance119Vitality103Agility82Luck90Unallocated Points0

ResistancesPhysical44%Disease/Toxin89%Fire44%Plant44%Ice44%Earth44%Lightning44%Water44%Wind44%Spirit44%Light44%Darkness44%

SkillsIdentifyMaster Level 2PersuasionIntermediate Level 1Language ComprehensionMaster Level 10Book LearningMaster Level 10TeacherBeginner Level 6NonchalantMaster Level 10Lightning StrikeIntermediate Level 6Lightning EnchantIntermediate Level 6Lightning ShieldIntermediate Level 3HealIntermediate Level 4PurifyIntermediate Level 5Sword SkillIntermediate Level 6DisguiseIntermediate Level 8PrayerMaster Level 10Hero's CallMaster Level 10Fast TravelMaster Level 10Loot CollectorIntermediate Level 3Magical RepairMaster Level 2TacticianIntermediate Level 3CookIntermediate Level 8Mixed Martial ArtistBeginner Level 8Club SkillBeginner Level 2Trap MasterBeginner Level 7UnbreakableBeginner Level 5FireballIntermediate Level 1Fire EnchantBeginner Level 9Bow SkillBeginner Level 9Surge StrikeBeginner Level 10Enhanced BodyIntermediate Level 3Enhanced MindIntermediate Level 1Chain LightningBeginner Level 3Group HealBeginner Level 4Enhanced SpellsBeginner Level 9Enhanced ResistanceIntermediate Level 4SM TransferMaster Level 10Computer SkillBeginner Level 10MassageBeginner Level 5LoverBeginner Level 4

StatusNameReia ZyerLevel20Experience8835/8865ClassLancerRaceNagaAlignmentGoodCurrencyCanadian$0.00Xoth0 platinum 4 gold 45 silver 14 copperTitleUnknown, Giant Slayer, Determined, Life SaverBuffs--Debuffs--Health1600Health Regeneration/min9.7Mana450Mana Regeneration/min4.5Stamina1010Stamina Regeneration/min10.6Fame3900Infamy0Strength160Intelligence45Wisdom45Perception53Endurance101Vitality97Agility106Luck89Unallocated Points0

ResistancesPhysical24%Disease/Toxin100%Fire24%Plant24%Ice24%Earth24%Lightning24%Water24%Wind24%Spirit24%Light24%Darkness59%

SkillsIdentifyIntermediate Level 8Weapon RepairIntermediate Level 6Armour RepairIntermediate Level 3Weapon CraftingBeginner Level 9Armour CraftingBeginner Level 10Accessory CraftingIntermediate Level 1Spear SkillIntermediate Level 8Clothing ReformMaster Level 3Ice SpikeBeginner Level 6Wind ShieldIntermediate Level 3Wind BladeIntermediate Level 6HealIntermediate Level 4Club SkillBeginner Level 1Sword SkillBeginner Level 9PersuasionIntermediate Level 1Power StrikeBeginner Level 10Enhanced ResistanceBeginner Level 8Group HealBeginner Level 1FlurryBeginner Level 1Spiral ThrustBeginner Level 1Enhanced DodgeBeginner Level 1Language ComprehensionMaster Level 10PurifyBeginner Level 1

StatusNameSylmae "Syl" LyvanLevel1Experience0/100Class-RaceElfAlignmentGoodCurrencyCanadian$0.00Xoth0 platinum 3 gold 24 silver 71 copperTitleUnknownBuffs--Debuffs--Health180Health Regeneration/min1.0Mana150Mana Regeneration/min1.7Stamina260Stamina Regeneration/min3.1Fame0Infamy0Strength18Intelligence15Wisdom17Perception30Endurance26Vitality10Agility31Luck50Unallocated Points0

ResistancesPhysical15%Disease/Toxin100%Fire15%Plant15%Ice15%Earth15%Lightning15%Water15%Wind15%Spirit15%Light15%Darkness50%

SkillsIdentifyIntermediate Level 5Language ComprehensionMaster Level 10Bow SkillBeginner Level 3Ice SpikeBeginner Level 2Ice EnchantBeginner Level 8Ice ShieldBeginner Level 2HealBeginner Level 8SlowIntermediate Level 8Group SlowBeginner Level 3PurifyBeginner Level 1

StatusNameTala MauLevel1Experience0/100Class-RaceBeastkin (Feline)AlignmentGoodCurrencyCanadian$0.00Xoth0 platinum 2 gold 7 silver 87 copperTitleUnknown, Book EnthusiastBuffs--Debuffs--Health100Health Regeneration/min2.0Mana580Mana Regeneration/min4.5Stamina100Stamina Regeneration/min1.1Fame0Infamy0Strength10Intelligence58Wisdom45Perception13Endurance10Vitality20Agility11Luck50Unallocated Points0

ResistancesPhysical15%Disease/Toxin100%Fire15%Plant15%Ice15%Earth15%Lightning15%Water15%Wind15%Spirit15%Light15%Darkness50%

SkillsIdentifyIntermediate Level 5Language ComprehensionMaster Level 10FireballIntermediate Level 3Fire BarrierBeginner Level 2Fire EnchantBeginner Level 9Fire ShieldIntermediate Level 3FlamethrowerBeginner Level 3HealIntermediate Level 3Group HealBeginner Level 5PurifyIntermediate Level 1Ice SpikeBeginner Level 2Wind BladeBeginner Level 3Lightning StrikeBeginner Level 1Water BlastBeginner Level 8Rock ThrowBeginner Level 1EnchantmentBeginner Level 9AlchemyBeginner Level 6InvisibleBeginner Level 8Bubble ShieldBeginner Level 2DispelBeginner Level 6

StatusNameVivian "Vi" TerrabaneLevel15Experience2345/2900ClassWarriorRaceDwarfAlignmentGoodCurrencyCanadian$0.00Xoth0 platinum 28 gold 12 silver 93 copperTitleUnknown, Determined, Giant Slayer, Explorer, Lone AdventurerAdventurer Guild Rank6Buffs--Debuffs--Health760Health Regeneration/min6.6Mana360Mana Regeneration/min2.9Stamina740Stamina Regeneration/min3.7Fame250Infamy0Strength76Intelligence36Wisdom29Perception51Endurance74Vitality66Agility37Luck71Unallocated Points0

ResistancesPhysical15%Disease/Toxin100%Fire15%Plant15%Ice15%Earth15%Lightning15%Water15%Wind15%Spirit15%Light15%Darkness50%

SkillsIdentifyIntermediate Level 9Language ComprehensionMaster Level 10Hammer SkillIntermediate Level 8Rock ThrowIntermediate Level 2Earth EnchantIntermediate Level 3Earth ShieldIntermediate Level 1Earth ManipulationBeginner Level 7HealIntermediate Level 1PurifyBeginner Level 1Club SkillBeginner Level 1Sword SkillBeginner Level 1