It is said that one’s experiences are the building blocks of one’s character. That the forge of hardships removes all impurities from a person’s will and by passing through the narrow corridor of unpleasant events, an individual will emerge hardened, no longer wary of what life may bring before them.

Should Jack had known of that saying, he wouldn’t have given two sticks about it.

“I’m lost. And I’m hungry. And I am so lost.” Jack said, lapsing into his old habit of speaking out loud.

“That fucking nymph! That naked, tree humping, bitch!”

What followed was a few more minutes of yelling, finding creative methods of insulting Neda and general moping about, before Jack felt relieved enough to take in his surroundings.

“Right. It’s almost night, it’s getting cold and I’m no longer in Melena’s domain. Which means, darkness, coldness and predators. Great.” He said, looking around.

“At least I have a decent solution to all that.”

He looked around until he found a decent spot between a few trees, which was mostly clear of bushes. Hastily, he used whatever rocks were laying around to form a circle, before moving on to look for firewood.

“|Resource Vision| Wood. Firewood, damnit!”

The sun was completely down, by the time Jack managed to gather enough wood to last him an entire night and start a fire. Faster than what he would have managed a while ago, since |Resource Vision| and |A Fire a Day| proved to be truly life-saving Skills, out in the forest.

“Darkness, solved. Cold, solved. Predators… hopefully solved.” Jack said, tiredly.

He settled in around the fire, too tired to even think and hoping the coming day would bring with it more luck.

“So, so hungry.”

***

A rustle woke Jack up from his sleep. He wasn’t sure what he had been dreaming about, but he was pretty sure it involved a big meal.

Looking at his fire, he noticed it was still going, if not as strong as before. He fed more sticks into it and soon the light and warmth intensified. His fire wasn’t bright enough to allow him to see more than twenty feet out into the forest, but he did think he saw something moving.

“I should have made a spear. Stupid.” He muttered.

Spotting a longer stick and dearly regretting not carrying his knife on his person, Jack did the quickest thing his |Basic Crafting| Skill informed him he could. He placed one end of the stick into the fire, waited a minute and took it out.

Just like that, a torch.

As impressive as that may have sounded, Jack was still wary of venturing out into the forest. He did swing it a few times and yelled out, hoping that whatever woke him up would either leave or show itself.

The former, rather than the later.

Nothing happened and he had to settle for making his fire as big as he could, before trying to go back to sleep.

Yet sleep didn’t catch him, not for a while after that.

***

Morning found Jack shivering, his fire having long gone out.

“Should have gathered more wood. Or used less of it.” He grumbled.

His stomach grumbled in response.

“|Resource Vision|. Food. No? Water. Berries. Mushrooms!” he said, growing increasingly frustrated.

Something caught his eye and, a few steps later, Jack found himself looking at a somewhat familiar mushroom. It looked just like a fire mushroom, only it was bright green.

“My Skill is only supposed to get me edible things, right? Safe things.” He said, staring at it.

Concern and hunger battled and, predictably, hunger won out again. Jack bent over and picked up the mushroom. He was prepared for it to explode, but he wasn’t prepared for it to dissolve in his hand. Some kind of thick, green liquid oozed out, all over his hand.

“Ugh. This doesn’t look tasty at all. At it kind of stings.” He said.

Indeed, the liquid stuck to his hand was giving off a stinging sensation, which if Jack felt it, through his |Thick Skin: Hands| Skill, must have meant it would have been quite painful for anyone else. Still, after Jack wiped off the annoying liquid, he was left with a familiar looking shriveled-up mushroom.

“So, this is the disgusting cousin to the fire mushrooms, huh? It that one is spicy, then this is…?”

Shrugging, he took a bite out of it, before making a face.

“Ugh, sour. Too sour!”

Still, he was hungry, so Jack spent the next few minutes alternating between finding more sour mushrooms, wiping off the inevitable ooze and scrunching up his face while eating them.

“I like your cousin more than I like you.” He said, while placing a few of the non-dissolved mushrooms in his pouch.

|Class Level Raised: Gatherer|

|Class Level: 12|

“Well, that was… helpful.” He muttered.

One need taken care off, Jack started to head in the direction he remembered Neda telling him his home was. A long stick and an almost sharp stone helped keep him busy, while he walked.

The forest was mostly like the one he knew, the only notable difference being that the trees were more densely packed. Which soon proved to be a problem, since Jack kept losing his way. More than once, he had to go back from where he started or step back until he found his footprints and try to navigate in the correct direction again.

The problem was that the nymph only pointed in a direction and following any kind of direction in a forest was an exercise in futility. Jack had next to no hope that he was actually treading in the correct way, but he had nothing else to go on. And so, he marched on.

“Why would she do that? I thought Rosa and Melena liked me. Was it because I stared at her breasts?” he complained. “It’s not my fault they all walk around with no clothes on. And it wasn’t even on purpose!”

Jack walked a few more steps, while sharpening his make-shift spear.

“Well, it was a little on purpose. But only at first. I stared down the entire rest of the way.”

One more step, one more slice of wood.

“Alright, so I peeked at Rosa too. …and the others. But did she really have to abandon me here?”

His words led him to no conclusion, but at least he had a spear, after a few more minutes of walking and talking. Perhaps the most excruciating fact, about Jack’s whole ordeal, was not that he had been abandoned and found himself far from home. The thing which caused him most pain was the fact that he was bored.

“This stupid forest is too large. How much more do I have to walk? Is it hours away? Days away?”

…

“I’m thirsty.”

And so it went, for a another few hours. He did occasionally spot something useful, such as a few of the ingredients Elia had him look out for, but wasn’t about to step off his trail just to go look at them. Not that he had much of trail. Just a general sense of direction. Sometimes, not even that.

At least, in this forest, there were other sounds, besides those made by leaves and the wind. He heard chirps and rustles around him and more than once saw entire flocks of birds. Since he ate and was no longer thinking with his stomach, Jack had actually admired their plumage and their songs. He still wished to know what they tasted like, fried over a fire, but it wasn’t that strong of a desire right then and there.

Still bored, he was about to launch into his, perhaps, third rant of the day, about the unfairness of it all, when a sound from a nearby bush made him stop in his tracks.

Predator. I knew this would happen. Here it comes.

The rustling sound grew louder, the bush starting to tremble, until something came waddling out of it.

Jack raised his spear, ready to throw it. And stopped abruptly.

“What?”

Out of the bush came a porcupine. True, it was larger than a normal porcupine by a bit, if Jack’s memory served him right, but it was still just that. A porcupine.

“Damn it. I can hear my heart beating. I thought I was going to have to kill it.” He said.

Now, that he looked at it closely, it was slightly different from an average porcupine. Some of its spines were barbed, while others were colored in different hues. It looked like someone took a normal porcupine and decided to give it a make-over.

While peering at the strange animal, Jack lowered his spear. The movement was spotted by the animal, which immediately went into a defensive stance, its spines standing out all over its body.

“No! No, no, little guy. Stay right there. I don’t want to hurt you.” Jack said, aiming his spear at it.

Which was apparently a bad move, as the porcupine started to scratch at the earth and chitter angrily.

“C’mon, little guy. I’m sure you taste nice, but I don’t want to pluck all those spines out, before I roast you. And I don’t have the time!”

Apparently having had enough of Jack’s attitude, the porcupine shrieked and flexed.

“Ouch! What the…?” Jack said, inspecting his forearm.

A spike was protruding from it. That made Jack see the porcupine in a whole new perspective.

“Alright. Easy now. I’m just taking back the spear, see?” Jack tried to make soothing gestures, while pointing the spear away from the porcupine.

“No need to be enemies. I’m not even hungry. Let’s… just move away from each other and be on our way, alright?” he said, stepping back.

Perhaps sensing that the danger has passed, the porcupine’s spines flattened themselves again. It no longer pawed at the earth.

Jack blew out a relieved breath. It seemed that the only reason the porcupine was defensive was because Jack had been threatening it.

Or. It was waiting for when the other, bigger animal, lowered his guard.

With a sudden shriek, the porcupine launched a volley of quills straight at Jack, who came to realize in that moment just who the top predator was. And ran for it.

A few frantic minutes of running later, thankfully in the correct direction and Jack was complaining again. Only this time, he had a fresh reason for it.

“This sucks so much. Ouch! Every time I step. Every. Time.”

If one were there to notice, one would have noticed Jack walking with a very weird limp.

“Stupid forest. Stupid porcupines. Stupid naked nymph.”

Indeed, if one was both there and very perceptive, one would have noticed two holes in the garments Jack wore. Both looking as if made by a thin pointy object entering and being hastily pulled out. One was on Jack’s thigh. The other on Jack’s buttock.

“At least they weren’t barbed.” He said, trying to see the silver lining.

The rest of his day was uninteresting. He feasted on more of the green mushrooms that he found lying around, drank water from a nearby spring and decided not to mess with the wildlife for the foreseeable future.

Night caught him with a fire already roaring and enough firewood to make sure no more issues arose. Jack slept on his side that night. On only one side. And his last waking thought was that he wished he had brought his knife along with him. As well as his healing balm.

***

Jack rose to greet the sun feeling better rested, the next morning. Not waking up in fear of the dark, hallway throughout the night, seemed to put a spring in a fellow’s step.

He did what, by now, came naturally. Ate some mushrooms. Drank some water. Started walking.

While he walked, he did briefly wonder if the episode he had, after eating the fire mushrooms, was going to repeat itself after eating the green ones. Since he thought the taste was aligned with the… reaction, Jack promised to himself to eat as little of the mushrooms as he could. And to find a new food-source. Expedient as they were, he did not want a repeat event. Not to mention the flavor was not one to die for.

One realization he arrived at, since he had ample time to think, was that his most useful Class what that of |Gatherer|. Not only did its Skills allow him to find what he needed and be able to handle it without much muss, it also made it easier for him to walk through the forest. |Rough Walker| combined with |Minor Stamina| made for a powerful combination, when one’s need was to traverse an entire forest by foot.

“Must be why it’s my highest-level Class.” He thought. “But still, it sounds kind of lame.” He mumbled.

“What happens if I become a high-level |Gatherer|? I’ll be able to gather a ‘lot’ of things? Hmpf.”

“I should have become a |Warrior|.” He said after a while. “Probably could have. Just make a spear and waive it around. Or a |Mayor|!“ he grinned.

“Though… I don’t know how I would have done that.”

He thought about that for a little. No answer came to him, but he still did think that being in charge of the village would have amused Lola.

He sighed.

He missed Lola. And Mrk. He was even starting to suspect himself of missing Melena, which was startling in and of itself.

“I can’t go on like this. I need to find a way to get back. I don’t even know where the right way is anymore!”

“But all I see it’s trees. And the occasional spring.” He said, looking at a bird that just took off from a branch.

When something caught his eye. Something that should have been obvious.

“Maybe…”

If he couldn’t see because of the trees, he should just look over them. And while he was no climber, the trees were climbed by all sorts of animals. He even saw a squirrel, moments before. Why not him?

“Because I’m an idiot, that’s why.” He said, panting, no more than a few minutes later.

He managed to climb two thirds up a tree, before he had to sit on a branch to catch his breath. He almost wished he was offered the |Climbing| Class, if it even existed. His enhanced Stamina was one thing, but the climbing took the wind out of him faster than running through the forest did. Still, he persevered. Break over, he started climbing again, reaching the top after a while.

It should be said that while Jack, in his tired state, named it the ‘top’, it was more akin to near the top. Near enough he could see over other trees. The true top of the tree wouldn’t have supported him, most likely. Besides. It was still around ten feet more to reach it and Jack was winded as he was.

The first thing he did, was to look back to where he came from. He hoped he could spot a clearing or, failing that, one or two funny looking trees. He did not. Disappointedly, he looked towards where he remembered Neda showed him his home was.

He didn’t see anything.

What he did see, however, was that to the right of where he was looking, the tree line seemed to fade from view. He didn’t know if that was the end of the forest or the start of Melena’s domain and he didn’t care. Much.

Finally.

He had a direction. And for the first time since he started this long walk, he saw how much more he had to go. He was no expert, but he guessed that, excluding this day, he had one more day of walking. Perhaps two. And then he’d be home.

Lola. Mrk.

In high spirits, Jack climbed down the tree. Once he reached the ground, he stretched, breathed in and with a smile on his face, walked on.

Only to stumble and fall at what he just heard.

|New Class Available: Pathfinder|

|Class Level and Skills accessible after acceptance. |

|Accept new class? |

“Really? |Pathfinder|? …Just now?”

Even annoyed as he was, Jack remembered that, in order for a Class to be offered, he did have to do something related to that Class first.

In truth, the general population had to toil and work for months or sometimes years in a field, before a Class became available, if it ever did. But Jack’s scratched feet and aching arms made him ignore all that.

“At least I got it. But…”

He didn’t know how many more Classes he could take. For all he thought it funny when he took the name, Jack didn’t want to have his Classes change to |Jack-of-All Trades|. And he was close to his destination, too. At the very least, he could see it.

“Maybe it’s not it. Maybe it was just a line of trees or… something.”

Doubt began to creep into his thoughts.

“I really hope I don’t screw everything up. Ugh! Fine, I accept!” he said, with his eyes closed in anticipation.

|Class Accepted: Pathfinder|

|Class Level: 3|

|New Skills:|

|Sense Destination|

|Past Trails|

Jack waited a little while longer, hoping he didn’t hear or see anything else, but that message. To his immense good luck, he didn’t.

“YES! Yes, I did it!” he laughed.

“Fuck you, tree!” he turned and screamed at the tree he just came down from.

“You and your rough bark! No more climbing for ME! I’m going hooooome!”

He laughed and yelled and did a weird little dance, in his own corner of the forest. Of course, all this merriment was understandable, but in that moment, Jack forgot himself. He forgot where he was and more especially where he wasn’t.

He was not in Melena’s domain, where animals and humans were protected from each other. In this forest, loud sounds attracted attention. It was therefore no surprise to anyone, but Jack, when a loud whoofing sound was heard behind him.

Still in good spirits, Jack turned around and turned to stone.

A huge bear was sniffing loudly, just a few feet away from him.

“F-… good bear. Nice bear.” He said, voice suddenly shaking.

He reached for his spear, before he remembered he had left it on the ground, before starting his climb. It was now too far away for him to grab in time.

Not that, he thought, it would have done him much good.

“Really hope you’re nor hungry.” He whispered.

The bear only huffed in reply.

“Don’t suppose you eat mushrooms?”

A loud roar sent him running, before his brain even processed what his legs were doing.

Judging by the sounds behind him, the bear was in hot pursuit.

“|A Fire a Day|” Jack yelled, aiming behind.

An angrier roar than before reached his ears and he paid little thought to whether his Skill had reached its target. He simply ran. He ran and ran, tripping, falling, but quickly getting up. He ran until his Stamina Skill faltered, until he felt his feet burning. Until, when finally remembering to listen, he heard no more sounds behind him.

“I’m… uh… I-… my feet! …uh… I’m an idiot!” he managed to say, between pants.

He laid down, desperately wishing he had some water.

“I yelled in a forest. A real forest. What was I thinking?”

With his mind supplying no answer, he looked at the sky. It was just starting to get dark, yet Jack felt he could have fallen asleep right then and there. He didn’t, even as tired as he was, because of what he had just learned. This forest had real predators. And his only real weapon was a Skill he could only use once a day.

Just for this, he managed to drag his tired body into finding the needed fire wood. He didn’t bother with forming a fire circle out of stones. He just lit it up, the traditional way, waited until he was sure it wouldn’t go out too soon and fell asleep, with a quickness some might say resembled blacking out.

This was Jack’s third night in the forest.

***

A sound coming from the bushes made Jack wake up. Again.

This is getting tiring.

“Whoever is out there!” he yelled. “Fuck off!”

It should be said that, however unwise yelling at a possible unknown intruder might be, Jack’s latest experiences made him less afraid than he had been, in an unintuitive manner. He was still wary, but his tiredness and sudden wakefulness made him more prone to lashing out, than trembling in fear.

Instead of quieting down, the sound coming from the bushes grew louder and closer.

“Fine. Have it your way.” He said.

Just as before, he picked the longest stick he could find and placed it into the still burning fire. One torch later, Jack stood up and tried to catch a glimpse of whoever it was that woke him up.

Suddenly, something came out of the bush closest to him. What little amount of fear Jack had in him dissolved immediately.

“This… I woke up, for this?!” he said, eyeing the small creature.

What Jack saw before him, was a tiny creature, that looked like it was made out of wood. Twigs, to be exact. It was vaguely humanoid, with little arms and legs, head and so on, all made out of wood. If it would have laid itself down on the ground, Jack might have never differentiated it from the forest floor. It must have stood at around ten inches tall and looked quite frail.

“And what do you want, short stuff?”

The creature seemed to be at least intelligent enough to know when it was addressed, since at the sound of Jack’s voice, it looked up at him, before returning to what he was doing. Gazing at Jack’s fire. Its little beady eyes were staring at it intently.

“You want to sit by the fire?” Jack asked, already thinking about sleep.

“Well, come on, it won’t bite. But don’t stand to close. You look kind of… flammable.”

The creature never moved, yet suddenly more of its kind stepped out from the bushes. They all looked mostly the same to Jack and they were all staring at the fire.

“You all want to stare at the fire? ...whatever, fine by me. Just don’t wake me up again.” Jack said, laying down.

At once, all the creatures turned to look at Jack, who froze in mid action.

“…what?”

The creatures seemed to be oddly in sync, since all they did next was to alternate between looking at the fire and looking at Jack.

I just want to sleep.

Without any warning, the first stick creature that stepped out of the bush, gave out a war cry and attacked Jack. Or at the very least, tried its best to give out a war cry. It was still ten inches tall and with no observable lungs, so the best it could do was a small high-pitched yell.

Before Jack could do anything to defend himself, the creature latched on to his exposed arm and starting scratching it with his tiny claws. Which it didn’t have, a moment before. Scratching, biting and being as annoying as possible

“Hey! Hey, get- Ouch! You little- Hey, get off!” Jack screamed, grabbing the lithe fellow.

Which, given its frame, resulted in Jack breaking the poor creature’s body in two.

“Oh… I am so sorry.” He said to its comrades. “But why did it attack me? And why attack me when he was so fragile?”

Instead of a response, the army of twig creatures all charged Jack at once, yelling atop their little lungs. Already sitting, Jack managed to stand up before they reached him. Not that it helped much. His attackers were indiscriminate about where it was that they were laying down their wrath. Jack’s shins were under attacks. And as the more courageous ones climbed, Jack’s entire body came under the same form of attack.

“Damn it! Get off! What the-“

No amount of yelling seemed to have any effect. All Jack could do was to rip them off of him and break them apart with his hands. Their little attacks even managed to prick the thick skin of his hands. It took a few minutes before he finished, but he finally did. He looked around himself, breathing hard.

“That was… insane!” he said to himself.

It didn’t look like he stood at the site of a massacre. Rather, it looked like someone gathered a large amount of kindling and threw it all over the place. However, Jack did look like he had been in a scrap. He was bleeding from a large number of wounds. Well, slowly bleeding. And they were small wounds, barely above a scratch, for the most part. But there were a high enough number of them, that he felt like his entire body was stinging.

“I hate this forest. Magical porcupines and feral sticks come to life.” He said, annoyed.

A sound was heard behind him.

If it’s another group of these things, I will BURN them.

Turing around, Jack froze. It was the same kind of creature. But not a group. This was an army! They were enough of them that Jack couldn’t see the ground and this army reached far enough back that Jack’s fire couldn’t illuminate the exact place where their numbers stopped.

“Alright. I know this looks bad.” Jack said, gently grabbing his torch. “But they attacked me.”

As one, the army of stick men looked at the fire, the broken remains of their kin and at Jack. And the war cry was heard once more.

What followed was a lot of running and a whole lot of cursing. Jack’s Stamina Skill kept him at it, even though he was almost as tired as when he fell asleep. And the run was taking its toll on him. It also seemed that |Rough Walker| worked less effectively when one wasn’t precisely walking. Or, perhaps Jack was simply too tired to think straight.

Fucking sticks with their pointy little fingers.

Indeed, even though Jack held the lead, a not inconsiderate amount of the creatures managed to get a hold of him and tear their way through Jack’s skin. Now and again, a few more would manage to latch on Jack’s body, even as he was running, which made him slow down and break them off.

How much longer? They can’t run forever, can they?

Looking back for a second, Jack saw a sea of twigs running after him, their little legs pumping and screaming as loud as their tiny voices could. And it was a sea of them. He knew that if they caught him, it most likely would have been his end.

Maybe they can’t run forever. But I can’t either. Damn it, what should I do?

He didn’t have any Skills for fighting. His |Fast Hands| Skill helped, meaning that he could get them off faster than they could do damage, most times, but it wasn’t enough. He only had one Skill that he could use and it was only once a day.

Here goes nothing.

“|A Fire a Day|!” he screamed and turning, pointed at them.

His fire did bloom into existence and even managed to take out a decent chunk of their army. The small things stopped and starred and their charred brethren. Before looking back at Jack and screaming even louder.

“Oh, for fuck’s sake!” Jack complained, turning again and legging it.

His only Skill that could be used to attack had only angered them further. He didn’t know how much he had to run until he reached home, but he knew it was more than he could run before they caught him. At least he was going in the right direction.

|Sense Destination| gave him a fuzzy sense of which way he should be going. It’s wasn’t specific, but it let Jack know when he was stepping off course. |Past Trails| wasn’t as useful. It only allowed Jack to ‘see’, for lack of a better word, a glowing trail of where he had been, expanding out behind him. If he looked, he knew he could see it, through trees or bushes, leading back to where he came from, fading out slowly.

Useless.

I can’t run forever. I can’t climb trees faster than them, I bet. So…

Jack could already feel his body slowing down. His torch ran out a while ago, so he had the added disadvantage of tripping every now and then. Still, he ran on.

Need an advantage. I’m… stronger. But they’re many. I’m tall, but they’re… wait. I’M TALL.

He was of slightly higher than average height among his peers, truth be told, yet Jack never felt more like a giant than in that moment.

If I find a river. Even a spring. I can stand in the middle of it, but they can’t. Or… can they float?

The not quite thundering sound of the tiny army chasing him was growing louder.

Out of options. Have to try it.

“|Resource Vision| Water!” he screamed.

To the surprise of no one, his Skill found only general moisture and puddles.

At first.

Desperation drove Jack to use his Skill again and again and again. Asking for ‘water’, ‘river’, ‘spring’, even ‘running water’. He didn’t know if his Skill had a limit to how many times it could be used, but he was too desperate to care.

Finally, it worked. He felt his Skill aim him at something. He thought he could almost pick up the sound of running water. He willed his mind to set that sound as his destination, to imagine the river and used his |Sense Destination| Skill on it.

It was vague. A lot hazier than before. He ran left and ran right, until he managed to get the general sense of where he was going. It seemed the less he had to go on, the less effective his Skill was.

Even so, Jack still managed to reach the water. It was more than a spring, yet less than a river. Still deeper than the creatures were tall, so Jack ran into it with no hesitation. He barely felt the cold water, until he stopped in the middle of the stream, turning back with a victorious grin.

“Hah! Take that, you woody little shits! How you like this? Can you swim? Can you?!” he yelled at them.

The angry little horde did what they seemed inclined to do, each and every time they had the occasion. As one, they looked at Jack, looked at the water, looked back at Jack and then back at the water.

And they stepped in.

What the…

True, the water was not rushing that powerfully, but it was enough to sweep them off. Not, however, if they held hands. Which they did. It was also deep enough for them to sink. Not, again, if they floated. Which they also did.

It was enough of a sight for Jack to forget his previous glee. He turned, his mind now set on the other shore. Maybe they could reach him, but he would at least get a head start. What he saw next, put no fear in his bones. If only because he was too tired to feel anything more. What he saw only instilled a quiet sense of desperation and loss. From the other shores, lines of stick men were coming at him. Slowly, being dragged by the current, yet advancing all the same.

Great. At least on land, I could fight. Here…

He gave a though to letting himself be dragged by the current. The water was only waist high. Still… if he lost his footing…

Coward.

The stick men were approaching on both sides.

He thought of his friends, then. Lola and Mrk. Even Melena. He was going to…

I REFUSE!

He winked. Repeatedly. Until whatever tears were threatening to form were beaten back out of existence. Hands balled into fists, he started wading through the water, towards the closest group of stick men.

“Come at me, you pathetic bundles of sticks! I’ll rip you to pieces! I’ll burn your entire species to ash!” he screamed.

Anger mixed with fear, in his voice. Quiet desperation, the courage of one who knew death was near. Jack had little to lose, because he had little in the first place. Yet, what he had, was precious to him. His home. His friends. For that, he would fight, until they lay broken or he did.

“COME ON!” he roared.

“|Bane of the Wooden Death|”