Chuck paused when he felt level three of ice arrow finish. He paused near a tree to check his skills.

Multitasking: 1370/4000SP to level 2

Bladed Weapons: 10/200SP to level 3

He also decided to check out the actual bonus the skills gave him, realizing he had forgotten to look earlier.

Light Armor: 2 - 5

Reduces the fatigue and movement speed penalties of wearing light armor by 20%.

Well, that explained why he didn't feel as winded as he did the previous day.

Bladed Weapons: 2 - 5

Slightly more proficient with handling bladed weapons.

That didn't give him much to go on. He hadn't really practiced with the sword since his incident. The only other use it saw was him stabbing the dead rabbit, and using it to help butcher the other animal. Whatever he would take what he could get.

Ice Arrow: 3 - 5

The speed of the projectile is increased. Has a high chance of piercing light armor within 20m range. Extended range of 5m with a low chance to piece light armor.

Looks like it got another speed increase similar to level two. The extended range was nice as well. It would give him more time to cast if he had to fight something.

He already knew what level two of multitasking did, so he skipped over that.

Minor Heal: 1 - 1

Heal minor scrapes and bruises

He still didn't understand the utility of this spell. Might as well try it out though, he had taken a few bruises and scrapes in his run from the clearing. He pulled up the spell form in his mind. It was much more complicated than ice arrow. After ten seconds he started to sweat as he formed the intricate design in his mind. After twelve seconds it felt like he was dunked in a warm bath. He opened his eyes and exhaled. His whole body trembled in ecstasy as the spell wove its way through him. He nearly collapsed to his knees as they felt weak.

"What the hell was that," he said breathily, supporting himself on the tree as the spell faded from his body.

He knew the spell could be cast on others as well as himself. The knowledge contained in the skill book let him know that much. It did not say it would feel like an orgasm though. He gazed at some of the scrapes and bruises he had. They were visibly fading from view even as he watched.

Another odd memory, apparently he knew what orgasms were but no context as to why he should know. He would need to see if other experiences unlocked more memories for him. Chuck shook off the after-effects of the spell and closed his eyes again to finish checking his skills.

He decided to switch out the next level of light armor with sneaking in the queue. Chuck felt that sneaking might give him better odds to avoid trouble out here. Going by what he saw so far it wasn't likely the third level in light armor was going to give him thicker armor.

Chuck looked up to see if he could tell how much daylight he had left. No luck, the canopy was too thick. He pulled out one of the dried pieces of meat as he walked. It was bland and gamey but it beat the tasteless trail rations. He decided to walk another hour before he headed north. He made sure to keep his eyes out for any creatures or a safe place to sleep.

He lucked out, managing to find a rocky outcropping, with a low hanging jut of rock. It wasn't perfect, but it was dry. He gathered some leaves and sticks, building up a barrier to surround the area. It should be enough to keep most small animals away. He slid his backpack as far in as he could and shimmied in after. It was a tight squeeze to get past one part but he made it.

There was just enough room underneath for him to use his backpack as a pillow. The sleeping bag kept him off the cold stone beneath him. He left it open for now. It was too warm in this forest to cover up. He was tired from the day's activities and sore all over from walking and fighting. Just another indicator that these were new experiences for his body. He wondered what he did before he was cast out here to the wilderness. Those and other thoughts went through his mind as he drifted asleep.

Chuck jerked awake, slamming his forehead on the rock above him.

"Oww!"

He rubbed at the lump that was starting to form on his noggin. He looked around his little hidey-hole. It appears nothing had tried to disturb him during the night. Chuck rolled over and shimmied his way out of the overhang, bringing his gear with him. His head was throbbing from the knock against the rock. As soon as he was clear of the overhang he cast minor heal, hoping it would heal the injury.

Chuck called out the spell name to see if it would speed the process along like with ice arrow, "minor heal."

The warmth suffused his body, only taking nine seconds by using the name of the spell, instead of the twelve it took last time. He gingerly touched the lump and felt it shrinking. That was good, at least now he wouldn't have a headache for the rest of the day. Not like there was asperin around...A new memory?

This one had a bit of context with it this time. He concentrated and recalled everything he knew about the drug. Bought in bottles and available at most grocery stores and gas stations. His memory didn't fill in what those last two things were, but this gave him hope that maybe his full memory would return in time.

He decided to check on his skills, closing his eyes and concentrating. Level three of bladed weapons and level two of sneaking had finished overnight. It looked like light armor would finish up in a few minutes. He hadn't slept as long as he wanted to and it was still dark out. He still felt refreshed enough though. He quickly added sneaking level three, ice arrow level four, and bladed weapons level four to his queue.

He was quickly running out of skills to train. Chuck had been hoping to pick up a few more mundane skills while traipsing through the forest. He glanced at multitasking to see how it was doing.

Multitasking: 3582/4000SP to level 2

A little under two and a half hours left to finish. He pulled out a piece of the smoked meat and ate it slowly while waiting for the sun to come up enough for him to continue his journey. Signs of civilization couldn't be too far away. The initial rations had only been enough for four or five days.

It would be nice to see other people again. Even if he couldn't recall specifics about meeting people in his past, he still knew he had known many people. He took a swig from the waterskin to wash down the taste of the meat. That was another thing he was going to need to look for. Chuck gave the bag a swirl. It felt like it was maybe a third full. There had to be a stream or something in this forest. Light armor finished training shortly after he finished eating. He added it back to his queue.

Chuck started packing up his meager supplies. It was starting to get light enough to see, just barely. He was hoping to make a good distance today, even if he did utilize his new sneaking skill more than before.

He looked around to try and gauge the direction he had come from the night before. It was hard to tell with so many plants near the ground level. He knew it was generally from the direction pointing away from the outcrop. So he headed in the opposite direction. The forest was relatively quiet during this transitory period between night and day. For that he was glad.

As he set off he was glad for the extra level in light armor. It didn't restrict him as much or seem to drain his energy as quickly as the day before. Chuck made sure his sword belt was adjusted properly. He wasn't going to make the mistake of not being able to reach it with both hands again. Bleeding to death and being attacked by a wild animal were not things he wished to experience again.

Chuck maintained a slow but steady pace as he surveyed his surroundings. He saw a lot of small wildlife on his walk. Each blur of movement brought his hand to the hilt of his sword and a spell to his lips, ready to begin casting. Each time, however, the small animal scurried away. He didn't attempt to hunt any of the animals. He wanted his full ability to cast if he ran across something big, like whatever was sniffing around the hill he vacated.

Chuck came to a small stream, no more than a meter wide and less than half that deep. He dipped his hand in the cool clear water and took a sip. It was the best tasting water he ever remembered drinking. He filled up his waterskin and continued. It was too bad the stream ran perpendicular to his path of travel.

Multitasking finished the second level about twenty minutes after he left the stream. The third level of sneaking finished up a few minutes later so he took a break to wait for it. He decided to see what level two of multitasking had given him.

Multitasking: 2-5

Additional skill trains at 100% speed

Chuck knew the investment was worth it, now he could train twice as fast, although his total amount of skills were a bottleneck now. He checked to see the skill point requirement for level three of multitasking.

Multitasking: 0/20000SP to level 3

Chuck whistled at the cost. He had a good estimate on how long a day was now, not thanks to his memory constantly trying to tell him a day was twenty-four hours. As close as he could determine a day was twenty-nine or thirty hours long. That would mean another four days before level three finished if he started it now. He decided to hold off and instead just added it to the queue. Ice arrow and bladed weapons level four were both going now, they wouldn't take long to finish.

He checked on sneaking next.

Sneaking: 3-5

Someone finally cleaned up those dried twigs, a 25% chance to remain hidden.

It was a major bump over level two of the skill. He also realized what the first part of the description meant, other than the sarcasm. He was noticeably quieter when he walked and he seemed to be able to avoid snapping dry twigs when he stepped on them. It wasn't perfect, about one in four still made noise as he tested the ability. That was fine. If he was conscious of where he stepped he could avoid most of these issues. He stuck level four of the skill into the queue and began walking again.

It wasn't until a few hours later that he realized he had a problem. He only noticed this problem because he had stepped in mud earlier. He wiped that mud off on an exposed tree root. That was over an hour ago and wasn't the problem. No, the problem was the fact that he was sure he was staring at that same tree root, caked mud, and all, now in his path.

Had he walked in a full circle? It was impossible to tell from this position. He didn't recall any landmarks, trees, or otherwise to guide his travel. He decided to make sure. He carved a simple three-sided arrow out of the bark of a nearby tree with his sword and then continued walking. He stopped every hundred feet or so adding the same mark, but adding a unique mark along with it. He tried to maintain as straight a path as possible through the forest but it was easier said than done. So you can imagine how angry he was when he came across one of his marked trees again.

He decided to backtrack to the stream and follow that. Apparently, his sense of direction was garbage. He did manage to get back to the stream. Chuck looked at it for a few minutes while trying to decide which way to go. He eventually decided on downstream, hoping it would drain into a river or lake.

Level four of bladed weapons finished during that time so he added level five to the queue. He decided to swing the sword a few times, careful not to repeat his mistakes from before. The blade definitely felt more natural in his hand. He doubted he would make a competent warrior with it though, it was a common skill after all. Maybe he would be able to stab something other than himself now.

***

The great beast awoke after slumbering on the warm rocks at the top of the hill. Very rarely did the great covering allow him to bask in the sun's warmth. He sniffed the air, there was still telltale signs of the delicious meat he had devoured the night before. After the magic keeping him out had faded he had chased away any competitors and climbed the hill to claim his prize.

He sniffed the ground around the hill until he found the trail of another creature. It was mixed with the scent of the meat from the previous night. He followed this trail into the forest, his jaws dripping saliva at the thought of his next meal. He had nothing to fear in this forest. He was an apex predator. His tail smashed against one of last night's victims as he passed. It crashed to the ground and shattered into pieces. It mattered not, he had drained it already.