Zack

As the second of the two Crackpaw Warriors clutched its spurting throat and fell to its knees, a tingle of pleasure flowed through Zack Silverstone. 10 more fresh experience, his alone. Before him, the second Crackpaw burst into a pile of purple dust, leaving behind a glowing Life Crystal. Zack flicked fresh blood off his [Iron Dagger]s, then tucked the Life Crystal into his hip pouch before the soft purple glow could draw any more Monsters.

His side stung from where one of the Monsters had grazed him with its sharpened pickaxe, drawing blood, and sweat dampened his thick dreadlocks. He also had plenty of painful scrapes and bruises from the slide he’d taken down an old mine shaft to avoid the six Crackpaws trying to avenge those he’d already slaughtered. That had started the encounter with the two he’d just killed at the bottom of the mine shaft.

Even now he heard a horde of enemies dashing about in the tunnel above him, yet he had a few minutes before they reached the lower tunnel. He wasn’t worried about being discovered before he could hide himself again. Even so ... getting wounded wasn’t fun.

Zack truly missed having Glenn along to soak up the blows while he and Becka stabbed things from behind, but the experience! The experience, alone, was better. Zack was alive, despite his chance encounter with a pair of Crackpaw warriors, because he knew his limits and picked his battles.

That was the way of a Shadower, to strike whenever the enemy was weakest and fade into the night before they could retaliate in force. It was also, in Zack’s experience, a great way to nick a few extra crescents, though he never stole from anyone who lived in his home village of Wolfpine. He mostly nicked extra crescents from passing Adventurers too foolish to watch their loose coins.

Unlike many of the Adventurers who braved Crackpaw Mine in a Party, Zack carried no torch and no glowing enchanted item to give himself away. He trusted his vision instead to [+Night Sight+], the Shadower Blessing he’d earned at Level 5. It allowed him to see the utter darkness as an odd, flat green. He still struggled to make out fine detail, but had no trouble finding exposed necks and tendons.

Better yet, his shunning of torches and clumsy Party members allowed him to catch Crackpaw Warriors unaware even without the use of [-Shadow Walk-]. Counting the two Crackpaws he’d just downed, eight of the dogmen had died beneath his blades today, netting him a full 80 experience. Leveling without a Party was far more dangerous than doing so with one, but this was the way to go.

Zack truly missed his banter with Glenn and the chance to admire Becka’s lovely assets as the three of them traipsed about Grassea killing Monsters, yet he’d also tripled his experience gain today thanks to his recent decision to Level alone. He knew his old friends didn’t hold that decision against him. He still saw them at The Mead Beast almost every night.

Tomorrow Glenn would turn 16. The Gods would then choose him as an Adventurer, assuming They weren’t morons. Becka would be right behind Glenn three months later.

The two of them already planned to go off and Level together after they both turned 16, so Zack had done them a favor by striking out on his own before they could ask. His old friends didn’t need a third wheel tagging along, and Zack was about ready to find a buxom little partner of his own to Adventure with. And, of course, to settle down with on the cold nights.

With combat ended, Zack could finally hide himself once more.

[-Shadow Walk-]

At the activation of his Shadower Skill, then false green darkness of the Crackpaw Mine grew even more shadowed, dull and gray. Zack became nothing more than a shadow in the dark. He’d explored the whole first level of Crackpaw Mine in the past week by the false green light of his [+Night Sight+] Blessing, and he suspected he knew this level almost as well as the Crackpaws.

Losing a bit of visibility to the gray was a small price to pay for becoming completely invisible to the other Crackpaw Warriors still hunting him. No matter how good he was with his knives, a single Level 5 Adventurer couldn’t take multiple Level 6 Crackpaw Warriors alone. In the corner of Zack’s vision, the timer that measured his survival appeared and began ticking down anew.

[-Shadow Walk-] (Active) 00:04:59.

As a Level 5 Shadower, one chosen as an Adventurer by the Gods, Zack now had five minutes to find a place to staunch his wounds before he was forced to show himself once again to his enemies. He couldn’t waste another moment standing around. He crept away from the small piles of ash on quiet feet, trusting his [Padded Shoes] to make no noise on the packed dirt floor of the mine.

Judging from the sting in his side and the aching bruises covering his body, he’d overtaxed himself today, but how was he to increase his attributes without pushing himself to his limits? From the moment he decided to become an Adventurer, even before his father died in that plague from the Madlands, Zack had been determined to become a Shadower, but not one of many. He, Zack Silverstone, would become one of the best Shadowers in Grassea, and then, all of Landers.

For now, for today, he simply had to escape Crackpaw Mine without getting himself killed. If he died down here in this mine, no one would find him before twelve hours elapsed and he met the forever death. Few fledgling Adventures in Grassea Leveled Solo for that very reason, but their fear of going it alone was what held them back. That fear was also why Zack would Level faster than they did.

A little over two minutes remained on [-Shadow Walk-] when Zack found a suitable dark alcove in an abandoned mining tunnel. He squeezed himself into it and back against the firm dirt wall. Having now found natural concealment that was not dependent on his Skills, he cancelled [-Shadow Walk-] and made himself visible again. He’d trade the small chance at discovery for the chance to burn off the three minute cooldown before he could activate his Class’s primary Skill again.

Eyes locked on the false green light of the completely dark tunnel ahead, watching for threats, Zack opened his Status Sheet to verify the progress he’d made today.

Name: Zack Silverstone ==== Age: 16 Strength: 6 Level: 5 Divinity: 7 Class: Shadower Luck: 11 HP: 72/80 Vitality: 8 Blood: 40/40 Wisdom: 4 Experience: 26122/29000 Prowess: 13 Gear: Uncommon: [Cloth Armor] Uncommon: [Iron Dagger] Uncommon: [Iron Dagger] Uncommon: [Padded Shoes] Common: [Hip Pouch] Common: [Light Healing Potion] Slotted Skills: Uncommon: [-Shadow Walk-] (Shadower/Xiva) (00:02:49) Slotted Blessings: Uncommon: [+Night Sight+] (Shadower/Xiva) Known Skills: None Known Blessings: None

Zack grinned in utter darkness. Thanks to his good work today, he’d gained as much experience as he would have after days of hunting with Glenn and Becka.

As much as he’d enjoyed hunting with his childhood friends, splitting Monster kills meant he only got 3 to 4 measly experience per kill. Worse, he, Glenn, and Becka were far from the only fledgling Adventurers hunting Monsters in Grassea.

Zack had gained a full 80 experience in one day down here in the mine, alone, and also had eight Crackpaw Life Crystals to himself. That fresh hoard of leaf-sized treasure would net him 80 crescents from Wolfpine’s Merchants. He wouldn’t be splitting those coins with a Party today, either.

By choosing [-Shadow Walk-] and [+Night Sight+], Zack had chosen the ideal first Skill and Blessing to turn Crackpaw Mine into his personal hunting ground. He had no significant competition in these dark tunnels. Typically only Parties actually descended into Crackpaw Mine, and almost everyone preferred to stick to the weaker Crackpaws on the surface.

In Zack’s opinion, too many in Balarel’s fledgling Adventures had grown overly cautious. Access to the books in Wolfpine’s library and advice from Adventurers of higher Levels made rookies wary of risk. Few dared to push the limits of what they could accomplish any longer.

Adventuring in Balarel was not meant to be safe. It was not meant to be easy. And if his next few weeks of hunting went as well as today’s had gone, Zack could gain his next Level and next Skill in only a few months. If he kept going at this rate he might even reach Level 8 before he turned 17, an accomplishment few managed without higher Level Adventurers to watch their backs.

Better yet, if he continued to gather this many Life Crystals a day on his own, he could soon afford a full set of [Dusk Leather]. That would not only enhance his primary Shadower attributes—Prowess and Vitality—but would also prevent glancing cuts like the lucky slash he’d taken from that last Crackpaw. Without Glenn around, Zack’s flimsy [Cloth Armor] simply wasn’t up to protecting him against Monsters, and his wound stung worse by the moment.

Yet despite the growing pain of the wound, Zack’s slightly charred green Health Bar showed no icon suggesting disease. Getting one’s side cut open by a sharpened pickaxe simply hurt. Glenn had never complained when he took blows for Becka and Zack, but Glenn rarely complained about anything.

Working quietly in the dark, Zack wrapped his last cloth bandage around his chest and staunched the shallow wound as best as he could. He only had one [Light Healing Potion] left, and he needed to save it for more serious injuries. Rocks clattered in the tunnel ahead.

Zack crouched low and pulled both [Iron Dagger]s with a whisper of steel against leather. Had the Crackpaws found him already? He opened his Status Sheet and glanced at the cooldown for [-Shadow Walk-].

0:28:24

Almost thirty seconds until he could vanish again. He’d have to trust this small alcove to conceal him from whatever Crackpaw warriors came searching for the person who’d killed their friends until then. If he was quiet enough, he might not even need to use the Skill.

Yet the familiar flicker of torchlight soon assured him the people approaching were Adventurers, not Crackpaws. Crackpaws didn’t use torches, as their beady little eyes had long ago adjusted to see as good as Zack in the dark. While these Adventurers were all speaking in low tones, they made no effort to hide their footsteps. Zack couldn’t help but feel a bit disappointed in both of them.

“You sure the exit’s this way?” a woman whispered from just beyond visual range of the alcove. “It looks like another dead end.”

“The exit is right up this tunnel,” a man’s confident voice said, just before the owner walked into view. “I’m certain of it.”

Zack sized the man up in a moment. Level 6 or higher, but not by much. He was pale-skinned with short blond hair, and stood a bit taller than Zack. While he had muscles, he wasn’t a walking shield like Glenn.

Yet his Class was obvious. The man wore scuffed [Chain-Link Armor] that had seen recent combat, with a [Wooden Shield] on his back. An [Iron Mace] bounced on his belt. This man was a Brutalist, no question. A Party Shield.

The Brutalist didn’t so much as glance into Zack’s alcove as he walked past. He simply held his torch high, completely unprepared for an ambush. The woman stepped right on his toes, glancing back fearfully as they walked. Zack got a lot more interested when he got a look at her.

Her skin was the same pale shade as her companion’s, and she kept her blond hair in bouncy curls that flattered her pretty face. She wore a dark blue [Cotton Robe] cut low in front with slits up the sides of her legs, flashy but typical for female armor. Her [Cotton Robe] was a step above his own [Cloth Armor], which suggested she was Level 6 or a bit higher.

“Devilspit,” the man cursed softly, as the woman passed out from Zack’s view. “Dead end.”

“Again?” the woman all but whispered. “How are we going to get out of here?” She sounded absolutely exhausted.

This was his moment. Zack stepped from the alcove in silence and placed himself mere footsteps behind the woman. He quietly cleared his throat.

The blond-haired woman spun with a small cry and raised a beaten [Healer’s Staff] defensively, as if fearing an immediate blow. The man did the same, but he spun and dropped to one knee with his shield raised behind his caster, not in front of her. Zack wasn’t all that impressed.

Glenn would have barreled to the front to protect his Party with his sword ready to swing, but not everyone in the world could be Glenn Redwood. And apparently, not everyone in this mine could navigate it as well as Zack Silverstone. Both Adventurers stood lit by the light from the man’s [Smokeless Torch]. The man tossed it to the ground as he drew his [Iron Mace].

Zack spread his hands and fixed them both with his most cheerful smile. “Lost?”