“Whoa! Where am I? And how did I get here?” are not the phrases the average adventurer hopes go through their mind upon waking up. The fact the mind those words were racing through was slightly dazed and felt like it was about to beat itself out of Jacob’s skull only made matters worse. Add in that he woke up naked in a bush and he was afraid for a moment he had spent another evening at Obsidiack's pub. But no, the poor dwarf had lost his bar in the events that drastically reduced the drinking limits of anyone capable of casting flaming or exploding spells. Besides, hadn’t he fallen asleep in the campgrounds? Then how had he gotten here? And why didn’t his clothes come along for the ride? Somehow, all that did was a skin-tight band about as wide as his palm that keeps a sheathed dagger secured to his right leg about 2inches above his ankle. It was there in case of emergency, but that didn’t change the fact that it was bizarre. He’ll have to worry about that latter though

Ok, deep breaths… how do I get back to the campsite? … Oh! The river is the best source of fresh water for miles, so get out of the bush and …

Activating Skills:

Direction Detection

Hunter’s Tracking – Path Detection

It was as if an additional filter had been put over his eyes revealing every broken twig and footstep indicating where rabbits, deer, squirrel and other small game traveled recently, but his eyesight hadn’t changed at all. The skill merely enabled him to detect all the various signs for the next 60 seconds. He could target a particular type of track to increase the duration, or even pick a single prey to track who he could pursue even longer, but that would start costing MP, and all he needed in this case was the general path most of the game was traveling. This should point him towards the river, at which point Direction Detection would tell him which direction the river was flowing which should let him get back to the campgrounds. While he was at it, he started wondering how long he had to get back before the caravan left.

Activating Skill: Solar Clock

As the name implies, this general skill lets the user use the sun and horizon to determine the time of day. Unfortunately, the result indicated the caravan left nearly 2 hours ago. There was no way they were still waiting for one escorting adventurer. Might as well check in though when I get back to town.

On his way to the river, Jacob’s mind couldn’t help but wander back to how he got in the bushes. All he could remember were flashes of what could only have been his dream, and a weird one at that.

Overwhelming fear combined with the sensation of being smothered…

Racing around close to the ground trying to find shelter from potential invisible attacks from hidden enemies…

Tons of auditory and sensual input that was so different it could only have come from his imagination…

And all under the light of the moon. None of the flashes made any sense and joined together it was even more confusing.

“Are you sure it was this way?”

“I told you before. According to the map, this path leads to the main road to the south entrance.”

“And you think we’ll find signs of the caravan over here?”

“… it’s possible. It’s the best plan I have to make up for your blunder Jeff, which let them leave without us knowing in the first place. “I heard they were leaving at noon from the west gate” …idiot! You won’t see tomorrow morning if we don’t fix your mess”

“Are you saying I shouldn’t have reported the change of plan? You keep saying report everything Tom!”

“I’m saying you should have verified it first before telling the boss!”

This was a problem Jacob never anticipated. Not only were two people getting nearer to him and potentially about to see his lack of armor (or any other covering for that matter), but from the sounds of it they were trying to hunt down and destroy the convoy, clearly labeling them as bandit’s. The question of how to avoid being discovered by them was much more important than the one of why the sudden voices made him leap unexpectedly into and best he could under the nearest bush. Still, he was quite sure he was going to be discovered. But, if hiding was out of the question, and chances of escaping 2 criminals was unlikely, better to launch his own ambush than get caught in theirs. With that in mind, Jacob quietly armed himself with the dagger, and moved towards the voices until he could see them.

The two men were still arguing back and forth as they came into sight. As the two bandits continued to blame each other for some apparent debacle, Jacob crept closer to the path a little way ahead of them, unsheathing the dagger as he went.

“I know what I heard! How much more verified does basic info have to”

Applying Sneak Bonus +25%

Applying Critical Hit Bonus +400%

Total Bonus +450%

Total Damage 110

…if the thug had known these were going to be his last words, he probably would have started a different sentence. If he had known it was coming though, the dagger whose hilt now protruded from his throat would not have succeeded. Tom had a little longer as the now unarmed Jacob came charging out of the bush after the dagger. With a “shwing” and a “squelch” a sword and blood-soaked dagger were both freed from their previous “sheathes” before coming together with a clang. Jacob knew that his only advantages were the minuscule difference between the combat bonus between their training classes and the surprise, which pales in comparison to his better blade and armor. Therefore, Jacob had no choice but to ignore the irregularities in the most recent message and focus on out maneuvering. After a few moments of dagger and sword collisions, neither side had made much progress. Every time the sword swung the dagger was there in a flash to intercept, but with the sword’s longer blade the dagger couldn’t do more than a light scratch before being knocked aside. Jacob could tell his opponent was tiring faster than him however, so he made a possibly desperate ploy. During the next few exchanges with the blades he inched slower, not really looking to make any damage, waiting for just the right moment. Feeling himself getting tired, Tom made one last attempt to overpower his small bladed opponent with one grand swing using all the remaining strength he had. This was just what Jacob was waiting for. Rather than deflecting the sword, with the edge of his dagger, he smacked the edge with the flat of the blade. Using the blade of the sword as a runway, Jacob quickly slid the dagger along the sword, and along the hilt. With a howl and a clang Tom dropped the sword and pressed his hands together trying to use his remaining fingers to stem the blood flow from his 4 shortened digits. Knowing his opponent would have no more mercy, Jacob grabbed the sword from the ground and used it to behead its former wielder.

Applying Critical Hit Bonus +200%

Total Damage 85

It felt like he woke from a dream when Jacob came back to himself and realized what he had done. He was a [Tracker], soon to be a [Hunter] hopefully, and yet before him lay the still bleeding remains of the first and only 2 humanoid kills he had ever made. He knew if they had gotten the opportunity, the two men before him wouldn’t have hesitated to kill him, and yet the necessity of it made the act no easier. But the deed was done, and his training told him he needed to get as much use out of the corp…off of his kill as possible. Luckily both men seemed to be about his size, so he was able to strip them down and wield their armor with little difficulty. He also took the sword belt, adding his own dagger’s sheath to the sword at his hip. He also found a crossbow and a quiver with 10 bolts left on Jeff. So armed, Jacob pulled the remains into the bushes he had been hiding in not long ago and continued his trek back to the campground. While he walked, he distracted himself from the horror of what he had done by trying to determine the reason behind the unusually blank message from when he threw the dagger. Best and only real lead was his status screen, so that’s what he pondered over until he made it back to camp, just as the sun was starting its decline behind a waxing moon.

GENERAL INFORMATION ATTRIBUTES CLASS INFORMATION NAME: Jacob Ackermann RACE: Human SEX: Male AGE: 17 Years GUILD: HP: 110/110 (+0.05/sec) MP: 25/25 (+0.5/sec) NAME VALUE STR 40 DEX 55 AGI 90 END 30 INT 30 WIS 15 PER 25 NAME LEVEL [TRACKER] (Trainer) 10 MAX

Awaiting Qualification [THUG] (Trainer) 3 [APPRENTICE](Trainer) 1 SKILL INFORMATION CLASS GENERAL WEAPON SKILLS BASIC TRACKING 5 SNEAK ATTACK 1 DIRECTION DETECTION 3 HUNTERS TRACKING 4 SOLAR CLOCK 1(MAX) STEALTH 4 SIMPLE GENERAL MASTERY 2 RANGED GENERAL MASTERY 3 ARCHERY GENERAL MASTERY 3