"Ugh," he groaned as the heat and humidity slammed into him.

A moment later, Rocko appeared next to him, concerned about his face, "You okay?"

"Ya just ran into some ambush predator. Not sure why, but I detected something off. It jumped out at me when I started going another direction, and I launched all my PSI Bolts at it."

"Did you kill it?"

"Didn't even slow it down. I figured I would come back here to recharge, go back to the village, then proceed from there. I am damn glad that Astral Anchor is instantaneous, or I'd be ripped in half. Figured I want to bypass that area."

Rocko nodded, "Okay, but I don't recommend meditating here. Just rest. It will take longer but safer."

"Even with Shadow Meld?" James asked.

"If you are wrong and something attacks you, you will be dead before you come out of meditation. Just have something to eat and relax." Rocko raised an eyebrow, "You may also want to check your notifications. You picked up several more Skills. But only take the last two. And congratulations."

James sat back down and took a sip of water. To regenerate his PSI faster, he dropped all three of his enhancements; Augment Ability I, Alter Self II and Mental Shield - Iron I. Opening up his notifications, he was pleased to see he had the choice of four new Skills.

You have the opportunity to learn a new Skill.

Do you wish to learn the Skill - Detect Hidden?

YES NO

James realized that the Skill was from when he spotted the panther in the trees.

You have the opportunity to learn a new Skill.

Do you wish to learn the Skill - Detect Ambush?

YES NO

This Skill was earned when he spotted the ambush. Although he didn't detect the ambush itself, he did note that something was wrong with the area.

You have the opportunity to learn a new Skill.

Do you wish to learn the Skill - Ranged - Short Bow?

YES NO You have the opportunity to learn a new Skill.

Do you wish to learn the Skill - Perception

YES NO

James mentioned the Skills to Rocko to get his input.

"Ignore the first two, but you must take Perception," Rocko insisted.

"Perception?" James asked.

"Yes, very nice. It is the combination of several Skills. It is a combination of Detection Skills, like Detect Trap, Detect Ambush, and Detect Hidden. It works the same way as Evasion and Negotiation. This saves you from having to buy up your Intelligence so high. Combining four or more related Skills into one Master Skill."

"Why didn't I just buy these at Avatar Creation. It seems like they would have been worth the points." James asked.

"Two reasons," Rocko started, "First is that they cost more than regular Skills. Evasion cost 20 points instead of 10. Second is that not all Master Skills were available."

"That makes sense. Were there any others I might want to keep in mind for the future?"

"Espionage and Mastermind are the two I would like to pick up. But only time will tell." Rocko lamented.

"You don't sound as confident as you did yesterday. What happened?" James asked.

"You were supposed to be at the city by noontime. You won't make it. The guild master will be displeased and may impose a penalty. They can be cantankerous that way."

"We will blow up that bridge when we get to it. Let me sort out these Skills, and then I will relax for a bit before heading out."

James declined the first two Skills and then said YES to the other two. His total number of Skills was now twelve.

Checking the last of his notifications, he looked at the Attribute and Skill gains.

Intelligence +2

Willpower +1

Astral Navigation +2

Although James didn't want to meditate, he did nap for a bit until his PSI was back up to full. He then added Augment Ability I to increase his Intelligence by 5 and waited until he was almost full ten minutes later. Putting back on Mental Shield - Iron I back up, he waved goodbye to the panther and Rocko before stepping into Astral Space.

&&&&& ASTRAL SPACE &&&&&

The familiar chill gave him a shiver again. "Going to catch a cold if I am not careful," James mused before focusing on the village he was in that morning. The familiar pull appeared right away, and James leaned into it. It didn't take too long before his PSI was full again, so he activated Alter Self II without even slowing down. Careful of ambushes, he kept moving as fast as he could and after a long time, he sensed he was there. This time he focused on the city of Ash Rumbo and picked up the pull again. It was in a different direction than he expected, but since Astral Space was confusing enough as it was, he decided to rely on his instincts.

James wasn't sure how much time passed as he traveled through Astral Space. But he kept moving as fast as he could in order to get to Ash Rumbo as quickly as he could. At some point in his journey, he felt something odd happen. Deciding to slow down and inspect his surroundings more carefully, he noticed a structure in the distance. It was not a building, but something akin to a tower or spire. Perhaps a pillar of some kind.

Changing the focus of his destination, James concentrated on the pillar and began moving towards it. He could have travelled much faster, but he was trying to avoid being eaten. Once he arrived at the pillar, he saw that it stone pillar of about seven meters and with a base of one meter by one meter. While moving around the pillar and found several metal plates. The plates were on different sides and had different script on them. Three plates appeared to be the same language, while the other four appeared to be another language. With no way to record the scripts, James shrugged and refocused on Ash Rumbo. The focus came quickly this time and James launched himself at full speed to his destination.

The total trip was long. After a few hours of leaving the strange stone structure, James started to get a headache. He figured it was from eye strain as he was trying to keep his Perception Skill active as much as possible. He didn't want to stop because Rocko had mentioned something about a guild master being an ass. By the time he arrived in the city, he had a full-blown migraine. It took James a few moments to realize that the city was protected and that he couldn't approach a large space. Moving about seven paces back, he stepped back into real space and went into stealth.

&&&&& REAL SPACE &&&&&