Chapter 9 - Forest Training

So there I was, stranded, famished, frustrated and “trainingless” because of a certain SOMEONE.

“Calm down Foris, that'll just get you nowhere.” I was heading in an eastern direction, hoping to find a road or something like it. The sun was beginning to set behind my back so I knew that I didn't have much time to find it. The knife in my hand was kept far away from my body, after all, with all this trekking I was doing, I'd rather not trip and fall on my knife. That'd be a rather pathetic way to die.

I looked at my satiety bar and noticed that it was down to 6%. Any lower and I'd receive a movement penalty, 5% AGI down, which was something I really couldn't afford right now. So I decided to stop my marking and focus on finding food first. Sadly, Grandpa hadn't taught me anything about hunting, he only told me about the environment and orienteering. With hope in my heart, I started looking for tracks.

It didn't take long for that hope to be dissipated. Thirty minutes later, 5% Satiety remaining, movement penalty accrued. I could feel my face twitch as if a madding sense of isolation wasn’t enough, but the question of ‘What part of this is training’ never stopped repeating in my head.

“Good God! Aren't there little bunnies or SOMETHING out in this forest?!”

I was sitting down just thinking about the 6 hour offline death penalty. In this game, time is accelerated 4x, meaning a full day in game goes by in 6 hours of real world time. So the death penalty would meant I couldn't play for a full Aeon day.

While thinking about that depressing subject, the bushes near me rustled. A little bunny popped out, looked at me quickly, and fled. Stunned at that fortune, I just sat on the stump for a couple seconds before it registered. “Fooooooooooood!”

The little bunny agily passed obstacles using its legs to it’s full capacity while I stumbled on every little gap, hole, and annoyance just to chase it. I was barely able to keep the guy in my field of vision much less actually catch it.

Coincidentally, the bunny led me to the bunny colony apparently. Maybe it thought it would be safer in numbers? I really don't know bunny mentality. Seeing all this food before me, I really wanted to rush in there and begin a slaughter, but I knew that I'd never be able to catch any of them. So I sat back and thought on how to deal with them.

I looked around at what I could possibly use to help. It was then that I noticed a small plant that looked like something Grandpa mentioned to me once saying that it had very strong fibers. I dug it up and tested the leaves. Sure enough, the leaves were very tear-resistant. I thought of all the traps I could use, most of them basic, but I knew about them at least. I was hoping that Teacher would actually teach me more traps, but no, he just drops me in the middle of nowhere.

I started creating a snare that I could drop from a tree top and catch a bunny around its neck or ears. I made one and tried to test it out on a broken tree branch. It managed to lasso perfectly. Proud of myself, I waited for an opportune moment to take out one of the bunnies. This way, the AGI penalty didn't have to affect me too much and I could get a way to eat. With satiety at 5%, I waited.

I was so focused I didn't even hear the alert message feature go off. I was only looking at staying as quiet and still as possible. Eventually, a bunny strayed too far from the group. I threw out the plant snare and got it around the bunny’s neck. I tied off the snare, climbed down and picked up the knife I left on the ground.

Holding the knife to its neck, with a clean stab the bunny leaves the world, literally vanishing. In its spot, items appeared to replace the bunny.

I had actually forgotten that I was in a game for a couple minutes there. I looked through the loot and saw 2 bronze coins, a rabbit pelt, and rabbit meat.

I rejoiced as I left the colony, making sure I remembered where it was if I ever got stranded again. I made a fire using a rock and my knife. Thankfully, Grandpa actually did teach me how to effectively build up a fire. While the rabbit meat was cooking, I finally noticed the notification I missed and opened it.

Ability Unlocked: Stealth

You managed to keep still, hidden, and quiet for over ten minutes. Stealth allows a person to blend into their background, becoming undetectable. WARNING: others may still sense you through other skills.

Lvl: 1 (23%)

“Awesome! I hadn't even been trying to get that skill. I'll certainly take it though.” After a while, the rabbit was ready and my satiety rose from 5% to 63%. It wasn't full, but that was enough for me to continue moving.

Thankfully, the last vestiges of sunlight were still visible, so I could still tell where west was, so I turned again and headed east once more. It was dark but I was able to traverse due to the lack of rush. If one were to see me at this time, they'd probably say that all they saw were a pair of glittering emerald green eyes making their way through the brush.

“When I find you Teacher, I'm going to fucking kill you.” I swore. I knew that I probably couldn't even get a scratch on Teacher Hen, but the thought definitely helped.

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Hours later, I saw a road. I stumbled out of the brush, covered in twigs, leaves, and soot from my fire. Thankful to have finally found a semblance of humanity, I fell to my knees. So overwhelmed with happiness, I didn't see the dirt cloud making its way towards me. When I started feeling the rumbling of something approaching, I looked up. The Town Chief’s face filled my vision, making me nearly shit my pants. He harrumphed, lifted me up by my shirt collar, and drug me back to town.

I was slightly thankful he brought me back to town, but the pitiful stares from the other Wanderers were beginning to hurt. The Chief brought me into his home and sat me down. Needless to say, I was lectured. For 3 hours actually. All while sitting on my knees. I cried silently as the lecture only droned on.

END