It was a beautiful day. The sun was shining overhead, its warmth laying gently over the land like a warm embrace from an old friend or family member. There were clouds in the sky, but they were few and far in between, small puffs that looked to have been painted in place by a master artist. The air was cool and crisp, but not cold, and with the warmth of the sun in full force the day could be described as comfortable at worst, and perfect at best.

Saul was walking down the road with his faithful companion Basi at his side, a spring in his step despite the muscle soreness he felt after his training sessions with Bardal. He felt like he was making solid progress in his understanding of what it was to be a ranger. When he’d first started out, he’d chosen to use swords, partially because it was the first thing that dropped, but mostly because he’d watched a lot of Lord of the Rings as a kid.

‘Nobody thinks about the Hero using a spear. They always have a sword. Swords this, swords that, swords are so great, blah blah. I’ll keep my sword just in case, but from now on, this hero uses a spear! After my training, I’m probably better with the spear than I ever was with a sword, anyways…’

He looked up the road a ways, then back behind him. Then he looked out towards the plain that stretched to the right of him, and up the steep hill to his left. It looked clear enough. “Basi, keep an eye out for me.” With a thought, he pulled up that familiar window. ‘Status’

Name: Solomon Andrews

HP: 160

Class: Ranger

Level: 8

Talents:

Cultivate

Befriend Animal

Cultivation Level: Basic

Abilities:

Attack

Shoot

Track

Strength:

32

Intelligence:

33

Dexterity:

38

Willpower:

22

Endurance:

22

Experience:

8,900

As he looked over his stats, he considered his class - Ranger. From his fantasy knowledge, Rangers were meant to be the tip of the spear in the wilderness. It was their job to protect those people who lived in villages and towns on the edge of society. What that meant was that he would need to be strong enough to survive in melee combat, agile enough to move quietly through the brush and undergrowth, and intelligent enough to master the ways of survival on the edge of society.

‘It seems like I should have some sort of stealth skill unlocked by now. I’ve been able to sneak up on enemies a few times, but maybe that’s just related to the high dexterity stat? When I get to the next level, I need to spend some time tinkering with everything and figuring out what does what, exactly.’

On page II, he read the following:

Talent Type:

Talent Level:

Talent Description:

Cultivation

Basic, Lvl I

You have broken through the barrier and unlocked your second dantian. Energy infusion is more effective, and your senses grow stronger

Befriend Animal

Foundation, Lvl II

Your connection to your animal companion confers you both greater strength and attributes.

Archery

Basic, Lvl II

Your growing mastery with a bow allows you to do greater damage.

Single wielding

Foundation, Lvl II

You are able to use a single weapon in combat without hurting yourself

Dual wielding

Foundation, Lvl V

Your hands are able to move independently of one another to some effect, ensuring your attacks are likely to land.

Dodge

Foundation, Lvl II

You have demonstrated some ability to slip attacks and leave your opponents hitting only air.

Two Handed Weapons

Foundation, Lvl IV

Through repeated practice with two handed weapons, you have a greater sense of how to use them

Way of the Spear

Foundation, Lvl V

By training under a master, you’ve increased your understanding of the spear. Your attacks deal more damage and have a greater chance to land.

‘Those abilities are new. Can’t say I’m surprised. I wonder if I have to train with more masters in order to improve Way of the Spear? Bardal mentioned something about establishing a connection with the weapon using my Qi... I’ll have to remember to do that while I meditate at night.’

As he thought through the process, he considered, ‘Wait… That’s a pretty similar process to cultivating. I wonder if I can do both at once? I’m sure I’m not the first person to try it, but I’ll keep it in mind. Just because I don’t know if it can be done doesn’t mean it isn’t possible.’

That was enough to think about at one time. He thought about his companions in the mine and considered his abilities. He had a skill he hadn’t tried yet - Track. How would that work, exactly? If it was anything like the menus, he would be able to use the skill by thinking about it.

He slowed his pace for just a few moments, then came to a stop and said, “Basi, let’s take a quick break.” He closed his eyes and thought, ‘Track’, visualizing Basi in his mind’s eye. Nothing seemed different. He didn’t feel the lizard’s presence any more powerfully than he had before. He opened his eyes and looked down at the beast. No visual changes either. Maybe it was because Basi was too close?

He gave it another shot, this time picturing Liza in his head, her rugged and battleworn features visible in his mind’s eye. There was no change there, either. Opening his eyes confirmed it. ‘Maybe I need to say what I’m trying to track? Track Lizards.’ Nothing changed. ‘Maybe saying it out loud is key?’ He kept his eyes closed and said, “Track Lizards!”

Awareness exploded behind his eyelids. He could feel Basi through their bond, but he could also feel him through another medium, different in some way. He assumed that was the track skill. Additionally, he could feel the presence of several other lizards in a 360 degree radius around him. Especially up on the mountains. Concentrating on one of those lizards gave him an impression of it. Its size wasn’t significant - Certainly nothing like Basi - but on Earth it would probably be considered large, close to a half meter long if he wasn’t mistaken. It didn’t seem to weigh much though, certainly nothing like Basi did.

He focused on another one of the lizards and found that it was a fairly similar experience, right down to his sense of the beast. He opened his eyes and saw a small arrow that pointed in the general direction of the lizard he was focused upon. He could still feel the faint hints of the other lizards, but they were muted, as if the skill didn’t provide such a strong sensation if he had his eyes open. ‘That’s good… I don’t think I’ll have to worry about being overwhelmed by information. It’s a lot to process. Now I need to know… How far does this extend?’

He had a good idea of how to test that. He focused on his bow and arrow, the items appearing on his back as they were summoned. ‘First I need to make sure…’ “Track arrow!” ‘That seemed to work. He had a strong impression coming from his quiver. He reached over his shoulder and grabbed the bow, then an arrow. He focused on his Qi, willing it into his arms and into the bowstring. His goal was to fire the arrow as far as he possibly could.

‘I wasn’t exactly a physicist or anything back home, but I know that the further back I can pull this string without breaking it, the more power I’ll transfer into the arrow. Let’s see… As far as distance goes… I need to fire it high enough that it doesn’t hit the ground right away. Hm… It’s projectile motion. I’m shooting off into the prairie, which is a little lower than I am right now, so… Less than 45 degrees from the ground.’

Adjusting the angle of the bow, he held it roughly 40 degrees up from the ground. He drew in a deep breath and continued forcing his power into the bow. Pulling back on the string, he pulled as far as he possibly could and then released. The arrow soared off into the distance with greater acceleration than he’d ever seen before. He kept watch on the physical arrow, but also the arrow indicating his tracked item. Even as the physical arrow left his sight, the tracking arrow remained. That was really impressive! With this, he could find his friends!

“Track Liza!” He said enthusiastically, picturing the woman in his mind. Nothing happened. ‘Hm… Let’s see… How about..’ “Track Edwin!” He pictured the bearded man in mind, his dark features and dark hair covered by the red cowl on his cloak. ‘Nothing happened. I wonder if they have to be a certain distance away from me before I can start tracking them? It seems like once I initiate the tracking skill, I can track something over a considerable distance.’ The skill wasn’t as great as it had seemed, but still very useful. It made sense why a class that sometimes emphasized stealth and wilderness living would need something like Track.

“Alright, Basi, let’s go.” He returned his bow to his back, leaving it out in case he ran into trouble on the road, and the two of them set off at a quick pace. He needn’t have worried about running into trouble. There was a reason that he hadn’t run into a monster in this part of the Mountains yet - This close to the dwarf village was an artificial safe zone. The dwarves sent out regular patrols from the town to the mine, often enough to ensure the area was practically free of monsters.

That’s not to say he didn’t pass other humans from time to time. Most of them were poorly equipped and looked to be coming straight from the prairie. He nodded to most of them, but as he came close to them he adopted an annoyed expression as he moved along quickly enough to avoid any conversations.

He smiled to himself as someone took a look at his face and hurried past, ‘Just like Costanza said, when you look annoyed all the time people think you’re busy’ He was a friendly enough sort, but he was ready to get on to the next level, especially as more and more humans began to catch up to him on Level II.

Before long, he found himself at the crossroads, and this time he went left towards the mountain pass. The path climbed sharply for the first twenty minutes of walking, leveling off eventually. It was a beautiful view. From where he was, looking up the mountains he could see alpine environments, beautiful tall evergreens dotting the gentler slopes and providing a great contrast to the white snow that capped most of them.

In the valley below, he saw a wide river that wound through the canyon, carving it deeper and deeper as time marched on. He could see caves dotting the sides of some of the mountains. On the side of one mountain, he could see several Rams congregated together on a grassy field. He didn’t spend too much time enjoying the sights as he walked along the trail at the fastest pace he could sustain given the terrain. At one point, the trail descended to the valley floor, the area much more open than the rest of the trail had been.

He was walking close to the river at this point. The water was clear and crisp, and it seemed like it would be oh-so-refreshing. ‘Maybe I should stop for a drink.’ He moved over to the river, Basi close beside him, and the two of them leaned down to get a sip of water from the river. The water was as cool as he could have hoped for.

It was at this point that he found his first monster in the Pass. The surface of the river seemed to explode as an amphibious beast jumped forth, hunched over and somewhat humanoid in shape. It had a javelin in it's hands, and much like an Olympian, it launched the projectile quickly and with great power. Saul barely had time to register the creature’s presence, jumping to the side as quickly as he could. He didn't move quickly enough as the weapon imbedded itself in his shoulder.

If he hadn’t moved the javlin would have taken him through the neck. He pulled his own bow from his back wincing at the pain as it lodged itself further into his shoulder. He gripped the shaft of the javelin and yanked it free from his shoulder. Pain flared in his wound as he threw the blood-stained weapon to the side. He pulled an arrow from his quiver and placed it on his bowstring, drawing back with a deep breath. He let it fly watching it hit the beast in its chest. The monster’s health bar appeared overhead and dropping by a fifth. ‘Murloc Hunter, Level 6’.

‘A murloc? It’s like this whole place was created by Gary Gygax…’ He grit his teeth and grabbed an arrow from his quiver accutely aware of his own health bar in the bottom right of his vision. It showed he’d lost about a third of his health. He couldn’t afford another hit from the murloc’s javelin. He didn’t want Basi going after it in the water. 'I don't even know if he can swim. A battle in water would be bad news for the both of us. I need to keep away from the water in case there are more nearby.'

Focusing on his Qi quickly, he overloaded the arrow and drew it back, along with a deep breath. Aiming at the beast’s head, he let the arrow fly. It was a direct hit, and it seemed to have caught a weak spot as the monster’s health dropped by two thirds, moving to critically low territory. The murloc didn’t seem phased by that as it reached behind its back and grabbed another javelin. It flung it at him with great speed and charged behind it at him with a fierce, “MMRMGMLLL”

Saul was able to slip the javelin but the murloc was on him quickly. He used his bow to try and fend the beast off. He knocked the spear that had suddenly appeared in its hands aside. “Basi, a little help!” His lizard rushed forward and swiped at the murloc with his claws landing a hit that almost killed the monster. Saul saw that it had only a sliver of health left andlashed out with his bow, clubbing the murloc. He watched with satisfaction as its health ticked to 0 and it fell to the ground before him.

‘That wasn’t so bad.’ He thought. Then he heard it. “MMMHRL!” “MGRRGRGL!” ‘MMMMMGLRLRLR!” More murlocs. ‘Of course there isn’t just once… There never is.’ He sighed, reaching behind him to grab another arrow and aiming at the oncoming group of Murlocs, four strong. It didn’t look like any of them had ranged weapons.

He was beginning to see why people considered the pass dangerous.