Sink or Swim

A light flash of red appearing in the corner of my eye shows that my HP bar has dropped a bit. The lost portion looks as if someone sliced it and the shavings were falling before disappearing completely. Not sure how many more of those I could take, another five or six? Wasn't even that hard of a hit.

I quickly pulled my dagger from my belt, holding it with a reverse grip and falling into a defensive stance. The one who snuck up on me was the first to lunge. Knowing how fast on Earth a hare could be I found it a little odd that I was able to track its movement. But the exhilarating adrenaline rush was pumping through my veins and my natural instincts took over. Years of fighting on the front lines pounded down into my bones.

My eyes sought out its weak point as muscle memory guided me and I bought the dagger down in an overhead slam to the base of its neck. The blade slid with ease into its flesh and due to the enormous amount of downward force had effectively pinned it between my hand and the ground.

*~~*

[Critical Hit!]

*~~*

A quick twist of the blade while wrenching it out back towards me had put it down for good.

*~~*

[Jackalope Killed: 20 EXP Gained + 10 Bonus EXP]

*~~*

I was distracted momentarily by the popup and the next one was already mid-air by the time my eyes landed on it. I brought my free hand up to protect me and it latched onto my forearm with its teeth. I didn't bother to toss it off and just went straight for three quick stabs to its body before it went slack and fell off.

*~~*

[Jackalope Killed: 20 EXP Gained + 10 Bonus EXP]

*~~*

[Knife Level Increased!]

*~~*

My HP bar was around the halfway mark at this point as I scanned the area. I could see dozens of Jackalopes in the vicinity but none of those seemed to be rushing me. There were no more of them around my immediate area though.

All kinds of blinking was going on and those damn popups distracted me in the middle of battle. That shit needs to be turned off for sure somehow.

*~~*

[Turn Non-Combat Notifications Off During Combat?]

*~~*

[Yes] [No]

*~~*

That was an easy choice.

Looks like their sense of smell must be extremely limited. I watched one hop my way and as soon as it reached around 5 meters the chittering began and I knew it was coming. It took off towards me and followed the same attack pattern as the others. Soon as it got close it made the lunge.

I don't know if it was because I was ready for it or knew what it was going to do beforehand. But it was as if time had slowed down as I watched this ball of fur projectile launch towards me. I brought one leg up into the air and pivoted on the other, turning what when from a high kick into a Brazilian.

My foot instantly connected and I could hear the crunching of the Jackalopes bones. It was punted straight into the ground, bouncing a few times off of it before laying there.

*~~*

[Critical Hit!]

*~~*

I walked up to it and just stared at this crazy ass rabbit as my adrenaline started to wear off. The thing was still alive, best to put it out of its misery. I threw my knife down and it impaled its head, quickly ending it.

I looked around once more and there were no Jackalopes in a 15-meter radius now. Taking a deep breath my body kind of slumped down, what a rush! I glanced down at my arm to see how bad the damage was but there was nothing but blood stains there.

No wounds, no nothing.

I know I got bit, maybe it's System coming into play is the only thing I can think of. My HP shows a flat 40 so I lost nearly half during that little scuffle.

*~~*

[View Combat Log?]

[Yes] [No]

*~~*

Tapping the yes button brought up one screen after the other that just kept overlapping itself.

*~~*

[Combat Log]

*~~*

[Skill: "Unarmed Combat" Obtained!]

*~~*

[Learn] [Dismiss]

*~~*

[Skill: "Throwing" Obtained!]

*~~*

[Learn] [Dismiss]

*~~*

[Jackalope Killed: 20 EXP Gained + 10 Bonus EXP]

*~~*

I tapped yes on both because you never know when you'll be disarmed and I didn't have anything in the ranged department yet. I'm curious as to how the Skill system works exactly though. I mean I've been trained in Unarmed Combat before and even that kick I just threw seemed more powerful than before Te'luna.

Yet when I look at my Skill List it shows Unarmed Combat as Novice. Let's check out the help file for it.

*~~*

[Help Skills]

*~~*

(Skills are an accent to a persons foundation that can be gained from doing, learning from another or even obtained via Skill Books. An example would be that anyone can punch, you could even be really good at it! But someone with the Unarmed Combat Skill can surpass those natural limits. Everyone starts out at a Novice because you are not learning how to do something you are learning how to break the limits. The exception to this rule is for Crafting Skills which can be used in Manual Mode or Automatic Mode)

*~~*

That… made quite a bit of sense really. It would be quite odd for a Master Chef from Earth suddenly not knowing how to cook anything because he was a Novice. I click on the [Throwing] Skill I just obtained to take a closer look.

*~~*

[Throwing] Novice 1/10

(Improves Accuracy by 1%)

*~~*

Hmm, I gained a level of Knife too.

*~~*

[Knives] Novice 2/10

(Improves Damage by 2%)

*~~*

Alright so looks like a small 1% increase per each level gained. Seems a bit small but then again there are five Ranks which can equal out to about a 50% increase when maxed. And that can be huge later on I bet.

I swipe everything away and look at the three corpses of these bunnies from hell. They didn't disappear and I didn't gain any loot like in normal games. Guess you shouldn't expect animals to be running around with coins, weapons and armors though.

I do need to get that meat though for Thomas. I walk up to one of the corpses and bend down to grab it so I can begin a field dressing.

*~~*

[Use Hunting Skill?]

[Yes] [No]

*~~*

I press yes and the corpse starts to glow blue before another screen pops up.

*~~*

[Use Alchemy Skill?]

[Yes] [No]

*~~*

Not quite sure what that was all about but I tap the yes button once more. The corpse flashes for a second before what was once a corpse is now a piece of gutted and trimmed meat, a skinned Jackalope hide and the two horns laying on the ground. [Observe]

*~~*

[Jackalope Meat]

Grade: C

(A trimmed up piece of Jackalope Meat, great in stews)

*~~*

[Jackalope Hide]

Grade: D+

(Soft bit of skinned Jackalope fur)

*~~*

[Jackalope Horn]

Grade: C-

(Horn from a Jackalope, can be used in Alchemy)

*~~*

Well, that is convenient, must be what the help file said about automatic mode. System will Harvest things for you. I store everything in my inventory and move on to the other two corpses which provide the same items though I only got a single horn from the others. The Grade I'm guessing is the quality which also didn't change much from the first.

After I was done with all the harvesting I had gained both a level in [Alchemy] and [Hunting]. I also noticed that my HP hadn't recovered at all, still at 40. Doesn't look like there is any kind of natural regeneration or if there is it's extremely slow.

If I can't figure out a way to restore my health then there is no way I'll be able to finish this quest right now. I could probably time my attacks and dodge but if I get swarmed again there is no way I'll survive.

I walk away from the Jackalope infested area towards the pond and find a nice spot to sit down. Might have to head back towards that old elf and see what he knows about recovering your health. My stomach grumbles a bit and the hunger indicator starts to flash, suppose I could get a bite to eat first.

I get up and gather some of the dried leaves in the area, few sticks, a piece of flat dried wood and some of the cattails. Doesn't take long to start a friction fire and with a few larger pieces of wood tossed in, I had a nice blaze going in no time.

[Small Campsite Built: Regen Zone Activated]

That solves one problem then, creating a home base of sorts must provide benefits. I watch my HP slowly rise at about 3 per minute. Opening up my inventory I pull out a piece of that Jackalope meat and slide it right on the end of one of those sticks I collected.

No salt or spices which is a shame because the meat smells delicious leaning over the fire on its own. Once it's done I pull out my dagger and cut a small piece off before taking a bite. It's a bit gamey but really isn't that bad for plain meat. I quickly finish off the rest and let out a small burp of satisfaction.

[Cooked Jackalope Meat Consumed: +5% Dex for 30 minutes]

I check my Stats page and sure enough, I've got a +2 to Dex. With renewed vigor, I stand up and get ready to put my fire out before I pause. If I just put some rocks around it I can keep coming back and just add more wood to the coals when I need to rest again between fights. I gather up enough to form a makeshift pit and then head back towards those Jackalopes.

It takes me the better part of an hour and a half to kill enough to finish the quest. Not all of the corpses provided meat, hides or even horns but I had made a nice haul. Used a few of the Meats up and half the water in my Canteen was now gone but I leveled [Cooking] to 3.

*~~*

[Combat Log]

*~~*

~Skills: +2 Dodge, +3 Knives, +1 Observe, +1 Throwing, +2 Unarmed Combat, +3 Alchemy, +4 Hunting

~Loot: x15 Jackalope Meat, x11 Jackalope Hides, x13 Jackalope Horns

~Exp: 510

[Level Up!]

+52 HP/Stamina

+1 Stat Point

~Fully Restored!

Like I said, not a bad haul at all. After storing everything and clearing away all the notifications I decided to pack it up and head on to the Outpost. This was a great spot to train and if I still have a bit of time left in the day after the Outpost I'll be coming back here. Camp out for the night before heading back to town the next day.

I never got a quest complete notification or anything though, but I know I killed 20 of them all together. I pull up the Quest list and sitting at the bottom is a complete button. Seems like you have to manually press it to finish. I'm tempted to but I really am curious what that bonus is.

Well, it's not like I'm in desperate need to finish it. Can hold off and see if I can figure out what this bonus this is all about. Doesn't seem to be anything in the help files either when thinking about help bonus.

Should probably put that fire out before I return and everything is burnt to the ground. As I made the normal route back to the campsite I could hear some odd noises the closer I got. Something doesn't feel right.

Crouching down I start to sneak through the last bit of the wheat before the pond is visible. Good thing I did too because standing around my little fire are two large frog looking creatures. One held a wooden spear and the other a set of bow and arrows. [Observe]

*~~*

[Frogman Warrior]

Level: 5

HP: 240

*Frogmen are a humanoid species who live in wet marshy areas. They form tribes with a Shaman as their leader. Amazing swimmers and use their powerful legs for jump attacks. Very Territorial.

*~~*

[Frogman Hunter]

Level: 5

HP: 90

*Frogmen are a humanoid species who live in wet marshy areas. They form tribes with a Shaman as their leader. Amazing swimmers and use their powerful legs for jump attacks. Very Territorial.

*~~*

Good thing I didn't just walk right on up, thank you [Perception]!

*~~*

[Sneak/Hide Level Increased!]

*~~*

[Observe Level Increased!]

*~~*

Not now System, I wonder if I should just wait it out or leave before I get spotted. That lingering unsettling feeling is still crawling up my back and I decide on just taking off. If the place burns down I'll deny or blame it on the Frogs. I slowly start to back away, returning further into the fields.

I continue on eastwards till I hit another road, pulling up my map it looks like this is the one that heads straight to the Pond. Which is not where I want to go back to right now. I can follow this back south and it'll put me at Harris Crossing. Then I can just keep going along the south road till I hit the River then Outpost.

I can't remember when the last time I had this much excitement in my life was. But I'm loving it.

*~~*

Name: Reginald

Race: Wyldling

Level: 2

Class: Adventurer

Title: The First

Wealth: 0

Health: 127

Stamina: 102

Mana: N/A

Exp TNL: 900

Points Available: 1

Strength: 26

Dexterity: 41

Constitution: 26

Magic: N/A

Wisdom: 36

Fame: 375

Traits:

[Perception]

[Pinpoint]

[Ecologist]

[Racial: Mask of the Wyld]

[Empty]

[Empty]

*~~*

Main Skills:

[Cartography] Novice 1/10

[Dodge] Novice 3/10

[Knives] Novice 5/10

[Light Armor] Novice 1/10

[Lockpicking] Novice 1/10

[Observe] Novice 3/10

[Sneak/Hide] Novice 2/10

[Tracking] Novice 1/10

[Throwing] Novice 2/10

[Unarmed Combat] Novice 3/10

*~~*

Crafting Skills:

[Alchemy] Novice 5/10

[Cooking] Novice 3/10

[Herbalism] Novice 1/10

[Hunting] Novice 6/10

[Empty] N/A 0/10

*~~*

[Inventory: Carry Weight 61/175]

*~~*

Rations x2

Small Tent

Canteen

Supply Box

Jackalope Meat x12

Jackalope Hides x11

Jackalope Horns x13

*~~*