A Trial

Cipherus knew that he needed to keep calm and quiet. It was around 4PM that day and he needed to focus on his surroundings and find Mr. Seth before Mr. Seth found him.

He had been taken into the forest where Mr. Seth planned to test his current skills and reasoning to see where they should start off Cipherus' training. Essentially, it was a hugr game of hide and seek where Cipherus had to hide and survive from Mr. Seth. However, if Cipherus was able to make one clean hit with his dagger on Mr. Seth, he won the game.

Cipherus winced, and heard the cracking of a branch from a bush. He tensed, preparing for Mr. Seth to jump out at him in surpise. However, he soon observed a rabbit jump on out and realized that it was just nothing.

He held his two copper daggers by his side. They were rather dull, but also great for defense and would still easily knock a person out if used correctly.

Mr. Seth had warned Cipherus that this trial could last up to three days, and for those three days, Cipherus would be on his own for food.

He wanted to make some sort of campfire and just hunt normally but that would attract attention.

Another option was to eat the various berries growing on the plants around him, however, that would also put him in risk due to poisioning.

He wasn't all that hungry at the moment so he began to shove those thoughts aside and think of a way to catch Mr. Seth off guard.

It was very hot and humid that day. Cipherus sat down under a trees leaves to escape from the sun's beating rays. Pretty soon, he believed, Mr. Seth would make his first move.

He waited, hoping that a new strategy would come to mind. It was blank. He then decided to consildate the different items he had been given before being thrown into the woods.

In his pouch was a feather and ink, some extra rags for clothes, a small trap meant for catching rabbits, and a piece of flint and a rock.

He knew that utilizing both the rabbit trap and the flint would allow him to have cooked rabbit over a fire. But once again, the smoke would basically tell Mr. Seth exactly where he was.

That's when it hit him. He thought of the perfect plan then and there due to his slight hunger and logical planning.

If the plan went perfect, this is how it would plan out:

First, he would start by setting up a rabbit trap. Catching the rabbit would be for later when his appetite gets a little out of hand.

Next, he would wait until he catches a rabbit. Until then, he would hide out in the trees watching from afar where he would be out of normal sight from Mr. Seth.

Then, after catching a rabbit, Cipherus would craft a firepit and begin to cook the rabbit over it. However, right after he would immediately hide in the surrounding area out of sight.

Mr. Seth was sure to see the smoke rising from the fire which would draw him in. As soon as Cipherus found on opening on Mr. Seth, he would jump in, get his singular hit, and win the trial.

So far, this was all talk. Cipherus needed to put the plan into action.

He first took the rabbit trap out, put some hay in the center, and began to wait. The trap was very similar to a small bear trap and would certainly get the job done quickly.

Or so he thought. It ended taking quite a while at nearly 3 and a half hours. He entertained himself by carefully envisioning his plan the entire time.

Finally, an animal did decide to take a bite. It wasn't a rabbit, however. The animal had a bill, webbed feet, and greenish feathers. A duck had mysteriously taken the bait from his rabbit trap.

"Oh well," Cipherus thought, and he got in close and carefully used some sticks to create what he believed would work as a fireplace.

He then proceeded to make a seperate frame quite a ways above the fire, and stuck the desd duck there hoping it would cook and become edible.

His stomach was growling at this point and the sun had fully set. It was time to hide and wait.

After an exaggerated 45 minutes, Mr. Seth finally had made the move that Cipherus had been waiting for. He was checking out the campfire and seemed dumbfounded that Cipherus was not there.

He had believed that Cipherus wouldn't think about his attraction to the smoke and instead would go based on his stomach. Seems not.

It was at that moment that Cipherus took chatge. He lunged as quickly as he could and Mr. Seth noticed a millisecond too late.

Cipherus managed to graze Mr. Seth's arm.

"Oh my. You got me. Maybe only slighty, but you got my arm under my shirt. Seems you win," exclaimed Mr. Seth under awe. "Let's go back to the house and I'll explain to what I learned about you."

They trudged back to Mr. Seth's house through the forest, sat down at a table, and Mr. Seth began to explain to Cipherus the results.

"There are two things that I noticed. One is that I could barely notice you even though you were so close to me. This shows that you are certainly skilled with stealth and we will work on that together," explained Mr. Seth.

"So what's the other thing?" asked Cipherus.

Mr. Seth then began to role up his shirt sleeve to the small cut Cipherus has slit earlier. Both the blood and the skin within a three inch radius of the cut was a deep purple color.

"You also seem to have used an enhancement unconsciously. Poision is also a very uncommon enhancement to be able to do without special tools, and it took such a large effect with such a small slit. The potential you have in this power... is monsterous.