Evaluation and Future Path

The sun was shining and the rhythmic feeling of Flux's heavy heartbeat was the first thing that stirred Drew awake from his peaceful slumber.

The duo had long dried by the now dead fire, though Flux was still caked in a layer of mud that made his glorious fur into a splattered canvas of a madman.

Drew stood up and felt his now rested muscles spasm as he stretched and yawned, feeling more rested than he had been since... forever.

'I quite like sleeping outside...' Drew thought as he looked at the surrounding trees and relatively open sky with a faint smile.

'It's not... cramped,'

'And I should be fine with this big fella at my side,' His eyes moved towards Flux who was lightly kicking his leg into the air as if chasing something within his deep and distant dreams.

Drew chuckled a little before deciding that today was gonna mark the start of his actual training instead of being just another excursion into the city.

'Exploring is a bit addicting... there is just so much to see and so much to do,'

'So many people to talk to and meet. So much to learn...'

'The crooked man who offered me this deal...'

'He was right,'

'This is a world where I can finally be free,' Drew thought before taking in a deep breath of air as if taking the first true breath of his new life.

His memories grew foggier as he did this, though Drew didn't care anymore. His old life was then... and it didn't matter! He was here... In the present and hopefully... nothing could ever change that.

After stretching and getting used to his body again, Drew decided to gear himself up and take inventory of what he had.

He packed up some supplies that he had made or found throughout the forest during his time here. The bag was a bit heavy after it was filled with what he wanted but it shouldn't mess with his mobility when worn.

He was about to do a mental checklist of everything he had before the system spoke up.

[Drew, the system has a minor function that keeps track of essential equipment that the user has. This can be used for the purpose of freeing time and help bring an accurate evaluation to the current 'Inventory']

'Um... I guess bring my current equipment up then,' He thought while being a little disappointed. Organizing things was something that was deep in his bones. When you don't have anything to do all day... you find ways to entertain yourself. And keeping everything neat and tidy was enjoyable to Drew. But he was short on time.

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[Equipment]:

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[Arcane Items]:

Wolf Totem: Rarity: Uncommon

Suit of Skulls: Rarity: Borderline Masterwork

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[Other Items of Note]:

Dual Moon Scythes: Rarity: ???

Hunting Knife: Rarity: Common

Lantern and Oil: Rarity: Common

Basic Bag: Rarity: Common

Sleeping Roll: Rarity: Common

20 Feet of Rope: Rarity: Common

4 Small Pouches of Sand: Rarity Common

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[Currency]:

Gold Coins: 12

Silver Coins: 20

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Drew scanned the list and confirmed that everything was as it should be but faltered a little after seeing a new magical item in his Magical Equipment section.

'It's magic?' He thought while staring at the tidy suit that showed no signs of the mud bath from yesterday.

'There is no aura though...'

'Bring up the description of the Suit of Skulls,' Drew thought with great interest.

[Confirmed]

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[Suit of Skulls: Rarity: Borderline Masterwork]: Bone… Ash… Shadow… These are the tenets of The Reaper… Bones are for the dead. A Reaper can learn much from the bones of those buried wrongfully… Ash is for the light. A Reaper protects those that the light scorns and can lessen the weight that the light brings to all nearby, including themselves… Shadow is for The Reaper. A Reaper is favored by the shadows and worries not of the gaze of others. Minor Abilities: Mending Rune and Cleansing Rune.

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"What the hell is this?" Drew whispered to himself.

'System... What's going on here?'

[...]

[The System lacks enough information to give you a certain answer but a guess can be made]

[It is possible that the rune that he used that you gave him and the bone ash combined in such a way as to create an actual effect on the object.]

[The Ash effect came directly from the Bone Dye that the Tailor used. The Shadow effect seems to be a combination of the Dye and the rune]

[While the bone effect has no origin that the System can detect]

'Hmm...'

'Maybe the name plays into it...' Drew thought while remembering the effect that naming Flux had.

'Was the name given to it by the System?'

[Negative. The name was given by its creator or by the world itself, but the latter is far less plausible]

'I guess that makes sense...'

After refreshing himself on his items he finally began to equip himself with his gear.

The belt he had been given by Mavick had a few small straps on it that, after some fiddling with them, ended up being the best way to carry his Scythes. The way the Belt and the Jacket worked made the Scythes hard to locate without a physical search.

Drew practiced removing the Scythes quickly but ended up ripping his jacket into two halves after going too quickly.

'Ugh...' Drew thought as he stared at the two pieces of cloth slowly attached themselves back together.

'Mending really does work though, definitely a worthwhile purchase,'

It took him about a half hour to get used to the new carrying method but after he did so not only were the Scythes hidden, but they were also incredibly easy to remove and be made ready for combat.

He also filled some of the hidden pockets surrounding the jacket and pants with some more useful or rarer supplies, such as his bags of sand and coins.

Drew even managed to find a few more hiding spots on the suit that was of great use. One of such spots was a fold in the hem of each of his pants, nearing his shoes. Inside of his right leg, he hid the old hunting knife he found in the shack which could be useful when he was in a bind.

After all, was said and done he went back over to Flux who was peacefully sleeping, and started to rub his belly to wake him.

It took a great deal to get him up and going but after the sleepy-eyed wolf was up, they officially began their first day of training.

Drew went over the training book in his mind a few times to try and figure out what skills would be of use to learn but found that the other skills that were available to him were either too difficult to learn or were just not worth the effort.

'Most of these resistance skills are situational and each of them requires a great deal of effort to learn,'

'Some of the perception skills are useful but require a fairly specific setting to develop,'

'There are some weapon skills left but none of them are for the Scythe, though that makes sense due to the Scythe being a rather exotic weapon,'

'From what I can tell... there are only three skills that are worth trying to learn in the next week or so, and even then I probably wouldn't learn them in time,'

'But practice makes perfect,' Drew said before reviewing the three skills and weighing their pros and cons.

'Accuracy seems like a great basic attack skill overall. It increases my coordination with my weapons which makes hitting things a lot easier,'

'Its training is fairly simple, hitting a targets weak spot 5 times in a row during combat with little to no deviation,'

'It would be impossible if I didn't have an enemy... but now I have Flux so I should be able to train with him to learn it. It would help increase our understanding of each other's combat capabilities while also developing our strength,'

'The next up would be Quick Strike. It's a skill that would increase my attack speed and would help train my endurance up,'

'The training for the skill requires me to hit a target 3 times within 3 seconds without losing composure or breaking my combat stance,'

'It's recommended by the book that I train Accuracy before learning Quick Strike so that I have a greater chance of making fluid attacks while also making it less likely that I will break my combat stance,'

'The last skill is a skill that I only learned about because of the system... It's called scout,'

'I have to track 2 individuals who have gone a fair distance away,'

'From what the system has said, this skill will increase my perception and intuition, especially so when I am tracking individuals,'

Each of the three skills would improve Drew's capabilities in one area or another but the only way to make decent progress in them would be to focus on one skill at a time.

'Which one would be more efficient?' Drew asked himself as Flux whined next to him, making sure that Drew knew of his presence at all times.

'Accuracy training would help Flux and me to train together in a straightforward method while Quick Strike would only train myself,' He thought while petting Flux as he pondered.

'So Quick Strike isn't a great choice for right now,'

'Scout would increase my tracking skills while at the same time... if I was tracking Flux then I would be able to help him practice hiding his tracks and improve his stealthing abilities in general,'

'...' Drew was lost in thought for a great while before deciding what type of future he wanted to have.

'I don't want to focus on stealth in the long run...'

'I only have to do that now because of the bounty on my head. I don't want to have to constantly fear the gaze of people as I walk through the streets,'

'I think Accuracy is what would be best for me right now but what path do I really want to walk along during my stay here in Lune?'

'I'm joining a thieves guild and have already taken my first steps towards becoming a rogue or assassin or whatever path it takes me down...'

'But I've taken it so that I can grow stronger and deal with potential problems that fill my path,'

'Joining the Black Strings offered me gear and learning resources that are invaluable,'

Drew fell into a deep silence as he pondered over his future.

'I don't have to choose right now though,' He thought while feeling the heartbeat coming from Flux.

'In the end, I can learn what I want to learn. I don't have to be a rogue. I don't have to be a warrior. I don't have to be a mage,'

'In this world... I am free,'

Determination filled Drew and he looked at his surroundings for a moment.

"This won't do... not enough room, don't you think?" Drew asked Flux, whose eyes were clueless about what was to come.

"Not enough room if we are gonna rough up each other,"

Flux's eyes gleamed as it finally clicked in the wolf's mind what Drew meant.

"I think it's about time we got to work,"