I thanked once again for my enhanced senses and told the group what I had heard. Everyone was relieved, and after just five more minutes, we made our way to the top of a hill and spotted a small river running just below. It was tiny, only a few ters wide, and the depth didn't go beyond our ankles, but a source of fresh water is a source of fresh water.
Quickly, we found a clearing a little further down the river, and everyone settled on the grass. For the first ti since the start of this tutorial, we finally relaxed – everyone resting, except for , who was sitting with my quiver in hand.
I conjured more arrows along the way, but I began to feel a headache. A symptom of low mana, it seed, as my mana had dropped to 11/120. My stamina still looked good, at 116/140. The maximum had increased by 10 due to the point in endurance I received from leveling up in my class. Looking at my stats, I was reminded once again of my 4 unallocated free points.
The biggest challenge in the previous fight had been my ability to deal damage. Against small targets, my arrows dealt higher damage, and I could aim for vital points. But, like the boar, large creatures were simply too big to be affected by small arrows.
There were weak points, like when I hit the eye, but the other weak points were usually protected. I needed my entire quiver of arrows to take down a large pig, and that was with help. But I wasn't sure if boosting so stats in strength or agility would sohow enable to deal serious damage. There was simply too much fur, skin, flesh, and muscle to get through before hitting any organs.
Saving the points also seed like a waste. After thinking for a while, I decided to put 1 point into strength, 1 into agility, and 2 into perception, just following my class distribution. Looking at my stats, not much had changed, except for the points from a single level-up and the free points.
Stats:
Strength: 15
Agility: 16
Endurance: 14
Vitality: 13
Mana: 11
Wisdom: 12
Intelligence: 12
Perception: 22
Willpower: 10
Free Points: 0
Looking around, I realized I wasn't the only one checking their nu screens. The conversation started soon after, everyone happy to finally have so minimum level of safety. No one spoke to , which was fine, as I was just content to listen.
Everyone had managed to gain a single level in their race and class with the boar's death, it seed, with Xavier even getting two in his class. He had already gained a level in his class from the first fight with the badgers, but his contribution against the boar seed to yield a lot.
After relaxing for about 20 minutes, the peace was broken when Lucas stood up, asking the group not to waste what was left of the daylight. Dividing up tasks, we started gathering firewood, checking the periter, and collecting materials to maybe make so basic tools. Evan had the idea of grabbing so of the vines lying around and maybe making an improvised rope. The vines were very thin, but quite strong, and could be woven together.
The periter check fell to , and I ended up killing two more badgers that were lurking in the bushes outside the clearing. They were only level two, didn't give any levels, and only 4 PC. Not having enough mana to recharge all my arrows, Wyatt gave so of his arrows to fill my quiver. After that, he started using his own mana to conjure more, effectively acting as a mobile arrow factory.
This also gave the chance to ask Wyatt for tips related to archery and combat in general. Although even I was surprised by my own level of combat competence, I was more than confident and willing to offer advice on how to handle a bow. I had tried to beco a professional when I was younger, though I didn't exactly go around bragging about it, mainly because I had to give up that dream due to an injury, leaving a small ntal scar.
I showed the proper forms, advised on how to aim, the right movents when drawing arrows from the quiver, nocking them correctly, drawing the bow, and finally releasing the arrow, all in one fluid motion. Wyatt, by my side, tried to keep up with the movents while asking a question here and there.
Around us, everyone was busy trying to make at least a functional camp, and Henrry volunteered to try skinning and preparing the two badgers I had killed, which were lurking around the edges of the clearing. His goal was to make them suitable for cooking.
Wyatt and I were left alone with our own shenanigans, spending hours practicing with the bows. As I thought about all my knowledge on how to use a bow while teaching Wyatt, I was pleasantly surprised when the system suddenly gave a notification.
Skill Improved: [Basic Fatal Shot (Lower)] – A Fatal Shot's best friend is the bow in your hand and the arrow in your enemy's heart. Unlocks basic proficiency with bows, crossbows, and adds a tiny bonus to agility and strength effects when using a ranged weapon.
[Advanced Archery (Common)] – A Fatal Shot's best friend is the bow in your hand and the arrow in your enemy's heart. Demonstrates enhanced proficiency with a bow, making the weapon even more familiar to you. Adds a smaller bonus to the effect of agility and strength when using a ranged weapon.
The bonus effect on the stats shifted from tiny to small, though I still had no idea how significant the effect would be. My bow didn't feel any more familiar than before, perhaps because I already felt very comfortable with it.
Wyatt, although he hadn't received any skill improvent, still showed significant progress in his abilities. While it was certainly getting darker, there was still plenty of sunlight left in the day, and preparations for dinner were far from ready.
I still had a few things I wanted to test. I looked at Wyatt while thinking about what to do, then had a brilliant idea.
"AH! For God's sake, that hurts!" I growled after being hit by yet another arrow.
"Alexander, are you sure about this?" Wyatt asked, genuinely wondering if I was really a masochist. I had been shooting padded arrows, with blunt arrowheads wrapped in cloth, at myself for almost three hours. The cloth ca from my own jacket, which I had been wearing under my cloak the entire ti.
"Yeah, just give a second," I said as I prepared once more. I had wrapped the torn sleeve of my jacket around my eyes, acting as a blindfold.
"Are you sure this is doing anything? Well, I guess it's good practice for , but..." Wyatt said, murmuring the last part. My plan was pretty straightforward. I would have Wyatt shoot arrows at while blindfolded, and I would try to react to them without relying on sight.
Although I had so doubts about the validity of my own plan to begin with, I had made progress throughout the training session. At first, I would only flinch milliseconds before the arrows hit , but now I could at least react and attempt to dodge the arrows before they struck .
"Keep shooting the arrows, I can feel them!" I said, still suffering but also very optimistic.
I had been wondering about my strange senses ever since I arrived at this tutorial. Sohow, I "knew" the large boar was moving through the bushes before I even saw or heard the beast. In fact, saying I knew might have been a bit too strong a word. I just had a vague sense that a great danger was approaching.
In combat, I really didn't think much for myself, I just went with the flow. I still had full control over my body, of course, but sotis it felt like my brain couldn't keep up with what my body was doing. My instincts. I just did what felt most natural in the mont. And the results spoke for themselves.
That's how I got the idea for this kind of practice. I wanted to train my senses and understand exactly what was happening to and why it seed like I had a new sixth sense. I suspected it had sothing to do with Fatal Shot or maybe was related to my perception stat, but Wyatt didn't have the sa experiences I did.
With the large boar, I felt it coming toward as soon as I started climbing the tree. My logical mind then took over, concluding that the boar would hit the tree, which allowed to strengthen my grip and avoid falling.
At the start of the impromptu practice session, Wyatt had thrown small twigs and cloth-wrapped stones at . I barely felt anything before they hit . I could even sense that sothing was coming toward , but not the speed or where it would hit. And it was already too late to react.
After much frustration and reflection, I asked if Wyatt could throw a stone that wasn't wrapped in cloth. This ti, I felt it vividly before it hit , and even more so when it actually struck .
I ended up with a nice blue bruise from that. Wyatt apologized profusely afterward, and I reassured him, convincing him to go back to the cloth-wrapped arrows. They still hurt like crazy, but at least they didn't cause any real damage. Well, I had lost a few health points, but it was almost imperceptible, and they were regenerating quite quickly.
Throughout the session, I felt the improvent more and more, and I realized I was getting a little closer to being able to grab sothing. I had a much clearer sense that sothing was about to hit than when I first started. It still wasn't enough of a sensation to react properly, though.
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