Even before they reached the ground, the group had decided on their first objective: find a defensible spot to make camp. The artificial sun had already crept across the sky during their short stay, a clear sign that this world had its own day-night cycle.
Walter had made the educated guess that night would be far more dangerous than day. If this forest teemed with beasts, some were bound to be nocturnal. And that didn't even account for the threat of other humans using the darkness as cover.
They left the clearing where the pillar had sunk into the earth and ventured into the woods. The oppressive canopy immediately closed in around them, and the tension in the group ratcheted up. Their first priority was finding a source of water, a place to anchor their camp. From the top of the pillar, the dense crowns of the trees had obscured everything, so they were moving blind.
As they walked, the others gawking at the alien environment, Alex felt strangely relaxed. He remained vigilant, his eyes scanning the shadows between the trees, but he had a powerful intuition that nothing would get the drop on them. He still listened for danger, of course, which was a challenge in a forest this loud. Birds he didn't recognize trilled from the branches, the distant roars of massive creatures echoed frequently, and the wind rustling through the leaves was a constant, rushing sound. He suspected his slightly enhanced perception was to thank for the sensory overload.
Walter, their heavily armored frontline, crested a small hill and froze. Daniel, walking just behind him, moved up to his side. Alex was at the rear of the column, but he was close enough to overhear them.
“What are those things?” Walter asked, his voice low as he peered down into another small clearing. Alex came up last, moving to stand beside the others. He followed their gaze to a small pack of what he could only assume were local beasts.
“They look like oversized badgers,” Daniel observed, turning to the others. “But judging by that deer-like thing they’re feasting on, their diet is a lot more ambitious. We’ve already agreed we’ll need to hunt. These things don’t look too tough; we should be able to handle them. Any thoughts?”
Alex studied the creatures. There were four of them, each the size of a German shepherd. The way they tore into the carcass left no doubt they possessed vicious teeth and claws. Their awareness of their surroundings, however, seemed pitifully poor. None of them had noticed the ten humans watching from the hilltop only thirty meters away.
He felt no sense of danger from them. In fact, a quiet confidence settled in his gut. Taking them down would be easy.
Chris, the other archer, broke into Alex’s thoughts.
“I vote we hunt them,” he said, getting a nod from Daniel. “Those roars in the distance sound like much bigger problems. These could be dinner tonight. They seem like low-level beasts.” At the word ‘level,’ Alex mentally slapped himself. Why hadn't he tried to use Identify yet? This is what the damn skill is for, he thought, annoyed.
He focused on the creatures one by one, tuning out the conversation around him, and got the information he was after.
“…I’m just saying, maybe they’re closer to ferrets than badgers!”
“I’m not saying they aren’t a little ferret-like, I’m saying you’re confusing ferrets with weasels!”
Alex zoned back in to find Kevin, the group's light-warrior, and Jessica, one of the casters, locked in a pointless debate. It wasn’t surprising. The two were cousins, and their life was an ongoing series of inane arguments that could span days before they’d finally agree to disagree.
Alex had to admit, he couldn't see a resemblance to either animal, but then, he couldn’t have told a ferret from a weasel anyway. He was sure of one thing, though. Ferret or weasel, an arrow to the heart or head was just as lethal.
Mark, the other medium warrior, broke up the argument, having apparently had the same idea as Alex. “Guys, I just used Identify on one of them. It’s level 3. I couldn’t see the name, though.”
“Oh, great initiative! Why didn’t I think of that?” Daniel boomed, clapping Mark on the back. He turned to Alex. “Hey Alex, any thoughts on what to do?”
“No, but I also identified them,” Alex said, shifting uncomfortably as all nine of them turned to look at him. He’d never done well in big groups. “Three of them are level 3, and one is level 4.” He just wanted the chatter to stop and the fight to begin.
They were ten against four. They had the element of surprise. Every advantage was theirs. This dithering felt utterly pointless.
“Okay then, it’s settled. We fight. Now for a tactical approach…”
Several more minutes were wasted hashing out a strategy. They’d retreated behind the crest of the hill to avoid being seen, peeking over it occasionally to confirm that the badger-weasel-ferret things were still preoccupied with their meal.
The plan was simple enough: the ranged attackers would open fire to soften them up, hopefully killing one or two. Walter would then charge in with his shield to draw their attention while Daniel and Mark flanked him. The strategy hinged on the assumption that the beasts were stupid and would charge blindly if provoked.
It felt like overkill for a pack of overgrown badgers, but no one else seemed willing to take any chances. Alex understood the sentiment, but he didn’t share it. What was the point of a fight without any risk? Wouldn’t that just be… boring?
There was one snag. The casters’ bolts apparently fizzled out beyond ten meters, a limitation Robert, the third mage, had learned during the introduction. This left the opening salvo to Alex and Chris. Kevin and his throwing daggers were dismissed out of hand; no one trusted his accuracy at thirty meters, or even ten. And Chris… he’d held a bow for the first time in his life earlier today.
“So, Alex. You confident you can hit one from here?” Daniel asked, his tone betraying a lack of faith in the plan they’d just spent ten minutes crafting. Alex shared his assessment that it had been a waste of time. If it were up to him, the beasts would already be dead.
“Of course,” Alex answered. The stares still made him uneasy, but his simmering frustration at their inaction was beginning to outweigh his social anxiety.
He pulled an arrow from his quiver and inspected it. Wooden shaft, steel tip, fletchings made from some kind of feather he didn’t recognize. It was well-balanced, the arrowhead was sharp, and the overall quality seemed excellent.
“Okay, ready when you are,” Daniel said, as the rest of the group tensed for battle. A palpable lack of confidence radiated from them. They weren’t fighters. Only Walter looked like he’d had any real training.
Alex strode back over the small hill, the others following just behind him.
He looked at the beasts and nocked an arrow. As he raised the bow, his focus narrowed. His vision sharpened, and he instinctively knew Archers Eye had activated. Time seemed to crawl as he drew back the string.
For the first time all day, something felt right. The morning routine, work, the introduction—it had all felt so… wrong. But in this single moment, holding the bow, everything felt exactly as it should be. He smiled, aimed, and let the arrow fly. Before he even saw it land, he was already pulling another from his quiver, the motion fluid and seamless.
He had aimed for the neck of the level 4 beast. He’d considered the head or heart, but he knew nothing of its physiology. Its heart might not be where he expected, and its skull could be too thick. The arrow flew straight and true, faster and with more power and accuracy than any shot he had ever loosed before.
The arrow struck the beast in the throat just as it lifted its head from the carcass, a split second before it could react.
It toppled backward. Before the other badgers had even processed what had happened, the second arrow arrived, sinking deep into the chest of the one on the far left. The remaining two finally looked up at the hill and charged, their roars filled with fury and a total disregard for their own lives.
They hadn’t covered five meters before a third arrow flew. This one they were ready for. The beast on the right twisted at the last second, and the arrow only left a shallow scratch along its flank. Alex managed to get off two more shots before they reached the frontline, but both only inflicted minor wounds.
Just before the beasts could sink their teeth into Alex, a huge figure slammed into place in front of him. Walter braced his tower shield, short-sword at the ready, with Mark and Daniel on either side. Alex fell back, using the three warriors as a screen while he looked for another opening.
The uninjured badger was the first to arrive, smashing into Walter’s shield with a heavy thud and reeling back from the impact. The wounded one was just behind it, more cautious now, circling as Daniel kept it at bay with threatening jabs of his sword.
As Alex took his time lining up a shot, Mark lunged, stabbing the disoriented badger in its hind leg. With the creature hobbled, he and Walter made short work of it, their blades hacking it to pieces.
Daniel was still dueling the injured one, his sword swinging in wide arcs as the beast darted in and out, trying to get past his guard. He’d already taken several deep scratches on his arms, but the badger had a few fresh wounds of its own.
Alex aimed his bow. Just as the creature leaped back to avoid a swipe from Daniel’s sword, Alex released the arrow, catching it squarely in the side. Before it could recover, Daniel’s sword came down, cleaving into its skull and ending its life.
Around the same time, Walter and Mark finished off their opponent. Alex glanced back at his own targets. The first one, shot through the throat, was dead where it had fallen. The other had managed to stumble a few meters toward them before succumbing to its chest wound. Judging by the pool of blood, he’d hit something vital—maybe even the heart.
“Holy shit, we did it!” Mark yelled, swinging his bloody sword in triumph. Behind them, Emily rushed to Daniel’s side. She began mumbling, and a soft white light enveloped her hands. Alex watched as the cuts and bruises on Daniel’s arms slowly knitted themselves closed. Daniel thanked her, then looked over at Alex with a strange expression.
Alex wasn't in the mood for any awkward social interaction. As the adrenaline began to fade, he turned his attention to the system messages he’d missed in the heat of battle.
You have slain [Badger Cub – lvl 4] – Bonus experience earned for killing an enemy above your level. 8 TP earned
’DING!’ Class: [Archer] has reached level 1 – Stat points allocated, +1 free point
You have slain [Badger Cub – lvl 3] – Bonus experience earned for killing an enemy above your level. 4 TP earned
You have slain [Badger Cub – lvl 3] – Bonus experience earned for killing an enemy above your level. 2 TP earned
’DING!’ Class: [Archer] has reached level 2 – Stat points allocated, +1 free point
’DING!’ Race: [Human (G)] has reached level 1 – Stat points allocated, +1 free point
You have slain [Badger Cub – lvl 3] – Bonus experience earned for killing an enemy above your level. 2 TP earned
Well, Alex thought. That was a bit more than expected. He felt good. Right. The warm glow of his new stats was part of it, but it was more than that.
He had won. It had been an easy battle, but the feeling was intoxicating. The thud of each arrow hitting its mark was still vivid in his mind, along with the sharp thrill of satisfaction that came with every kill. He wanted to hunt more.