The task for "Moonpetal Flowers" seemed the safest bet. Fifty copper wasn't a fortune, but it was a start, and Kaelan desperately needed to build a small cushion of funds. He found Healer Agnes in a small, herb-filled cottage at the edge of Oakhaven. She was an elderly woman, her face a roadmap of wrinkles, but her eyes were sharp and surprisingly kind.
"Moonpetals, you say?" she rasped, peering at him over a pair of spectacles perched precariously on her nose. "Aye, they grow in the shaded hollows deeper in the Whisperwood, near the old Sunstone. But be wary, lad. The woods ain't as peaceful as they once were. Goblins are bolder, and I've heard tell of… other things."
Other things. The ominous phrase sent a familiar chill down Kaelan's spine.
Armed with his goblin club and a small, crudely drawn map Agnes provided, Kaelan set off. The sun was climbing, casting dappled light through the canopy. He moved cautiously, his senses on high alert, activating [Fleeting Steps] in single, short bursts whenever he felt particularly exposed or needed to cross an open space quickly, conserving his precious mana.
The forest was different in the daylight. Less overtly terrifying, perhaps, but still teeming with an unnerving, alien vitality. Strange birds with vibrant plumage flitted through the branches, their calls echoing eerily. Insects the size of his thumb buzzed past his ear. He saw massive, iridescent fungi growing on fallen logs and flowers with petals that seemed to shift in color as he passed.
As he walked, his mind, no longer wholly consumed by immediate survival, drifted. Back to Earth. To the suffocating monotony of his life before the summoning. The dead-end part-time job at the Quik-Stop, the smell of stale hotdogs and cheap coffee clinging to his clothes. His lukewarm pursuit of an Industrial Engineering degree at a no-name university – a path chosen more out of a vague sense of obligation than any real passion. He'd been failing classes, not because he was unintelligent, but from a lethal combination of apathy and the exhaustion of working late shifts to afford his dingy apartment and instant noodles.
His parents… a pang of guilt, sharp and unexpected, pierced through him. He hadn't called his mom in weeks before… this. She'd be worried sick. They'd probably argued again about his grades, about his "lack of direction." They weren't bad people, just… disappointed. He'd always felt like a disappointment, a square peg trying to force himself into the round hole of their conventional expectations. He thought of his rudimentary knowledge of physics, of mechanics. Could any of that apply here? The way his Fleeting Steps worked, the multiplicative stacking… it felt like a force equation, an exponential curve. Could understanding the underlying principles, if they even existed here, help him control it better, make it more efficient? The thought was a fleeting distraction, quickly overwhelmed by the more pressing need to find some damn flowers.
And then there was Sarah. Sarah Chen, from his Calculus II class. Bright, funny, with a smile that could light up a lecture hall. He'd nursed a silent, hopeless crush on her for two semesters, never mustering the courage to say more than a few awkward words about homework. She was probably back on Earth, living her life, completely unaware of the insignificant nineteen-year-old who'd been snatched away to fight demons in another dimension. The thought brought a fresh wave of loneliness, a profound sense of dislocation.
He shook his head, trying to dispel the melancholic fog. Dwelling on what he'd lost wouldn't help him survive here.
He found the Sunstone Agnes had described – a large, moss-covered boulder that did seem to faintly glow even in the daylight – and nearby, in a shaded, damp hollow, a patch of delicate, silvery-blue flowers. Moonpetals. They had a faint, sweet scent. He carefully harvested a dozen, stowing them in a makeshift pouch he'd fashioned from a large leaf.
The return journey was uneventful, though Kaelan's nerves remained frayed. He delivered the flowers to Healer Agnes, who grunted her approval and counted out fifty gleaming copper coins into his palm. No System notification, no fanfare. Just a simple transaction. It felt… real. More real than the goblin loot appearing out of thin air.
Fifty copper. Added to his existing 3 silver and 33 copper (after breakfast and the flowers), he now had 3 silver and 83 copper. It wasn't riches, but it was progress.
Back at the inn, Mistress Pebblefoot, the innkeeper, remembered him. "Ah, the quiet lad. Still kickin', are ye? Lost locket, you say?" Kaelan had decided to try the easiest task next. He spent the better part of an hour scouring the common room, the hallway, and even the muddy patch outside the inn's entrance, his eyes peeled for anything glinting. He found it tucked into a crack in the floorboards near the hearth, a small, tarnished silver locket on a delicate chain, engraved with a barely visible songbird.
Mistress Pebblefoot's stern face softened considerably when he presented it. "Well, I'll be! My little Elara lost this weeks ago, cried her eyes out. Thought it was gone for good!" She pressed a silver coin into his hand. "Bless you, lad. You've a keen eye."
One silver. His funds were slowly growing: 4 Silver, 83 Copper.
The next task on the board was the delivery to Greywood Crossing. Elder Rowan, a wizened man with a long white beard who seemed to be Oakhaven's de facto leader, entrusted him with a small, sealed leather pouch. "It's just some documents for my cousin, the reeve there," he explained. "Greywood Crossing is a day's walk north, along the Old King's Road. Keep to the road, and you should be fine. But the woods are restless. Be on your guard."
A day's walk. More exposure, more risk. But two silver coins was a significant sum for him.
The Old King's Road was little more than a overgrown cart track, but it was easier going than bushwhacking through the forest. Kaelan kept a steady pace, his senses sharp. He practiced activating [Fleeting Steps], not just in bursts, but trying to "pulse" it – a single stack, let it run for a few seconds, let it drop, then reactivate. It was a way to conserve mana while still maintaining a slightly enhanced state of readiness.
He was halfway to Greywood Crossing, the forest growing denser and darker, when he heard it. A low, guttural snarl, followed by the rustling of bushes just off the track. Wolves.
Three of them, lean and mangy, with eyes like chips of yellow ice, emerged onto the path, blocking his way. They were larger than any Earth wolves he'd ever seen, their fur matted, their lips drawn back in silent snarls that revealed rows of wicked teeth.
Kaelan's blood ran cold. He wasn't as exhausted or mana-depleted as he'd been with the goblins, but these creatures looked far more dangerous.
He immediately activated [Fleeting Steps], aiming for two stacks.
[Fleeting Steps Activated. Cost: 5 MP. Remaining MP: 150/155.]
[Fleeting Steps Activated. Cost: 5 MP. Remaining MP: 145/155.]
The familiar 1.44x acceleration kicked in. The world stuttered. The wolves, though fast, now seemed manageable.
The lead wolf lunged. Kaelan, using his slight speed advantage, sidestepped, bringing his club around in a hard, desperate arc. It connected with the wolf's flank with a satisfying thud. The beast yelped, stumbling, but didn't go down.
The other two were on him. He danced back, his club a blur, trying to keep them at bay. This was harder than the goblins. The wolves were faster, more coordinated, their attacks more ferocious.
One of them feinted left, then darted right, its jaws snapping inches from his leg. Kaelan leaped back, nearly tripping. His two stacks of Fleeting Steps were invaluable, allowing him to react just in time, but he was purely on the defensive.
He needed to thin their numbers.
He focused on the wolf he'd already injured. As it came at him again, he risked a more committed attack. He activated a third stack of [Fleeting Steps] mid-combat.
[Fleeting Steps Activated. Cost: 5 MP. Remaining MP: 140/155.]
The world slowed a fraction more (1.728x). He poured all his strength into a downward smash with the club, aiming for the wolf's head. The wolf, perhaps surprised by his sudden increase in speed, couldn't dodge in time. The club connected with a sickening crack. The wolf yelped once, then collapsed, twitching.
[You have slain a Whisperwood Alpha Scavenger (LVL 4)!]
[+50 EXP Gained!]
One down. Two to go. But the remaining wolves seemed enraged by the death of their packmate. They attacked with renewed ferocity, their snarls echoing through the silent forest.
Kaelan fought like a cornered animal. His Fleeting Steps stacks were burning through his mana, but he kept reactivating them, maintaining three, sometimes even daring four stacks in brief, desperate bursts. He took a nasty bite to his thigh, the wolf's teeth tearing through his trousers and drawing blood.
[HP: 105/125]
Pain lanced through him, but he fought on. He managed to cripple another wolf with a lucky blow to its leg, then finished it with a brutal series of strikes to its head.
[You have slain a Whisperwood Scavenger (LVL 3)!]
[+40 EXP Gained!]
Only one left. But this one was wary, circling him, looking for an opening. And Kaelan was tiring. His mana was dropping rapidly. He was down to less than half.
Suddenly, as the wolf lunged, Kaelan felt a strange, instinctive pull from his surroundings. It wasn't his Fleeting Steps. It was something else, a subtle shift in the air around him, a feeling of… slipperiness. As the wolf's jaws snapped shut where his arm had been, he felt his body almost glide a few extra inches to the side, more than his conscious dodge should have allowed. It was almost as if the air itself had briefly become less resistant around him.
[New Passive Skill Learned: [Reactive Slipstream] (Rank F)]
[Reactive Slipstream: When under duress and actively evading, there is a small chance (scaling with DEXT) that ambient mana will momentarily reduce air resistance around you, granting a minor, uncontrolled burst of evasive movement.]
A passive skill! Learned by accident! The surprise almost made him drop his club. He had no idea how it triggered, but in that moment, it had saved him from another bite.
The wolf, confused by his sudden, unexpected evasion, overshot its lunge, leaving its flank exposed. Kaelan seized the opportunity. With his remaining mana fueling three stacks of Fleeting Steps, he lunged, his club a blur, and brought it down on the wolf's exposed neck.
[You have slain a Whisperwood Scavenger (LVL 3)!]
[+40 EXP Gained!]
[Congratulations! You have reached LEVEL 3!]
[All Stats +1. You have gained 5 Distributable Stat Points (DSP).]
[HP and MP fully restored and increased!]
Kaelan sagged, leaning heavily on his club, gasping for breath. The forest floor around him was a scene of carnage. Three dead wolves. His leg throbbed, his clothes were torn and bloody, but he was alive. And Level 3.
The full restoration of health and mana was a godsend. The new passive skill… that was an unexpected bonus.
He looted the wolves, finding only a few tufts of [Wolf Pelt (Poor Quality)] and some [Beast Claws]. No coins. Monsters, it seemed, didn't carry currency. Only humanoids, like goblins, did.
[Character Status:]
[Name: Kaelan Richards]
[Level: 3]
[Trait: Fleeting Steps (Rank F)]
[Skills: [Reactive Slipstream] (Passive, Rank F)]
[HP: 135/135]
[MP: 175/175]
[Main Stats:]
[Strength (STR): 7]
[Intelligence (INT): 14]
[Dexterity (DEXT): 14]
[Vitality (VIT): 8]
[Distributable Stat Points (DSP): 5]
Again, the choice. INT for mana, DEXT for speed and his new passive, VIT for survivability. He was learning the hard way that VIT was crucial.
Decision: 1 STR, 1 INT, 2 DEXT, 1 VIT. He needed a bit more strength if he was going to keep relying on a club.
[Stat Allocation Confirmed.]
[Strength (STR): 7 -> 8]
[Intelligence (INT): 14 -> 15]
[Dexterity (DEXT): 14 -> 16]
[Vitality (VIT): 8 -> 9]
[HP: 135/135 -> 145/145]
[MP: 175/175 -> 185/185]
He continued his journey, more wary than ever. Greywood Crossing was even smaller than Oakhaven, barely a handful of buildings. He delivered the pouch to the reeve, a portly, officious man who grunted his thanks and handed over two silver coins. Again, no System pop-up. Just a transaction.
The journey back to Oakhaven took another day. He hunted small game along the way – a couple of plump, unwary rabbits – using his Fleeting Steps to get close and his club for a swift kill. It wasn't much, but it was food that didn't cost him coin. He was learning, adapting.
Back in Oakhaven, he reported the wolf extermination to Elder Rowan. The old man listened gravely to his account, his eyes sharp. "Three of them, you say? And you handled them alone? You're a resourceful lad." He handed over five silver coins. "The village thanks you. Those beasts were becoming a menace."
Kaelan now had a respectable (for him) sum: 11 Silver, 83 Copper. He could afford a few nights at the inn, better food, perhaps even save up for one of those Lesser Healing Draughts.
He spent the next few days in and around Oakhaven. He took on a few more minor tasks from the board – gathering rare herbs for Healer Agnes (another 60 Copper), tracking down a lost sheep for Miller Benson (1 Silver), even helping the blacksmith with some heavy lifting for a day (25 Copper). Each task completed, each coin earned, was a small victory.
He also ventured cautiously back into the Whisperwood, not too far from the village, specifically hunting goblins. He needed the XP. He found a small camp of four, and this time, with more mana, better stats, and the memory of his previous fights, he handled them with brutal efficiency, using his Fleeting Steps to create chaos, his club a deadly blur. He took some hits, but his [Reactive Slipstream] triggered twice, saving him from serious injury.
[You have slain a Forest Goblin Scuttler (LVL 2)! +20 EXP]
[You have slain a Forest Goblin Scuttler (LVL 2)! +20 EXP]
[You have slain a Forest Goblin Bruiser (LVL 3)! +35 EXP]
[You have slain a Forest Goblin Spearthrower (LVL 3)! +35 EXP]
[Congratulations! You have reached LEVEL 4!]
[All Stats +1. You have gained 5 Distributable Stat Points (DSP).]
[HP and MP fully restored and increased!]
Level 4. He was growing, slowly but surely. This time, he put all 5 DSP into Dexterity. He wanted to see how much it affected [Fleeting Steps] and [Reactive Slipstream]. His DEXT was now 22.
One evening, while hunting deeper than usual, drawn by the promise of more goblins, he stumbled into a part of the forest that felt… different. The air was colder, the shadows deeper, the silence more profound. The trees here were ancient and gnarled, their branches twisted into grotesque shapes. A faint, almost imperceptible mist clung to the ground.
He heard a sound then, not a goblin's grunt or a wolf's howl, but a soft, melodic humming, almost like a woman singing a lullaby, yet filled with an indescribable sorrow. It seemed to come from all around him, yet from nowhere specific.
A shiver, utterly unrelated to the cold, traced its way down his spine. He activated four stacks of [Fleeting Steps], his DEXT 22 making the acceleration feel smoother, more controlled than before. He didn't investigate. He didn't hesitate. He turned and fled, the mournful humming seeming to chase him, to caress his ears with its chilling beauty. He didn't stop running until he burst, panting and terrified, back into the more familiar, if still dangerous, part of the Whisperwood.
He never found out what made that sound. A forest spirit? A fae creature? Something far older, far more dangerous? He didn't want to know. It was a stark reminder that this world held mysteries and perils far beyond goblins and wolves, things that his F-Rank Trait, no matter how broken, might not be enough to save him from.
He returned to Oakhaven that night, shaken but alive, his pouch heavier with goblin ears and a few more copper bits. He was stronger, faster, more experienced. But the Whisperwood had shown him a glimpse of its deeper, darker heart, and Kaelan knew, with a chilling certainty, that the taste of near-death experiences was becoming a familiar, unwelcome spice in his new life.