Elias woke before dawn, which wasn't unusual. What was unusual was the faint blue text hovering at the edge of his vision, waiting patiently for him to acknowledge it.
His status screen.
He grinned and sat up, pulling the screen into full focus with a thought.
```
=== STATUS ===
Name: Elias Thorne
Species: Human
Age: 17 years
Overall Level: 1
CLASSES: [Scout] Lv. 1
```
Still real. Still there. He was actually a [Scout].
Yesterday had been a whirlwind of celebration and questions and advice from practically every adult in Millbrook. Today, Elias had woken with a single burning question: what exactly could his new skills do?
He dressed quietly, not wanting to wake his family, and slipped out of the house into the pre-dawn darkness. The fields stretched out before him, familiar and comforting, painted in shades of gray and dark blue by the approaching sunrise.
Perfect.
Elias focused on his first skill: [Keen Eye].
For a moment, nothing happened. Then it was like someone had adjusted his vision, bringing the world into sharper focus. Details he normally wouldn't notice suddenly stood out—individual stalks of wheat moving in the breeze, a rabbit frozen at the field's edge, tracks in the dirt path that he could now clearly identify as belonging to Old Man Hemmel's troublesome cow.
"Whoa," Elias breathed.
It wasn't dramatic. He couldn't suddenly see for miles or spot invisible enemies. But everything was just... clearer. Crisper. Like he'd been looking through dirty glass his whole life and someone had finally cleaned it.
He deactivated the skill—another instinctive thought—and his vision returned to normal. The difference was noticeable. He activated it again, testing how it felt.
A faint pressure behind his eyes, barely noticeable. Not painful, just... present. Like using a muscle he'd never known he had.
How long could he keep it active? Elias started walking toward the eastern field, [Keen Eye] engaged, paying attention to that faint pressure. Five minutes. Ten. Fifteen.
By twenty minutes, the pressure had increased to a dull ache. By thirty, he had to deactivate it, blinking spots from his eyes.
"Okay," he muttered. "Note to self: half an hour maximum on [Keen Eye], at least for now."
Next skill: [Light Step].
This one was trickier. Elias tried to activate it the same way he had [Keen Eye], but nothing happened. He tried again. Still nothing.
Maybe it was passive? Or maybe...
Elias started walking, focusing on moving quietly. On being light. On leaving minimal traces.
Click.
Something shifted. His footsteps, which had been crunching slightly on the dry ground, suddenly became almost silent. He looked back and saw his tracks—or rather, the lack of them. Where he'd been leaving clear footprints before, now there were only faint impressions, barely visible even with [Keen Eye] active.
"Okay, that's cool," Elias said—then immediately winced as his voice shattered the quiet morning.
He practiced for another hour, learning the feel of each skill. [Sure Footing] made him more balanced, like his center of gravity had lowered somehow. He could stand on uneven ground without wobbling, could turn quickly without fear of slipping.
[Basic Tracking] was... frustrating. He could see tracks now—animal prints, the passage of people, disturbances in vegetation. But knowing what they meant was another matter entirely. He found what were clearly cow tracks (thanks, [Keen Eye]) and could tell which direction the cow had gone. But how old were they? How fast had the cow been moving? He had no idea.
"Going to need practice with that one," he admitted.
"Talking to yourself now? Is that a Scout skill?"
Elias spun around to find Lily standing at the field's edge, still in her nightdress, grinning at him.
"Lily! What are you doing up?"
"I could ask you the same thing." She walked over, grass sticking to her bare feet. "But I already know the answer. You're testing your new skills, right? How do they work? Can I watch?"
Elias wanted to say no—this felt personal somehow, private. But Lily's eyes were bright with genuine curiosity, and she'd be going through this same process in a few years when she got her second class.
"Sure," he said. "But you're going to get dew on your feet."
"Worth it." She settled onto a relatively dry patch of grass. "Show me [Keen Eye] first!"
Over the next half hour, Elias demonstrated what he'd learned, with Lily offering running commentary and far too many questions. But it was actually helpful—explaining things to her helped him understand them better.
"So skills level up the more you use them?" Lily asked.
"That's what everyone says. Use them enough and they get stronger, more efficient, use less... whatever they use."
"Stamina for physical skills, mana for magical ones," Lily said authoritatively. She'd been studying this stuff obsessively since her own Awakening. "Though Scout skills probably use stamina, right?"
"I guess?" Elias hadn't felt particularly tired, but he'd only been using the skills for an hour or so. "I'll find out."
"You should use them constantly. Every day. That's how you level them fast."
"Lily, I'm not going to walk around with [Keen Eye] active every second. I'd have a constant headache."
"But you'd level it faster!"
"And be miserable."
"Adventurers are supposed to suffer! That's how they get strong!"
Elias flicked water from a nearby wheat stalk at her. She squealed and retaliated by throwing a clump of grass at him.
They were still laughing when their father found them twenty minutes later.
"There you are," Marcus said, though he didn't sound annoyed. "Your mother's making breakfast, and I'm meant to collect the both of you." He studied Elias with the practiced eye of someone who'd been using [Farmer] skills for decades. "Testing your new abilities?"
"Yes, sir."
"Good. Better to understand them in safe conditions than in the middle of danger." Marcus gestured for them to follow. "Come on. We need to talk about your plans."
---
Breakfast was honeyed porridge with berries—Lily's favorite, which meant their mother was in a generous mood despite her red-rimmed eyes. She'd been crying again. Elias pretended not to notice.
"So," Marcus said once they'd all settled around the table, "you're determined to go to Silvercrest."
It wasn't a question, but Elias answered anyway. "Yes."
Anna made a soft sound but said nothing.
"Then we need to talk practicalities," Marcus continued. "You have some money saved?"
"About one gold, fifty silver," Elias said. He'd been saving for two years, doing odd jobs around the village whenever he wasn't needed on the farm.
Marcus nodded. "That's... better than nothing. But you'll need equipment. A proper traveling pack, bedroll, waterskin. A weapon—nothing fancy, but something better than our old farming tools. That'll run you at least fifty silver, maybe more."
"I know." Elias had been doing the calculations in his head for months. "I can manage."
"And you'll need money for food and lodging in Silvercrest until you start getting quest payments," Anna added quietly. "The city isn't cheap, Elias."
"I know, Ma."
"Do you?" She looked at him, and there was fear in her eyes. "Have you thought about what happens if you can't find work right away? If you get hurt and can't afford a healer? If—"
"Anna." Marcus placed his hand over hers. "We talked about this."
"I know we did, but—" Her voice cracked. "He's seventeen, Marcus. Seventeen! And he wants to go fight monsters!"
"I'm not going to fight monsters right away," Elias said quickly. "I'll start small. Gathering quests, maybe some escort work. Easy stuff to build up experience."
"And money," Lily added helpfully. "The Adventurer's Guild has tons of low-rank quests. You'll be fine!"
Anna shot her daughter a look that suggested this wasn't helpful at all.
"Look," Elias said, trying to find the right words. "I know you're worried. I'm worried too. But..." He gestured vaguely at the window, at the fields beyond. "This isn't enough for me. I need to see what's out there. I need to try."
"I know," Anna whispered. "I know you do. That's what makes this so hard." She took a shaky breath. "Your father and I, we've decided to help. We have some money saved—"
"Ma, no—"
"We want to help," Marcus said firmly. "You're our son. We're not going to send you off with barely enough to survive."
"But the farm—"
"The farm is fine," Anna said. "We've had good harvests these past few years. We can afford to give you another gold coin. Maybe a bit more."
Elias felt his throat tighten. Another gold coin. That nearly doubled his available funds. That meant better equipment, a larger safety cushion, more options.
"I'll pay you back," he said.
"We're not asking you to," Marcus replied. "Consider it an investment in your future. And..." He paused, seeming to wrestle with something. "I spoke with Elder Miriam this morning. A merchant caravan is passing through Millbrook in three days, heading to Silvercrest. They're willing to take passengers for five silver each."
Three days. In three days, he'd be leaving.
The reality of it hit Elias like a physical force. This was actually happening. He was actually leaving.
"Thank you," he managed. "Both of you. For everything."
Anna stood abruptly and pulled him into a fierce hug. "You be careful out there. Promise me."
"I promise, Ma."
"And write to us. As often as you can."
"I will."
"And if it gets too hard, if you need to come home—"
"Anna," Marcus said gently. "Let the boy breathe."
She released him but kept her hands on his shoulders, looking into his eyes. "I'm proud of you, you know. Terrified, but proud."
"I know." Elias hugged her again. "I'll be okay. I promise."
Lily, who'd been uncharacteristically quiet, suddenly spoke up. "Can I have your room when you're gone?"
"Lily!" Anna gasped.
"What? He's not using it!"
Despite everything, Elias laughed. "Sure, Lily. You can have my room."
"Yes!" She pumped her fist. "I'm going to put up so many star charts—"
"Only if you keep it clean," Anna warned.
"I will! I promise! I'll—"
The conversation devolved into Lily's excited planning, and the heavy moment passed. But Elias caught his father's eye across the table, and Marcus gave him a small nod.
Three days.
---
The next three days passed in a blur of preparation. Marcus took Elias to see the village craftsman, who sold him a sturdy traveling pack, a good bedroll, and a waterskin at only slightly inflated prices. "For Marcus's boy," the craftsman had said, which Elias suspected meant his father had already negotiated a discount.
The weapon was trickier. Millbrook didn't have a proper weapons smith—no need for one in such a peaceful village. But Old Man Hemmel, the retired ranger, dug through his storage shed and emerged with a short sword that had seen better days but was still serviceable.
"Take it," Hemmel said when Elias tried to pay. "I'm too old to use it anymore, and I'd rather it went to someone who needs it than rusted away in my shed."
"I can't just—"
"You can and you will. Consider it a gift from one Scout to another." Hemmel's eyes crinkled. "Well, I was a Ranger, but close enough. The sword's nothing special, but it'll keep you alive if you maintain it. Do you know how to maintain a blade?"
"I... no?"
Hemmel sighed. "Young people. Come on, I'll teach you. It's not hard, but it's important."
Elias spent an afternoon learning blade maintenance, basic sword handling (just the very basics—Hemmel was clear that real combat training would have to wait), and listening to old war stories from Hemmel's adventuring days.
"The key to surviving as a Scout," Hemmel said, "is knowing when to fight and when to run. And most of the time? You run. Your job is information and survival, not heroics."
"I thought adventurers were supposed to be heroic," Elias said.
"Live adventurers are supposed to be smart. Dead ones are heroic." Hemmel fixed him with a stern look. "You remember that."
On the second day, Elias spent hours practicing his Scout skills, pushing them as hard as he dared. [Keen Eye] improved noticeably—he could keep it active for forty-five minutes now before the headache became unbearable. [Light Step] was becoming more natural, activating almost instinctively when he wanted to move quietly. [Sure Footing] and [Basic Tracking] were harder to level without specific circumstances to practice them, but he did his best.
His status screen remained stubbornly unchanged:
```
[Scout - Keen Eye] Lv. 1
[Scout - Light Step] Lv. 1
[Scout - Sure Footing] Lv. 1
[Scout - Basic Tracking] Lv. 1
```
"Skills take time," his mother said when he complained about it at dinner. "My [Cooking] didn't reach level 2 for weeks."
"But I've been using them constantly!"
"Level 1 to Level 2 is easy. But you still need consistent practice. Be patient."
Patience. Right. Elias was leaving for adventure in one day, and he was supposed to be patient.
The third day—the last day—Elias spent with his family. They didn't do anything special, just normal farm work and family time. But every moment felt weighted with significance. The last time he'd eat dinner at this table for a while. The last time he'd sleep in his childhood bed. The last normal day.
That night, Lily snuck into his room and curled up at the foot of his bed like she used to do when she was little and had nightmares.
"I'm going to miss you," she said quietly.
"I'll miss you too."
"Promise you'll write? And tell me about all the cool places you see?"
"I promise."
"And if you meet any dragons, you'll tell me everything?"
Elias smiled in the darkness. "If I meet any dragons, you'll be the first to know."
"Good." She was quiet for a moment. "Elias?"
"Yeah?"
"I'm really proud of you. For going after what you want."
His throat tightened. "Thanks, Lily."
"When I'm older, maybe I'll be an adventurer too. We could have a party together!"
"That'd be nice."
"We'd be the best party ever. I'd be an awesome mage, and you'd be an awesome Scout, and we'd—"
She kept talking, spinning dreams of adventure, and Elias let her. Eventually, her voice slowed, then stopped, and her breathing evened out into sleep.
Elias stayed awake long after, staring at the ceiling, his heart full of excitement and fear and anticipation.
Tomorrow, the caravan would arrive.
Tomorrow, his adventure would truly begin.
Tomorrow, Elias Thorne, Level 1 [Scout], would take his first real steps into the wider world.