Hi! stonecold here.
And so is ThePlayer1Company! I've officially decided to branch out and try my hand at beta-reading/story helping. I hope I did a good job cleaning and polishing this chapter up.
So chapter three?
Right now?
Chapter 3 it is, then.
Three Days Later.
Well, I can say that quite a bit has happened these past few days. Some of these things were the acquisition of a few new skills and levels.
Unarmed Mastery LV: 5 EXP: 00.09%
One must master the body before they can master anything else. This skill represents your Mastery of your body. Increases damage done when not using a weapon by 15%. Increase attack speed by 10%.
Craft LV: 4 EXP: 89.75%
The skill that allows you to make things... You can make things with this skill.
The skill "Aura" has leveled up two times.
Also there are the stat boosts that I got.
Jaune Arc
Title: none
Level: 4
HP: 500/500
AP: 170/170
SP: 250/250
Stats;
STR: 27
DEX: 20
VIT: 23
INT: 17
WIS: 15
LUK: 14
Stat points: 30
Race: Human
Height: 5'8"
Weight: 160
So there my Dad and I were, walking through the woods together. Apparently, he wanted me to do some live training and took me out here to the woods. If I was to be honest, then I'd say we'd been walking for about an hour or so now, at a constant brisk pace. I was a bit surprised I didn't get a DEX point for keeping up like this for so long.
"Hey Dad, when are we going to get there?" I asked him, rather curious as to what was taking so long. Live training meant fightning Grimm, right? Surely it didn't take an hour to get to where the Grimm were, right? If so, I'd be screwed if I ever decided to come out here alone.
"Well son, we're not really going anywhere specific right now. Right now, we're just waiting for the Grimm that are following us to attack." He said calmly, and I nodded in acknowledgement before realizing what he said.
"Wait what?!" I shouted at him in surprise. I suddenly heard a bunch of growls all around us, and the ground shook a bit as two Beowolves came charging at us from the bushes.
They both lunged at my dad, apparently seeing him as the bigger threat. Well... they weren't wrong, but I could kill stuff too, man! So while they where attacking Dad and, as expected, doing a whole lot of nothing to him, I used Sneak to come up behind them and strike one with my fist.
The Grimm stumbled forward with a cracking sound. I internally cheered at the effect, but then its friend turned to me and swiped at me faster than I could dodge. A flash of pain shot through me as its claws sliced across my chest, taking nearly one third of my AP in a single hit.
I turned to the second Grimm with a quick jab to its snout, followed by a kick to its chest. I rolled to the side, avoiding the first Beowolf trying to take a bite out of me. Coming up again, I tried to swipe the first one legs out from under it, but it managed to dodge out of the way at the last second. Hitting only air, I was left me open for another attack from the second.
I recovered quickly enough, thanks to Gamer's Body helping out, and gave a double kick to the second Beowolf, making it stagger back. While it was recovering from my attack, I tackled the first one to the ground and started hitting it as fast and as hard as I could.
After the fifth hit, I myself was tackled off the Beowolf, which looked like it wanted to die at this point but got up regardless. My attention was brought back to the second one as it raked its claws against my Aura, shattering its protection in the process.
I ignored all of that, and ran toward the first one. I was trying to finish it off, knowing it was easier to fight one opponent than two. As I was charging at it, I swung my fist with all my might, and as my fist connected, the Beowolf blew apart into wisps of darkness.
I turned back to the second one, which was now alone. We stared at each other for a few moments. I was breathing heavily, but I glared at it and it glared back as we charged at one another.
Right before we clashed, I jumped at it with all my weight and Strength behind my attack! We clashed and I felt my wrist snap as the beast's flesh squished under it, but ignored it and swung my other fist as it swiped its claws at my chest. My fist connected with its bone mask and I felt something crack in my wrist as the bone flexed slightly. With both wrists broken, I made one last-ditch effort and kicked it in the chest. As my foot connected, I felt its chest give way around my foot as the whole Grimm quickly dispersed into smoke.
Your Level has increased by 1.
Your Strength has increased by 1. Your Vitality has increased by 2. Your Dexterity has increased by 1. Your Luck has increased by 3.
One Title has been earned, "Novice Grimm Slayer" has been added to your title list.
The skill "Aura" has leveled up twice. The skill "Sneak" has leveled up by 1.
The skill "Aura" has unlocked an ability.
One of your Stats has reached 25. You have been awarded equipment that corresponds to that stat.
One "Iron Breastplate" has been added to your inventory.
"YES! I DID IT!" I exclaimed as I turned to my father, only to see him rip through another Beowolf with his bare hand. Only then did I notice that all around me were corpses of Grimm, all slowly dissipating. I counted quickly and found that during my little fight, my father had killed about twenty-five or so more Beowolves. All of a sudden, my accomplishment felt rather small.
'Well,' I thought, 'At least I got some cool stuff out of it.'
Finished with his much cooler battle, my father turned back towards to me, "Good job Jaune. You did well to take care of those two Beowolves!" he said rather cheerily as he walked up to me and patted me on the back.
"Yeah, I guess." I said a little glumly. Two versus twenty five? I wasn't a math wiz but that technically meant my father was more than twelve times better than me. It made sense, I guess, since he was a fully trained Huntsman, but it didn't reduce the sting to my pride.
"Ah Jaune, don't be upset. One day, if you work hard and do your best, you'll be stronger than even me!" Dad yelled out in forceful motivation, and I couldn't stop the smile that came to my face once I heard it. Maybe he was right. My wrists had already healed up thanks to Gamer's Body, so I knew I healed incredibly fast. If I hurt myself training, I'd be back on my feet in no time. I could recover from exercising really quickly too! As I thought more about it, I started making a few plans on how to better improve myself.
Making plans on how to best utilize your time has increased your INT and WIS by 1!
That was cool too! I thought on it a little more. What did people in the movies do... huh?
My thoughts came to a halt when I noticed something weird, "What's that?" I asked no one in particular as I walked over to where the Beowolves that I killed had been. In their place, some items had mysteriously appeared. They weren't there before, or at least I hadn't noticed them before. I Observed them to see what they were.
One was a simple, worn-out looking book. The was black, with a white-outlined Beowolf on it and a scratched out title. Focusing on it, observation read.
Grimm skill book "Lunge", would you like to learn it?
[YES] [NO]
I hesitated for a moment. Skill books were super useful in games, but I wasn't exactly sure on how safe this might be, because of the whole 'Grimm' part. I decided that it was *just* a Beowolf skill, and my dad had told me that Beowolves were pretty low-tier Grimm, so it shouldn't be anything too serious. Plus, the skill didn't sound like it was going to kill me or eat my soul, so I hit yes.
You do not meet the requirements to learn this skill.
THEN WHY GIVE ME THE OPTION!? But whatever, onto the next thing. This one was a dark, wispy, essence-like thing. I observed it and it gave me quite a bit of pause.
Lesser Grimm Essence (2x)
The essence of a lesser Grimm. Has very little power.
Currently has no use.
Honestly, opening my mind up to getting Grimm items let me consider it a bit more. I would have thrown it away, or left it here to disappear like abandoned loot usually did, if it wasn't for the word "Currently". Now, if video games have taught me anything, it's that the wording of descriptions is important. This WILL be useful later on, and hopefully not for any soul-eating crafting recipes. It would be a shame if those Beowolves literally came back to bite me in the butt.
Now, onto the last thing that was among the loot. I didn't need to use observe to tell me what this was, it was money! A decent little bit of it too, about fifty lien I would say. Observe confirmed it for me. Thank you, Observe.
"Now what on earth is all this?" My dad asked from beside me. What a great question that was too! I had a good guess already, and it had nothing to do with the blue floating window that just appeared.
Would you like to turn on "Auto Loot" so that it may pick up and store any items from enemies that you kill into your inventory?
[YES] [NO]
'I would love to, game' I thought as I hit the yes button and all the sudden all the items disappeared. I opened my inventory and sure enough, there they were.
"That, my dear father, was loot, one of the best parts of video games. And, from what I just learned, the game allows me to get skills from books! Skills from BOOKS! You and me are going to a book store right after we get home." I said with a grin, and turned to look up at him.
He nodded with a small smile, but then randomly looked like he just remembered something. "Oh, Jaune, I just remembered the second part of your training today! Have fun getting home!" Just like that, my father turned and practically vanished from his spot. All he left behind was a gust of wind and a new notification.
"What just..." I muttered confusedly, and trailed off before I fully realized what happened as I read through the new notification. Wow that thing was big.
IMPORTANT QUEST RECEIVED! Quest "It's Dangerous to Go Alone" was added to Quest Log.
Quest: It's Dangerous to Go Alone!
Description: After defeating a couple of Beowolves for the first part of today's training, your father has abandoned you in the forest. What a jerk! You're about an hour's brisk walk away, so better hurry! This is the first true test of your resolve as a Hunter.
Objective: Return home in one piece.
Rewards: 1000 EXP, +3 LUK, increased confidence, move forward with your dad's training.
Side Objectives;
-A Good, Upstanding Young Man: ?. Rewards +2 DEX and +1 VIT
-Clawing your way back: Only use unarmed attacks during the trip. Rewards +3 Levels to Unarmed Mastery, +2 STR, and ?
-Cutting a path through: Only use sword attacks during the trip. Rewards +5 Levels to Sword Master, +2 DEX, and the skill book "Cleave Strike"
-Like the Wind: Return home in 30 minutes or less. Rewards +5 DEX
-Untouchable: Complete the quest without taking any damage. Rewards ?
-Unseen Warrior: Complete the quest without engaging in combat. Rewards ?
-Grandpa's Plight: (RANDOM CHANCE) ?, Rewards ?
-Worried Sick: Don't make it back home until morning. Rewards: title "Forest Walker", skill "Nightvision"
-CALL NINE-ONE-ONE NOW!: ?, Reward: +5 VIT, skill "Medical Aura", skill "Hardened Fist"
-Hello? Who's There?: ?, Reward: ?
Penalty for Failure: Death, your father ceases to train you out of fear for your safety.
Time Limit: 24 hours.
Important Quest? I'd gotten quests before, but none labeled 'important'. If I failed... oh god. Failure meant either death or my dad might try to stop me from becoming a Huntsman! God that was a lot of side objectives, and some of them conflicted with one another, so I wouldn't be able to complete them all.
I realized how quickly I was able to read with my increased INT and WIS now, because after I voiced all of my thoughts in one breath, "WHAT!?" which I shouted at the top of my lungs, I heard boisterous laughing in the far distance, which was soon drowned out by howls.
Howls which I could tell were getting closer... I'd better start moving!
Hello everyone~! ThePlayer1Company back in the ending notes to remind you that this is my first time acting as a beta reader/story helper. The lucky young author known as stonecold happens to be my first and currently only client. I'm open to suggestions, but this was pretty tough, took me nearly all day! (granted, I was distracted by my usual stuff, but still)
We both hope you enjoyed the chapter. This is officially stonecold's 25th time writing a chapter for a story, and my first time beta-reading for a story.
Leave your thoughts and comments in a review, or shoot stonecold a pm if you feel like it.
Hello as well! Stonecold here being thankful for ThePlayer1Company's help with this chapter he did a really good job made it flow better. But like he said hope you enjoyed this chapter and if you did let me know!
Thanks! See you in the next chapter!