The woods were not unsurprising. Tall trees with a canopy that blocked off much of the sun's radiating heat but yet illuminating the forest enough for the traveler. Armed with a wind spell and a walking stick.. or staff. Arthos treaded slowly through the woods. Thankfully the game at this point did not force him into battles, and he was not one who would kill cute bunny unless he absolutely needed too. Filling his waterskin at a creek, he took a breather to enjoy the tranquility... birds chirping, crickets doing their things, squirrels scurrying around.. and boots crunching foliage.
"Huh? "Arthos spun around and saw a man stereotypical of a Hunter. Bow, hunting hat with a feather, leather jerkin. Hmm why a feather in the hat.. Arthos shook himself out of his peace and started tailing the man for no apparent reason. Boredom and curiosity perhaps.
It did not take long before the man noticed Arthos. "Are you a player?" Arthos nodded affirmative. "What are you doing here?"
Arthos paused. There really was nothing for him to hide except that he was dying in a hospice, participating in an experiment. "I just started and was told Witherville was a good place for beginners."
The man whistled. "A new player 4 days before the coming invasion." Again, this invasion apocalypse thing, don't players have anything else in mind. Arthos inwardly sighed, "I'm Arthos. May I know who you are and what brings you here?"
The man narrowed his eyes. "Well I am Legolas, I am a Hunter with the Order of the Truthseekers." "Truthseekers?" "Yes, we are a guild who aim to uncover the history and lore, and try to stop the apocalypse."
"But.. isn't this the 8th Apocalypse? " Arthos frowned.
"Hey hey, don't get all cynical on me. We have been trying. Our leaders have a much higher standing with the churches and the townsfolk. We are going to give it our all."
"Oh. " So there really are fools who die for romanticism. Well fools are subjective, they would become heroes if they succeeded. "That still doesn't explain why you are here."
"Ah.. Well, call it my last ditch. This area became ground zero in the histories. Yet somehow it recovered and became a village with woods. Something tells me that there is something to it. I come by every now and then just in hopes I could find a lead. "
" And how many times have you come by? "
" Well since the 3rd apocalypse... " he started counting with his fingers. Then he looked up, " Hey that doesn't matter, well anyway are you ready for the apocalypse? "
" I'm new, do I really need to be prepared? "
"... Aren't you a mage? What spells and skills do you have?"
"Umm.. I can use wind rune and mind casting. "
Arthos did not see it, but he was sure Legolas eyes rolled to the back of his skull. " One spell.. and one skill.. the fresh cub is fearless as they say. " Arthos felt indignant and was about to rebut.
" Well, I don't know much about spell casting but there are some cross class skills. I could teach you Mind's eye. Skills can be learnt from NPCs and players. You just need the principles, then repeat using it till it gets recognised by the system. "
"Oh? If I use magic, would I really need that skill though?"
"It helps with targeting for all ranged users. It's like an assisted targeting system. Here, watch me." He took out a knife from his belt, then he made an 'X' mark on a tree about 10 metres away. "Now I could just throw a rock towards the mark." He picked up a rock from the ground and threw it. It never made it to the tree.
"Now, focus on the 'X' mark. Keep staring at it until your vision blurs out the surrounding. Then try to imagine a 3 dimensional box around the 'X'. We hunters like to call it a zone. Then throw the rock at the X mark. " This time it flew and hit the center.
Arthos followed, and it did seem that his vision could narrow in on the X mark. He picked up a rock and tried to imagine a box. Suddenly it was like he was standing in the box right in front of the mark yet he knew his body was a distance away. It was an unfamiliar feeling, he commanded himself to throw a rock and saw it strike the mark. Instinctively, he pictured a Wind rune symbol and channeled his focus (Mana) into it imagining it striking the mark, and it hit true creating another line on the X mark.
"Sweet. You're a fast learner. Alright I am heading off. I need to head back to Alista. Come visit when you have time. I'll add you as a friend so drop me a message if you need help. "
" Alright, thanks for your help! " With that, my friend list reached 3. That was probably enough for a long time.