The cowled woman looked back and forth between the two men as other people in the entourage continued to move forward by passing around them.
Walker didn't know what to say about the Mark because it was an uncomfortable subject involving his arrival in this world.
Although he couldn't remember his prior world, he remembered everything after opening his eyes here.
The horror that must have been apparent on Walker's face caused the healer to relent a bit in being so stern.
Taken aback, she rethought her approach and realized something very simple that she had forgotten.
Her eyes softening as she stepped forward, the cowled woman gently grabbed Walker's hand and finally introduced herself.
"I'm Amberlin Gallas, a cleric in the Order of Solgaia, of no small standin'. Even if I canna help you, theres those in my Order who surely could. The Mark 'sa danger to you an' those around ya with time, but if ya tell me how it was placed on ya, then we could work to remove it."
Walker opened his mouth to say something but then quickly closed it.
Squeezing his eyes shut, he forced the memory of his arrival in this world behind the mental wall he had built up around it.
Amberlin watched him for a moment and then shrugged. "Very well, but doncha you think you owe me somethin' for helpin' you earlier? I'm just tryin' to prevent ya from havin' worse problems down the line."
Wilford nodded to himself while pacing, but said nothing.
Walker thought about it before hesitantly replying, "I'll tell you later, I, uh, just need a little more time to gather my thoughts about it."
Amberlin's response was succinct, "When?"
Walker thought for a moment before having an idea that, if it worked, could possibly solve one of his previous predicaments.
"How about I tell you tonight when the convoy stops to camp for the evening?"
Amberlin's stern features vanished as she suddenly gave both men a cheery smile. "Very well, I'll jus' be taggin' along back 'ere with you both until then."
Walker smirked and was about to ask a follow up question when he suddenly felt strange.
His entire body felt hot. Entirely too hot.
He suddenly felt so hot that a sweat broke out on his brow and he gasped. Feeling nauseous, he tried regulating his breathing and suddenly felt a shift deep in his abdomen.
Something like a 'pop' occurred just behind his eyes and he felt pain.
He tried to cry out in alarm, but realized he couldn't move or control his body at all.
His body was covered with that same invisible force, the one that had held him immobile and yet moved him of its own accord on the night the Capital City had been destroyed.
Unable to open his eyes, he mentally struggled against the force holding him still, but was unable to make any headway.
Until…
Although Walker had only been unable to summon the game system menus by speaking out its related command, he could miraculously use the ACTIVE! skill just by thinking about it.
It made sense when considering what the skill seemed to be named about, but the results were unexpected.
He still couldn't move, but he felt the constriction immediately lessen.
But most prominently of all was the glowing he suddenly saw with his eyes closed.
In the darknes of his closed eyes he could see a figure materialize, made of the same darkness but also separate.
The darkness was so profound that it gave off its own spectrum of light.
A glowing silhouette, vaguely human shaped and on the feminine side, yet without any true definition or detail stood amongst the shadows in his vision.
Upon noticing the shadowy figure, he felt a sense of vertigo before a female-mechanical voice he recognized spoke and the vertigo vanished.
{Welcome
{Your time here is limited, so quickly choose one of the following options to enhance your game experience, as well as to disable the control lock currently on your character!}
Available Unlocks:
1. Unlock the (Map) section in the Destiny War Tactics Menu and activate the in-game HUD;
2. Add the removed (Transitions) section back to the Destiny War Tactics Menu and activate the limited in-game HUD;
3. Add 'Archery' Skill at Novice Level (Skill Level One), Unlock the (Map) section in the Destiny War Tactics Menu, add the limited Quest Tracking System;
4. Add the 'Companions' section to the Character Development (Sheet) with a starting
bonus; restore a tiny portion, (1-5%), of your previous memories, add the limited Quest Tracking System.}
Walker studied the choices for awhile. After noting some of the exact wording used, he made his selection without hesitation.
{You have selected to restore the 'Transitions' portion of the Destiny War Tactics Menu. Due to the breadth of the 'Transitions' tab, you will only be able to utilize the limited version of the in-game Holographic User Display. }
{The limited HUD includes a minimap and compass functionality, but does not show location or realtime data of the surroundings.}
{The Quest Tracking System can be utilized with most functions intact, however the guide-to-quest objectives function remains locked.}
{The HUD data on the user condition retains full functionality.}
Walker opened his mouth to ask a question when he felt the shift in his abdomen once again.
His vision slowly whited out and he couldn't hear any sounds at all.
The white out receded.
The first thing he noticed were floating semi-translucent shapes in his vision.
They were something like the strange and colorful shapes one sometimes saw after staring at lights and then closing one's eyes.
When Walker focused on them, they seemed to immediately gain substance and he realized they were the components of the game's holigraphic user display, or HUD.
In the upper-right was a circular minimap of the surroundings. Using it, Walker could innately distinguish the grade of the nearby topography.
In other words, he could instinctively know and understand changes in the surrounding terrain.
In the upper left was a rectangle that showed his physical condition and a three-dimensional image of his body and its workings.
Under the minimap on the right, was a rectangle labeled 'Quest Tracking' that displayed his current quest stats:
*I*
Forge your determination and body by traveling the massive world of Korinn to the neighboring kingdom of Cata Boral.
-Take two million steps (329,647 steps taken)
*II*
As an Archer Scout…you need to reacquaint yourself with your noble weapon. Note that your ammunition will not run out during this quest.
-Shoot 10,000 arrows (1 arrow shot)
—-
Sighing, he finished studying the HUD. He focused on his surroundings and the HUD immediately became more transparent, allowing him to see better.
What Walker immediately saw was both Amberlin and Wilford, staring impatiently and expectantly, back at him.
"Are ya comin' along or arya gonna stand there starin' at miles 'o nothin?" Amberlin asked.
With a sheepish expression, Walker hurried to catch up while muttering something about blanking out for a moment.
Wilford finally stepped forward. "That's no wonder. We've all been through a lot, since…since everything happened. In any event, I'm planning on working with you on your archery while we travel, if you're willing to do so."
Surprised, Walker agreed and began moving along with the two of them.
They had passed several groups of civilians when Walker asked Wilford the first question that came to his mind, "We're going to shoot arrows while marching along? That seems really difficult, I'd think we'd start with target shooting first."
Wilford smirked, but the expression on his face showed his amusement nonetheless. With no small amount of sass, he asked a question in response to Walker's question.
"How else do you expect to learn to shoot the proper way? Because your targets will rarely be standing still for you to carefully aim at them, nor will they just allow you to shoot at them too freely."
Wilford snorted a little bit in derision and eyed the surroundings carefully. "Better to start off the right way to begin with. If you start with stationary targets, you'll only develop bad habits."
Wilford then stopped and un-shouldered his bow and quickly strung it in a fashion that Walker was unfamiliar with.
Holding the unattached end of the string in one hand, he stepped over the bow with his opposite leg and used his legs, thighs, and back to flex the bow into a curved shape while he precisely attached the string at the top.
Wilford attentively checked the fit of the string and its tension. Seeing that it was set to his satisfaction, Wilford chuckled quietly to himself, then continued. "
"Unless you're in formation, the best way to avoid dying on the battlefield is to keep moving. Staying stationary will usually only see you lose out in the long run."
Gesturing for him to come closer, Wilford then held out his hand palm toward Walker.
His arm was completely straight, at a full extension.
"I'll show you a trick to avoid the injury you received the last time. Come press your palm
firmly against mine and watch the shape and form of my arm."
Walker did as his asked and pressed his palm against Wilford's, who began firmly pressing back. It took a moment to properly align as they walked, but they managed.
Walker watched how Wilford's straight arm suddenly seemed to shift downward and rotate outward until his arm now looked curved outward. He then stepped away from Walker holding the same position as he explained it.
"Rotate your arm away from the string's strike area. Your arm, at full extension and rotated away, should almost form its own bow-shape. Keep your arm curved and you'll never get struck again."
Wilford's open palm curled closed partly and rotated sideways. He held this stance as he tossed the strung-bow in the air with his offhand and caught it in the air while maintaining the same posture and moving.
In a smooth and practiced motion after tossing the bow into the air, Wilford's hand never stopped as used it to immediately draw an arrow, nock it, and then suddenly dart off running.
Wilford had only sprinted for a brief moment before he suddenly took a powerful-looking stance and shot, all without seeming to stop.
The twang of the string and loud whirring noise of the arrow in flight seemed incredibly menacing as it shot off the highway and flew past the fields nearby.
It struck a lone collapsed shack in the distance with a thunderous crack, shattering the mechanism holding the door closed and splintering the door into sections.
The forward lean of the ruined building caused the pieces-of-door to suddenly fall open and hang awkwardly, wobbling lightly in the breeze after a few seconds.
Everyone stopped for a moment and admired the shot quietly. For its distance, it was an incredibly accurate shot.
"That was a good shot, but the target was still stationary." Walker noted seriously.
Wilford gave him a look that seemed to sum up what he wanted to say: 'Dafuq are you talking about?!'
Instead, he began shaking his head ruefully, chuckling about the whole matter.
Everyone stood there quietly and Walker had a sudden, terrible premonition of out nowhere.
Wilford shrugged and mumbled "Well, there weren't any moving targets to aim at."
Walker heard what Wilford said, but no one else paid it any mind.
The unpleasant feeling grew intensely and Walker flinched as a glowing light screen suddenly appeared before him, the oppressive voice once again making its displeasure known.