The rewards were a mere increase of +1 in four different stats, but Vol did not snivel at them. If the System's words were to be believed, then his quest rewards would only continue to go down if he did not do something to fix it. Soon, +1 might seem as large a reward as +3.
As he ran, he settled into the steady rhythm of his task, one foot in front of the other, his breathing steady, the cold air coming in sharp in his lungs, making the back of his throat tingle as he got used to it.
The snow came halfway up his shin. Each stride was less a normal run, and more a half jump. When he landed on one leg, he would sink a good bit into the snow before it finally compacted enough to hold his weight, allowing him to step off again.
He soon realized that it was better to land harder in the snow, to allow his weight to carry him on the way down, rather than wasting muscle energy on cushioning the impact – for the snow was already doing that for him.
After a few minutes of doing that, he realized that it was noticeably easier.
!! SYSTEM ANNOUNCEMENT!
NEW SKILL IN DEVELOPMENT: SNOW RUNNING – BASIC LEVEL
THE VESSEL LOOKS FOR EFFICIENCY IN HIS RUNNING TECHNIQUE, SO THAT HE MIGHT TRAVERSE LARGER DISTANCES AT A FASTER SPEED.
CONDITIONS SATISFIED FOR TECHNIQUE MASTERY: 1/3
NEW BRANCH OF SKILLS UNLOCKED:
RUNNING SKILLS! PRACTISE A VARIETY OF RUNNING TECHNIQUES IN ORDER TO EXPAND THIS TREE
He did not slow his running to acknowledge the System announcement, nor did he allow it to throw him out of his rhythm. He hadn't had time since fighting off the lawmen to test the development of any of the new skills. He'd needed to put distance between himself and the bodies as quickly as possible. It had irked him not to be spending the time training, but it seemed that he needn't have worried.
'So the skill acquisition applies to something even as simple as this?' He thought to himself as he ran. He felt a tingling in his chest as he processed it. The sign of a growing understanding. It was beginning to make sense to him now. He could see how and why it might make him stronger – why it should be that he gained stats at a faster rate, the more developed his skills were. But, as of yet, he didn't understand its full capacity yet, and resolved to test it out further.
He ran until he heard the System make another announcement.
!! SYSTEM ANNOUNCEMENT!
QUEST: THE PATH TO STRENGTH!
RUN 5 MILES: 5/5! COMPONENT COMPLETE!
From there, he ran until he reached the banks of the icy river. That had taken him another hour westward. He paused to test the ice before stepping on it. There were no groans or alarming sounds. It was as though he was stepping onto concrete.
The snow here was thinner, maybe an inch thick from where it had settled on the ice. His tracks would be covered more quickly by the snowfall if he ran on it. He hadn't anticipated that in his earlier planning. His decision to go West had merely been in the efforts of confusing his trail a bit, but now that he discovered a secondary utility to the river, rather than just a way marker, he decided that it was finally time to begin going North.
Running on the ice proved to be as challenging as one might expect – at first. It was a drastic difference from running in the snow, where every movement had been encumbered. Here, there was a freedom to it. The layer of snow dulled the glide that the ice provided somewhat, but it was still there.
He learned to pause between each stride, to allow the forward momentum to settle itself, and to put as little force into the uplift as he could, moving with grace – or at least as graceful as he could be – rather than power.
!! SYSTEM ANNOUNCEMENT
NEW SKILL IN DEVELOPMENT: ICE RUNNING – BASIC LEVEL
THE VESSEL LOOKS FOR EFFICIENCY IN HIS RUNNING TECHNIQUE, SO THAT HE MIGHT TRAVERSE LARGER DISTANCES AT A FASTER SPEED.
CONDITIONS SATISFIED FOR TECHNIQUE MASTERY: 1/3
NEW SKILLS DISCOVERED IN THE RUNNING TREE:
ENDURANCE RUNNING – BASIC LEVEL: 0/3
SPRINTING – BASIC LEVEL: 0/3
And as he moved further northwards, the System revealed more of itself to him, as he accidently explored its limits. He discovered part of the significance of his earlier 'running tree' discovery. It seemed that the more skills in the running tree he had unlocked, the more he would be able to see the rest of the possible skills in the running tree that he might acquire.
It was a very different approach to the gaining of stats. He felt almost like it was his opposite. Stats, thus far, had been the result of carrying out quests. They'd resulted in immediate improvements in his strength. The skills, however, seemed more subtle. They seemed to merely list what he had already figured out himself. He didn't see the System and the role it played in augmenting them. Not yet.
He played more with the skills and the System as he continued to run on the river. He eyed the sky as he ran. He'd been praying for it to snow all day, so that it might begin covering his tracks, and finally, the stubborn sky was beginning to oblige, as the first few flakes fell down.
When dark came, as it so quickly did during winter, Vol did not yet pause to rest. Unlike moving through the forest at night, the river seemed vastly easier to navigate in the darkness. It was not until he heard a discomforting groan from the ice that he realized it was a bad idea.
The only thing that could be worse than falling through the ice, into the wide river, would be falling through the ice in the dark.
He made camp, constructing the same basic shelter as the previous night, daring to allow himself a fire, despite the assistance it might provide to any would-be trackers.