In the middle of the forest, there was a small clearing, about 10 feet wide in every direction. The ground was covered in a layer of moss and leaves, and the surrounding trees were so thick that only a sliver of light made its way through the canopy. The trees were a mix of Pine, Cedar, and Red Oak, and the ground was covered in patches of dense, prickly shrubs.
Slowly, the wind started to pick up, converging on the center of the clearing. It twirled around, as if it was dancing. As the wind became more and more turbulent, the light that was passing through the trees seemed to bend and twist, pointing towards the clearing. The wind continued to pick up speed, until suddenly...
Without a sound, Raven appeared. The wind died down, and the forest returned to normal.
Raven blinked a few times and glanced around his surroundings. After seeing no movement, Raven marveled at the scenery.
'This forest, it's dark and creepy, yet so beautiful at the same time. It looks so much more alive than the last game I was in! And the smell...'
Raven inhaled deeply through his nose. 'It's so fresh! The musty smell of the fallen leaves, the fresh smell of pine, and the earthy smell of dirt; It's so realistic! What kind of processing power is required to make a world so lifelike?'
As Raven continued to gaze around the forest, a screen appeared in front of him, obscuring his view.
"You have been transported to the world of Liegthaven, a world filled with adventure, danger, and magic. In this world of infinite possibilities, it is up to you to find your purpose. Good luck."
Raven scoffed. 'Infinite possibilities? Find your purpose? Yeah, I've heard that one before.'
Many games had offered 'infinite possibilities' and a purpose to their players. It was once an easy way to boost a game's popularity, but now had lost all meaning.
As the message faded away, Raven began to inspect his starting gear.
Raven was wearing a cloak which went down to right below his knee, and was camouflaged, covered in varying shades of brown and green. Underneath, he was wearing a similarly camouflaged Gambeson. It was thick around the torso, but thinned out considerably around the joints, allowing fluid and flexible movement. He was wearing a pair of tough, brown trousers, which were tucked into a pair of thick leather boots. On his back was a large, sealed bag that contained a short bow and spare bowstrings. A belt was wrapped around his waist, which had a pouch, a waterskin, a quiver of arrows, and a large knife sheathed.
Raven pulled out the knife and examined it. 'A dagger, although it is quite long. Well, apparently medieval daggers were much larger than the knives of today.'
The dagger's blade was around a foot and a half long, with a small crossguard and a blade sharpened on both sides.
The last of Raven's equipment was strapped tight to his right leg: six throwing daggers. They were each a foot long.
Raven wiggled his leg, noting that the daggers did not fall off or loosen.
After inspecting his equipment, Raven decided to test out summoning his status screen. Closing his eyes, he concentrated on the word 'Status', and could feel a slight tug inside his head. In a moment, a screen appeared in front of him.
________________________
Name: Raven
----
Talent Points: 1
DISCIPLINES:
Melee: 0
Ranged: 3
Spell: 0
Physique: 3
Aura: 0
Roguery: 3
Utility: 0
----
Perks:
Spells:
Supernatural Abilities:
----
Ardor: Tier 0
Aura Core: Tier 0
Body: Tier 0
________________________
After briefly glancing at the Status screen, Raven dismissed it. Sliding one of the throwing daggers out of the strap on his leg, Raven turned towards the thickest nearby tree.
'Time to test out this new power of mine...'
Raven took a deep breath, and then put his left leg forward. At the same time, his arm twisted behind his back as he prepared his throw. In a flash, he threw the knife with as much force as he could muster. And then...
... the clumsily thrown knife wobbled in the air, and then slammed into the tree bark hilt first, harmlessly falling to the ground.
Unperturbed, Raven took out the next knife. With his next throw, however...
... the knife still wobbled in the air. However, this time the blade punctured the tree, and got stuck in the bark.
One after the another, Raven threw his daggers into the tree, going to pick up the daggers after throwing all six. Each time, Raven got a little bit more accurate, and his daggers were thrown with a little bit more power. Not only was his technique getting better, but Raven's upper body was becoming stronger and stronger with each throw.
By the time 5 minutes had passed, Raven had thrown the knife with such accuracy that it struck a groove in the bark, and with such force that it sunk all the way to the hilt.
With a satisfied smile, Raven picked up his daggers, and sheathed them. 'That was fun, and such a strange feeling! To so quickly learn a skill, and all while getting stronger.'
By putting three of his TP into the Ranged Discipline, and putting three into the Physique Discipline, Raven was able to rapidly train his skill with the throwing dagger, and his body grew stronger at a faster rate.
This was the basic power system the player had access to: Several Disciplines, which the player could spend their Talent Points on to increase the rate at which they learned skills that belong to that Discipline.
Raven tossing the knife into the air, and catching it by the hilt. 'Still, all I did was throw my dagger at a stationary target. I've got the basics down, but actual combat experience is needed to be a useful skill in a fight. Well, that's my guess, anyways. The game would be boring if you could become a master warrior by throwing knives at trees all day. But hey...'
Raven unsheathed his knife, and turned around.
'... Maybe I could ask the guy approaching?'
The sound of branches snapping, heavy breathing, and frustrated curses could be heard slowly approaching the clearing. Eventually, a large, rotund young man crashed through the shrubbery into the clearing. After a few moments of heavy breathing, he looked up, and noticed Raven.
Immediately, he perked up, and pointed at Raven while grinning. "HA! HAHAHA! A player! How fortuitous!". He cleared his throat, and then struck a superman pose. "Dearest greetings and salutations, my new friend! Standeth before thee is the legendary and noble hero Rainheart! What be thy name?"
Raven smiled and waved. 'Well, here is a tough choice...'
'Should I kill him, or myself?'