The bush had gone quiet again. No more rustling from fleeing goblins. Just the chirping of birds returning to their normal rhythms and the occasional creak of the wind through trees. Tarni sat on the decking near the edge of the house, one leg still lightly bandaged from the barbed wire bridge stunt, his crossbow beside him. Lily leaned against the wall, chewing a piece of beef jerky and watching the tree line.
Inside the house, Zane let out a sharp breath as the familiar System tone echoed out:
DING!
ZANE RIDER – Level 5 Due to your Title: First Blood, you will receive one XP per state until level ten. Also, at level five, the System has granted you access to a choice of one skill from eight options instead of the usual two options. Note: because of the Title, the system will randomly select a second skill.
System Initialisation Update: Skill proficiency will now increase through use.
Please select one Skill:
Taunt
– Force a nearby enemy to focus on you. Useful for drawing aggro and protecting allies.
Defensive Stance
– Enter a guarded stance, reducing incoming damage by 25% for 10 seconds.
Basic Power Strike
– Deliver a heavy blow with your weapon. Slightly increased stamina cost but deals bonus damage.
Basic Healing
– Restore a small amount of health to yourself or another. Scales with Intelligence.
Stone Skin
– Temporarily harden your skin like rock, reducing physical damage for 15 seconds.
Deep Think
– Passive. Increases mana regeneration by 5%.
Fear
– Emit a wave of dread that may cause lower-level enemies to flee or freeze for a short time.
Create Light
– Summon a small glowing orb that can be attached to anything, illuminating the area.
He read the skill list out loud for the group. Kai wandered over, pausing as he reached the end of the list. "Wait, Basic Healing? That scales off Intelligence."
Zane squinted at it. "Right. That'd be better for you, then."
Kai shrugged. "Could still be handy in a pinch for you. If you boost your INT."
"Or," Tarni called from outside, "you pick Create Light and float a little glowy orb over your head like some kind of camping lantern."
Lily snorted. "Yeah, yeah, just hang one over each ear, and we'll call you 'Solar-Powered Santa'."
Zane rolled his eyes. "It might be useful underground."
Tarni leaned his head in the open window. "Mate, you are a walking battering ram. You don't need to glow. You need to hit."
Bell grinned, voice dry. "Unless the goblins are afraid of poor visibility."
They all chuckled, the tension bleeding out from the edges of their laughter. But Zane tapped the side of the skill list, thoughtful now.
"Alright, let's break this down," he said. "I'm the tank. That's what we decided. I'm supposed to keep eyes on me while you lot do the damage or keep us alive."
Kai nodded. "Then Taunt or Defensive Stance makes sense."
"Stone Skin would be good too," Bell added, "if it stacks with Defensive Stance."
"I like Fear," Lily offered. "A good way to scatter a crowd if things go south."
"Too random," Zane said. "What if it doesn't work? Or only scares the little ones?"
Kai raised a finger. "Also, you get two. The second one's random."
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"Exactly." Zane exhaled and looked at the list again. "So I pick one that suits the role, and hope the second one gives us some flexibility."
"Don't pick Create Light," Tarni said flatly. "You'll regret it the second you get into a fight in broad daylight."
"I wasn't gonna!" Zane laughed. "Alright, alright…"
He focused on the list and mentally selected:
Selected Skill: Defensive Stance You may now enter a guarded stance, reducing incoming damage by 25% for 10 seconds. 60-second cooldown.
DING!
Random Skill Granted: Create Light Summon a small glowing orb that can be attached to anything, illuminating the area. There was a long pause.
"…You've got to be kidding me, the create light skill," Zane said.
Tarni absolutely lost it.
"BWAAHAHA! You got it! The floaty-glowy camping light! Oh, mate, you're a bloody fairy now!"
Lily burst into laughter. "Guess you're gonna sparkle in the dark, Dad!"
Even Bell smirked as she leaned her chin on her palm. "To be fair… at least we won't lose you in the bush now."
Kai tried to hide his grin. "Actually, it might be useful. You're often up front. If we get stuck in a cave or something—"
"—Don't encourage it!" Tarni cut in. "Next thing we know, he'll be calling it 'Zane-light' and using it to read bedtime stories to goblins."
Zane groaned, dragging his hand down his face. "Out of all the skills... I get Defensive Stance, yeah, perfect—thank you, System—but then it goes and hands me a magical torch like I'm playing the world's most dangerous version of hide and seek."
"Hey," Bell said with a wry smile. "Maybe you'll blind them with it. Aim for their eyes."
"Or their fashion sense," Tarni offered, still wiping tears from the corner of his eye.
Despite himself, Zane chuckled. "Alright, alright. Laugh it up. But next night patrol, guess who's going to be leading the way?"
"Glowy McTankface?" Tarni guessed.
"I hate all of you," Zane muttered. But his smile betrayed him.
After composing himself, Zane asked. "Bell. You get anything good?"
Bell was still stringing her bow, sitting cross-legged near the table. "Just the normal stuff. Stats. Nothing flashy. No skills offered yet."
"Figures," Zane said, rubbing the back of his neck. "I guess it happens at level five."
"Don't forget that part about the System Initialisation Update: Skill proficiency will now increase through use." Said Kai in excitement. "Also, where are you guys going to put your skill points.
With a scratch of his chin, Zane looked over his stats. "Going to put two into strength and one into constitution."
Bell finished checking her Bow, "My constitution is much better, so I'm not going to put all 3 points into it this time, I'm going with one into constitution, one into strength, and one into dexterity." And with that, she reached up and added the points.
Kai was standing just behind the defensive line, his eyes scanning the dense tree line where the last of the goblins had fled.
"I wonder if there were any drops?" he asked casually, almost to himself.
Zane perked up. "Yeah, we should go have a look and che—"
"No." Bell's voice was sharp, cutting him off before he could finish. "Just the ones near the pits and barbed wire. No going off into the bush looking for those first ones we hit."
Zane turned to her, placing a hand gently on her shoulder. "Yeah, that was my thought too."
Bell's expression softened a little, but her concern remained. "I've seen that look, Zane. Just… don't go chasing loot. It's not worth it if we get ambushed again."
After a quick group discussion and a check of the perimeter, it was decided that Zane and Kai would make a short trip—exiting the fortified yard through the secured gate and heading along the inner perimeter. Bell, Tarni, and Lily remained behind, keeping watch from the elevated house.
An evening mist was starting to cling low to the grass as Zane and Kai cautiously made their way around to the area where the two hobgoblins had been dropped during the retreat. It didn't take long—Kai spotted something glinting among the crushed leaves and churned dirt near the edge of the trench.
It was a short sword.
Zane crouched beside it and used his Very Basic Appraisal skill. A small System box popped into his vision:
Crude Hobgoblin Short Sword +1 Slash Damage Durability: 38/50 Weight: Light Comments: Well-balanced. Worn but serviceable. Better than it looks.
"Nice," Zane muttered. He gave it a few experimental swings and chopped at a nearby tree trunk. The blade sank into the wood with ease—almost twice as deep as his machete had in their last field test.
"It's lighter too," he said, handing it over to Kai for a feel.
Once back at the house, they gathered the team around and went over the sword's performance. After a bit of back and forth, the decision was made.
"Tarni should take it," Zane said. "He's got the dexterity to make better use of it, and it's lighter, so it won't slow him down."
Tarni grinned and took the blade, giving it a few practice swings with an approving nod. "Feels good. Like it wants to be used. I'll make it sing."
"Just don't drop it when you're showing off," Lily said dryly.
He winked. "No promises."
As they all resettled into their positions—some cleaning weapons, others keeping an eye on the horizon—the tension slowly faded. They were scraped, scuffed, and still coming down from the adrenaline, but morale was high.
The System was unpredictable, but they were starting to understand it. To work with it. To make it theirs.
Even if it meant Zane could now glow like a human lantern.
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