Congratulations! You have learned the skill Hunting, Level 1.
Moving through the trees like a deadly predator, you have learned to hunt all manner of beasts. This skill gives you a bonus to tracking, stalking, and weapons related to hunting.
Learn this skill? (Yes/No?)
Piper clicked ‘Yes’ but then received another notification.
Please choose an existing skill to remove to continue.
Biting her lip, she pulled up the list of her existing skills. Which one should she get rid of?
- Ambush Detection, Level 4
- Animal Caretaking, Level 5
- Archery, Level 8
- Cooking, Level 6
- Enduring Casting, Level 11
- Gardening, Level 1
- Identify - 2
- Running, Level 12
- Stick Wielding, Level 1
- Subterfuge, Level 2
There was no way she was getting rid of Ambush Detection, Archery, Enduring Casting, or Identify. Those were all way too important to consider. She also quickly crossed off Subterfuge—though she didn’t really know how it worked—and then Running.
That left Animal Caretaking, Cooking, Gardening, and Stick Wielding. She knew that Stick Wielding was almost useless, but she didn’t want to give up one of her two combat skills. Who knew when she might need to use it in a fight? And Alfred had said that skills could sometimes evolve.
Which meant she had to choose between Animal Caretaking, Cooking, and Gardening. Her current situation made it an easy choice. With the horse to take care of, and Ethel needing help with the cooking every night, the only one she didn’t need was Gardening.
Plus, when they reached the Arissian Empire, she doubted that she’d settle down on a farm again. She didn’t know if it was Ophelia’s influence, or her desire to become stronger to protect those she cared about, but she really wanted to become an adventurer.
With a deep breath, she selected Gardening and felt the knowledge being ripped from her mind. The aftereffects made her slightly woozy, and she hoped that she’d never have to experience losing a high-level skill.
As she bent down to retrieve the bird at her feet, she spotted a flash of movement in the bush. Glancing to the side, she caught a glimpse of Ophelia sneaking up on her through the scrub brush. Her friend’s attacks had become incessant on the trail over the last few days; it was time to teach her a lesson.
Piper flipped up her cloak’s hood to hide her features before casting [False Face]. She molded her head to become larger, and her skin blotchier. Her claws transformed into long talons, and her teeth became oversized and yellow. When she was done, she looked just like a redcap.
Ding! Your spell, False Face has reached Level 6.
It was a nice bonus to gain a level in the skill, which must mean she’d done a good job of making herself look like a redcap. She grinned as Ophelia drew closer, the girl’s boots crunching on the gravel. Still, she didn’t turn around.
“Got you, foul—” Ophelia’s words cut off mid-sentence as Piper spun around, exposing herself as a redcap. The girl let out a bloodcurdling scream before spinning around and sprinting away. The young woman ran as if hellhounds from the Infernal Realm were on her heels.
Piper’s laughter died on her lips as Ophelia kept screaming and disappeared around a boulder. She winced, starting to think that maybe she’d taken it too far. “It was just a joke,” she called after her friend. “It’s me, Piper!”
But it was already too late, and Ophelia was gone. She hurriedly recast [False Face] to return to her old self before chasing after her friend. This was probably going to end badly.
Her fears were confirmed a second later when Alfred tore down the trail with his axe held ready.
“Piper!” he called out in his deep voice. “Where are the redcaps?”
“Umm… the redcap was sort of me.”
“What are you talking about?” Alfred furrowed his brow. “She thought you were a redcap?”
“I… sort of cast a spell to look like one,” she said quickly. “But it was just a joke.”
Alfred lowered his weapon and facepalmed. “Did you really think it was a good idea to do that while we’re in redcap territory? What were you thinking?”
“She’s been attacking me non-stop,” she complained. “I just wanted to teach her a lesson…”
“You need to think before you act, girl. I’ve never been so disappointed in you.” Alfred turned and headed back toward their camp, which was hidden behind a ring of massive boulders. As he walked, he muttered darkly under his breath.
This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
Piper blushed and kicked a stone. She’d only meant it as a joke. Why hadn’t Ophelia found it funny? It’s not like a redcap could have put on her clothing. Surely, her friend should have realized it was only an illusion.
Looking up, she spotted Ophelia fleeing from the camp. She heard Ethel calling after her daughter, but the girl didn’t slow her pace.
Piper continued to watch as Ophelia climbed the slope until she reached an outcropping of rock. Once there, the girl sank down and buried her face in her hands. Her shoulders heaved as she sobbed.
At the sight of Ophelia crying, she felt a surge of guilt. She’d gone way too far pretending to be a redcap. But her friend had always seemed fearless. If anything, she thought that Ophelia would have tried to brain her with her stick.
Piper scooped up the dead bird with one hand, and with her other she lifted the hem of her cloak. Then she started to climb the rocky terrain toward Ophelia. She wasn’t sure if her friend would want to talk to her, but she had to at least try.
As Piper neared Ophelia, the younger girl sat up. Then she hurriedly scrubbed her eyes and averted her gaze.
“I wasn’t scared, you know,” Ophelia said, her voice cracking. “I knew it was you all along.”
“I know you did,” Piper smiled. “How come you didn’t hit me with your stick?”
“Because I’m weak and useless,” Ophelia blurted out. “What could I possibly do against a redcap?”
Piper was momentarily taken aback by her friend’s outburst. She’d never heard her talk that way before. “Are you kidding? You’re the bravest girl I’ve ever met.”
Ophelia gave a harsh laugh. “If that’s true, why do I keep seeing his face every time I close my eyes?”
“Whose face?”
“Who else? That vampire lord. He laughed at me when I tried to escape. There was nothing I could do to stop him. Just like I couldn’t do anything against the redcaps.” Her voice lowered to a whisper. “I wish that I were brave like you.”
“I’m not brave,” Piper said softly. “I was scared every second when I fought that vampire jerk. And I was terrified of the ooze. Anyway, you haven’t even awakened yet. How are you supposed to stop someone before you get your amazing warrior class? I bet if you had awakened, you would have kicked Ransford all the way back to Alderwick.”
Ophelia laughed and wiped away a tear. “I just feel so useless. There’s nothing I can do to help any of you.”
Piper held up the arrow impaling the dead bird. “You could always pluck this for me.”
“No way.” Ophelia screwed up her face at the sight of the fowl. “I meant like fight the vampires.”
“It’s only a few months until you awaken. I bet that you’ll get a better class than any of us.”
“Do you really think so?” Her friend looked up at Piper with hope-filled eyes.
“You’ve faced down a vampire lord, fought the king of the oozes, and hunted a demon. Those have to give some amazing deeds for your awakening. I bet you’ll get one of the upper realms for sure.”
“Maybe you’re right.” Ophelia sniffled. “Do you think I’ll be a shadow warrior?”
Piper had no idea what that was, so she simply nodded. “You’re going to be the best shadow warrior ever. Or a farm wife. Either one.”
Ophelia slapped her playfully. “I am not going to be a farm wife. Promise that we’re going to be adventurers together?”
“Pinky promise.”
Her friend frowned. “What does that mean?”
“Here, I’ll show you.” She extended her pinky finger and hooked it with Ophelia’s little finger. “It’s an unbreakable promise from my world.” She tugged her finger and smiled. “Now it’s complete.”
Ophelia flung her arms around Piper and drew her into a big hug. “Thanks, Pip.”
A lump formed in her throat at being called ‘Pip’. That had been her father’s special nickname for her back on Earth. With everything going on, she hadn’t thought about her parents for weeks. But she desperately wished she could see them again.
That’s just another reason to grow stronger, she thought to herself. I’m going to protect Ethel and her family and learn to make portals to Earth.
Piper disentangled herself from her friend and patted her lightly on the back. At least Ophelia didn’t look upset anymore. She wasn’t back to her old ‘stick-poking self’ but at least she wasn’t crying.
“Redcaps!” a voice drifted up from below.
Rising to her feet, she peered down to see Alfred waving his arms at them. She cupped her hands around her mouth and called back down. “Where?”
In response, Alfred frantically pointed into the distance.
Piper frowned and turned in the direction he was indicating. As she did, her heart skipped a beat. In the distance, dozens of redcaps were boiling out of a cave and charging in their direction. The creatures let out cries as they shook their strange spears above their heads.
She exchanged a quick glance with her friend and then together they raced down the slope. Their haste almost caused a mini avalanche as pebbles bounced down around them. By the time they reached the camp, they were covered in fine dust.
Alfred and Ethel were busy stuffing everything into the packs on the horse. A half-cooked rabbit lay abandoned over the fire, but there was no time to retrieve it.
Ethel glanced up at the sun, which had nearly set behind a mountain peak, and wrung her hands. “Do we dare travel at night?”
“We don’t have any choice,” Alfred said gruffly. “We’ll have to risk it.”
“But the dread owls…” Ethel trailed off. “Without a fire to keep them at bay...”
“It’s that or fight—” Alfred clamped his mouth shut before turning to his daughter. “There’s nothing to worry about. We’re going to be fine.”
“Give me a weapon,” Ophelia demanded. “Let me fight.”
Without argument, Ethel handed her daughter a knife. That alone showed how desperate the situation was.
Gorebark twisted its head to get a better look at Piper. He’d been unusually silent lately—probably because she kept threatening to gag him. “Ohh... dread owls. Those sound fun. I bet I’ll gain a few levels from killing them. Where are they?”
Piper didn’t like the sound of dread owls, but she liked the idea of dying to redcaps even less. She took a second to unstring her bow and then cast [Infernal Bowstring]. The dark red string appeared a second later, stretching across her weapon.
She took a moment to check her quiver and realized she was down nearly half of her arrows. Thankfully, the quiver's ability allowed her to create new ones by using mana. Though she hated wasting her mana before a fight. In the future, she’d have to make sure it was always topped up.
Piper fed a trickle of mana into the creepy quiver—the ear on the outside twitching—and watched as the arrows replenished themselves. Within a few seconds, she had a full complement of arrows again.
“Let’s move,” Alfred barked. He slapped the rump of the horse to get it moving and hurried along at the animal’s side.
Piper took up a position near the rear, constantly glancing over her shoulder. If the redcaps caught up with them, she could hopefully drive them back with a few well-placed arrows. But she didn’t like their odds of escaping the creatures on their home turf in the mountains.