The next few days passed in a blur. Noah had informed the group that the new quota was 15 XP each day and they had all managed to rise to the occasion. Noah had also discovered an alarming development. Instead of having to travel further from camp to find beasts, each passing day seemed to draw them in. They maintained the pace for five days, starting each day with an increasingly dangerous run through the forest. This was followed by the team splitting up to hunt down their XP. Matt had stuck to various crafts, ranging from utensils to some rudimentary rough hide clothes. He also worked with different bone pieces to make some single-point daggers, carving the bone with his growing collection of tools. After Kyle finished his bow, he began on the arrows, working with Matt to shape the appropriate bones. Aiming was a work in progress, and he had had to invest his first several free points into strength to pull back the bowstring.


    Julie was set on learning magic, she continued to use first-aid skills whenever possible but also began to try healing magic on our wounds. This looked a bit different every time. She had tried a sort of chant, a command, yelling ‘heal’, and ‘feeling the energy’ but so far we hadn’t seen any results. She was convinced that she was the verge of an epiphany though, so Noah supported her efforts. She made the remainder of the quota through cooking and crafting needles and thread–making use of the same dried sinew that Kyle made for his bowstring. For Noah’s part, he was kept busy helping Kyle and breaking in or just breaking Matt’s different makeshift weapons. While he didn’t experience the same explosive growth as the others, he finally got to his next level by the end of day five. He decided to continue with his current progression, gaining two points in both strength and dexterity and putting his free points into constitution. When they gathered at the fire that night they were a changed people compared to just a week ago. They were quite literally–stronger, faster, and better put together. The daily achievement had also done a lot to bolster their spirits and improve their outlook on the current predicament. And so it was with smiling faces and a competitive air that the four shared the status screens.


    Status


    Name: Noah Denter


    Level: 11


    XP: 11/100


    Status


    Name: Julie Weston


    Level: 9


    XP: 8/10


    Status


    Name: Kyle Weston


    Level: 9


    XP: 5/10


    Status


    Name: Matt Choi


    Level: 9


    XP: 9/10


    All week they had been discussing their path and primary stats and tomorrow would be the big day. Kyle and Julie had both decided to pursue combatant and Matt had stayed firmly on the non-combatant path. They also discussed the gates, though the concept wasn’t very appealing to them. Even when he explained the perk he got from his first gate choice it didn’t seem to be quite enough. Kyle had tried meditating for a few minutes but gave up when nothing happened. Noah figured that once their leveling slowed they would be more open to other avenues of growth. With the increased beast presence they were now eating at least twice a day and often had extra food. With full bellies, they bid each other good night and dreamt of the coming day.


    Noah woke to the sound of Kyle scrounging his gear. It was barely dawn. Noah grinned, knowing full well that Kyle was trying to get a head start on the others and be the first one. He was already up so he didn’t mind helping the early bird.


    “We can go out, but we’ll have to stay close to camp.” Noah told him. The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    “Alright. Let’s go!” Kyle whispered, leading the way into the woods. He carried his bow in hand with a quiver from Matt tied tight to his back. In it he had three arrows, finding it hard to make them as fast as he broke or lost them. Noah carried a pointy wolf-femur that was sufficient for stabbing things and not much else. So far he hadn’t run into anything as strong as the beasts he saw on the first day. His working theory was that it had something to do with territory, but he hadn’t been eager to test it. But with the rising monster population, he was worried that they would be forced to move sooner than later.


    “Up ahead.” Kyle whispered, slowing to a crawl. Noah looked over his shoulder and saw what had likely been a bobcat. Now it was a dark brown color with white streaks around its eyes and two fangs protruding several inches out of its mouth. The fangs glinted in low light, wet with a clear liquid. Noah had a bad feeling about it. But before he could alert Kyle of his concern, he loosed an arrow that dug into the cat’s shoulder. At least it hit. Noah thought as he got in front of the boy. The bobcat hissed and sprung across the clearing, pinning Noah to the ground. Its claws dug into his chest and the only grace was the wedged femur now well into the beast’s stomach. It wailed and bit into his left shoulder.


    “Agh!” Noah cried in agony. Trying to shake off the cat but to no avail. Then he heard a whistling followed by a meaty thud. The bobcat slumped into him, suddenly dead weight. Kyle helped to drag the beat off of him and Noah saw the arrow protruding from between its eyes.


    “Wow. Good shot!” Noah praised. Kyle, normally a sponge to such compliments, instead looked ready to hurl.


    “That was my fault.” He said, his voice grave. “I should have waited until we were both ready. You got hurt…” Kyle finished, his eyes glued to his feet.


    “It–” Noah was cut off by a familiar notification.


    [50 XP gained]


    “Crap.” Noah said, now all too aware of the burning sensation in his shoulder. Kyle must have gotten the notification too because his face paled.


    “We need to get back to Julie.” Kyle blurted. Noah was of the same mind and they quickly returned to camp. They were thankful to see Julie and Matt were up and moving. The pair looked up at them and smiled in greeting. Julie however frowned when she noticed the blood and Kyle was quick to explain.”


    “Julie you have to save Noah, I messed up!” He said, his voice cracking. “I think he’s posioned.” Huh. So he did notice. Noah observed, feeling both proud and irritated.


    “What do you mean save him?” Julie asked, moving over to Noah. He sat down, wincing, and she began inspecting his shoulder.


    “We got into a fight with a bobcat and its teeth were coated in something. Now it burns and itches like crazy.” Noah said.


    “And I got 50 XP from my participation.” Kyle shared. Julie’s eyes went wide.


    “Matt, boil us some water. Noah, on your back.” She directed. She knelt next to him on the ground and placed her hands on his chest.


    “Julie–” She shook her head and shut her eyes in focus. She could feel something, she just had to connect with it. It felt like a river of light inside of her, and she knew if she could grab ahold of it then she could heal him.


    “I have the water.” Matt interrupted. She nodded, scooping it onto Noah’s chest and cleaning the wounds. His constitution had made his body sturdy, but the beast had managed several deep gouges. As she cleared the bite wound she grimaced. There were dark lines spider-webbing from the incisions. I have to make this work. She told herself. Noah saw the look on her face and his stomach clenched. It was bad. He focused on taking deep breaths. She could do this.


    For the better part of an hour, Julie knelt over him, sweat dripping from her brow. Noah watched her as she tried to save him. It wasn’t working. It was harder to breathe now, a wheeze accompanied every breath. His world was a mix of numbness and pain and he did his best not to let it show on his face.


    More time passed. He could feel himself fading. He couldn’t hear wheezing anymore, that seemed like a positive. He could however feel the warm drops of liquid as they landed on his face. He could just barely make out her face. Her green eyes. Her pointy nose. Her tangled brown hair. His heart hurt as he looked up at her.


    “I’m sorry.” The words no more than breath. He felt a hand, her hand, cup his face. It was warm. Comforting. He wondered if he was crying or if it was her tears streaming down his face.


    It didn’t feel like a choice when the darkness came for him. He resisted it. It barely noticed. He heard a muffled sound. Whatever it was, it was lovely. He clung to it, pleading for a moment more. The moment passed. As the darkness enveloped him, a stream of stars came into view. He wept at their beauty.