The moment Ana saw a man standing in the shadow of one of the many trees that vaulted the road, she reached into her purse with both hands and racked her gun. Either he wouldn''t notice, or he would, and he''d be more careful.
When he noticed her looking his way, he pushed away from the tree casually and stepped into the road, about 30 yards ahead of her.
Sure, he might just want to say, “Hello.” He might even be helpful. But Ana doubted it, and when she saw his face properly those doubts grew to near certainty. She knew a predator when she saw one. She stopped close enough to speak, but far enough away to draw and fire in case he suddenly came at her. Freeing herself to move, she made a show of taking off her bulky pack, sighing and rubbing her shoulders.
“Hello!” the stranger said with a smile. “May I say, Miss, that you look lost?”
The man''s whole appearance was odd. Honestly he looked like something out of that D&D movie that had just come out. Which Nic had made her watch. Twice. He had a large pack leaning against the tree, and over a green shirt and gray trousers he wore leather armor that covered his entire torso, with flaps that hung down over his hips and thighs. On one hip he carried a sword, and on the other a small crossbow. He looked a bit dirty, his long brown hair hanging limp and greasy, but he radiated friendliness in a way that put Ana immediately on edge.
Something else that she didn''t really like was that when Ana focused on him there was even a little tag that said [Human Ranger (7)]. More weird text, just hanging there and impossible to ignore.
“Oh, not really,” Ana said in a bright, cheerful voice. It wasn’t quite her Stacy voice. It was her “playing nice” voice, the one that she used a lot with people who weren’t actually bothering her yet. “I''m just trying to get to town. You wouldn’t happen to know the way, would you?”
“First time Delving?” the man asked with a chuckle. “And not by choice, I’d wager. If you belonged here, you’d know that there’s no town, just the outpost. And if you’ll allow me to be so rude, I can see your Class and your level plain as day. There’s no need to hide it, Miss. People drop into splinters by accident sometimes. It happens.”
Shit. Of course he could see that stuff. If he had a label, it only made sense that so would she. Her mind raced. Her Class and race were supposed to be hidden, so she was supposed to show as a human “Companion,” which sounded vaguely insulting but ultimately harmless. And her level was less than half of his, which sounded like it should make a difference. All right. Fine. Ana could play the damsel in distress, and as long as she didn''t give him a chance to try anything she might come out of this with something useful.
“Well,” Ana said bashfully, “you caught me, I guess. Can you show me to this outpost, then? I’d be so grateful.”
“There’s no shame in it,” the man continued, making no move to lead the way, his eyes flicking away from her every so often. She didn''t like that. “You’re hardly the first to—”
Out of nowhere, Ana''s lizard brain screamed “Danger!” Before she knew what she was doing she''d dropped and twisted, coming face to groin with a second man whose arms closed in the air above her head.
She considered herself to be an alert and perceptive person. As a teenager it had kept her alive and mostly unharmed. But she''d had no idea that the man trying to grab her was there until the warning bells went off, and for the moment, no matter what was going on with her brain she was glad for it.
The man grunted with frustration, and Ana''s instincts and training took over. She felt a surge of strength, and she used it. A savage elbow strike to the side of one knee made it buckle and the man gasp, but as Ana tried to put some distance between them he used the fall to get on top of her, pinning her to the ground for a moment. She tried to push him off, but he pinned her right hand with his left. He had a dagger on his belt, but they must have wanted her alive because instead of drawing it, he rose enough to punch her in the face first once, then twice.
She took it. She''d had worse. The purse had ended up trapped under her back, but she dug her free hand inside her robe. Her fingers closed around the handle of one of her daggers, and as the man''s hand rose to strike her again she stabbed him, up and in under the ribs, five, six, seven times in rapid succession, the blade sliding in and out easily. The man made a horrible, hoarse sucking sound as blood gushed out of him and all over Ana''s looted robe and nice, lavender dress.
He still tried to hit her, but she easily pushed him to the side and got her legs free, turning to get eyes on the first man just in time to catch a boot in the ribs. The kick was so hard that she felt something give, and it lifted her in the air and threw her back at least a yard or two.
For a moment all she could do was to gasp and grab at her side, which she instantly regretted.
“Well,” the Ranger said. “I didn’t expect you to hear Larry coming. Certainly didn’t expect you to kill him. But he’s better off dead. A level 6 combat Classer, killed by a gods-damned level 3 civilian? Shameful."
The man was standing by his still partner, poking at the body with his boot. He had his sword drawn, and was holding it with a relaxed, familiar grip. He looked at Ana, who''d struggled to her knees. She''d managed to keep her grip on the dagger, and she held it towards him.
"Put down that knife, darling," he said calmly, gesturing with his sword. "You''re very, very much outmatched, and I don''t want to hurt you more than necessary."
She did, and dug for her purse. "Please," she croaked. "What do you want?"
"Your money and valuables, for a start," he told her. "And then, if you behave your—" He stopped and scrunched his face curiously at what Ana had in her hand.
She fired four shots. Two of them hit him in the head, and he wobbled and dropped like the sack of shit that he was. She would have aimed for center mass, but she wasn''t sure about his armor, and he gave her plenty of time to aim.
A little message popped up in the corner of her eye.
<table style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 100%" border="1">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="width: 98.6508%">
Congratulations! You have defeated: Human Ranger, level 7; Human Rogue, level 6. You have been awarded: Growth Crystal (Lesser); Growth Crystal (Least) (2), Growth Crystal (Shard).
Attention: Growth Crystals are set to auto-consume. You have been awarded 210 experience points.
Skills partially calibrated, based on use.
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
"Great," she said into the silence as she lay back in the dirt. "Thank you. Show me."
<table style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 98.1461%" border="1">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td colspan="4">
<table style="border-collapse: collapse" border="1">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="width: 100%; text-align: center" colspan="2">INDIVIDUAL SUMMARY</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 16.9817%">Name</td>
<td style="width: 83.0183%">Anastasia Cole</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 16.9817%">Race</td>
<td style="width: 83.0183%">Outsider, Summoned (Human aspect)</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 16.9817%">Age</td>
<td style="width: 83.0183%">26</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 16.9817%">Classes</td>
<td style="width: 83.0183%">Guardian Angel (3) (Hidden, shown as Companion (3))</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 16.9817%">Experience</td>
<td style="width: 83.0183%">610/800</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<table style="border-collapse: collapse" border="1">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="width: 99.8302%; text-align: center" colspan="4">Attributes</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 24.9576%">Attribute</td>
<td style="width: 24.9576%">Base</td>
<td style="width: 24.9576%">Multiplier</td>
<td style="width: 24.9576%">Effective</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 24.9576%">Strength</td>
<td style="width: 24.9576%">14</td>
<td style="width: 24.9576%">1</td>
<td style="width: 24.9576%">14</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 24.9576%">Endurance</td>
<td style="width: 24.9576%">16</td>
<td style="width: 24.9576%">1</td>
<td style="width: 24.9576%">16</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 24.9576%">Vitality</td>
<td style="width: 24.9576%">15</td>
<td style="width: 24.9576%">1</td>
<td style="width: 24.9576%">15</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 24.9576%">Agility</td>
<td style="width: 24.9576%">18</td>
<td style="width: 24.9576%">1</td>
<td style="width: 24.9576%">18</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 24.9576%">Dexterity</td>
<td style="width: 24.9576%">15</td>
<td style="width: 24.9576%">1</td>
<td style="width: 24.9576%">15</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 24.9576%">Perception</td>
<td style="width: 24.9576%">13</td>
<td style="width: 24.9576%">1.3</td>
<td style="width: 24.9576%">16</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 24.9576%">Acuity</td>
<td style="width: 24.9576%">13</td>
<td style="width: 24.9576%">1</td>
<td style="width: 24.9576%">13</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 24.9576%">Willpower</td>
<td style="width: 24.9576%">15</td>
<td style="width: 24.9576%">1</td>
<td style="width: 24.9576%">15</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 24.9576%">Charisma</td>
<td style="width: 24.9576%">18</td>
<td style="width: 24.9576%">1</td>
<td style="width: 24.9576%">18</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 24.9576%">Connection</td>
<td style="width: 24.9576%">13</td>
<td style="width: 24.9576%">1</td>
<td style="width: 24.9576%">13</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 99.8302%" colspan="4">Advancement Points: 0</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<table style="border-collapse: collapse" border="1">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="width: 98.0175%; text-align: center">Abilities</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 98.0175%">Hidden Class (Guardian Angel)</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 98.0175%">Guardian Angel</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 98.0175%">Devotion</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 98.0175%">Danger Sense (Special)</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<table style="border-collapse: collapse" border="1">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="width: 100%; text-align: center" colspan="2">Skills</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 49.9151%">Skill</td>
<td style="width: 50.0849%">Level</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 49.9151%">Acting</td>
<td style="width: 50.0849%">3</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 49.9151%">Charm</td>
<td style="width: 50.0849%">1</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 49.9151%">Command</td>
<td style="width: 50.0849%">2</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 49.9151%">Inspect</td>
<td style="width: 50.0849%">1</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 49.9151%">Sense Motive</td>
<td style="width: 50.0849%">2</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 49.9151%">Short Blades</td>
<td style="width: 50.0849%">3</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 49.9151%">Unarmed Combat</td>
<td style="width: 50.0849%">4</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
"That didn''t take much," she muttered, thinking about the new skills in the list.
The pain in her side was… bad. Her vocabulary was better than that, but everything was getting fuzzy. She definitely had cracked or broken ribs, and the surge of strength and… everything that she had felt when she was attacked had vanished the moment the fight was over. Her whole body felt heavy.
"Don''t go to sleep," she whispered to herself. She was in the middle of a forest road, with two corpses next to her. She had no idea what animals there were here, or how well trafficked the road was.
"Don''t go to sleep," she repeated. "Don''t—"
<hr>
Ana''s consciousness flickered. She couldn''t have been out long, based on the shadows, but it was bad enough that she''d nodded off, or passed out, at all. With a groan and a stab of pain she forced herself to her feet. She knew that she shouldn''t but she had to, so she gritted her teeth and did it anyway. She checked the bodies. She took their weapons and valuables. The Ranger had the good manners to fall in such a way that all the blood drained away from him, so she figured out the straps on his armor and took that too.
The robe she was wearing had taken the brunt of the blood, so she gingerly shucked that off, leaving her in just her dress. She went through the pack by the tree and found some spare clothes, but the pain in her side when she lifted her arm was too bad for her to bother getting them on. The dress would do — it was warm enough. She did put on the armor, though. She could do that without raising her arms. The whole process was torture, but she did it, even managing some of the straps. She whined involuntarily, and she was panting when she finished, but she did it.
She took only the most important things from each pack. Food, the sleeping roll, the valuables and weapons. Some little arrows for the crossbow. The remains of the cut-up robe, in case she needed a bandage at some point. And, after a moment''s consideration, she added three small bottles of what smelled like liquor as well, in case she needed help getting to sleep. Then she steeled herself and screamed through her teeth as she put the pack on.
By the time the forest gave way to fields, Ana was about ready to throw up. The pain was constant and awful, and the armor didn''t breathe at all. Besides that, it didn''t matter how much stronger or in better shape she was supposed to be thanks to the “Class” that she''d been given. She wasn’t hurt. She was properly injured. Her ribs were probably fucked where she’d been kicked. She stumbled and staggered, her jaw clenching against the pain, but she couldn''t stop.
It was an incredible relief when she came into sight of the part town, part armed camp that was the outpost. She couldn’t afford to question the fact that it looked like an open air museum.
It was certainly large enough to be called a town, whatever the dead man had said. The place was a half mile wide expanse of tile roofs, with a mile of clearing between it and the forest on all sides. Surrounding it was an impressive wooden wall, and at the foot of that were several rows of stakes. There were some fields and farm houses outside the walls, but they had their own walls, and there was nowhere near enough farmland here to feed the settlement as far as Ana could tell, which she figured must mean that they got food from outside, somewhere.
For all that it looked like the place was ready for trouble, the gate that the road led to was wide open. There was no one going in or out at the moment, but as she stumbled closer Ana could see two bored guards standing in the shade of the gatehouse.
All right. Just a little farther. She had to get in, and she had to get some kind of medical attention. Ana was an attractive, injured young woman. She knew it, and she was going to milk it for all that it was worth.
The guards watched Ana with the smallest bit of interest until she stopped just outside the gatehouse. They didn''t wear anything like a uniform, just an orange armband. Ana hoped that marked them as guards. Otherwise these might just be two bored men, and this might get embarrassing or dangerous. She took the pack of, dropping it heavily to the ground, then allowed herself to stumble and go down to one knee. With the way she felt, she barely had to play it up at all.
"Oh, shit," one of the guards said, stepping out of the shade and approaching Ana. He was a tall young man, with short, curly hair. His skin was a bit ruddy, and he had a rugged look to him. His label said [Human Fighter (13)]. "Are you okay, miss? I don’t recognize you. You an accidental?"
“Not an accident,” Ana said piteously. With how much pain she was in, looking and sounding pitiful didn’t take much acting. “I was attacked!”
"No, sorry to hear that, but I don’t mean ‘did you have an accident,’ miss. I asked if you’re an accidental. Dropped in here by accident. Not much else you could be, with your Class and level," the guard said with some sympathy.
"Right," Ana said. "Yeah. I woke up in the forest. I was so scared!"
"I can imagine," the guard said. He turned to his shorter partner, saying, "You stay here, Draver. I''ll take her to the captain."
"Sounds good, Tor. Take your time," the other guard said, leaning back against the wall.
"What’s your name, miss?" the man called Tor asked. “And can you walk a little farther?”
"Anastasia," she said, looking up at the man with hopeful eyes. “I think I can manage a little farther.” She wasn’t exaggerating. “A little farther” was about as much as she could handle. Her whole side felt like it was on fire. She needed to deal with these guards and get to some kind of clinic.
“I''m Torden. And you really don’t look like you should be carrying a pack,” Tor said with a dubious look. "May I?".
Ana’s gratitude was real when she said, "Oh, please. Thank you."
"All right, Miss Anastasia,” Tor said, throwing the pack easily over one shoulder, then offering his hand to help her stand. “I’m sorry about this, but I have to ask: do you intend to cause any trouble in our settlement?”
“I certainly don’t want any more trouble,” Ana said, all pained innocence.
"Good enough. Come with me. Captain Falk wants to see all new arrivals," Tor said, and led the way into the outpost.