Rook spent a while scrolling through the different skills; it was overwhelming. He tried to expand on the skills. Attramancy? Like attraction? There were so many types of magic skills that were passive to his class, like Attramancy. Then there were those that seemed to roll over from his Army and childhood training, like survival. He noticed the screen was tabbed, he mentally clicked on it, and learned skills popped up.

  Learned skills

  Racial skills: Human (Copper Rank)

  High Speed, Low Drag: Congratulations, skills are learned and increase at a much faster rate.

  Nectar of the Gods: Due to an excessive history of vitality potion consumption, you are now immune to adverse potion effects.

  Passive skills:

  -Command Presence:

  Silver Tongued Bastard- Use Command Presence during dialogue in order to achieve favorable outcomes.

  Passive- Remain calm in combat situations and think clearly. (Basic rank)

  -Fatal attraction:

  Skills involving Attramancy are leveled up faster and more intensely. (Effigy of Attraction skill. Copper rank.)

  Skill trees:

  -Battle Ready: 0/15 (Locked)

  [Available at level up]

  -Force Multiplier: 0/15 (Locked)

  [Available at level up]

  -Elemental Mastery: 0/15 (Locked)

  [Available at level up]

  “Nectar of the Gods, huh? It looks like drinking all that Military brand Whiskey and energy drinks paid off in the end.” Rook tied his rope belt for the tenth time, but damn it was still uncomfortable. The simple knot dug into his abdomen, giving him the sensation that he had to piss.

  “It looks like I’ve got some strength and physical proficiencies and some skills proficient in mana,” Rook said, checking his skills one more time, opening and closing the menu until it became second nature.

  He stared at the surroundings once more; the place reminded him of a VR dinosaur park. There were soaring green birds above the towering mushrooms, whose long tendrils gave them serpent-like movements. Grassy spurs that led up to forested ridges and now a babbling stream. His vision caught a glinting object, shiny and barely visible within the rocks. Fuck it. He walked in the water, and it was cold on his exposed feet and ankles. He tried to balance on the algae-ridden stones within the stream. His heel slipped on the edge of a slimy stone, but he waved his arms in wild circles, saving himself.

  Survival: increased +1

  Survival: 17/100

  +5 Experience gained. 5 of 55 experience until level 2

  He paused. “I guess actions can increase skills and experience.”

  He thought of his skill chart and brought up the menu. He loved grinding in video games, and this was extremely satisfying to raise his skill and see the numbers go up. He gingerly bent down and picked up the shiny object. It was a golden two-sided coin. One side had a sun on it and the other a moon.

  You have acquired one gold coin, added to inventory.

  “Inventory?”

  Instantly, there was a bag icon with ten blocks of space. In the top of the box was a money symbol with three different categories of brown, silver, and gold coins. The gold coin had a one beside it. How does the money system work? For all he knew, one hundred copper made a silver, and so on. Unless it’s nine hundred ninety-nine to make one.

  He opened and closed it like the map repeatedly until he felt comfortable. “Well, I found the mushroom,” He said with a chuckle. Concentrating, Rook thought about grabbing the mushroom from the bag, and it disappeared from the slot, reappearing in his hand. So it’s like that. He tossed the mushroom into the stream and watched it tumble with the current towards the large lake.

  He decided to try a list of commands similar to video game options. “Pause, Options.”

  Nothing seemed to help out, and he began to get frustrated. “Quest? Journal?”

  The word journal brought up a parchment much like the map. The parchment stretched across his immediate field of vision, like in many of the RPG games he’d spent too many hours playing. Although transparent, he was conditioned by the Army not to walk and use his phone simultaneously, leaving him stuck like an idiot, standing in place in an unknown forest as water rushed around his exposed ankles.

  Current quests:

  Find the Sacred Cipher:

  You have spawned into the Woods of Sorrow. The famous mushroom forest holds secrets, uncovered for many generations, turning the once peaceful woodlands into a den of thieves, murderers, and a gathering of evil.

  Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

  Task one: find the Sacred Cipher. 0/1

  Task two: Escape with the guardian’s treasure 0/1

  Good, clear as mud. Sacred Cipher and guardian’s treasure. He closed the journal and sighed. Looking back at the towering mushrooms, it hadn’t occurred to him before, but he was alone. The thought gave him a start. Am I really alone in this big ass forest.

  “It looks like I’m in some type of video game or something,” Rook said, picking up some of the mud from the stream and letting it slip through his fingers. Wading in the stream, he watched the water move around his ankles and towards a larger lake. “Well, this is just an asshole of a day, isn’t it?” Rook asked aloud, listening for a moment.

  Looking for a landmark towards his destination, he started walking. The spongy path was becoming pleasant. Why couldn’t the land navigation courses have been like this? Toes in dirt, no time constraints.

  There were three large bubbles from within the lake. Opening up his map, he zoomed in on a small tower symbol, which he didn’t recognize from his Army Land Navigation. But here in this world, the tower could mean a cave or something similar. Hopefully, it meant a tower, though, and knowing no other location, he headed in that direction

  He stood in the flowing water. Is this place real or not?

  “Damn, I knew I should’ve gotten out sooner.”

  You are cold

  Survival increased +1

  Survival 16/500

  +5 Experience gained 10 of 55 experience until level 2.

  “No shit, it was a running stream. Of course it’s cold.” Rook shivered, futilely trying to shake water off his legs. “May as well keep going.” He walked back onto the beaten path and stopped, confused.

  He felt a strong sense of dread all of a sudden, sitting like a rock on his chest. It tingled from the base of his spine to the roots of his hair. Despite the hardships he faced in the Army, only once had he felt his life in primal danger, that was when Tyco, the German Shepard, was actively trying to bite his ass cheek. He jerked his head behind him towards the water. There was something in the water that made him uneasy. If this was Legends Triumph Online, he would’ve stayed here grinding levels in the water until his skill was high enough to carry him through the beginning area. However, this was not LTO, and as enthusiastic as he was to get stronger, he didn’t want to catch a cold from the stream or figure out what the uneasy feeling was for.

  He was about ten minutes into his stroll through the unfamiliar land. He walked with his map visible to ensure he was heading in the right direction. Difficult, but I’m getting the hang of walking and reading. On his map, there was a small spur that led up the mountains ahead. At the base of the mountain was a lush, shaded path. After checking his map once more, he realized he was making good time. Only around forty minutes to go before he would make it there. So he guessed based on pace count. There was a downed wagon ahead of him. It was half blackened from burn marks, and there was a man groaning on the ground, holding his head.

  Opportunity quest

  Escape the goblin attack.

  You have stumbled upon a downed wagon. Find out what happened.

  Quest reward:

  Crude Club (Copper)

  Traveller’s pack

  50 Exp

  Did the narrator just say goblin attack?

  “Please help me! The goblins took my daughter!” The man cried.

  “Shit,” Rook said, jogging up to the man. “Sir, are you okay?”

  The man was dressed in a white cloth shirt and brown pants. He was covered in the remnants of dried blood from a bleeding cut on his forehead. Rook looked around the wagon and grabbed a cloth bandage. Rolling it, he placed it over the man’s head, then wrapped it around. Not sure how much that will do. You’re going to need stitches. His bright blue eyes met Rooks.

  “I thought I was done for.” The man said. Making a noise somewhere between a groan of pain and a sob.

  Okay, I know what to do. Same as any medical call. ‘Cept goblins. Name, medical.

  “What’s your name, Sir?”

  “I’m not a Knight, nor a Sentinel. My name is Roran Jax, and I am a mushroom farmer from Ollar City.” He let out a groan of pain. “If you can help me fix my wagon, I’ll be in your debt.” Roran looked Rook up and down. “Are you in the sorcerers’ guild?”

  “No, why would you say that?”

  “All the markings on your skin…” Roran trailed.

  Opportunity Quest

  Help Roran fix his wagon.

  Roran, a Mushroom farmer, has been attacked and requests help finding the spare parts for his wagon.

  Quest Reward:

  Edible Mushrooms x10

  200 Exp

  “Where am I supposed to find spare parts for your wagon, Roran?”

  “The goblins must have grabbed them. My map is in the back,” he said, pointing at the back of the cart.

  Walking over, Rook rummaged through the ransacked wagon. After he found the crumpled parchment under a broken crate, he took it over to the injured man.

  “Thank you,” he grabbed a pencil from his pocket. “We’re currently here,” he said, circling a portion of a dirt trail on his map. “I think they made their base here at an old settlers’ camp not too far away.” He circled another portion of the map behind a hill with a cliff face.

  Rook nodded, took the map, and did his best to measure a straight line distance without a protractor. “Fuck, I wish I had some of my gear.”

  Even with blanks, he would feel more comfortable. Shirtless in the woods was no way to fight.

  Rook held the map up and tried to memorize the path. Luckily for him, the map started looking familiar. Then he pulled up his head map, which was a direct representation of the small parchment version, minus the new scribbles. Strange. The more I look at it, the more the distance makes sense.

  Map updated: Wood of Sorrow

  The goblin camp looked to be 100 meters away from the downed wagon. That’s just over the hill in front of us. Rook glanced in the direction.

  “Do you have any weapons, Roran?”

  “I don’t, but you can look through my supply chest; I might have a hammer or something.”

  Rook glanced at the man with a flat expression. “I don’t think bonking a goblin with a hammer is going to work.” He rummaged through the chest and found charting supplies, half a fishing pole, and a box full of food similar to hard crackers. “What’s this?” Rook muttered, grabbing a book the size of a good-sized novel.

  Roran glanced over his shoulder and saw Rook holding the book. “It’s an attramancy spell book. Unless you have magic proficiency. I don’t think it’s going to suit your needs. I was going to use it for picking crops.”

  “I actually specialize in that, I think,” Rook said.

  “Picking crops?” Roran asked, trailing off.

  “What? No, Attramancy.”