A Relatively Powerful Mage

Sylvi stalked through the Seagrass Plains under the cover of darkness. She stood atop one of the higher rises, a several-hour hike from the foothills. The location allowed her a vantage that overlooked some of the nearby terrain. With her Umbral Eyes trait, she saw everything as if it was the middle of the day. In addition, her vision was superior to what it had been allowing her to notice subtle motions easily. She had easily spotted Starseekers and Razorgrass Hogs, and she wondered how blind she must have been to think the plains were empty and uninhabited. However, neither of those creatures was her quarry.

She waited patiently, easily able to keep her enhanced body completely motionless for hours without any effort. Fortunately, she didn’t have to wait that long as she spotted an Umbral Tiger on the prowl. Sylvi smiled and began her hunt. While she didn’t have an advantage over them at night, she was now intimately aware of the tiger's capabilities; the tigers were creatures of the night, using their affinity to their advantage. They brazenly hunted their prey assuming they ruled the plains when the sun went down, unaccustomed to being prey at this hour.

As the tiger entered her effective range of a hundred meters, she used her Mark of the Hunt skill, which was subtle enough not to be perceived by her prey. She carefully sighted down a nocked arrow, taking full advantage of the time her ambush afforded her. She released the arrow, sending it rocketing forth with supernatural speed imparted by her enhanced bow.

The arrow flew true, striking the tiger in the side with tremendous force, sinking deep within the creature. Her Power Shot attack, Sharpshooter trait, and Mark of the Hunt skill combined for a significant boost to the damage dealt. The creature should have died, but the high-level beast didn’t seem to follow pre-system logic. It let out a yowl of pain, then started shaking to spread an Umbral Shroud around itself.

Sylvi smiled and nocked another arrow with supernatural speed as if the bow was an extension of herself. The tiger slowly slunk away, relying on the obscuring effect of the shroud, an effect that did nothing against Sylvi. She fired a second shot with the same force and precision as the first, hitting the creature in its chest again, only a handspan from the original wound. While this wound was undoubtedly fatal, the creature persisted. A third arrow struck a second later, ending the mortally wounded tiger.

Due to the frequent hunting expeditions to the plains, there was currently a small camp of porters who remained at the base of the foothills. They were building a more permanent lodge that would house the porters while also serving as a waystation for those traveling to Celestia.

With the tiger killed, she radioed the nearby porters. While Sylvi found the fighting and killing unavoidable, she would not slaughter only for experience points and ability growth. She field-dressed the creature, efficiently harvesting the tiger’s body. Within a couple of hours, the porter arrived and assisted as they utilized as much of the creature as possible. Sylvi was also pleased to see that leading the porters to resources gave her experience in her Trailblazer profession, albeit only a smaller amount. She thanked the man with a nod as he slung his now encumbered pack and began trudging back towards Celestia.

Sylvi continued her hunt for several more days, hunting one or two tigers each night. While the level gap wasn’t as monstrous as what Imri had accomplished by slaying the Drakes at a similar level, it was still an impressive gap and an easy way to gain levels. After the fourth night, she smiled as she got the notification she had been waiting for.

Quest Completed

Sharpshooter Ranger E to D: Solo kill a monster of higher level 5/5, land critical hits 30/30, survive alone in the wilderness 15/15 days

New Class Evolutions Available

Slayer of the Monstrous: Specializes in preparing for hunts against stronger monsters, efficiently tracking and relentlessly taking them down. Utilizes nature to prepare poison and antidotes specific to the monster you are hunting.

Sniper of the Deep: Utilize long-range weapons from a hidden position, efficiently eliminating enemies without ever being seen. Improves range and precision to deliver a devastating single attack.

Twilight Huntress: Hunt through the night, giving enemies no time to recover. Improves overall capabilities while in the dark, continuing the hunt without rest, excelling at ambush and relentless pursuits.

Sylvi smiled, her hard work being paid off. She reviewed her three options carefully. She quickly eliminated the Slayer of the Monstrous, while it would help in the long run, she didn’t think it would help in dealing with the Chixel or Azala. The Sniper of the Deep was intriguing, further improving the sharpshooter aspect of her class. It also synergized with her long-range capabilities, which she had used efficiently during her previous hunt. However, the Twilight Huntress intrigued her the most, synergizing with the benefits she had gained from her heritage rank-up. She took several moments, making sure she wasn’t making an impulsive or emotional decision. She selected the Twilight Huntress class when her mind and intuition remained in agreement. With that done she reviewed the flood of messages that had accumulated throughout her hunt.

Achievement Upgraded

Solo Hunter 9 (+7): .9% increase to all primary stats (+.7%)

Base Agility has increased to 132 (+1)

Base Willpower has increased to 125 (+1)

Twilight Huntress (2F)

Primary Stats/Level

Strength .2% (+.05%)

Agility .4% (+.1%)

Constitution .2% (+.05%)

Intelligence .05% (+.05%)

Willpower .1% (+.1%)

Charisma .05% (+.05%)

Secondary Stats/Level

HP .35% (+.1%)

FP .35% (+.1%)

MP .1% (+.1%)

Attack Efficiency .55% (+.2%)

HP Regen Rate .25% (+.1%)

FP Regen Rate .25% (+.1%)

Sylvi Vesik has reached level 19 (+3) in Twilight Huntress (2F)

Sylvi Vesik has reached level 19 (+3) in Human (1E)

Sylvi Vesik has reached level 8 (+1) in Trailblazer (1E)

Primary Stats

Strength 116 (+3)

Agility 153 (+7)

Constitution 125 (+3)

Intelligence 110 (+2)

Willpower 133 (+5)

Charisma 104 (+2)

Secondary Attributes

HP 166 (+15)

FP 217 (+21)

MP 153 (+12)

Attack Efficiency 258 (+34)

Mana Efficiency 176 (+13)

Trait Rank Up

Sharpshooter F to E: Increases the rate at which ranged attacks are learned or improved by 5.12% (+.12%). Increases attack efficiency of ranged weapons when firing from a distance by 2.05% (+.05%).

Skill Rank Up

Mark of the Hunt F to E: Mark a target creature within visual range to be hunted. Increase damage against this creature by 2.56% (+.06%), and ability to perceive and track the creature by 5.12% (+.12%). The mark lasts 24 hours unless the creature is killed. Only one target can be marked at a time, and the mark cannot be ended early.

Attack Upgraded

Power Shot E to D: Increases the damage of a shot by 3.15% (+.08%)

Power Shot has become Devastation Shot

Devastation Shot (2F): Increases the damage of the shot by 5%. A small amount of mana can be channeled into the shot to further increase the damage by a percentage equal to 1% of mana efficiency/mana spent.

New Traits Gained

Ambusher (1F): The ranger can take advantage of the terrain, effectively ambushing their opponents. Increases damage against enemies who cannot perceive you by 3%.

Hunt of the Night (2F): The Twilight Huntress is empowered by the dark, improving their overall capabilities during the night. While within partial or total darkness increases the effectiveness of agility by 2.5%, resource regeneration by 2.5%, and perception by 5%.

Power surged through her as the Hunt of the Night trait took effect. While none of the buffs were overpowered, the combination of three separate buffs had a noticeable effect. The improved effect of agility was potent, as even a small increase had an exponential effect on her overall combat capabilities. The perception bonus was probably a way to mitigate the downsides of being unable to see. However, for Sylvi, who had no such issue, this simply improved her already substantial perception. She could hear and see better than ever, easily distinguishing the various insects and rustling noises in the strange grass. The Ambusher trait also synergized with her new focus, allowing her to attack efficiently against unaware enemies, which would hopefully be a common occurrence given her focus on owning the night.

She smiled as she spotted another Umbral Tiger stalking through the seagrass. It had been almost trivial for her enhanced senses to pick out what had once seemed an impossible-to-perceive predator. However, this time she did not ambush it with her long-range capabilities.

Imri mentioned that the system punished repetitive actions, giving less and less experience and ability progress for slaying the same monster in the same fashion. While it was possible to keep grinding experience, as Imri had done with the Drakes and she had done with Umbral Tigers, it definitely had diminishing returns. At least, that’s how Sylvi rationalized what she was about to do. In truth, part of it was just her competitive drive, not wanting to fall behind. She needed to push herself to get stronger, constantly testing her limits.

Sylvi approached the tiger, a short sword tightly gripped in each hand, her Mark of the Hunt activating. It noticed her and began circling her, stalking and waiting for the opportune moment to pounce. Sylvi carefully watched it, every muscle in her body tensed to react at any moment. The tiger continued its movements, and Sylvi began to wonder if she had unnerved the creature by approaching it, or perhaps it could instinctively tell she wasn’t weak.

Sylvi had a split-second warning as she noticed the muscles on the creature tense before it pounced at her. She narrowly dodged the attack, the creature's extended claws missing her by mere centimeters. If she had attempted this at a lower level, she would have at least taken some damage, and without her perception bonuses giving her advanced warning of the attack, she would have been knocked to the ground, like the first time she had fought one of these creatures. This time, Avery wasn’t here to help her; she would either fail or succeed on her own merits.

Sylvi took advantage of the small opening created by the tiger, which was slightly unbalanced by the unexpected absence of resistance when pouncing. Her sword, constructed from one of the tiger's brethren, slashed into the creature’s outstretched paw. It left only a shallow cut as the creature's thick hide protected it from the light weapons, doing little more than just angering the creature. However, Sylvi remained completely focused, not letting the pitiful attack discourage her. She continued using her incredible perception and agility to avoid the tiger’s telegraphed heavy swipes. If she slipped up for a moment, the fight would be over.

It quickly became apparent that Sylvi was more agile than the tiger as she continued weaving in shallow cuts with each opening. Slowly, the cuts began to accumulate, causing significant damage. However, as the tiger realized it was losing the fight, it went from controlled and predictable to erratic and unknowing. While this opened the creature to several deeper cuts, it also caused Sylvi to take a few hits from the wild swipes. Fortunately, she managed to avoid most of the blow, taking on only shallow gashes thanks to her armor and high agility. Eventually, the tiger began to slow down as it had been fighting at full speed for several minutes without being particularly efficient with its movements. The opening widened, and Sylvi continued to score deep gashes until she eventually cut open an artery. Blood gushed out, sapping the last of the life from the creature. She ended the creature's suffering when it became apparent it could no longer move, ending it with an efficient stab to the heart.

Sylvi collapsed to the ground, breathing heavily. The fight had taken several minutes, an eternity for such an intense state of focus and constant motion at the peak of her capabilities. Despite that, Sylvi smiled as the desired notification entered her mind.

New Traits Gained

Dodge (1F): Improves the effectiveness of agility by 2% to dodge an attack.

Light Weapon Proficiency (1F): Increases the rate at which attacks relating to light weapons are learned and improved by 5%. Improves the attack efficiency of light weapons by 1.5%

While neither of her new traits were game changers, they were welcome rewards for pushing herself to her limit. It also showed how far she had come. No longer were the Umbral Tigers an unstoppable force that would likely kill her if they got close. She wasn’t at a point where she thought they were simply a nuisance; one misstep or unlucky break, and she would have been killed, but she could hold her own in close quarters now.

Having accomplished what she had set out to do, Sylvi double-checked her supplies. They were still near capacity levels, having lived off the land for several days. She shouldered her pack and began her trek toward the Chixel’s base of operations. While they weren’t sure of the exact locations of the Chixel bases, they strongly suspected that infrastructure would be built around the dark temple that Imri and Emelia had explored in the first days of the integration. Imri also theorized that there was a method to traverse up to the floating island city, Trosano, at the temple. Sylvi also wanted to survey what had become of Minneapolis and the ongoing state of the war between the Azala and Chixel. She hoped these gains would see her through the challenges she would undoubtedly face behind enemy lines.