Chapter 2: (Revised) (2/2)
The thought of continuing to grow made Randidly wonder what would happen when he finally finished the Newbie Path.
He wound his way forward, pressing aside the ferns and occasionally pausing to peek through the trees. He grew more certain with his foot placement the further he went. After moving for some time, Randidly glanced around a particularly thick trunk, scanning for any monkey threats. No animals, no movement. Randidly did spot a bush heavy with dark purple berries ten yards down near the edge of the tree line.
He crept in that direction, his breath extremely heavy in his ears. When he reached the berries, he wiped his sweaty hands on his pants. Should he eat a couple before trying to carry them away?
Randidly’s stomach rumbled, settling the issue. The walk here made him hungrier. And that certainty from his stomach made the corner of Randidly’s mouth quirk upward. If these are poisonous, I’m so screwed.
Well, first things first. Randidly eased himself out, glanced left and right, then scampered to the bush. He tentatively bit into a berry, which was a little bit larger than a grape. Sweetness filled his mouth, laced in a crisp taste that reminded him of strawberries. He spit out some seeds, pleased to find these were good for eating. Satisfied, he pulled up his shirt and filled it like a pouch.
When Randidly turned around, pouch full, he noticed he was being watched.
A lime green frog about as big as a small dog sat motionless on a low tree branch, gazing at him. Randidly might have already walked beneath it without noticing its presence. Above the frog hovered the label Level 27.
Randidly backed slowly away. Even if he had to take a different route back to the Safe Zone, he didn’t want to chance being chased again. The frog watched him sidle sideways into the shrubbery layer, tilting its head. Receiving a notification that his Sneak Skill was now Level 2, Randidly turned and ran back through the ferns into the Safe Zone.
He sat on the ground and focused on his breathing, waiting for his pounding heart to slow. He ate about half of his gathered berries, spitting the seeds into the dirt by the small tree.
After eating, he collapsed onto his back and looked up at the stone ceiling. The fluorescent electric lights of this service-room must have been transformed when the rainforest took up residence. The light they produced felt a lot like warm sunlight on his skin.
Sitting up, Randidly went to his Path Screen and put the point he earned for Sneak Level 2 into the Newbie Path, getting a free Stat. He checked his Status screen immediately, and added the extra point to End, resulting in an additional 5 points of Health and 3 of Stamina, but only .25 Health regen and no Stamina regen. End was more base while Vit focused on regeneration?
If he had to choose between them, Randidly supposed he would probably prefer to buffer up his Endurance, for now. Increasing the maximum value of his Health and especially Stamina was more important than anything else.
But really, how useful is 5 Health going to be against a Level 27 Frog? Randidly reflected as he squeezed his eyes shut.
Lying back, Randidly did his best to fall asleep, half hoping this was all a dream, while the other half looked forward to tomorrow being filled with even more grinding. This was far from what he wanted when he said he didn’t belong in his stressful engineering major at Rawlands University.
Even now, his own heartbeat felt strange in his chest. The Safe Zone helped, but his neck prickled with the sense of his own vulnerability. At the same time, there was something about this RPG setup he appreciated, even with the lurking presence of danger.
The simplicity, the systems, the Stats.
He hoped there would be a secret way of playing that allowed him to break this fucked-up game.
In life, there were no true short-cuts. Or at least no hidden methods that didn’t leave you feeling slimy. The path to true self-improvement was murky and filled with dead ends. There was never any guarantee that effort would be rewarded.
But here, with the Skill Levels, although his heart was pounding…
Randidly felt anticipation.