Anti-Mage

Anton followed the path into the forest and looked around. The light coming in through the treetops made it feel like it was either early morning or early evening. He’d know in a little bit. His SYSTEM Clock was useless because it was set for Minneapolis and showed that it was one in the morning. As he looked around he noted that the forest was mostly pine trees with a few oaks and other tree types he didn’t know. The tallest tree in the area only reached maybe 200 feet into the sky.

As he listened he could hear birds chirping and even saw squirrels and other small creatures moving away from him through the underbrush. The path before him was made up of packed dirt. So, it had seen some use but it wasn’t constantly used. He thought about activating Specter and getting a bird’s eye view but decided that walking in a forest after being in that void for so long would be a much better use of his time. Also, the sky seemed to be getting brighter so it seemed that he’d been lucky enough to emerge on this planet in the morning. He’d take that as a sign that maybe he should enjoy a morning stroll.

30 minutes later the small path he was on connected with a dirt path that looked like it was large enough to allow wagons to travel along it. This road looked well used though he had no idea which way to go. The road came from the direction the sun was rising from and faded off into the distance in the direction the sun was fading from.

Anton decided to follow the direction the sun was going, which would be to the west back on Earth. After a bit, he came to a small creek that had a small bridge over it. He pulled out one of the canteens he had and took a long drink of water, which kicked off his hunger. He ended up sitting down on a log along the side of the road and pulled out a ration. He actually pulled out a Beef Stew MRE added water to the warming packet and cooked his meal while he snacked on the cookie that came in the MRE. Once he started eating he went through everything in the MRE in quick order. There were over 2,000 calories in an MRE. He went through it in less than 15 minutes.

As he considered how hungry he felt, It looked like he didn’t have to eat, but his body still wanted to. Good to know. As he was cleaning up his mess and putting it back into his personal inventory a Notification popped up.

WARNING! Maggen’s Gift has been activated. One copper piece has been removed from Maggen’s Exceptional Storage.

“What the hell!” Anton exclaimed as he stood and spun around looking for whoever had lifted the copper piece of out his inventory. When he saw the wide-eyed…it had to be a halfling or maybe a gnome. No, it was definitely a halfling. When he saw the young man look sheepish as he pocketed the copper coin and started to back away slowly Anton calmly said, “Stop please.”

The halfling continued to back away so Anton pulled a gold coin from his inventory and held it up, which caused the young thief to freeze. Since it was obvious that they couldn’t communicate with words Anton activated Telepathy and tried to connect to the halfling.

Would you like to actively or passively form a mental connection with your target?

Anton chose to passively form a connection. If the halfling didn’t want to talk he wasn’t going to force him to. If he did want to talk, Anton needed information and he had some coins he could share. The halfling paused for a second and then nodded as he accepted the link.

Telepathy without a common language was a little weird. As their minds linked images and thoughts bounced back and forth as the two minds worked to understand one another. While the link was establishing itself Anton tossed the gold coin to the halfling. He pulled another from his inventory and held it up for the halfling to see. Anton watched the look of surprise as the halfling easily caught the first gold coin and then noticed the second one in Anton’s fingers.

Less than a minute later the telepathic link was established and they could communicate.

“My name is Anton; how would you like to make another gold coin?” Anton asked.

“My name is Gopher Moonkettle, why you give me money?”

Anton realized that while they could “talk” it wasn’t really talking and the sentences were chopped or garbled. Instead, he utilized the higher function to directly convey what he wanted and needed to Gopher and what Gopher would get out of it. He was looking for someone to give him information on the surrounding area as well as someone who could teach him the local language for one gold piece a day.

Once Gopher understood what Anton wanted Gopher came over to the log and sat down just out of Anton’s easy reach. Anton put the gold coin on the log between them. Gopher picked it up and pocketed it and the lessons started.

With Telepathy active, Anton picked up the local language relatively quickly. It was very similar to English after all, though there were slight changes here and there.

Before long, Anton and Gopher were discussing the forest Anton was in and the closest city, which was back the way he’d come from. About five miles through the forest, it ended and opened up onto a bluff that led down to a shoreline where a small town had sprung up. When Anton asked what kind of town and how many people were there, Gopher said he didn’t really know but definitely more than 100. It didn’t have a SYSTEM Shop but there were merchants that purchased and sold to the SYSTEM through their class skills.

When Anton asked what type of town it was, Gopher didn’t understand the question. He just said it was a good town where Anton could find anything he might need. If he wanted to visit a city he’d have to head further down the coast. When Anton asked who ran the town that was close by all Gopher would say was “Some Human.” Anton convinced Gopher to continue teaching him Common for the next three days though Gopher led him back to his camp which was a little further down the trail and a couple hundred feet off in the woods behind some bushes that muffled the area from anyone passing by.

Anton enjoyed the break. After being alone in the dark for so long it was nice just to sit back and talk to someone and enjoy the natural setting. Anton told Gopher about Earth which Gopher didn’t believe. Eventually, Gopher asked about their initial meeting.

“How did you keep me from stealing from your inventory? You have gold but all I was able to find was one copper piece.”

Anton laughed, “I wondered when you’d ask me about that. I bought a skill that lets me decide what gets pulled out of my inventory. It blocks any ability or class skill that isn’t higher level than it,” Anton explained.

“That’s some skill. What happens when you run out of copper for people to steal?” Gopher asked.

“Well, if that were to happen their skill would work normally after that but I don’t see that being a problem anytime soon. Someone would need to pick my pocket more than 500 times to even have a chance at getting something from me.

Gopher frowned.

“Also,” Anton continued, “Every time my skill activates I receive a notification. That’s how I knew to turn and look for you. Not because your stealth failed but because I was told you’d taken something from my inventory.”

A look of shocked realization crossed Gopher’s face.

“Keep them. I would appreciate it if you’d stop trying to steal stuff from my inventory though,” Anton said with a smile.

Gopher nodded. Anton wasn’t too worried about it. He’d only tried four more times over the last three days. It was also good practice for Anton because he knew that he needed to up his Perception or find a skill that allowed him to notice his surroundings better. He hadn’t known Gopher was trying to take stuff from his inventory until he’d received the notification.

On their last day together, Gopher brought back some eggs and berries he’d found. They cooked the eggs and added them to the rations that Anton provided.

As they sat down to eat Gopher said, “You talk much better now.”

“I had a very good teacher. Also, I think my skill in Telepathy helped me understand and learn the various words you were teaching me much faster,” Anton said.

“What will you do today?” Gopher asked.

Anton pulled out another gold coin and handed it to Gopher, “I think I’m done here. What will you do now?”

Gopher accepted the coin, “My people have a settlement deep in the forest. No, I can’t take you there. But I now have the coin to live comfortably for quite a while. I’ll probably head there,” Gopher said.

They finished their meal and tossed the used items in their inventory. Anton stood, “Well Gopher, I wish you luck. I think I’m going to head toward the town now. If it’s five miles away it’ll take me a little while to get there.

“Be careful when you get to the edge of the forest. If there are scavengers or bandits they’ll try to strike before you leave the forest.”

“You’re not going to go try to hook up with them and get even more loot from me?” Anton asked.

“Not my style. I am a thief, not a murderer, and yes there is a distinction. I only try to steal. The bandits and scavs as we call them don’t always murder, but more often than not people go missing,” Gopher explained.

“Well, I’ll be careful, and thank you for the warning,” Anton said as he pulled out five more gold coins. “My supplies aren’t infinite but you have helped me quite a bit so consider this a bonus.”

Gopher smiled genuinely, “9 gold for hanging out with a human and teaching common for 3 days. I’ve never made money this quick before. Trust me, the pleasure is all mine!”

Anton nodded and started walking toward the trail and began following it east toward the town. He thought about everything Gopher had told him about. The forest he was in was one of the largest forests at the border of the human city to the south. The town on the edge of the forest was human-owned but a lot of demi-humans, his term for members of other humanoid races, lived there as well.

Gopher couldn’t tell him what the name of the planet he was on was, nor did he really understand what Anton meant when he tried to explain what a planet was. The forest he was in was the Evermet Forest and the town he was going to was just referred to as The Town. It didn’t have a name. The City to the South was Ancree.

While Anton wasn’t looking for a fight, he’d been unable to identify Gopher’s level or class, His Analyze Skill was still only Common Level 1. He needed to level the skill or purchase an upgrade. As it was the skill had just given him the name and race of the individual.

Gopher Moonkettle, Halfling.

If he was attacked he’d like to at least have an idea of what level creatures or people were attacking him. As it was, he hadn’t seen anything that would give him pause. He’d seen deer, raccoons, rabbits, and even an owl. Just normal creatures. Nothing he’d consider a monster. Also, his Status Screen worked but he hadn’t received a notification since he arrived. Not even one to let him know what world he was in.

Anton put those thoughts at the back of his mind and just enjoyed the walk. While he could move quite fast if he wanted to, he took his time. After a bit, he could see light shining through the trees which meant he was coming to the end of the forest. That’s why he was able to see the bandit standing on a branch that was trying to hide while watching him walk down the trail.

Anton was caught off guard while looking at the archer when a different archer shot him. He was knocked off his feet when an arrow punched into his chest right over his heart. It was actually quite comical. The shot hit him right over the heart and knocked him back and off his feet. If he’d have hit the ground he probably would have tumbled.

Luckily his Mithril armor had kept the arrow from piercing his body and he only took 10 points of damage. As he was falling backward, before he hit the ground, Anton activated Specter and extended the duration to 1 full minute. He stopped the fall and willed himself up and into the treetops looking for the person who had shot him and found “her” immediately. She was an elf of some sort. What was it with elves that kept trying to kill him? Maybe he could request a title, something like, “Hated by Elves” or something.

While he was considering having a talk with the SYSTEM about titles he also checked to make sure there were no other ambushers by double-checking the other trees in the area. Except for the two archers, there was no one else that he could see in the treetops There were three more people on the ground along the path and not very far from him along the trail though that were moving quickly toward where he should have fallen.

Anton moved 500 feet back and deactivated Specter while he was behind a large tree that gave his attackers no line of sight on him. While he’d moved away the three bandits on the ground had moved over to where he’d disappeared and were searching the area for him. It looked like they were looking for his trail. Good Luck with that, Anton thought as he pulled his sniper rifle from his inventory and moved into a prone firing position behind the tree. He scooted out slowly and took aim through the scope.

His skill with the weapon had been purchased at Rare Level 1 which gave him some innate knowledge on how to set up and fire a sniper rifle. When he scooted out from behind the tree the female elf had moved but the other archer was still in the same tree. Anton lined up the reticle over archer's heart. Anton considered killing the archer for a moment, then moved the reticle down and to the base of the tree branch. He was using a 50-caliber sniper rifle. The archer, while balanced nicely, was on a branch that couldn’t be more than 6 inches in diameter. A little thicker at the base of the branch where it connected to the tree. Anton targeted just below the archer's foot and to the side, checked his breath control, and then fired.

The gunshot was loud which caused the four bandits he could see to turn and look in his direction. Until the yelp of their comrade turned their attention to him as he came crashing to the ground. Anton stowed the rifle into this inventory and activated Specter. A moment later an arrow landed near where he’d fired from but obviously, the archer that had fired in that area couldn’t see him and fired blindly. Anton looked back at where the arrow had come from and saw the female archer standing on a different tree branch while the archer who’d fallen out of the treen picked himself up from the ground and looked at his broken bow.

Anton kept Specter active while he moved closer to each bandit to get a good look at them. The three that were rushing toward where he’d fired the gun would be the easiest to recognize, they each had teeth that jutted out from their lower jaw but looked mostly human. Peering at them across the dimensional boundary he couldn’t Analyze them and he wasn’t going to Manifest so they could get a good look at him but he wouldn’t forget their faces. If he had to guess, they were probably half-orcs or some other human hybrid.

The archer he’d knocked out the tree by shooting the branch out from under him looked to be a normal human with long brown hair and a pointed nose. His features were also very distinctive. The female archer was moving from tree to tree and looking for him everywhere. She had piercing green eyes and hair that was light brown at the roots but faded into green at the tips. She also had a very memorable face.

Anton smiled and then moved along the trail until he was out of the forest and down along the road that led into The Town. When he was about 500 feet from the edge of town he crossed a small bridge that had a trail down to a creek. He floated down to the creek, made sure he was alone, and then deactivated Specter.

Anton quickly pulled out the sniper rifle, reloaded it, and stowed it. When he was done he made his way back to the road and walked toward the town. As he walked up to the town he noticed that there were no walls. No walls? Was it a Safe Zone?

Anton walked passed the sign that simply said “The Town” which was being generous if he was honest. No notifications meant that it wasn’t a Safe Zone. What were they doing about monster spawns here? Also, calling this set of buildings a town is an over-exaggeration. There were exactly 5 buildings on each side of the road that led off to the south with a few buildings behind those that were obviously places for people to sleep.

The set-up kind of reminds Anton of the cities he saw in the old westerns he used to watch. There was even a building that looked like a saloon right here on the edge of town with some music drifting out of the open doors. Anton walked over to the doorway and stepped through. His senses were assaulted with the all too familiar smell of sweat, tears, blood, and a few more scents he couldn’t make out. There was a bar opposite the entrance so he walked over and took a seat on one of the empty stools.

“What’ll it be?” a very charismatic-looking man asked.

“A beer or mead if you have it?”

“We have beer, that’ll be three copper. We don’t take SYSTEM Credits here,” The bartender said.

Anton pulled 4 copper pieces from his inventory and set them on the counter.

The bartender smiled, grabbed a glass, and cast a spell that chilled it. Ironically the spell was called Chill, at least that is what his Identify skill gave him, “The name’s Herald, this is my bar. The regulars aren’t in yet but they should be here in about an hour or so.”

“Regulars?” Anton asked.

“Yeah, this is the only place that provides a meal unless you want to cook it yourself. That costs a silver but does include one drink,” Herald explained.

Anton produced a gold coin and set it on the counter, “For dinner and use the half to set me up a line of credit. The rest is for you.”

“Thank you…” Herald said leadingly.

“Anton. The name’s Anton. It’s nice to meet you, Herald.”

“You as well. You know since you paid for dinner feel free to sit at any table, save the one over in that corner,” He said pointing out the table he meant.“ Serena has that table reserved already.”

“Thanks, Herald. I’ll go pick a table and if you’d be so kind as to keep my glass filled?”

“Will do, I’ll also let you know if your tab runs out. If it doesn’t what should I do with the rest?” Herald asked.

Anton was about to give detailed instructions but instead just pulled out another gold coin and put it on the counter, “Add this to my credit too. If there’s any change after dinner and all the drinks you give me, keep it.”

Herald gave a genuine smile, “You got it, Anton.”

Anton stood, picked up his drink, and took a sip. It had a nice full flavor and a kick. Anton walked over to the table by the table Serena had reserved and took a seat with his back against a wall that would allow him to see everyone that was sitting at the table. He had a really good idea of who Serena would be. He couldn’t wait to meet her.