Herald of death

"Driving (horse) leveled up," the voice announces for the tenth time today.

The sun dips into the horizon, its shadow rising along Mount Silverveil. The sporadic forest around Ethan and Sylas shadows with every passing minute. Stags, does, rabbits, partridges, and other animals move away from their path. Russ stares at each of them as he trots along Ethan's horse.

Sylas, who is better at controlling his mount, rides in front of Ethan. They both had to be taught the basics at the stables, yet Sylas mastered horseback riding in a single day. "I originally thought that your talent applied to your levels, but does it affect your skills as well?" Ethan asks.

"It does," Sylas answers. "I went from zero this morning to thirty-three."

"You must be good at everything, even when you are just trying out," Ethan says. "What's your highest skill?"

"Crafting tools is at ninety-nine, followed by crafting for short and long swords at seventy-eight and seventy-three," Sylas answers.

"And do you know how to use them?" Ethan asks. "You might need to pretty soon."

"Not really," Sylas answers. "I swung some on the blades I made but never trained with them."

Ethan directs his horse to the side, towards a rocky formation in the middle of a clearing. "We will stop here for the night," Ethan informs. "Get us some dry wood for a fireplace. I'll make sure there are no monsters around; I should be back soon."

"You are leaving me alone?" Sylas says, worried.

"Russ, guard," Ethan orders, motioning at Sylas. Russ runs at Sylas and circles around him, following his every move.

Through predator's sight Ethan spots a dozen animals, and one small humanoid hiding in a tree. Ethan moves through the forest using silent steps. He hides behind a tree next to the one bearing the creature.

A goblin, dressed in fur and armed with a bow, watches over the forest. He seems to be alone, and Ethan notices a satchel filled with berries and meat beside him. 'Is he a scout or a sentinel?' Ethan ponders.

'The ground is too dry for him to leave tracks,' Ethan thinks. 'But if I scare him, he might lead me to his people.' Ethan forms a small fireball in his hand and throws it at the branch the goblin is standing on.

The goblin lets out a word of gibberish and jumps down, running for his life. He moves in a straight line, yelling at the top of his lungs. Soon, a host of ten heartbeats appear in Ethan's sight. Seven belong to goblins, two to wolf-like creatures, and one to a bigger goblin.

Ethan stops tracking the goblin as he sees a small camp made of leather tents. They yell at each other in gibberish, and the goblins run around, staring at the forest.

"Adding the Language (Goblin) skill. Based on your previous experience a level of 0 has been applied," the voice announces.

'That's an actual language?' Ethan rhetorically asks himself. 'I should attract them outside. Insight,' he thinks as he targets the bigger goblin.

Grugnar

Lv.20/20 (Goblin) Goblin

Lv.2/20 (Hobgoblin Warrior)

Strength: 18 Charisma: 3

Dexterity: 16 Perception: 15

Constitution: 16 Willpower: 11

Intelligence: 7

Ability

Endurance (F)

Ethan moves away as the goblins rush into the forest on Grugnar's orders. They swarm in the bushes, yelling and hissing at each other. Their movements are chaotic and unorganized.

Ethan's eyes fall on one of the goblins armed with a bow. Ethan leaps forward, his dagger reaching the goblin's throat. He grabs the bow and twists it out of the goblin's grasp. He nocks an arrow and draws the bow, which offers little to no resistance.

The first arrow finds its mark in the guts of a goblin, drawing agonizing cries. Ethan moves, shifting his position and finding a new cover.

The goblins swarm around the wounded, and Ethan picks off two of them. The remaining four rush toward the camp, falling one by one as arrows pierce them.

Ethan pulls out the last arrow in his quiver and aims at one of the wolf-like creatures. It's taller and broader than a wolf, with more prominent teeth and dark-brown fur.

Ethan loses the arrow, and the beast jumps to the side. It burrows into its thigh instead of its head. It collapses with a yelp before running off into the forest.

Ethan drops the bow and enters the camp. "You think you can kill me?" Grugnar growls in broken Eldorian. He roars in fury, brandishing a steel sword. Grugnar charges at Ethan, swinging widely.

'He's slow," Ethan thinks. He rotates to the side, moving his right leg to avoid the blow. As Grugnar's blade slashes along Ethan, he grabs the hobgoblin's wrist and crushes it. Grugnar lets go of his blade and screams.

The second wolf-like creature jumps on Ethan, aiming to bite his leg. 'Strengthening,' Ethan thinks before hurling Grugnar at the creature. The hobgoblin's body collides with the wolf in a concert of breaking bones.

They both fly into a tent, unable to stand as Ethan's debilitating hex saps their remaining strengths. Ethan grabs the long sword from the ground, swinging it into the air to test it.

Ethan looks around, finding nothing but simple camping supplies. He searches for cooking equipment but finds nothing of interest.

He approaches the hobgoblin and his wolf. With two swings, he cuts their throats. He examines the blade, pleasantly surprised by the absence of damage on its edge.

Ethan reunites with Sylas, dragging behind him the corpses of a goblin, the hobgoblin, and a wolf-like creature. Russ wags his tail frenetically at Ethan's sight but stays around Sylas.

Sylas started a fire in an improvised fireplace made of rocks. The burgeoning flames illuminate a primitive tent made of sticks and leaves. "I hope you don't intend for us to make a meal out of them," Sylas worriedly jests.

Ethan lets go of the ropes. "I don't," he reassures. "I brought them back to get hunter titles for both you and me." He drags the hobgoblin closer to Sylas and slices open his chest.

Sylas covers his mouth and gags uncontrollably. "What are you doing?"

"Teaching you the best ways to kill a hobgoblin," Ethan answers. "It's easy for humanoid species, as they share a lot of similarities with us."

"Hunter titles are obtained after killing tens, if not hundreds of them," Sylas says. "So, I reiterate, what are you doing?"

Ethan lifts his head at Syla's words. "Trust me; if I am right, you'll gain three characteristic points," he says. "Their bones are thicker than those of humans; unless you have an unnatural strength, you'll have a hard time reaching internal organs."

"What's that big purple thing beneath his ribs? That seems important," Sylas says.

"That's his liver. You can aim for it, and he will probably get shocked by the pain, but it won't kill him immediately. At best, he will bleed out after a few minutes," Ethan explains.

"Isn't that enough?" Sylas asks.

"Not if he kills you before bleeding out," Ethan says. Looking around, he spots small movements in the hobgoblin's guts. He makes a small incision, uncovering hundreds of thin, long, white worms.

Sylas recoils and takes a step back. "What's that?" he asks. "It looks like worms, but why are they in his stomach?"

"That's its intestines, not his stomach," Ethan says as he points to the stomach. "They are parasites that feed on what he eats. Russ got infested with them once, but you can kill them by eating … plants."

"What kind of plants?" Sylas asks, his hand on his abdomen.

"I don't know," Ethan answers. He scans the rest of the hobgoblin organs and concludes, "The best way to kill him is to treat him as a human. Aim for his legs to make him bleed, and his neck to kill him."

"You obtained the Hobgoblin hunter title. One characteristic point has been granted," the voice announces. Sylas eyes widen slightly, betraying that he heard the same announcement.

"If people were to know, everyone would be hunting for those titles," Sylas says.

"I am sure some people know," Ethan says. "I wonder, how many of those can you get? If I were to hunt and study every creature in the world, would I get hundreds of characteristic points?"

Sylas stares at Ethan for a moment, as if his question were rhetorical. "I don't know," he says, shaking his head.

Ethan reiterates the operation for both the goblin and the wolf-like creature. "You obtained the Warg hunter title. One characteristic point has been granted," the voice announces.

"Great," Ethan says. He stores his dagger and drags the corpses behind the rocks. "I almost forgot, but we need something to eat. Russ, hunt," he orders.

Russ looks at Ethan and then at the forest, sniffing around. He bolts into a bush, rushing after a hare. Ethan looks around and finds the stems of wild carrots he uproots. Scanning deeper into the forest, he finds mushrooms similar to ceps. He smells one and concludes, 'It should be edible.'

As Russ comes back, the hare in his maw, Ethan hears a bird flying out of its nest. He finds six eggs in them and detects that three are unfertilized. 'I hope all eggs taste the same,' he thinks.

As Ethan returns, he sees that Sylas made a spindle above the fire with branches. He takes Russ's prey and orders, "Hunt." Russ goes back to the forest after another hare.

Ethan approaches the rocks and, using a stone, breaks a slate out of one of them. He places it above a part of the fire to heat it up. Using a flat rock's surface, he cuts down the plants into small chunks. He opens the hare, skins it, and empties its stomach.

Russ comes back with another, and Ether reiterates the operation. He tosses their hearts, livers, and kidneys to Russ, who catches them mid-flight.

The hares spin slowly above the fire, and the vegetables sizzle on the slate along with the eggs. "Sadly, we can't find butter in a forest," Ethan jests.

Russ circles the clearing, checking and sniffing in every direction. Satisfied, he walks up to Ethan, who sits along the fire, and lays down by his side.

As he turns the spindle, Sylas stares at Russ. "I know I must have said it before, but I've never seen a dog like him," he says. "Where did you get him?"

"That's a long story," Ethan says. "But I guess we have time for it."