Chapter 3 - A new beginning
Frantically Cantorn searched around for anything that would be helpful to survive. Even though he was not an expert hunter, or rather no hunter at all, he still knew that proper preparation was key when facing monsters of any kind. And since he didn't even have a single clue on where he would be sent to (apart from it being an 'appropriate hunting ground') he felt the need to at least have the most basic survival tools. Cantorn started to loot whatever he could get from the dead bodies of his fellow tribesmen, not caring about them at all. They were dead anyways, right? After a quick search he ended up with something that could be considered a survival kit. He used some of the clothes that were lying around as provisional bandages and he managed to find a water skin made from a monsters bladder. Unfortunately the other equipment was mostly destroyed or in an unusable condition, so he had to make do with the little dagger he used. With his preparations finished he took another look at the timer that was constantly ticking down in his field of vision.
[Time left until dungeon will close:
00:03:45]
With one last deep breath Cantorn closed his eyes, waiting for his transportation.
*****
A few minutes later, Cantorn opened his eyes again. There was a fresh breeze blowing and some chirping birds could be heard. Cantorn looked around. He had been brought into a lush forest full of undergrowth and massive trees, sprinkled with the occasional berry bush and weird looking herbs. The rustling leaves of those wooden giants reminded him of his old home. In a forest similar to this one his tribe had built tree houses high up in the treetops. Some of the dark elves also chose to live in huts on the ground, woven from thick, almost wooden tendrils that formed walls and ceilings with intricate patterns. Mostly hunters and warriors lived in those housings, as they usually felt the need to be ready on the ground as quick as possible.
With those memories in mind Cantorn started to look around to get an idea of his surroundings. At least he wouldn't feel unfamiliar with the foresty environment. Planning out his strategy for the next few hours he decided to first look for a place where he could seek shelter for a few days as well as finding some sort of water source. Food wouldn't be an issue as long as he found water, since wild monsters would usually not be scarce around those places. And even if they were, he'd still be able to eat the plants and herbs growing in the forest. The best case scenario would be a lake or river with caves nearby, as he then wouldn't have to build his own shelter and it would also be near indestructible. Keeping this in mind, Cantorn started to search for water first.
Roughly two hours after he started his search, he finally heard the sound of water. It was the slight murmuring of a river that caught his attention. Slowly making his way into the direction of the sound, he started getting a lot more careful. While he hadn't encountered any large monsters up until now there still was the chance of a few higher leveled beasts appearing. Another problem was that he had very little reference data, as he hadn't been able to get a closer look on any of the smaller birds and animals that were running around the forest.
Focusing mana in his eyes he began paying closer attention to his surroundings. It was one of the easiest concepts of mana usage, even for people that had little to no interest in magic at all. He felt the tiny amount of magicules in his blood draw out the mana in his body and the surrounding air and slowly transfer it into his eyes. As soon as it arrived there, the view in front of his eyes changed, suddenly littered with blue boxes.
[The user has learned the new skill 'Identify (common)'.]
Cantorn looked slightly dazzled. He hadn't learned 'Identify' yet? It was one of the skills that even children at the age of three could use. And he surely had owned the skill before since it was one of the few skills he had learned and used frequently. As it slowly dawned upon him what might have happened, he opened his skill window.
| Skill list | |
| Skills | Level |
| Blood mark (inheritance/passive) | Max |
| Parasitic growth (growth type/passive) | Max |
| Identify (common) | 1/10 |
With visible confusion he looked at the list presented to him. Had he really lost all of his previous skills? If so, his chances of survival would be a lot slimmer than he thought they would be. He already had basically zero experience at hunting and surviving out in the wild, so doing that with no skills at all was pretty much a death sentence. Well, ironically it was probably the consequence of almost dying and then being saved by the system that he was now at the risk of being killed by almost everything and everyone.
To be at least a little prepared when encountering anything else, as he had to assume that almost all things in this forest would be hostile towards him, Cantorn decided to check out his two newly acquired skills.
| Blood mark (inheritance/passive; level max.) | |
| Description: |
This skill is tied to the users blood and can only be transferred through it or by producing offspring. A skill with a myriad of uses. Has special interactions with skills and in combat. Further information may be provided after the user has gained some level of familiarity with the skill. |
While this one sounded quite ominous it would hopefully be of use to him in some kind of way when encountering an enemy. At least he assumed for it to do that. The other skill however sounded interesting but not very useful when Cantorn was in danger.
| Parasitic growth (growth type/passive; level max.) | |
| Description: |
This skill provides unique benefits to the users growth. The user feeds off of the efforts to survive made by countless other beings, making him a natural predator and an enemy of life itself. |
The description was kind of fucked up and it still didn't provide any useful bits of information about how exactly 'feeding off of the efforts made by other beings' worked. The information that he was pretty much a natural enemy of everything didn't exactly bolster his confidence.
With the friendly reassurance of his skills that he would be absolutely obliterated by every enemy he met, Cantorn got back to his original goal. Most of the plants around him, now accompanied by a familiar blue window when he focused on them, didn't provide any uses based on the descriptions that he got with his current level of 'Identify'. There was only one that piqued his interest: a cluster of small leaves that were sprouting out of the earth. As he sat down and touched the leaves to get a better look at them they emitted a faint blue light and gave off a cooling sensation.
| Healroot | |
| Description: |
A type of leaf that usually grows in small clusters. When ingested or directly applied to a wound as a paste it releases its healing properties, slightly aiding in the regeneration of minor wounds. |
Finally a shimmer of hope presented itself on the horizon. Maybe, just maybe he wasn't as fucked as he thought to be.
Wait so your dark elves aren't drow? But closer to wood elves?
Further information may be provided after the user has gained some level of familiarity with the skill.
So max level isn't familiar enough?
Maximum level just means, that there is no proficiency that could be gained anymore. It's only just the knowledge of the skill that can be expanded. Technically every part of the skill is usable from the start, Cantorn just doesn't know about it.
As for the dark elves part, I wrote the first chapters of this chapter rather freely. Cantorn being a dark elf was a spontaneous decision as I was not really familiar with the concept of drows. I will try to patch up all plot holes later on in the story, though you shouldn't expect too much.