The hours slipped by as Hailey slipped into a steady rhythm and soon, she was sitting down to eat her roasted boar’s leg. Against a tree there was a pile of boar tusks had started to grow from her hard work. The surprise attack against the first boar had given Hailey an epiphany. As an assassin she was supposed to be the one starting the fight, and that was best done by landing a surprising blow. The added experience was also nothing to scoff at. When she checked her status it was clear that the system approved of her new methods

  Status (truncated)

  7 Charging Boars slain. Experience rewarded. (6x) Bonus experience rewarded for level difference. (5x) Bonus experience rewarded for matching Assassin profile.

  4 ASU gained. Total: 7 ASU.

  *Ding* Assassin reaches level 6. Stats increased. 2 Free Points awarded.

  *Ding* [Shadowstep] has reached level 4.

  Only once had she been the one to get jumped by a boar. That boar had a huge scar running down its length and was the biggest one she had seen yet. She knew it had been around her somewhere; she could feel its domain weighing down on her, telling her that the territory she was in was his. She had been on guard, trying to stay stealthy, but the boar had found her first.

  It wasn’t anything special to remember, other than the boar had taken considerably more damage before it capitulated to her methods. Like the other higher-level boars, she ended up using her rapier to fight it, as she needed the extra reach to safely engage.

  The roasted boar’s leg was by far the tastiest thing Hailey had ever eaten. She felt that might have been an over exaggeration, due to the additional factors at play. Killing the beast, butchering it, starting a fire, cooking the meat, and finally getting to satiate her starving stomach all added to the moment.

  It was a good thing the meat was so tasty, as Hailey ate and ate, trying to fill the nearly bottomless pit that her stomach had become.

  I used to be such a light eater. But now I think the system has changed that in me. There is no other logical way that I should be able to consume the sheer quantity of food that I am. No one should be able to eat a whole boar’s leg on their own. And I’m just level 6. If I keep growing, will my caloric needs keep growing too? At what point will I just need to constantly eat to fill my stomach? I’ve seen the miners eat quite a lot when they returned from the mines, but still, nothing to this degree. Maybe this is one of the growing pains with the system? I just wish they had taught us more at school about this. I feel like they tried to prepare us for this, but missed the mark entirely.

  Whatever the reason was for her hunger, it abated as she finished off what she had prepared for dinner. For a moment she had considered going back to the boar’s corpse and cutting off another piece, but she knew that was an unsanitary idea and knew she would be risking her health. She would have to settle for preparing a freshly killed boar in the morning.

  As for sleep. Hailey had a plan. She needed to work on her [Shadowmend] ability. Its description was vague, and it didn’t really explain how it worked. All she knew at the moment was that during her first usage, she had popped back into existence when the shadow she was in disappeared.

  I wonder what happens if I use it in an area that’s always dark. Would I stay in that state forever? And can I be attacked while I’m like that? It would be overpowered if I couldn’t, but then again, all you would need to find me is a source of light. This is an ability that I think strays closer to the assassin side of things and would be less common for a shadow fighter to have. Maybe.

  She yawned. It was time to get some sleep. She found a spot that, once morning broke, would be lit up by the early rays of the sun. Sitting down in the shade of the large tree she leaned back against its overgrown root structure and casted [Shadowmend]. Her world went dark.

  This time, things were a little different. She felt tired and lethargic, much more than she was feeling prior to using the ability. But she was awake and conscious for the time being. She opened her eyes and was amazed to see something other than just darkness.

  The world was split into two distinct regions. The dark and the light. The light was blinding, so much so Hailey couldn’t see anything other than perfect white. So she looked to the areas that were dark, which as she looked a little harder, she realized the dark areas where the spots that were in shadow in the non-shadowmended world.

  She activated [Night Sight] and was surprised to see that the dark portion of the world filled with detail. She could see the roots she was leaning against. Interestingly, their colour was gone and had been replaced with a greyscale colour scheme. The more Hailey looked, the quicker she realized that there was no colour to be seen at all.

  Interesting. So, this is the shadow realm then. Or I guess it’s the realm of light and shadow. Neat. I wonder…

  Hailey had started to think as she willed her muscles to move her, to fight through the lethargic spell that had been put onto them. She watched as her leg moved in closer towards her chest, then she felt some sort of popping sensation, unwillingly blinking at the moment.

  As her eyes opened, she saw that the world was once again full of colour. The black and white world was gone, and she was back in the normal world. She felt a bit of stain on her eyes as she realized that she still had [Night Sight] active.

  *Ting* 1 ASU spent. Total: 6

  “Interesting,” Hailey said out loud. “I guess the system really does listen. I guess I have to stay still when I use [Shadowmend], and I can end it at anytime by moving. That’s good to know.”

  Hailey settled in against the tree again and casted [Shadowmend] once more. The world went dark then after a split second she was back in the grayscale world. This time she stayed still, allowing the lethargic feeling that caressed her body to woe her to sleep.

  -_-_-

  Morning broke. Hailey yawned and stretched as she was once more forcefully ejected from the realm of shadow. She felt amazing. Her body felt better than ever, and all the cuts and scrapes she had received yesterday from pathfinding through the forest, and the one big-ass boar that managed to just barely graze her, had healed into white patches of healthy skin.

  She looked over the skin on her forearm where the wolf had chomped down on and saw that the skin was now less pale than it had been. Hailey smiled, now armed with the information that her white skin would eventually tan to match the rest of her. Her smile stayed even when the system chimed in to remind her.

  *Ting* 2 ASU spent. Total:4

  She had a nice long drink of water from the pond. She really wished she still had her canteen at least. Then she could leave her makeshift camp for a longer period of the day, returning to cook dinner and to refill. But she didn’t have that, and she set off into the forest once more, this time picking a different direction to go out in.

  This time she had decided to head deeper into the forest, hoping to find some other foe to battle. Not that the boar’s were not worthy of her time, but they were getting a little stale. By going deeper, she hoped to enter into the so-called realm of monsters. There she would find some more challenging foes.

  By noon, Hailey stood disappointed as she removed her tenth set of boar tusks today. She had really wished to have found something else to fight. She needed some more variety. Something that could maybe fight back. While it was all well and good that she could effectively assassinate a boar in one blow, she needed to work on her close quarters combat. Her hunt had at least been fruitful.

  Status(truncated)

  10 Charging Boars slain. Experience rewarded. (7x) Bonus experience rewarded for level difference. (10x) Bonus experience rewarded for matching Assassin profile.

  5 ASU gained. Total: 9 ASU.

  *Ding* Assassin reaches level 7. Stats increased. 2 Free Points awarded.

  *Ding* [Shadowstep] has reached level 5.

  *Ding* [Shadowmend] has reached level 2.

  She felt herself level up on the seventh boar. Now she was starting to see how some people found the system to be intoxicating to experience. There was a joyous euphoria that filled her every time she heard the dinging sound ring out in her head now. It was as if she had been conditioned to want that sound to play.

  But judging by the status read out she was really starting to out level the boars. Where she used to always get bonus experience for the level difference, now she was down to seven out of ten rewarding it. A few more levels and she’d be hard pressed to get that bonus.

  Hailey untied the jacket she had long since removed to use as a makeshift sack to hold all of the tusks she had accumulated and added her newest additions to the pile. The jacket was starting to get quite heavy, and while Hailey could still easily lift it, she was beginning to worry the fabric would give out.

  One more set of tusks, then I turn back, Hailey thought. A minute after she left sight of her last killing, she felt it. The changing of domains. The air felt oppressive and thick, like it was harder to breathe. There was nothing noticeable marking this difference in the forest, but all the same, Hailey took her knives out and was ready for what ever waiting for her.

  She didn’t have to wait long. A bush sprang into motion and a furry blur jumped out at her, aimed straight at her face. She reacted instinctively and dodged, but not quick enough to fully avoid the beast’s claws. Blood dripped down the side of her cheek, and the pain from the monster’s swipe took a second to register.

  Hailey had been through much worse, and steeled herself, trying to figure out where her opponent had gone off to. The forest was still. Hailey turned around slowly, trying to catch some trace of motion, some sign of where it had gone, but there it was as if it had disappeared.

  Then she felt the nerves in her spine shiver, as if they had anticipated that something was wrong. Hailey wished she had acted at that moment, but the thought was short lived as a small furry beast landed on her head and started clawing at her scalp.

  The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

  Hailey shrieked, dropping her weapons trying to grab a hold of the monster, but it managed to evade her grasp. Locks oh her hair were severed from her head in the struggle. Hailey tried to use [Shadowstep] but couldn’t.

  She had an idea and hoped it worked. She stepped towards the closest tree, then brought her head down against the trunk, smashing the top of her head against it. The beast managed to get caught between the trunk and the top of her head as it frantically struggled to escape, it’s claws continuing to rip and tear at Hailey’s ruined scalp.

  Hailey closed her fist and managed to land a blow on the monster. The angle was awkward, but she managed to hit it with enough force that it stopped its attack as it seemed to be stunned. Hailey hit it again and again, and once her own first felt wet with blood she stepped back. On the trunk was the battered remains of what looked like a squirl. It was hard to tell exactly what type of forest rodent it was, as its top half had been turned into a meat-like paste.

  Hailey felt a sense of pride and accomplishment in herself for being able to overcome such an irritating foe, but it was quickly diminished by the slicing pain from all over her head. All around the area there were locks of her hair, some stained with her blood, and others with skin still attached. The adrenaline had been a hell of a painkiller, but now that the fight had ended, she was in a world of hurt.

  There was one thing that she could try to abate the pain. She stepped around the tree and sat under the darkest part of its shade. She casted [Shadowmend] and instantly the pain dulled away. It was still there, but the sensation had changed from being an immediate need, to one that, while present, could be dealt with later.

  The lethargic state felt nice as Hailey let the ability take over and heal her battered head. Her view of the world was sporadic. As the canopy above her swayed in the wind, the greyscale world shifted. It was mesmerizing to watch, and it gave her a bit of insight into the realm of light and shadow. She could not see through or around the light. As soon as a shaft of light appeared, she could no longer see what lay behind it. It was as though she was looking through the teeth of a comb, and by moving it back and forth she could imitate the effect that was occurring in front of her.

  Minutes turned into a hour as the light show continued, the pattern slowly rotating around her as the sun continued to move through the sky. Her trance was broken as she saw something move. She focused on it, catching glimpses of it as it danced in and out of the light. It came to a stop near the shadow she had been hiding in and was staring at her intently, slightly cocking its head at her.

  If it hasn’t attacked me, it can’t see me, Hailey thought. But it knows somethings not quite right with the shadow. Can it sense me, but since it can’t see me, its having trouble figuring it out? I should end it before it has a chance to engage me.

  And with that thought Hailey willed herself to use [Shadowstep], which worked, but she found herself appearing in the world of colour, her hands already in motion as the closed instantly around the rodent’s body. She squeezed and smashed her hands into the ground as hard as she could, bashing the exposed part of the squirrel into the ground. It only took hard whacks for the monster to be dead as the system cheerily sang in her head.

  *Ting* 1 ASU gained, and 3 ASU spent. Total:7

  Hailey released the dead monster, allowing its mangled corpse to slump onto the ground. For a moment she wondered what part of the squirrel was worth collecting but then she remembered the injuries she had sustained earlier.

  She gingerly clutched at her head. She hadn’t assessed just how bad it had been after the first squirrel, as the thought of touching her exposed skull sent shivers down her spine, but now it felt, odd. The area had filled in with, something. Part of it felt like skin, but it felt too soft, and wrong to really be skin. It almost felt like a soft wax had been poured into her wound.

  Then she prodded a spot too hard, and a warm rivulet of blood came pouring out, running down the side of her face.

  Okay, that’s enough investigating for now. Back into the shadows I go, Hailey thought. But then she had an idea when she saw the squirrel monster’s corpse. She picked it up and threw it into the shaded area that she could see clearly from her resting spot. There, if another beast came upon the corpse and wanted a free snack, she could jump it the same way as she did the squirrel, making use of the downtime.

  She re-entered into the world of [Shadowmend] and embraced the trippy light show as she eagerly waited for a monster to take her bait.

  -_-_-

  Her plan had almost worked too well. Before too long a boar came by and tried to snatch up the free lunch, but it was quickly ended, and its tuskless corpse was tossed onto the pile of defeated monsters.

  Then another boar came, just as Hailey was starting to get comfortable in the [Shadowmend] world, which met the same fate. It then became apparent that there was a severe drawback to using [Shadowmend]. None of her mana recovered while she was in that state. Each usage of [Shadowmend] and [Shadowstep] cost 10 mana, and she spent a minimum amount of time outside of the greyscale world, so her mana had not started to recover. The mana fatigue strain was beginning to build as Hailey had emptied quite a bit of her mana reserves so far.

  She considered deactivating [Masking] but figured it was worth keeping active in case she accidentally ran into another person. There were hunters, watchers, and adventurers who would comb through the forests on occasion after all. One slip up and she was toast.

  She had to give up on her ambitions of luring in monsters with monster corpses, as she could not keep up with the demand. She gave it one last attempt and brained another squirrel monster with her fists before moving back outside the realm of monsters. But before she went, she cut off the squirrels’ hands and feet. She was guessing their sharp claws held some real value and would be worth carrying around.

  The air had returned to its sweet scent and taste, and felt easy to breath, and relaxing. It was just what Hailey needed in the moment. Her head was still pounding, and rightfully so. The soft substance on her head had hardened a little bit more. With time she hoped that it would become skin and flesh as it should. But for the meantime, Hailey strolled back through the forest to her camp, armed with her makeshift bag of spoils, and another cut off hind leg from a boar.

  When she arrived at the camp, she was astonished to find that there were claw marks all over the place. Claws markings that looked like they belonged to a pack of wolves. The stack of tusks had been knocked over, but they were otherwise looked to all still be there. The spot where the fire had been yesterday looked to be the second most torn up spot.

  The worst spot was the area Hailey had sat down in to use [Shadowmend] in. The overgrown roots were shredded and strewn across the ground like a coarse layer of mulch. Hailey, while surprised, did not rush to do anything. Instead, she fixed up her fire area and got a new fire going. She fed it some larger pieces of wood, then skewered the boar meat and set it to roast away.

  After adding her spoils to the pile of tusks, she set about surveying the local area. If she could catch the wolves in a surprise attack, it would make her life a whole lot easier at night when she didn’t have to fear a predator with a sharp sense of smell. She had a feeling these were from the same pack as before. They were probably eager to avenge their three packmates that had died while trying to hunt her down.

  Even without any experience tracking animals Hailey was able to follow the wolves’ path through the forest. By her guess the animals had figured themselves to be some sort of top predator and waded a wide path through the underbrush. All of the other beasts she had seen were stealthy and did not leave traces of their comings and goings. There was no need to be stealthy if you didn’t think anything could pose a risk to you.

  A couple of minutes later and Hailey had to hide in the shadow of a tree. Normally hid as she still wanted to see what she was up against. Ahead of her, in a small enclosed clearing there were seven brownish coloured wolves that matched the appropriate size she had thought them to be.

  The beasts were lounging about. Most of them seemed to be asleep, while one seemed to be occupied with gnawing on a bone. Hailey swore to herself as a plan flashed through her mind. It was her best chance against so many beasts. So not wasting any time she drew her rapier, and shadowstepped behind the wolf that appeared to be on duty.

  Her strike was swift and true. Before the wolf could react, its head was rolling on the ground, separated from the rest of its body. Hailey stepped again, taking the head of a sleeping wolf. Then jumped again and again, each move silent and lethal. She only dared breathe when the last wolf’s head had been removed from its shoulders. The corpses of seven wolves laid strewn around her.

  Hailey had to laugh. It was too funny to see the foe that she had sent her scrambling down the mountain in a terror-fueled sprint had been easily done in by her blade. She left the wolves to rot where they once breathed and returned to her camp. She rotated the meat, got a drink and sat down to rest. Her mana had taken quite a beating from the seven uses of [Shadowstep] but it was the best resolution to the situation.

  Getting comfy, it was finally time for her to check her status and see all of the changes from her hard day of work.

  Status.

  3 Leaping Squirrels slain. Bonus experience rewarded for level difference. (2x) Bonus experience rewarded for matching Assassin profile.

  2 Charging Boars slain. Experience rewarded. (2x) Bonus experience rewarded for matching Assassin profile.

  7 Forest Wolves slain. (7x) Bonus experience rewarded for level difference. (7x) Bonus experience rewarded for matching Assassin profile. Bonus experience rewarded for outnumbered combat

  8 ASU gained. Total: 8 ASU.

  *Ding* Assassin reaches level 8. Stats increased. 2 Free Points awarded.

  *Ding* Assassin reaches level 9. Stats increased. 2 Free Points awarded

  *Ding* [Shadowstep] has reached level 7.

  *Ding* [Shadowmend] has reached level 4.

  Hmm, Hailey thought. I should allocate those free points at some point. But that’s a problem for tomorrow.