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  Whenever you're being hunted, remember: seven times out of ten, it's not magic, luck, or screaming that gets you caught—it's tracking. Footprints in the mud, snapped twigs, disturbed moss, or the faint whiff of your half-eaten trail rations can betray you faster than a goblin with a gossip addiction.

  But here’s the trick: if you know how to track others, why not flip the script and use that same knowledge to disappear? Better yet—weaponize it. Leave misleading signs, double back, erase your trail with a branch, or even better, create false ones leading to something far less friendly than you.

  My favorite memory? Oh, that would be the time I was hunted by a particularly loud, dim-witted band of trolls. These clumsy brutes had more brawn than brains and clung to their slobbering hounds like they were enchanted trackers born under a lucky star. I led them on a merry chase through the Jagged Marshes, leaving behind a trail so obvious a blind ogre could follow it.

  Naturally, the path ended right at the entrance to a very territorial dragon’s lair. I still remember watching from the safety of a tree as they barged in, hounds howling, weapons raised, absolutely convinced they had me cornered. One minute later, they were the ones getting roasted like fish at a circus.

  Lesson 213: tracking is a blade that cuts both ways. Learn it well enough, and you won’t just evade your pursuers—you’ll embarrass them. Possibly incinerate them.

  Source: Jas’sen’s Book of Travel – Jas’sen the Explorer

  Excerpt 11 End

  Spotting the delroach perched lazily on a grass blade, Hassan crept forward, clutching a few fresh leaves in his hands.

  From past experience, he knew that tearing the grass the bug clung to—rather than yanking the creature off directly—was both safer and gave him better control. It reduced the chance of waking the creature and gave him more leverage to trap it effectively. And if the stalk proved tough? No problem. He was stronger now—more than capable of ripping a blade of grass in half.

  He sliced through the grass stalk as quickly and silently as he could—and to his relief, the delroach didn’t stir. Success. With practiced care, he laid the captured insect, still attached to its leafy perch, onto a flat rock he had set aside earlier.

  Now came the most important part—securing the bug.

  He needed to ensure the grass didn’t come undone mid-strike. A flailing delroach was bad news; these pests could fly, bite, or just wriggle into the worst positions.

  Working fast, Hassan tied the delroach down with a basic knot, then reinforced it with spare leaves, looping multiple knots around its body. The bug either remained asleep or was too arrogant to care—blissfully unaware of how tragically wrong it was.

  He drew a deep breath, gripped the heavy rock he’d chosen earlier—one with just enough of a jagged edge to be deadly—and hoisted it over his head with both hands.

  Crack!

  He didn’t stop there. Crack. Crack. Crack.

  He kept smashing until his arms burned and the sweat stung his eyes. Only when exhaustion set in did he finally let the stone drop.

  He checked the quest interface—nothing. No progress.

  No change in the count.

  Suppressing his frustration, he gave himself a one-minute breather and went right back at it.

  Hassan repeated the process ten more times, muscle memory kicking in, until something made him freeze mid-motion.

  #####

  Tutorial Quest: Bug Extermination (I)

  Information: Delroaches are irritating pests—capable of flight and resistant to most physical attacks. Their bites are painful but non-lethal.

  Objective: Eliminate 20 Delroaches (1/20)

  Reward: Basic Tracking Manual

  #####

  Hassan stared in disbelief at the glowing text: (1/20).

  He dropped the rock from his hands, stunned.

  He had done it—finally eliminated a delroach!

  A cheer welled up in his chest, but he swallowed it. The last thing he needed was to attract more of them with a victory yell. No need to ruin the celebration by being swarmed.

  He approached the tied-down leaf and carefully untied the knots. The delroach lay lifeless. Most of its chitinous body was intact, but the head and abdomen had been crushed—exactly where he had landed his heaviest blows.

  It looked like those areas—the stomach and head—were its weak points as he thought. The quest description hadn’t exaggerated; these pests really were resistant to most physical attacks. Had he missed those spots, the blow might not have been fatal.

  Hassan let himself rest, finally soaking in the thrill of success. After all the effort, he had done it. It felt earned—like he had conquered something meaningful.

  After a few minutes, he grinned and scanned the grass for more targets. He no longer feared the delroaches. If anything... they’d soon be afraid of him.

  Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.

  #####

  Hassan kept striking the grass leaf with practiced force. The delroach wriggled, but he could tell—it wouldn’t last much longer.

  Now, before each attack, he made sure to flip the bug onto its stomach, targeting its weak points. That simple adjustment had worked wonders.

  On average, it took about fifteen solid strikes to finish one off. There had only been a single close call—one delroach had broken free mid-assault. Thankfully, it was too injured to take flight and only managed a pitiful crawl before collapsing.

  It had tried to chase him, hissing weakly, but Hassan outran it easily—without so much as a scratch.

  Now, he was back at it. This one—the twitching, leaf-bound pest before him—was the final target. Just one more, and the quest would be complete. He could feel it: just a few more hits.

  #####

  Quest Complete: Bug Extermination (I)

  Reward: Basic Tracking Manual

  #####

  Hassan dropped onto the grass, breathing hard—but grinning.

  It was over. He’d done it. The quest was complete.

  And after all that blood, sweat, and smashed bug guts... this tracking manual had better be worth it.

  But then a thought struck him—where was the next quest?

  Was there something he had to do to receive it? Maybe entering the forest would trigger it. Or perhaps he needed to interact with something else. He’d have to test a few theories... but later.

  Right now, his priority was retrieving the manual he’d just earned. But first, he needed to visit the pillar of light—recover, replenish. If he didn’t, he risked passing out from fatigue and waking up in the middle of the night—possibly surrounded by delroaches.

  No thanks.

  Thankfully, the pillar wasn’t too far off—maybe an hour’s walk at most. And that was mostly thanks to his enhanced physique. Before the upgrade, it would’ve taken him several grueling hours to reach it.

  #####

  When he finally arrived, he stepped into the pillar of light and felt his fatigue melt away. The pillar’s glow dimmed to half—one of his two uses spent.

  It was mildly annoying that he couldn’t control when the recovery kicked in, but at least the system gave him two charges to work with.

  Once he felt fully recharged, he stepped into the light again—this time, to claim his reward.

  Basic Tracking Manual.

  #####

  Initiating transfer of the Basic Tracking Manual

  #####

  For the fourth time, Hassan stepped into what resembled the void. But this time, he didn’t bother to look around—there was no need. He arrived directly in front of the paper-bound book. It was smaller than any manual he’d seen before: modest, unassuming, yet radiating a quiet weight, as if it held truths he hadn’t yet earned.

  Without hesitation, he stepped forward and began to read.

  The manual opened with a simple truth: a skilled tracker begins with a deep understanding of the land. Whether it’s the soft give of a forest floor, the shifting sands of a desert, or the brittle crust of frozen terrain, the ground tells a story. Tracks change depending on where they’re left and how long they’ve remained. Understanding the mood and rhythm of an environment helps predict what kind of creature passed through—and where it might be headed.

  Study the land first, the manual urged. Hassan took the advice to heart.

  It followed with practical techniques—how to study soil moisture, note the direction of flattened grass, measure footprint depth to estimate weight and speed. Even wind direction mattered. Small cues became crucial.

  Then, it turned to the art of observation. Not just looking, but truly noticing. A bent stalk of grass. A faint imprint in the mud. A single stone out of place. None of it was meaningless. These subtle shifts were part of the trail’s language—fragments of a larger story left behind. When pieced together, they revealed motion, pace, even mood.

  The manual continued with observation methods—some intuitive, others completely unexpected. Like listening to how birds behaved when an intruder passed by, or noticing how insects suddenly avoided a certain patch of ground. It surprised him how much could be sensed if one simply paid attention.

  Patience, the manual warned, was essential. Tracking wasn’t a quick skill to learn. It demanded stillness, silence, and the willingness to wait. One rushed step or careless thought could erase a fragile clue forever.

  It was a test of discipline more than anything else—and Hassan realized he’d need to slow himself down if he wanted to master this craft.

  Understanding behavior, too, was vital. No track existed without intent behind it. A winding trail could suggest curiosity, hesitation, or confusion. A straight, determined path might hint at urgency, fear, or escape. Whether beast or humanoid, every movement carried purpose.

  If he could learn to read that purpose, he wouldn’t just follow tracks—he’d anticipate them.

  The manual illustrated this with examples: how a nervous animal looped back to check for a pursuer, or how a predator moved in arcs to flank its prey. Each case taught not just what was seen, but why it happened.

  But none of it would matter without experience. The manual emphasized this again and again: true understanding came only through time. With enough practice, a skilled tracker could notice what others completely missed—like sensing tension in the land itself.

  The next chapter shifted into the supernatural.

  Magic, it explained, could aid in detecting things beyond normal senses—such as a creature’s energy signature or the presence of hidden water or food. Unfortunately, this manual contained no spells—only theory.

  The next section dove into elements and spirits—mysterious forces often tied to advanced tracking.

  It started with elements.

  Elements were described as non-living energy forms—wind, fire, water, earth, and more. Creatures with a strong elemental affinity could manipulate these forces to cover their tracks, making pursuit nearly impossible.

  Conversely, a skilled tracker could sometimes use those same elemental traces to reveal a path.

  The manual warned that this was an advanced technique—rare, difficult, and not something he’d master anytime soon. But it urged him to keep it in mind; after all, someone else might use it against him. Still, the message was clear: focus on the basics. The rest would come in time.

  Spirits, on the other hand, were primarily living energy beings tied to specific elements—though some could take solid form, especially those aligned with solid elements. They appeared in countless shapes, their appearance often shaped by their elemental affinity. Water spirits, earth spirits, fire spirits—their names reflected what they embodied.

  With their favor, a tracker could bypass affinity limitations altogether and access elemental clues.

  Spirits typically dwelled in places or objects dense with their element—stones, plants, pools, and even magic circles. Some made their homes in ancient runes; others curled inside the roots of old trees or in the warmth of volcanic soil.

  That made Hassan freeze. He remembered the magical plant he’d nearly touched—was that a spirit’s home?

  If so... did it remember him? Did it realize he’d sent it into the system space? Would it know he was... different? Abnormal?

  A chill ran through him.

  Eventually, he calmed himself. He couldn’t undo what had happened. But he could test a theory.

  What if a creature did remember what happened in the system space?

  He’d start small—maybe trap a bug, toss it into the system, irritate it, and then check if it behaved any differently back in the real world.

  Shaking the thoughts away for now, he returned to the manual.

  To gain a spirit’s favor depended on both the spirit and the individual.

  Some bonds took years to form—slowly built on respect, offerings, or shared affinity. But a rare few could form an instant bond with a spirit, born from a great alignment between soul and element.

  The manual concluded with a brief note: humanoid tracking was far more complex.

  Different races had different habits, environments, and behavioral patterns—far beyond the scope of this beginner’s manual.

  That would be covered in more advanced manuals.

  And finally, on the last page—one quiet line, printed alone at the center: Basic Tracking Manual.

  #####

  Transfer of Basic Tracking Manual complete.

  #####

  Space twisted—and in an instant, Hassan was back in the system space.