LIGHTNOVELSTORY Chapter 26: Tutorial.26
"I quickly realized that there weren't just four badgers, but seven more hidden in the nearby bushes. They all rushed towards me at once, and the following fight turned into a real marathon. I managed to kill three of them before they reached me, but had to draw my daggers to face the remaining eight.
None of them were above level 5, but I still took quite a bit of damage as I cut them down one by one. My perception sphere, along with my instincts and ability to sense danger, helped minimize the hits I took, but avoiding all the attacks was impossible.
I finished the fight with only 56 health. My cloak, once again soaked in blood, was now full of holes and tears. And the worst part was that I didn't even gain a damn level from it.
To make things even more frustrating, the whole horde gave me a pitiful 62 CP. Most were between level 2 and 3, with only one at level 5, making the points extremely low. I quickly decided I wouldn't waste any more time with beasts below my level.
I drank a healing potion, which fully restored my health, recovering almost 300 HP.
I added a question to my mental list: how much does a lower-level healing potion heal?
I sighed as I got up, surveying the carnage around me. Only a few hours had passed since I last cleaned myself, and now I was covered in blood again, head to toe.
Although I was having a lot of fun in the forest, I kind of missed a nice, hot bath. That, I'd have to talk to the tutorial manager about at some point.
.
.
.
I thought about taking a quick trip to clean myself off, but soon decided it wasn't worth it. The chances were high I'd end up dirty again during another fight, one way or another. Instead, I picked up my bow, which I had dropped during the fight with the badger horde.
I decided to look for more prey to hunt. As I walked, I conjured more arrows to fill my quiver. I really didn't know what I'd do without this magical quiver. Just imagining having to make each arrow by hand sent a shiver down my spine.
That's when I had an idea that might help me locate prey more easily. To hunt and have a good view of the surroundings, I decided to look for the tallest tree I could find. I ended up finding one that easily surpassed 80 meters and stood out among the trees around it.
The climb was surprisingly easy. My stats gave me enough strength to grab the small imperfections in the rough bark and climb without much trouble. It didn't take long before I reached above the treeline and activated my Fatal Shot Eye.
My vision sharpened, and I soon began to look around. I could see the place where we had entered the tutorial, and in the distance, I could still spot the vast wall. My suspicions that this entire place might be a sphere grew stronger, as my now-enhanced vision allowed me to see details I couldn't before."
"The curvature of the distant wall was slight but quite noticeable. It was definitely curving. I couldn't clearly see the base or the top of the wall, but if my guess about the spherical shape was right, the wall probably extended all the way up to the sky.
After observing a little longer, something shiny caught my attention on a tree a few hundred meters away. It was slightly above my eye level, on another super-tall tree, even more massive than the one I was in. I was nearly 70 meters up, and the shiny object seemed to be about 100 meters away.
Despite the effectiveness of my Fatal Shot Eye, I couldn't identify what it was, which only increased my curiosity. I decided to climb down the tree and head toward the even taller tree with the shiny object. Who doesn't like shiny things, right?
On my way, I came across a small group of deer, all level 7, and I easily took them down. Once again, no level gain. The only thing I got was a bit of CP and more blood on my body, which I didn't bother to wash off.
I quickly reached the tree and started climbing again. It was just as easy as the first time, as I ascended higher and higher. I kept looking at the tree bark, searching for what might be reflecting the light.
Finally, I spotted what looked like a hole in the trunk of the tree above me. When I got there, I saw that the opening was large enough for me to fit through. The tree was massive, with a diameter greater than five meters. As I entered the hole, I finally saw what was reflecting the light.
I crawled up to the box and found a small wooden platform that it was resting on. The box glowed with a metallic sheen, likely bronze or brass, and was adorned with beautiful jewel decorations. The hole I was in wasn't large enough for me to stand up, but I could still move around crawling. Before approaching the box, I activated my Perception Sphere and began searching for any traps or signs of danger.
Maybe I was being overly paranoid, but I found it suspicious to find a jewelry box in a giant tree. And yet, my suspicions didn't pan out. I saw nothing that indicated a trap or foul play. It was just a perfectly normal jewelry box inside a fairly ordinary tree hole. Even with my perception sphere, I couldn't see what was inside the box, so I decided to use Identify on it.
[Magic Jewelry Box (Uncommon)] – A magical box created by the system and enchanted with the ability to block all attempts to spy on its contents before opening.
I almost felt like the part about blocking spies was aimed at me. Sorry for having an omnipresent perception skill, I guess?
The box had managed to block my sight, and it seemed to have been created by the system. It was the first uncommon rarity item I had found since entering the tutorial, which was already quite a surprise. It was the highest rarity level I had seen so far, as everything else had been common rarity. Well, if we ignore my lineage ability and the translation ability, which didn't have a rarity ranking other than being unique.
Although my suspicions about the box had lessened, I still wasn't fully sure it was safe to open. But on the other hand, unless the system was being really cruel, I couldn't see any reason for such a powerful entity to leave a "killer box" in the tutorial. Although... could it be an imitator? Everyone loves imitators, right? I just hope it's not.
Even though the tutorial wasn't exactly benevolent, it seemed to have a sense of fairness. The beasts didn't hunt at night, water was abundant, and the beasts were edible. Plus, they were relatively passive, only attacking if you attacked them first.
I decided to take the risk. I crawled up to the box and realized there was no lock, despite being called a "lockbox." There was only a small mechanism I could twist to open it. I was cautious but finally opened the box, wondering what I might find inside.
Inside, I found a pair of leather bracers. They seemed to be made of very high-quality leather, and I quickly identified them.
[Novice Thief's Leather Bracers (Uncommon)] – A pair of bracers made of fine leather, originally designed for new initiates in the Order of the Umbra. Enchantments: Self-Repair. +5 agility, +3 strength. Increases the effectiveness of all stealth skills, further amplified while remaining hidden in the shadows.
Requirements: Level 5+ in any humanoid class or race. Stealth-based skill.
Well, if that isn't interesting, I don't know what is, I thought cheerfully as I read the item description. Although I had no idea what the Order of the Umbra was or anything related to it, the stat bonuses and stealth improvements were more than welcome. And the fact that the bracers could self-repair was a great touch.
The simple fact that this kind of equipment was hidden in this forest was a huge discovery. Up until that moment, I hadn't been looking for things like treasure chests with my perception sphere, which, although always active passively, didn't make me notice anything that wasn't moving unless I was specifically looking for it."
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