Jack sat at his study desk with a small notebook, writing about his encounter with the swordsman outside the Adventurers Guild.
Unexpected Encounter with a Swordsman
Location: Outside Lundun’s Adventurers Guild
Duration: Less than five minutes
Weapons: Dagger. Fireball scroll-used. White oak bow-unused. Frost Breath scroll-unused.
I bumped into the swordsman and two of his party members outside the Guild after an archery training session. Unlucky.
My white oak bow was recognised by one of the party members. Could I have anticipated this?
Assassin’s Intuition pinged when they recognised me.
I ran down an alley and hit a dead end. Unlucky.
Entered the back of a diner, became trapped. Unlucky.
Remembered I had a Fireball and Frost Breath scroll in my pack, retrieved the former. Good forward planning.
Didn’t wait for the swordsman to attack. Activated the Fireball scroll, which made the subsequent fight easier. Ruthless.
Drew my dagger and rushed the burning swordsman. Ruthless.
Planned to strike a vital point, BUT had a flashback of my burning home. Past trauma issue.
Stumbled into the swordsman and randomly stabbed him in the gut. Lucky.
Was confused after the flashback. Thought I was attacking Baron Greaves.
Missed a stab to the swordsman’s neck, but finished him with a strike under the chin. Messy, but effective.
Bluffed my way out of a fight with the two remaining party members. Still can’t believe that worked.
Again, felt a strange wave of power. What is it? How does it remove fatigue? Why does my hand itch?
Fight was over so quick, I wasn’t left too exhausted from the adrenaline rush.
Was composed enough to loot the coin purse and hide the greatsword.
A worker from the diner might have seen me.
Almost ran into a guard patrol covered in blood. Assassin’s Intuition didn’t activate, so they didn’t notice me.
Observations
I was unlucky to run into the swordsman, but it could happen again.
There are four more party members. Be vigilant around Lundun, especially near the Guild.
Buy another Fireball spell.
Due to the disorientating fire flashback caused by the Fireball, consider using a Frost Breath spell first.
Should’ve activated Mark Target and Assassinate on the swordsman, but forgot.
Buy more spell scrolls, including Cleansing spells to clean away blood. Survival is more important than coin.
Consider better places to store spell scrolls for easier access.
Jack read through what he’d written to commit it to memory via his [Perfect Recall] skill.
“Should I hunt down the other four?” He destroyed the note he’d memorised. With the Inquisition searching for him, he couldn’t take the risk of someone reading his notebook. “Knowing my luck, I’ll run into them tomorrow while I train!”
The two women now knew what he looked like. Even if he got rid of the white oak bow or removed the stain, they’d still recognise him.
This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.
“Hunt them down or avoid them?” Jack shook his head and tapped the notebook, still not sure what to do about the four remaining adventurers. My luck is both terrible and good. He accessed his affinities to check his luck value again. It would be just my luck for it to have gone down. He chuckled at the thought.
“Hmm… my luck is still at 14%.” He checked all the current affinity values and found that others had increased. He wrote the changes down in his notebook.
Table of Affinities
Affinity | Old Value | Increase
Metal 15% +1%
Nature 8% +1%
Two more affinities had increased.
“What the hell is going on with my affinities?” Jack looked at the notebook entry listing his changed affinities. It had only been a day since five other affinities had increased by 1%. It made no sense.
Having no answers, he destroyed the page and moved on to documenting his archery training session in Training Room 13. He transferred a summary of his results from the training session printout and his thoughts into his notebook.
Second Archery Practice Session
Location: Lundun Adventures Guild: Training Room 13
Duration: One hour
Weapon: White oak bow with multiple quivers of the Guild’s practice arrows
Went through the Novice Archer level zero training levels
Beginner levels 0, 1, and 2
Beginner’s level 10 for fun
The Guild’s system reported the following.
Archery training sessions results
Arrows released: 112.
Overall accuracy: 40%.
Trajectory arc suggests modest foundational training.
Recommendation: Strengthen shoulder and core muscles for improved stability.
Recommendation: Set difficulty level to Beginner level one.
Observations
Accuracy as expected based on previous training in the forest.
Minor improvements over previous session.
More relaxed/fun vs training in the forest.
Enjoyed level 10.
Body was already sore from previous archery practice and subsequent fights.
Muscles in arms and shoulders began to ache in under twenty minutes.
One hour of practice is the upper limit until I get stronger.
Remember to perform strength exercises several times a day!
I MUST EXERCISE MORE!!!
Consider buying suitable clothing for training.
Not ready to deal with Greaves.
Jack read what he’d written to commit it to memory using his [Perfect Recall] skill and then destroyed the notes and the printout. “No evidence.”
He smiled as he recalled how he’d felt during the training session. “I bet training with a friend…” his mind went to his school friend, Robert, for a moment. “I bet training with friends would be great fun.”
A subtle hint of sadness crossed his face. In his past life, he’d come to the conclusion he’d never make a good warrior or fighter, but now he was doubting that assumption. “It was the pain,” Jack said to himself as he thought about why he’d dismissed becoming a fighter.
“Training caused so much pain. It sapped away all the joy.” His shoulders slumped as he remembered the months of painful archery training, none of it enjoyable or fun. The only thing that got him through the agony was his hatred of Baron Greaves. He had to get revenge and justice for his family’s death.
“I’m going to kill you.” He clenched his fists.
Full results from training session.
The Guild’s system reported the following.
Training Scenario: Novice Archer, level zero. Beginner level zero
Arrows released: 36.
Accuracy: 76%.
Wind compensation: 0.
Reaction time: 65th percentile.
Recommendation: Increase difficulty level to Beginner level one.
Training Scenario: Novice Archer, level zero. Beginner level one
Arrows released: 36.
Accuracy: 58%.
Wind compensation: 1.
Reaction time: 57th percentile.
Recommendation: Maintain difficulty level at Beginner level one.
Training Scenario: Novice Archer, level zero. Beginner level two
Arrows released: 36.
Accuracy: 42%.
Wind compensation: 2.
Reaction time: 53rd percentile.
Recommendation: Decrease difficulty level to Beginner level one.
Training Scenario: Novice Archer, level zero. Beginner level ten
Accuracy: 21%.
Wind compensation: 10.
Reaction time: 65th percentile.
Recommendation: Decrease difficulty level to Beginner level one.
Archery training sessions results
Arrows released: 112.
Overall accuracy: 40%.
Trajectory arc suggests modest foundational training.
Recommendation: strengthen shoulder and core muscles for improved stability.
