It was an incredible rare skill that I could use once I reached level 10. It fit any of the might or finesse classes' playstyle, but a ranger was probably one of the better classes to use it with. It was also a rare skill. The skills I got by leveling up were classified as "basic" skills. Quick Step was a common skill. This meant that the skills had a similar system as items; the higher class a skill, the more powerful it was.

  I couldn't wait to hit level 10 and gain Nature's Howl. I decided to stay close and farm the remaining boars, hounds and wolves until level 9. I will have just enough time then to get back to Carpa and meet with this Castiel fellow.

  The moment Seb left the vicinity, someone appeared from the hills besides the lake, no more than twenty meters from where the Duskwolf Alpha was killed. A second later three more figures showed up.

  "Did you see that, boss?" A rogue turned to the arcanist of the group. "He soloed the elite mob that almost wiped us out when you and Talion weren't here.

  "He's definitely an expert. He had the goblin campleader's longbow and a full set of leather armor. Particularly that breastplate is what looked impressive. I wonder where it dropped for the guy."

  "It was crafted armor," the group's ranger said. She was a familiar face; Alysanna, the young girl who got fifth place at the archery competition. "It looks almost like my Leather Armor, but he probably used better quality materials. And the man's name is Orion."

  "How do you know?" the cleric, dressed in green robes asked with a mocking impression.

  The girl rolled his eyes.

  "I know, Talion, because he was the one who won the shooting competition in the village. I know thinking is not your forte, but..." instead of finishing the sentence, she pointed at her bow, then pointed in the direction where Orion went and raised her eyebrows.

  "This doesn't make it obvious!" Talion bursted out defensively.

  "Enough," The mage said. "We shouldn't waste any more time. We need to hit level 10 as soon as possible. All of us should be level 9 in the hour. Scale!"

  He turned to the rogue. "Scout ahead, look for other elite mobs and big groups. We'll wipe them out with AoE attacks."

  Just as he said that, a group of three Lakeside Boars spawned nearby and almost instantly aggro'ed on the group. As they were charging, the rogue effortlessly dodged out of their way, while Talion, the cleric cast a spell that was not amongst the basic spells of a cleric.

  "Binding Chains!"

  Three shackles made from light burst ahead from his hand, rooting all three of the boars in place.

  Even before the spell had hit its targets, the arcanist had already started chanting. Once again, it wasn't a simple skill. If Sebastian had seen it at this point in the game, he probably wouldn't have believed his own eyes, but the truth was, Godsrealm was a game with infinite possibilities.

  It was natural for a few lucky players to stumble upon things that would separate them from the rest. After all, the system didn't give Seb a secret reward for killing the elite wolf. The reason for this was simple: he was not the first player in the Tidemark county to kill an Elite.

  The Arcanist finished casting and hell – quite literally – let loose.

  "Flame Hydra!"

  Three heads of a serpent like creature made of fire broke out of the earth, engulfing the boars and their vicinity in flames, instantly killing all three of them.

  Members in a party didn't recieve the full amount of experience for killing monsters, but it wasn't evenly divided either. If a party of two killed a monster, 110% of the original experience would be divided between them, so both would recieve 55% of the experience. If there were three members, each of them would get 40%, adding up to 120%.

  A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

  With four members, the total amount of experience equals 140%, so 35% for each one of them. With five members, everyone would get 30% for a total of 150%. Up to five players could form a party, so generally it was the best way to grind monsters.

  Sure, the individual experience was less than playing solo, but the total amount was geater, and the efficiency of a 5 man team was usually about 5 times higher as well. The problem was that the more people were in a party, the bigger groups of mobs were needed to stay efficient. This is exactly why always playing with party members might not be the best option. If mobs were scarce, a solo player would be leveling faster than a team.

  "The fact that you got a skill like that this early feels quite unfair, Cyrus," Alysanna said, clearly upset that she barely had anything to do in encounters similar to these. "I didn't get any other skills besides Quick Step so far."

  "I don't even have Quick Step, but all three of you do! I never get to dodge two attacks at once, because boss just kills anything!" Talion said. "At least let some of the mobs aggro on me once in a while!"

  "What do you mean? Talking like you don't have an uncommon skill like Binding Chains!" Scale retaliated. "I don't have anything besides Quick Step either."

  "Don't be impatient, guys!" Cyrus said. He opened his skill book and took a look at the spell he just used.

  He obtained it from a Skill Rune that was a reward of the group for being the first players in the Tidemark county to kill the level 10 Elite monster Flaming Centipede in the caves of Dusk Peak. The monster dropped a rare skill rune that evolved into an epic one from the secret reward. They did it shortly before the group split up and Scale and Alysanna ran into the second elite monster of the area; the Duskwolf Alpha that almost killed them after challenging it.

  The duo then rejoined with the rest of the group to kill the wolf, but to their surprise, another player was already fighting it solo. They could have helped him, but the group decided against it once they saw that the fight was mostly even. They debated about it, but in the end they decided to lie in wait and see what happens.

  They didn't want to steal exp and loot from someone else, but they also couldn't say no to an injured elite and the rewards for killing it. If the player succeeded in hunting the wolf alone, he deserved whatever it drops, but if he lost, they'd scoop in for the easy kill.

  "Let's wait for Scale to find a bigger group of mobs while the cooldown of Flame Hydra resets," Cyrus said. "In the mean time we can just kill the solo monsters around here. It's better than standing around, doing nothing."

  "Roger that!"

  I crouched low in the bushes, my bow drawn, scanning the clearing ahead. A small group of Lakeside Boars foraged near the water, their snouts rooting through the dirt. Easy prey.

  But beyond them, I quickly noticed the pack of Duskhounds and their larger cousins, Duskwolves, slinking through the trees. Their glowing eyes flickered in the darkness, watching the boars with predatory intent.

  I grimaced. Looks like I'm not the only hunter here.

  I nocked an arrow and took aim at the nearest boar. The creature raised its head, its coarse fur glinting faintly in the twilight. Releasing the string, I watched the arrow strike true, embedding itself behind its shoulder. The boar squealed in pain and turned to charge, but another quick shot finished it before it could reach me. The other two boars followed it shortly after.

  The commotion drew the attention of the pack. Duskhounds darted out of the trees, their growls low and menacing. The Duskwolves stood at the back, blending in with the shadows.

  "Here we go," I muttered, retreating to higher ground.

  The first hound lunged, its claws swiping through the air as I rolled to the side. I fired a Piercing Shot, the arrow striking its chest and also hitting the one behind the first. They slowed down in confusion. A third hound flanked me, teeth snapping, but I spun and loosed another Flaming Arrow, the flames licking up its side as it yelped and collapsed from the critical hit and the DoT damage.

  As I moved, my thoughts wandered. Why does Castiel want to see me? He's clearly skilled, and he's got his own reputation. Question is: what kind of reputation?

  Another hound lunged, forcing me back into focus. I sidestepped its attack and fired quickly, the arrow burying itself in its throat.

  Maybe he's scouting for talent? In that case did he realize I'm probably better than him? Does he want to accuse me of cheating?

  A deep growl pulled my attention back to the Duskwolf. It let out a bark, and two more Duskwolves joined the fray. My heart raced as I had never fought this many enemies before, at least not in this game, but everything went flawlessly.

  I retreated further up the slope, the uneven terrain slowing their advance slightly. I activated Flaming Arrow, firing into the lead hound and setting it ablaze. The second darted forward, but I loosed a Piercing Shot, hitting both it and the wolf behind it. I needed to be wary of my mana, so I decided to keep to basic attacks for now.

  The Duskwolf growled, its glowing eyes locked onto me. It leapt up the slope in a single bound, its claws raking against my arm as I stumbled back. My health bar dipped a bit, and I grit my teeth.

  Focus, I thought, drawing another arrow. But still, my mind kept going back to the leather hat wearing man.

  Maybe he wants something else. Is he looking for apprentices? Or maybe he wants to be trained by me! Or maybe it has nothing to do with archery at all.

  The wolf lunged again, but this time I was ready. Rolling to the side, I fired a Flaming Arrow into its exposed flank. The fire seared its fur, and the beast staggered, growling in pain.

  The remaining wolves hesitated as the lead one fell back, its health bar nearly depleted. I used the moment to finish off the closest with a quick shot, leaving just 2 wolves and one other hound.

  It wouldn't make sense if it wasn't about archery, as that is all he knows about me.

  The Duskwolf snarled and leapt again, but I loosed a Piercing Shot while it was mid-air. The arrow struck its chest, and it collapsed with a heavy thud. The last wolf and the hound hesitated, whining softly before retreating into the trees. I had hit level 9 with the last kill so I decided to be merciful and let them run.

  I spent my attribute points on Strength then proceeded to skin all my kills. I had to start moving back to the village to get there in time for my mysterious meeting. I still had a to-do list in my head that I wanted to finish before calling it for the day. I had plenty of materials to craft with, and I really wanted to make something with the perfect hide I looted from the elite.

  I wanted to sell my excess loot, unused equipment and all the flowers I'd collected. On second thought I realized that most people had probably already found the Flamewing tulips as the cave was pretty much an unskippable part of the goblin quest, but maybe I could still make something from them. I also wanted to hit level 10 before logging off, but that had to wait until after I met Castiel.

  All in all, I still had plenty of things to look forward to and deep inside I knew that this game, Godsrealm, has so much to offer I had barely even scraped the first layer of the surface.