Ultimate Level 1

[Consume has successfully learned a skill]

[Would you like to learn [Warrior - Spear ]?]

[ Yes / No]

Without hesitating, Max chose yes, his brain surging with newfound knowledge on how to use a spear skillfully.

[Consume has learned Spear - Common]

He was holding the wooden stick completely wrong, he realized. His hand positioning was off balance, and he was standing in such a way that no real power was being conferred from his hips.

His brain also told him how to bend his knees, as well as a few attack patterns and combos.

Things he had seen demonstrated once or twice years ago somehow felt like he had been practicing them for years.

Unable to resist, he grinned and had to check.

*****

Max Hoste

18-Year-old Human Male

Level 1

Exp 0/1000

HP: 40/40

MP: 20/20

Stamina: 20/20

STR: 4

DEX: 4

CON: 4

INT: 4

WIS: 4

Skills:

Baking - Common

Consume - Rare

Warrior - Spear - Common

*****

“Holy goblin nuts! Three fricking skills!”

Max was shocked. Standing there stunned for a moment, he heard a whine.

Spinning around, he saw the dog lying on its side, blood running down its front legs.

“It’s ok, boy, I’m here to help,” he stated in a low and calm voice as he moved to where the dog was lying. It was panting, and he could see the long gash on its body between its blood-matted fur. As gently as possible, he checked the cut and saw the entire length of its body was sliced open.

“How were you able to help me?” he whispered.

The dog whimpered, causing Max’s heart to twinge. There was no way he could help it. It would die soon.

Max rubbed its head, kneeling next to it, feeling the dog's life drain away. He would not have won this fight if it hadn't attacked that goblin for him.

He wondered if he should find the owner. They would want their dog back even if he wasn’t alive.

I can’t… what if word has already spread about my escape… what if they turned me in…

He was torn between what he felt was right and the fear of what the advisors had tried to do to him.

Standing up, he began to slink away. As he moved, the dog whined, the sound of its pain crushing Max’s soul.

Swallowing the lump in his throat, Max knew all he could do now was end the pain and suffering it was enduring. He couldn’t take it home. The risk was too great.

Tears were running down Max’s face as he watched the dog panting and its breathing change. Its whines were coming with every other breath.

Sliding his knife out of its sheath, he felt his hand trembling, causing the blade to shake in the air.

“I’m sorry, boy. I owe you my life. Let me help you end your pain.”

As he bent over and scratched between the dog's ears, he slowly moved the knife to where its heart would be.

With a quick thrust, he felt the dog jerk for a second and then go still, the knife having pierced its heart.

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

As the dog breathed its last breath, a shimmer of cold ran through Max.

[ 1 Dexterity Consumed ]

“No! NO! NO! NO!” screamed Max as he glanced down at the beautiful dog he had just put down.

“That isn’t fair!”

Jumping to his feet, he threw the dagger on the ground and kicked the goblin corpse near him.

“I don’t want it from that!”

His hands shook, and he realized his chest was heaving with each breath that he took. His body felt alive, but his heart felt like it was broken in two.

What bastard of a skill takes something from a creature that protected me?!

Moving back to where the dog was, Max fell to his knees and began petting it.

The sun had moved a little when Max heard a whistle off in the distance.

Glancing down, he realized he had been petting the dog for a while.

Rising to his feet, he frowned, shaking his head at what he had done but knowing there had been no other choice.

He searched for his knife and found it lying in the shin-high grass after a moment. Wiping it off on one of the goblin's dirty clothes, he returned it to his sheath before grabbing his spear and turning to run towards the woods.

After a few steps, he stopped and glanced back at the corpses. He ran to where the one he had killed near the sheep was, causing the sheep to start baaing, and grabbed the small sword it had been carrying. Putting it in his pack, he quickly escaped into the trees, leaving the sheep in a state of panic.

He ran for a while until his heart and lungs began to burn, ignoring the fact he was about to run out of stamina. He didn’t want to, but he forced himself to stop. Being out here without stamina was foolish, and he didn’t want to waste that dog's sacrifice.

Slowing down, he began to breathe and tried to let his mind focus on something else.

His mind went back to the fact that he had just gained a skill. In a moment, he was considered just as rare as the noble boy who had acquired two skills a few days ago. That concept was hard to believe.

“Why the heck was I given this?” he asked, looking at the sky like he expected someone to answer.

Three main gods were believed to control the destiny of all in this world. Phaius was the god who granted humans their skills. He was considered weak compared to the dwarvish and elvish god.

Perhaps one of the lesser gods did this?

There were stories of heroes who had gained enough power to challenge gods and become one. The adventurers guild and the church declared that as heresy but…

What if a hero had some skill like mine…

Max wracked his brain, trying to remember the few times someone had been listed as unskilled and what had happened to them. He had never been close to the skill shard during those times. Families stood near it when their children were coming and moved out of the way so others could see and hear what their child was given.

Were others who had been called unskilled like me? Did they have the same skill or something similar?

Lost in his thoughts, he tripped on a root and almost smacked into a tree.

Glancing up at the sun, he realized he had about five or six hours before it would be down completely, and he was almost at the stream judging by the sound of rushing water.

Looking at his clothes, he realized he would need to dunk himself multiple times in the stream. He could smell the blood, piss, and sweat he was covered in.

The water was cold, and he knew it was clean enough to drink after tasting it. No sour taste meant it wouldn’t be horrible to his body. He wasn’t a survival expert like Caleb claimed to be.

Drinking till his throat no longer felt parched, Max filled up his water skin, preparing for what was coming next.

Taking his boots off, Max kept his clothes on and waded out into the water, doing the tippy-toe dance until it covered his waist. He let out a high-pitched ooooooo.

Knowing it was better to get this over, Max took a deep breath, plunging under the water. The cold water made him want to scream, yet he resisted that urge, forcing himself to stay submerged for a few more seconds.

Bursting to the water's surface, he gasped, wiping the water from his eyes as he turned back to the shore and exited the frigid stream as quickly as possible.

“I should have started a fire first,” he said aloud, his teeth clattering against each other. The gentle breeze that blew did not help, but thankfully, the sun gave some warmth as he ripped off his pants and wrung them out quickly. Repeating the process with his shirt as he dressed while shaking like a mantis doing a mating dance, trying to ignore all the holes in his clothes.

With his boots on, he grabbed his pack and took off for the trees. One more night in the woods would be best before making his way over the bridge he would find downstream. He wasn’t sure how far of a walk it would be, but he might die from the cold without a fire to warm up with.

Sitting on a log with nothing but his boots and underwear on, Max finally stopped shivering after about an hour. He had found a place for the night, built a fire, and lugged a few logs close to a tree like before. His new strength made things a lot easier to pick up and move.

Stacy and Caleb are both at least this strong… they easily moved things as big as those logs all the time.

Those thoughts helped Max ignore the truth that he was still struggling with. Someone must be looking for him. He needed to figure out how to get stronger and, at some point, would need to join the adventurers guild. Pulling out the sword he had taken from the goblin, he realized the quality sucked. There was rust and lots of nicks in the blade. It would still cut from the force of a swing, but how much he might get for it was questionable.

Spinning it in his hand a few times, he stood up and gave it a few swings. It felt awfully heavy and weird. His spear felt much better in his hands; if time allowed, he would make a new one in the coming days. He knew a few small changes in thickness and length would be better with the knowledge he now possessed with spears.

Touching his clothes that he had put on some stones near the fire, they were finally dry enough to wear. Once dressed, he ate half of the food he had left, filling his stomach, which had been grumbling for the last few hours. Now, with a full belly, he leaned back against a log and thought about what to do once in town.

“I need to shave my hair or get it dyed…” he muttered, running his fingers through it.

Coloring it would cost money, something he didn’t have. Shaving it off might look weird, but that would be the simplest answer. There would no doubt be people looking for him, and they knew what he looked like.

Pulling the knife from his belt, Max sighed as he tested the blade against his arm. It would leave a lot of cuts on his head, which might stand out even more. He would need to find a barber shop when he got into town.

Glancing down at his pants, Max groaned as he realized he would probably have to buy new clothes. Those things would eat up most of what he would get for the sword.

After getting set up in Windsor Wheel, a day's walk would take him to the Rumstant, a larger town to the southwest. It was far enough away that he should be able to get a new life set up.

Tapping his head with his finger, Max tried to remember what he had learned about adventurer quests. Some were gathering, and others were hunting.

“Goblin nuts!” he cursed when how an adventurer makes money popped into his head.

All those ears from the goblins he had killed were worth money. Had he cut them off and kept them, he could have turned them in at any town, earning coin and a reward.

Tossing a twig in the fire, Max groaned and picked up two more good-sized pieces of wood he had collected. Depositing them on glowing coals, he put his pack on and tossed his spear into the tree. It only took three tries this time for it to get stuck in the branches.

Smiling, he ran, jumped, grabbed a branch, and pulled himself up. These new stats of his were making life much easier. Ignoring that the sun was barely setting now, Max moved deftly through the tree and put his spear where he felt it would stay safely in the tree. Finding a forked set of branches, he settled in and closed his eyes as he leaned against the trunk.

The sounds of the insects and birds produced just the right noise to lull him to sleep quickly.