Chapter 8: The Kind One

A dull thump echoed from the impact of the arrow hitting it's mark and a loud, almost childlike scream rang out. Jackson felt like the worst person alive, but tried to push through the guilt.

Rabbit's are just too cute!

He finally managed to get a wild horned rabbit, but could barely handle the guilt of actually getting one.

But I... I need meat to be able to live properly, these berries aren't the GMO's we have today right? so I can really only rely on meat to be packed with nutrients. Right?

He was trying to justify himself, but wasn't sure if he could. He sighed, a big long harrumph.

"I'm gonna need to get used to this eventually... whether I'd like to or not."

As he walked over to the rabbit, an upbeat voice rang out, seemingly from nowhere and scared the bejesus out of him.

"Oh, hey there!"

Jackson would be lying if he said he didn't let out a high pitched scream.

"Haha! Got you good didn't I? Darn, you got him; an' I was tracking the little guy too."

A tall, fit, orange haired lady with thick curls walked up to him. She seemed to radiate friendliness. When Jackson didn't respond, she shook her head and stuck her hand out.

"Where are my manners? The name's Meghan, but you can just call me Meg."

Jackson hesitated for a moment, but then quickly accepted the handshake, and gave his name in return.

"Um, hello, my name is Jackson." It took a bit before he added more to fill the silence. "Oh, um, you said that you were tracking this guy?"

"Yup, I've been commissioned out here to gather some horns for an alchemist. To be quite honest, I ain't got any idea what they use 'em for.

Most of the awkwardness gone, and given an easy conversation topic to talk about, Jackson continued on. 

"I think they um, use them for glue, but you're an adventurer?"

"Sure am! these guys can be hard to find unless you're lookin' for 'em, thank goodness their tracks are different from other rabbits."

"Well, I don't really have a use for it, so-"

Meghan's eyes suddenly widened.

"Watch out!"

Meghan pulled Jackson to the side, narrowly missing a quill aimed for his mid section. She hunched over, looking from side to side.

"Stay behind me, judging from that quill it's probably an Enkki."

From what Jackson could see, it appeared to be an oversized hedgehog, with quills galore, and even worse, they were able to be shot. As they were at a standstill, the Enkki slipped into the bushes.

"Be on guard, Enkki are right aggressive, I don't think it scurried off. You good with that bow? I'll try to bait it and hit it when I can: If you have a clear shot, take it."

Jackson began to panic. He was a horrible shot with a bow!

"I'm not that great with a bow! I have a sword on me but I'm not the best with it either."

"Come on, you nailed that lil' rabbit right in the neck! you're for sure better than me with it. I will borrow your sword though, if you don't mind."

Now that he thought of it, Meghan had a bow on her, and only a dagger at her side. He was 90% sure she was better with a bow than he was, but instead of arguing, he just passed his sword to her and readied his bow.

They had been talking long enough though, and as Jackson was getting ready, the Enkki attacked, it seemed to be targeting him again. He almost dodged out of the way, but thankfully only got a small cut on his arm. Meghan instinctively looked to see if Jackson was alright, but that was a bad idea. The Enkki lunged for her, Meghan was no slouch though and had quite the reflex. she dodged as well, but the Enkki did slice at her left shoulder. with her right hand, she sliced at the Enkki and dealt a fatal wound to it's stomach.

Jackson just watched in a daze.

Meghan finished of the Enkki quickly after that, slicing at it's throat.

"Phew, almost got me there." She turned to Jackson. "Ya good bud?"

Jackson shook himself out of a daze.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm good. but your shoulder, let me see it."

"Oh, I'm good, no worries, I'll get it patched up in no time."

"Oh, but um." Jackson showed her his cut and then began to heal it. It was very small, just enough to draw blood, so it was gone in seconds.

"Ah, so you're a healer then? alright, why not?"

"You should sit down, um, right, follow me."

     

It had been about two and a half weeks since Jackson came to the forest and he definitely didn't expect a visitor.

When they got to the campsite Jackson prepared his fire pit and grabbed a stick he had dried out previously; he lit it with heat magic before adding it to the fire pit. Interestingly enough, the flashpoint for wood seemed to be lower than dried leaves.

"Neat, you know fire magic?"

Jackson almost forgot that Meghan was there.

"Oh! um no, not yet, this is just heat magic."

"Really? You must be good with it, I hear it's hard to start fires with."

"Well, it is, but it's easier if you condense it all into one smaller area, just an area about the size of a needle can make a fire, even if you aren't skilled with it, albeit a small one."

The fire started to grow, but Jackson couldn't help but feel he was forgetting something.

"Well, my arm-"

"Oh right! Sorry. This'll feel a bit nauseating at first and then you'll feel a bit hungry."

He unwrapped the wound, having put it in a temporary wrap after cleaning. he then started healing, gradually increasing the power as Meghan seemed to handle it well. Skin recovered, although it almost seemed to be green.

"I think I'm going to be sick, I didn't think it would be this rough..."

Jackson had a sudden headache followed by exhaustion.

"Oh sorry! I think I over did it. I haven't used t on another person in a while and I've gotten used to the stomach pain... You're probably going to be a bit hungry, how about I get you something to snack on while I cook this rabbit?"

"That sounds great! And thanks, my arm feels right as rain now. Didn't take you for a healer though."

"Oh, well, I'm something like that."

"Well, maybe you can tell me about it while you prepare the meat. Actually, how 'bout I help you, I'm feelin' better now."

"Oh, um, alright. To be frank I'm not that good at dismantling."

"Well, I know a thing or two myself, I'll show you the ropes."

It was probably the most pleasant interaction he'd had with another person in a long time. Meghan, or as she began to insist, Meg, seemed to be a genuinely kind person. She showed him how to prepare a corpse and how to properly harvest things like quill and horns. She didn't get mad at Jackson for failing the first few times either, which was something that used to happen to him on the regular. beyond all that, she sparked interesting conversations and seemed genuinely interested in what he was saying too.

To others, this is how a normal and respectable person would act, but to Jackson? She was the kindest person he met in a long while. Not that everybody around him was rude and inconsiderate, but that they became awkward because everybody knew how much of a loner he was, and how awkward any conversation they could think of would be.

But out here, nobody knew of him past the few times he went with his family years ago. It was nice, especially because nobody would ever need to know.

"So, what's someone your age doing out here in the woods by yourself? you can't be older than fourteen, maybe fifteen but that's pushing it."

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...Welp.

Shoot.

Do I make a cover up story? No it'd be hard to make up a believable one on the spot. um, uh. how about I just give a small part of the story?

"Well, uh. I, um. You're an adventurer right? You know that in a two weeks or so they'll have try-outs? I decided that I should try simulating a survival situation out here, and that it'd be a good way to prep and train. Yes, that's it."

"Well, that's good and all, but you still seem way to young."

"I turn sixteen in a few days."

She seemed to think for a bit, then spoke again, a tinge of concern in her voice.

"Well, it's not that I don't believe you or anything, and you sure seem independent with your healing spells and all that. It's just- you know the Examination is also a test of teamwork right? why don't you have anybody else with ya? and you certainly didn't seem to like taking out that rabbit earlier."

"You saw that!?"

A slight grin showed on her face.

"Hehe, Yeah, s'all good though, we all get a bit teary eyed our first time getting something innocent. But besides that, this forest's outskirts are pretty safe, but the insides can be very dangerous, don't trust people that tell you it's safe. Anyway, what parent would let you out here on your own a few days before your birthday?"

Meg seemed a bit, disgruntled after her own sentence.

"Sorry, I got a bit intrusive there, just... Okay, whenever you need help ask anybody at the front desk for me and I'll be there to help you, alright? Can't have a newbie be left helpless right?"

"...Okay."

"Great, now let's cook these guys up and take a breather."

Jackson felt like he had just been scolded by his mom for doing something stupid. But, he couldn't blame her, If any respectable adult saw a kid alone in the woods they'd probably be concerned, whether or not if they were an older kid. And he could 100% understand that he was being dumb by being alone in the woods. If he wasn't smart enough to leave a trail behind to find his way back, he could very well end up really lost.

"You're right, I know it's dumb, I just... I don't even know how to explain it to be honest."

"It's all right, now, which one, leg or breast?"

"Probably leg."

She gave Jackson a smile that didn't hold any pretenses.

"Good choice."

     

"I can't take somebody's first kill trophy!"

"Well, it wasn't really my first kill, but well..."

"Wasn't your first you say?"

"My first was some weird rat thing like a week ago, it tasted kinda bad. Actually, now that I think about it, there was another rat a bit over two weeks ago..."

"Wait, you ate a rat?"

"W-well, um-."

"You really ate a rat?"

"Yes."

Meg just shook her head.

"Just take the horn and say it's your first kill, it's a lot more impressive that way."

"A-alright."

Right now, Jackson and Meg were walking through the forest keeping an eye out for horned rabbit tracks. Jackson insisted on helping Meg out with something for saving him from the Enkki and teaching him how to prepare a carcass. Meg decided she might as well, as she already planned staying in the woods for the night. Jackson helped set up the tent and went to bed after sneaking in a short amount of magic practice, he could feel himself getting closer to Mana Shield, but he wasn't in a huge rush.

Meg spoke in a hushed voice.

"Look, tracks." She turned to look at Jackson. "Which tracks are those?"

"Um." Before they went hunting, Meg gave him a peek of her notebook with various catalogued tracks and their corresponding animal or monster. It was just a short skim of the book, maybe thirty minutes.

But that was all he really needed.

"I think it's a... Hunchback Squirrel."

Meg seemed surprised.

"Well I'll be! I didn't expect you to get that! What's your Born trait? Perfect memory?"

Jackson certainly didn't expect a compliment from somebody he met a day ago, so he was kind of flustered.

"Oh, no, Just uh, an ability or two, well actually three."

"If you don't mind me asking, which ones? They'd be great additions to an adventurer's roster."

"Oh, it's Bolstered Memory, Enhanced Comprehension, and Appliance of Knowledge. Well, any old ability from Learning would do."

"Um, pardon, but aren't those abilities hard to get for younger people like you? Wouldn't you have to be like, nose in a book almost constantly, random facts ready at any notice kinda guy?"

"Well, um-."

"There's nothing wrong with that but even then... You must have one of those Affinities for it or something."

"Oh. that would make sense."

Affinity. A term to describe something a person mixes well with. In system terms, it can be a skill, or magic school, or even specific abilities. Everybody had a few, but never really knew in concrete terms until they noticed how well they did with a thing.

And lo and behold.

Oh.

"Oh."

"Oh? Oh what?"

"Um, I don't know what to say other than you were right and that my future is probably doomed."

"That would be oh worthy."

Doomed may be pushing it, but it wasn't the best thing. Many people have Affinities with at the least, three different skills. This was great because they had at least three solid skills they could work with, which most of the time, had strong synergy. Such as things like Swordsmanship and Dancing. One would play off the other, even if it doesn't seem like it, Dancing helps in battle because it helps with balance and footwork. 

At least it was Learning, this way Jackson could be able to learn other skills better too.

Actually, isn't that a bit too good?

"That seems a bit over the top, what's wrong?"

"Well..."

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