Just as Nathan reached the administrated chamber, he walked to the center and focused on his status window, pulling it up.
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Status Window
Name: Nathan Hale
Tier: Unawakened
STATS
Strength (STR): 4
Agility (AGI): 5.3
Precision (PRE): 4
Endurance (END): 4
Awareness (AWR): 5
Focus (FOC): 6
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Abilities: Reversal (Active) (1/2)
'I really need to figure what this does,' Nathan thought as his eyes laid back on his ability section.
According to what he had found out, Reversal was not a documented ability and active abilities can only be received by absorbing ability shards.
And upon looking up the prices for ability shards he found that even the most common ones which amplified your stats passively were sold for hundreds of thousands.
'How did I even get this...'
'Ah, not the time for thinking nonsense.'
He snapped his attention back to the matters at hand as he knew that he will find the purpose of this ability in due time.
Turning his head slightly up he looked at his agility stat.
'I am slowly starting to notice the differences,' Nathan though back to when he surprise attacked the goblin, he had noticed a significant increase in speed.
'I really am getting stronger,' a grin appearing on his face on the thought of getting stronger.
Finishing his thoughts, he looked around, the central chamber felt different now.
When he had first entered earlier that day, the space had been relatively quiet with just a handful of hunters lingering near the tunnel entrances but now, there was noticeably more movement.
'More people.'
Nathan slowly turned in place, taking it all in.
There were five other pathways branching out from the chamber besides the one he had just emerged from.
Hunters moved through the space in small groups. Some of them standing near the entrances, adjusting their armor straps or checking their weapons.
'So this is how it looks once the day really starts,' Nathan thought.
He shifted his spear to his other hand. The adrenaline from his earlier kill had faded.
'Which one do I enter now?'
The question lingered in his mind as he studied the tunnels.
One of them caught his attention immediately.
He saw a group of hunters four of them entering this tunnel together. They moved with confidence, their gear was better than his, more specialized.
One carried a small shield reinforced with metal plates, Another had a bow that was slung across his back, quiver full.
"They're probably planning on going deeper," Nathan murmured quietly.
He watched them disappear into the tunnel, their silhouettes swallowed by darkness.
'Coordinated Group hunting must be efficient,' he thought.
'And dangerous.'
Nathan shook his head lightly.
That wasn't what he was here for though.
His goal today was clear kill goblin scouts, getting better with his weapon and build stats steadily without taking unnecessary risks.
Going deep with a group meant encountering stronger enemies, more unpredictable situations, and dangers that he wasn't ready to meet.
'No, not yet..'
As he stood there thinking, footsteps approached from his left.
Nathan turned to see a man walking toward him.
The guy looked to be around his age, maybe a year or two older at most.
He wore light armor, clearly not beginner issued but not fancy either. A short sword hung at his side, and a small bag pack rested against his back.
The man stopped a few steps away and offered a casual smile.
"Hey man," he said. "You looking to team up?"
Nathan blinked, slightly caught off guard.
"Uh," he replied. "Depends..."
The man chuckled. "Fair enough. The name's Chris."
Nathan nodded. "Nathan."
Chris glanced briefly at Nathan's spear, then back up at his face. "I'm heading a bit deeper today and was hoping to grab one more person. You interested?"
Nathan didn't hesitate.
He said calmly. "Sorry, I can't help."
Chris raised an eyebrow. "No worries man, mind if I ask why though?"
"I just awakened two days ago," Nathan replied.
Chris's eyes widened slightly. "Two days?"
Nathan nodded. "Yeah, yesterday was my first time entering a rift."
Chris let out a short laugh. "That makes sense, no worries then."
He took a step back, already shifting his attention elsewhere. "Deep runs aren't beginner friendly you made the right call."
As he turned to leave, Chris paused and glanced back over his shoulder.
"Hey," he said. "Quick advice, though."
Nathan looked up.
"Get your awareness up to ten," Chris said. "Massive help."
The way he said it caught Nathan's attention.
"Why?" Nathan asked.
Chris grinned. "You'll find out when you do."
With that, he waved once and walked off toward another cluster of hunters, already striking up conversation.
Nathan stood there for a few seconds, unmoving.
'Awareness to ten… that'll take some time.'
His fingers flexed around the spear.
'Maybe it's a system feature... I should search it up when I get home.'
Slowly his gaze drifted back across the chamber, scanning the tunnel entrances again.
And then he saw the tunnel he had entered yesterday.
It was just as secluded as it was yesterday.
Nathan's chest tightened slightly as his memories from yesterday resurfaced.
He remembered getting ambushed by two goblins when he had just expected one.
'Maybe the reason there were two goblins in there was because no one enters it,' he thought.
Nathan stared at the tunnel, weighing the decision carefully.
If he wanted to continue killing goblin scouts consistently, he couldn't rely only on the more populated tunnels.
Those were being cleared constantly by other hunters. Scouts would be fewer making the competition higher.
The secluded tunnel, on the other hand,
'Higher probability of scouts,'
'And higher probability of pairs.'
It was riskier compared to other options, but he believed that he had what it took to take this challenge on.
'I'm not the same as yesterday,' Nathan told himself.
He tightened his grip on the spear, feeling the familiar weight ground him.
He had more experience now and had learned how to use his spear correctly.
Slowly, deliberately, Nathan took a step toward the darker tunnel.
The noise of the chamber faded behind him as he entered the secluded tunnel.
Nathan didn't look back, as this time, he wasn't walking in blind.
And as the shadows swallowed him once more, one thought echoed clearly in his mind.
'I want to grow faster…'