"This is so hard!" I yelled, swatting at a low-hanging branch as I scoured the undergrowth for the healing herb. The frustration was a hot coal in my gut.
"I should have asked for a picture, not a crayon sketch!" I muttered, feeling utterly spent. The hand-drawn map from the guild had been useless enough, but the fact it didn't even have colors was an insult.
How was I supposed to know what shade of green this mystical cure was?
My exhausted feet dragged, but I straightened my shoulders. "And I won't go back to the guild to ask for help," I declared, the words laced with a stubborn, prideful defiance. "I won't allow it."
Right on cue, the low bush behind me rustled violently.
I went instantly alert, the exhaustion vanishing as I snatched the flintlock from my hip.
A single, ugly goblin stumbled out. Without hesitation, I flipped my coin. The clink was the only sound before I fired, the shot tearing through the air and hitting the creature squarely in the head. It dropped like a sack of stones.
But the silence didn't last. More rustling echoed from the dense trees.
"Heh. Roll or die," I breathed, a familiar, excited grin tugging at my lips.
Five more goblins spilled from the treeline, their rusty, notched weapons raised as they charged. I braced myself, my gun ready. They came in a screaming, uncoordinated wave.
Ding!
The coin flip landed. I hammered the trigger, spamming fire into the mob. Shots cracked, and all five stumbled and fell, holes appearing in their crude leather armor. I felt a surge of adrenaline, but a split second later, a sixth goblin, the sneaky bastard, was suddenly behind me, its rotten sword whistling toward my back.
"It's not your lucky day, is it?" I said, the words a low snarl as I spun and fired an instinctive shot before the blade could connect. It pitched forward, landing in a heap at my feet.
I held my stance for a long minute, eyes darting from bush to bush, until the stillness of the forest returned. Only then did I relax. Time to gather the spoils. I quickly collected the ears—proof of the kill for the guild—and glanced at my rewards.
[70xp]
[70 gold]
I opened my status screen.
[Chance
Lv: 2 (320/2000)
HP: 100/100
SP: 100/100
MP: 100/100
Stat:
| Strength | 3 |
| Perception | 3 |
| Endurance | 3 |
| Charisma | 7 |
| Intelligence | 5 |
| Agility | 6 |
| Luck | 10 |
Gold Coins: 520
Kills: 23]
"I can buy a new character now," I said, excitement momentarily eclipsing my fatigue. I pulled up the Character Change menu. Five hundred gold was the cost for a new Survivor.
[Survivors]
* Guest 1337: cost 500 gold
* Two Time: cost 500 gold
* Shaletski: cost 500 gold
* Elliot: cost 500 gold
* 007n7: cost 500 gold
[...]
[Killers]
* 1x: cost kill 500
* Coolkid: cost kill 500
[...]
"Hmm, I could get Shaletski for his sword skills, or Guest 1337 for his military training. Who to pick…" I debated for a moment. My gunplay was solid, but it couldn't last forever.
"I need something for melee, so Shaletski is the right choice."
I clicked on his name, and a blinding flash of light engulfed me. When the glow vanished, I felt exactly the same, and my stats confirmed it.
[Chance
Lv: 2 (320/2000)
HP: 100/100
SP: 100/100
MP: 100/100
Stat:
| Strength | 3 |
| Perception | 3 |
| Endurance | 3 |
| Charisma | 7 |
| Intelligence | 5 |
| Agility | 6 |
| Luck | 10 (max) |
Gold Coins: 20
Kills: 23]
"I don't see any difference," I muttered. Then I felt something hard resting against my hip where there had only been empty space. I looked down. A simple, leather sword scabbard hung there. I drew the blade; it was clean, shining steel that caught the setting sunlight.
"Nice. Wait, skills!" I checked my abilities menu.
[Skills:
Chance's Favor: A coin flip that, on heads, grants charges for her other abilities and health. More charges make the shot more powerful when firing the flintlock.
Flintlock (1 charge to infinity ): With sufficient charges from Chance's Favor, Chance's flintlock can be switched to stun or to kill. It can use one charge instead of all of it.
Hat Fix (3 charges): This ability allows Chance to recover her flintlock if it has been lost and makes her immune to damage for a short time.
Reroll (10 charges): This ability allows Chance to change her stats except her luck. It also changes her HP, MP, and SP. More charges mean a better stat change.
Character Change: When used, the user can change her character into the characters in Forsaken. This includes the killers as well but has a cost of money.
Slash: When using a sword, the user can perform a slash which creates a sharp shockwave that can deal damage to an enemy (Cooldown: 35 seconds).
The Seven Swords: (Unable to use)
Fried Chicken: When eaten, heals up to 50 HP. Can be eaten two times (Cooldown: 50 seconds).]
"I guess I have to level up more to unlock The Seven Swords, huh?" I said, looking at the locked skill. "Good. Now I can fight in close combat."
A notification popped up, and I clicked it open.
[Perks
Gunnery Lv1
Swords Lv1]
"Mhm, I guess I could level up these perks the more I use my gun or sword," I mused, strapping the scabbard back onto my hip.
"Okay, back to work finding that damn herb."
Another three hours of searching yielded the first healing herb. Another three hours after that, and I finally had enough of the required ingredients.
"Okay, this is enough," I sighed, completely drained.
As I started the long walk back toward the city, I was met by a familiar sight: another group of goblins, but this time, one was massive—easily twice the size of the others, clad in thick, ragged armor.
"I guess that's their boss," I said, pulling out my coin and starting the flip sequence. The ding sound became a rhythmic chime.
"Roll or die," I challenged, pulling my flintlock and aiming.
The shot cracked, and the big goblin boss pitched over, falling dead before it could even get close. The remaining smaller goblins screamed, seeing their leader drop, and rushed me in a frenzy.
"Heh. Gamble with your time, because Chance is on my side! Will you fold or stack 'em high?" I grinned, firing multiple shots and dropping five more before they could close the distance.
The next goblin was right in my face, its rusty sword arcing down. I dropped the gun and drew my new sword, blocking the blow with a metallic clang. I shoved the creature back, and we traded quick, brutal blows. Thanks to my high Agility and my new Swords Lv1 perk, I parried every strike perfectly, then countered, slicing the goblin clean in half.
The last two approached, clumsy and enraged, but had no chance. I dispatched them with practiced ease, quickly grabbing the ears for proof. For the boss, I just stored its whole body—it had to be worth something more.
A rush of information hit my senses.
[40xp]
[80 xp]
Lv: 2 (440/2000)
[Gunnery level up]
"Nice," I said, feeling a new understanding of my weapon flow into my mind—proper stances, breath control, and the subtlest way to make a shot more accurate.
"Well, no time like the present to return. The sun is already setting." I looked up at the fading light, the forest floor darkening quickly. It was time to head home.