Click Click Click
Shadows swirled in the darkness around them like night creatures moving through the air. Anna was walking alongside the others, attempting to light a make-shift torch.
"Stupid bitch light already." (Anna)
"What are you even doing?" (Greyson)
Looking up at the dimming sky, Anna could tell something was off about some of the darkness.
"I didn't think about getting torches, so I'm trying to make a torch." (Anna)
"You do know we might be setting up camp soon." (Greyson)
Anna sighed, the torch vanishing into her inventory.
"You have a point." (Anna)
Precisely at that moment, Justin spoke to everyone.
"We will be going further till we find a spot to set up camp." (Justin)
Walking along an unmade path, the trees were parting further from one another till they found a flat clearing.
"We will set up camp here. Kyle, can you make sure to set a parameter?" (Justin)
Kyle nodded and left, skulking into the darkness and vanishing.
"Parameter?" (Anna)
"Justin calls it a Parameter, but it's more like Kyle is scouting the camp area to make sure no monsters are nearby." (Mark)
"I wonder if he will get a skill if he does it enough times." (Anna)
"Hmm, you said that was why you got your skills right?" (Mark)
"Yes." (Anna)
Anna looked around the area and pulled out a tent from her inventory, which was still in the box from the store.
"You have a tent?" (Mark)
"She has a lot of things, I'm surprised she hasn't reached the storage limit." (Greyson)
"Says the one who practically emptied the Alcohol aisle." (Anna)
"I didn't take the tequila." (Greyson)
"I know because I took the tequila." (Anna)
"Didn't you say you're seventeen? Why do you need alcohol?" (Kyle)
Anna practically jumped out of her skin, spinning around to Kyle, who, at some point, snuck behind them. Mark had spotted Kyle's approach, leaving no real response as Greyson started to snicker.
"The Fuck?" (Anna)
Anna clenched her fist, taking a deep breath.
"I need more spatial awareness." (Anna)
"Hah, that worked better than I thought." (Kyle)
While he spoke, his eyes unfocused till he spoke again.
"Huh, I got a skill from all the sneaking around." (Kyle)
"Is your's snarky as well?" (Anna)
"It did seem like it was trying to insult me." (Kyle)
[Congratulations, you have unlocked your first skill.
Shadow stalker:
For some reason, even with your bulk, you have a talent. Sneaking around and scaring people. Now you can take it to the extreme and allow the shadows around you to make you able to skulk in the darkness more easily. Let us hope you use this skill for more than just pranks.]
[Shadow stalker Level 1:
Shadows are your ally; your steps will be quieter, and movement speed will be improved in the shadows.]
[Shadow Stalker Level 5 upgrade:
Your steps will no longer make noise in the dark, whether it is your enemies or allies, you will be even more of a menace to those around you.]
"At least I can agree with the system on something." (Anna)
"You know you can be very mean if I took you seriously." (Kyle)
Anna wanted to smack him with the box she started attempting to open.
"You know I was going to be nice and offer everyone a tent, but I can just pretend that I don't have enough tents for everyone." (Anna)
"How many tents do you have?" (Justin)
Anna investigated.
"You know I feel like a hoarder. But I have a total of twenty tents." (Anna)
"Why do you have twenty tents?" (Justin)
"That is an oddly specific number of tents." (Mark)
"As I said, I have no idea how she hasn't reached the limit for that storage." (Greyson)
The three of them practically spoke at once, making Anna feel like she was in the middle of a store, witnessing multiple conversations in the same area.
"One at a time, please." (Anna)
Anna's voice broke as she became overwhelmed. She can do well in one banter or group conversations, but if she can't even tell what everyone said, she can't help but feel stressed. It was like her strong will wilted, making everyone stop speaking. Anna has always been confident and, in a nice way to put it, personable. So having someone with her head on straight go from snarky to silent is, to put it bluntly, nerve-wrecking. Not knowing what to do, Justin spoke in a less confident tone.
"I just wanted to know why you have so many tents." (Justin)
Anna thought about her answer, then spoke slowly.
"Multiple reasons, firstly, I got four family-sized tents meant for a family of eight. I got that in case sharing a tent would be safer than being separate. Then I got nine of the single-person tents. I couldn't find more than nine of the smaller individual tents. Then I got seven of the decently sized winter tents. The winter ones are obvious." (Anna)
"Oh, that makes sense, but that is a lot of tents. Still, I don't see why so many." (Mark)
"I'm still processing that she has so many tents." (Kyle)
Taking a steadying breath, Anna knew that her logic made no sense. They could go into an abandoned building for shelter while they traveled.
"When I decided to work with Greyson, I realized I would have to work with more than just him. So I prepared enough tents for at least the number of people I figured working with was possible." (Anna)
"You prepared for over twenty people?" (Mark)
"The fuck? No, I prepared for a team of around seven or eight." (Anna)
"Yet you prepared so many tents." (Kyle)
"They didn't have the types of tents made for expeditions, so what I got won't last for as long as we might need it to." (Anna)
"What kind of tents are there? I've only heard of the ones meant for summer or winter camping." (Justin)
"If I remember correctly, season one and two are practically the same grade, and I don't know the difference. Season three, which includes most of my current tents, is suitable for any mild weather from all seasons. Season four is the grade of the seven winter tents I have. Although season five can handle severe weather, an example is that season five tents are used when climbing Mount Everest." (Anna)
"Why do you have so much information on tents?" (Mark)
"Yeah... Like he said." (Kyle)
"I looked at the pamphlets that they have next to the camping aisles." (Anna)
"They have that?" (Kyle, Mark, Justin)
"Yes?" (Anna)