Chapter 5: Cat and Mouse
Since the sneak attack failed, the leopard became slightly cautious. It didn't approach any closer and seemed to be storing energy for an explosive attack. Markus had a decision to make in that moment. He could attempt to run away, and risk being chased or hunted, or he could attack. Considering his skills, he decided to fight. If he won, he would have a chance of reward and risk dying. If he ran, he would get no reward and risk dying.
[Vital strike]!
Markus didn't mull on the decision for more than a second as he stepped forward and struck out with his sword. The leopard instinctively dodged and then counterattacked. Since Markus wasn't an expert in combat, he had to rely on the systems corrections to fight. He could not wait to get a ranged weapon and show off his skill.
-4
Markus's left arm was slashed vertically, leaving a bloody trail down his arm. If not for putting the buckler in the way of the attack, he would have taken more damage. He was also fortunate that it was his left arm that was hit and not a leg or torso. Level 1 player only had 10 health, so a single attack did almost half his health.
[New skill Block learned.]
[Block Level 1
Rank: Mortal
Effect: Increase block attribute by 50%.
Message: Shield on the back and in the hand.]
Seeing the new skill, Markus was pleased. His [Vital Strike] was still active so he pushed forward and stabbed his sword into the Leopard. Normally he wouldn't have been able to do this, but the leopard chose to advance rather than retreat in the moment it attacked. When Markus attacked, his [One-handed Weapons] corrected his actions.
After playing with several skills already, Markus started to realize the hidden value of a skill. Other players had to work extra hard to get these life saving skills, while he just had to succeed in the action once or twice. With several skills, even if he wasn't an expert in real life, the game would correct for his mistakes.
-3
-1
-1
…
Luckily the [Vital Strike] inflicted a bleeding condition on the leopard. However, because of the gap in their level, Markus was only able to inflict a fraction of his usual damage. The suppression between levels was frustrating. He wondered what the difference between two or three levels higher would be.
Once he wounded the leopard, it backed away and considered running. This meal was more work than it expected. Also, taking an injury was dangerous even if it took Markus down, it might get attacked by other animals. Seeing this moment of hesitation from the beast, Markus was about to bolt and run away. However, he changed his mind when he saw a notification.
[Vital Strike has increased to level 2.]
[One-handed Weapons has increased to level 2.]
Markus didn't even check the changes; he had an idea of how much higher they were now. Markus saw the cooldown for [Vital Strike] rapidly decrease by 5 seconds, but there were still 22 seconds left. In order to beat the leopard, he needed to stall for that length of time. Because of his newly promoted weapon skill and newly gained block skill, confidence surged in his body.
"Huuh!"
His sword whistled through the air along with his grunt. The leopard was frightened of the cold blade from the previous attack and dodged to the side. It began looking for an opportunity to escape. Because of its bleeding wound, it couldn't move quickly, or it risked further damage. However, Markus wasn't going to let his prey go.
Stepping right in front of a frightened leopard would usually be a stupid idea. However, in this case, Markus hoped to intimidate or taunt it. Either one would give him the response he wanted. Unfortunately, one was more painful than the other. Given the leopard's savage nature, when cornered, it struck out. Its eyes suddenly went wild and sent its deadly claws forward.
Thunk!
-1
The block skill help Markus properly place his buckler in the way of the attack drastically reducing the damage. However, because there was still a level gap, he couldn't prevent it completely. He still had 5 hit points left and did not plan to back down. Since the leopard was in a frenzy, he stepped slightly sideways and relied on his single shoulder pauldron and buckler to take on the beast's onslaught. He was careful to dodge whenever he had the chance to.
-1
Miss!
Miss!
-1
Miss!
Time ticked forward; seconds felt like days. There was between a 1 to 2 second gap between each attack of the leopard. When he successfully blocked, it would delay the next attack by an additional second. Because of this back and forth, Markus was able to stall out another 15 seconds. However, the leopard started to ease its attack. Its shoulders and eyes seemed to indicate that it was looking for a chance to run.
'No! I can't waste this chance!'
Markus did the only reasonable thing he could think of and chose to run away before the leopard made the decision first. Of course, as he ran, he pretended to drag his foot like he was injured. This was very risky for a few reasons. First, the leopard could just also leave. Second, another animal could cross their paths. And finally, and perhaps the worst, another player could kill steal!
Luckily the leopard fell for it and the hunger outweighed the risk of death. Since the wound stopped bleeding, it took a risk and pounced at the fleeing Markus. Since his back was facing the leopard, he was in a dangerous situation. Fortunately, a game notification alerted him to the oncoming attack.
[New skill Deception learned.]
[Deception level 1
Rank: Mortal
Effect: While you have the intention to deceive, others are 15% more likely to believe you.
Message: You want the truth? You can't handle the truth!]
Markus chose to weave right toward a tree, barely dodging the leopard's pounce attack. Seeing that it was set on chasing, Markus broke out into a full sprint. There was no way he could outrun a four-legged animal, but his only goal was to stall for a few more seconds. He weaved through the trees and underbrush; however, the leopard was still able to catch up to him and successfully knock him down.
-2
'Fuck!'
Markus started spamming [Vital Strike] hoping it would activate sooner. The last little bit of the cooldown seemed to take eons as the leopard looked at him lying on the ground. It licked its lips and attempted to bite out his throat. However, Markus smacked the leopard on the head. It didn't do any damage, only pissed it off some more.
[Vital Strike]!
'This is it!' Markus's eyes shined and he thrust the short sword into the same side that he hurt before.
Critical!
-9
-1
-1
The wound gushed with blood and the leopard went slack on Markus's torso. He had never heard of a critical before, but he thought that it was related to hitting already wounded areas. However, he wasn't sure what benefit the critical provided for him. Although, it wouldn't be hard to calculate. The first thing he did was get out from under the leopard and then start looting it.
[Leopard (mortal) Level 2 /Loot]
[Looting…
Sharp Canine x1
Medium Fur x2
Tough Meat x2
Mysterious Coin x1]
[Level 2 leopard looted… 4 (+2) exp gained.]
[Looting has increased to level 2.]
[Looting Level 2
Rank: Hero
Effect: When Looting, get 100->125% better rewards.
Message: Actaeon's ability to process game impressed even the Goddess of the Hunt.]
The notifications came in rapidly and Markus was happy to see the changes. The body of the leopard disappeared into a mote of light just like the boar, so he didn't need to worry about attracting other predators. That being said, there was a lot of blood in that area, so he decided to move away to a safer spot and setup camp.
In OLYMPUS the means to recover health weren't spoiled, so many people explored this at the beginning of the game. Fortunately, Markus had read a lot of the beginner guides that people posted an hour into the server opening and already knew of one way: Eating! Unfortunately, he didn't have any fruits like the original poster did, so he needed a campfire to cook.
While he searched for a good spot to setup, he brought up the recently leveled up skills that he didn't get a chance to look at. He also began to calculate the damage he should have done and estimate the effect of a critical.
[One-handed Weapons Level 2
Rank: Mortal
Effect: Using weapons in one hand is 20->40% more effective
Message: En garde!]
[Vital Strike Level 2
Rank: Mortal
Effect: Activate to deal 120->140% damage to an enemy's vitals on your next attack. 30 second cooldown.
Message: Not to be confused for Vital Protest.]
'After some quick maths, it looks like these two skills are a multiplicative increase and not an additive one. This means that my current weapon deals 9 damage max. So, the effect of a critical is either ignoring the level difference, or dealing maximum damage, or both!'
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
Pill_Guy
Pill_Guy Those math geniuses out there will notice that after calculations, its not quite 9, well im rounding up. On another note, poor kitty :( And on another another note, whats with that coin?
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone