[u]Day 2 Afternoon[/u]

Tailpin hadn't wasted much time with his breakfast... or was it lunch?  Either way, he paid and left with a purposeful stride and headed straight for the west gate out of town.  With his bow in hand and a level one arrow ready he headed out.  He kept his eyes open for any signs of danger while he took confident strides toward a moderate hill that overlooked a number of spawn spots.  He had marked the location on his copy of the mapping data before the group split up, along with the location of that nasty hollow that had claimed a life only yesterday.  He really, really wanted to hunt those foxes.  But, that was out of his reach for now.  With an eye honed by his nocturnal experiences, Tailpin took position on the top of the hill and assessed the area around him.

There were a few other players out hunting the Wild Dogs in this field area but they were all using hand-to-hand weapons.  They also looked at least ten years younger than him.  Even though he hadn't really expected anything else he still felt a little lonely.  Even when games were finally raised to such a height of quality as this, they were still seen by society as a simple toy for children to waste time with.  The few who had the vision to understand how badly inaccurate that was were probably somewhere in here, lost in the masterwork of one like themselves.  It would be wonderful if this world could let the players choose.  Some could choose to stay.  Others could choose to go.  But, that would probably make this a very empty world indeed.

Tailpin took aim at a Wild Dog standing at the base of the hill.  He drew back the arrow past his ear and held it for a second.  It sparked and began to glow a dull red.  Compared to the more aggressive behaviors last night, the movements of the Wild Dog were sluggish and unmotivated.  He loosed the shot.  It impacted with a subtle flash.  The Wild Dog dissolved into sparkling shards of azure.  He didn't want to think about what could be or might be.  He lined up another shot without using a skill.  That Wild Dog took one more hit before it vanished.  Two regular shots, one skill shot, two regular shots, one skill shot, the archer settled into a steady beating rhythm bringing one enemy down after another as hours passed.  Twice, he outpaced all of the respawns in range of his position.  Twice, he took a short break until he had a target.  

[u]Day 2 Night[/u]

It was only when the respawns quickened just after sunset that he realized how much time had passed.  He also realized that he was hungry.  He hadn't eaten more than a small snack in almost eight hours.  He thought of heading back to town and buying something but stopped before taking a step.  The venders were all closed for the night and if he had to go back to the Inn then he would just spend the rest of the night there.  Still, he hadn't brought any more food with him.  It was time to go back.

He ended up killing seven or eight more Wild Dogs on the way back, mostly because of respawns, but it wasn't a bad trip.  Their aggression wasn't a surprise and their movements were still as predictable as ever.  The biggest surprise came when he got back through the gate and checked how much money he had gained.  That raised his eyebrows.  It had been a productive afternoon.  Next time he would bring several meals worth of food and a few potions just in case.

Tailpin returned to the Inn and settled down to a late dinner at a small, four chair, table that was empty except for him.  He didn't pay that much attention to exactly what was served.  It was alright and cheap enough.  He had made a very good profit in just one afternoon, especially for it being so early in the game.  He also saw that he had acquired several dozen "Rancid Dog Meat" and a similar number of "Torn Dog Hide".  With names like that, he didn't pull them out to look at during a meal.  But, they did make him think of his Refining skill.  What would that skill do to items like these?  He didn't know.  But, he didn't want to showcase his skills in public.  He kept paging through one menu after another while he ate absently.

Something was nagging him.  There was a tickle in the back of his mind.  He blinked and glanced around.  There wasn't anyone there who was specifically staring at him.  Rather, every player in the place seemed to glance in his direction every few seconds.  The background sound of conversations had dimmed to a dull murmur.  Nobody wanted to appear rude by talking about someone with them in the room.  Tailpin's long hunt seemed to have garnered more attention than it should have warranted.  He straightened his posture, closed his menus, finished his meal, rented a room for the night and then took himself off to it without another glance.

Unfortunately, that isn't enough to stop rumors from flying.  The way gamers chat, he would probably have lost his precious status as another "unknown player" by the end of the week at the latest.  The danger he was in from other players was about to spike.  An archer alone was easy prey for an ambush.

With the door to his room locked behind him, Tailpin took a deep breath and unleashed a string of curses so vulgar, and corrosive that it was fortunate that he had no roommate.  Otherwise, he would probably be holding their hair back and apologizing for the rest of the night.  As it was, there was no player in the game right now who could have a Listening skill high enough to hear him through the door.  He wasn't supposed to be rumor worthy yet.

Still, everything wasn't ruined yet.  For now, he could continue to hunt the Wild Dogs.  But he would have to either relocate or start running with a regular group within a week.  His cost/time ratio would tank and it was all because people couldn't keep their noses out of each other's business and their mouths shut.  He knew that some players would probably think him an easy target, either for exploitation or outright banditry.  He'd have to keep his head down.

Tailpin sat in the tiny room's only chair to think.  He would have to pack his food and eat on the move, no more common room meals alone.  He'd spend all of his time in town either shopping or in a room at the inn.  It would be harder for him to find a steady group but it would make him harder to hunt for red players too.  Hopefully, that budding notoriety would attract the kind of group that he was looking for.

He pulled up his character sheet and looked again.  He had gained another level during his hunting spree.  He was level four.  If he hunted intensively tomorrow from dawn to dusk he would probably make level five.  He might even get to level six if he kept hunting after dark for a bit.  Closing that window, Tailpin moved back to that component item.  

"Rancid Dog Meat.  Huh."  He mumbled to himself as he pulled one out of his inventory.  He took one sniff and started coughing.  It was well and truly rancid.  It stank, and badly.  It took a few minutes to muster his will and wrangle his stomach.  "Well, gotta try it sooner or later."  Saying it with bravado didn't help.

He tapped the item, pulling up its data.  There it was, a button that hadn't been there before.  "Would you like to refine this item? Yes/No"  He tapped yes and then confirmed his choice when confirmation was required.  The chunk of ignoble filth glowed for a moment and changed shape.  It didn't stink anymore.  It hardly looked like meat at all.  It was green and hard to the touch.  It had a different name as well, "Poisoned Flesh".  The toxic attribute of the Rancid Dog Meat must have been strengthened.  He put this refined item into his inventory and followed the same procedure with a piece of the "Torn Dog Hide".  It was well named, looking like it had lost a fight with a shredder and lacking any fur to speak of.  The item that resulted from refining was "Dirty Dog Fur".  While the fur was matted and filthy, it was intact and supple.  It definitely looked like it had higher value for crafting.

It was getting late and Tailpin wanted to be up early to start hunting so he only refined half of his "Torn Dog Hide", leaving the rest for later.  He would have to ask around for what uses there were for "Poisoned Flesh".  In fact, after the heat built up a little, he might just spend a couple days or so working with the materials he had gathered.  It might prove both entertaining and valuable.  But, all of that could wait till after tomorrow's hunt.  Tomorrow would be a busy day.