Heya guys! It's me Blood Rose, I come with a question and a brief look into the future.

  1) How is everyone enjoying the novel? : O

  Look into the future: Thorn is a novel that I want to actually explore the ups and downs of a system apocalypse. This novel won't always be lighthearted. There will be dark bits, and there will be death. On top of that, I've read so many novels in this genre that start good, and then just feel like they stray off into a different direction. In this case, while, in the future there will be arcs involving the powers that be, I do want to focus on kingdom building, and melding a sense of Magi-tech, and what not.

  However, a lot of focus will be on Earth and what a game like system would do to our perception of reality. At least for the first three-four novels as I have a ton of things I want to get done on Earth and expanding into a new universe (Hint hint). Once that is settled, there will be a major threat that needs to be dealt with. (Foreshadowing in the next few chapters). Maybe this series gets taken super far! I don't quite know yet, but what I have cooking up is gonna be something special: ).

  In the mean time, enjoy!

  When Octavia opened her eyes, the sun had long since set. Nightfall brought owl hoots and rustling bushes to the forest. Her gaze swept the campsite, not seeing much other than Derrick tending to a slow fire, smoking meat and staring deeply into the fmes.

  “How long have I been asleep?” Her head swirled slightly as she tried to wipe away the bleariness and ignore the hunger that was gnawing at her stomach causing her to be nauseous.

  “I’m not sure. It’s been a while, though.” He stood up with a groan and shrugged his shoulders. The sounds of bones popping were surprisingly loud considering how far he was.

  “Thanks for not bothering me. I really needed that.” Octavia groaned as she sat up and gnced around the clearing, noting that Julia was close by, wrapped up in Derrick’s robe.

  “No problem, I’m going to finish this st set of meat before I go to sleep, so you will have a few extra minutes to wake up.” The man took a long stick and poked gently at the meat, looking for something that Octavia could only guess at. Cooking wasn’t her strong suit, so she would leave it for the man to deal with.

  “I got it. Anything I need to be aware of?” The rogue reached down and grabbed the chakram, swinging it over her shoulders and resting her hand against the twine guard.

  “Nah. Though it was far noisier than the first night. I heard wolves howling in the distance, but I’m not sure if they are going to be a problem.” Derrick grunted as he pulled the spit he was working on away from the fire, poking it. “Ah, it’s done.” He carried the meat over to what looked like a simple grey hiking bag. Once it was opened, he pulled the meat off, and threw it in, and with a soft pop, it vanished.

  “That’s cool as fuck.” A yawn escaped from Octavia’s lips as she stood up, stretching her back, relishing the feeling of her taut muscles stretching. Usually, the act of waking up was a godless endeavor for the woman, but now she felt instantly alert.

  “You’re telling me. I’ve already stuffed this thing with smoked meats, berries, and a few of those Jovial Nightshades that you found. In the morning, I want to go out scavenging before we pack up and head to the next floor. We are in a forest, so there should be some unique stuff we can gather.”

  “Yeah, that’s fair. We’ve only been here for a day, so we can spend some time leveling and gathering. I’d hate to miss something cool cause we were in a rush.” She shrugged, walking over to the campfire, eyeing some smoke meat that was left to the side. “Do you mind?”

  “Go for it. Anyway, I’m going to get some shuteye. Wake me if you need me.” He yawned and carefully curled up next to Julia, hiding his eyes beneath his arms.

  Octavia grunted in agreement as she grabbed a small sb of smoked meat that was left out, bringing it to her lips. The meat was tender and had a strange taste to it. The taste was unexpected, yet not unpleasant. Perhaps it was a touch of oak, perhaps maple. She hummed happily as she tore into the meat, quickly devouring it.

  Today felt promising. There was food in her belly, and level five was just around the corner. Considering it was only the tutorial’s second day; their progress was impressive. As she distributed her stat points, she gnced through the skills trying to decide on what she wanted to level.

  Skills were odd, because it seemed like the skills were imprinted into muscle memory, but there had to be something more there. But what? She grabbed her chakram and sat on an upturned rock settling in to gaze at her weapon. The blood that had adorned it had long since vanished, and its original polished sheen had returned.

  Octavia took a deep breath, and closed her eyes, focusing on the knowledge that was imprinted into her brain. The first skill that came to mind was that involving her chakram mastery. As she focused on the skill, a series of images came to mind. Each showed how she needed to move her feet, and swing the bde revealing a bit on the weapon.

  The foot work was stable, and seemed to emphasize tight swings, yet it flowed into a looser form with twirls and leaps. If anything, using this weapon looked like an eborate dance which looked exciting.

  Really the issue that Octavia saw was that there seemed to be a gap in the knowledge. The forms flowed well together, but there was something missing. Octavia opened her eyes and pondered on what the system was trying to teach her.

  That meant skills still needed to be learned on their own, and it was up to the user to figure out the rest. The only reason that sucked was simply because she had almost no clue how to use a weapon. Yeah, if a gun was pced in Octavia’s hand, she could pull the trigger. She could even swing a knife. Yet the kills that she had earned this far were simply because of the ingrained knowledge of her skills and not on her inherent expertise. That meant only one thing: she had to practice.

  Octavia stood up and gnced at the sleeping forms of her friends before walking towards the retively open clearing. She brought her chakram up with one hand and extended away from her body. With a single step forward, she brought the weapon down in a brutal arc, following through with her body. She stepped back and brought the ring back into a loose guard position.

  Once more she swung the ring, trying to feel its weight as gravity tried to drag it down and how it tugged her muscles. Her feet followed the predefined steps that the system demanded as she stepped back and brought the weapon around in a harsh upward ssh. The air whistled as the edge cut through it. Octavia spun in a tight circle as she extended her arm. Once again, the air whistled as it spun. Using her body’s center of gravity, she leaned back to counteract the weight of her weapon.

  The woman came to a halt as the world around her kept spinning. She took a deep breath to steady her nerves and pounding heartbeat. Carefully, she analyzed her movements and did it all once more. A small kernel of understanding dawned on Octavia as she went through the motions. The chakram was a weapon of grace; it wasn’t designed to ssh like a sword would or stab like a spear. It was made to sweep and ssh in a constant rhythm.

  As Octavia twirled, swinging her weapon, another realization dawned on her. What the chakram represented and how she took on life were the same. The only path that either of them could take was forward. No matter what stood in their way, they couldn’t stop moving. To slow down was to lose momentum, and that would be a fatal mistake. She had to keep dancing, to keep the bde sharp and ready, much like her day-to-day life. There was no rest, there was no reprieve.

  Sweat beaded the woman’s face as she moved through the forms, learning how to twist her body as her chakram sang. Time flowed by as her muscles ached with the familiar burn of ctic acid. But she didn’t stop, so she pushed further trying to better understand her weapon and how it worked.

  She swung her arm outwards, cutting the air as she jumped into a tight twirl. The wind shrieked as it tore at her clothes. A burning sense of happiness filled her stomach as she nded deftly. Sweat poured off of her, soaking her shirt and causing it to cling to every inch of skin.

  As Octavia practiced, she found her movements were easier, and they flowed well into each other much easier than before. But there was still something missing, something that she couldn’t seem to put her finger on. The passive that kept her light on her toes helped, but it couldn’t help the ck of knowledge Octavia had over her body. Perhaps dance csses when she was younger would have been a good choice, but there was no way for her to have known that she would be pced in a game-like system that required her to know how to dance.

  Regardless, it didn’t really matter. The only thing that could be done now was practice. Octavia danced through the air, her weapon singing in the wind, as she practiced each movement. Every single one forced her body to move in a new way, twisting and contorting muscles to swing the chakram around. It was painful, mentally, because it made her realize just how short she fell physically.

  Octavia took a deep breath as she brought the chakram around her again, but this time, she grabbed the handle with both hands and dug her heel into the ground. Leaning back once more, she closed her eyes and focused on how the ring sang in exultation as it whistled through the air.

  It ripped through the air with ease and only grew faster as a familiar drain tugged at Octavia’s chest as a mixture of stamina and mana rushed through her. Knowledge of what she had done flooded into mind as well as a new notification.

  Congratutions! You have learned a new css skill!

  Wheel of Fortune (Inferior): The chakram sings in joy as you spin with it. Everything unfortunate enough to be caught in an arm's length will be shredded.

  As suddenly as the skill started, it stopped, yet Octavia continued on, spinning like a top, as the chakram howled its joy into the air for all to hear. Eventually, she grew dizzy from how fast she spun and ended the skill.

  Her bance quickly found itself through the use of her css passive, preventing her from eating shit. A small smile formed at the corner of the rogue's lips as she stared at the muddy ground. As Octavia took a deep breath to steady her thumping heart she reached up and wiped some sweat away from her eyes before turning her attention back to the weapon.

  As she gazed at the weapon a sense of fondness settled into her chest. This was her weapon, and she wanted to do something special for it.“I’m not sure what to name you yet, but I promise I’ll find something fitting for you.” Patting the weapon lovingly, she slung it across her shoulders, gnced around the clearing, and saw that Julia was awake, staring at her. The other woman’s eyes were bright and shining like a cluster of stars watching Octavia.

  “That was amazing.” Julia’s voice was hardly above a whisper as she scrambled to her feet, carefully taking off the robe she was using as a bnket and pcing it on top of Derrick.

  “Ah, sorry, did I wake you?” Octavia carefully adjusted her weapon, making sure the inner ring rested on her shoulder before moving towards the other woman.

  “No! I was actually just lying there, coming to terms with the fact that the world as we know it is gone.” The ghost of a smile crossed the woman’s face as she stared at Octavia.

  “Yeah, but don’t worry, everything is going to be okay. We just got to take it one step at a time. If we think too far ahead, then it will only bog us down.” It was much easier said than done, and it was far easier for Octavia to console Julia than it was to put her own words into practice.

  “That’s fair. I just hope my family is okay.” The light in Julia’s eyes dimmed as a heavy sadness settled in.

  “Once we get out of here, we will find them. I always got your back, Jules.” A comforting smile split Octavi’s lips as she tried to comfort Julia. This was something that she would happily promise. She knew all too well what it felt like to lose family, and she wouldn’t allow Julia to feel that as well.

  “Thanks.” Julia fshed the rogue a smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes. “In the meantime, I need to use the restroom.”

  Upon hearing the restroom mentioned a stabbing pain smmed into Octavia’s stomach. She’d been so overwhelmed with what had happened tely that she had forgotten about that. Restroom first, and then she would go back to doing some small-scale training.