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Chapter 31: Gifts
🕑 Added 2020-11-26 21:15:00 +0000 UTCChapter 31: Gifts
Derek went in the direction where Brandi and her mother had been relocated to before he left. He was hoping that they were still at the same spot. If not, he would just have to go ask the chief.
Soon, he arrived at the area where he was surprised to find Thomas. He was sitting on a bench with his back turned to Derek. Oh, I wonder who that boy is. It looks like Thomas has a friend. Derek looked at the shorter boy patting Thomas on the back. It seemed that he was trying to comfort him.
Soon, Derek’s face had an odd expression. They seem to be kind of… close. Hmm… I never suspected… The boy with the shaved head had put his arm around Thomas and sat beside him. Derek chuckled. Well, whatever, good for him. Finally, he decided to make his appearance known.
“Oi! Thomas. I’m back.” With that, the two boys jumped off the bench and turned around. He saw Thomas’s face as normal, but when the other boy turned around, he realized who it was. Holy shit, Thomas! What did you do to the poor girl? As soon as he recognized Brandi, he had known that Thomas must have talked her into letting him use the Mana Clippers on her.
Pushing down his laughter, he tried to act as casually as possible. “Uh, Thomas… Brandi… How are the two of you?” He asked.
Thomas was clearly excited to see him, but the nearly bald Brandi was the first to act. She ran up to Derek and began telling him about the last month. “Guess what? I got my Leatherworking skill all the way up to level 5. That’s almost the highest in the village. I ran out of hide, but I was able to break my crafts down and reused them over and over. I can’t do that anymore because none of the hides can withstand doing it again, but still, isn’t that great? It is, right? Right?”
Brandi unloaded on Derek. He was waiting to finally get another word in. “Oh? That’s fantastic! You didn’t have a hard time working with the higher level hides?” He asked.
“Oh, that? Well, I did. But after straining and finally completing a craft, my skill leveled, and it became easier for me to work. I don’t have any good knives, so I had to go slow in the beginning until the skill leveled.” She answered with enthusiasm.
“Ah, I should have thought about that.” Derek shook his hand and one of his many knives appeared in his hand. “It’s not made for Leatherworking, but it was made by a level 85 smith, and it’s sharp, so it should help you for now.” He handed the common looking knife to Brandi. “Be careful.” He warned.
Excited, she ran over to one of her finished products and tried cutting it. It sliced through the odd-looking pants like it was nothing. “Oh my System!” She exclaimed. “This is amazing! it’s so sharp.” She looked back at Derek. “Can I really keep it?”
“Of course, I gave it to you, so it’s yours.” Derek smiled. “Besides, it will probably help you a lot with these.” He shook his hand and a pile of hides appeared on the bench she was previously sitting on.
“No way!” She ran over to the hides. “I can have them? Really?” After looking at all of them, she asked. “What level are they? More 20s? Maybe 30s?”
Derek shook his head, seeing her running around with the knife. He had told her to be careful, but seeing how excited she was, he could not say anything. “There may be a few 20s or 30s.” He paused to see the sparkle in her eyes, then dropped the bomb. “But most are around level 50, and there are some 60s and should be even on level 70 hide.”
The sparkle in her eyes turned into a greedy gleam as she sucked in a breath and stared at the hides. Finally, she came back to herself and ran over to Derek, this time giving him a big embrace. He quickly moved the creature in his hand away from the girl. “Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!”
Derek felt the knife stab on his thigh, but it didn’t break his skin, so he did not say anything. Well, some people like wearing jeans with holes in them. Beggars can’t be choosers. Brandi finally broke away, and he spoke. “I’ll tell you what. If you can get your Leatherworking skill above level ten, I’ll help you get a class. Then, once you have a crafting class, I have a special project you can help me with.” He stuck out his hand. “Deal?”
Brandi looked at his hand curiously. “Um… You grab a hold and shake it. It’s how we make deals where I’m from.” Derek said. Brand nodded her head violently. She reached out with her free hand and shook.
Finally, Derek looked over to Thomas. “What about you, boy? You’ve been real quiet over there.”
Thomas woke up from his trance. “Ah… Uh… I’m fine.” He said.
Then Brandi chimed in. “He’s not fine! His birthday was days ago, but he’s been sulking because he was waiting on you to get back to unlock the Great System. Also, he’s a maniac.” She pointed to her head. “This is a trim! He said that I had so much hair that I wouldn’t miss a little. By the time he was finished, this is all I had left. And I’m not the only one.”
Derek watched as Thomas’s cheeks turned red, and he looked at the ground in embarrassment. “I said I’m sorry. I got carried away, is all.” Thomas spoke while staring at his shoes.
“Well, what’s done is done.” Derek got closer to Thomas and bent down to whisper in his ear. “Never mess with a woman and her beauty. You’re lucky you can even walk after pulling that.” He warned.
Thomas nodded his head in understanding. “Don’t worry, never again. It was really scary.” He whispered back.
Derek backed away and gave Thomas a serious look. Thomas’s eyes widened in surprise at the change. “Did you think more about what we talked about before I left?” Derek asked.
“Yes.” Thomas replied with no hesitation. “I’m going to become an adventurer. I have to get strong. I can’t stay in this village forever.”
“Good.” Derek nodded. “Follow me.” He looked at Brandi. “We’ll be back soon. Have fun.” He walked towards the closest village wall. Luckily, it was not too far from where they were.
Once standing at the wall, Derek picked Thomas up and jumped over the wall. Then he started to run.
***
A dozen kilometers away from the village, Derek stopped running and put Thomas down. This is as good a spot as any. Derek backed away to let Thomas reorient himself.
When Thomas was finally stable again, Derek spoke. “Thomas. You have made it clear that you plan to leave the safety of your village and grow stronger. I’ve been alone for a very long time, and honestly, it’s getting pretty old. When I leave, would you like to come with me?”
Thomas was in shock. Adventure with Derek? Is he serious? He was very emotional at the moment. What would grandpa say? What about Grandma? Finally, Thomas was able to rein in his emotions. “You would let me travel with you?” He asked.
“I wouldn’t have asked if that weren’t the case.” Derek replied.
“I… I… Of course.” How strong would I be able to become with Derek? The possibilities were flowing through Thomas’s mind as he spoke.
“Good. But before that, there are some things that you will need to agree on.” Derek spoke.
Thomas stared at Derek, waiting for him to speak. Derek nodded his head.
“Traveling with me, you will learn many secrets about me, and other things. I need to know that you won’t share these things with anyone.” Derek said seriously.
“Of course.” Said Thomas.
“No, I don’t think you understand. The things you may learn will be world shaking. I don’t want some half-assed answer. Really think about it. You may learn some things that others will kill you for.”
Thomas thought for a bit. What kind of things does he know? It doesn’t matter, he can help me get strong. “I want to go with you.” This time, Thomas said so with resolve.
“Another thing, I will help you, and try to save you when needed, but you will need to fight and kill like you’re by yourself. I don’t want you to rely on others. The only person you can count on in this world is yourself.” Derek warned.
“I know. I want to get stronger so I won’t have to rely on other people.” Thomas said.
“Good. If I tell you to do something, you do it. Is that understood? No questioning me.”
Thomas did not reply immediately. He was thinking about whether Derek could ask him to do something bad. “Don’t worry. I’m not evil, I’m not necessarily good, but definitely not evil. If I tell you to do something, there is a reason for it.”
This comforted him more. “Okay.”
With that, Derek took out a dagger and tossed it on the ground in front of Thomas. “Pick it up. It’s made by the same person that made my glaive.”
Thomas slowly reached down and picked up the blade. When he had the blade in hand, he looked back at Derek. “Now what?”
Derek chuckled. “Now, we unlock your system.” He held out the chipmunk-like creature. “But before that. Derek cast Rejuvenation on the monster. “Got to top it up, so it has full health when you kill it.”
After 30 seconds passed, Derek held the creature up with both hands. It was struggling, but not enough to hurt itself. “Kill it.”
Thomas nodded. He did not waste any time and drove the dagger into the chest of the creature. It was not easy. Even with the sharp blade, once it pierced the skin, it moved slowly. Pushing with all his might, the dagger finally broke through the creature’s defenses.
Soon, Thomas let go of the blade. He just looked up at Derek in stunned silence. “Well, did it work?” Derek asked.
Thomas slowly nodded. “I-it was over level 50. H-how was I able to kill it?” Thomas asked.
Derek smiled. “Like I said, that blade was made from the same smith that made my glaive. It’s my sharpest one.” Derek pulled the blade from the chipmunk and proceeded to Dismantle it. “So, how many skill points do you have?”
“I have three.” Thomas replied happily.
“Good, you’re only going to have one soon.” Said Derek, confusing Thomas. Derek smiled. “Like I said, do what I say. One point on Meditation and one on Identify.” He waited.
After a couple of minutes, Thomas finally replied. “Okay. It’s done.”
“Hey, don’t feel bad. Meditation is one of the most powerful skills available in the system and Identify lets you keep your stats private.” Derek tried to cheer Thomas up.
“Now, do you know what kind of class you want? Tanky with big weapons and armor. Swift and agile. Mage. What are you thinking?” Derek asked.
Thomas was silent for a while. “I want to be fast. To be able to hit things and not be hit back.” This was his answer.
“Oh, alright. Then you should spend your last point in Light Weapons Mastery. This will let you be more proficient with knives, daggers, and even short swords. But, make sure that is what you want, you won’t be able to change it. Though, you will probably end up with a few extra skill points down the line, it is still better to try not to waste any.”
Thomas nodded his head. “I’m sure that’s what I want. I want to use daggers.”
“Oh, plural? You want to dual wield?” Derek asked.
“Yes.”
“Well, there’s no dual wielding mastery in general skill, so you’re going to have to hope for a good class for that. Now, you’re level three. Put 15 points in Vitality and in Endurance. You need to be able to survive before you can kill. This isn’t a video game, you can min-max, but not at the beginning.” Derek said with confidence.
“Video game? Min-max?” Thomas stared dumbly.
“Uh, don’t mind that.” Derek said. “Once you’re done, we’re heading back to the village.”
Comments
Indy
There is a big difference between washing in a river, and having a shower/bath. It’s the things you look forward after a long travel. It was just one point on a longer list for his unusual behavior after coming back. He has no perception skill, just improved sense. He doesn’t know the forest all that well, he knows nothing at all about this new world, he should expect the unknown, because he freaking survived a system apocalypse its not a new situation for him. Just because the author knows that there a no high lvl stealth predators, the hero can’t know that. 5 killer rapids would be devasting for this group, the hero hasn’t any ranged attacks, instant moving skills, shields or crowd control skills. Actively baiting the wildlife in such a uncertain situations while skinning animals mid walking just seems wrong. And by the way I still cant image how somebody would skin a wolf while walking.. Ok skills a not just numbers, but a combination between actual experience and numbers, makes sense I like it. So Brandi is now a power leveled leather destruction brat? If he cares about his life he should take a look at the local leatherworker, and yes a village living from the forest hast somebody like that. Somebody with a decade experience should easy out level and out skill her. So he likes the boy, that’s fine, what isn’t fine is that he wants keep the boy. He wants social interaction after his long isolation, that’s fine. It’s a village I´m sure he would find some grownups, to talk grownups things have a drink, a fine meal a bit music and a good time. His fixation on the kids, to the point that he grabs him and runs off with him is just strange. Image you are a grandmother and see some middle age guy grabbing your boy and running off? As you have shown with the killer bunny, all it needs is a bit food. So make a fenced little pond but the frogs in and feed them with scraps and other byproducts form the butcher and hunters. Its not a newly integrated system world, but a world that learned to live with the system for generations. You can’t just but our default medieval village in it and expect it would make sense. If a tamer is needed for a basic need like easy low lvl exp than your can expect the village to have a tamer. Yes that’s my point, daggers are more dangerous to use, why the hell would a beginning adventurer ever user them? Dexterity defense is just a ticket to fast grave. It’s the worst combination you could take if you want to see the next day. A city kid, backstabbing humans in dark alleys could make this work, but for a beginning adventurer facing monsters and the unknown it’s just the worst he could take. I would have thought that after around 80 lvls and countless battles he would love the glaive because of its versatility, its range and the power to control the flow of the battle not something like looks.
SunriseCV
I mean, I talk about him bathing in one of the earlier chapters. In most novels, the author mentions taking a bath once, then it is assumed that he takes them regularly. I mean. As for predators, he doesn't worry about that because he would notice and kill them way before they are able to do any damage. It's why he never enters meditation while leading the group. For Brandi's rapid leveling, She is working with much higher leveled materials, which allows her to level the skill faster. With my leveling system, it takes Derek 20 kills of an enemy the same level as him to level one time, so it only makes sense that a skill would level fast from higher level materials. There is only a couple villagers that can even hunt level 25+ monsters consistently, but definitely not many in a short amount of time. For him and Thomas, Thomas was the first person he saw after all that time alone in the void. That's already an instant connection to the kid, but I know I didn't convey Derek's loneliness well in those chapters. I described Derek as a lone wolf most of the time, but he also liked the occasional social interaction. After so long alone, that interaction would become a need. Just because he doesn't have the cooking skill, doesn't mean his cooking is bad. The cooking skill would just add extra onto what already exists. It is also already established that with his Vitality and Endurance, that he doesn't need to eat. The villages are destitute and aren't even allowed proper names by the lord of the land. It costs a great deal of time/effort/food to raise animals, much less monsters. Unless there was a beast tamer in the village. It's also not like any offsprings of a level 11 monster would be born at level 11. They would have to grow and kill and complete whatever tasks the system uses for beasts to level. As for daggers, early on, they may be more dangerous to use, but with enough dexterity, endurance, and training, they are just as deadly as any other weapon. I mean, Derek uses a glaive, there are plenty of other heavy weapons that are just a deadly, if not more. But he uses it because he likes the way they look.
Indy
But there are also little things: This guy was one month in the wilderness, without a good bath with only his crappy zero lvl cooking, without a bed, with nothing to drink but water. And the first thing he does after coming back is actively looking after the brats? Not the next Inn? This forced connection between the children an him is just so strange, there is no reason for it. And why the hell is the village not breeding this lvl 11 frogs? Would be an easy exp grab. Power leveling the children and all that. I mean that world had the system for generations, breeding grounds like that should be a no brainer.
Indy
Sorry man, I really liked the start of your story, but the list of things that doesn’t make sense is getting out of hand. Brandi: While guarding a group of low-level villagers in a forest with animals that can one-shot them, our mc gets the glories idea to skin bodies the size of a wolf while walking? Behind him a trail of blood, pieces of flesh and entrails that surely won’t attract any predators. Doesn’t make any sense at all, but he has to do it because the plot needs Brandi see him doing it. Its done because the child needs to lvl up her leatherworking skills in the time the mc is out hunting. Conveniently she is now after one month the highest leveled leatherworker in the whole village, and can craft Derek his new high-quality leather armor, sounds legit. Thomas: Why would an apocalypse survivor with feats like “lone wolf” and “solo king” even entertain the idea of partying with a freaking child? Especially after his last group action ended in absolute disaster. The child has grandparents, it didn’t even cross Dereks mind to talk with them beforehand. Why would an experienced fighter not tell the child that daggers are the worst kind weapon choice it could make? Can’t think about any combat style with less distance to the thing that wants to eat your face. That all makes zero sense. The hero you have designed has no reason to hang out with these kids. He is a grown man, a hardened survivor, a loner by decision. If you want a plausible reason to have him around these kids you would have to create a scenario that allows no other choice.
Stephen Pearson
Woot! Thanks for the chapter!
