Chương 18

I reached the square and noticed the stark difference to yesterday right away. People were moving about with purpose everywhere I looked. A large group were carrying wood and preparing to erect barriers to properly enclose the square. They had naturally started building from the side the goblins attacked from. Blacksmiths, Tailors, and Alchemists had gathered in groups and were preparing their respective areas to start contributing to the society.

I watched a guy carrying a crude fishing rod walk up to the cooks and empty his inventory, filling one of the pots with fish. Instead of moping around with blank faces, there was a sense of unity and the first signs of civilization since we had unceremoniously been dumped here. The morale had shifted, and I found my own mood slightly lifted too. I searched for who I was looking for but couldn't see him anywhere. As a matter of fact, I couldn't see any familiar face in the square.

It seems I wasn't the only one who had decided to do something. I was a bit miffed at not being able to see Marcus, as I had hoped I would be able to get the small wound on my side healed up. But the wound wasn't bothering me too much, so I didn't approach the other healers who I could spot. In fact, the more time that passed, the better my wound felt. Almost like it was being healed up in real time; which it probably was due to my health regeneration.

It was actually the first instance that I could notice my health regeneration working at solving an injury. Figuring out that following the group who had just deposited the latest batch of wood and were returning to the forest would be my best bet at finding who I was looking for, I trailed after them. After just a short walk into the forest, the sounds of grunting, laughing, and wood being cut reached me.

The sight of a bunch of men and women surrounded by felled trees and a few stumps came into view, and in the middle of it all speaking the loudest was who I came here to see – Mason.

"Put your back into it, young fella! Swing with your hips, not your arms!" he was saying with enthusiasm at the group of exhausted people swinging their axes at trees. I had learned about Mason last night from Lucas. He told me about a few people he had his eye on that could be potential leaders and assets, and Mason was at the top of that list. Apparently, he had been a nature lover throughout his life, long before it was cool.

He had spent his life as a wildlife photographer, and had travelled to some truly exotic places. More importantly, he had been big on 'living off the land', and had real experience of, and knowledge about, things like how to build a fire, how to trap small game, how to track, and so on. In summary, the late forties, six-three man with long hair and an unkempt beard that reached his collar bone was without question someone whose knowledge was invaluable to us all here.

It would honestly be foolish of anyone who wouldn't ask him for some of his knowledge, and the kobold nest I had just seen made me put learning from him on top of the priority list. He noticed my arrival immediately and started coming towards me while encouraging the ones still busy hacking away at trees.

"You must be Alex" he stated as soon as he came within earshot. A bit taken aback at being recognized, I said yes while shaking his offered hand. He chuckled and said "Don't be surprised. Lucas mentioned in the morning that you might swing by. So, what can I help you with?" Right. I did mention I might speak with Mason to him last night.

"I was hoping I might be able to learn a few things from you." I replied. His expression turned to mild interest and he curiously asked "Why?"

"Given our circumstances, anyone who doesn't learn from others more knowledgeable than them is an idiot in my eyes" I answered in a direct manner. I had a feeling that being open and direct would be the best approach to speaking with Mason, and it worked. He immediately had an approving look in his eyes, and I could see his opinion of me had just been raised a bit.

"Right you are my friend" he said while glancing at the struggling men and women behind him.

"Let me know what you would like to learn and let me see if I can help you out." I knew exactly what I wanted to learn from him. It was the exact reason I had come here after all.

"I'd like to learn how to start a fire." He looked a bit confused and said "There's a flint available in the System Store, just strike it a bit and you'll start a fire. It's not difficult."

"I know about the flint. But I have never used one before, so I just wanted to know the correct way. More importantly, I need to learn how to sustain the fire for a long period" I replied. Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon. Understanding dawned in his eyes as he said "I see now. Well, let's get started then" he said, motioning me to follow him back to where he was working earlier.

After spending the entire day learning about fires, animal tracking, and basics about trapping, I had had a quick lunch of fish stew and was now making my way back to the kobold's nest. The sun had started to set now, the perfect time for what I had planned. I moved through the forest with anticipation, silently marveling at how much easier I was finding it to move silently now. Just yesterday I had to keep all my attention on keeping my movements silent, but now I could focus on my surroundings more.

I still had to make sure my movements were silent, but the mental effort was much lower than before. I think constantly trying to move silently gave me the practice I needed. I mentally checked off my plan and re-checked my inventory to make sure I had everything needed. I slowed down a bit when I heard something ahead, and went into stealth immediately. I kept moving and soon came across a group of kobolds carrying a carcass of a small feline. I hadn't seen this feline yet.

Clearly, I was still unaware of many of the secrets of this forest. Nevertheless, I was happy at having found my targets, and happily followed along at a bit of a distance as the kobolds made their way to their nest. The earlier scene repeated when they reached the nest; kobolds coming out of multiple bushes and chittering excitedly, before all of them went into the main burrow.

I mentally took note of as many of the bushes from which the kobolds exited, before moving a bit away from the burrow and climbed up a tree, making sure I could still keep most of their exits and the main burrow entrance in view. I also made sure that I was securely hidden away from them, as I would undoubtedly need to let go of stealth to regenerate mana. And now, the waiting starts.

A few hours later, long after the sun had set and I was sure that the kobolds had settled in for the night, I finally moved. First thing I did after activating stealth was stretch. That feels good. It was really difficult to sit in one place with nothing to do apart from observe some lizards, and try and fail to sense mana again. I had to make sure I was under stealth when I had to do some minor adjustments, and once or twice I had messed up when I moved without stealth on.

The kobold lookouts had immediately been alerted to my slight movement, and a timely activation of stealth was the only thing that had saved me from being discovered. I reveled in the sensation of being able to stretch and finally move. Then I climbed down and started moving carefully to the spot I knew the first kobold lookout was at. This one was situated on the far right of their nest, and its death won't be noticeable if I was able to do it swiftly and silently. Those are some big ifs. Still, I had to try.

If nothing else, I could run away. Over the hours I had observed them, I knew they were individually weak and not much of a threat. They were even weaker than the goblins, and I hadn't seen them use any tools either. I crept up to the kobold, dagger in hand and heart pounding away. I remembered this feeling from earlier when I had crept up to the goblin leader who had attacked our square. It was exhilarating.

I reached the bush and saw the silhouette of the kobold, completely still save for its twitching nose and constantly moving eyes. Its head was conveniently stretched to better allow it to see, exposing its neck. I made sure that I wouldn't be seen by any of the other kobolds here, before taking a deep breath and committing completely to plunging my dagger in the kobolds neck. It wheezed, its eye locking on to me immediately as I felt stealth wear off.

It clawed me desperately, but my strike had been true and soon it slumped down with lifeless eyes. Taking a silent breath, I re-activated stealth and moved quickly to my next target, knowing I was now on the clock. One wrong move and the entire nest would be on me. I took down the other four kobold lookouts in much the same manner, and slumped with my back against a tree, surprised at how well everything had gone so far.

I took a small break to catch my breath and regain the mana I had just spent, while admiring my new class and skills. I can't wait to see how this Class will grow! Speaking of, I opened up my Status to see my progress towards the next level, and saw that the exp bar showed 37/40. So close! Closing the status, I got up and started the next phase of my plan – covering up all the other holes apart from the main burrow.

It took me longer than I thought it would to cover up five holes, largely because I was trying to be as silent as possible. But as I slid the rock I had collected earlier in place over the final hole, I mentally praised myself for a job done well. Now for the risky part. So far, my plan had been mostly safe, but the next thing I did could possibly get the whole nest to wake up and come rushing at me. Still, nothing ventured, nothing gained.

I put my newly learned fire making skills in action, as I piled up a load of dry wood that Mason ensured would be good for burning for a while as far into the burrow entrance as I dared. Next, I piled a bunch of wet grass and dumped a bunch of resin I had collected earlier on top. Praying I did the right thing, I took out the flint from my inventory, moved it close to the base of the wood, and struck it with my dagger, sparks flying at the point of contact. It took a few tries before finally the wood caught fire.

Yes! Feeling surprisingly elated at having built a successful fire, I blew on the flames to make them spread. Soon, the fire was roaring merrily and the leaves and resin were smoking beautifully. I stepped back happily and mentally patted myself at a job well done. And now, we wait.