Chương 42: Chapter 16

Lucas immediately sprang to our rescue, shifting the focus away from us and towards the two remaining boars still lying in the forest. Soon, he had teams on their way to pick up the two boars, while Sara started organizing the few people who had chosen to become cooks. There were a couple who had chosen Alchemist as their Class, and they had apparently been fed a lot of knowledge about herbs and their uses by the System.

Apparently, the system had decided to grant some basic knowledge to production classes, but had left combat and support classes with no explanations whatsoever. There were a few herbs growing quite near the river that could be used in cooking, and someone had even found a patch of mushrooms that turned out to be edible. With everything clicking into place, all eyes turned towards the few cooks who had decided to make stew with the boar meat, more than a few people openly salivating.

The lackluster System Store had amongst its limited selection a wooden spoon, a wooden bowl, and a large cooking pot; enough for our current needs. I found a nice spot a bit away from everyone while I watched the community come alive and start working together. Those with butchering experience had already started on the first carcass, while a train of people brought in water, herbs, and mushrooms to the cooks, who had set up seven or eight large cooking pots in a line.

I watched as a group worked together to build small fire pits, erecting crude wooden frames lashed together with rope to hang the cooking pots above the flames. My mind wandered, the hustle of the surroundings fading to the background. The latest fight demonstrated quite clearly that there were threats that were impossible for me to fight alone right now. Hence, I had concluded that I needed to become stronger. But why? I had trouble trying to figure out why I was being so insistent on getting stronger.

Just to survive another day? I thought about it a bit before realizing the reason. I'm motivated. It was a simple reason, but more than enough for me. I couldn't remember the last time I had actually been motivated to do something just because I felt like it. But here, I'm excited about what's going on. This tutorial, the System, the new powers… they all make me feel alive. I want to become more powerful, so that I can see where this all leads to.

Right now, there are so many unknowns, and I'd like to be there when each question is finally answered. Or new questions arise… The smell of herbs and meat cooking reached me from the simmering pots, making my stomach rumble again. Soon. So far, I had been reacting to a new developing situation at every turn. I understood that I had no choice in the matter; things had devolved in an uncontrollable rush.

But right now, sitting here with the sun shining brightly and the sounds of people excitedly waiting for their meals, everything felt slow for the first time. It was clear to me that it wouldn't last for long, but I had to take advantage of it when I could. The biggest unknown at this moment, that I felt needed to be addressed immediately, was our questionable surroundings. We had goblins repeatedly appearing from one side, a large river at the other, but the other two sides… completely unknown.

A chance encounter with three boars did not mean that side was explored, and we didn't know what was across the river, or even flowing within it. And the last direction was the one where I had come from, the area of that snake. Let's keep that for last. I'll start with the direction of the boars… My musings were interrupted as excited shouts and clamour reached me. The food was ready and any semblance of order and calmness had been destroyed.

People were pushing and shoving each other, tempers flaring, as they jostled to reach the cooks as quickly as possible. I got up and joined them, pushing and prodding away. Sometimes, a man really has got to put his stomach first…

Licking my third bowl clean and letting out a burp of satisfaction, I leaned back with a sigh. It hadn't been a nice tasting meal by any standard; the meat hard and gamey and the stew mostly bland, but it was fulfilling, and that was more than enough. I looked across the square, the smiling faces and conversations flowing a stark contrast to a couple hours earlier. This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

I distractedly looked at the group while wondering about the System's shortcomings. I had tried creating a party when we had gone for the boars earlier, but it hadn't worked. It didn't matter who tried it or how many combinations we tried, there was no response at all from the system. It was like a party simply didn't exist in this system, and I was becoming increasingly frustrated at it. No kill notifications, no quests, lackluster information, limited store, and now no parties.

It felt less like one of the system's I had read about and more like some early alpha testing of a new game. Before I could continue my thoughts, I heard a loud, familiar voice.

"Everyone, may I have your attention for a few minutes please?" I heard Lucas say. Everyone stopped their conversations and turned to him. I knew what he was going to do; last night's conversation still fresh in my mind. He had planned for a bunch of things to get underway today – building barricades surrounding the square, locating a sustainable food source, getting people to contribute according to their Classes and the skills they had, and a bunch of other small things all focused on community building.

He stood at the center and started his passionate speech, while I silently activated Stealth and calmly walked along the longhouse, reaching the tree line unnoticed. I deactivated Stealth and looked back at the crowd, my mind tingling again, alerting me to notice something. I remembered the feeling from the morning, this time taking a moment to try and make sense of what my brain was turning my attention to. It took a few moments before I noticed it.

The blood-soaked ground, the goblin's bodies, they had all vanished overnight. That section of the square looked as untouched as any other. I doubted anyone had taken the time to remove the bodies overnight, and even if they had, that wouldn't explain the missing blood. The perfection of the clean-up hinted at one possibility only. The System removed it all. My mind immediately went back to our failure at placing the boars into our inventories.

I hadn't tried the same with the goblins, but a hunch told me that it would be a failure too. It gives a limited window of time before removing bodies. Is it just due to convenience? Or is there a reason I'm missing? And why does it not let us store monsters' bodies? Maybe if we had tried butchering it a bit, then perhaps we could have stored the cut-up pieces…?

Thinking about it got me nowhere, so mentally logging it as yet another unanswered question, I started moving deeper into the forest heading in the same direction as earlier, dagger in hand. My aim was exploration and hopefully locating a larger gathering of boars for the community. A light breeze rustled the leaves as I moved carefully along the undergrowth, trying to remain silent.

My mind was being pulled in different directions – paying attention to where I'm stepping, keeping an eye on my surroundings, and listening for any change in sounds. The change in Endurance and Vitality shone through, allowing me to keep proceeding without feeling as tired as I would have just yesterday. Or maybe that's just because I'm full. I soon passed by the spot we had killed the boars, the disturbed soil and displaced bushes clear signs of the struggle.

I brushed my hand across a deep groove on the trunk of a tree; thankful that the boar's tusks hit here rather than my torso. I kept moving, moving well past the signs of our battle. The forest had become noticeably thicker by now; moving silently a real struggle. Even the birds and insects felt louder, or perhaps their numbers had gone up. I continued, caution in every movement and eyes peeled for any sign of movement. A blur then crashed straight into me, bowling me over and taking my breath away.

Confused and rattled, I swept my dagger across me as I tried to get up, as once again I got hit by something moving fast. My side burst with pain as I fell to the ground again. I desperately looked around and tried activating Quick Step, but a sense of wrongness hit me as the skill failed. I then tried going for Stealth, thankfully feeling the shift within me while I slowly rose to my feet, trying but failing to control my wheezing breaths.

As soon as I stood up, I focused on Quick Step, this time feeling the familiar sensation of my perception sharpening. I idly theorized that perhaps not being on my feet had caused the earlier failure of the skill, but as I started moving, my attention shifted. In that moment, I spotted the blur, moving slower this time, allowing me to catch a glimpse. It was a small bird, about the height of a three-year child, rushing at the spot I had just moved away from.

It sped past, eyes widening at the lack of the expected resistance, before it crashed straight into a bush. Quick Step then ended, the world dulling again with suddenness as I turned and witnessed the bird in a bad shape. It was upside down within the bush and struggling to right itself; bright green feathers covered in twigs and leaves. Its wings were too small for its size, indicating that it couldn't fly. Its beak was sharp and looked lethal, with the tip slightly covered in blood. Wait… blood?

I looked at my aching side and saw where its beak had penetrated right on my hip, at the point where my vest ended. The wound was small, thankfully, with blood pooling slowly over it. The sounds of the bird's struggles reached me again, and I immediately stepped towards it; dagger raised in revenge. Its eyes glared at me with hatred, still upside down. I struck it right at the neck, my dagger passing through it easily. Immediately, life dulled in its eyes and I stepped away, breathing heavily. That was intense!

I kept breathing hard while moving a bit further away from the kill. An idea came to mind and I climbed a tree, keeping its corpse in sight. My breathing slowed while waiting for something to change. Soon, I was rewarded, a new creature coming into sight.