Accidentally Smithing - Chapter 2
Nik woke up because something bright blinded him, instead of his parched mouth. Two suns were blinding him. He hadn't noted it yesterday, but there were two suns in the sky. A smaller one protruded from behind the bigger one. The sky overall was really pretty with its pinkish-purple hue. Behind the mountains, he saw what he imagined to be the light source for last night's fighting. A planet bigger than either of the suns was partially protruding from behind the mountains and looking down at him. It was a spectacular view and Nik enjoyed it for a couple of minutes before he moved to get up.
His whole body, with the exception of the leg he had injured, hurt. Sleeping on stone is not particularly pleasant. Noted. He got up and stretched a bit while noting that his Stamina had filled up completely. Thinking back to his fight in the night he realized that he pulled off something far beyond the scope of his abilities. His physique had always been pretty bad. He wasn't massively overweight, but he did have what most would label a dad-bod. Sure walking around town for a couple of hours wasn't super taxing but each time he exerted himself he would be somewhat sore the next day. He wasn't sore today, not really, and hitting something for 5 minutes with a heavy rock? No chance, he should be aching all over. Moving to his college dorm room had caused him to be sore for two days.
A glance at his stats showed him, that according to his Staminapoints-regeneration he must have been asleep for over 12 hours. He was full again. Wow, I really did sleep long. It looks to be noon which makes that valid. Or does it? I mean this is a different planet. Which by itself is already insane. He had thought about that yesterday and came to a similar conclusion due to the partially alien vegetation. His Healthpoints on the other hand were worrying. Yesterday he had been down to 30 out of 300. He wasn't really sure what that meant but it for sure wasn't good. This whole points situation was bizarre to him either way. He felt as though he were in a video game and he did not like that. Sure Skyrim was fun and all until a giant yeets you to the moon, that was an experience he would gladly do without. In other news, he had regenerated some of his health and the overall maximum had gone up.
Healthpoints 58/280 Staminapoints 240/240 Manapoints 100/100
I should be regenerating 17 HP/hour according to my strength stat. My Stamina filled up completely and that would have taken 12 hours at least, so where are my Healthpoints. I did regenerate some but only a fraction.
Musing over his Healtpoints wouldn't do him any good now. He would have to ask someone or find out another time, right now he had urges to tend to and he would do so as soon as reasonable, so he moved on. Nik was really thirsty and hungry. His primary need was thirst though, so he planned to move on to find a spring or a river as soon as he had gone over the other notifications in his mind. Two more boxes were hovering just on the edge of his mind's eye. They had been there since he had stopped hitting the boar and were the reason why he had abandoned his adrenaline-fueled hits.
You have slain [Reinforced Tusked Boar][Lvl. 17]. You have slain a creature fifteen or more levels above your own. 478 Experience Points gained.
Nik Thems: {Smith} Level up! Stat points have been allocated. You have unlocked a skill slot.
Nik Thems: {Smith} Level up! Stat points have been allocated.
Nik Thems: {Smith} Level up! Stat points have been allocated. You have unlocked a skill slot.
Nik Thems: {Smith} Level 3. Current Progress 277/300 XP
Sweet! Level up sounds good to me. Kinda weird though, only three Level-ups seems kinda like a scam. I would have assumed that killing something that much higher than me should have resulted in a lot more Experience points. Instant level up to level 10 would sound awesome. I don't really know what that would mean but higher numbers are always better. Maybe my Race Level counted for something? That would reduce the difference down to 15 levels instead of over 20. Ohh well. Wait, but only my {Smith} class level changed. That's weird. No use in dwelling over things I can't control. I got skill slots for my class now, that could be cool. But only 2 for three levels is this different from my class, so I get skill slots every other level? I will find out eventually so let's move on.
New Skill Slots unlocked. You qualify for obtaining:
[Lesser Hammer Strike] A powerful strike with a Hammer. Be it metal or otherwise, a strike with a hammer will leave a mark.
New Skill Slots unlocked. No new skills can be currently obtained.
"Ohh come on..." Man, why do I always get the boring stuff? [Lesser Hammer Strike] not only sound boring but it also sounds bad. Lesser... come on. That can't be good. What about a godly hammer strike - One-hits everything. Don't really have a cool combat-focused class like mage, warrior, or rogue so maybe that's why. It does seem to allow me to hit everything stronger though. But man, I would love to sneak around and stab things. Don't have any other options though, so I might as well take it. He felt a pressure behind his forehead that slowly receded towards the middle of his head and disappeared. He understood how to use [Lesser Hammer Strike]. It wasn't anything grand, but he could reinforce his arms, hand, upper body, and some hammers to hit harder at the expanse of Stamina.
The phrase 'Stat points have been allocated' hinted at another interesting point. Unlike with his race levels, he was not able to distribute them freely but they were allocated for him. Maybe based on his class, but he didn't know. Pulling his Stat-sheet up he saw that his overall stats had increased by 30 overall. Ten points per level, the same as my race 'Extraterrestrial Human'. Guess that name really means I am somewhere else. Just like those weird 'Deeds' I achieved. Now I have 28 points in Vitality, 47 in Strength, 24 in Physique, 19 in Endurance, and ten in both Wisdom and Willpower. So that makes a distribution of one point in Vitality, four in Strength, two in Physique, three in Endurance allocation per level.
With that out of his mind, Nik started the descent and mentally prepared himself for another day of walking, but he was looking forward to listening to some music. He stopped on the second-lowest ledge to start his phone. Dread crept over him, he had never switched it off. On the screen, there was a warning "Low Battery". 5% Battery was not great and no reception either. Can't waste it on music. He turned it off.
This time exploring he planned on using the same pathfinding technique of sticking sticks into the ground. The boulder had proven to save his life once already and he was gonna take every advantage he could get thus finding back would be essential for his survival. Contrary to yesterday he knew where he was going to go. The boar had come from the mountains and taken a detour while rushing towards him. There had to be a reason why the boar didn't run straight towards him. It would either be a river, stream, or a natural obstacle like a cliff. Nik was hoping for the former and if he would happen to be unlucky with the latter he would move further towards the mountain range. On earth, there would be a stream or river in most valleys. Physics still seemed to apply so he expected it to be no different here. I do wonder where I am and how to get back. I really want to finish my degree or I would have wasted all of my money.
Once he stood at the bottom of his lodging he did some stretches. His teachers had always recommended them before PE and since he felt good right now he wanted to keep it that way. In fact, his body had never felt this good. When he started doing jumping jacks, just for fun, Nik was astounded. He had never been very good at jumping due to his size but now he probably jumped higher than most of his more athletic friends back in high school while just warming up. Maybe there is less gravity here? No, I would have noticed that earlier if it were the case. To further find out what changed Nik bent his knees and prepared to jump. When he pushed up he was amazed. He had probably jumped half a meter, maybe higher. Is that my Strenght stat? He pulled up his stats in his mind. Yes, there was another number in the effect column for strength.
Strength 1.37
23.5 HP/hour 47
Is that an actual strength factor? Am I a third stronger now? The jumping height indicates something like that. I wish I had done some weight training. The gains could have been amazing. In a state of wonder, Nik finished his minor stretching circle and started walking towards the mountains all the while collecting sticks to place into the ground. As he thought about his situation he remembered his earlier gained skill. So he opened up his character window.
Status: Nik Thems
Race: Extraterrestrial Human [Lvl. 6] Class: Smith [Lvl. 3]
Independent Skills: Evolutions [0] [Identify]
Stats: 0 Stat points available
Vitality 280 Healthpoints 28
- +
Strength
1.37 Strenght
23.5 Hp/hour
47
- +
Physique 240 Stamina 24
- +
Endurance 19 SP/hour 19
- +
Wisdom 100 Mana 10
- +
Willpower 10 MP/hour 10
- +
Skills:
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Smith [Lvl. 3]: 1 free Skill slots
[General Tool Proficiency]
[Lesser Hammer Strike] [0%]
[Empty]
Extraterrestrial Human [Lvl. 6]: 6 free Skill slots
[Empty]
[Empty]
[Empty]
[Empty]
[Empty]
[Empty]
HUD:
Disable/Enable
APPLY
Extraterrestrial Human: 0/10 Class Lvl. Smith: 277/300 Exp
Interesting. [Lesser Hammer Strike] has 0% behind it. Was does that mean. I really hope it is an upgrade. [Identify] did not have a percentage behind itself and neither did [General Tool Proficiency]. Nik could only guess at the meaning behind the differences. He did also come to the conclusion that getting to know his environment was essential to his survival and made a mental note to identify everything around him. Especially bushes and anything eatable.
*Snnnaappp* Nik starred around in panic. His heart was pounding through his chest. Adrenalin was rushing to every muscle and he looked tense around. It took him several seconds to realize he had stepped on a stick that had snapped. That's not good. What just happened to me. Trying to ignore his reaction he continued. After a while and another few loud noises he had caused Nik decided to change his approach to exploring. He had met a monster that could have killed him easily. He didn't know how it found him, but he recognized the incentive to move more mindful of his surroundings. That resulted in Nik walking a slightly twisted way towards the mountains.
Always keeping close to trees if possible not stepping on another branch, moving over moss patches when possible, he progressed through the forest. On his way, he had identified several plants. Most interesting was a tree he had come across. It was covered with dark green and blueish vine and had in the places not covered by vines a metallic shine. Apparently, it was called a Metalcore Tree.
Metalcore Tree - Metallic Tree or living metal, Scholars still debate.
Janunt Vines - A vine common in areas with a high ambient energy
Both were really unique and something quite special when compared to the other plants he found throughout the forest. Most trees just identified as trees which was less than helpful. There was another interesting tree he was able to [Identify] with a semblance of success. Its bark similar to a birch with its white bark, but its leaves were a mix between dark green and purple. Its crown also spread further than most other trees.
Tonk - A skinny but robust tree
During his hike, he also came across many shrubs, bushes, and other plants growing in the underbrush. Nik also reacquainted himself with the berries he found the other day. It, in contrast to the other bushes, resulted in a somewhat more interesting description. Instead of 'bush' or 'berry bush' - when he could see berries on them - and the little to no information going with the name, the Vosrut Bush came with an adjective in the description.
Vosrut Bush - A shrub with tasty berries.
The more interesting result came from using [Identify] on the berries. Turns out he had been lucky the other day.
Vosrut Berry - Very flavourful berry. Mildly poisonous, non-lethal.
As a backup plan, Nik planned on taking some berries with him in case he couldn't find anything else he deemed safe to eat. He also hadn't forgotten about the dead boar close to his rock. So he was still on the lookout for a rock that was similar to flint so he could make a fire. Maybe even flint if that existed here. He identified many stones and to his surprise, most resulted in somewhat more useful information. He remembered that he needed a rock with Iron or pyrite inside to spark a fire with flint, so he kept an eye out for that. Most stones just identified as Rocks or Stones, but some were different.
Metallic Rock - contains an above-average concentration of magnesium
The outliers were a variety of rocks, [Identify] gave each different attributes, concentrations, and mineral type. Sometimes Nik could even tell after a few [Identify] by the color of the rocks. He found rocks with sodium, magnesium, aluminum, potassium, calcium, and iron most frequently. There were metals he only read once or twice but he didn't care much about them at the time since his primary goal was finding a rock with a high concentration of iron. He was quite happy when he did find one and immediately placed it in his jeans pocket. Afterward, he stopped identifying rocks at all, besides ones that looked similar to what he imagined flint to look like.
A sudden revelation came to him when he used [Identify] twice on the moss he frequently traveled through to traverse quieter. Scanning the same patch of moss twice resulted in two different information packages.
Moss - dark green moss
Fungal Billow Moss - A symbiotic Moss warm to the touch.
Does that mean, that identifying things I am more familiar with gets me more information about those? I have been stepping into that moss for at least an hour now and kept touching it so maybe. That would kind of explain why I gain more knowledge from rocks with trace metals. Thanks to my material science classes or is it due to my {Smith} class.
The longer Nik walked the more impressed he got with the boar. He had been walking for an hour if his health regeneration was actually an adequate way to measure time and he had still not come across what made the boar take a detour. If Nik were to guess he was already 80% towards the mountain and his hunger and thirst, especially his thirst was almost killing him. To prevent himself from running out of energy, he had picked a few of the vosrut berries and kept eating them every 3 Hp. Interestingly while his stomach did hurt he did not experience the tiredness from yesterday. His Healthpoints also didn't seem to be going down but his stamina did. Whereas earlier in his hiking he lost one stamina for every 2-3 Hp he gained he was now losing 2 Stamina for every single HP point he got. Looking at his stats he wasn't too worried yet.
Healthpoints 84/280 Staminapoints 201/240 Manapoints 100/100
-------------------------------
He had reached the edge of the mountains two hours after setting off. The most interesting thing that had happened during the rest of his expedition so far was that at some point a new window appeared in his mind's eye.
You have fulfilled a requirement for a (movement-type) race skill. New skill available.
You qualify for obtaining the following Race skills [6 slots available].
[Stealthy Movement]: Your movements are more easily hidden; blending in with the environment is easier, cause less sound and leave fewer marks behind. Works with other Movement skills.
Without a second thought, Nik accepted the skill. Just as when he got the skill [Lesser Hammer Strike] a pressure moved from behind his forehead to the middle of his head and dissipated. He had almost proclaimed his excitement loudly to the world but in the spirit of the new skill, he would be quiet. My dreams of becoming a rogue might still be obtainable, yay!! I do wonder what requirements I have fulfilled. When he activated the skill he immediately felt a drain on his Stamina and Mana, and he instinctively knew how high it was, 5 Stamina and 2 Mana per Minute. Having so few Manapoints is going to suck. I will only be able to be using the skill for 50 minutes. No, it's not as bad, Stamina won't allow me to use it much longer anyway.
He had moved the rest of the way towards the mountains with the skill active. It was fascinating how the moss that had previously been indented by his steps now barely gave way.
What he worried about on the other hand was that he had found nothing that should have forced the boar to take a detour. Why hadn't it taken the direct path? I was so sure it started dashing towards me as soon as it howled the first time. I am missing something ain't I?
Nik kept moving towards the mountains. The treeline had been quite low from what he could tell so he could have a better view of his surroundings from further up and he figured he had a bit more time to look around until he had to get back, the suns were still high up in the sky. He figured it to be early afternoon. Not having to look for large enough sticks to use as markers would greatly reduce his speed back towards the rock. Especially since he figured the distance from rock to mountains to be around 10km and he had been rather fast despite placing markers.
No longer using [Stealthy Movement] he went up the closest mountain trying to gain a good place to get a better idea of his surroundings. He finally did find some stones he would have called flint and they also identified as such. It took him another 5 regenerated health and 25 fewer staminapoints to reach a place from which he could evaluate his area. He was not in the slightest bit winded despite the somewhat fast pace upwards which gave him the idea, that stamina must act as a buffer for exhaustion, he didn't care about that though as he turned around and stared at what lay before him.