One week, that’s all it took for me and the people from the hidden horn village to adapt. To a certain point, at least. No one was going to be deep in the political landscape of Madison Village, not now and not in the near future. But everyone was welcomed properly, even Peter, despite his zombie-like state. Cindy quickly became close to some of the other mothers in the village. The kids also enjoyed having more children to play, instead of just one class. Sure, the numbers were not that much bigger, but to them, more was always better. Even if the two were not the most outgoing.

Pops talked a bit with some of the guards and the leaders of the village about setting up his experiments once again. According to him, being able to make the glow in the dark moss was just a matter of time, and the resources he would need were mostly things the village had no use for. And I, I offered to help the guard, prepare the leather, wash the clothes, or do anything really. People were appreciative of my intentions, but almost everyone told me to just rest instead of work. They could handle any chores that came with an extra five people without a problem.

The real issue was the rumors going around. Or should I say the facts. People quickly became aware of what happened to me before getting here. Almost everyone knew that I spent several days running and hiding from an Eater. And that I had very few supplies and had to hunt for more while being injured. And that once I left, I had to run away from a monster before reaching the river.

That was the story I told Gareth, and the story that he told to his wife, which in turn told everyone. That made pretty much the entire village treat me like I made out of glass. They didn’t want to let me do anything, saying that I survived an ordeal, one that was even bigger than the one the rest of my people went through.

Sure, for a couple of days, being pampered was fun. Having the entire day to myself let me stay with Cindy and the kids, talk with Pops, and even try to see if I could help Peter in any way. Not that I was the best person for that. This village had a ‘spiritual healer’, which was more of a mix of a shaman and a psychologist from the old world.

The fact there was a spiritual healer here and not a priest or something like that felt a bit odd. Pops always said that Christianity was the biggest religion in the old world. So not having a representative of that religion in what I knew to be the biggest village around was strange. Then again, this was the only other place I knew, aside from my old home. Maybe it was just a regional thing.

One way or another, there was little to nothing for me to do, and that was making me restless. Worst of all, someone else also noticed that. Or should I say something.

[User, some villagers are performing a task in which they lure aquatic animals to small hooks. User heard that being called ‘fishing.’ Would that be something that could interest user?]

‘Sys, I’m fine. Don’t worry about it. I’m just feeling restless. Maybe I’ll see if Pops wants to go out hunting. It could help him get what he needs to get to tier 1.’

[Acknowledged.]

I dropped by the hunter’s hut of the village before looking for Rakeen. I didn’t know the territory of animals in the area, and it wouldn’t be much of a hunt if there was nothing to hunt. Unfortunately, after a brief conversation, that seemed to be the case. Unlike the hunters back in the Hidden Horn Village, the ones here wouldn’t go out and come back on the same day. Every hunting trip would take a week since they had to travel to places where larger animals would live.

Another option would be hunting beyond the mountain to the east. But according to the hunters, there were barely any animals in that area. People who went there came back with a couple of rabbits, and some berries at most. It might work for a family or two, but not for the entire village. However, that was perfect for me and for Pops. Sure, it might not help all that much with his Quick Tier 1 Evolution, but it would let us use the System properly without having to worry about people seeing us.

Finding Rakeen took a bit longer than I expected. He was with one of the farmers in the village. Not the one responsible for the large bulk of crops, that one was located a bit south of the village, in an area where farmland was able to thrive. That place was close enough to the village that it was still considered part of Madison, but far enough away that people couldn’t go there all the time. Due to the lack of animals and other creatures in the area, they could steadily keep growing the crops of rice in the terraces. It also helped a lot that there was a river just by the side, which made sure they never lacked enough water. There were other vegetables as well, but the amount would vary wildly.

However, Pops was on the village farm, where various spices, berries, and some vegetables, and tomatoes grew. He was trying to see what kind of seeds, earth and tools he could gather from there in order to continue his experiments.

“Pops!” I called as I approached the field.

“Cass!” Rakeen gave me a big smile, “Is everything ok?”

“Yeah, I just wanted to know if you want to go out hunting. It’s ok if you don’t, I just feel like doing something.”

“I’m sorry. I can’t be an entire week away. And I don’t think you should. Can’t you wait until the other hunters are leaving?” Pops asked.

“I’m not going to spend days away. I want to go just after the mountain to the east. See if I can get a rabbit or something. I think… I need some time alone to figure some things out,” I explained.

Pops paused for a moment, recognizing my intention and he nodded, “Ok. We can go there,” he turned to the farmer, a man named Jacob, but that should be pronounced Yacob, “Thanks for listening to my idea. If you can gather those tools for me, I will drop by tomorrow to pick them up.”

This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

“If that works, I’m the one who has to thank you. I never considered using crops as bug repellent. But if it works, man, that will save me a lot of time. I’ll see which tools I have lying on the shed and put them aside from you,” Jacob nodded.

Rakeen thanked him again and walked off with me. We went back to the hunter’s hut, got some weapons, mostly for Pops since I already had my staff, and headed out. During all that time preparing, I made sure to place Formless Steps of Prey in the {Memory Bank} while taking {Formless Nodus Swipe} out. We shouldn’t be facing any dangerous creatures, and since we would be on the other side of the mountain, it was a good chance to test out that skill.

Just one hour later, we were trekking up the mountain to the east. It wasn’t tall, and people could call it a hill and it would work just the same. But, since it was wide, spanning a few kilometers [miles] then that was the right name for it. A mountain.

It didn’t take long for me to realize the difference between my level and Pops. He was always fit, and could keep up with most hunters. Yet, I was faster, much faster. He would trail behind me, which made me stop and wait for him. If I was following his pace, I felt like I was barely walking.

“So. How many points in Body do you have?” Pops asked after we stopped for a moment near the top of the mountain. Madison village was still in clear view and the low vegetation of the area did almost nothing to hide us.

“Eight right now. And three in Mind.”

“And what level are you?”

“Level 2 of tier 2,” I was about to level up again. It could’ve been faster, but I kept trying to use {Body Regeneration} to fix some of the scars, and to help me work out more. Now that I had time to properly test things, I wanted to see what else that skill could do. Gaining muscle was about letting the fibers have micro fractures and then letting the body use the inflammatory response to make them regrow stronger. Using {Body Regeneration} while working out meant that process was sped up considerably. It still didn’t make me bulk up in a flash, which wasn’t my intention either way, but I could feel myself getting stronger.

“I see… just a few levels and the difference is already this significant,” Pops looked down, “If the Eaters also have this… their strength suddenly makes sense.”

[Can System add something to what Pops said?]

‘Sure,’ I thought to the System.

[The difference in attributes is more easily recognizable at low levels, or when attributes have a small value. Once they start to grow, the difference will not be as noticeable unless the values are considerably farther away from each other.]

“So the attributes have more value when they are smaller?” this time I said it out loud so Pops could hear it too.

[Incorrect. Attributes have value in every stage, however, the biggest difference will be noticed once the attributes are smaller. This happens due to the natural progression of numbers. Someone with 1 point in Body has half the amount of someone with 2 points in Body. So the second person will be twice more effective when using their physical strength. If the second individual has 4 points in Body they will be four times more effective than the first individual. As a reminder, this only applies to effective strength. Utilizing the same two people from the example, it is possible that the one with 1 Body is stronger than the one with 4 points in Body if the first actively trains their body while the second doesn’t.]

I turned to Pops, “Did your System continue the explanation to you?”

“it didn’t. What did yours say?”

“Basically, it said that lower attributes show more because it’s easier to have a gap of double or more. Like I have 4 times more Body attribute than someone with 2 Body. It also said that we still need to work out if we want to get better. Just having a high level of Body won’t make us stronger by itself.”

Pops nodded, “I’m sort of glad about that. This means that effort still counts.”

“Yeah,” I glanced down at the city, “So, do you feel ready to talk about the next step?”

“About sharing the System? Yeah. Do you have some thoughts?”

“Pops, you are the one who asked for time to think about that. My thoughts are pretty much set in stone.”

“Really? What are they? How are you going to share this gift with others?”

“I’m only sharing with people I trust. Or those I believe to be good people. That’s the plan, at least.”

Pops scoffed, “Ok then, I know you are going to mess up. How the hell did I make the list?”

I rolled my eyes, “Stop playing. You are literally the best person I know. Even if you keep insisting you are not a good person. When I started thinking about sharing the System, you were the first option. You were the only option.”

Pops huffed and looked into the distance. He spent a few moments without saying anything before finally speaking up, “Thank you. I don’t know if I’m worthy of that vote of confidence, but I’ll do my best,” he rubbed his eyes and turned towards me, “And are you sharing like you did with me? Giving all those skills to people?”

“Fuck no!” I gasped, “Those skills can make you really strong really quickly. I mean, I killed an Eater in a week. I don’t want to give that kind of power to others. Those skills will be kept close to my chest and only shared with people that I really trust. “

“That’s fine. Even then, it would take just a couple of months to give the System to everyone in the village. Once I get to tier 1, things should speed up.”

“What level are you by the way?”

“Already level 3, going to 4 now,” Pops said with a smile. He was only leveling up by using the SP he got when eating. If we were able to find something to hunt, that could speed up the process. But even then, there was one more decision I had to talk to him about.

“Pops… I don’t intend to stay here for months.”

“Are you leaving?” Rakeen turned towards me.

“Yeah. Not right now, but soon. I think.”

“Can I ask why?”

“A few reasons. First, staying here hurts. It’s a reminder of those we lost. Second, now I have this, and I feel like I should share with others. Third, what if I stayed here and we end up being attacked by a swarm of Eaters and they kill everyone? Me included. Then there is no one left to give the System to someone else. What then? The only possible way to give us a fighting chance is gone. I’m not going to go away tomorrow, of course. I still want to drop by the Hidden Horn Village at least once to see if anyone survived and left a message. But after that… Yeah. I think I’m going to travel. It’s not like I need to be scared of an Eater coming after me anymore.”

Pops nodded, “Yeah, and do you mind if I come with you?”

“To the village? Sure. It would be nice not to go alone there. I don’t think it will be easy.”

“I meant everywhere. Traveling,” Pops smiled at me.

“What? You wanna come with me?” I stared at Pops with a frown. He always complained about traveling, and always said that he didn’t want to leave.

“Of course I do, Cass. You are my family. I want to be with you. Besides, we never traveled together. This could be a nice change of pace,” Rakeen smiled, a genuine smile, not one that hid a layer of sadness behind.

I smiled back at him, “I would like that. But first, let’s see you hunting old man. I need to make sure you can handle yourself on the road.”

Pops scoffed, “Girl, I’ve been hunting before you even wore diapers. Watch me.”