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Energy Farmer
Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Waking up after a brief talk with a God has not been... what Jacob expected it to be because for some reason, he felt like he had just woken up from a refreshing sleep instead of something he thought should be mentally exhausting. That, and he also thought that maybe slathering himself with that stone last night would leave him exhausted in the morning.

Still, he didn't think it was appropriate to even consider that the God who generously offered to help him last night would leave him tired after their "talk", it did feel out of character? Maybe? Or did Horos just want him to be good for traveling the next day?

'Do I even want to think about the reasons for why a God of Knowledge did things?' Most likely not, but now that he thought about it, he forgot to ask the God last night if he was related to the Egyptian God of his earth.

Still, he didn't doubt that the reason for why he feels this way is because of Horos because he woke up feeling like all the things he ate last night had actually entered his stomach, it was a nice, actually fulfilling feeling that left him staring at the two remaining fruits he'd gotten last night. Is he gonna bother eating them now that his stomach is full?

Jacob shrugged, "Probably not." And just like that, he decided to leave the fruits where they are. 'Or maybe vegetable?' Jacob paused, "Do pineapples count as vegetables?" He asked out loud. Probably not... right? Last he checked, the plants that grow pineapples and tomatoes look exactly the same, he doesn't really know... though.

Actually, is tomato a fruit?

Why is he suddenly overthinking things?

Jacob shrugged for the second time that morning and thought that it was probably best that he starts rolling his shoulders. And two stiff rolls later, his shoulder girdle popped and he felt like he might as well pop as many joints as he could- his back, his arms, legs, fingers. It was only when he finished did he realize that he didn't feel tired even after sleeping in what can only count as dirt. At the thought of that, Jacob stared up, 'No surprise there, I guess.' He was starting to like Horos more and more now.

After that quick warm up, Jacob looked around the place, deciding what his next course of action would be. Unlike yesterday, he didn't faint in the morning which means that he actually had the entire day to himself and that it will be hours before the sun sets and he encounters another one of those creatures, or he assumes he'd only encounter them at night, Jacob isn't really sure otherwise.

Shaking his head, he threw his thoughts back and channeled [Locate] and watched as the spell consumed more than half his amp, leaving it down to a meager 5. Still, the spell worked and asked him what it wants to locate and Jacob quickly answered other humans.

That... got mixed results, both good and bad. For the good, Jacob now knows where he can find a small town to his west and for the bad, he now also knows the location of various bandit camps placed haphazardly in a straight line around him. Some, were a kilometer away, which seems to be the spell's limit, while others were close enough for him to reach on foot.

Jacob looked to the direction of the nearest bandit gathering and took a small pause on what he wanted to do. Did he want to fight them? The answer was no, all the way through. But also, do the bandits have a few important things- such as for example, currency, - with them that'll help him when he gets to the village? Yes, for sure. Was the risk worth it? Eh... only so-so.

Jacob focused on the feeling his spell gave him and abruptly cut the connection off, causing the bandits to disappear and confirming his suspicions on whether or not he can actually force the spell's effect to end abruptly. It didn't give him any amp as a refund but knowing that he can remove something so distracting before he gets into fights is pretty good.

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"Let's see..." Did he want to take down the bandits? From where he's standing, he knows where other humans are and he can go to their town first if he wanted but then will they even take someone like him in? Does paperwork in this world? 'Probably not,' or... 'Maybe yes.' His thoughts went back to his talk with Horos last night, The God of Knowledge surely would want identification for the various people praising him right? If so, then, 'fuck.'

Okay, so a God of Knowledge existing meant that the people here are definitely gonna be smarter than the average victorian human Jacob knows of.

Jacob looked back to where he remembered that human town is, then winced. If those people are educated then he's either gonna need currency, a lot of it, so that they don't question him- or some form of education.

Jacob decided to pick the latter and with a reluctant step, he went forward and walked to where he last remembered the group of bandits were.

With each step, his amp slowly refueled itself and Jacob couldn't be more than happier to use [Locate] in tandem with [Crafting] again to find materials that'll allow him to craft traps and weapons. A hammer, preferably. He... doesn't really know if he can kill anyone but if he does, then using it with a hammer to make it bloodless and if they faint, preferably, not painful for the victim is a good idea if he doesn't want to freeze in spot after accidentally stabbing someone.

Jacob didn't dare think about the reason why he's collecting the materials for the hammer, nor did he try to when he was making the "tool" with his bare hands, and as he did, his fingers moved with efficiency and deftness they never had before, they didn't or even slow down for a second even as Jacob felt stressed from the thought of thinking what he's gonna do with the hammer. [Crafting] didn't care, and all it wanted to do was make the tool and soon, the skill died off as Jacob held a crude hammer in his hand.

It was nothing much, just a large, oval rock tied to a strong stick using plant fibers that Jacob tied together in less than half an hour. The length barely reached his elbow, and with how the rock didn't have any blunt sides, it was obvious what the hammer was going to be used as. So [Crafting] can either read intent or it knows what Jacob wants to do with the tools he's making it "craft." - a creepy thought to have, especially if one considers that Jacob never knew how to make any of this to begin with.

He tossed it up and quickly grabbed the handle, the weight felt just right, and handling the hammer was as easy as him holding its handle- which is just fiber tied around the other end of the hammer, - and gripping tightly. Sighing, Jacob stood up from the ground and walked away, moving to where the nearest trees he can cut with his hammer.

Jacob's grip on the piece of flint he used to shave the fibrous plants with was tight as he made his way to a group of small trees whose thickness is close to his arm. Well, bicep but it's pretty much the same- Jacob eyed the thin things and moved closer, he placed a hand on the bark, noting that it was smooth and birch-like, the yellowish lines along the gray bark is clearly amber, or at least some sort of sap.

Jacob didn't know what it does for the tree and he didn't plan to, he held the grip of the hammer with both hands, and then he walked a foot or so away from the tree, he walked to the side, [Crafting] guiding him all the way, the skill kept guiding him as he raised the hammer and with a lungful heave, he swung the hammer and struck the bark straight center.

Wood splintered as the bark broke away and the hammer dug into the soft wood, it got stuck and it took Jacob's meager strength a pull and two before he can take it away, then, with another heave, he raised the weapon up and swung- hitting the tree once more and breaking the wood further apart, sending more splinters that forced Jacob to close his eyes.

When he opened them, the tree was starting to lean and with another swing- it fell down with a creak and crashed to another one of its kind. Jacob walked forward and bent down when he reached the tree's crown, his hand went in, searching for something and only stopped until his fingers felt a smooth thing the size of his pinky coiling across one of the branches.

He took out his flint and inserted it underneath the parasitic vine, pushing it upward, he forced the plant to go up and then slid his finger underneath, then he pulled. Sticky lines of sap connected between the branch and the vine came apart as Jacob continued to pull, which no matter how hard Jacob did it, the vine seemed to hold together and never broke apart, continuing to merely uncoil from the branch until Jacob reached the top of the trunk, where the vines rooted.

Taking out the flint he sharpened, Jacob used it to cut the vine apart.