The next few days are calm. I dried meat and carved more spikes to replace the broken ones. I cut down more branches to repair the pit trap. I recycled some of the branches from the bottom of the pit, but it was not enough. I have no experience with tanning, but I tried to do something with fur. I just removed the fur and fat and dried it. It’s not leather, but it should be workable. There’s enough material that I should be able to make myself a whole armor set.
I also have bear bones. I figure I can probably make an ax with them or something, but I’m not sure I want to go in that direction. I broke some smaller bones and polished them to work as a spear’s tip.
You have learned Leather Working (Common)!
You have learned Bone Crafting (Common)!
Nothing surprising. I also got Cooking (Common) skill but dropped it. The more skills I have, the more experience is divided between them. I figure I should level combat skills first since there are useful perks at skill level 10.
I also worked on my mana skills. I mostly tried to create destructive mana, as in the skill shop, but with no success. I learned I can only move ambient mana, and scarce elemental mana is impossible to move for me, at least for now.
I also worked out a bit. I gained a stat point in strength, will, and dexterity. Status!
Name: NA
Age: 0
Race: Goblin
Level:3/10
Strength: 4
Vitality: 5
Endurance: 3
Dexterity: 7
Intelligence: 23
Will: 17
Affinity: 3
Health:16/19
Stamina:26/31
Mana:0/0
Traits
Iron Stomach 3
Combat skills
Brawling 2
Spearmanship 3
Sneaking 2
Hiding 3
Magic Skills
Mana Sense 6
Mana Manipulation 4
Crafting Skills
Wood Working 4
Fortification Construction 2
Trap Making 3
Leather Working 1
Bone Crafting 1
Titles
None
It’s a bit sad I didn’t get an awesome title for killing a monster above my tier, but there's nothing I can do about it.
After repairing everything, I gather hay and make myself a bed. I use branches and bones to create a foundation that will prevent hay from getting wet and rotting. Then I throw the hay. I actually make sure to get more grass and place it in the sun. The bed looks fine, but I’m sure it would rot anyway in the damp cave sooner or later.
I also try to craft my armor. I went for a sleeveless vest, shoes, and a skirt. Why those? Because that seems the simplest. I weaved some strings from plants to connect them. I lose a lot of hide to stupid mistakes, though, leaving me with only one set.
You have learned Textile Working (Common)!
I start to worry about all those skills. Until I hit level ten in them, I won’t get any benefits. Hm… I decided. I drop Textile Working, Leather Working, and Bone Crafting skills. I also get rid of Brawling. I know I already have a level in it, but I don’t see myself using it anyway.
I leave Trap Making, as it’s my main source of food. I also leave Wood Working and Fortification Construction skills. I do most things using wood, and better fortifications would be nice. Besides, that’s my only rare skill.
I currently have nearly everything. I have a warm bed, food, a relatively safe location, and clothes. I don’t have any companions. I lost hope for survivors returning days ago. I could look for humans. My new armor should make me look somehow civilized… No. I just look like a barbarian rather than a wild beast. Besides, the forest is dangerous.
I’m going to place traps for rabbits and other small animals in the forests. I hope this will provide me with both food and experience points. I’m weak, but if I can get more levels, skill advancements, and maybe even evolve, it shouldn’t be so dangerous for me. In the first place, it’s dangerous because I don’t have a tribe.
I weave more strings and regain the Textile Working skill to once again get rid of it. I prepare surplus materials for traps for the next few days.
The next day, I sneak to the rabbits' location. It’s my farthest expedition on my own so far, and I keep looking around, afraid of wolves. I’m lucky to not be noticed by any predators, and I place traps. They are mostly my self-made ropes tied to branches. When a rabbit would disturb it, the drawn-in branch would return to its normal position, taking the rabbit with it. At least in theory. I tested it, but I have no idea how well this would work in practice. I set traps there, as well as around my cave.
The next day, I go to check on traps. I first check the traps around the cave. They are kind of low-risk, low-reward traps. I tried to place them where animals could have trails, but I’m not an expert. I got and dropped the Tracking skill, though. Those traps are only two to three hundred meters from the cave, so I have a chance to escape back to the cave, especially with my new hide armor. As I thought, there’s no captured prey. A few traps were triggered, but I don’t know if this is because something got caught and escaped, or maybe it was just wind or something.
I didn’t get any notifications, but these traps were meant to capture, not kill, so I leave them be. Once again, I sneak to the rabbits’ place. I smile. There is actually one that captured a rabbit! There are other rabbits at some distance, and I don’t want to fight them. I sneak to the rabbit and hit it strongly in the head with a spear. No squeaks! Great! I lower the stunned rabbit to the ground and kill it with the spear.
You have killed 1 1st tier monster. You have earned 10 Experience Points.
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Your Sneaking skill has advanced to level 3!
Great! I'm quite proud of myself. I refresh the trap and sneak back to the cave. It’s interesting that even this defenseless hornless rabbit is considered a monster by the system. Are all animals monsters? Or are there some other variables?
In the cave, I continue with my magic. I noticed some time ago that there are traces of elemental mana in everything. I tried to remove them by flushing them with ambient mana, but to no effect. Today, I try to reinforce that with ambient mana. I collect mana from the air and push it into the cave’s wall. I arrange mana around traces of elemental mana.
You have learned Weak Mana Enforcement (Common)!
Yes! Some success! It’s one of the skills offered by the system shop, but a weaker version. I understand that this skill increases the durability of the material. It’s not useful for me. I need to concentrate on the wall, something I don’t have time to do during a battle. Besides, increased durability is useless for me. I have quite a few spare spears. I try to do the same with a different substance. The problem is that I can’t feel any elemental mana in wood or bones. Is my mana sensing too weak? I have some success with stones, but I actually feel mana clearer in the dirt. I get rid of my new skill from my status, but I’m going to practice it. My sharp stones are dulling too fast. The skill will be mildly useful, but not enough to waste Experience Points on it.
I’m happy that there is some progress. My magic has been useless so far. Even now, it’s just a weak utility use. My attempts to use mana for an attack have failed so far, so I’m going to concentrate on the Mana Infusion skill. It’s the counterpart of Mana Enforcement, but buffing body. That's what I can remember from the system shop.
The next day, I don’t find anything in the traps. It’s bad, but I still have meat. I will check again tomorrow, and in the worst case, just move the traps to different places. I train magic for the rest of the day.
The next day arrives, and I find a hole in the pit. I hold the spear tight. Is there something in the cave? No. Something fell inside, which means I may have an unknown living monster in the pit. I walk slowly. I would love to have a mirror now. This way, I could look inside without giving whatever is inside a clear shot at me. Damn. Maybe I’m paranoid.
I take a quick peek inside. There’s a boar. I take another peak. There’s a dead bear. It fell inside onto a spike.
You have killed 1 1st tier monster. You have earned 110 Experience Points.
Your Mana Manipulation skill has advanced to level 6!
Your Spear Fighting skill has advanced to level 4!
Your Trap Making skill has advanced to level 5!
Your Iron Stomach trait has advanced to level 4!
Hm. So, I only get Experience Points from a trap kill when I confirm the kill. I hoped otherwise. It takes some time to lift the boar from the pit. It is smaller than the bear has been, so the damage to the trap is not great. I just repair the camouflage on the surface, and it’s fine. I butcher the boar and leave to check the trap.
Wow! One of my traps caught a wolf! It’s one of the traps near the cave. I look around. Wolfs are pack animals. There is a good chance its packmates are nearby. I don’t find any, though. Did they leave him? The trap moved the wolf up into the air. It is lifted by one of its rear legs. Whatever. I prepare myself mentally to bolt to the cave at the first sight of trouble. I walk to the wolf, which growls and shows his fangs. It tried to attack me with claws, but my spear have a longer reach. I repeatedly stab the wolf with my spear.
You have killed 1 1st tier monster. You have earned 80 Experience Points.
Your Hiding skill has advanced to level 4!
Your Sneaking skill has advanced to level 4!
I take the wolf and drag it to the cave. I don’t reload the trap. I don’t want to meet wolf’s former friends. In the cave, I finally sigh in relief. I butcher the wolf. It’s already past midday when I go again into the forest. I check the rest of the traps, but I don’t go to the rabbits’ place. I know the wolf pack was here recently, and I don’t want to be eaten.
The next day, I repeat my routine. There’s nothing in nearby traps, but once again, I don’t go to the rabbits’ place. I spend the day practicing magic.
On the second day after killing the wolf, I go to the rabbits’ place. There are actually two hornless rabbits in my traps. I don’t kill them, though. I tried to figure out mana skills, but I’m afraid of applying them to my body. What if I accidentally kill myself? So, I take two living rabbits with me. I stun them first, afraid that honed rabbits would hear their call and attack me.
I wonder, can I actually start rabbit husbandry? I ponder the idea. I can keep them in the cave, but I would have to pick grass for them to eat. The only problem is the possibility of them evolving into horned rabbits. Actually, I should be able to deal with one horned rabbit, but not two. I stop thinking about that. I’m going to prioritize my magic. I can start being a farmer after the rabbit survives my magic experiments.
In the cave, I understand I underestimated problems with keeping animals. I need some kind of fence to keep them locked. I temporarily tie up animals and gather branches. I tie them with my rope into a semi-stable construction that should hold as long as nobody touches it. I pick up grass and throw it into the fenced-off corner with rabbits.
I observe. After some time, they calm down. They eat grass, and they don’t try to jump out of the pen. Meanwhile, I ponder what to test first. Since Mana Infusion strengthens a body, by reversing it, I could create a damaging spell. That’s my theory.
By using Mana Sense on myself, I can tell there is some kind of mana that flows in my body. I’m not sure if this is anything special, though. Mana flows through everything, and my body is simply no exception. I use the skill on a rabbit, and it’s the same. Following this flow in my body, I assume it’s a new type of elemental mana. Therefore, I’m just going to repeat what I have done before.
I grab one of the rabbits. The animal is scared and motionless, which is good for me. I think those rabbits are like the goose, always staying together. This would explain why there was no escape attempt and why rabbits are all in one place in the forest.
I use Mana Sense and find a similar flow in the rabbit’s body. I do the same as with the cave, trying to gather ambient mana and reinforce that mana flow.
You have learned Weak Mana Infusion skill (Common)!
Success! I continue to experiment. I try to speed up the flow, but it’s not so easily moved. Actually, I think it really is an elemental mana, as I can’t move it directly. My only way to interact with it is by using ambient mana. I also try to disrupt the flow. I have moderate success, but I feel it’s like disturbing leaves on a river, hoping to divert its flow. Ergo, flow is only a consequence of that elemental mana. Let’s call it life mana for now.
I drop the skill and try again.
You have learned Weak Mana Infusion skill (Common)!
No changes. I check the rabbit, and it seems completely fine. I use the skill on myself and check the status.
Name: NA
Age: 0
Race: Goblin
Level:3/10
Strength: 5 (4)
Vitality: 5
Endurance: 4 (3)
Dexterity: 7
Intelligence: 23
Will: 17
Affinity: 3
Health:16/20
Stamina:29/33
Mana:0/0
Traits
Iron Stomach 4
Combat skills
Spear Fighting 4
Sneaking 4
Hiding 4
Magic Skills
Mana Sense 7
Mana Manipulation 6
Weak Mana Infusion 1
Crafting Skills
Wood Working 4
Fortification Construction 2
Trap Making 5
Titles
None
My Strength and Endurance increased by 1. After stopping the skill, they return to values in brackets. Great! Although that doesn’t help me with figuring out offensive magic, plus one Strength is good enough for now. I can finally use magic in battle. I’m going to keep that skill and maybe upgrade it in the future.
The next day, I continue my routine. I catch another rabbit and add him to the rest. I actually checked their genders, and I have two males and one female. I hope I can catch more female rabbits.
The next day, I catch another rabbit, a male. I kill him for EP.
You have killed 1 1st tier monster. You have earned 10 Experience Points.
Your Mana Manipulation skill has advanced to level 7!
I wonder about tiers of monsters. Only the bear was a 2nd tier monster, going by notifications. It’s obvious, though, that wolves or bears are stronger than rabbits. I haven’t killed any horned rabbits, but I expect that they are 2nd tier. This would make them very weak for that. Maybe they have some hidden qualities? Experience points actually reflect that discrepancy, but I don’t have any idea how EXP works. There’s no Experience bar. Skills take some Experience for leveling too, so it’s hard to figure it out by math. I would need to cap all my skills for that.
I return to the cave. I made myself a second set of hide armor, which is slightly better, so I switched to it. There are still only three rabbits inside the pen, but I hope the female will give birth soon.
The next day, I go outside to check on traps around the cave when I spot wolves. The wolf pack noticed me first, it seems, as they half-encircle me. Shit! I run to the cave and even use Infusion to become faster. One of the wolves bites my left shoulder, but I stab the wolf with my spear. Fortunately, my new set protects my shoulders, so the wound is not very bad. Wolves take a more careful approach after that, which lets me enter the cave. One of the wolves goes after me and falls down on the spikes.
You have killed 1 1st tier monster. You have earned 70 Experience Points.
You have advanced to level 4!
Your Sneaking skill has advanced to level 5!
Your Hiding skill has advanced to level 5!
Your Mana Sense skill has advanced to level 8!
Good, but that’s not the end. Another wolf sees this and decides to jump above the pit. I scoff. I can’t retreat further, anyway. Now, I’m going to stand and fight. The jumping wolf has no maneuverability in the air, so he jumps into my spear. I get the notification, but I suppress it, concentrating on the fight. Knowing the wolf on my spear is already dead, I try to move it to the side, but I’m not strong enough to hold the spear with a wolf on it. I let the wolf fall down into the pit. Two wolves try to avoid the pit and walk around it. Unfortunately for them, there are also my spikes, which force them to act carefully. I use that situation to stab one of them. The wolf has barely any room to dodge.
I try to follow with more stabs, but the wolf retreats. There is only room for one wolf, but I have to deal with the wolf crossing my fortification on the other side. I move to stab it, but the wolf is faster and crosses my spike area, imminently lunging for me. I hit it with my spear, wounding it and forcing it back a little. Another wolf use my distraction to jump over the pit. I have no room to stab it, but I hit it with the back of my spear, which slows down the wolf. It falls in and dies, hopefully. The remaining wolf attacks me, and I swipe my spear, breaking one of its front legs but also my spear. The wolf claws at my chest, but the hide protects me. I take one of my spare spears from my back and hit the wolf with it like a club. I don’t have much space to maneuver. Then again. The spear breaks, but somehow stuns the beast. I grab another spear and stab the wolf, finally killing it. I look back, and two more wolves are trying to cross the spike area. I throw the remains of the broken spear at one wolf and go to stab another. I succeed, and the wolf retreats. I look at the second wolf, but it actually retreated too.
I look around. The wolves stopped attacking. One of them howls, and they run away. I fall to my knees. I laugh. I survived! Hahahahaha! I survived.
I look around again. I killed three wolves. Sure, I have done that in a place that heavily favors me. The narrow entrance didn’t allow wolves to swarm me. The pit killed two of them. I practically only killed one of them. I laugh, though. I can survive in this world.