Playing at being a Hunter and actually having the class and doing a job for the village, now that were two completely different pairs of shoes. Or so Luna learned very quickly. The earlier training rounds with Jonas had been a soft breeze in comparison, but there was no better way than learning by doing.
Her new leather armor was still chafing in places, even after five days of wearing it in and her mother was now working on some properly padded clothes to wear under the gods forsaken thing. At least it had been productive, and she had gained level for her scout class and a few measly points of experience for the hunter. Mucking around killing rabbits really wasn't going to get her anywhere soon.
But at least she now knew how it looked to gain experience for classes and have your actions evaluated by the Class Tablet. At least it was not actively mocking her, Luna was good enough at doing that herself.
Greetings Emiluna.
Your gains since your last visit at a Class Tablet.
General Experience [Experience gained by performing Class actions]
Hunter: 21 XP
Scout: 19 XP
Additional Experience [Noteworthy Achievements]
None
Name: Emiluna Millersdaughter / Emilia Lunare Silvenlake
Level: 2
Race: Human/Dryad
Age: 16
Class 1: Hunter - Level 1
Experience: 21/100
Class 2: Scout - Level 1 (Level Up)
Experience: 9/100
Class 3: N/A (Requires a total level of 45)
Health: 157/159 [(Vitality x 10 + Strength x 2.5 + Dexterity x 2.5) x Skill Modifier]
Stamina: 91/170 [((Vitality + Strength + Dexterity) x 5) x Skill Modifier]
Mana: 128/129 [(Wisdom x10 + Intelligence x 2.5 + Charisma x 2.5) x Skill Modifier]
Regeneration - Per Minute
1.62% Stamina [1% base x Body/Mind x Skill Modifier)]
0.74% Mana [1% base x Mind/Body x Skill Modifier)]
1.2% Life [Base 1% x (Skill Modifiers)]
Stats - Body
Strength: 10
Vitality: 9
Dexterity: 12
Stats - Mind
Wisdom: 8
Intelligence: 8
Charisma: 7
Available Points
Stats: 0
Skills: 0
Skills - Personal
[Athleticism] - Level 4 (Level Up)
[Languages] - Level 4
Skills - Race
[Dryad's Body]
[Dryad's Eyes]
[Ancestral Memories]
Skills - Crafting
[Cooking] - Level 3
[Sewing] - Level 2
[Field Dressing] - Level 1
Skills - Combat
[Bows] - Level 3 (Level Up)
[Small Weapons] - Level 2 (Level Up)
[Small Shields] - Level 2 (Level Up)
Skills - Utility
[Tracking] - Level 3 (Level Up)
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[Stealth] - Level 3
[Survival] - Level 3 (Level Up)
[Field Craft] - Level 2 (Level Up)
Skills - Class
[Hunter's Regeneration]
[Hunter's Stride]
[Scout's Resolve]
[Scout's Precision]
At least she now had the two new class skills from Scout and they would be helping her a lot, Jonas' advice had been spot on.
[Scout's Resolve]
Only a patient observer can spot that which does not want to be seen. Increased chance to both spot things and stay undetected yourself.
[Scout's Precision]
Your eyes have an easier time tracking targets and spotting weaknesses. Increases accuracy against moving targets and better chance to notice weak spots on enemies that move slowly or stand still.
While they were lacking nice and shiny numbers, which could be added up in her status, in Luna's expert opinion the skills were absolutely awesome, mainly because they were her Skills. She also got some training in how to use her new weapons. This primarily involved the basics, like how to not hack into your own legs when swinging a hatchet or using a shield, no matter how small, for more than just awkwardly blocking hits. Apparently shields were quite versatile and Luna learned from personal experience that getting smacked in the face with a blunt board of wood, is a disorienting experience.
To everyone's surprise, except Luna herself, she proved quite adept at using a bow. Movement and hand eye coordination seemed to come easy to her. That did not prevent her from getting a slap on the fingers for not caring for her bow properly. Apparently the bow was to be carried unstrung, as it would otherwise lose tension and weaken the material.
Today was Tuesday and that meant she could finally do something herself. Only Tuesdays and Fridays were free and on the days on actual Hunter duty she had not been able to do much except fall into bed and sleep. Apparently that would improve with more levels, but right now at the end of each day Luna was very much done.
Headman Roland had made her a map of the surrounding area and Luna was going to use her free days to familiarize herself with being on her own and the area around the village. After all, she would have to start pulling her weight and if she wanted to buy better equipment. Maybe even build, or rather have someone build, her own little house at the edge of the village.
Picking up her stride she made good timing, quickly leaving behind the fields. Two of the other Hunters had Trapper as their second class and Luna was keeping an eye open in case one of their snares had captured an unlucky rabbit. The Trappers would be checking themselves, but it was always preferred for traps to get emptied quickly, less the free meal attracts a predator. They had tried teaching her, even she was not going to pick the class herself, but without special class skills the traps would never amount to much and she never put much effort into it, not even gaining the basic skills.
As the village name Creek Springs indicates, it was founded near a small creek, with the spring located just a little away from the village at the foot off the hills to the west. Luna was told that if one were able to see the village from the sky, it would look like it was placed in a horseshoe shaped area, with only the path north free of obstacles.
To the west the hilly terrain and light forest made travel impossible. After the kingdom prospectors had found no metals worth mining, nobody had any interest in the region. To the south and east are the furthest reaches of the Everwood forest, effectively blocking those directions completely.
Only a fool would set foot into that forest and the villagers had a very pragmatic relationship with it. Do not enter it, do not get close to it and do not even think about chopping down trees. The Everwood was just there, immovable and never changing. It did bring one indisputable advantage , it provided the village with a steady supply of meat. Animals regularly left the forest and anything that made its way into the human domain was fair game.
Luna made her meandering way in a south-east direction, looking for a promising spot to maybe set up and wait for deer. After two hours she finally found what she was looking for. Fresh deer tracks heading away from a watering spot. Luna grabbed bow, string and quiver from her pack. Quickly stringing the bow and attaching the quiver to her belt, she carefully made her way in the general direction of the tracks. It only took about 30 minutes until she found 5 deer grazing. Luck was with her and wind was in her face, allowing her to circle around to get a better shot. Her pack was quietly dropped behind a tree and she used brush and tree cover to close the distance to a more comfortable range. The last thing she needed was chasing after a wounded deer, because she failed to mortally wound it.
Of course not everything goes to plan on the first hunt. Luna was not sure if it was her or something else, but the deer decided to bolt and left the silently cursing Luna behind. Unstringing the bow again she trudged back to grab her pack and decided to set up near the watering spot where she found the tracks. Picking a spot that would hopefully be downwind, she made herself comfortable. She decided against following the deer, as she was already a decent distance from the village and she wanted to get back before the sun went down.
Drinking some water and snacking on some meat jerky Luna spent her time observing nature around her. It felt absolutely right to her. She belonged out here, not in a stuffy room. Every time she now came back to the village, she started to feel hemmed in by the houses, walls, people, basically everything. Without the comparison she never realized how suffocating the small village felt and she enjoyed her time outside its walls very much.
Luckily Luna did not have to wait too long and the same deer from before made their return. Only this time they were not alone. Luna spotted another hunter, a rather small example of a mountain cat. Right now the beast was circling around the drinking deer and had yet to notice the motionless Luna. Close to the village these predators were rare, as they had learned that humans did not make for good neighbors.
Luna thought quickly, deciding to try to take out the predator. It was her job after all and asking other Hunter for help during her first week, now that truly would not look good. Being the only "girl" Hunter meant she had to prove herself.
Luna slowly moved behind a tree and stood up. Bow in hand she leaned around the tree, spotting the cat sitting in the high grass, waiting for a chance to pounce on one of the smaller deer. With it merely 20 meter away, Luna knew it was now or never. She drew her bow and noticed the effect of her [Scout's Precision]. She could clearly make out the location to hit for maximum damage. The arrow flew true and struck the beast in the flank, killing it instantly. Whether it was the Skill, Luck or simply the bow being overkill on the short distance, Luna was happy with the result.
At the loud sound of her bow firing the deer had instantly bolted, not that she would have been able to carry both the 30kg cat and a deer. Luna went over to grab the carcass and moved away from the waterhole. If she wanted deer to return it would be stupid to stink up the place with blood and guts. She did her best to field dress the kill, but was pretty sure she had ruined half the pelt and cut away way too much meat. But everyone had to learn at some point and she was lucky she had even gained the Skill [Field Dressing] in the first place. It was good enough in case she needed to survive in the wild and she really did not have the time right now to work on [Butchering] or even [Skinning].
Taking down a predator on her first time out alone was not exactly what Luna had planned. Sure, it was just a rather small beast, but it reminded her that away from the village safety was a luxury and she had to be prepared just in case. The adrenaline rush and the realization that she might actually be in danger made Luna a little paranoid. For the first 20 minutes of her way back she could not shake the feeling of being observed and every rustling bush was hiding another dangerous animal.
When she arrived back at the village she dropped off the carcass at the butcher. She did not need the meat and in exchange for it the butcher promised her try saving as much pelt as possible, maybe it would be enough for a nice inner lining of a winter coat. Thus ended Luna's a little too exciting first day hunting, little did she know the coming weeks would only bring more excitement.