As the time came for Ayren to venture outside again, he immediately headed toward the river he had noticed earlier. There, he hoped to find food, and drinkable water, and perhaps build a temporary camp.
"I need to get to the river quickly to have time to explore the area," Ayren decided not to search for spiritual herbs along the way but to quickly reach his destination.
Ayren ran to conserve energy but also to reach the river in the shortest time possible, taking no more than 10 minutes.
"I think I heard a notification sound while running," Ayren sat on a rock to rest.
[Learned a new skill "Sprint."]
[Received 1 skill experience point in "Sprint" and 0.1 experience point.]
"Great, another skill added," Ayren said.
"I need to search; maybe there's fish here," Ayren started walking upstream, looking for a spot where he could fish.
After spending a few minutes searching for a suitable spot, Ayren found a small clearing between trees near the river where the water was relatively shallow, and he could see the riverbed.
"This should do," Ayren waded into the river, the water reaching his knees.
Ayren retrieved the spear he had made from materials he collected previously and began hunting. Along the way, he saw several fish swimming in the river, so he was confident there was something to catch.
But there was a big hole in his plan. Ayren thought catching fish would be only a little challenging.
"This is frustrating," Ayren stepped out of the water and sat down.
During this time, Ayren made several attempts to catch fish, but all his efforts were unsuccessful, and his time outside was almost up. So, he decided to sit down and think of a way to catch something.
"Oh no, there's almost no time left. I need to do something," Ayren didn't hesitate long and decided to change tactics.
Instead of spearing the fish, Ayren decided to throw the spear at the fish from a distance, so his prey wouldn't notice him approaching.
Several attempts failed because he missed, and the spear flew past the fish. But even though all his attempts failed, it made him realize that this method gave him more chances.
"Looks like I hit it?" Ayren pondered.
[Killed a common fish, received 4 experiences.]
[Learned a new skill "Spear Mastery."]
[Received 3 skill experience points in "Spear Mastery" and 0.3 experience.]
"Finally," Ayren said aloud and rushed to where he had hit the fish with his spear.
Retrieving the spear with the fish, which was slightly larger than his palm, Ayren was pleased that killing the common fish had brought him so much benefit.
"I have only a few minutes left, maybe around five. If I catch something else during this time, I can level up," Ayren said.
Quickly grasping the spear, Ayren began throwing it at the fish. He regretted making only one spear; if he had had two more, he could have hunted more effectively.
Stolen novel; please report.
"Come on," Ayren exclaimed during each throw.
"Ah," Ayren quickly went to retrieve the spear after an unsuccessful attempt.
Approaching the spear, Ayren noticed a group of fish behind a large rock. Taking the spear, he approached a distance of about three meters and aimed at the largest fish.
Throwing the spear, Ayren waited to see if there would be a notification about killing the fish or about his return.
[Killed a common fish, received 3 experiences.]
[Received 2 skill experience points in "Spear Mastery" and 0.2 experience.] [Reached the experience limit, level up to 1.]
[Received 3 attribute points.]
[Outdoor time increased by 1 hour.]
[Quests unlocked.]
[Received "Newbie Gift."]
"Damn it," Ayren exclaimed as he walked out of the water and sprawled on the ground.
"What's new there?" Ayren began to look over all the notifications he received.
[New quest
Goal: Reach level 25
Reward: 3 upgraded attribute points.
Time: Unlimited
Punishment for failure: None
Accept Yes/No?]
[The quest is mandatory, so acceptance is automatic.]
"No punishment for failure and unlimited time, nothing to worry about," Ayren quickly read the message and moved on to others.
"Maybe I can increase some attributes?" Ayren pondered.
"Probably later," Ayren didn't want to spend points on attributes right now. He could still increase skill levels with them, so he postponed it for later.
"I wonder what I'll get from the gift?" Ayren pressed the open button with anticipation.
[Received]
[Plant growth speed: +100%]
[Regeneration speed: +100%] [
Cultivation speed: +100%]
Ayren wasn't disappointed but wasn't thrilled either. He expected something bigger, but seeing the prices in the shop for the same items, he understood that he couldn't afford to buy even one of these upgrades anytime soon.
"That seems to be it," Ayren was a bit disappointed, but he understood that his hopes were only unsupported by any expectations.
"Wait, there's still a new tab unlocked there," Ayren said.
Opening the tab with quests, Ayren noticed, besides the recent task he received, a tab for daily tasks. Clicking on it revealed three tabs before him.
[New Quest
Goal: Kill 5 fish
Reward: 1 strength attribute
Time: 24 hours
Punishment for failure: None
Accept
"Yes/No?"]
[New Quest
Goal: Find 30 spiritual herbs
Reward: 1 intelligence attribute
Time: 24 hours
Punishment for failure: None
Accept
«Yes/No? »]
[New Quest
Goal: Walk 8 kilometers
Reward: 1 agility attribute
Time: 24 hours
Punishment for failure: None
Accept
«Yes/No? »]
"Wow," Ayren was pleasantly surprised by such generous offers. But after some consideration, Ayren realized that he probably wouldn't be able to accomplish any of them today, so he decided to use the remaining time for something else.
He wanted to try increasing his Herbalism skill without using attribute points, to find out how to do it independently. Heading towards the forest, Ayren wasn't tense because he had already accomplished a couple of useful tasks, and if he couldn't find anything valuable or improve his skill, he wouldn't be disappointed.
Not long into wandering the forest, he stumbled upon a plant that, though inconspicuous, seemed familiar to him. Although it was right in front of him, he didn't rush to pick it up. Ayren began to examine it from different angles, inspecting the leaves, and continuing for several minutes until he got bored.
"Hmm, no results," Ayren said. "What if I try it for taste?" He cautiously plucked a leaf and chewed on it before spitting out the remains on the ground.
"It tastes like grass-flavored rubber," Ayren remarked.
[New plant characteristics unlocked.]
[Plant named "Common Penreck" identified.]
[Condition for skill increase met. Herbalism skill increased to level 1.]
"Hmm, this is how you can increase a skill. Opening up new possibilities or characteristics could be challenging," Ayren mused.
With plenty of time left before his return, Ayren decided to search for more herbs and crafting materials, intending to test his theory on another skill.
As he searched for useful materials, Ayren didn't notice how quickly time passed, and soon it was time to return. But he had accomplished so much in a day that he was satisfied.
[Before forced return
3...
2...
1...]