Sorry for the wait. My mind had turned to mush and i couldn't concentrate at all. While i could have still put out a chapter it would have been half-assed and none of us would have liked that.
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Krono and Eric meet at dawn the next morning and headed of the set the traps. This time however they didn’t. Eric had them jog the whole way and Krono was breathing very hard by the time they stopped. When Krono checked his notifications though he got a surprise.
System Message
Endurance increased by 3 points
Agility increased by 2 points
Strength increased by 2 points
Krono was shocked. Being able to gain stat points just by jogging seemed absurd. If everybody did this wouldn’t you have a game filled with overpowered players?
Maybe you can only get a certain amount of points by doing this. Krono thought as started setting his traps Or maybe you need to be below a certain level for it to happen. Or there could be some other restriction to keep the game balanced.
Krono puzzled over the mystery for several minutes before giving up. There was just no way for him to know with having other player to compare to.
After the trapps were set Krono repeated what he had done the day before except this time he had to stretch before training and had to do pushups or situps every time he made a mistake. Needless to say Krono was very sore by the time the duo returned to the village. Every so often throughout the day Krono would receive notifications about one stat or another increasing. By the end of the day his endurance had gone up by a total of six points, his agility hand gone up a total of four points and his strength a total of five points. He had also gained the [Spear Mastery] skill.
For seven days Krono trapped and trained by day and skinned his catch by night, only needing to sleep once. During that time he had gained even more stat points from the training, though the rate at which he gained them seemed to be slowing down. Over all Krono gained a total of six more points in strength, eight more in agility, and eleven more in endurance. The most exciting, and surprising, event for Krono though happened towards the end of the seven day period when he received an interesting notification.
System Message Congratulations! You unlocked the stat [Perception]!
You have become accustomed to constantly observing your surroundings.
You have a chance of detecting hostile creatures and hidden enemies within a certain distance of you. You also have a chance of detecting hidden door, traps, objects, etc… You also have an increased awareness of irregularities whether it be in people, the environment, or objects.
Current range:5ft
Current Perception: 5
Krono was both shocked and excited by this new development. He never expected there to be additional stats in the game and he the first to get one it.
While Krono was spending most of his time the Second Awakening he still needed to leave every once in while to check up on the real world.
Apparently Ren’s pod was setup to record what he was doing in the game in a third person view. This was done so the doctors could monitor his mental health, since he would be spending days at a time in the game and most people would only be spend at most several hours at a time in the game. His sister had berated him for “Losing to some old guy with a pointy stick” as she put it. An analyst from Moonlight Arts also stopped by to ask Ren about his opinion on the game so far and if he had run across any bug or things that could use improving. Ren mentioned the stat thing and the analyst only replied with “We’ll look into it.”
After the visiting Ren returned to the portal room and dived back into the game.
The sun was mostly over the horizon when Krono logged back in. He checked his inventory to make sure he had everything he needed before heading off to see Jason and learn tailoring. Krono and Eric had agreed that he would spend what time he needed with Jason before going back to training with Eric for the rest of the time Krono was staying in the village.
Krono waited until most of the village was up and about before heading over to Jason’s shop. When he entered there were a few people browsing the wares and Jason was behind the counter waiting to ring people up. Jason looked over as Krono entered and waved him over.
“Finally finished?” he asked when Krono was close enough.
In response Krono the the requested pelts out of his inventory and handed the over to Jason, who quickly counted them.
“They all seem to be here so i guess you completed my task. When the shop empties out we’ll talk more.”
System Message Congratulations! You completed [Help Jason]!
Reward:Jason will teach you the Life Skill [Tailoring]
It took a little over two hours for the steady stream of villagers to finally stop and for the shop to finally become empty. Jason turn to Krono, who had been hanging around the shop and occasionally helping if jason asked.
“Wait here for a moment.” Jason said then disappeared into the back of the shop.
This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.
Moments later he returned carrying a green leather bound book that had the symbol of a needle and thread embossed on the cover.
“Because you’ve been so helpful and because Eric has said good things about you i will give you a choice about how you will learn tailoring. I can either give you this book, which contains all of the information you’ll need to eventually become a master tailor though you’ll only be able to understand the basics at first and the book only contains the bare minimum amount of information, or I can teach you myself, where I’ll be able to give you pointers and knowledge that may not be in the book and answer any questions that you may have but only for as long as you remain in the village. After you leave you’ll have to rely on yourself and whatever help you can find to advance. Of course you’ll also have to pass each one of my trials.” Jason leaned against the counter, “So which do you choose?”
System Message Tailoring Skill Book:
~Start at beginner level 1
~Standard Skill progression
~Make average quality equipment*
Learn from Jason:
~Start at intermediate level 1
~Skill progression is halved
~Make better than average quality equipment*^
*Quality before adding any modifiers
^Base quality will depend on final evaluation
Krono looked at the system window and cocked his head to the side as he thought about which option he should take.
I could take the skill book and be done with but if I learn from Jason I’ll start a whole rank ahead of everyone else and anything i make will be better than someone of the same skill level but i’ll progress at halve the speed of everyone else and the quality bonus I get could only be a hair better than average.
Krono took several minutes to think about what he wanted to choose, going over all of the pros and cons he could think of for each option. Eventually he came to a decision.
“I would like you to teach me Jason.” He said.
System Message You've received the quest [Tailoring Trials].
You must complete the lessons and trials given to you by Master Tailor Jason.
Difficulty: Special
Reward: Life Skill [Art of Tailoring] at Intermediate level 1
Time Limit: None
Failure: Fail two trials
“Good.” Jason said with a smile, “We’ll start immediately.”
Krono was lead by Jason into the back of the shop where he saw a large workshop filled with numerous racks and worktables all holding various tools and materials. The two walked over to that was filled with different fabrics, furs, and pelts and brought over two stools and indicated for Krono to sit.
“The most important thing about trailering, and crafting in general, is to not only pick the right materials for what you’re making but to pick the best quality materials.” Jason began, “A skilled craftsman can make a fine product with low-quality materials but they can also make something much better with roughly the same amount of work if better quality materials are used. On this table I have different materials of varying qualities and we will be going over all of them. First up we have this standard linen fabric. What you want to look for to determine it’s quality is…”
Krono spent the rest of the day in the workshop listening to Jason drone on and on about how to appraise materials and how different quality materials would affect the finished product. Every so often krono would get a short break when Jason went to help a customer but it usually didn’t last very long. By the time evening came around Krono was exhausted and had a headache from all of the information he had to absorb. Krono stood up and made his way towards the door.
“Where are you going?” Jason asked
“Find somewhere to sleep.” Krono replied
“You don’t have a room at the inn?” Jason asked, a little surprised
“Not enough money.” Krono said with a slight shrug
“What have you been doing all this time then?”
“Sleeping outside. Usually under a tree in the center of the village.”
“Really?” Jason said. “We’ll as long as you’re learning from me you won’t be doing that. Follow me, i have a spare room you can use.”
Jason lead Krono through a door to the side of the workshop and up a flight of stairs. At the top there was a short hallway with a few doors visible. Jason lead Krono to the first door they came to. The door opened to reveal a small, simply adorned roomed that had a single bead, a small chest of drawers, and a single table and chair placed near a window the looked out onto the street.
“We’re going to start early tomorrow, though i’m sure you’re used to that by now.” Jason said as he left the room, “Goodnight.” Jason close the door behind him.
Krono Walked over to the window and looked out at the slowly darkening street, contemplating for the millionth time what it was he wanted to do and what did he want to accomplish now that a game world is were he would living out his life for the foreseeable future and for the millionth time didn’t have an answer. When the sun had completely set Krono felt his way over to the bed, lay down and fell asleep.
The next morning Krono got up before dawn, as had become a habit, and walked downstairs. To his surprise Jason was already up and cooking something in a pot over a fireplace on one side of the workshop.
“Ah Krono you’re up.” Jason said when Krno entered the workshop, “I was just making us something to eat. It’s nothing all that fancy, just some wheat porridge and roasted meat, but it’s hearty and will will fill you right up.”
They sat in silence for several minutes as Jason finished cooking. He handed Krono a wooden bowl filled with the wheat porridge and a wooden plate with the meat. As they ate Jason explained what he had planned for Krono.
“Most of today will be spent going over what we spoke about yesterday and getting you ready for the first of my trials that will take place either tonight or tomorrow morning. Does this sound go to you?” Jason said, Krono nodded in agreement, “Then let's get started.