Rock Climbing and Herbalism and Slimes! Oh my!
First, Warren had to decide what type of training he would do. There was push ups, pull ups, and other such exercises; but it didn't feel right. He could attach weights to himself as he trained, but he lacked rope or cloth to bind any weights to himself. He really wanted to go swimming, but this was Ayzaela, a continent full of monsters. If he went swimming, he could easily be attacked by sea creatures and he wasn't confident in his ability to fight monsters off while swimming, especially with his low level. On top of that, he couldn't run that far either. Crescent Beach was in a crescent shape, of course, but it was only a few hundred meters long with cliffs running alongside it. The only way in and out was the sea along the inside curve and the forest which could be reached through the bottom of the outside curve
Unless...
Warren examined the cliff. They lined the outside curve of the beach, being at least 50 meters tall at the shortest part near the forest and more than doubling that the further the cliffs got up the outside curve. At the top of the curve, he suspected it was more than 200 meters. This was it.
If he climbed the cliff, he would be training his Strength and Vitality, and even his Dexterity! Eager to begin, he started towards the cliff near the forest.
Several hours later, he finally reach the top, pulling himself over the edge. Warren lay on the ground wheezing like an old man and he knew he was going to regret this next morning. He had slipped and fallen down the cliff down the cliff several times, before he had realized he needed all three of his limbs on firm holds, before he could move his fourth. By repeating this over and over, he had lowered the amount of times he fell and finally made it to the top.
-ding-
You've gained + 2 Strength, +3 Vitality, and +2 Dexterity!
-ding-
You have learned a new skill!
-ding-
Skill Name:Skill Rank:Skill Level:Skill Experience:Rock Climbing (Passive)Beginner143%You climbed sheer rocks with speed and precision.
Effects:
5% movement speed increase while climbing
5% fall damage reduction while climbing
"Well, that'll be useful."
His breath back, Warren looked around. There was a lot of shrubs and bushes, and about 25 meters away the forest started. It was a little after noon, from the sun's position, and it was about time to eat. He gathered firewood from the brush and avoided the forest, even though he knew he was pretty safe on the edge of it. He also gathered some plants, one could only eat so much crab or bread.
Gurgle
Satiety: 40%
-20% mana regen
-20% health regen
He took out the cooked crab meat in one hand and some bread in the other. Which to eat? Then, an idea hit him.
Why not both? Taking the bread, he used his dagger to cut it open, then he added the meat to it.
-ding-
Crab Sandwich
A roughly made sandwich from a loaf of bread and crab meat.
Warren guessed if you ate food simply, you'd still gain the satiety, but if he made it a more complicated food with the plants, he might gain effects...
Shady Crab Sandwich
A Crab Sandwich with a shady looking plant mixed in...
Odd Crab Sandwich
A Crab Sandwich with a odd plant tossed in.
Taking a deep breath, Warren ate the shady sandwich first, then the odd sandwich
-ding
You've identified the shady plant as an antidote herb!
You identified the odd plant as a poison herb!
You have learned a new skill
Skill Name:Skill Rank:Skill Level:Skill Experience:HerbalismBeginner112%%You can gather and identify herbs and their usage.
Due to the fact you ate an antidote and a poison herb together, the poison has been neutralized. However, you've been afflicted with Nausea for 3 minutes.
"Ugh, at least I got a skill from it... I'll gather more..."
Ignoring his nausea as best he could, Warren gathered up more of the antidote herb as well as the poison. Several times, he nearly lost his meal, but he stubbornly kept it down. If he threw it up, his satiety would drop again and he had to make more food. Searching for any more plants, some things emerged from the ground next to his foot and darted away, causing him to leap back. One remained though, so Warren focused on it.
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Slime: lvl 0
"Level 0? How can it be level 0? I though level 1 was as low as it can go!"
The slime was about the size of a tennis ball and almost completely see-though. It looked like a blob of jelly. Looking at the ground where it emerged, Warren had an idea.
"Did the slime just hatch? Then that explains its level, it's a baby slime!"
-ding-
You have learned a new skill!
Skill Name:Skill Rank:Skill Level:Skill Experience:DiscernBeginner12%By the use of logic and keen observation you can identify additional lore on monsters, people, and items.
Warren swiped the windows away and knelt down, putting his hand next to the newborn slime. The slime wobbled back and forth for several seconds, then rolled onto his hand, apparently fascinated by his fingers. It began to twine through his fingers, before focusing on his index finger, giving Warren a soft sucking sensation from the slime. Apparently it likes his finger. Chuckling, he rubbed the slime's body head back and forth, before making his decision.
"Well, it's not like I can get much exp from it, anyways. Might as well feed it!"
Pulling out some of the crab meat again, he offered it to the slime, who examined it and then 'swallowed' it, with its body. The meat sat inside of it for a few seconds, before it started dissolve at a slow rate before Warren's fascinated eyes. Several minutes later, the slime finished the meat and nuzzled his thumb.
-ding-
Due to your kindness to it, you have befriended an unnamed slime.
What would you like to name it?
"What? Uh, how about Mire?"
Mire is now registered as one of your pets. You can find more details on Mire's Status window.
"Mire's Status!"
Mire's StatusName:MireRace:SlimeLevel:0GenderMaleHealth:15/ 15Loyalty:35Abilities:Consume
Body Manipulation
Looking at the window, Warren nodded to himself. Most of it made sense to him, Loyalty was how much Mire would obey and follow him, if it dropped low there was probably a chance for Mire to ignore his orders or run away. Consume was basically an ability to absorb food, while body manipulation was how Mire could twine around his fingers like he did now.
"Let's go, it's about time to head back to the camp."
Setting Mire on his shoulder, Warren first gathered a lot of firewood and tossed it down the cliff, before starting down himself. Unlike going up, going down took only a half hour or so to make it to the bottom. Once he reached the bottom, Mire crawled down from his shoulder and set off to explore the beach, while he gathered up the firewood and set it up for later. Then, Warren trained by casting his spells on the crabs, who had all returned to the beach while he was gone. He tossed Fox Fire at the crabs, switching to Essence Steal to steal a bit of mana, before being distracted by Mire.
Mire, in his explorations, had run into a crab. Both he and the crab immediately started circling one another, sending darting blows towards one another, prompting Warren to watch for Mire's health. Mire would lash at the crab with whip-like limbs, aimed at the crab's eyes, while the crab did its best to get its pincers on the slime to no avail. Finally, their duel taking them all over the beach, they ended up on a small boulder where Mire sent the crab sliding backward with a few whips at its legs. The crab fell off and landed on its back, where it flailed helplessly, while Mire stood above on the boulder. Finally, in a scene that reminded Warren of cage fighting, Mire leaped from above and landed hard on his helpless foe. With a crack, the shell broke and Mire settled down to enjoyed his well earned meal.
"That was dramatic."
Warren on the other hand, had caught and killed enough crabs for his dinner earlier, during Mire's 'duel'. Cooking them with Fox Fire, he had enjoyed them along with his mealtime entertainment. With that done, Warren set up the fire with fresh logs before heading to 'bed', while Mire found a small ledge, about a foot wide, and curled up in a pile of leaves.
Tomorrow would be a new day and a new opportunity to train.
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Author's Note:
Thanks for all your encouragement, I'll keep on it. Enjoy!