With lunch over, Kiril leaves his staff with some general instructions, saying he’s going to be teaching me with what remains of the day. He leads me right up to the edge of the ruins and the clearing, where they meet the forest. From a distance I spot several animal bodies hanging upside down from the trees. The moment I do I stop and gag, which draws Kiril’s attention.
“Look, I know. Dealing with carcasses is daunting. But, unless you plan on living an extremely sheltered life in some town, and good luck doing that, dead bodies are going to be part and parcel of life in our world.” Kiril’s expression is somber and serious during his explanation. “I can’t tell you how to kill, not really, and bleeding is as easily explained as it is to do. I’m going to teach you butchering and some day you’ll thank me.”
I give a shaky nod and drag myself after him as we continue towards the bodies. All of my good mood has already left me, and I take deep breaths with every step.
The moment we stop in front of them, Kiril is already giving instructions. I focus on the instructions as I mechanically follow them, trying not to think that I’m touching something dead. As he explains how to cut the bodies down safely, he goes over how to bleed them as well. It really is simple.
Then we’re on to butchering, and I have to take several breaks to calm down as he walks me through the process. I have cut meat before, but it was already processed. It was easy to not imagine the animal body being cut. Right up next to one, doing the processing myself, I feel weak.
There are several animals I am given to cut—a boar, a wolf, a deer and a rabbit. After I get through the deer, the wolf and boar are easy, and the rabbit is so simple I barely notice. The further I go, the more desensitized I become and the steadier my hand is.
It takes me a few hours to finish, and Kiril places his hand reassuringly on my shoulder when I do. During the process I receive a notification about acquiring the Butchering expertise. I would have to spend the tokens… Maybe Rep will have some tip for me…
As I worked, several Staufolk came and went with the meat I was processing, probably taking it to storage. What remained was that final rabbit. With its pile of meat prepared, Kiril helps me up and nods in the direction of the mess hall. “Let’s get that cooked. You should experience the result of your work.” He hands me a tray to load the meat onto and we head back.
It doesn’t take long for the meat to turn into a meal, which I choose to share with Kiril and the staff. Kiril’s implication is true—eating something I processed on my own has an extra flavor to it. I savor the taste and take comfort in that I didn’t have to try this in unpleasant circumstances.
Before I return to my hovel, Kiril grabs me for a quick chat. “Come straight here when you wake up. I still have one thing to teach you and that’s going to need to be then.”
“Right. OK. No problem. Could I take a bath first?” I’ve become much more comfortable with Kiril after spending a day together.
“No. Straight from bed. Don’t keep me waiting. You’d probably want the bath afterwards anyway.” Kiril gives me a glare to drive the point home.
I back away a bit. “OK, OK. Will do.”
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Kiril smiles again. “Good night, then, Sebastian. Sleep well.”
I nod and starting heading off. “Yeah, you too Kiril. Good night.”
It’s still light out when I arrive at my hovel. Sitting down on the bed, I finally feel my muscles loosen and notice my exhaustion. Butchering was more work than I ever thought it would be, and it was mentally draining as well. I lay down on my back in bed, deciding to turn in very early, before I contact Rep again.
“Hey, Rep, what’s this expertise sub-system thing?” I ask out loud and feel Rep’s presence come in.
“No making sure we’re around first? We see you’re getting comfortable. Let me check.”
I wait for a few moments and feel Rep go and return.
“Looks like a sub-system, just like it says. You can pick it up in the shop for 5 tokens and it seems like a good investment. If you gain more pending expertise you might be able to lower that price, though. Remember you’ll also get back tokens, so don’t be too cheap.”
I think for a moment as I focus at some imagined point in the dark. “That’s a good point. I’ll try and see if I pick any more up, but I won’t delay any longer than tomorrow. Thanks, Rep.”
“You’re quite welcome. Good night, Sebastian.”
“Good night.”
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I wake up after a somewhat nightmarish sleep, before the sun even comes up. Even if I didn’t kill the animals, butchering them did a number on me. My mind wanders back to Mental Fortitude and it takes more mental effort to remain with my earlier decision of not taking the shortcut. I remember Kiril’s request and take comfort in that the baths are probably not operational yet.
I arrive at the kitchen first thing, just the way I was asked to do, and see Kiril giving out orders to only one other Staufolk. He spots me and signals for me to wait a moment. He gives a few more instructions to the single staff member, then comes my way holding two baskets. “Didn’t expect you to be up this early. Good! One more lesson for you and then I think Cynna is going to want to train you. We’re heading into the forest to look for herbs. Can’t have you cook something bland in the future.”
We make a beeline for the nearest edge of the forest and delve inside, dawn just starting to creep in. After a few minutes Kiril starts pointing out plants and how to tell them apart. As he does, he has me pick up whatever it is he is pointing at. After an hour of this, he tells me to double my haul on my own.
I spend nearly two hours looking at plants and herbs and doing my best to tell them apart. When I get back to Kiril he already has an overflowing basket. He tells me to spread the plants I gathered out and singles out a good third as mistakes, then tells me to go gather more to make up for it.
I grumble as I spend half an hour doing so, but this time I make no mistakes. When Kiril reviews what I gathered and affirms my success, I get a new notification.
NOTIFICATION
Herbology D skill acquired!
1 token awarded!
5 XP gained!
Good to see my effort was not in vain. I wonder, for the first time, what amounts of XP I need to invest for purchases. Kiril deems what I gathered enough and we head back, it nearly being the time for lunch.