After several trips back and forth, Emm had transferred all the wood over. He didn't try to act a hero and bring it all over in one trip no matter how much joy that would bring him. The walk did him good, helping him clear his mind.

He started tearing his crappy tent apart, piece by piece. The furs were the first to go, stacked in several layers. Here and there they were pierced by the sticks to secure them. He laid them out next to each other on the grass nearby, hoping the wind would help a bit with the smell. Only a few of the outermost pieces were soiled by the [Cook]'s goat.

He didn't want to sleep with his nose full of that, if possible. He'd look into washing them later since their [Water Mage] wasn't at his post– Emm had checked.

He thought about borrowing some of the soap. However, it wouldn't be of any use unless he got access to water to wash them off with. That wasn't guaranteed to work either, Emm was pretty sure that some of the stench would remain. He planned to stack them on top of the roof, though, where it wouldn't be too bad. Or perhaps he wouldn't use those furs at all. He might have enough material to work with regardless.

Taking the furs off revealed a barebones skeleton, a simple structure of sticks. There wasn't even any string or rope securing them together. It was a miracle the tent hadn't collapsed in on itself so far. If a storm of any sort came, sooner or later that was bound to happen. The plan was to stay here for a full month after all, before venturing to the next town over.

Emm couldn't remember its name at all. It started with a W, that's all he knew.

They all needed to [Level Up] first in order to withstand the high mana concentration. At least that's what Emm had concluded. The entourage that was "training" Emm and the others were all way ahead of them, for now. And probably the rest of the town denizens were too, given that mana disparity came with so many issues.

He wondered how far away the town they were supposed to reach was. Leaving this abusive camp would be amazing but he didn't look forward to hiking for a week straight.

It would mean fighting off monsters along the way as well, out in the open. Not so simple as walking from point A to point B.

Emm took a careful look at the rough furs, dragging his fingers through them. He stretched one piece and brought it close to his face.

It showed signs of fraying. He found small holes and tears in a couple of spots.

Just like my clothes. Damn.

So, they weren't of an appropriate level either, meaning they wouldn't last for very long before breaking apart. And even if Gregor could recharge them with more mana, Emm had a feeling he'd charge the "normal" rate of one skull per piece of fur, or something equally absurd.

It made Emm wonder about the mechanics of that [Skill]. What were its limits? Could it recharge a quiver of arrows at once, or did that require a separate activation for each arrow? Was it possible to [Infuse] an entire building at once? Probably not. But he wanted to learn more about the [System]; more about the abilities it gave out like carrots on a stick. His understanding of it would prove vital to his long-term survival.

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He continued breaking up the humble remains of his tent. The sticks were dug pretty deeply into the grassy ground, a tactic he would replicate with his new construction. After removing them, all that remained were another few rugs of fur that had served as his bed. He put them aside as well, for now.

An idea occurred to him, making him smirk. He imagined himself building another shack right in front of the Guide's doorstep. It would get razed to the ground, sure, but Emm still found it mildly funny.

Building it next to a tree could also be useful since it would give him a solid support to work with from the start. However, there were no trees in the vicinity, not until the border of the forest, all the way at the very edge of the clearing. And being closer to the forest meant being closer to waking up to a [Vinesnake] in his face.

Well, maybe not a [Vinesnake] since they were mostly rooted in place, but some other monster. There was safety in numbers, safety that he needed at the moment. Staying close to people who could protect him in case of a monster attack would be prudent.

Emm judged his pile of materials, then started sorting the branches by length and thickness. He decided on the design he would use.

No matter how he counted, he didn't have nearly enough to build a real hut with four walls and a roof. That would be too big of an undertaking and would require several more trees, as well as more time than Emm was willing to invest.

He needed to start building. The first step was to separate the thickest branch– more of a log– into two equally long pieces. Those would be his main support pillars.

Emm swung into it a few times but wasn't making fast progress. It had taken him over half an hour when he'd done it the first time.

So he decided to get some help instead.

He headed towards the training dummies where everybody seemed to be grouping up, talking. Some of the chatter quieted down as Emm approached.

His target was easy to identify and was sitting down on the ground, looking bored. Perfect.

It was the man with a sword who Emm had seen effortlessly chopping up the dummies before. He was bald and had strong facial hair. His beard and mustache weren't long but they kept his face from looking like an egg.

What was more interesting were his unearthly clothes. He was the first person that Emm saw actually purchase the [Shopkeeper]'s clothes. He wore a dark green tunic, leather sandals, and rough brown pants. They were baggy around the thighs but got tighter toward his feet. Tying it all together was a rope around his waist that held his longsword.

The whole outfit didn't resemble anything Emm had ever seen before. Vaguely medieval-ish. The materials were all rough and thick. They were sure to offer better protection than their regular clothes. Loose, too, making it easy to move in.

"Hey," Emm said as he approached. He waved in a friendly matter. "I don't think we've met. I'm Emmanuel."

"Jonathan. What's up?"

His voice was surprisingly mellow. Not nearly as deep as his appearance would suggest.

"You got five minutes? I need some help cutting a log in two. It's too thick for me."

Jonathan scratched his head. "I don't know. We're supposed to leave any moment now," he drawled.

"Come on, please? It's right over there." Emm pointed to his campfire. "You can run off if we see them leave."

"Why are you chopping up wood anyway?"

"I'll show you. You'll get a special discount too," Emm replied.

That got his attention.