The peaceful days flowed by like water. Nearly a month passed as Roy's busy work as a butcher's apprentice and his nightly Gwent matches at the tavern continued in an orderly routine. In this familiar yet strange little village, he gradually found his footing.
A month later, he had saved up 60 crowns, most of them won from Old Captain Jack and the blacksmith Pusig. It was enough to pay for a coach ride to a larger city like Fangerburg, but the two men had become wary of him and wouldn't play Gwent with him anymore. His lucky streak had run dry.
During this time, Roy often chatted with the village blacksmith Pusig about his homeland, Skellig, deliberately building a rapport with him. Then he spent fifty crowns to buy a dagger and a pocket-sized hand crossbow from him, supposedly for self-defense. Named after its Videnese maker, Gabriel had a compact gray frame that could be held in one hand, and came with twenty wooden bolts.
A local Aedirnian blacksmith wouldn't have sold Gabriel to a half-grown boy, but in Pusig's simple-minded view, born and raised on Skellig, a boy should have a weapon for self-defense from an early age in such chaotic times. On the islands, children under ten already learned to wield swords and knives, and Roy was just the sort of boy he liked.
Unlike in the games, where crossbows could be found just about anywhere, hand crossbows in the real world packed tremendous power. Though Gabriel was old-fashioned, had a short range, and took a long time to reload, it was simple to use and required little marksmanship. Even children and old people without much strength could injure elite soldiers, as long as they held it steady and aimed well.
For a half-grown boy like Roy, whose physical attributes were lower than an adult's and who had no combat skills, a hand crossbow was unquestionably the best value. It was more suitable than a melee weapon. His Perception of 5 was no weaker than an adult's, and his field of vision was broad enough.
Roy put the dagger and this deadly weapon into his Storage Space.
The Storage Space was exceptionally convenient. Apart from being unable to hold living things, it had no restrictions on what it could store other than volume. He only needed to focus his thoughts, and an item would be put away instantly.
In the early morning, dew clung to the tangled weeds beside the village paths. Whenever Roy ran into a villager heading out to work the fields, he waved and greeted them, but most villagers barely acknowledged him.
In the minds of the traditional folk of Kaye Village, a farmer's child should follow in his father's footsteps and faithfully tend his own crops. But Roy was learning how to slaughter cattle and sheep from a butcher, carousing at the tavern late into the night, and cozying up to barbarians who had immigrated from the Skellig Islands.
Taken together, his behavior was bound to invite gossip and jealousy.
The old Roy might have been driven into isolation by their remarks, but the current Roy paid them little mind.
According to his plans, once he leveled up, he would take his hand crossbow and weapons and explore the wilderness beyond the village whenever he had time away from his apprenticeship. He would hunt small animals and sell their hides and meat for a few crowns.
In the remote countryside, there was no such thing as hunting rights.
Once he had gained a few levels and enough strength to protect himself, and saved some money, he would find a way to take Old Mol and Susie away from Kaye and settle in Novigrad. Only after he had found a safe home for his parents could he pursue power and explore this fantastical world without worry.
He had a great deal of information in his head:
Aretuza, the mage academy that trained Sorceresses, stood on Thanedd Island in the territory of Gous Weilen. Ban Ad, the mage academy that admitted only male apprentices, was in the Kingdom of Kaedwen. The secret base of the Wolf School Witchers, Kaer Morhen, was hidden in the Blue Mountains east of Kaedwen, where old man Vesemir lived...
They were all on his list of plans. Sooner or later, he would make them happen one by one.
Today, he would take a small step on his journey—all he needed was to kill one more farm animal, and he could level up!
After enduring a month of the butcher's harsh instruction and grueling, sweat-and-blood work, the attributes in his template had quietly changed a little:
Roy
Age: 13 years and 8 months
Identity: Commoner
Health: 41
Strength: 4→4.2
Agility: 5→5.1
Constitution: 4→4.1
Perception: 5
Willpower: 4→4.5
Charisma: 5
Spirit: 6
You have unlocked a new skill:
Unnamed (Passive) LV1:
(You have personally killed and butchered more than fifteen animals of over four kinds. Your body has taken on an indelible stench of blood. Hostile creatures that attack you and come within one chi (0.3 meters) of you have a one percent chance of being intimidated by your scent. If their Willpower is lower than yours, they will temporarily lose control of their body for up to one second.
You have gained some understanding of the physical structure of pigs, cattle, sheep, stray dogs, and other mammals. You know how to apply force properly, use weapons, and cleverly bypass their skin, muscles, and bones to attack their weak points. Your damage against animals with similar physical structures is permanently increased by one percent.
Note: This skill will level up as the variety and number of creatures you kill increase.)
Storage Space: 1 cubic meter
Other: Unknown
Experience Points: 98/100
After a month of intensive exercise and hearty meals, Roy's Strength, Constitution, and Agility had all improved. His handsome face beneath his black hair was no longer deathly pale, but had taken on a healthy flush. His body was clearly sturdier than it had been a month ago. He still looked thin, but no longer seemed so frail that a gust of wind might knock him over.
Of his attributes, Willpower had improved the most... Anyone who worked for a month in a filthy, stinking place covered in blood would end up with nerves of steel after throwing up enough times.
The new passive skill... Roy sensed something sinister about it. For now, the skill's chance and damage increase were only one percent—better than nothing—but he was only at level one. He could grow stronger by killing, and he could also use skill points to improve it after leveling up.
He had gained it under the butcher's tutelage, and it leveled up through killing. So he named the skill Slaughter. With a thought, the words "Unnamed" in the skill name changed to "Slaughter."
Partway down the road, Roy ran into Brandon, who came charging at him like a Little Squirrel.
The little Chubby had some special talent for sleight of hand, it seemed. In just a month, he had learned every little trick Roy had found online in the past: miraculous predictions, plucking grass out of thin air, pushing a fork through cloth...
Roy didn't know whether Brandon was suited to becoming a bard, but he was definitely suited to being a street performer.
Brandon had been pestering him for a month, and Roy had already fulfilled his promise. He had no patience left for fooling around with him.
"I've told you so many times. I've taught you everything I know. Leave me alone, Little Snot!"
The little Chubby's round eyes brimmed with curiosity. "Then come watch my improved trick. A future bard like me could take this trick and sweep all of Kaye—no, all of Xiabosada!"
"Not interested. I have work to do!"
"I'll give you cracklings. Fletcher made them yesterday." Brandon's chubby face broke into a wheedling smile. The pampered boy had never begged anyone like this before.
But now he had fallen in love with magic tricks, and an unprecedented passion had surged within him.
"Then show it to him," Roy said firmly. "Or find your little lackeys. Mindy and the others would love to cheer you on."
"I can't ask my dad! He'd beat my ass black and blue." Brandon grabbed Roy's hand and wouldn't let up. "And I can't keep performing for those little tagalongs. It's too childish! They can't give me any good advice after they watch. You're the only one who really knows your stuff."
"I'm begging you!" Roy stared into his eyes and spoke more emphatically. "I have work, and other important things to do. Could you give me a little space? I'll play with you tomorrow."
Brandon froze for a moment, then suddenly lowered his head in silence.
After shaking off the Little Snot, Roy reached the butcher's house. In the yard, he saw two men wrestling with a huge white pig. Fletcher had hold of its head, and a villager was holding its tail, but the pig still dragged them around as they yelled.
Roy hurried over and helped them pin the white pig down. Only after Fletcher gave it a dose of anesthetic did it finally settle.
Fletcher sat down on the pig's back without caring about the dirt. The flesh on his face twitched as he asked, apparently casually, "Roy, you saw that brat Brandon just now, right?"
"Yeah... He went to show off his magic to some kids."
"After we kill this pig, go get him for me. That little bastard made everyone wait for nothing again." Fletcher rubbed his nose and spoke quietly. "But I was a little hard on him just now. I'm worried he'll get upset and run off."
Roy privately thought that Fletcher was another tough-talking softie, then agreed to help.
With Fletcher's assistance, Roy skillfully killed the fat pig with a single stroke. Once it had bled out, his Experience Points successfully reached one hundred percent. At that moment, Roy felt the entire template tremble ever so faintly, so he made an excuse and found a secluded, empty spot to sit down.
A "+" appeared after the pale green experience bar in his Personal Template.
When he focused his thoughts on the "+," a new line appeared in the template: Level 1 (3/500).
At the same time, a faint warmth, like the inner power, vital energy, or Chaos Energy from legends, flowed through his body.
A clear "+" appeared after every attribute, as well as after the skill Slaughter.
Gained 1 attribute point and 1 skill point.
Roy suppressed his excitement and studied his attributes carefully.
His Strength of 4.2, Constitution of 4.1, and Willpower of 4.5 were all lower than an adult's. Even if he added one point to any of them, he wouldn't gain an advantage. If he kept working at this job and let his body develop naturally, all three attributes would improve. There was no need to spend a precious attribute point on them.
As for Charisma, he had no interest in becoming a pretty boy, so he set it aside for now.
He focused on Spirit, Perception, and Agility.
Those three attributes were already no lower than an adult's. Spirit in particular had reached 6. With attribute points so scarce, he preferred to build on his strengths rather than become a jack of all trades.
However, Roy hadn't learned any spells yet and had no chance to try the Witcher Signs, a form of magic. So for now, he wouldn't consider Spirit, the attribute that affected spell power.
Perception and Agility.
Agility could improve his reaction speed and dynamic vision, which would be a great help when using his hand crossbow, Gabriel. It would also be useful for his future plans.
Perception could help him sense everything around him more clearly. He could use it to defend himself and anticipate danger, as well as sharpen his powers of observation and eyesight. It would also complement his hand crossbow.
After thinking it over carefully,
"Perception. It's settled!"
At that thought, the 5 after the attribute gave a small jump and became a 6. At the same time, a stronger wave of heat flowed over his eyes, ears, nose, mouth, skin, and brow.
In an instant, he entered a wondrous state. The world before him suddenly came alive. A faint smell of blood drifted from the butcher's yard and reached his nose. When he peered into the grass, he could clearly see dewdrops hanging from the leaves and brightly colored ladybugs. Warm, gentle currents of air brushed his fingertips and swept toward the space in front of him.
Everything seemed more lively, extraordinarily beautiful.
Roy was enthralled by this strange state. After a long while, he came back to himself and casually put his skill point into the newly unlocked skill: Slaughter LV1→Slaughter LV2.
With a single level-up, the damage increase and intimidation chance had risen dramatically, jumping from one percent to five percent. His body, however, showed no noticeable change.
Roy was delighted, and felt even more confident about his plans.
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