New Skills and Upgrades

Peaceful days flowed like water, and nearly a month passed. The busy work of the butcher's apprentice and the nightly Gwent games at the tavern proceeded in orderly fashion. Roy gradually found his footing in this familiar yet unfamiliar little village.

After a month, he had saved up sixty Crowns, most of which he'd squeezed out of old Captain Jack and the blacksmith Pusig. This sum was enough to cover carriage fare to big cities like Fangerburg, but the two had grown wary of him and no longer played Gwent with him easily—his windfall had reached its limit.

During this time, Roy often chatted with the village blacksmith Pusig about his homeland, the Skellig Islands, deliberately building rapport. Then he spent fifty Crowns to buy a dagger and a compact hand crossbow from him, under the pretense of self-defense—a Gabriel, named after the Videnese craftsman who forged it. Its gray, compact body could be held in one hand, and it came with twenty wooden crossbow bolts.

Any local blacksmith from Aedirn would never sell a Gabriel to a half-grown boy, but in the simple worldview of Pusig, who grew up on the Skellig Islands, chaotic times meant a boy should have some self-defense weapons from a young age. On the islands, children under ten already wielded swords and knives, and Roy suited his tastes just fine.

Unlike in games where crossbows could be found casually, hand crossbows in the real world packed immense power. Though this Gabriel was old in design, with short range and slow reloading, it was simple to operate and required little shooting skill. Even a child or old person with little strength could harm an elite soldier, as long as they held steady and aimed true.

For a half-grown youth like Roy, whose physical attributes were below an adult's and who lacked combat skills, the hand crossbow was undoubtedly the most cost-effective choice—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 stored both the dagger and this heavy hitter into his Storage Space.

This Storage Space was incredibly convenient. Aside from being unable to hold living things, it only had volume restrictions on objects. With a mere thought, he could instantly retrieve or store items.

In the early morning, dew clung to the tangled weeds along the village paths. Roy waved and greeted the farmers heading out to work, but most villagers ignored him.

In the traditional minds of Kaye Village's residents, a farmer's child should inherit the family trade and tend their crops honestly. Yet Roy learned to slaughter cattle and sheep from the butcher, spent his nights carousing at the tavern, and befriended the barbarian immigrant from the Skellig Islands.

All these behaviors together inevitably drew gossip and jealousy from others.

The original Roy might have been driven into a shell by this, but the current Roy didn't care much.

According to his plan, after leveling up once, he would take his hand crossbow and weapons during breaks from his apprenticeship to explore the wilderness outside the village, hunt small animals, and sell their pelts and meat for Crowns.

In this remote countryside, there was no such thing as hunting rights.

Once he gained a few levels and had some self-defense ability, and saved up some money, he would find a way to take Old Mol and Susie away from Kaye Village to settle in Novigrad. Only after properly settling his parents could he focus on pursuing power and exploring this fantastical world.

His mind was packed with information:

The Aretuza School of Sorceresses, which trained female mages, was located on Thanedd Island within Gous Weilen's territory. The Ban Ad School of Wizards, which only accepted male apprentices, was in the Kingdom of Kaedwen. The Wolf School Witchers' secret base, Kaer Morhen, was hidden in the Blue Mountains east of Kaedwen, where old Vesemir lived...

All these were on his agenda, and he would achieve them one by one.

Today, he would take a small step on his journey—he only needed to slaughter one more livestock to level up!

After enduring a month of the butcher's scolding and guidance, mixed with blood and sweat, the attributes on his template had quietly changed:

Roy

Age: 13 years, 8 months

Identity: Commoner

Health Points: 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 four species and fifteen animals. Your body is stained with an indelible aura of bloodshed: Hostile creatures that attack you and enter a one-chi (0.3 meters) radius around you have a one percent chance of being intimidated by this aura. If their Willpower is lower than yours, they temporarily lose control of their body for up to 1 second.

You have gained a certain understanding of the body structures of mammals such as pigs, cows, sheep, and wild dogs. You know how to apply force properly, use weapons skillfully, and bypass their skin, muscle, and bone protection to strike weak points. Your damage against animals with similar body structures is permanently increased by one percent.

Note: This Skill will upgrade as you increase the species and quantity of creatures you kill.)

Storage Space: 1 cubic meter

Other: Unknown

Experience Points: 98/100

After a month of high-intensity training and ample fatty food, Roy's Strength, Constitution, and Agility had all improved. The pale complexion on his delicate face beneath black hair was gone, replaced by a healthy flush. His body was noticeably sturdier than a month ago. Though he still looked thin, he no longer gave off the fragile impression of someone who'd collapse in a gust of wind.

Among the attributes, Willpower had increased the most... Anyone who worked for a month in a filthy, stinking environment covered in bloodstains, after vomiting enough, would have their nerves toughened.

The new passive Skill... Roy sensed a sinister quality in it. Though the current probability and damage boost were only one percent—better than nothing—don't forget it was only Level 1. It could be strengthened both by killing and by using Skill Points after leveling up.

Acquired under the butcher's tutelage and upgraded through continuous slaughter, Roy decided to name this Skill—with a thought, the word "Unnamed" in the Skill changed to "Slaughter."

Halfway there, Roy ran into Brandon, who came charging over like a little squirrel.

This chubby kid, Roy didn't know if he had a special talent for magic tricks, but in just one month, he had learned all the little gimmicks Roy had found online: miraculous predictions, snatching grass from the air, piercing cloth with a fork...

Whether Brandon was suited to be a Bard, Roy wasn't sure, but this kid was definitely cut out to be a juggler.

He had been entangled for a month, and the promise had long been fulfilled. He had no patience left to keep humoring this nonsense.

"I've told you so many times. I've taught you everything I can. Let me go, Little Snot!"

Chubby's round eyes were full of thirst for knowledge. "Then come watch my improved trick. A future Bard paired with this trick will absolutely take all of Kaye by storm—no, all of Xiabosada!"

"Not interested. I still have work to do."

"I'll give you some cracklings. Fletcher made them yesterday." Brandon's chubby face wore a fawning smile. Since childhood, this pampered little fatty had never begged anyone like this.

But this time, he had fallen in love with magic tricks, and an unprecedented passion surged from within him.

"Then go perform it for him," Roy said firmly. "Or find those little followers of yours. Mindy and the others would be more than happy to cheer you on."

"You think I'd dare go to my old man? He'd spank my ass raw." Brandon tugged at his hand, refusing to let go. "And I can't keep performing for those tagalongs. It's too childish! They can't give me any good feedback after watching. You're the only one who really knows your stuff."

"I'm begging you!" Roy stared into his eyes, his tone hardening. "I have work. I have other important things to do. Give me some space, alright? I'll play with you tomorrow."

Brandon froze for a moment, then suddenly lowered his head in silence.

Roy shook off the little snot and arrived at the butcher's house. At a glance, he saw two people in the yard wrestling with a white-skinned boar. Fletcher was yanking the pig's head, a villager was pulling its tail, and it was still dragging them around, squealing wildly.

Roy hurried over to help the two men hold down the white pig. Only after Fletcher poured anesthetic down its throat did it finally settle down.

Fletcher plopped down on the pig's back, not caring about the filth. The fleshy ridges on his face twitched, and he asked in a seemingly casual tone, "Roy, you saw that brat Brandon just now, didn't you?"

"Yeah... he went off to show off his magic tricks to some kids."

"Once we're done butchering this pig, go call him back for me. That little bastard made someone wait for nothing again." Fletcher rubbed his nose and lowered his voice. "But I might've yelled at the little shit a bit too hard just now. I'm afraid he'll get upset and run off."

Roy silently cursed the man for being another tough-talker with a soft heart, but agreed to his request.

With Fletcher's help, he skillfully finished the fat pig with one clean cut. Once the blood had drained enough, his Experience Points smoothly hit one hundred percent. At that moment, Roy felt the entire template tremble faintly. So he made an excuse, found a quiet, secluded spot, and sat down.

Behind the light green experience bar on the Personal Template, a "+" sign appeared.

When his mind focused on the "+" sign, a new line of text emerged in the template: Level 1 (3/500).

At the same time, a faint warm current—like the legendary internal energy, true qi, or Chaos Energy—flowed through his entire body.

A clear "+" sign appeared after every attribute, as well as the skill "Slaughter."

He had gained 1 Attribute Point and 1 Skill Point.

Roy suppressed the excitement in his heart and carefully studied his attributes.

Strength 4.2, Physique 4.1, Willpower 4.5—all weaker than an adult's. Even adding a point wouldn't give him an advantage. As long as he kept doing this job and let his body develop naturally, these three attributes would increase. There was no need to waste precious Attribute Points.

As for the Charisma attribute, he had zero interest in becoming some pretty boy, so he put it aside for now.

His focus was on the three attributes: Spirit, Perception, and Agility.

These three attributes were already on par with an adult's. In particular, Spirit had reached 6 points. With Attribute Points being scarce, he agreed more with amplifying his existing strengths rather than becoming a jack-of-all-trades.

However, since Roy currently didn't master any spells and had no chance to access spell-like Witcher signs, the Spirit attribute, which affected spell power, was off the table for now.

Perception and Agility.

Agility could improve reaction speed and dynamic vision, which would be a great help in using the hand crossbow Gabriel. It would be very useful for his future plans.

Perception, on the other hand, would let him sense everything around him more clearly. It could be used for defense, predicting danger, and also enhancing his observation and eyesight, which would also complement the hand crossbow.

After careful consideration, Roy decided.

"Perception, I choose you!"

The moment he thought it, the 5 behind the attribute lightly jumped to 6. At the same time, a more intense surge of heat flowed across his eyes, ears, nose, mouth, and skin, converging at his brow.

In an instant, he entered a strange state. The world before him suddenly came alive. A faint, bloody smell drifted over from the butcher's yard. When he looked into the grass, he could clearly see the dew hanging on the leaves and the brightly colored ladybugs. A warm, gentle breeze brushed past his fingertips, sweeping toward the direction in front of him.

Everything was more vivid, extraordinarily beautiful.

Roy reveled in this bizarre state for a long time before snapping back to reality. He casually added the Skill Point to the newly unlocked skill. Slaughter Lv1 → Slaughter Lv2.

With a single level increase, the damage boost and intimidation probability had jumped significantly—from one percent to five percent. His body, however, showed no noticeable change.

Roy's heart leaped with joy. He felt even more confident about his upcoming plans.