CH113

“Wait what? Explain,” There were still too many gaps in his knowledge of the world and this was clearly one that needed to be filled as fast as possible.

“It’s just how the system is set up,” Will told him, trying to calm down his friend while leading them both back to camp. “Think about it, when the gods made it they wanted a system to help the people in it grow, but the main point was so they could survive the future invasion. When the war comes if all the soldiers and other combatants are wiped out then everyday people will be forced to fight, but if a person is halfway through their job it would be a nightmare to have to give up the bonuses on it by changing it so instead all of them can get experience killing invaders and demons. That way everyone can move on to their new jobs worry-free. Well, minus the fact that they’re all probably going to die if things get that bad anyway.”

Wait, but that means… Damn it I should have brought all of my traps! He was cursing himself for coming unprepared, but there was nothing he could do. Either that piece of information had been kept from him or everyone assumed he would just know, either way he just needed to figure out what to do for it now. All he had was some magic rings, his barrier gauntlet, a trap for small and weak animals, and now about a hundred corpses. Even if he wanted to try and score some of that experience for himself, his options were limited.

Well, I’ll see if there’s anything I can come up with anyway, but this really is training for Will and Steph. I probably shouldn’t go stealing any of their kills when they’ll actually be fighting on the front lines.

With a regret-filled sigh, he got back to where the others were waiting.

“You guys mind storing these for Ben?” Will asked Steph and Wedrow. “We got a lot and he doesn’t want them to go to waste.”

“Since Steph still isn’t comfortable enough with her time magic to delay rot I’ll look after them,” Wedrow told them, surprisingly agreeably. “There’s nothing worse than discovering your storage is filled with spoiled goods, especially if your race is particularly susceptible to strong odors.”

“Cool, in that case I’ll start running them back here. Ben, you can wait here and get some rest with everyone.”

“I’m not going to make you carry all of that alone.”

“It will only be a couple trips. Besides, you should fiddle around with how the new skill feels now that you got it.”

He wanted to argue but ultimately just shrugged. “Well if you’re up for doing all the work I guess I won’t fight you. Thanks though.”

With a smile and a nod, his friend ran off far faster than Ben could ever manage as the corpses he left disappeared, taken into Wedrows storage. That left Ben with nothing to do but see if the knife wielder skill made any noticeable improvements to his crafting.

He found a thick fallen branch and began carving into it, using his crafting to make the material easier to work and the same knife he’d been hunting with to shape it into his desired form, in this case a raccoon. It only took a few moments to feel a small but not insignificant improvement to his ability to use the tool.

It was like it moved more naturally in his hand, almost becoming an extension of himself in some ways, and he immediately understood why his teacher wanted him to get it. If he could already feel a difference for his woodworking as a whole just by getting one level zero skill, then how much better would he be at the forge once he got hammer wielder?

Both his fantasies for the future as well as his carving ended up being interrupted though by a face coming beside his own to look at what he was doing.

“You’re not going to be able to see much of a difference from my usual work if that’s what you’re curious about, but it’s definitely there,” He told Thera.

“I guess I don’t have much of an eye for that sort of thing. Does it feel any different?”

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“Enough to make some impact, and every little bit helps. Any luck with your own training?”

At that she slumped against him. “No. I even tried to ask your friend if she had any advice on it since she has an awakened version of the skill, but she wasn’t able to help.”

“Well Steph did come to the world with it, I doubt she would know where to start to actually acquire the skill.”

“That’s pretty much what she said,” She sighed. “And I can’t believe you got your skill while I’m out here struggling. Where’s some sympathy?”

“Ha, you’ll get it eventually, don’t worry. Besides, I think there’s a world of difference between learning a combat skill for a tool I already know how to use compared to learning how to feel a whole new type of mana.”

“Yeah, but it still sucks being stuck trying to feel the mana without knowing what it’s like. If the spirits don’t come through for me I don’t know how I’ll… Wait,” An idea popped into her head and she grabbed Ben’s arm and started pulling her toward Steph, much to his surprise.

“Hey hey hey, basic knife safety means not pulling someone in the middle of carving. What if I cut myself?”