I woke up very early, just as I was used to. My movements were enough to bring Will on his feet, but the rest was still dreaming peacefully.
- Aw shit. My back... I didn't feel this terrible for a while - whispered Will. - Where are we going?
- Hunting.
- You sure are persistent. Ok. Let's go.
As I was leaving, I noticed Nadia, with one eye open. Maybe in the end they all were awake.
Outside few Wuxia members stood on guard. Bored, and sleepy. We just exchanged short greetings and went to the city center. There were no tax collectors, and also not many people were actually awake. I guessed that the last events took a toll on everybody.
I actually wouldn't say no to a few day's break, but I also didn't want to stay in the city. I felt uncomfortable there. At least in the woods, I had my purpose. It kept me from thinking too much.
- A cart would be nice - said Will.
- Yeah. I have no idea where mine is.
- I'll figure something out. Give me a moment.
And he left. It really took him a couple of minutes to bring a usable cart. In the meantime, I managed to grab some attention and get blasted by a few angry, or even disgusted looks. I did my best to ignore them, but it still made me feel unpleasant.
- We can use this one. The previous owner... Let's say he won't need it anymore.
This statement made me feel even worse, but there was nothing I could do about the past. I just had to live with it.
- Let's pack up, and go - I said, and went to the device.
I bought two new pudaos, plenty of food and water, and some things to easily start a fire. Pieces of flint, cotton, and other easily catching fire stuff. All for 10 275 points.
Will had a similar shopping list. He tried to match my provisions, and also equipped himself well. Then we headed to the woods. At first in silence, but Will couldn't endure silence for too long.
- So what's the plan?
- Orcs. For as long as we have food.
- That... - he peaked at the cart - will be a long time.
- Yeah. I can't wait.
- How about we clear the goblin cave first? I'll upgrade myself a bit, and then we will go after big greens.
- It's a waste of the whole day.
- It won't be the whole day. We can clear the cave, come back to the city, and then sleep outside walls.
- Fine.
I agreed only because it would give me a potential class point. My greed just wouldn't let me pass on such an opportunity.
- By the way. What do you think about Vesa? Do you think I have a chance?
- I barely know her.
- I know, but still. Give me your thoughts man.
- She is young, and you are an old fart. Besides, you should be careful with those girls. They have been thru a lot.
- I don't want to hurt her. I want to make her happy, and she would make me happy in return. A bit of normal life in this hole. You know, a family.
- You had a family. It didn't go too well.
- I've been reborn, Peter! I'm a new William now! We all got a new chance in life. I believe we should use it.
- It doesn't change that you are an old fart.
- I'm only in my thirties. Almost brand new, and good for the taking.
- Sure...
There was a few moments of this strange and awkward silence between us. I guess he expected some words of encouragement from me or mentioning his family hurt his feelings.
- Hey, Will. Do you miss your family?
- I sure do. Especially my son. I wish I could change so much of what I did.
I peaked at him, and that bastard was crying silently.
- I'm sorry Will.
- It's fine. It's my fault... Do you think a scum like me deserves another shot?
- Nope. We should hang you by your balls on a tree.
He laughed.
- Yeah. Maybe you should.
- I'm the last person you should be asking for such things. I have no idea about life, but I know one thing. You are a good guy, and everybody deserves a second chance. It doesn't change that what you did to your family was terrible, and you deserve a beating for that.
- I got the beating. It hurt a lot.
- Then go, and leave a good life. If you really want a family, then this time don't fuck it up. Couse, I swear that the next beating will be from me, and it will be hard.
He laughed.
- You are just looking for an excuse.
- Of course.
There was another moment of silence. Will suddenly broke it:
- Thanks, Peter.
I looked at him. His tears were gone, but the eyes remained a bit red. I had no idea what to tell him, so I just nodded slightly.
We continued our walk talking about bullshit. Mainly past. Lives back on earth. Sports, and favorite movies. Nothing groundbreaking in our strange relationship.
I still remember when I thought he is just your regular asshole. He was so much more. A friend. An idiot. A jokester. Wise old man, who lost his way. Father of his son.
That's how we got to the cave. On the way, Will killed few goblins. I could observe him in action. He lacked a lot in terms of technique, but his physicality was at least decent.
I thought for a bit about sharing my discovery about class points, but the greed kept me from really doing it. I knew at some point I'm gonna do it, but now wasn't the time.
Then we dealt with the goblins. It was quite easy with my new skills, and Will having my back. Even deeper we had almost no problems. There were few close calls when I had to step in and defend my partner in crime, but overall, we were doing good.
At some point, Will got this idea about checking his skills with goblin boss, but I persuaded him not to. Not because I wanted the point, but rather the danger of him getting killed was too big. I was not sure if I would be able to step in and protect him if something went south. The fight with the boss was harder. I had to get inside with Will, which meant all the goblins attacked us, and he couldn't take on all of them. I had to actually defend from boss attack, and provide quite a bit of support. It required some coordination, but we already had that, because it was not the first time of us fighting together.
With a cart holding up 2028 stones, we returned. On the way, we agreed that I'm gonna take only a thousand of them, and William will grab the rest, alongside the boss crystal. He needed the boost to be useful with orcs.
After return, we were welcomed by new faces. Apparently, new people ended being pulled to the city. We got a lot of attention from them with a cart filled with a score from our hunting. They were already taken care of by others, so nobody approached us, except one particularly strange character.
It was a giant, muscular dude with ashy short hair and a big smile. I had no idea how tall he was but quickly guessed that it had to be at least two meters. The height was not the most unusual thing about him. It was something completely else. He was totally naked.
- Hi. I'm Martin - he said while waving his hand.
- Hi Martin - responded Will, not hiding his own smile. - This is Peter. I guess you are new here.
- Yeah. Just woke up here this morning. As you can see, butt naked. Some people found me and explained a few things. I have to say, it's kinda wild.
- Yeah, it is friend. But how can we help you? - Will continued.
- I would really appreciate it if you could get me some clothes. I asked few people before, but nobody really wanted to share their points with me. I heard you get them from crystals and then saw you with a cart full of those. So...
I just grabbed a handful and gave them to him.
- Thank you very much. I'll return them as soon as I can.
He even bowed a bit while taking the stones. Will peaked at me, a bit surprised, but didn't protest at all. Martin went to buy himself some clothes. There was a line in front of the device. We had to wait for a bit for our turn.
I sold my share, and it put me on a nice number of 131 892 points. I upgraded my heal skill to the third level. That left me with 31 892 points. Will took some time with his upgrades, and we departed again, to set a simple camp outside the city walls.
Day ended with 31 892 points on my account, and a single class one.