After selling off the snake and getting some food and water to last himself a couple days, he headed back home.
He pulled out one of the two last logs he had and began to carve again. He decided to stick with the fish idea that he had before.
This time he was able to get the wood shaved down into the right shape of the fish and the water at the bottom was a bit rounder and not as sharp as before.
He slowly grabbed his little carving knife with only a two-inch blade, which was about a third of the size of the handle, and slowly whittled and carved away.
He was more patient this time, spending more time to slowly work on it.
The scales were near identical in size for the most part, the head of the fish was in more detail with smaller markings to give its look a bit of texture. And he didn't forget the gills this time!
As he worked, the days quickly passed by for him.
[Eleventh Month, Fifth Day, 4E 1894]
It had been three days since he had started the carving, and he was just putting the finishing touches up this morning. He took a moment to lean back, and slowly turn the carving, making sure to get a good look at every part of it.
"Alright, lets try this again." He said while grabbing the wooden statue and bringing it over to Old John's place. The old man was already seated in his rocking chair.
"Finished another one, eh?" He asked with a slight smile, but his eyes were on the piece of wood in Rowan's hands.
"Yep! I haven't checked my status yet. I want to hear your opinion first." Rowan said with a grin.
He set the wooden statue down on the countertop so that Old John could look it over.
Old John slowly began to look it over. "Hmm…"
Rowan felt a bit nervous. He had dedicated nearly three whole days to working on this.
"Hmmmmph…" Old John dragged out the hum even longer this time.
"Well? Are you going to say anything?" Rowan finally asked.
Old John stayed quiet for a time, running his elderly fingers over the statue a few times in different places.
"It is, decent–" Old John finally said.
"Yes!" Rowan said with an excited shout.
"—For a beginner, that is." He said with a small playful smirk.
Rowan gave another pout and stuck his chest forward and his chin up.
"Well, I am a beginner, aren't I?" He asked.
"Right you are. You are a beginner. This is only your second figurine, and it's already this good." Old John said.
"And stop calling it a statue. It's a figurine." He said in passing.
"Well, it's also a statue." Rowan countered.
"Yep, but mainly a figurine."
"It's not 'mainly', it is a statue and a figurine."
"Fine, it's both. Happy?"
Rowan was quiet for a few moments. "Is this one of those things where it's like 'a square is a rectangle, but a rectangle is not a square'?"
There was silence for a few moments.
"What are you talking about?" Old John looked at him as if he grew a second head.
"Okay, a figurine is a miniature statue. Let's move on. What did I mess up on?" Rowan asked.
Old John looked at him for a few more seconds before his eyes drifted back over to the wooden fish.
"Nothing major. All the parts of a fish are there, the water somewhat resembles water, atleast, as much as it could with wood. There are no major flaws. It's just the small things. Rough edges in some spots, cuts too deep, or too shallow." Old John pointed to a few spots where between the scales, the carving knife had gone a bit further in other places, and not as much in others. Leaving some gaps darker and some lighter.
"At this point, it's mainly just practice. For just your second, it's a miracle. I would say that your [Woodworking] skill did go up for sure." Old John finished before turning towards Rowan.
Rowan as looked back at him before pulling up his Status Screen.
-----
[Woodworking Lv. 3]
-----
"Yes! It went up!" Rowan said with a grin. It was his first skill or ability to hit level 3!
He couldn't help but do a little happy dance, before he noticed something else had changed on his status as well.
-----
[DEX: 8]
-----
"Oh? My DEX has gone up by one point!" He said with a smile as he looked his status over again closely for any changes.
Old John raised an eyebrow. "It has? Well, it shouldn't' be that surprising. With the 5 days of constantly using your hands to make small precise motions, it seems like it's expected for it to raise up at some point."
Rowan gave a small nod at that. After finishing this up, there wasn't anything too desperate he needed to do. He needed to practice his skills and abilities still, to try and get more familiar with them and learn more of their intricacies.
Aside from that, he needed to eventually go check out that other island and get the Silver Star Tree and bring it over to him in preparation of leaving this accursed town. He won't be missing it.
It was only six days before his birthday, which was on the Eleventh. He didn't really expect anything from it. He never had anything happen on his birthday before, but this one felt a little special.
In the Faentar Realm, the age of 16 is what is considered 'adulthood', and when most young men and women would move out of their parents' homes, go traveling, and try to find their own place in the world.
---------------
Later that night, the fog began to set in. Rowan looked towards the statue on his countertop in his shack.
"Might as well." He muttered. "[Wood Inspection]."
-----
[Wooden Fish Figurine: A 9-inch-tall carved wooden figurine of a fish leaping out of the water. The first step of a beginner carver.
+1 Fish Affinity while in physical contact
Material: Horned Aeleaf
Crafter: Rowan]
-----
"Oh? Even this has an affinity? That's a bit interesting. Would that mean that fish would like me a bit more when I touch it? Or would they be easier to catch?" He mumbled a little bit while gently rubbing his thumb and forefinger together.
"It could be worth something. I should keep it to sell when I get into Farway Town." He said before slipping the figurine under the counter.
He grabbed his hatchet and slipped it into a loop on his pants.
"Time to go train."
He had decided to try something else this time. The fog had just recently set in, and he couldn't help but glance around the area.
'Lets try this.' He thought, and gently crouched down. [Stealth Lv. 2] slowly activated itself. [Nature Camouflage Lv. 2] on the other hand, had nothing happen. He tried to think it over.
'Fog should be considered a part of nature, so what's the problem? Is it because I am in a town?' He couldn't help but nod a little when he thought that. There was nothing else that came to mind.
But this time, he activated an ability.
'[Prowling]', he thought to himself.
His body, which was already in [Stealth], began to slowly move through the streets. His skinny figure moving slowly at times, and at others, dashing through open areas to get close to houses.
'[Prowling] feels amazing! It's like I am a hunter searching for prey. The ability doesn't let me come to a complete stop. I can still move around, and even circle places, or around a target. Adding this to the ability [Ambush], then it truly is a terrifying combination. Someone as weak as a regular commoner, like me, would be killed in moments! And this doesn't even add in the [Forest Strider] skill I have never been able to use!' He couldn't help but feel a bit excited at the discovery. This class was like a hunter who stalks their prey, only to rapidly slaughter them in an instant.
As these thoughts finished going through Rowan's head, he felt a warmth flood his body, it felt, better.
He stopped in his tracks, and [Prowler] deactivated itself. While staying hidden in the fog of the town, he pulled up his Status Screen.
-----
Name: Rowan
Age: 15 years and 11 months [Born: Eleventh day of the Eleventh month, 4E 1878.]
Titles: [N/A]
Level: 2
Classes: [Forest Prowler Lv. 2]
Professions: [Woodworker Lv. 2]
HP: 70/70 (VIT x 10)
HP Regen: 0.07 per minute (VIT / 100)
MP: 0/20 [Unavailable] (INT x 10)
MP Regen: 0.02 per minute (INT / 100)
Stats:
STR: 6 (up 1)
VIT: 7 (up 2)
DEX: 11 (up 3)
INT: 2
WIS: 7 (up 2)
CHA: 2
LUK: 4
Phys ATK: 6 (STR)
Mag ATK: 2 (INT)
Phys DEF: 7 (VIT)
Mag DEF: 2 (INT)
Phys PNTR: 0%
Mag PNTR: 0%
Conditions: [Mana Locked]
Unique Ability: [Dormant]
Skills:
[Pickpocketing Lv. 1] [Woodworking Lv. 3] [Forest Striding Lv. 1] [Nature Camouflage Lv. 2] [Stealth Lv. 2] [Hatchet Mastery Lv. 2] [Dagger Mastery Lv. 1]
Abilities:
[Wood Inspection Lv. 2] [Ambush Lv. 1] [Prowling Lv. 2]
-----
Not only had that revelation brought him a level up, and all the stat points that came with it, but his [Prowling Lv. 1] went up to [Prowling Lv. 2]!
Rowan couldn't feel a bit giddy.
He understood now what it meant to level up in this world. Through both personal experience, enlightenment of the class, and doing actions directly relating to that class.
He stretched a little before calmly prowling back through the fog and back towards his home.
---------------
Rowan spent the next couple days following a schedule of going to the dirt clearing near the center of the island, and practicing with his iron hatchet and combat abilities. He didn't get much better, but he was able to familiarize himself with his now stronger body.
After that, he would spend the rest of the evening using both [Stealth] and [Prowler] to move through the fog of the town. It had its own charm to it. Moving in silence while drifting through the fog. Leaving behind thin trails of mist pointing in his direction that vanish moments later.
As a child, he would walk through the town when the fog was out, and would try to pickpocket at times like this.
He was familiar with the fog before, but now it felt like home. Eerie for sure, but still home.
To the best of his knowledge, he hadn't been spotted moving around like this. If he had, nobody had mentioned it.
Of course, he can't do these things all day. Movement training during the night and combat training during the day.
His body while stronger, still needs nutrients. And the years of being malnourished didn't help. So, he would spend a bit more money on meals during the day, and spent his free time on carving the last log in his possession. He was taking his time on this one.
There was no rush after all, and he was using it as a method to relax. Once his DEX had broken 10 points, his hands were no longer shaky, and he could be much steadier with his actions.
After the nearly 5 days of going through this schedule, he was ready to go and check out the Silver Star Tree on the other island.