With the old flame ignited, Connor equipped the man's sword, which seemed in a much better shape and quality than his own, although not by much. The man's armor seemed to be low quality and overly used Light Leather Armor, one made from the skin of some beast. Connor cleaned it and wore it with a few blood spots that did not fade. In the man's Crystal he found some useful things.
[Plants] [Hunting Knife] [182 GC] With other random things like silver plates and goblets, necklaces and rings. The man did not seem like a decent one, as these items looked valuable but not his. Connor stuffed everything in his own Crystal and pocketed the man's Crystal as well.
"All of this should get me quite the stack of Gold" Connor muttered. He then moved to the Moths, using his new Tool, the Wing Sheers, to start taking what he needed. After a while, Connor finished with all of them. He took the wings, stinger and the outer shell that covered the creature. Just like that, Connor made a good fortune on his first Hunt.
On his way back, he spoke with Kam again and asked for a haunch of meat, which Kam gladly gave to the new recruit. With this, Connor's Meat collecting mission was done. He quickly went back to the camp and spoke with Doug again, selling all the Beast materials he collected with the Plants, the extra Hunting Knife and Crystal. This got Connor a whopping 350 GC, which in his eyes was a fortune.
He was walking along the bridge back to the camp when he heard a loud commotion with people circling someone. As he got closer, the yelling became more tangible.
"... I know it was one of you SCUM!" A man with disheveled hair and clothes was yelling in the middle of the camp. "I HAVE BEEN WORKING MY ASS OFF FOR WEEKS.. I'VE SEEN MY FRIENDS DIE TO THOSE THINGS OUT THERE WHILE ALL YOU FUCKERS DID WAS PLACE BETS ON WHO WAS TO DIE NEXT INSTEAD OF PROTECTING US AND NOW YOU STEAL FROM US?" The man's face was distorted in rage. His eyes were crazed as he looked around at the people. "WHAT GIVES YOU THE RIGHT? I WAS GOING TO USE THAT MONEY TO GET OUT OF THIS HELL.. WHAT GAVE YOU THE FUCKING RIGHT? YOU'RE ALL NOTHING BUT SCUM, NOT WANTED BY CIVILIZATION. YOU'RE ALL NOTHING BU…" Before the man could finish his words, an arrow whistled through the air as it penetrated the man's temple. He stood there for a second as his eyes turned to the back of his head. White gooey liquid mixed with blood fell from the hole.. Then, after a bit, the man fell. He started convulsing as his body stiffened for a few seconds before it stopped moving.
A big muscular man with long hair in metal armor stood at the distant doorway of the Temple. He held a long Bow with various purple runes moving on it as he looked around.
"BOSS!" Everyone looked at the ground. Connor did the same. Seeing how easily the man took out the worker, not seeming like he cared much. Standing out would not be a good thing. After a bit, the man, which Connor guessed was most likely the Don, went back into the Temple.
Connor looked at the dead worker and said a quick prayer before he moved on like everyone else. A few other workers came and took the body with them. This sort of thing was common where he grew up, so why should he care about an idiot who kept his belongings in the open like that?
Looking at the 549 GC Connor still had on him, he walked towards Sam.
"Horrible, isn't it?" Sam said, looking at the body as it was carried away.
"True.. What happened? Why was he agitated?" Connor asked. He was sure that he wouldn't be held responsible even if people knew, but who would truly trust him after that?
"Apparently, everything he had was stolen by someone! The poor guy went crazy after, screaming in the middle of the camp" Sam said. "It doesn't matter now"
"Yeah" Connor showed some sadness on his face before he spoke. "I would like to learn something else" He said.
"Sure, what would that be?"
"How to Sneak!" Connor noticed that no matter how much he tried to sneak up on Animals, he was instantly seen. He did not know what was so special about sneaking but he wanted to be sure.
"Alright!"
After the uncomfortable feeling passed, Connor felt a plethora of Information entering his head. Ranging from the environment and how to walk and step depending on it.. Which plant leaves made noise and all the animals and their senses. He learned a lot of things which surprised him. He did not know that sneaking was that complicated.
"This should be useful!" He muttered, moving on to Rachel, the cook.
"Rookie, you're back" She said, holding a wooden spoon as she tasted the soup.
"I've got your meat!" He said. The interaction did not take long. After she thanked him, Rachel handed Connor 200 GC, which was an amount that surprised him, but considering the strength of the Animals he nodded.
"I have 649 GC now.. I have enough for Swordsmanship improvement" Connor muttered. He knew that increasing his Strength would be helpful, but not helpful enough. He needed to know how to use a sword properly. Connor knew that humans were more of a threat than Animals.. The only difference is that Beasts had tough skins or membranes while humans had armor that barely covered their bodies.
Connor walked towards Craig. He sat on a log, eating a bowl of soup. Seeing Connor standing before him, he spoke."Welcome friend!"
"I would like to learn some Swordsmanship!" Connor instantly said. He had a lot to do and wasn't about to get into small talk.
"Alright! That'll be 500 GC"
Connor placed his hand on the Tablet before he felt something odd happen. He saw some runes moving in front of his eyes before something appeared.
[Swordsmanship]
As he looked at it with confusion, Connor saw a Star suddenly appear out of nothing. He was confused and intrigued. There was no information dump or anything, but he could clearly feel his body change.
[Swordsmanship: ⭐ ]
"What was that?" Connor asked.
"That was the Void.. Your Skills are graded by it. How many Stars do you have now?" Craig asked.
"I just got 1 Star!" Connor answered. "Why did I not get any Knowledge?"
"Hmm.. If it's one Star then you don't really get any Swordsmanship Knowledge just yet. Your body just got used to the Sword that's it, but it should be an astronomical improvement from how you used to be since you had no Star before" Craig explained.
"That makes sense!"
Now having only 149 GC, Connor needed more. It was time for him to start gearing up properly and get himself a Bow!
He still had all the plates, necklaces and rings on him, which he instantly went to the smithy to sell. He had a simple idea. Sell the items to the person that might find them more useful. He sold the Beast materials, Plants, Hunting Knife and Crystal to Doug who was a Hunter, while he wanted to sell the plates and the other accessories to the smithy.