It was about ten o'clock when the wheels of the wagon finally started turning. Anthony managed to find a map of their road towards their destination, in the virtual shop.
He discovered that it would take no less than two months before they could arrive at the borders of North Alendia. This did not surprise him, initially thinking it would take more. Turned out, he exaggerated Irene's "miles and miles away" remark a little bit.
They took the road in the direction of Ausburn, and made their descent. He had no idea that the woodlands they were in, which the map called the Myrtiri forest, was so expansive that it took an hour before they got out.
Still, when they finally left the forest, a profound sadness dawned on him. He realized he was leaving it and would not probably return again. The place was filled with unreplaceable memories, the first times in both of his lives.
Irene was of a different mind, and greeted the bright and colorful meadows, with much joy and relief. She raised her hands and closed her eyes, kneeling by the window to let the grass-scented wind tousle her wavy blonde hair around.
The sight would immediately drive all of Anthony's melancholy away.
The sunny grasslands that extended endlessly from all sides was indeed a better scenery when compared to the dim and bleak atmosphere of the woods. He could drop his guard, as any approaching enemies would be spotted from miles away.
The time for lunch came, heralded by the rumbling of his stomach. He spotted a group of Cyprus trees by the road and decided to park the wagon, underneath.
Anthony descended from his seat, bought barrels of water for the horses, and then entered the wagon.
Irene was already waiting in the table, having anticipated that it was time to eat again.
"Anything you want for lunch?" this time he asked her what she would want, and the hungry Irene did not wait to take advantage.
"Can we have some caramel tarts?" she said, not hiding her eagerness.
"That's a dessert, we'll eat that afterwards. I mean a main dish." he gave out a lighthearted chuckle.
She looked at the ceiling for a while, as she brainstormed. Then, as if she suddenly remembered something, she blurted out her answer with a finger raised.
"Chicken drumsticks! Can you conjure that, Lord Anthony?"
[Are you sure you want to buy Large Chicken Drumsticks x4?]
[You have spent Tokens x32]
Without answering, he made gestures in the air and soon enough, he had a drumstick in his hand.
"Oops. We need some plates and silverware. This one doesn't come with a container." he remarked.
"What's wrong with you, my lord? Drumsticks are eaten with hands." she laughed.
"Alright." said Anthony, who was pleased that the young woman had gotten comfortable with him. He gave her the drumstick, and he took out another one for himself.
"You can have seconds."
"I don't think I can eat more than this." she said, as she took massive bites, showing unrestrained appetite. And looking at her frail physique, it was good development.
Expectedly, a single drumstick was not enough. And she soon asked for another one. Anthony, too, needed a second drumstick as he had not eaten breakfast.
To finish the meal, he bought two servings of her requested caramel tarts, much to her delight. Then to wash it all down was a bottle of red wine.
The result was them being filled than they ever were in the village. Irene grew sleepy and after feeding David with a bottle of breast milk went to sleep.
Anthony returned to his seat, for a breath of fresh air. The Cyprus trees provided adequate shade and welcomed the cool breeze of the grasslands.
The short break reminded him of some unfinished business. He was planning to acquire a new occupation as soon as he had the tokens. But he did not have the time.
[Token Available: 67,176]
After taking a look at his Token balance, he opened the occupation and skill tab.
The tab had three sections. The first section was where he could buy occupation sets, and additional skills. The second sections contained the attire sets of every occupation.
Then the third section, contained skill books. He did not pay much attention to it before and since he had the time, he chose to do so that noon.
It turned out to be something helpful.
Unlike him, which could directly buy and learn occupations, those around him doesn't have access to the system. But through "applying" a skill book to another person, that individual could also instantly learn the skills of a certain occupation.
In short, it was a way to bestow skills unto another person. Of course, skill books were slightly pricier than directly buying the skill, which was reasonable.
He planned to buy one, once he gained an underling. But as of that moment, he had no use for it.
Thus, he navigated back to the skill tab.
Presented to him were the occupation, arranged by tiers. Huntsman, was at the bottom most tier, along with other occupations related to hunting and foraging. The tier above, consisted of occupations related to refining products, such as leather worker and winemaker.
The tiers would contain increasingly sophisticated occupations as it goes up. Like the C-Rank Maester or the B-Rank Mage or the A-Rank Lord. And of course, the price would also go up, reaching millions of tokens.
These occupations were beyond his finances, as of the moment. And he understood, he should start from the bottom.
Now that he could no longer use the cover of the trees or the bushes, the prey would easily notice his approach. Thus, he needed long-range capabilities.
[Are you sure you want to buy Bowhunter Skill Set?]
[You have spent Tokens x30,000]
[You have learned F-Rank Occupation: Bowhunter]
[You have learned "Longshot"]
[You have learned "Rapid Shooting"]
["Butcher" skill already learned, turned into Tokens x10,000]