Returning to his cave, Kane debated the different methods available to him for acquiring clothing.
"I suppose I could use leaves, or fashion a sort of armor from tree bark. But what if all of the trees are Ents? Hmmm. I have flint and rocks so at the very least I could try the fire plan again if it backfires. Actually... that gives me an idea."
Mumbling to himself, Kane got up, picked up the flint and a rock, and went outside.
Walking to the nearest tree, he walked to a distance that he felt he could react to an attack from, and smacked the rock against the flint in the direction of the tree.
"Come on, come on. Work."
Eventually, a spark flew and landed lightly on the tree.
*FWOOOOOOOOSH*
The tree burst into flames.
"IT WORKED!!!" Kane exclaimed.
In front of his eyes, the silver screen appeared with another change.
"Hmm. I'll need to test further to see if only one experience point is really given every kill. And different creatures."
With this thought in mind he headed to the next tree.
"Hmm, I still need clothing. Hopefully poorly held together wooden armor counts. Shall I try and get the bark off an Ent?"
Looking at the tree, he debated how he would go about taking the bark. After two minutes of deliberation, he lifted the rock and began hitting it against the tree leaving marks in the shape of a square.
"So far so good." He said as he put his hardened nails on the bark to try and pry it off.
When the bark was halfway pulled off, the Ent began to stand up.
"Damn it. Hopefully I can get the bark before it burns up."
Not wanting to push his luck, Kane smacked the rock against the flint till a spark landed on the Ent.
When one landed and began to spread, Kane quickly grabbed the sides of the bark he had pried, jumped, and kicked off the Ent, securing the chunk of bark, but burning himself in the process.
*Hisss*
"Ow! I don't know if this was worth the pain." He said while looking at the red burn marks on his hands and feet.
As he stared at his hands, he saw the reddened skin peel and fall off leaving behind fresh, unmarked skin.
"Hopefully I get used to that or this is going to be a very uncomfortable life."
While scratching the new layer of skin, he looked at the bark on the floor in surprise as it seemed to be completely unscathed.
"Interesting. That piece of bark was on fire as well though... Perhaps it's something like a drop? That would make a little bit of sense. I suppose I'll find out. Just a few more pieces of bark like this and then I'll be able to make something to cover up with."
Saying this, he glanced at the silver screen that popped up once again.
"Looks like Ents are one point a piece then. First I'll drop this piece off in the cave and then I'll get another. Rinse and repeat. Easy peasy."
With that, he began to repeat the process.
However, as he was picking up the last piece, he noticed something a little different. In the spot where the Ent was previously, lay a small green ball the size of an orange.
"An orb? It really is like a drop system isn't it? I suppose I should take it with me."
Placing the orb and flint on the bark, he carried it to the cave.
"Well now I have to make the clothes..."
Looking at the four big chunks of tree bark that he had piled in front of him, Kane pondered different ways of putting them together.
"Well the most important part is the pants, so I guess I'll try and start with that? This will probably end up being something like a skirt armor."
Picking up his rock, he tried to make holes near the left, right, and top edges of the four pieces of bark.
"I need something to hold the pieces together... would grass work? It wouldn't last too long though. Maybe if I try to twine pieces of grass together to make something a little sturdier. I only need it to last while I'm at the village after all."
With this idea in mind, he left the cave and began to gather strands of grass. After nine minutes of gathering, he headed back to the cave and began to twine them together.
"I hope this is strong enough. Let's give it a shot."
Loosely threading the part he would wear to cover his lower half, he put it on and tightened it.
"Voila, pants... or pants substitute. Next a shirt. Kind of."
Repeating the process with the bark for his upper body, Kane now had four pieces of bark to cover his upper and lower body.
"This should count... right? Hmm. I don't have money either... Maybe I should take the orb to see if it's worth anything."
Picking up the orb, Kane began the walk to the village.
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An hour later, Kane, once again, approached the gate to the village. Standing there was the same two guards as earlier.
Stopping a short distance from the guards, Kane called out.
"I'm back. Does this count as clothing?"
The shorter guard looked Kane up and down and shrugged his shoulders.
"For someone in a situation like yours? I think we can allow this. Just keep it on while you're here."
Sighing and wiping his hand across his forehead, Kane asked a few questions.
"That's fantastic news. Can I ask a few questions since I'm new to the village?"
The taller guard nodded.
"Go ahead. I know this village like the back of my hand."
Kane smiled.
"Well for one thing, is there anybody that might be able to tell me if this is worth something?"
He held up the orb he was holding in his left hand.
The guard looked to the sky as if he was thinking. A minute later he responded.
"Ah. Yeah, I think that James should be able to tell you. He works at the library down the main path to the right. There's a sign with a picture of a book painted on it. He should be working right about now."
"Fantastic. Next I have to know, where are the places to acquire clothing and food?"
The guard pointed to a building close to the gate.
"There's an inn there that serves some pretty good stuff. And for the clothing shop? Hmm. Sally's place should be open till late. If you go down the main path, take a left, and keep going till you see a building with a sign in the window that shows a painting of a lovely dress you'll be there. I know the dress painting might have you think she only sells women's clothes, but she has men's clothing too. She's a pretty talented seamstress."
Taking a moment to remember the information, Kane smiled and thanked the guard.
"Thank you very much."
The guard nodded and Kane began to head to the library.
Walking down the path, he looked left and right. He saw plenty of people in different clothing. He saw buildings with different painted signs and took note of where each one was.
However he wasn't just looking at the people. They were looking at him. Some stared in confusion at his outfit while others just glanced and continued about their business. Luckily for Kane, none of them tried to start a fight.
After three minutes of walking, he saw the sign with a book painted on. Opening the door and entering the building, he appreciated the large shelves of books.
"Welcome." A voice called from his left.
Turning his head, he saw a young man with tied back blond hair smiling at him.
"Ah, thank you. Is James here?"
The young man nodded and pointed at himself.
"Yeah, that's me."
"Oh good. The tall guard at the entrance told me that you might be able to tell me if this thing has any value."
As he said this, Kane showed him the green orb.
"Oh? An Ent Core."
Kane smiled.
"Is it worth anything? As you can see by my... clothing." He gestured to the tree bark he was using as clothing. "I need a way to make some money."
James chuckled.
"Yes it would appear so. Well you're in luck. These cores aren't extremely rare, but they are rather uncommon as not every Ent has one. It should get you ten silver or so at market value. Enough for clothing and a few meals."
"Fantastic! Where can I sell it?"
"Well the General Store buys them. If you could get to a bigger city then the Adventure Association might take it off your hands."
"Where's the General Store?"
"It's just across the street."
"Thank you so much James. I'll be back if I have something else to show, or if I need to pick up some books."
Waving goodbye to James, Kane walked across the street to the general store. As he approached the door, he noticed that the sign had a scale painted on it.
"Welcome to the General Store."
A young woman called out.
"Hi, I'd like to sell an Ent Core."
"Okay, can I see the item in question?"
"Of course." Kane handed her the core.
She stared at the core and turned it over a few times.
"Hmmm..."
After two minutes the woman smiled.
"I can give you nine silver. There's a crack here so the value went down a little bit." She pointed at a crack on the core.
"Is that enough for clothes and food?"
The woman nodded.
"Then it works for me."
With Kane's agreement, she took the core and handed him nine silver coins.
"Thank you for the business, please come again."
"I will." Kane responded as he left.
"Next up clothing." He mumbled to himself.
With that, he headed towards the clothing shop.