"If there are more, then I will slay them," he said to himself, as he tore into a loaf of stale bread. It was a pitiful attempt at self-reassurance, but there was truth in it, along with the beginning of a budding belief. With strength, it did not matter how many mistakes he made. He would only need to cut down any that opposed him.
By the light of his fire, he completed the second part of the earlier quest.
!! SYSTEM ANNOUNCEMENT!
THE PATH TO STRENGTH - COMPLETED
PERFORM 10,000 AXE SWINGS! 10,000/10,000
RUN 5 MILES! 5/5
REWARDS:
STRENGTH: +1
AGILITY: +1
STAMINA: +1
WEAPONS PROFICIENCY: +1
NEW SKILL IN DEVELOPMENT: AXE SLASH - BASIC
THE VESSEL LEARNS TO PERFORM A BASIC SLASH WITH AN AXE WITH GREATER SPEED AND EFFICIENCY. 1/3
With those developments, he grunted his acknowledgement, and when he awoke in the morning, he was greeted by another quest.
!! SYSTEM ANNOUNCEMENT!
PERFORM 10,000 AXE SWINGS! 0/10,000
RUN 5 MILES! 0/5
REWARDS:
STRENGTH: +2
AGILITY: +2
STAMINA: +2
WEAPONS PROFICIENCY: +2
Hearing that announcement brought a rare smile to Vol's face. It was working as expected, as according to the System's explanation. The same quest that it had delivered yesterday now provided double the awards that it had previously, due to the skills that he had gathered. He now had five skills listed within its interface, whereas yesterday he'd had zero.
The slightest bit of understanding was beginning to creep through, and just in time, for, judging by the distance he'd made yesterday, he knew that if he followed the river for a little while longer, and then cut back east again, he'd soon arrive in Nookhaven. Possibly even before it got dark.
By the morning light, he regarded the state of his trousers. They were still covered in blood, as was his coat. Those would be his main obstacles upon arriving. They painted a suspicious picture, but not one that was unexplainable.
He figured that, if he managed to get himself a new pair of clothes, there would be little else tying him to the scene of the crime, and the slaughter of the lawmen.
Beyond that, he did not have much of a plan, which was likely just as well. Another man would likely have been immobilized with worry as he imagined all the different things that could go wrong. But Vol had a confidence now, a confidence far beyond his years. He'd always had confidence in his ability, but now he had the proof to back it up. If a problem arose involving any less than five men, then he could deal with it.
He decided that, if he were to reach Nookhaven, and get a new pair of clothes as he intended, clothes free of blood, and then he headed to a new town immediately after, there would be nothing to tie him to the scene of the crime. He would just be another traveller coming and going amongst many.
That was the easy part, though. The hard part, again, would be getting those new clothes. With the silver that he'd gotten from slaying the lawmen, he'd have all the coin he needed, though it would likely burn through half of it. The problem was his current appearance.
Deciding that there wasn't much he could do about that, Vol set off once more. He followed the river a little more, and found that jogging on its ice was even easier than the previous day, though he hadn't really noticed what he'd changed. He'd just woken up, and his technique was better.
The System seemed to agree, for an announcement rang out.
!! SYSTEM ANNOUNCEMENT
ICE RUNNING – BASIC MASTERY INCREASED 2/3 CONDITIONS SATISFIED
Vol grunted in approval. He didn't know quite what he would get once all three conditions were satisfied, but he assumed it would result in some sort of improvement. The question would be the magnitude of that improvement.
He soon left the river, and was running through the snow one more, heading east, towards where he knew Nookhaven to be. With the leaving of the river, he was once more plunged into the deep snow.
The System rang out once more.
!! SYSTEM ANNOUNCEMENT
SNOW RUNNING – BASIC MASTERY INCREASED 2/3 CONDITIONS SATISFIED
It seemed to him that the skills were being acquired rather easily. But he noted the fact that the System labelled such skills as basic, and he was also aware that it wouldn't be long until he satisfied all three basic conditions. He dared to assume that the skills would grow increasingly harder to acquire the more he increased their proficiency, given what the System had said yesterday, it seemed a safe assumption.
Thus, even though his stats were still steadily increasing, he couldn't completely settle his heart with assuredness. There was too much about the System that he simply didn't know. There was too much that he couldn't predict. For the moment, he set such thoughts from his mind, and merely grasped what he was able to, satisfied with the increases in strength.
The running went even more easily than it had the previous day. With Vol's size, running – especially long-distance running – had never been a particular strength. The difference was more than noticeable for him, with the increase in his stamina stat, and the gain in mastery of the Snow Running and Ice Running skills.
He made better time than he could have hoped. With two hours of daylight left, he burst out of the trees, onto a well-trodden path of compact snow. A pair of travellers gave him an odd look as he suddenly revealed himself. They immediately noted the dried blood on his legs.
Vol ignored them, and glanced to the left. He could see the walls of Nookhaven rising up in the distance. They weren't good stone walls like Bolrif, but a mixture between wood and stone instead, as the current overseers of the town sought to gradually modernise its defences.
Along with the walls, Vol could also see a pair of guards standing outside of the wide open gates, checking travellers as they came in and out of the town. It wasn't exactly a crowd – not in this cold weather. It would be impossible to get lost in them, especially for a man Vol's size.
There were a dozen guards walking atop the walls as well, each of them with a bow strung over their shoulder, ready to fire upon any intruder that was causing mischief.