Another milestone: 30 readers. Here is an extra chapter to celebrate!
In the end, Aaron didn't have much fun or entertainment in the forest. Now and then, a group of those weird creatures would come out, and he would kill them. It was pretty easy with his status and current level.
Aaron eventually found their base. They lived around a small lake, and he ambushed them through the night once he reached level five and got a new skill.
Silent Step: multiplied by the level of the skill, you can remain undetected for one second after moving if you have not been detected by any enemy in an area.
It was a passive skill, and it was a pretty broken one. As long as he did a job well, Aaron could wipe out an entire group of enemies… using that alongside Backstabbing, he was able to defeat a group of ten of those monsters without being noticed.
Aaron finished with them at midnight and then headed to the entrance of the forest to take a nap… he was pretty tired, but he forced himself to wake up alongside sunrise.
"This habit of mine will kill me," Aaron thought and then looked around for some wood in the forest to make a fire. "Here I am, a man of science from the twenty-first century, gathering wood to make my breakfast… life is nothing but full of surprises."
After gathering the wood, Aaron wondered where he should look for the fish. Fishing upstream can also present challenges. Moving against the current can be physically demanding, especially if one encounters strong currents or obstacles like rocks or rapids. It may require more effort and careful navigation.
Fish facing upstream have a better chance of detecting your presence due to the flow of water carrying sound, scent, and disturbances toward them. This makes it easier to startle fish, reducing the chances of a successful catch.
Some fish species prefer to face upstream to detect food or avoid predators. Fishing downstream might make it harder to catch such fish as they have a natural inclination to face the current. Or so Aaron read once.
Downstream areas can sometimes have deeper water, making it more challenging to reach the fish unless you have appropriate equipment or techniques… In the end, with his blood, Aaron wouldn't have a problem catching fish, but since he couldn't see any traces of mountains upstream, he would have to walk a lot.
Finding a village or something should be easier going downstream as well. So, Aaron decided to do that. Occasionally, he would put his feet near the water, and while he attracted some fish, they were too small in number, and his hands were busy with the wood. He had to walk for one hour before finding a good place with enough fish for him to kill time.
Aaron set up the campfire after he found a flint and used his knife alongside it. Then he went fishing with his hands… when he looked at his hands, he frowned a bit since the wounds didn't leave any scars… but he assumed that it was because of magic; I ain't gonna explain shit.
"I think that a mage class would suit me better. If I reach level 999, I can use supernova or something to wipe out all lifeforms on this planet if necessary," Aaron thought. "Then again, the system said something about compatibility…"
The thief class was probably the best one to level up in that world… he couldn't understand that, though.
"Silent Step doesn't use mana or stamina, so I wonder how it works… it seems similar to what these fish do, but they don't have a time limit to remain hard to defect, apparently," Aaron thought. "I need to understand it to know better… the aspects said that I would use the mana that I obtained here to slow down the end of Earth, so I will probably forget how to use it."
The knowledge was inside his head. It suddenly appeared there, so Aaron couldn't understand how it would vanish that easily. It was hard to understand how the knowledge suddenly appeared in his head as well.
After grabbing the first pair of fish, Aaron cleaned them and their interior with his knife. He watched a video about it in the past, and that had been enough for him to learn it.
"I guess this is also due to my trait… this is better than I thought," Aaron thought.
While the first two were being cooked on the fire, Aaron grabbed and killed a bunch of others. He was starting to smell like fish, and that was a bit bothersome since he was wearing his favorite relaxing clothes.
"I guess I will have to wash them… I don't remember watching a video about this…" Aaron thought and then laughed.
In any case, Aaron will have to clear the area first before doing that, but he has some spare clothes, so it would be fine.
After cleaning the area of the river, the fish began to smell good, so Aaron began to eat them. It had a rich and buttery flavor that could be described as very satisfying. It had a natural fattiness that lent to its smooth and succulent taste. At the same time, It had a subtle sweetness to it, which balanced well with its savory undertones.
"It tastes just like Salmon…" Aaron thought while he was indulging himself.
While Aaron was busy with the taste, something in the corner of his field of vision caught his attention… It was some sort of wagon.