You received 100 experience in Woodworking for chopping Raw Wood Log x 20.
You received 300 experience in Woodworking for Create Rough Wood Log x 20.
Success! You’ve reached level 5 in Woodworking.
You received 500 experience in Woodworking for Create Basic Wood Wand x 40.
Most of the wands he left in the woods near the tree. It wasn’t feasible for him to carry them. The pouches on his belt were only so large, and while they worked more like bags in games, these were small and had limited slots. He kept five of the small wands. One might be handy for spell casting and the other four he planned to sell for a little money.
The work became monotonous after a while. His grinding continued as he ran in search of different animals that he could skin. It also took him some more time because he kept an eye out for the quest items from his other two quests.
Finding the panther fur was a little depressing since he had to keep it intact and couldn’t use it to make armor. The Hippoblooms were a little difficult to harvest. Oddly enough, the plant had a row of outer teeth that looked vaguely like tusks from a hippopotamus. The edges were very sharp, and you needed to reach inside the sharp teeth to pull out the bloom. The plants caused more damage to Atlas than the animals did.
During his hunting he stumbled across another small dead tree. This one still stood upright, but the lack of leaves and graying bark displayed its condition effectively. Atlas chopped 5 logs worth out of it and made them into staves. The staves were worth slightly more experience than the wands and, since he wasn’t carrying them back to town, the experience was more important.
By the time he headed back for the village, he replaced all of his armor. He used the advanced patterns for those he’d learned but had to settle with the basic pieces for the others. Hopefully, when he returned to the city, he could buy some new patterns. A glance at his notification showed him how far he’d come during the expedition.
You received 1165 total Leatherworking experience.
Success! You’ve reached level 8 in Leatherworking.
You received 250 total Woodworking experience.
Success! You’ve reached level 6 in Woodworking.
You received 920 experience.
Success! You’ve reached Levels 6 and 7.
Atlas ended the trek with roughly thirty-five animals dead. Eight of those were for the panther hides he needed for his quest. It took him twenty-six hides total to remake his complete armor set, leaving him one spare hide. His belt pouches were stuffed full of meat and the handful of wands he saved. They wouldn’t allow him to place anything else in them currently.
His level ups came with another four attribute points. Two of them went into Constitution, bringing his maximum health up to 100, while the other two he placed into Intellect bringing the maximum mana up to 100.
Feeling good about the trip and his achievements, he walked back into town. A crowd gathered in the major thoroughfare near the gate and Atlas peered around to see everyone in excited conversation. Curious about the turn of events, he gently waded through the crowd and closed in on the plaza ahead.
A man in a flamboyant costume that reminded Atlas of the old depictions of court jesters stood on an elevated stage with a scroll unrolled. His gaudy outfit of red and yellow made him easy to spot, but his sonorous voice naturally drew his attention.
“And it’s with great pleasure we announce the first event of the season. The Wild Hunt will commence in four days’ time. All who wish to enroll in the expedition need to pay the fee and sign up at a registrar’s office. If the hunt is successful, those on the team will receive a five gold prize!”
The crowd burst into loud conversation as Atlas digested the news. Five gold prize? This must be the event that Keenan told me about. I have to sign up for it!
Chapter 10
The First Event
Excitement buzzed through the crowd as the people in the city struck up random conversations throughout the plaza. Atlas felt a sense of excitement build up at the thought of such a fantastic prize. Five gold wasn’t a fortune, but it was a very reputable amount of money if he cashed it in.
It took him time to sift through the crowd and break free on the other side. Atlas didn’t know where the registrar’s office was, but he saw the direction the announcer walked in and figured to follow them.
Shortly down the road, he spotted a guard and waved.
“Excuse me, sir. Do you know where the registrar’s office is?”
“Ah, caught wind of the hunt, huh? Well, the office is down this road. Follow the path until you pass two intersections and it’s the first building on the right. Has a sign with an unfurled scroll and quill out front.”
“Thanks,” Atlas blurted as he continued on his path at a faster pace.
The buildings flew by. He wasn’t running, but the speed he walked might as well have been. His heart sank a little as he neared the building. A long line already extended from the door. There must’ve been forty people in front of him. Resigned to his fate, he walked up and stood in line, waiting his turn.
The crowd shuffled away much faster than he expected. Most people walked into the office to reappear outside less than a minute later. Most of them looked pretty depressed. A name caught his attention as one patron left. The man’s tag showed him to be LadyKiller. Knowing it had to be an actual person, Atlas waved to get the man’s attention.
When he finally noticed Atlas, he wore an odd look on his face, but he eventually approached.
“What’s up?” LadyKiller asked.
“Yep, was hoping you could tell me what’s up with the event?”
“What?” was his initial
