I awoke feeling generally kind of shitty. Having drunk a significant amount on three of the preceding four days, my body was making its displeasure known to me, and nothing I did seemed to assuage it. Even after a delightful breakfast (of all things, consisting of warm, maple-glazed, spring-melon scones), a hot shower, and a double helping of kash, my brain still felt full of fuzz.

Maybe let’s not go drinking today, yeah?

Having decided that, however, I realized something quite sad: I wasn’t sure what to do.

Well, that’s kind of bleak. Do I really not know how to entertain myself in a new city without getting drunk?

As I racked my brain, I decided the answer was: Maybe kind of? In fairness, I only really knew one person, I’d already explored a good deal, and I didn’t have any fantasy-esque hobbies to entertain myself with. More so, I had zero clue about how to further my quest from the king if I wasn’t going to the bar today.

Then again, perhaps if I didn’t have any good hobbies, it might be a good time to get some. Nadja had made it clear that most people leveled by picking up a lot of skills. Why couldn’t I?

What would I even pick, though? I scanned my inventory, looking for any inspiration, realizing belatedly that I hadn’t given it much attention lately.

Aside from the knife and spear, the first item of note was the chunk of bright blue chitin I’d looted from my first spider prince. After two weeks of hunting in the forest, it was hardly the only one of its kind; nearly a dozen pieces of blue chitin filled my inventory, along with a larger number of more mundane, brown pieces from the mature spiders.

Alongside all the chitin was a host of fangs and venom sacs. All of them were fairly disgusting, but at the time, I’d figured I’d find a use for them eventually. What that use would be, I couldn’t say.

Thirdly, I had a lot of herbs. A few were from traveling the forest with Hartha, though I'd never ended up earning the Herbalism skill. Mostly, though, I had a good amount of snake root from fighting the dryad’s root snakes.

Lastly, and on a similar note, I was rocking a very solid amount of lumbering lumber from the root golems.

The chitin and the fangs, I wasn’t really sure what to do with. Perhaps I’d just see if there was a general store that would want to take them. As for the rest, I supposed I could try to figure out some kind of woodworking or alchemy skills? If I recalled correctly, I hadn’t tried to make anything out of wood since a mandatory middle-school shop class, and probably the closest analogue to alchemy that I’d ever done was making a pot of soup.

Well, that’s why they’re new hobbies, right? And who knew? Maybe I’d have some fun.

Even if I wanted to stumble about and figure out the skills by myself, however, I currently lacked the necessary tools. It was possible that I could use my knife to whittle something, but that was about it.

That would be step one: Get some tools. With a much clearer sense of what to do for the day, I set out of the palace.

“Yeah? From a root golem, you said?” A spectacled but somewhat grizzly man in his late 30s grabbed a beam of wood from my hands, turning it about as he examined it. “I don’t really buy wood from customers, but it does look different than what I’m used to. Now where did I put my…”

After a good deal of wandering, I’d discovered a furniture shop. In fact, it might have been more accurate to call it a woodworking shop — it notably lacked the bulky yet comfy, clay-like chairs or couches I’d seen elsewhere in the city. Instead, a myriad of tables, stools, and even a few smaller carvings dotted the room about me.

The proprietor, an unclassed level 9 named Barum, was presently tucked behind the counter, turning from side to side in search of something.

“Ha! There we go.” He fished out a small, oblong, wooden case from a shelf to his side, opening it to reveal a pair of glasses with blue-tinted lenses. Swapping his spectacles out with the new pair, he turned his attention to the lumber once more. Immediately, his brows arched upwards.

“This is a nice find. There’s a good bit of mana infused with the wood. I don’t usually get to work with something like this, but you bet I’d like to. Mmm… let’s say, 6 silver per beam?” He brought the lumber closer to his face, turning it about.

I had no clue whether the price was fair and considered finding another shop to get a second opinion, but I was here less to make a buck and more to grab some tools. “Instead of just money, would you happen to have some tools you could trade me? I was thinking of using some of it myself.”

He pursed his lips before pulling them down into a tight frown. “You ever done any woodwork before?”

Not feeling the need to mention middle-school shop class, I shook my head.

“I’ll tell you what then. I do have some spare tools, and of course, it’s your wood, so you’re fit to do with it what you’d like, but it seems like a mighty big shame to use mana-infused wood while you’re still figuring out the craft. Shop’s a bit slow today, so how about if you give me two of these beams free of charge, I give you some tools, some regular ol’ wood to practice on, and a little crash course. Sound fair to you?”

I wasn’t actually sure if it was a fair deal or not, but it was exactly what I’d been hoping to get. Plus, I had plenty of the lumber sitting in my inventory, so forking over two didn’t bother me much. I readily agreed to the deal, and a minute later, I found myself standing at the counter with a toolbox in front of me and a chunk of wood in my hands.

Barum opened the toolbox and ran me through the various chisels, gouges, and carving knives within. It was considerably more complex than I would have initially guessed.

“Now, how you’re going to start is a bit dependent on what you’re making. You have any idea of what you’d like to do?”

I was about to say no, but my eye was drawn to the bracelet Nadja had gifted me the day before. It was nice, and on top of that, it didn’t look overly complex. I pointed to it. “Maybe something like this?”

He nodded. “That’ll do. You might have trouble with getting it perfectly round at first, and carving the pattern so that it matches up takes some doing, but it’s a good thing to practice at.” He picked up one of the gouges from the toolbox, demonstrating its usage. “Now, we’ll start with a general shaping. As a first rule, note that we’ll always be cutting across the grain, or with the grain. We never cut against the grain. On top of that…”

You have learned a new skill: Woodworking

It had taken quite a while, and while I was at it a few customers had come in, pulling Barum away, but in the end, I’d done it. In my hands sat a slightly pockmarked, almost-circular loop. It was admittedly shoddy at best, and in this, God’s Eye agreed with my own eyes.

Crude Wooden Bracelet

Quality: Poor

Still, it was progress! And truth be told, I’d enjoyed the experience much more than I’d anticipated. It was calming, in a way, and there was something to be said for holding an object you’d actually created yourself.

I showed the sort-of-bracelet off to Barum who eyed it with a nod.

“Something to keep working at, but that’s rather good for a first attempt. From here on out, it’s just a matter of patience and practice. I’d suggest working with normal wood for a while more until you’re ready for the mana-infused variety — I’ll make sure you have a good bit. A shame I don’t have an extra pair of glasses for you, but there’s no helping that, I guess.”

Frankly, I questioned whether the misshapen loop in my hands was actually a good first try, but the praise felt nice either way. “Thanks. What’s with the glasses, anyway?”

He pointed towards one of the blue lenses sitting by his nose. “Enchanted with a basic form of mana sight.” Grabbing one of the beams of wood I’d given him, he began tracing his finger along it. “Much like wood has grains and knots within it, the mana runs in similar lines and pools. Especially when it comes to the knots, if you cut across too many of them, you risk some of the mana leaking out.”

I leaned towards the beam, trying to get a sense of what he was saying. It was a touch tricky, as the entire thing gave off a diffuse green glow, but certain narrow channels were a bit brighter. I spotted one of the “knots” as well, pointing it out. “Like this? Are you saying I should try not to cut into it?”

He opened his mouth before closing it with a frown. “Yes? What, you wearing some of those fancy mana contacts?”

I shook my head, once again glad to have reached the first Perception milestone. Honestly, all the points that had gone into Perception had initially irked me to no small degree, but as time went on, I was starting to enjoy them. When it came to something like Strength, I couldn’t imagine many everyday uses besides winning arm wrestles and lifting things. Perception, though, seemed to be a gift that kept on giving in a variety of unexpected, non-combat ways.

“Nope. In an odd turn of events, I ended up hitting the first Perception milestone. Came with some perks.”

Barum eyed me strangely — and perhaps a bit warily even? He likely thought I was a much higher level than I actually was based on my Perception. “That’s quite the feat, then. Will that do it, or is there anything else I can help you with?”

I thought for a moment before pulling out a sampling of the other items in my inventory, placing them onto the counter. “No chance you know what to do with any of these, is there?”

Barum perused the smorgasbord of forest commodities, picking a few up for a closer inspection. “Hmm. The chitin’s rather nice, although I’m told it’s hard to work with. If you’re set on bracelets, you might have some luck using it like a gemstone. Less sure about the fangs, but I know a crafter who’s always looking for new materials. How about I give you her name along with the spots of a good jeweler and an alchemist, and you can see if they’ll help? Just tell ‘em Barum sent you, yeah?”

I agreed readily, and after selling the bulk of my lumber, I thanked the woodworker and was ready to set off. Right before I left, however, one more question popped into my head. It was something that had been bothering me since I’d met him, but I’d been too nervous to voice it.

Ah, what the hell. What’s the worst that could happen?

“You mind if I ask a kind of invasive question, and you can not answer if you don’t want to?” He seemed like a decently easy going guy, so if my question ended up being rude, hopefully he wouldn’t hold it against me too much.

He shrugged. “Won’t know until you ask, but you might as well ask.”

I used God’s Eye on him once again, reading through the info. “I, uh, have a good identification skill, is all, and I heard that there’s a scepter in this city that can give people classes...” Admittedly, the scepter wasn’t available right this instant, but he certainly would have been around before it’d been stolen.

His eyes went wide at my admission, but after a beat, far from getting angry, he began to laugh heavily. “Damn, that is pretty invasive. And rude too!” He waved his hand dismissively as if to clear the air. “No harm in it though. You’re wondering why I haven’t got a class yet, then? Not really a secret: I’m not considered essential, so if I want to use the damned thing, I’d have to pay three arms and four legs for it. And unlike your little fanged friends you’ve been killing, I don’t have that many limbs, you hear? Either that, or I could use it for slightly cheaper, but have a much higher tax rate for the next decade or so. A scam if you ask me, but then again, I’m not a king.”

He slapped his hand on one of the beams of wood I’d sold him. “Better to do it the slow way. These fellas will go a long way towards helping me get to 10, honestly. You ever decide you want to part with the rest of ‘em, you let me know, yeah?”

I murmured an assent while mulling the man’s words over. I’d kind of just assumed that using the scepter was free. Or at least affordable. Maybe it was hard to use or cost the crown something? I wasn’t sure.

After apologizing for the intrusion and thanking Barum once again, I set off for real this time. Armed with the names of three crafters, I was ready to see what other skills I might add to my arsenal.