He had forgotten how uncomfortable and exhausting it was to run his stamina to zero and sleep outside the camp. He had hoped bringing his bedding might have convinced the system he was safe and at rest. With Rai unable to stand guard Ti was stood by the entrance to the room while Rai lay next to Adam resting. He hadn't clicked that the vermite healed differently to him until Rai's legs remained damaged after they left the upper mine. While Ti's HP had been lower Rai's injuries were greater and more concentrated. His legs had been crushed by the slime and acid had damaged the skin burning most of it away. Adam's acid burns healed as he climbed to the upper level the vermite seemed to heal only once their HP returned. Carrying Rai to the room they had planned to use cut things finer than he planned with his stamina and it was all he could to do set Rai down and lie down on his bedroll before he blacked out.

He shook off the groggy feeling and stood to relieve Ti before she too dropped down exhausted. The vermite were normally asleep before he woke meaning she would not last long before her stamina hit zero too. It took little persuasion to get her to rest next to Rai. Once the vermite were settled he activated his nurse skill on Rai before finally checking the updates following his exploration the night before.

Notifications: Your party killed Cave Spider L2 x6. You gain 0 exp. Ti gains 18exp. Rai gains 18exp. Your party killed Queen Cave Spider L3. You gain 4 exp. Ti gains 13exp. Rai gains 13exp. Your party killed Cave Spider L3. You gain 2 exp. Ti gains 10exp. Rai gains 10exp. Your party killed Cave Spider L4 x2. You gain 20 exp. Ti gains 34exp. Rai gains 34exp. Your party killed Slime L5. You gain 17 exp. Ti gains 23exp. Rai gains 23exp. Ti and Rai gained a total of 98 exp each. You gain 39 exp.

His total exp earned directly was 43 while that gained through the vermite was nearly the same at 39. He knew he would have failed to fight off all three spiders on his own so the fact that he would have gained triple the experience alone was irrelevant. Both Ti and Rai had levelled up due to their exp gains which would help with further exploration.

Ti and Rai: Followers Level Attributes Class Profession Exp Ti 4 HP 21/38; stamina 7/50; MP 1/1; SP 3/3 Scout n/a 43 Rai 4 HP 28/64; stamina 18/42; MP 0/0; SP 2/2 Staff Wielder n/a 63

One more level and they would unlock a second skill. The small portion of the mine they had explored so far had only given him 7% completion of his exploration task so there would be plenty of opportunity to gain more exp if they continued to explore. Looking at the current regen since finishing their fight around midnight Ti would be almost back to normal by the evening and Rai should be fine to re-enter the mine. To give nurse a little more time to work Adam set about purifying the ore they had obtained from the mine with metal mana before leaving the room.

He left both the vermite sleeping with a new torch summoned at the branch from the main tunnel. Not sure when the spiders would respawn he was glad he checked as he found them in the nest already. Clearing them was a matter of minutes now; practicing fire lance again to see if he could get the mana to stay formed even further from his hand. Not wanting to waste his mana he continued to practice as he walked back to the entrance. This meant it was still early morning as he left the mine; yawning in the chill air caused by the shadow of the mountain blocking the sun.

A gentle jog took away the cold and he kept at a pace that would still allow his stamina to slowly regen. He had only found benefits from completing each area and the quest it provided so had developed a plan for the bats but would need to do some crafting first. Given he had already gathered all the things he required he was heading back to camp.

The work ethic of the vermite was impressive. Even more so now that Ma was directing their efforts. Adam had circled the camp and noticed a well set outside the wall on the opposite side from the latrine. Checking; it already had a hide bucket attached to a winding mechanism and could provide fresh cool water. The walls were also noticeably thicker at the base with layers of small stones held by packed earth on the outer aspect of the wooden stakes that had once made up the structure on their own. While this only reached about a foot of the total height it looked like a sturdy base that could be built on further. A small pile of stones and earth from clearing the well showed this was likely the plan. In addition to this most of the wooden fence had also been raised to eight foot now; with less than half remaining at the lower height.

On entering the camp he found a ring of stools around the fire pit and noticed a collection of wooden bowls and spoons lying neatly next to the cauldron. He checked inside and found the remnants of the stew that he ladled out and ate. While sitting to eat he looked around and found there were no other changes to the camp. Checking with Discern he found several more vermite spread out under the space than he was expecting. He linked with his followers to collect the exp they had generated. He gained 33exp for their collective endeavours the only surprise coming from Ma. She gained 40 exp for gathering new vermite; 5exp for each meaning he was right that there were more than before. He set aside the question of why she had gained experience when she didn't have a class; perhaps it was her leader status.

Heading to the storeroom the orderly layout allowed him to quickly find what he was looking for. String and wood for a bow; bone arrowheads and wood for arrows. He knew the basics of needing a strong but flexible piece of wood for the bow to hold in tension with a string. In practice this took several pieces of wood, some reshaping with his dagger and a reasonable amount of sinew as string to get to work. Having a bow he set to work on the arrows. Creating a straight shaft for the arrowhead to fit in one end was not too complicated but designing fletching out of hide scraps that slid into small grooves in the wood took much more time and concentration. It took a frustrating amount of time for the expected notification to appear

Profession: Bowyer Profession Unlock Criteria Description Skills Bowyer Make a bow and at least two arrows Creates weapons and supplies for archery [hazel bow]; [bonehead arrow] Gain experience with initial skills to unlock further skills

Similar to the builder and carpenter professions the skills were not things he could activate but more an increase in his knowledge and template that could be followed to create the objects. Using these he carefully remade the bow; noticing several improvements including a guard to protect his hand as the arrow fired and an easier mechanism to release the string. Eight arrows followed using up all of the arrowheads he had so far obtained.

With no experience of firing a bow Adam spent the rest of the morning shooting between two trees and by the end could manage to hit them about half the time from a distance of twenty yards. Doing so had broken three of the arrows that he then repaired over lunch. He had been concerned that his arms and shoulders would be sore and stiff after the new activity; but with his stamina regenerated he coped ok. He had so few arrows that he didn't bother with a quiver and just carried them along with the bow and his staff as he set of for some more challenging target practice in the forest.

Like the spiders; Adam was no longer that afraid of the boar. The feeling that it was cruel to use them to improve his archery skills was offset by the knowledge they would respawn a day later anyway. He knew the level 2 boar would no longer give him exp either which increased his guilt a little. The main plan was not just to practice hitting a living creature but to unlock a new class that would improve his skill more than the practice alone.

Having activated stealth he was able to get close enough that he had a chance of hitting the boar as he drew the bow string back next to his face. Breathing in deeply as he aimed he released the string at the same time as his breath and watched the arrow fly over the shoulder of the boar into the undergrowth beyond.

Since the bow made little noise the boar instead turned to where the arrow had hit giving Adam enough time to notch another arrow and fired a second time; adjusting his aim slightly from before. The arrow hit its mark landing squarely on the boar's rump. Adam nearly lost his composure as the boar turned and saw him immediately despite stealth being active; probably due to the attack he had just performed. Rather than fire a third arrow Adam waited for the expected charge and then used fire lance before stepping to one side as the boar crashed by. He had learnt that fire lance could kill a boar without stopping its momentum the hard way and was not letting this catch him out again. After collecting his arrows and activating byproducts he moved on to find another boar with which to continue his practice.