Jacob was in a world of pain, not only from the wounds he had sustained over the past few days but also from the intense sparring and testing that had occurred for the entire morning and the early afternoon. Garrick had finally allowed him a brief moment of respite, seeming to have forgotten that Jacob was strongly injured.

The sparring was not without benefit however leading to numerous gains for Jacob. It seemed that fighting with a skilled individual and receiving helpful pointers led to good growth, especially when combined with the bought skill fighting proficiency. At least judging by Garrick’s obvious surprise and happiness.

Jacob turned his attention to the plethora of notifications he had gained over the morning.

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Congratulations your skill Sword Mastery Novice has levelled up: 7 --> 10. Sword Mastery Novice has reached it peak level (10/10). Skill has evolved to Sword Mastery Apprentice (1/10). As your first strength based apprentice tier skill you are awarded +2 points to strength: 15 --> 17.

As a skill relevant to your class you gain 250 class xp for this achievement.

Congratulations you have gained the skill Archery Novice 1/10. Archery Novice has levelled up to 3/10. As your first perception and agility based skill you have been awarded +1 to both: Perception, 13 à 14. Agility 14 --> 15.

Congratulations your skill Dagger Mastery Novice has levelled up: 4 à 9/10.

Congratulations you have gained the skill Hand to Hand Combat Novice. Hand to Hand Combat Novice has levelled up to 5/10.

For spending a significant amount of time injured and healing the Trait Enhanced Health Regen (weak) has levelled up 2 --> 3.

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These notifications represented not insignificant growth for Jacob, who decided to go through his status page, he noticed he had three unallocated status points. Given the current lull in activity he decided that now was as good a time as any to spend these points. Despite the rapport he had built with Garrick he did not yet feel fully comfortable around him, the obvious difference in strength meant a lot.

Jacob therefore needed any slight edge he could get, just in case things went sideways. These thoughts combined with an awareness of the recent goblin fight lent Jacob a sense of urgency.

A quick look at his status page confirmed that his constitution and control were lagging behind the rest of his stats. Given their importance for sword fighting and receiving damage and based on his wish to survive Jacob decided to allocate two points to constitution and 1 point to control.

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Titles: Otherworlder

Name: Jacob Lockerby

Race: Human lvl 5 (650/1600)

Class (lvl): Ranger (Tier 0) lvl 3 (350/400)

Second Class* (lvl): n/a/ (unlocked at race lvl 10)

Health: 77% Health Regen: 4.6% % per day

Mana Points: 220 Mana Regen: 13% per hr

Status Effect: Mana Burnt (99% of Mana locked, lifts at rate of 1% per day).

Stats: unallocated - 0

Strength: 17 (14) Dexterity: 15 Perception: 14 (13) Constitution: 15 (13) Agility: 15 (14) Endurance: 16 Intelligence: 18 Control: 12 (11) Magic Power: 22

Skills: Forestry Novice (3/10), Trapmaking (3/10), Fighting Proficiency, Climbing Novice (5/10), Free Running Novice (1/10), Dagger Mastery Novice (9/10), Dual Wield Mastery Novice (4/10), Sword Mastery Apprentice (1/10), Hand to Hand Combat Novice (5/10), Meditation Apprentice (4/10), Stealth Novice (3/10), Mana Sense Novice (6/10), Pathfinder Apprentice (1/10), Mana Manipulation Novice (6/10), Overdraw (1/10), Archery Novice (3/10)

Traits: High Grade Mana Affinity, Enhanced Health Regen Weak (3/10), Enhanced Mana Regen Weak (1/10), Tough Body Weak (3/10)

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With a grin Jacob closed his status page after noting his health was at 77%, a combination of natural regeneration and the herbal paste. With no idea how long this break would last Jacob decided to spend the time meditating in order to gain the boost to his regeneration as well as hopefully level it up for a long term benefit.

As Jacob dropped into the slightly familiar trance like state, he gained a clearer picture of his internal structure. The pain from his injuries became clearer but at the same time more distant, he could feel his body working on repairing them. The blood pumping around his veins. This sense of clearness was contrasted with the near complete lack of mana that he could sense. His status page was not lying when it said that Mana Burnt locked 99% of his mana away from his use. Afraid from doing more damage he merely observed the sluggish cycle of mana around his body, falling into a deeper and deeper sense of bliss.

He was suddenly brought back to awareness by a nudge from Garrick who looked impatiently at him. Garrick gestured for him to get up and pick up his sword. Wearily getting to his feet Jacob knew he was in for another round of rough training.

The remainder of the day was spent in a variety of training, taking a break only when necessary. Jacob wanted to complain at the gruelling pace but the language barrier barred this from being an option. When he tried to just sit down and not move Garrick merely forced him up even going to the extreme of starting to just straight out attack Jacob.

Despite this rather aggressive behaviour Jacob could not seem to work up too much anger at Garrick despite the hellish training continuing on the next day, due to the urgent and earnest aura that surrounded Garrick. Furthermore Jacob’s tangible rate of improvement after the first day made him more and more willing to take part.

Any gain to his skills was an increase in survivability, and the dangerous nature of this world had been very much highlighted to Jacob.