<02 August 2024, GRAND MESA OF SUMMER , A+>

  [Theo and Julia]

  "Alright let's level up then we can look at what loot we got out of the Leveling Plane and go to bed." Julia said, turning to go and sit by the fire. Theo joined her and they both fell quiet, conversing with the System.

  [Theo]

  "Congratulations Theo, you have leveled up, as a part of your System Reward for staying in a High Mana zone, the rewards for leveling up have been increased until level 5. As a reward for leveling up, you will be granted a skill and allowed to pick one skill to upgrade. This in in addition to the Class based level up rewards, and your Racial level up rewards. Congratulations once again."

  >Private Message: You have been granted the skill 'Process' as a reward.

  >Private Message: Please select one skill to upgrade.

  Theo suddenly knew how and what Process did. He thought of what he should upgrade. As it stood he had seven skills now. He went over each one. Thinking how it would help in there coming struggles.

  Claim, Farming, and Strike were his original skills, and at the moment he was happy with where Farming and Strike were. His only thought was that Claim might let him claim more land or claim other things if he needed to. Claim was certainly an option.

  Defender was the skill that he had gotten from his first level up, he knew that eventually he should probably upgrade that, but he thought that it would not be the best choice at the moment.

  Next were the two skills that Oreburn had given him. Identify and Hand of gold. Identify was low rank and he wondered if it would provide more information if he increased it. He also was very curious what improving Hand of Gold might do. He thought about it for a moment but decided that both of them were skills that would not imediatly help him.

  Last was the skill that had just been given to him. He thought it over, letting the knowledge of what it did flow into his mind. "Process raw goods into materials as desired. Takes time. Having the right tool reduces the time needed. That is certainly useful, and it is Bond Enhanced. Lets see, if Julia helps me it reduces the time needed by thirty-five percent? That is broken."

  He through for a moment and decided that it was a toss up between Process and Claim. Finally after agonizing over the decision for a moment, he was decided. he selected Process.

  >Private Message: Skill 'Process' Has been upgraded to Rank D+ from Rank F. Skill baseline time required reduced.

  >Private Message: Level Up process complete.

  [Julia]

  "Congratulations Julia, you have leveled up, as a part of your System Reward for staying in a High Mana zone, the rewards for leveling up have been increased until level 5. As a reward for leveling up, you will be granted a skill and allowed to pick one skill to upgrade, the skill can not be Bond. This is in addition to the class-based level-up rewards and your Racial level-up rewards. Congratulations once again."

  >Private Message: You have been granted the skill 'Hearthmade' as a reward.

  >Private Message: Please select one skill to upgrade.

  Julia thought about the past few days, all the crazy things that had happened, and quickly came to conclusion, ignoring the skills that Oreburn had given them out of hand. "It has to be Ward or Retaliate.

  Julia went through the fights that she and Theo had fought just moments ago and shook her head almost instantly. She remembered how Oreburn had used Ward and how complex his Wards had been and how quickly he could place a ring of them. She had thought that his Wards were very pretty. So she smiled and selected Ward.

  >Private Message: Skill 'Ward' has been selected. Divergent Paths detected.

  >Private Message: You have witnessed a S++ variant of the 'Ward' skill. This has acted as a catalyst and allows you to select one of two upgrades

  >Private Message: Option 1 - Overall increase in rank provides a boost in functionality and protection granted by 'Ward'

  >Private Message: Option 2 - Ward Array allows you to place multiple Wards simultaneously in an area of effect that is roughly your level times three in feet. At your level of three, you would be able to place wards simultaneously in an area of effect that is a circle with a radius of nine feet centered on you.

  "Ohh!" Julia said out loud excitedly. She selected Ward Array without hesitation.

  >Private Message: Skill 'Ward' Has been upgraded to Rank B from Rank B-. 'Ward' Now has the Ward Array effect.

  >Private Message: Level Up process complete.

  [Theo and Julia]

  "You sounded excited." Theo asked, wondering what she had gotten skill wise.

  "I was! When Oreburn used his ward skill, I thought it was so cool how he was able to place so many wards so quickly. Apparently seeing him do that and using my upgrade was enough to unlock the ability for me too!"

  They quickly went over the changes in their stats and their new skills. Then they turned together to the small silver chest that sat in the Cabin. It had appeared with them, and they both assumed that it contained the loot they had been able to bring back.

  They walked through the as of yet doorless hole in the wall of the cabin and opened the chest, it dissolved in the System synonymous golden sparkles and Cherenkov Blue light leaving a goodly pile of stuff.

  "Well now we know that all of the loot from the Gulmgrots stacks apparently." Julia muttered as Theo did a quick count.

  "We kept all the loot." Theo said.

  "That is good!" Julia said.

  "Yes but it also means that this stuff is not worth that much. Remember what it said at the beginning? It would be too costly for us to just take whatever we wanted."

  "I mean yes, that is what it said," Julia agreed, "But I have a theory about Leveling Planes. I think that they are meant to give children their first taste of leveling. I wonder if they limit things to instill the idea that you should only take what you need. But that also raises some questions about what the System does with loot that gets left behind..."

  Theo laughed as she trailed off, "You have way better theories than I do, which is precisely no theories."

  They both laughed, and then Julia looked back at the pile. "So what all did we get."

  "Well lets see..." Theo said, sorting and counting as he went, the final result was a list of goods consisting of forty-seven Gulmgrot Hides, forty-seven chunks of Amphibian Meat, thirty-nine Gulmgrot Mucus Vials, nineteen Gulmgrot Tails, fourteen Gulmgrot Vocal Sacs, three Shadow Essence Shards, and three Minor Environmental Token: Wetlands.

  "That's a good haul." Julia said, "We could make leather out of the hides."

  "We could..." Theo said thoughtfully as he picked up one of the furless rubbery hides.

  "Lets worry about it tomorrow. I am tired, lets go to sleep, then we can figure out a plan."

  Theo nodded, and they laid out their bedding both of them laying down and drifting off to sleep rather quickly.

  <03 August 2024, GRAND MESA OF SUMMER , A+>

  [Theo and Julia]

  The next morning, they both rose to the sounds of wind blowing. Julia shivered slightly. "I think that is the first time I have felt cold the whole time that we have been here."

  "I know, its a little strange." Theo said as they got up, and restocked the fire with wood. Each of them taking a meal and beginning to eat. Every little bit a gust of cold wind would rush at them. "Where is it coming from?"

  Julia shrugged, "Well it feels like its blowing in from the north."

  "That frozen mesa is to the north isn't it?"

  Theo thought for a moment, and nodded, "I think so. Well lets stay warm today, I think I want to finish the door and maybe get some window coverings."

  "That sounds good, maybe we figure something else out rather than sleeping on the ground too." Julia said.

  You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

  "Okay lets do that. You want to help me or do you have something that you were going to do today?" Theo asked.

  Julia shook her head, "No I don't have anything, I can help."

  "Cool." Theo grinned, "I want to try and Process some wood into planks, and if you help then it will be much quicker."

  "Okay that actually sounds interesting."

  They finished eating and then the two of them went and cut down two large trees. They brought them back to the cabin, demonstrating again that stats really made a hell of a difference. they set about working and Theo activated the Processing Skill, and it was strange.

  "It's like something else is guiding my movement." Julia said in a faint sense of wonder.

  "I know, it's useful, but it is one of the weirdest feelings that I have ever felt."

  Julia agreed and they chatted. It was strange they were wholly devoted to their conversation but their bodies kept working, with more skill than either of them should have had with the task they were performing. After roughly an hour, they were left with a small pile of seven foot long planks that were roughly an inch thick and eight inches wide.

  "That was insanely easy, is this how its supposed to be?" Julia asked.

  "I would guess not. I have never processed my own lumber before. But its like building the cabin we are stacking productivity bonuses on top of each other. This skill has a Bonus from Bond, and we add the Title Bonus for Land Claim, plus I used my Skill Improvement on it, and then I have the Master Tool, so we always have the right tool. I think that we really have been quite lucky with what is going on, and in what classes we selected."

  Julia thought about that, "I mean that makes sense but it still feels too easy. And to think that Oreburn said that even better benefits await a Family."

  "True. So furniture. I think that we start with two elevated platforms for sleeping." Theo said, and Julia nodded, "Then I thought we could do a divider in the middle of the sleeping platforms so that we can have some privacy. then a table and a bench are probably next in order, and then finally, some shelving to store things."

  "That sounds like a plan, and for some of it I can imagine how, but we don't have nails. And what about the door and windows?" Julia wondered how Theo would solve these issues.

  "So I think I can get the divider and sleeping platforms done with pegs, and tenon joints. As far as other stuff though, I think we need to go on a bit of an expedition. Lets go look for a cave or something that might have some ore in it, copper and tin, maybe something else. Or, we can try and find a monster that has metallic spines that we could use as nails." Theo said.

  "It would be our first adventure, off of the Overlook." Julia said, she sounded hesitant.

  "I also had a thought about that." Theo said, "We should do a run through the Dungeon Access Crystal, maybe it will give us loot, but it will at least give us a little more combat experience before we leave the relative safety of the overlook."

  Julia pondered that for a moment. "What kind of weapon should I look for if we have choices? I know that you have been trying to show me how to use a knife, but I don't feel like an up close and personal type of Gal."

  Theo mumbled something to himself. Julia didn't catch it, "Sorry what did you say?"

  Theo blushed a bright Crimson, "I uh, made a stupid joke."

  Julia smiled, she loved jokes. "Was it a 'thats what she said' joke?"

  "Um no, I said, that you might not be an up close and personal Gal, but you're a Gal who I wanna be up close and personal with..." Theo said, not meeting her eyes, as he knew the joke was really dumb.

  Julia tried to keep a strait face, but something about the massive man who had leapt in front of a lion for her saying such a juvenile joke, while also hinting that he most certainly had thought about her like that. Well it did something for her, she finally chuckled. She put a hand on his shoulder, "One day if your a good boy, and jump in front of more lions, I might hug you again."

  "Can't reward that joke too much." Julia thought to herself.

  "OH, ouch, I mean I know it was bad, but come one, I got to fight more lions for a hug. I mean I feel like a lion is worth at least a kiss." Theo said, hoping he had read the mood right.

  Julia blushed, the flirty tone was something new from Theo, and she had to admit she didn't hate it... "Oh, fine, if you fight another lion for me, I will give you a kiss."

  Theo made an exaggerated fist pumping motion, "Oh yeah!"

  They both started laughing at that.

  After deciding that they would each use a charge of the Dungeon Crystal, they got to work on the sleeping platforms. As they worked they chatted about what to expect. Theo finally came up with an answer for Julia's earlier question.

  "So you know what you asked before I made that joke?" Theo asked.

  "Yeah, what weapon should I go for?"

  "Well with there being Mana, skills, and presumably magic, why not go for like a staff still, but one that lets you cast ranged attacks?"

  "Ohhh, or a wand!" Julia said excitedly.

  "A wand..." Theo looked at her, for a moment. "yeah that could work."

  "I have always wanted a wand." Julia said almost wistfully.

  "Really?" Theo said giving her an appraising look. "Ravenclaw?"

  Julia burst out laughing. "No! There was this almost fan fiction type rewrite of the story of Merlin that the author would draw these beautiful illustrations of the wands that people were using, I always wanted to have one of the wands from that story. And for the record I am a Hufflepuff according to some social media fishing scam quiz."

  Theo laughed, then paused, "I just realized that advertisements were not like... A thing anymore."

  "Oh go you really know how to talk dirty to girl don't you." Julia said teasingly.

  "Ta... Nope never mind." Theo said, sounding resigned.

  "What I want to hear the dirty joke." Julia said in a playful tone.

  "I was going to say 'Taxes are gone, you can cum now' but with a feudal family type system I realized that taxes might be worse." Theo said, blushing at the stupidity of his own joke.

  "God I would have cum, but that thought is sobering." Julia teased back, then her face grew concerned, "If we establish a family, does that mean that we have to collect Taxes?"

  "Oh fuck that." Theo said vehemently.

  "Amen brother." Julia said in solidarity, raising a fist. "Death to Taxes."

  They chuckled and finished the first platform. They quickly moved onto the second one and continued talking as they worked. Their conversations now had a subtly joking to it. Both of them felt far more comfortable then they had for several days. They finished the second platform and they moved their sleeping arrangements to the platforms.

  "Okay we have a choice," Theo said, "we can use the Gulmgrot hides to make something that we could lay grass and straw under to have a mattress of sorts, or we can make a divider for some privacy. What do you think?"

  Julia paused, "Why don't we process the hides into leather and then decide after we see how it feels?"

  "Good call," Theo agreed, he grabbed the pile of hides and brought them out to the fire, "Isn't processing hides supposed to take like a long time?"

  "Yeah," Julia said, "Hmm well I could feel that I could quit the task at any point with the boards so its not like we could not stop and eat."

  "Alright, lets do this." He activated his skill, and Julia stood up and walked to where the rest of the loot from the Gulmgrots was stashed. She came back and sat down, they each took a vial and poured about half of it into the hide they were working, and began to spread it with their hands.

  "ohh, I don't like this." Julia whined, the Gulmgrot Mucus squishing between her fingers, "Oh, I really don't like this."

  "You want to stop?" Theo asked.

  "No, but I won't be happy about it."

  Theo nodded and they worked. They used about half a vial of mucus on each hide. Then thanks the magic of a Skill, they were able to work the mucus into the leather in such a way that it cured.

  "That is not how that happens normally, right?" Julia said, watching the literally magic change happen again.

  "No, not at all." Theo said, mesmerized by the process, "it is rather strange."

  When all was said and done, and they had both used about a gallon of water to get the mucus off their hands, only about forty minutes had passed. What they were left with were forty-seven roughly thirteen by thirteen inch cured hides that felt, okay to the touch.

  "I can't sleep on these." Julia said quietly. "All I will think about is that I am laying on mucus."

  Theo chuckled. "Fair enough, lets do a divider."

  Julia nodded and they got back to work. A few cuts of wood, some wooden pegs, and all of the remaining five-fifty cord went into sewing the hides together and erecting the barrier. What it resulted in was a five foot tall and seven foot long hide divider strung from the roof and two small columns that clamped the edge of the divider and held it taught. The top of the divider was about six inches from the ceiling, and eighteen inches from the floor.

  "Sorry it's not full height." Theo said from his side of the divider. He saw Julia's legs swinging as she sat on her sleeping platform.

  "It's fine, it will let us have some privacy but still allow us to let heat and cold cycle as needed." She responded.

  They had skipped lunch and decided that they would eat a late lunch and be done working. They sat around the fire, and Theo used some of his coco mix to make them hot chocolate, the cold gusts of wind had continued throughout the day. Julia sighed in content, her tunic keeping her mostly warm, other than her face being chilled by the gusts of cold, and her breath filled with the cent of hot chocolate.

  "This is good," Julia said, "thanks for sharing."

  "Of course." Theo said, looking into the fire. The sun still had a couple hours to set. And he was relaxed. "So before all this, what did you do?"

  "Oh, I don't even know, I was kind of on-again-off-again attending school. I didn't really have a plan." Julia said. "What about you."

  "You could not have paid me to go to college." Theo said, "I was working as a night observer for a aerospace adhesive manufacturer."

  "I'm sorry what?" Julia snorted, "that sounds like."

  "I got paid to watch glue dry?" Theo chuckled, "you are close, I got paid to watch glue not dry. I specifically watched the mixing vats. It was all automated so I literally was only there incase the machine broke down or something. We also did a lot of repairs to the machines, so being mechanically inclined was a must. But that is useless now. What were you going to school for?"

  Julia sighed, "I don't know, my dad wanted me to go for something like business, and so I toke some classes towards that. But I love art, so I took a lot of art classes. Sculpture, drawing, that kind of stuff. But after my dad passed, I hadn't been back."

  "That is understandable. If you could would you finish the business degree or get an art degree?"

  Julia thought for a second, "I think I would get an art degree with a minor in business so that I could do what I want while still honoring what my dad wanted for me."

  "That's a good choice," Theo said, "if we can get our hands on something to draw with and some paper or something, you will have to draw something for me. I would love to see it."

  "Oh-ho? Want me to draw you like one of my french girls?" Julia teased.

  "See now I'm just thinking of you and french girls..." Theo teased right back.

  Julia paused for a second, "Yeah no that's hot. I would be into it."

  They both chuckled and continued bantering for a while. Finally the sun started to set. Theo broke off their conversation, "Alright, I think that it is time for bed, and tomorrow we do a dungeon."

  Julia agreed. They both went into the cabin, and Julia quickly cast Ward, renewing the wards that she had placed on the cabin once it was completed. They both clambered under their meager covers.

  "Good night Theo." Julia said from her side of the curtain.

  "Night nigh Julia." Theo responded and they both fell asleep.

  As the sun crested the horizon, Theo and Julia were awakened by the System speaking into their minds.