[Chapter 2: First skill]
With lodging out of the way what I need next are supplies. In order to procure them I venture out to search for anything useful. Since I have yet to see anything dangerous near the stream I make sure to limit my search area as to not get too far. While I do not actually know if this world has monsters I would rather needlessly prepare than get caught unaware. With that in mind I managed to get obtain some random bits of foliage: sticks, leaves, vines, and also a smooth rock that may be handy later.
With that being out of the way; I feel that training myself is necessary in order to survive. Thinking back to some novels I read I take the first stick I found and begin to practice basic vertical swings. Over time my form should slowly grow. Taking inspiration from the routines I have seen my goal is set at 1000 swings. It may be a bit lofty of a goal for a beginner but there is no other alternative, only hard work. Getting to work a rhythm quickly formed as I slipped into a trance while still counting.
“997”
“998”
“999”
“1000”
After an unknown amount of time my goal was completed. Although no change could be felt other than a soreness in my arms, I knew it was incredibly unlikely that changes would be visible the first time.
In the time it took to finish evening is only a bit away. Moreover, an issue that I had yet to take care of sill loomed, the obtaining of food. While I could probably go a day without, this is not an issue that should be pushed till later. It being quite literally being the most crucial step for my survival. Knowing this I take my favorite stick in hand and prepare to venture outward.
Upon leaving the cave in a haste I travel to the area on the left of the caves mouth. Reaching the brush I slow down and lower my body in the attempt to hide myself from any potential prying eyes. After cautiously traveling for about half an hour something enters my vision from the other side of a small clearing. A tint of red in the branches of a tree, I realize I have found fruit. If this were all I would simply dash out and grab them, but in the same clearing are things that I have awaited with both anticipation and fear; three small green humanoids with both small pointed ears and noses - goblins.
With the appearance of monsters the entire situation has a lot more complicated. As there are three of them and my combat stats are currently at the minimum, the best course of action would be to observe them for later reference. Luckily, it appears that their nose and ears are in fact less functional than they appear, as none of them have sensed my location despite being less than 20 feet away. So with slight relief, I stay hidden inside the bushes for some time, watching the goblins lounge around eating fruits that fell to the ground while the sky turns to orange. After what feels like forever the goblins grunt towards each other before getting up and leaving the clearing.
After waiting a bit longer out of caution I jolt towards the tree taking two fruit off its branches. With loot in hand I frantically dash back hoping nothing hears me. Only after hearing the sound of the stream do I begin to slow down. Reaching the cave as the sun finishes its disappearance I sit down and properly inspect my spoils. While they caught my eye due to a red coloration, they are in fact mostly green with only a small patch of red. Normally I would take small bits of an unknown item like this to see if its poison, however seeing the goblins eating them so casually gave me some reassurance. So with a growling stomach I strip the fruit bear; it being sourer than I expected does not stop me at this point. Since each is around the size of my head I keep one fruit alongside the things I collected earlier. Laying down next to said foliage placed in the back of the cave where it is driest, I sleep for the first time in this world.
A few days passed as I fell in to somewhat of a routine involving the gathering of fruit and training, as well as using the stone I found to try and sharpen sticks into a viable weapon. Practice was done on random sticks gathered as I was not going to use my favorite stick until I have gotten better. All debris and shavings were kept in a pile for potential kindling if a fire is ever necessary.
On the fifth day, I had improved a lot compared to day one; to the point where I gained enough confidence, from countless practice attempts, to finally decide to sharpen my favorite stick. It was a nerve-racking decision for me as it was both the first stick I found as well as the most proper weapon-like stick I had had. Making sure to concentrate as much as possible I scraped the stone against the stick in practice motions. Even so, despite my worry it turned out fine with me now having a somewhat sharp wooden sword. Nonetheless, it could not beat the surprise I had on the day after.
On the sixth day, due to circumstances my sword training had to be delayed till nightfall. After a few days of training my improvement could be slightly seen; with my swing becoming steadier and filled with more force. While moving in a trance that I had not seen since the first session of practice I reached my 1000th swing and was greeted by a glowing message that showed the culmination of several days of work.
[Obtained skill]
[Basic sword proficiency| lv: 1]
[When using a sword damage is increased by 3% and crit chance by 1%]
[ |Name: Yellow Stone|
|Species: human|
|Class: Scholar|
|Lv: 1|
|Hp: 10/10| |Mp: 33/33|
|Str: 1| |Dex: 1| |Agi: 1| |End: 1| |Int: 11| |Cha: 1| |Luk: 1|
|Skills: [Basic sword proficiency| lv: 1] | ]
While I could probably go a day without, this is not an issue that should be pushed till later.
It can't be pushed until later, but it's still less important than 1000 stick swings? How long did this take, and was he fatigued at all by the end? Is there muscle fatigue or soreness in this story?
Only after hearing the sound of the stream due I begin to slow down.
Do, not due.
A few days past as I fell in to somewhat of a routine involving the gathering of fruit and training,
Passed, not past.
Thanks, fixed
He got a new skill just by doing a thousand swings for several days.
Sigh*
If only it were that easy irl
I don't know about you, but having taken a year of fencing, a thousand swings is a LOT. (even with a light blade like an epee. We usually never did more than 100 parry/thrusts in each session) Especially if you're thinking about each one. If you could do one swing a second, that'd be just under 17 minutes, sure - but I dare you to go out, pick up a three foot section of rebar, and swing once per second for 17 minutes. Use one hand, swing from fist just above shoulder height, to straight in front of you, fist even with your belly button. Rod should travel from 45 degree angle over shoulder to parallel with the ground at the bottom of the stroke.
In reality, he'd be spending two to four hours doing this.
I'm curious, did he also try to do bodyweight exercises and basic cardio to help increase his Str, Agi, Dex, and End stats?
It takes much longer for some skills to be obtained than others.
@Oakpoke that's only a valid reason for him to choose not to do those trainings if he knows the relative training length.
@Enlyghten I meant it takes several days to get those skills, Yellow has put some work into exercise, just not enough to get the skills yet.
@Oakpoke I see. I thought you meant he chose not to train them because they're harder to level. Makes more sense.
@Enlyghten My plan is for the stat giving skills to be leveled over a long period of time, their max level does represent the normal limit for people of our world after all.