Second Chance

C'mon, It'll be a Party! Sorta.

     I was really glad that I'd put my clothes back on. It was horrible that that was the first thought I had after dying, but I was really glad I'd put my clothes back on. Even without being naked, standing in the middle of the bustling crowd in the town square sopping wet was humiliating. I got a lot of sideways glances until the [Swimming] skill dried me. My clothes were still wet with the de-buff [Waterlogged], but my hair was dry, which was an improvement... I guess. I squelched through the crowds of people. My clothes were chafing and my limbs felt like lead, but I was alive again. I had died and been resurrected just like I was in a game. There were no noticeable side effects either, other than the normal, limited ones the game put in place. Because of my death, some time had passed, now it was more like ten in the morning. As a further penalty, all of my combat related skills and attributes were lowered for two hours. As long as I didn't leave the town or safe areas, I was good. Though I was sure there had to be some sort of psychological repercussions for dying twice in 24 hours, even if I came back both times and they'd both been rather abrupt. Not the time to be thinking about death though, it was a beautiful day. I'd died, but I'd come back! I'd even killed the giant fish, though I was unsure how I would cook it. I'd never actually cooked fish.

    I tried to ignore the way my hand shook as I adjusted my wet hair.

    I needed to train my skills. The town was a bit more emptied out now, and there would be no better time to find out what gifts I could get in the beginner training. Plus I needed the distraction.

     First I went to the swimming training in the hopes that they would also teach me underwater combat. They didn't. I gained a level, but there was nothing new to learn, as they taught everyone in a really shallow stream. It was mostly theory, not practice. However, the time spent was all worth it. The reward for completing the training was the pick in a selection of swimsuits. There was every variation imaginable, from the string bikini to the 1950's style cover from knee to collarbone to elbow. I chose a conservative halter top in black, and tried it out a few times in the stream that the NPC taught me in. I collected more fish than I would ever eat and also managed to find {crawfish} in the river. I think the swimming instructor thought I was crazy when I stopped the lesson so that I could collect almost a bushel of the things. They were edible though, and would provide a change from fish. Finally I was done with the lesson though and waved goodbye to the teacher, happy with my haul. It was almost two in the afternoon, so I decided to eat at one of the stalls in the market, get taught in [Climbing], and head on home for the day. I would have to pay for the lessons in [Cooking] and there weren't lessons for any of my other skills.

    The climbing lesson took place at some of the cliffs near my house, and I took a second to convince the NPC that I didn't need transport back to the town. He was worried about how late it was getting, and didn't think I would get home safely, though he only waved at my instructor. The teacher was a fit young woman who somehow climbed in a skirt. Granted, it was an overskirt and she was wearing some sort of tight pants or legging underneath, but it was still impressive. The bonus from the beginner lesson was climbing gear, and while I was not able to pick the gear for myself, it seemed to have been custom made to fit me. My harness was built to allow me as much freedom to move as possible. The teacher climbed without the safety devices. For the most part, I used the lessons to learn how to use the safety harness, as I already knew how to climb freehand. Occasionally I'd train my strength by planting my feet against the rocky cliff, letting go of my handholds, and exercising my stomach muscles by "sitting" up. Other times I took off the harness and tried to scale the cliff using only my hands.

     It was only at the end of my lessons that I really cut loose and climbed like I usually did. Like swimming, I was much better at climbing when I took my shoes off. My feet were deceptively strong and had much better grip than the shoes did. My hands unerringly found handholds, and if the handholds were too small to hold my weight, my claws could sink into the rock. The teacher was happy to give me little tips to improve my speed and accuracy. The [Climbing] sense grew fast too, and it was at level four by the time I quit for the day. My teacher was impressed with my progress, and slapped my arm with a command to, "Look me up. We'll go climbing together sometime." She climbed back up when I left, and last I saw of her she'd taken out a pickaxe for mining an ore deposit in the mountain. Maybe she worked at the smithy.

     My goals for the day finished, I walked back home leisurely, snacking on a sort of taco with a naan shell. I preferred my tacos shells crisp, but it was pretty good. The elephant ear for dessert relieved me greatly though. The large fried pastry was dipped in cinnamon sugar. It was the first sign I'd found that this world had cinnamon. With cinnamon I would be able to make more of my favorite desserts and breakfast food and even drinks. I didn't know where to buy it yet, but I was planning on doing everything I could to grow it. Speaking of growing things, I would need a [Farming] skill to grow anything, and I had an unused skill point. At the same time though, I needed some sort of combat ability that would work underwater or I would never be able to explore the underwater area fully. I decided to ask an expert rather than just decide by myself.

    I had plenty to eat, and it seemed like I needed less of both food and sleep in the game world. Same with the bathroom, fortunately. With this, most of the activities I could do today were gone, and I had the length of the night stretching out in front of me. The sun wasn't even set. I walked into my adorable, white-washed little cabin by the lake. I had forgotten about lights, dammit. Sitting on the bed, I opened my friends list, checking on both Smythe and Talbot. They were both signed in, and I tapped to send them a voice message. I had never used this function before and had been wanting to try it.

"Hey, Talbot, are you doing anything fun tonight? I don't really want to raid on my own at night."

    A moment later I heard the sound of bell chime followed by,

"I was just getting a group together to do a raid on this labyrinth. Get this, it produces crafting materials! I even had a farmer go in there earlier, and they said that the boss dropped a hoe for them! The drops are actually only crafting materials, so most of the ones who prefer to play for the combat aspect think it's a stupid dungeon. More for us though, hey? Anyways, you are definitely welcome to come along, but I'd get a crafting skill before you do if you have the skill points. These guys are real defensive about preferring the crafting side of this game, so they tend to distrust the 'pure combat' types."

     By the time I got used to the sensation of some else's voice in my head he'd begun to lose control of his rambling. While it was rather interesting how his voice became higher pitched as he became more excited and stopped breathing, I was starting to worry about him. I got the impression he was talking out loud, in addition to telepathically.

"Talbot, breathe. I already have a crafting skill. It's really unpopular too, so I think that it'll be a fun experience. I don't need convincing."

"...That wasn't what I was doing."

    I hid my smile with my hand, even though no one could see me. He was sulking because I had caught on to how much he'd wanted me to spend time with him. How cute.

"Anyways, we aren't meeting until sundown, which is in... six hours. Can you wait until then?"

"Yeah, no problem."

    Perfect. It would give me time to sleep too.

"Good, I have to log out. Need to grab a bite and a few z's for the raid later."

    He was so excitable.

    I closed out of the chat, glad that he hadn't noticed my location. From now on, I needed to be careful about where I was when I contacted my friends. At least I did if I wanted to keep my home quiet. Hiding it might make people more curious though. Hmmm. I tapped out a quick message to Talbot then quickly went to bed before I could start to regret my decision.