Chương 63: Murder Pigs

Mark went over to one of the storage boxes and pulled out 3 axes. He went over and handed one to each of the family members. They all looked at Mark and then each other. Finn asked.

"What are these for?" Mark answered.

"It seems that there is a need for a pen for the murder pigs, and this will be a great introduction to the system for you and get you the first couple levels." Mara handed the axe back to him and said.

"Well, you boys can go chop wood if you want, but I am going to stay here and talk to the Chef, I mean Dale, while you boys go out and work." Finn chuckled and then walked over to Mark and said.

"Lead the way. I have been cutting wood for years; this should be quick." Mark led Elias and Finn west into the forest. He first showed them one of the traps he had built and explained that they would be easy things for them to collect from in the lower levels to gain XP. He then went and found a dead tree and started to cut it. Finn said, "Wait, you're doing it all wrong, Mark. If you cut it like that, you will ruin part of the wood, and we will have more waste and have to haul more back to camp."

Finn then went over and started on the tree. He quickly cut a length the size needed for the pen. He then handed it to his dad and started cutting the next one. Mark was fascinated by watching Finn work. He had cut many trees in the last month, but he had to admit Finn made the work look easy. Elias started taking the lengths he made and started splitting them and stripping the bark off. He was making slats about 3 inches wide by 1½ inches thick.

Between the two of them, they finished off the tree in about a third of the time it would have taken Mark to just cut the tree into lengths. And they had a decent-sized pile of slats for the fence. They stored all the slats evenly split between the three of them so as to not have one of them holding too much weight. Mark had explained to him his story about loading up boulders and then not being able to move them for their weight. As the inventory let you add all you wanted, it was just a partial weight reduction.

Then they found another tree and made posts that were about 2 feet longer than the slats and made posts that would be the support for the fence. They also made crossbars that would go across and be what the slats were connected to. When completed, they went back to camp and unloaded all of their materials onto the workbenches. Elias and Finn were surprised that the work they had done had counted towards settlement production and got them enough XP that they both leveled.

Finn received the skill Efficient Woodcutting, and Elias got the skill Fence Construction. They were really excited about getting a skill and even more excited about being able to set their 5 stats. They could use them to improve things they were naturally weak on. The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there. Mara walked over while her husband and son were talking about their level and skills.

She let them know while they were gone that she had been talking to Dale about food spoilage here and storage. She had talked to him about how to preserve fresh milk so it would last longer. How to store the fresh vegetables and fruits to keep them fresher and other preservation methods. She then also shared that she had received the skill Food Preservation on level up. After they were all done discussing their level up Finn and Elias asked for a shovel and then where to put the pen. This started a huge discussion.

Ava wanted it near her a-frame. The farmers loudly disagreed; pigs/boars are messy and stinky, not inside of the camp itself. They finally came to a decision that they would put it on the east side of camp, about 20 feet east of the gate and north about 10 feet, to keep it clear of the trail. Mark and Elias then went to the spot and measured out the size they wanted. Big enough for now, but room for them to grow, as they will grow fast.

Mark then staked out the borders, and they dug the first two fence post holes and then put the posts in them and packed them down to secure them. They then went back into camp and got the crossbeams and the first set of fence rails, and Elias asked.

"Where do you keep the nails?" Mark answered.

"Well, we don't have any. As of yet, no metal, no nails." Finn then asked.

"How do you expect us to build a fence?" Mark then went over to the storage and pulled out different sizes and qualities of the ropes and cords they had made and showed them to the others too.

"For now we use a lot of fiber cords to lash things together will that work?" Elias said.

"We will make it work." Then Mark watched as the two did just that. He could see that this was not their first pen or fence they had made. The two worked together well, like they had been a team for years doing similar things. When they finished, they had a pen, including a door that could be opened and closed for easy access. Dale walked over and examined it and then told them.

"Good job; it looks sturdy does that mean we can get the Murder Pigs out of my kitchen? Mark laughed, and Ava just scolded Dale. But she finally picked up two of them and walked over and put them into the pen. Then she went back and added the other two. While they were gone, Tom had put together a small feeding trough and a Water container for the murder pigs and handed them to Ava, who went in and placed them. When she closed the gate after placing the water and food, the father/son pair let out a squeal.

They had both leveled again. Elias let the group know that he had received the skill Livestock Handling, and Finn got the skill Animal Care. It was now dinnertime, and Dale and Mara put out food for the group. Just as Mara set the last plate on the table, she exclaimed.

"I leveled up again. New skill is Resource Efficiency." They spent the next hour talking over their day and the skill direction that the new family was wanting and what they would do to try to aim their skills that way. Tomorrow they all wanted to see if they could get to another level. Mark and Tom both pointed out to them that the first few levels were easy, but as they repeated the same actions, they gave diminishing XP.

Dale started cleaning up the dishes, and the group heard a snort from one of the murder pigs. But it was not from the cage; it was next to Ava's foot. Ava reached down and petted it.

"Hey, little guy, what are you doing over here?" Dale turned around, asking.

"What did you say?" and seeing the murder pig at his feet, which startled him, and he dropped a couple plates on the ground, breaking them.