Chương 45: Chapter 42

The last of the sausages were now in the process of being smoked so the two of them left for the river to make their traps. The knowledge the Gods had given Sobelle also included the areas where it would be best to place her traps and she used this to make the fish catchers even more efficient. Sobelle made two different traps. First was a trap that relied on running to catch fish, these did not need any sort of bait and were shaped in a cone that got thinner the closer it got to the tail.

The mouth of the cone was the widest and circular in shape, strips of wood that went down the mouth created a funnel that allowed water to pass because of the gaps in how they were shaped. But more importantly, they were flexible as to allow fish of different sizes to go in, but never swim out. Secondly was a more stationary trap that had the rough shape of a box, it was made from branches tied together closely yet allowed a gap that let fishes see the writhing worms contained within.

This too had the same mouth as the first trap, using strips of wood that jutted inward as to allow fish to go inside of them but never the opposite. Making the traps actually took a lot of them, so much so that it was evening by the time the two girls went back to the village. They had brought the chief some extra meat Sobelle got from the rats she caught using her traps to thank him for letting Sobelle live inside his house. The old man only smiled when he saw the pink flesh Sobelle held by a rope.

"Thank you for bringing me dinner. Though you didn't have to."

"We don't mind, and well, I think it's good that we eat meat from now on right?" Chael had agreed when Sobelle suggested that it was her who took the credit for the meat. As Sobelle's family would definitely make trouble again if it was her who did it.

"I know how to make traps and Sobelle protected me while I made them, so I went out into the forest with her to catch us dinner."

"Hm. I see. But do be careful of the greenskins, as the Nogg may learn how to make them." That was something Sobelle was already guilty of. She had allowed the Nogg to witness the traps she made days before the raid.

"Well what are you two waiting for? Come in. I've been starving while waiting for the two of you to come back."

"So are we! I learned this good recipe from a tavern a while back on how to prepare critter meat and I think the two of you will love it!" Chael stepped inside like it was the most natural thing in the world.

"It doesn't need much to be ready either, just some garlic, water, flour, and if we have it, then milk. Which we don't. But that's fine!" Chael fried the squirrel meat with the extra fat they got from the boar. They had planned on turning it into lard earlier but did not have anything to store it in, so they harvested the fat, rendered it, mixed it with some herbs, then used it to cure the hide in preparation of turning it into leather. Chael had apparently saved some of it for later use.

Once the minced meat was cooked, Chael made them this green soup using water, flour, and garlic. Sobelle dipped the meat into it and nodded at the taste, the squirrel meat had taken a lot of the boar's taste so it wasn't as gamey as before and whatever was left got drowned under the thick sauce. No wonder Chael bragged about being a popular cook while she traveled, she was really good. Sobelle retreated to her room after dinner.

She worked on the Gods' test after she cleaned herself, and finished everything perfectly from there. She had done the additional test so quickly that the Gods gave her an opportunity to be done with the next set of tests. [+1 Intelligence!] This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it. [You have successfully completed the tests for addition! Now it's time to do the opposite and see if you can start subtracting, removing numbers from each other is fairly simple. Just reverse everything that you've previously learned, with that being said! Since you finished in such a short time and passed with such a high score, you will be given the opportunity to complete subtraction here and now. Wait for a moment, your test will arrive shortly. And worry not about failing, as you will not be punished for doing so, instead, we will postpone the test a week from now and continue with our daily lessons!] This was the longest box by far. Sobelle had never seen anything like it, the Gods truly wished for her to know everything she needed to know about what was going to happen didn't they? She read it repeatedly while waiting for the new test, which she was confident she'd pass just as easily as the one she just did. She was right.

The numbers that came to her were incredibly easy to comprehend and she started answering them one by one:... 156 - 84 349 - 63 200 - 49 700 - 237 947 - 629 478 - 106 782 - 546... Some of the numbers were definitely big enough to make Sobelle stagger, but they proved to be a non-issue in the end. She solved everything effortlessly and completed the test much faster than the previous one. And in return, the Gods rewarded her with an even bigger number of stat points. [+2 Intelligence!] Usually she only got 1 point for every test that she finished. But today, the Gods saw her fit to be given two, and this was on top of the 1 point she previously got for completing the test for addition. [Intelligence] was a strange stat, as Sobelle did not feel any smarter every time she got a point. [Wisdom] on the other hand felt like a reward from the Gods every time she made the right decision, though she felt that it wasn't the whole truth when it came to that particular stat.

But maybe it was for the best that the Gods hadn't answered what any of the stats meant, as Sobelle was confident she'd rely on them too much to define her existence if she ever knew what they truly meant. Mysteries were good, sometimes. Sobelle yawned while opening her status window. She felt proud at what she was looking at because she knew that soon? She'd be able to get another skill, and this one would definitely be related to combat....

Stats: [Stats] [Strength: 17] [Endurance: 18] [Dexterity: 13] [Intelligence: 13] [Wisdom: 12] [LeveL: 6] [Stat Points: 18]... She only needed 3 more points in [Strength] and she'd be able to get another skill. This was the pattern so far. The next time she was rewarded for finishing her physical routine would be the time she earned the remaining 3 points. She'd get 20 and a new skill, and the greenskins would once more have a harder time when fighting her.

And speaking of Goblins, Sobelle checked the quest she previously got. The one about killing the greenskins and the system making a tally for them. [Goblins Killed: 97] She was three short of a hundred. Maybe the system didn't mind? She wasn't even sure what kind of thing she'd get from killing so many greenskins, what did the Gods planned for this particular quest? She wasn't sure. It would end soon and she'd get her answers then. For now, Sobelle was happy to sleep in such a cozy bed.

She closed her eyes and got ready to greet the morning with more work, another bath, and hopefully, she gets to ask the chief about tracking the remaining greenskins tomorrow. She'd been worried that it was her who would get ambushed this time around, so she really wanted to know more about how Goblins operated when under heavy duress. Were they like a boar who'd lash out at anything in front of them when pushed far enough? If so, then maybe Sobelle could bait them into attacking her prematurely.

It would be great if she could do that. Sobelle yawned.

'That's for tomorrow...' Sleep finally took her mind and she woke up to the sound of men and women getting ready for the day. Grunting, water splashing, and happy giggles were the common sounds in the village during the morning and for a small moment, Sobelle liked to pretend that she was part of it. That everyone cared for her instead of shunning her for doing things she was never meant to do. That they supported her choice of becoming a warrior instead of a wife who stayed in the house all day.

It all comes crashing down and Sobelle leaves her fantasy and goes back to reality. Where all of her dreams are being achieved in exchange for the approval of everyone she's ever known.