System Change: Chapter 23

The pair soon arrived by the village wall. Derek looked over at Thomas, who had his hands on his knees, gasping for air. “Oh, come on. It was just a few miles. You should have been able to handle it fine, much less with your new stamina.”

“It… would… have… been… fine…” Thomas panted between words. He took a deep breath in, then fired the rest out like a shotgun, “If you wouldn’t have run so fast.”

“Eh. Whatever, let’s go in.” With that, Derek grabbed Thomas and brought him back over the wall into the village. They soon arrived back at Brandi and her mother’s residence, only to find a commotion.

“What do you mean, ‘he took him?’” Thomas’s grandma had her hands placed on Brandi’s shoulders. She was upset and seemed to be in a state of panic.

“He’s fine. Derek took him to do something. I’m sure they’ll be back soon,” Brandi said, comforting the older woman.

Behind the two, watching the scene, were Rayna, Richard, and Leon. Richard had worry in his eyes, while the other two were standing there with their brows furrowed.

Thomas ran forward after seeing the scene. “Grandma, I’m okay. You don’t have to worry. Why are you here, anyway?”

Rayna was the one to answer. “Well, a guard came running and notified us of someone at the gates. When we arrived at the gates, the other guard, who is still scared by the way, let us know that someone jumped over the gate and ran into the village. From what he described, the individual seemed to fit Derek’s description.” Rayna looked over at Derek.

Richard took over from there. “Since Thomas hasn’t been able to stay quiet about your return, we figured that you may have come over here. It looks like we were correct.”

Derek put his hand on the back of his neck and chuckled a little. “I acted a bit on impulse with Thomas. I wanted to help him unlock his system, so we were a little impatient.” Derek looked at Delilah and continued. “I’m sorry about that. I guess I should have left a note or something.”

Richard’s ears perked up at that. “You said you helped him unlock the Great System?”

Thomas ran over to his grandpa. “Grandpa, you’re not going to believe it. I got three skill points from the Giant Slayer achievement… Three!” he excitedly said.

“That’s…” Richard trailed off.

“Yeah, the monster was over level 50. How amazing is that?” Thomas continued.

Finally, Delilah calmed down and spoke to Derek. “I guess that’s fine. Gave me another scare is all. Be careful with him, he’s just a child.”

“Grandma. I unlocked the Great System. I’m not a kid anymore. I could try to become a city guard if I lived in the city,” he said, correcting his grandma.

“Ah phooey.” She spat. “You’re always going to be a child to me.”

At this time, Malorie came from around the corner of the residence with a basket of clothes. “Oh, hello. Chief Rayna, Chief Leon.” She looked around at everyone until her eyes landed on Derek. “Derek, it’s good to have you back. Brandi has been working hard and talking about you nonstop.”

Brandi’s face flushed red. “I haven’t talked thaaat much about him,” she countered. Then, her eyes shot toward the pile of hides and she ran to them. “Look! He brought me new hides to work with. He said that some of them are even level 70.” She ran her hand over the top hide in satisfaction.

“Thi-This is too much, Derek,” Malorie said.

“Huh? It’s fine. I don’t have a use for them. They were just taking up room in my storage, so she might as well use them to increase her skill. Who knows, maybe she will get a good crafting class when she levels to 10,” he answered.

Malorie spoke again. “These hides are too precious for her to ruin. If you went to the city, they could fetch a very high price.”

“Well, I haven’t had the need for any money lately. Besides, if need be, I can always go hunt more. Just let her have them. You can think of it as an investment,” Derek said. He watched as different thoughts went through the group’s heads.

Rayna’s voice rang out again, “Anyway. Derek, what are your plans now?”

I see she’s still wary of me. “Well, I thought I might stay and rest a few days this time if you have room. There are some things that I should probably discuss with you later. But first, I wouldn’t be opposed to a warm bath. One can only wash themselves in streams so much.”

Before anyone else could answer, Brandi yelled out. “Thomas, come fetch water with me.” She looked at Derek. “You can have a bath in our house. We’ll prepare the water. Let’s go, Thomas.”

The kids took off running. Derek shook his head and looked over at Malorie. Before he said anything, she spoke. “It’s fine. It’s the least we can do for you.”

“Thank you.” He nodded to the woman, then looked back at Rayna. “That fine with you? Talk tomorrow?”

Rayna released a long breath and squinted her eyes. “What’s with the new attitude? You’re asking for permission now?”

Derek laughed. “Well, you haven’t called me mentally challenged today.”

Rayna stared wide-eyed at Derek. “Y-you heard that?”

“Yup. Anyway, meeting tomorrow?” he asked again.

Rayna nodded. “That will be fine.”

With that, everyone left. Only Malorie and Derek remained. “Come on, I’ll show you to the bath,” Malorie said.

They headed to her home.

Derek was standing in a small room with a wooden bath inside, watching as Thomas dumped the final bucket of steaming water into it.

Thomas looked up at Derek and smiled oddly. “We may have heated it a little too long.”

“No worries, this is perfect,” Derek said.

Before he began undressing, he heard Malorie’s voice from the other room. “If you give Thomas your dirty clothes, I’ll go ahead and wash them.”

“You think she would mind washing more than one set?” he asked Thomas.

“If she does mind, Brandi wouldn’t.”

Derek nodded, and three shirts and two pairs of jeans fell onto the floor in a pile. Then he removed what he had on and sat in the steaming bath. Thomas began picking up the clothes. “Ah, hold on.” Derek shook his hand, and a small pod appeared. “Have them use this for the wash. It’s called a laundry pod where I come from.”

Thomas nodded and put it in his pocket. Then he gathered the rest of the clothes and left the room.

Derek laid his head back and checked his stats.

Not bad. Hopefully, I can get one or two dungeon runs in before I pass level 25. He wanted to use his stat points to level all his stats to at least 500 after he unlocked an achievement for endurance and vitality earlier. Dex and strength should give me some kind of attack skill, and wisdom and int’ would surely give me attack spells or buffs. Hmm… what should I do?

Derek sighed and closed his status. For the first time in a long time, he closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep instead of meditating.

Derek opened his eyes, unaware of how long he had been asleep. The water in the tub was room temperature, so he guessed it had been a while. He quickly summoned some soap and washed. After, he got up, dried off, and dressed in a fresh set of clothing, which was another black tee and a pair of jeans.

He walked into the living area and saw Malorie stirring something in a pot. “Dinner is in twenty. I hope you like rabbit stew. Could you go fetch Brandi and tell her to wash up?”

“Uh, okay,” Derek replied awkwardly.

He went outside and around back to see his laundered clothing drying on some wire. He found Brandi hanging up a hide. “How long was I out?”

Brandi jumped, then turned around. “It’s been a few hours. Your clothes should be almost dry. What was that soap? It smells sooo good.”

“It’s just some soap specially made for clothing where I’m from.” Derek looked up. It would soon get dark. He walked over to his hanging jeans and felt them. After seeing that they were dry, he stored them in his bracelet.

“Oh, what are you doing with the hides?” he asked, motioning to the hanging hide.

“I’m trying out tanning them. Last time, I used the hides raw. I couldn’t wait to tan them because it takes too long. Now that I have more, I wanted to try it,” she answered.

“I see. Good luck,” he replied. “Malorie said to go clean up. Dinner is almost ready,” he told the girl.

“Ah, are you going to eat with us?” she asked, unable to hide her excitement.

“Uh, I think so,” he said.

“Oh, you’re going to love it. My mom makes the best food. She has the Cooking skill at a really high level.”

“Oh, that’s cool,” he said. I really could use something good to eat.

Derek leaned back in his chair after finishing the stew in front of him. “That was great. The best thing I’ve eaten in years. After that, I may have to pick up the Cooking skill.” He could feel his vitality surging after the meal. Must increase my health regeneration by a small amount.

“It wasn’t that good. My skill is only level 8,” Malorie replied with a smile.

“Don’t sell yourself short,” he said. Then he stood. “Thank you for the meal. I think I’m going to get going. I wouldn’t want to overstay my welcome.” He excused himself and then looked at Brandi. “I’ll come by tomorrow and see how your Leatherworking is coming along.

With that, he walked to the door. “Have a good night.”

He walked back around the house, sat on the bench, and sighed. He had noticed that Malorie was hiding behind her smile during dinner. She was definitely taking the death of her husband harder than Brandi. Brandi had something to focus on in her Leatherworking.

Derek shook his head. Let’s see. Thomas said that there was a place to stay in the center of the village. He stood up and walked that way.

He found the building Thomas had talked about. It was still only one floor, but it was wider and longer than the surrounding buildings. He walked in and looked around. One side had a few tables and a small bar, while the other side was a hallway with what he assumed were rooms. Quaint. He chuckled. There weren’t many villagers inside.

He walked over to the bar. A tall, balding man behind the bar squinted. “What you need?” the man asked.

“Well, I guess I’m looking for a room for a night or two.”

“Six copper a night,” the man answered.

Oh, yeah. Money. Derek looked through his storage. Finally, he spotted the skin of the creature Thomas had killed. He pulled the hide out. “You take trade? Level 52 small hide. Pretty good condition.”

The man looked at Derek skeptically. “Hold on,” he said, then walked through a door to the side. After a few minutes, he came back out with an older lady by his side.

“That it?” The lady pointed at the hide in Derek’s hand. The man nodded, and the woman looked deeply at the hide. “He’s not lying, level 52.” She nodded to Derek, then turned to the man. “Now, leave me alone.” She walked back through the door.

The man let out an embarrassed laugh. “My old lady.” He leaned forward and whispered, “That’s her being nice.” He leaned back. “What do you want for it?”

Derek smiled at the man’s antics. “Dunno. Is it enough for a room for a few days? Maybe a drink or two?” he asked.

“Not going to lie. You could get a few silver for it in the city, but I don’t need it. Ol’ Tristen would probably give you a couple of silver if you went to him. He’s the local Leathersmith,” the man said.

“Too much trouble. How about I give it to you, and you give me a tab of one silver? That work?” Derek asked.

“If you’re okay with that, it’s fine,” the man said.

Derek gave him the hide. The man put it somewhere under the bar, then held out his hand for a handshake. “I’m Bart. The local”—he looked around—“Innkeeper? Bartender?” he said as if he did not know. “The guy who runs whatever this is.”

Derek let out a hearty laugh and took his hand. “Derek. The non-local guy who I’m sure you’ve heard about by now.”

“Ah, that Derek. For the most part, it’s all good things. Nice to meet ya,” Bart said. “Let me show you to your room.” He walked out from behind the bar and took Derek to the other side of the big room. He walked to one of the doors and opened it. “Here you go. It’s not much, and it will probably get loud later.”

“Fine by me,” Derek replied. “I think I’ll just call it a night for now. The noise won’t bother me. It was nice to meet you,” he said, then walked into the small room. It was about two and a half by two meters. Just big enough for a small bed and table beside it.

“Have a good night,” Bart said and walked away.

Derek shut the door, then sat on the bed and meditated.