The second ram kept staring at Ren.
Ren stared back for a moment. It didn’t seem interested in attacking, so he crouched beside the first corpse.
When he touched the corpse, several sections lit beneath the stone plates.
Harvestable Materials Detected
Mossplate Hide
Mossplate Horns
Mossplate Plates
Basic Harvesting Knife equipped.
Improved harvesting available.
Ren started with the horns. The hooked blade slid through the softer tissue at their base. Both came free intact. He worked around the plates next, separating the hide without cutting through the usable sections.
It should have been disgusting, but he was starting to get used to how realistic Pantheon made everything feel.
If I get good enough at this, can I put it on my resume? Employers would love the variety of creatures I’ve skinned. They’d probably hit me over the head with the resume.
A notification appeared.
Profession Unlocked: Butchering
Rank: Amateur
Butchering XP: 25/100
Professions have ranks too? Interesting.
Another window followed.
Harvesting successful.
Mossplate Horn x2
Mossplate Hide x1
Mossplate Plate Fragments x3
Considerably better than sawing rabbit ears off with a spear. His HP had crawled back to 96 while he worked.
The ram behind him scraped one hoof across the dirt.
Ren stood.
"Should’ve brought a red cape."
It charged.
"Or not."
Ren already knew striking armor was a waste of time. He slipped past the horns and cut behind one front leg.
Keen Bite F activated.
-16 HP
The ram kicked backward.
Ren twisted away, but the hoof caught his thigh.
-14 HP
Vagrant — HP: 82/110
Amber light filled the ram’s horns.
I already know how to counter that.
Ren rushed for the stone fence as Stone Rush carried the creature after him. At the last second, he swerved right.
The ram tried to follow, but its weight and momentum worked against it. Its shoulder slammed into the stone.
Ren went straight for the wounded leg and cut it again.
The ram dropped.
He finished it with a clean slash across the throat.
Critical Hit
Keen Bite F activated.
Young Mossplate Ram slain.
+16 XP
Level 2 — 192/250 XP
North Pasture Clearing: 2/4
No Plunder window. Species cooldown.
Ren crouched beside the corpse and got to work.
Butchering XP +25
Amateur — 50/100
The third ram refused to hit the fence.
Ren tried once.
The creature veered away.
He tried again.
It turned sooner.
"Fine."
He stopped asking the architecture to kill his livestock. He made the ram chase him instead. Each charge gave him one chance at the same front leg.
A cut.
Move.
Another charge.
Another cut.
The leg eventually failed and Ren stepped in from the side and cut its throat.
Young Mossplate Ram slain.
+16 XP
Level 2 — 208/250 XP
North Pasture Clearing: 3/4
A pale light appeared above the corpse.
Ren grinned.
Finally.
Direct Drop
────────
Mossplate Greaves
White Heavy Armor — Common
Level Requirement: 3
Strength Requirement: 15
Vitality Requirement: 12
Vitality +2
Knockback Resistance +5%
Heavy greaves formed from layered mossplate stone.
────────
Ren checked the requirements. Strength fifteen. Vitality twelve. He was short on both.
Even if he dumped his next stat points into meeting them, walking around with slabs of stone strapped to his legs was not particularly high on his list of ambitions.
"Naturally."
He stored the greaves, then butchered the ram.
Butchering XP +25
Amateur — 75/100
The fourth ram had already moved closer.
This one did not get a long fight.
The ram came at him. Ren cut the front leg and moved. When amber light filled the horns, Ren gave it space and let Stone Rush carry it past him. The wounded leg failed during the turn. The ram dropped. Ren stepped beside its head, pulled the horns back and drove the knife beneath its jaw.
Critical Hit
Keen Bite F activated.
Young Mossplate Ram slain.
+16 XP
Level 2 — 224/250 XP
North Pasture Clearing: 4/4
Objective Complete.
Ren crouched beside the final corpse.
The cuts came easier now. Horn. Hide. Plates. The last material disappeared into his Inventory.
A brighter notification appeared.
Butchering XP +25
Amateur — 100/100
Profession Rank Increased
Butchering: Amateur → Novice
A second window opened.
Novice Butchering
Harvesting speed increased
+5% chance to harvest a higher-quality material from eligible corpses
Next Rank: Apprentice
0/10,000 XP
Ren stared at the last number.
"That’s quite a jump. I guess the tutorial’s over."
Vale shouted from the gate.
"You done?"
Ren closed the window.
"Apparently not with butchering."
"What?"
"Nothing."
Vale waited until Ren reached the fence.
"You killed all four."
"If I still know how to count, yes."
"Alone."
Ren spread his palms.
"We established my party has attendance issues."
Vale opened the gate.
A quest notification appeared.
Quest Complete: North Pasture Clearing
Reward: 40 Copper
+50 XP
The XP bar filled.
Level Up. You are now Level 3.
+5 Stat Points available.
Level 3 — 24/750 XP
Ren smiled. Progress was always inspiring.
Vale gave him an approving nod.
"Saw you butcher the rams. Let’s see what you brought back. Armor’s yours if anything dropped."
Ren took out the Mossplate Greaves.
Vale’s eyebrows rose.
"Those dropped from one of the rams?"
"Third one."
"Don’t sell those to the butcher."
Ren looked at the stone boots.
"No, I’ll sell them to the baker instead."
"You’d be surprised if you heard half the things I’ve heard from adventurers."
Apparently Vale had met interesting players.
Vale inspected the hides and horns.
"These are usable."
Another notification appeared.
Material Bonus: 56 Copper
Ren stored the remaining plate fragments and headed back to Aldern.
Market Street was even busier when he returned. He sold the plate fragments first. They earned him sixteen copper. The Mossplate Greaves were different.
The general-goods merchant turned them over once.
"Eight silver."
Ren glared at him.
"Twenty."
"No."
A voice behind Ren interrupted.
"I’ll give you fifteen."
A player wearing a dark green tabard stood a few steps from the counter. Two others waited behind him with matching tabards. No emblems on them.
The merchant put the greaves down.
"Then sell them to him."
Ren looked at the tabard.
"Team?"
"Orchid Company."
That meant nothing to Ren yet.
The man tapped the Strength and Vitality requirements.
"Our frontline hit Level Three. Still using starter gear."
"Twenty-five," Ren said.
The player laughed.
"For White boots?"
"You interrupted an active negotiation at fifteen. I assumed you were enthusiastic."
"Seventeen."
Another voice came from outside the shop. "Twenty."
A woman in red-trimmed leather armor leaned through the doorway.
The Orchid player looked over. "Go away."
The woman ignored him.
"Don’t waste your time with him. I’ll take them for twenty-one."
Ren became significantly less interested in helping either of them leave.
The Orchid player sighed.
"Twenty-two."
"Twenty-four," the woman said.
"You’re overpaying."
"It’s launch day."
"So?"
"Our farming teams are buying all the silver they can get with Earth cash. I’d rather overpay now than have our tank wearing starter boots tonight."
Ren looked at her.
"What are you paying for silver?"
"Around thirty cents each. More when someone’s desperate."
The Orchid player scratched his neck with a groan.
"All right. Twenty-five. Give me these boots."
Ren waited.
The woman shook her head.
"Keep them."
Ren held out his hand.
"Twenty-five."
The trade request appeared.
Trade Complete
Mossplate Greaves sold.
+25 Silver
One of the players behind him equipped them immediately. Stone wrapped around his lower legs. He took two steps, then smiled.
"Worth it."
"Good. I was concerned for almost no time at all."
The man laughed and left.
"Seven-fifty for a pair of boots." Ren looked at the merchant. "And you offered eight silver?"
The merchant frowned at the unfamiliar price, then apparently decided it wasn’t his problem.
"I need a margin."
"An ambitious one."
The merchant shrugged.
Ren couldn’t even disagree.
Thirty-one silver for Steady Aim no longer sounded impossible as long as he kept finding loot other players needed. That was dangerous information.