Harvest was over, and the colder months started to approach which caused the bug population to all but disappear and stopped my hunting and experience harvesting which hurt more than im willing to admit.
And with the snows starting to fall we were all forced to remain indoors and wait it out until the snows receded and spring once more came.
At least in the darkness of winter as we all bundled up in the blankets we had, while huddling together for warmth as the sisters tried their best to keep the fires going while not excessively burning wood at the same time.
Every so often this was broken by the little bit of good news i could receive, in that with the colder months rodents tried to sneak food from our pantry which i avidly guarded like a royal guard.
In the months that passed i managed to slay more than a dozen mice and rats who tried to steal from us, but instead had their lives stolen by me.
The sisters again tried to get me to sit with the others and get warm, but after seeing i was protecting our food from pests like always, they again gave me warm smiles and instead offered cups of warmed water to help stave off the cold as i worked.
~
When the snows finally started to melt and spring was well on its way, the sisters held a sort of going away party for the older kids.
The children living in the orphanage were split into generations seperated by a few years.
Roughly when a group of kids reached around 12 years of age, they would 'age out' graduating from the orphanage and joining the other village children who had over the winter or last year turned 12 themselves in the awakening ceremony when a wandering priest would arrive in the village to inform everyone of their jobs, while also bestowing names onto those of us without them, such as us orphans who are without parents to give names to us.
The latest batch was five kids, some of whom thanks to checking out their stat boards, i found out were only 10 years old, while being included into the leaving group.
but this also meant once they left there would be more food to go around as there would be five less mouths to feed, but also would mean myself and the three others of my generation of kids would become a new seniors and next in line to be graduating into adulthood.
But even so i was prevented from leaving the orphanage to go foraging in the forest, the sisters claimed it was too dangerous, which i could partially agree with, but since we lost the five older kids that meant no one would be going foraging anymore bringing in the extra food that we didnt need to pay for.
I tried to question them that i had to as the senior big brother to the other kids, which brought smiles to their faces, but even so i was told until i was at least seven years old i wouldnt be allowed to go to the forest.
So instead my days of bug, and rodent killing resumed.
Having gotten the chance to kill some rodents over the summer my level had gone up again, and i managed to learn some things about them i didnt know before.
Mainly things like where they lived, and from that i quickly was able to slay them, not with a stick or anything, but instead using fire, at least as a method to get them out of their holes.
Once i found a rodent hole in a field i'd build a small fire over the hole, and the heat of the flames would force them up and out, at which point i could smack em dead.
This new killing adventure was equally as appreciated as the bug killing i had done the previous years.
Bugs were indeed vicious, but rodents were even more so, as they not only destoyed crops in the fields, but also raided peoples homes, or brough sickness with them, causing death to the villagers.
Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
A few times i spotted the newly adult orphans, one of them joined the village watch as a militia member, or soldier.
As for the other four, well they set off with the first merchant caravan of the year heading for the nearest city to join the adventurers guild no doubt.
~
Two years passed with my days themselves filled with the killing of pests all while also occasionally meddling with the villagers status's.
If a villager was nice to me or rewarded me for my efforts of killing pests and keeping their fields safe, well i'd give their status a little boost in thanks, but if i was belittled or looked down on well nothing at all happened.
Their unused points would remain unused, i mean if it was possible i'd remove some of the already assigned point but that didnt appear to be possible.
But thanks to the experience gained over these years from the bugs and rodents my own level had risen quite nicely;
[Nameless] Level 7 (10)
Job: Villager
My level had risen a couple of times but even with the introduction of mice and rats it was clear my levelling speed was slowing down, which made sense.
I had, had a few other dreams about that man and what i could remember of those dreams seemed to think this was normal, a sort of way the gods created as a means to make adventurers always press forward seeking out bigger and badder targets.
At least this year was the year i had become seven years old and was now free to finally leave the orphanage, and the village itself.
Finally getting to go into the forest, the forest which was home to all manners of creatures.
Plenty of living things that i could hunt for experience but also for food.
Not to mention the occasional monster that i might be able to slay for much more experience than regular creatues i had to slay in the dozens just to achieve the same result.
But sadly my 'freedom' was short lived, since the minute I tried to slip away my siblings tagged along.
"Why are you guys following me?"
"Cause, Sister said you'd get yourself into trouble if we didn't?"
Guh! Sister you're still getting in my way towards greatness.
"Fine whatever but don't blame me if any of you get hurt."
My curt response shocked them since they didn't know where I was going but as I left the fields behind and started to approach the forest my brother once more tried to stop me by grabbing my arms, while my sister shot forward arms spread barring my advance.
"Nuh uh! No way are you going in there."
"I mean of course I am, why else would I come all the way out here?"
"But bro, it's dangerous in there, you'll only find your death."
"You gotta listen to what Sisters told us! We can't handle going into the forest until after our awakening!"
Urgh
I was promised i could go into the forest when i was seven, but it seems the others who were less acccustomed to killing like i had become were told they couldnt go in until they were 12...
Or perhaps this was the sisters way of stopping me indirectly without breaking their own word that i could enter now that i was seven.
Exerting a little of my strength, I threw of my acosters resulting in them landing on their butts to my sides then with a single vault I jumped over my obstructing sister before racing off into the forest, leaving the three of them behind.
But those simpletons!
They just couldn't leave well enough alone and chased after me, ignoring their own words of caution as they entered the forest all for my sake... without even considering returning to safety at the orphanage.
*Sigh*
I knew what i was getting into by entering the forest, but they didnt... not to mention the fact that since they only stayed at home and played almost none of their stat points were assigned at all, and even when they were it was into simple things like recovery or stamina allowing for cuts and bruises to heal faster, or increasing the amount they could run around and play even more.
I quickly found a thicker branch and sung it left and right making a whooshing sound as the stick cut through the air, as i wielded it like a sword.
The boys likewise found makeshift weapons, mainly another stick, and a wooden branch to serve as a club, while my sister found a staff like branch that could serve as something more like a spear.
I could only shake my head, but hey, in the stories a hero always had a party right, maybe this is the formation of my very own heroic party?
So rather than discouraging them i just headed on knowing they were following me from behind, but at the same time i was using my power to assign some of their points to increase their chances of surviving our excursion without injury.
For myself since i now had a wooden 'sword' i also invested a pair of points into weapon mastery, followed by sword.
In the hours that followed our first excursion into the forest, not much happened.
We came across a few spots were could collect mushrooms, or berries.
And a single encounter with something living.
A white furred rabbit that also had a horn.
Unlike the mice or rats who'd try to flee as soon as i spotted them, this rabbit just stared at us, and after we got close enough it charge trying to stab us with its horn.
As for us we used our various sticks to try and block, and whack that rabbit with all our tiny might.
and by the time the fight was over each of us has a handful of scrapes and cuts, but it also ended in our victory with the rabbits body being out spoils, being taken home to be dealt with by the sisters and the first bites of meat we'd all had in quite some time
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