"Did I not introduce myself?" the man asked as he scratched the back of his head awkwardly. "Sorry, kiddo. The name's Alistair, but just call me Sandy," he said with a smile before he laughed lightly and hit Daz on the back with a light slap.

Daz didn't move an inch and just stared at Sandy blankly. "Right... Sandy. Can I help you somehow?" Daz asked without hiding any of his confusion.

"Right," Sandy replied before he walked over to the nearest wooden post holding up the horrendously constructed rain shelter that Daz had tried to make. He pushed it very lightly and the whole thing collapsed.

"Hey, you fucker! I worked hard on building that!" Daz shouted at Sandy, but the older man remained unfazed and smiled at Daz condescendingly.

"You're an idiot. If my light push could topple it, what would rain do to it, or wind?" Sandy said in a lecturing manner as if he had done so several times before.

"So?! What's your point? I'll just rebuild it if it breaks!" Daz said a bit too loudly. He was getting needlessly agitated and his body was heating up as his blood started pumping wildly.

"Calm down, kiddo. I wanna help you," Sandy said with a shake of his head. He was acting as if he was talking to a five-year-old and Daz didn't like that at all.

"Help me how? By making fun of my hard work and putting me down? Okay, I did it wrong. I'll try again and do it better," Daz said with spite in his tone.

"Jesus Christ... you really our 'Lord'? Take a chill pill. Look, you built a piece of shit, and I happen to have been a construction worker for the past thirty-odd years, so shut up and listen to your elders. You want a rain shelter? I'll fuckin' show you how to build a rain shelter, so can it with the cheek, kiddo. We clear?" Sandy said sternly, forcing Daz's face to turn red in embarrassment.

'This bastard! But... he's right. There's no point arguing with him, is there? He's got a point. If someone with so much experience is willing to teach me... then I guess I should just shut up and listen to him,' Daz closed his eyes and took a deep breath to calm himself, he then reopened his eyes and answered Sandy.

"How do I know that you're not just pulling my leg and you were actually a white-collar worker for thirty-years, not a construction worker?" Daz asked with his scepticism in full force. He also took this opportunity to use higher identification on Sandy.

Alistair Cliff's Status Basic Information Name: Alistair Cliff Species: Human Age: 53 Sex: Male Class: Novice Farmer Affinity: Lawful Neutral Description A man who has experienced much in life. He was drafted into the military at the young age of eighteen and forced to fight against his will. He was dishonourably discharged at twenty-three-years-old for attacking a commanding officer, who in his opinion, was needlessly endangering his men's lives. After returning to the states, he luckily managed to find work as a Trench Labourer. He stuck in the line of construction, and over the course of thirty years, he became a Supervisor and refused several Foreman promotion opportunities so he could still work in the construction sites and get his hands dirty. He married and had a child, but his wife passed away from cancer. He devoted his life after that to his only son. Energies Lifeforce: 1000/1000 Stamina: 1458/1500 Stats Strength: 40(48) Endurance: 30(36) Fortitude: 100(120) Dexterity: 50 Loyalty: Low

'What a sad past... I'm kinda sorry for lashing out at him now, he's only trying to help me...' Daz thought as Sandy replied.

"Well, kiddo, you can believe me or you can't, it's up to you. I'm just bored and wanna help. Besides, I spent my points on a few stat increases like you suggested, so I wanna test 'em. Swallow your pride and lemme show ya how to build shit, 'kay?" Sandy said with a semi-toothless grin.

'Yep. He obviously just wants to help. No point biting the hand that's offering to feed me,' Daz thought before he replied earnestly,"I'm sorry, please teach me how to build, Sandy. But I need to know, why do you even wanna help me?"

Sandy smirked before he replied, "When I saw someone doing what I've put my soul into for most of my life so terribly, I thought 'wow, I wish I were dead so I didn't have to watch this'. But unfortunately for me, I have a few reasons to live, so I'll just teach ya how to do it right. Besides, I'm not doin' anything else right now." Sandy then shrugged before he walked over to the large toolbox and rummaged about for a pair of gloves. He then, after finding a pair, started moving the debris from Daz's failure away.

Sandy stopped for a moment and turned his head to look at Daz and Rimmy. "Whatcha still standing there for? Help me out, kiddo. I'm an aged man, don't expect me to move all of this shit by myself," he said with a chuckle before he continued.

Daz broke out of his daze and went to help Sandy while Rimmy stayed put and observed with a bob of his head.

The two men spent maybe two hours, and they still weren't successfully able to make a proper rain shelter. Sandy refused to build it himself and was simply helping get the parts and instructing Daz on what went where and on what tools to use.

"You've really got no talent for this, huh, kiddo? I mean, I've seen worse, but you can't even build a simple rain shelter when steps one through ten are bein' spoon-fed to ya?" Sandy said in a slightly provocative tone.

Daz sighed in defeat. "I'm sorry, Sandy. I'm just not used to this. I've never built a single thing in my life until now, so please, put up with my ineptness and continue helping me. I'll give you an extra tin of beans if you don't give up on me," Daz said in an almost pleading tone. 'I hate to admit it, but he's a really good teacher. If this system had levels, I bet my crafting would have gone up from basic level 1 to basic level 2,' Daz thought.

Suddenly, a grey screen blotted out his vision.

To access the inbuilt level system, please purchase the personal upgrade, Level System [C-Rank(Higher-Tier)] Price 5,000 merit points.

'Purchase now, please!' Daz screaming in his mind excitedly.

Confirmed. Upgrade added. All Skill's levels will now be viewable to the host. The total merit balance of the host is now 43,738.

Daz immediately checked his crafting skill to see if he had, indeed, levelled up.

Basic Craftsmanship [E-Rank (Middle Tier)] Description

A skill for those who have only just begun their long and arduous journey as a craftsman.

Most toddlers affiliated with the system have this skill passively after playing with some building blocks, but hey, who am I to judge you for being a slow learner?

Level 1 Abilities All crafting done by the host shall be 5% more efficient The host will have a slightly easier time crafting all things The host will have a slightly easier time understanding how something was crafted

Daz felt like crying. It was still level one. 'I really have no talent...' he thought. Thankfully, this had all only taken a few seconds, so Sandy could only see Daz's face go from ecstatic to depressed and nothing more, however, he still answered the request to continue teaching.

"I would have done it without the extra tin, but if you're offering, I'm not one to say 'no' to free food, hahahaha!" Sandy laughed before he slapped Daz on the back. 'He's a bit of a dick, but this kiddo has potential. Real killer when needed, but knows how to back down when it'll do him some good,' Sandy backhandedly-praised Daz in thought.

After that, the pair continued trying to build a shelter for the wood and metal for a short while longer before a change happened to Daz's skill.