After speaking with them directly, the librarian proved to be relatively easy to deal with. Purchasing books directly from the Library is not an option, but I could place an order for the book to be copied, though there is no mage maintaining these so it would be time consuming. Technically I could fulfill the same function through the use of a low level mage spell, but the duration and consequent impact would be lackluster, at my level its value would be limited to probably around 10 pages of copied text per casting. For a spell I can only successfully cast every other day or so, that means it would take a rather long time to completely copy any book.

I check on the pricing for paper and discover that paper is available for purchase both in the Library and at the Market, but that it costs about twice the price of vellum or parchment. That surprises me. I was under the impression that paper is easier to make than either parchment or vellum. By quite a lot. The answer, it turns out, is that while paper is indeed quite a lot easier to produce, cotton is not grown locally, and it seems that they are only familiar with the cotton/horseshoe/hide method of paper production. Is that worth addressing as a problem though? Well ok, parchment or vellum is fine for now.

After having done an initial visit and assessment of the library, for my next stop I find a bookbinder and confirm that binding is fairly simple, and the requisite materials are highly accessible… But by this point I’ve still hit a problem. It’s cheaper to buy empty "spell" books than it is to assemble and bind my own books; and spell books tend to be of finer quality than I would get from taking a hodgepodge of loose papers purchased at the market and binding them together myself. There is literally no reason not to buy spell books and use them instead, except that they still run 10 gold per book. Holy cow, this is worse than I thought. Everything about getting a copy of some basic books has been more of a hassle than I was hoping. There's no way around it, as it stands right now, I will be better off just hanging out in the library and reading those books that I find to be of interest on the spot rather than trying to build my own collection.

Browsing through the bustling market I locate and purchase a small batch of parchment, along with ink and an ink pen, and a scroll case to serve as an impromptu note taking set. Since I’m already there, I pick up a few other necessities including a sewing kit, some chalk, a few bolts of different types of canvas and cloth, and other materials useful for crafting generic items out of textiles and leather and so on. My purchases end up setting me back by 10 gold, but I’ve got ample materials to repair and improve on my backpack, make a more civilization friendly travel outfit, perform slightly better when making alterations to leather, and sans the wood itself, start on some basic woodworking projects.

I return to the library after having drawn up a list of skills or professions I want to learn about in the hopes that it will turn into a system recognized skill. Several of these skills relate to things I think I could probably already do, but having never previously attempted to do something like build a catapult, if there are more detailed of instructions to pull from than my memory, I would naturally like to be able to see them. Other things I absolutely know I can do, for instance crafting a chair or desk should be a simple matter for me; but with the restrictions of the system, I know that I will somehow be much worse making things out of wood than I should be. I’m not sure how or why the system imposes its restrictions on things I knew from my last life: but it has a way of messing you up in subtle ways. Measure twice cut once for instance might result in you getting different measurements several times in a row.

How do you manage to make a mistake in measurement? I wonder that myself, but the short of it is that even if I already have the skill, it would be of great benefit to get the system to recognize it. Additionally, even for things I already know if there is, say, an engineering component, those instructions might include some relevant formulae. Those formula could help ensure that my understanding of the physics here carry over well to other tasks and projects. For instance, if while learning about building siege weaponry I discover a formula for calculating range, that will allow me to extrapolate the rate of acceleration of gravity, and knowing with confidence the rate of acceleration of gravity, I would be able to utilize that knowledge in determining to what degree of frequency load bearing walls should be spaced while building a multi-story structure. As with many other things in life, although a single task will usually require numerous pieces of information, a single piece of information will also be relevant to many different tasks.

My initial list of skills or professions which I believe may have relevant information on and which it would benefit me to study is as follows:

Armor smithing, weapon smithing, carpentry, wheelwright, shipwright, sailing, navigation, bowyer, fletcher, clothier, sculpting, cobbling, poison making, trapmaking, pottery, carpentry, limner, monyer, miller, jeweler, goldsmithing, silversmithing, groom, barber surgeon, merchant, cheesemaker, brewer, vintner, baker (HA take that mental me!), chef, ivory carving, chemist, alchemist, glass-making, glass-blowing, painting, cartographer, calligraphy, sewing, and siege engines.

I wish that my knowledge of medieval Europe, which this worlds technology and nearby humanoid cultures seem to closely parallel, was sufficient for me to come up with a more exhaustive list, but I feel like this list is a viable starting point considering that I will be running into constraints both on the amount of time I can devote to study as well as accessibility of information.

With a comparatively narrow list to work from rather than trying to just check each book title and description one at a time, I’m able to identify a dozen books in all which may be useful towards a few of them. I guess I’ll be wanting to stay in the inn for a few days at the least. Not that I expected to be able to avoid staying here for a week or longer, but I have specific goals for studying now. My day is effectively over and I return to the inn for dinner and to meet back with Joaqim and Jim, neither of whom met with any noteworthy successes.

The next day I buckle down and get to reading. I read quickly, but woodworking alone has several relevant books present to choose from. Most of it is information I know or would just view as being common sense, but again, my goal is to take enough actions related to carpentry that I can pick up the relevant skill at my next level up. The next week for me is spent at the library, with the only breaks being a long walk when I go to eat lunch where I try to explore portions of the city, and at the dinners Joaqim, Jim, and I continue to share.

Jim is still striking out on finding worthwhile employment, but Joaqim is able to find a couple potential candidates for the adventuring group he wishes to build. Beyond that, the Falchions and armor we brought back are able to sell for quite a lot more than I’d expected, mostly due to the Falchions being rather valuable. Selling the 5 falchions, 2 spare studded leathers, and 3 leathers nets us a little bit over 71 gold per person. Sweet!

We discuss it and agree to stay one more week during which time I am free to do as I please. Jim decides that if he cannot find a better opportunity in the next week he will continue to accompany us for a little while more, and beyond that he will try and find some promising ruins in need of exploration. As to Joaqim, although he has found what he believes to be a couple of competent fighters to choose from, he has been struggling to find a qualified scout, and we would all feel better if we had one with us. I cannot stress enough the value of learning that there is something nearby that can overwhelm you with enough time to do something about it. Whether it was that monstrous eagle or that pack of 22 hobgoblins or probably several other creatures that we simply failed to notice: The only reason the 3 of us survived the trip to Diamond Lake is because nothing stronger than us cared to kill us. Relying on luck any further than you absolutely must is not conducive towards a long life.

And so, for the next week I studied for several more days until I ran out of books that I believed might be helpful. Next up? I purchased wood, and rented a studio where I would be able to build in peace. As I saw no benefit in hanging out at the inn and paying twice for a location I would be able to sleep at, I limit my expenses to street food and joining Joaqim and Jim for dinner, avoiding the room fee by staying at the rented studio. Dinner alone is far cheaper than dinner and a bed, bringing it down to 3 copper for dinner most nights. My total expenses have increased since I’m now paying a gold each day for the workshop, but I’m putting the studio to use during the day. I end up buying the wheels due to the combination of time constraints and relative difficulty, but in a mere 2 days' time I’ve completed a less than perfect cart. I would've done better if I didn't have the system tripping me up, but despite being ugly, it's functional.

The day before we leave I go shopping again. This time I purchase a map of the area, a weeks' worth of travel rations, a watertight barrel, 2 mules, some tack, feed, saddlebags, and similar accoutrements, and finally, I purchase tools. Lots of tools. I upgrade and expand upon my barebones carpentry tools and my leatherworking tools, I pick up another barrel to use for tanning, and I purchase some portable blacksmithing tools such as bellows, hammer, tuyere, a portable forge which is about the size of a barbeque grill, a portable anvil, which is smaller than a regular anvil but should still suffice for basic crafting, and so on. The tools I purchase are generally not top of the line professional level, but they are a big step in that direction. I also pick up some basic materials which I can use to craft and perform repairs during downtime. In all, out of the nearly 85 gold I entered I Diamond Lake with, and even after collecting over 70 additional gold from equipment sales, I’ve spent myself down to a mere 8 silver and 15 copper when we leave. Easy come easy go I suppose.

While in Metro I'd originally believed that a single piece of gold was quite a lot of money, but it turns out that Lizardfolk are just laughably poor. It hurts my soul, but I cannot let chances to craft pass me by, and that means I need to go all in on tool purchases. Some materials like wood and additional leather I count on being able to forage and prepare along the way; there are concerns related to moisture levels on fresh wood and so on, but honestly I don't expect to be working on major projects where warping will cause catastrophic harm. The focus on my purchases right now are the things I won't find readily accessible on the road. If I am going to be making magical items then I need to be able to make the base products, and for them to be worthy of enchantment they will need to be high quality. Which means I need both tools and enough practice to get the skills recognized and to become comfortable with the antiquated equipment. Which means practice. Which means time and gold, and a lot of both. Especially since I’m trying to not only be proficient in a huge number of skills, I’m also trying to be mobile so that I can keep leveling up in the process.

I really hope I'm not biting off more than I can chew here, but my class has already selected, and I think I have a pretty good feel for what it is intended to accomplish. To be able to make the most of my classes strengths, I'm going to have to spend a lot of time developing skills and making items and equipment. Ready or not, it's time to go.