Gregory was amazed at how advanced the Native American’s understanding and use over magic was, demonstrating a certain profound knowledge that puzzled even Gregory. Looking about at the people, he saw that some of them even showed mythical creatures having been mixed with them. ’How exactly does this work? All the shaman said was that the children go through a ritual, and that it merges their nature animal with their bodies. Some of these people look like birds and are giving off flames, indicating a phoenix. For that to be true, it would mean that any animal in existence could be a person’s nature animal. Especially considering the phoenix came from Greek mythology, and was likely never even here. How then is the nature animal chosen. It can’t be a favorite animal, but is probably somehow connected to how a person’s personality is. If that is the case, what would that make me?’

”How does a person end up with a nature animal? It seems like almost everybody has a different animal, so it doesn’t seem to just be a favorite animal. I know that this question seems rather strange, but I am really very curious.”

The shaman responded back, as truthfully as he could without giving away the exact secrets of the ritual.

”Well, it seems that every person’s soul houses an animal naturally. The animal it houses depends on the person. What I can say is that what we do brings that animal out, and the strength of the person determines what takes over. I have seen some of the children transform into the animal entirely and cause a rampage, needing to be stopped to prevent destruction.”

Gregory looked shocked, but also interested in what the man had said. ’With this being the case, would it be possible for me to also be transformed in this way. I really don’t want to cause danger to my future though. I just can’t decide what the best course of action would be. For now though, I will ask about helping make weapons for the village.’

”It seems you appear interested in this ritual. It would be possible for you, but we’d like you to first become a part of the tribe before we do anything like that.”

”I was actually thinking I might help you in crafting weapons and armor for your tribespeople. I can tell it is something probably necessary, and my expertise may be beneficial to you.”

Gregory was not going to craft any items out of metals, but would make them weapons out of wood and stone as they were already doing. Whatever he could do to help these people and gain their trust would be a good thing. If he could learn from them before leaving himself, he would come out far ahead from what anybody thought possible.

”Well, we could use that. If you would like to assist with that, we could really use the help. I know you come from a peaceful time, but there are constant wars between the tribes. It is why we cannot trust you right now. You may be from another tribe, and trying to disguise yourself.”

”I will do whatever I can to help then, lead the way.”

Nijuga first led Gregory to the chieftain first though, wanting to see what the chieftain thought before anything else.

Before Gregory stood a giant man, seemingly further transformed than many of the other people. He had no visible tail, though it was rather obvious why. His head looked similar to that of a bear, and his body certainly had the physique of one. After a few spoken words to him by the shaman, the chief looked down at Gregory. As he spoke, his voice boomed like the voice a kind should have. It was a voice without fear, and with total conviction.

”I understand your name is Gregory. My name is Nahko, and I am the chief of this tribe. I can tell from your scent you are not of this tribe, or even this land. There is something that smells very different about you. If you want to fit in and stay though, I recommend you see about wearing the same clothes as everybody else. Now, I understand you want to help by making weapons. I first want a demonstration of your work. Have something done by tomorrow morning, and I will let you do that if you meet up to my expectations. Keep in mind also, it needs to be fitted for every man. I want something made for me, so remember that when making whatever you make. Nijuga will direct you to a tent and give you tools to complete your task there.”

At this, Nijuga left without a word, leading Gregory to the tent before saying just one more thing.

”I wish you the best of luck, truly I do. You seem like a good person, and it would be nice to have another curious mind about the village.”

Nijuga returned shortly with the tools and clothes, before leaving. Beginning to craft, Gregory noticed a window pop up, wondering what could possible cause such a thing. Looking at the window, he realized that the system was evolving itself. It recognized that Blacksmithing was short on the crafts, and split it to completely cover all crafts present and future. The system notification indicated that there was now a weaponcrafting, and armorcrafting skill in place of blacksmithing. This made more sense anyways, as it now allowed him to gain more crafts than just those requiring metals to be created. Gregory then pulled up his skills list, wanting to check on what is new.

SKILLTIME WARPACTIVEThis skill creates a warp in the fabric of time, allowing one to travel through and reach other times. In order to do so, one must have an anchor in the time they wish to travel to. If in the future, it must be their present, if in the past, it must be either their past, a shared past, or another anchored point through objects.LEVEL = 1COST = 1500SKILLARMORCRAFTING[INTERMEDIATE]PASSIVEThe user can create any armor they know about, with a quality that depends on the level and materials. Effort and LUK are deciding factor on whether or not the armor will be unique and have unique qualities.LEVEL = 54COST = N/ASKILLWEAPONCRAFTING[INTERMEDIATE]PASSIVEThe user is able to craft any kind of weapon that they can imagine. Quality depends on level and materials used. Effort and LUK are determining factors in whether or not the weapon will be unique and have unique qualities.LEVEL = 54COST = N/A

Considering that Gregory had trained in that skill substantially, and almost entirely in armor crafting after the time at the blacksmith’s, it did not surprise him that they both had the level of 54 now. It did pleasantly surprise him that even armorcrafting was intermediate though. He expected it to be either lower leveled or not intermediate. Still though, it didn’t both him, and it only drove him to further improve his skills.

After having created the items, the first a large club made of a heavy wood with a large stone wrapped in place at the head of the weapon; the second a shield with heavy branches around the border, and multiple layers of leather in the middle. These items seemed fit for a man of that size, and from what he saw around the area, were easily stronger than most items from the locals. If these became his job, he may even be able to level up with just these materials being used. Especially considering his time would no longer pass, and he could just do this until such time as he could get away or learn from a shaman about the magic these natives used.

’I wonder though, the chief called them clothes. I don’t think the word clothes was used by the Native Americans. I think they referred to their clothes as skins or some other word in their language. Perhaps this Gamer’s Gift skill is more powerful than I even realized. It seems to translate words into ones I would immediately understand for what somebody would call something. Working the same in reverse is also a must, since they never looked at me in a strange way. Granting such a powerful ability along with the other benefits I’ve seen, seems almost overpowered for just one skill.’

Also, Gregory’s status window had changed. DEX and END appeared as new statuses in the list. While he had gotten faster as his AGI went up, it was more so that AGI went up as he gained DEX. Seeing as how the abilities in his status window currently limited him, these new abilities would improve his arsenal. They would also reduce his combat effectiveness though, since it meant the need to focus on more abilities with his status points. Viewing their effects, he saw that DEX focused solely on how quickly he could move. He also saw that it had more impact per point on speed that AGI previously had. In fact, it gave him a full mile-per-hour faster movement for every level, which seemed to be a really good amount considering the current point value. This meant that he had actually gained more speed than three AGI would have given him. END on the other hand directly affected the body’s ability to take hits. It was based off strength currently, and as a skill reduced the damage taken from all physical attacks. The one thing that seemed best about this status was that it would also likely reduce the damage taken from weapons such as his Xi Blade. At present, it gave resistance at a rate of .5% per 10 levels, or 1% per 20 levels.

Gregory went to sleep for just an hour, before shooting awake. Seeing as he had changed, leaving his modern clothes inside his Protected Space, there was nothing to make him seem too different from the people of the tribe. His hair and skin though were still starkly different from the others, but it wasn’t enough to tell in the dark without being close. Then again, these are almost all part animal, and would likely be able to see in the dark. Regardless, Gregory was out taking a walk, and the chief had made known that he would be in the village for now. When the chief awoke, he would come to Gregory to see the work he had done, and Gregory had finished a weapon and shield, but then decided to make more. There was plenty of time, and he figured it would help his standing. Grabbing the sinewy muscle of a deer, and a long log of wood, Gregory got to work again. Inside his tent, he got the muscle into the form of a bowstring, and was now working on getting the wood into the form of a bow. He wasn’t taking long, not wanting to craft a unique weapon if he could avoid it, but wanting to make sure the quality showed through. Such a combination was tough to pull off.

Morning came though, and the chief walked inside the tent. He half expected Gregory to be asleep, so finding him working on a fourth item shocked him. It was a stone dagger with a good sized blade and large handle, one that seemed perfect for his hand.

”Alright, based upon your skills, I will make you a member of the tribe. We will be having a ceremony later today, and I expect you to be looking your best.”

Nahko left Gregory’s tent, and would leave him to make his preparation for the welcoming ceremony. A first time that he had ever seen in the village.

Below is the updated Status Window.

NAMEGREGORY NEAL FROSTCLASS/CLASSESTHE LEGENDARY GAMER, LEGENDARY GREAT SAGE, LEGENDARY LUCK MASTERTITLENOVICELEVEL9HEALTH190/190MANA3340/3340STAMINA250/250STR21END21VIT19AGI25DEX27INT167WIS230LUK517UNSPENT STATUS POINTS45