Ken rose before the sun, breath misting in the morning air as he slung his basket over one shoulder and gently nudged the cottage door closed behind him. His father's fish trap—woven together just the night before—was tucked under one arm, and his own sat nestled in a net bag by his side.
The forest was quiet as he worked. He checked his small game traps first—two rabbits and a startled-looking quail sat waiting, their fates sealed in the night. After dispatching and field-dressing them with quiet reverence, he moved toward the stream.
After setting the two new traps he check his first one to see what kind of haul he had. His fish trap was full. Ken pulled out nearly a dozen river fish of varying sizes—fat, clean, and silver in the early light.
Perfect. He rinsed them in the current and packed them carefully in damp leaves.
On the way back, he paused frequently to forage. Wild parsley, lemon balm, chickweed, and even a clump of peppery wild cress found their way into his satchel.
At home, his garden welcomed him with rows of new green. He harvested green onions, a few sprouted crownroots, and fresh mint, then wiped his brow and stepped inside, ready for a morning of cooking.
---
[Basic Trapping EXP +6% → 45%]
[Ingredient Identification EXP +5% → 65%]
[Basic Gardening EXP +5% → 33%]
[Butchering EXP +4% → 21%]
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Meal Prep – The Market Batch
Ken laid out his ingredients and sketched a mental menu, mindful of time and available containers.
Dish 1: Forest Wraps (Take-and-eat)
Grilled rabbit strips with mint, chickweed, and lemon balm
Wrapped in flatbread, then in birch bark and tied with grass twine
Quantity: 5
Dish 2: Grilled Fish Cones (Take-and-eat)
Boneless river fish fillets seasoned with cress and parsley
Folded into toasted flatbread, served in bark cones
Quantity: 5
Dish 3: Claypot Root Stew (Hot meal)
Crownroot, green onion, wild herbs, and shredded quail
Thickened with arrowroot and sealed with a dough lid
Quantity: 3 (limited by claypots)
---
[Fire Control EXP +7% → 56%]
[Ingredient Prep EXP +6% → 75%]
[Meal Preservation EXP +4% → 23%]
[Food Packaging EXP +6% → 22%]
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Late Morning – Village Square
Ken arrived with his basket slung on his back and a handmade cloth sign tied to a stick: "Hot Forest Meals" scribbled in charcoal. He laid out his wrapped dishes on a flat plank table, propping up the claypots carefully on a stone shelf and placing the wraps and cones on leaf-lined trays.
At first, people slowed. They looked. They sniffed. Some smiled. But they didn't stop.
Hour one: Two curious looks. No sales.
Hour two: A woman asked what "arrowroot" was. Still no sales.
Hour three: A child begged for a wrap. His mother dragged him away.
Hour four: A merchant leaned over the tray, sniffed, nodded, and walked off without buying.
Ken slumped on his stool, arms crossed. His heart sank.
Is the food not hot enough? Are they nervous about the packaging?
Then he remembered: Back home… the old man came for the smell.
He stood quickly, grabbed a few raw fish fillets from his basket, and began to build a small open fire beside the stall. He stacked flat stones into a makeshift grill and laid the fish across green onion stems to keep them elevated.
The scent hit the air like a signal flare—grilled fish, fresh herbs, and firewood all mingling into something primal and irresistible.
People slowed again. But this time, they stopped.
"What's that smell?" someone asked.
"Are those fish cooking?"
"Do you have any ready?"
Ken smiled and pointed to the grilled fish cones. "Already wrapped and still warm."
Within ten minutes, he sold out of the fish cones. Then the claypot stews went next, a pair of fieldworkers trading salted jerky and copper coins for one each.
By the early evening, only three Forest Wraps remained.
Ken packed them gently into his basket, saving them for dinner at home.
---
[Ingredient Prep EXP +8% → 83%]
[Fire Control EXP +6% → 62%]
[Food Packaging EXP +7% → 29%]
[Sales Milestone Unlocked: First Market Sellout!]
+10 EXP | Ken EXP: 35/80
---
KEN — STATUS
Level: 4
EXP: 35/80
Unspent Attribute Points: 5
SKILLS UNLOCKED:
Ingredient Prep (Lv. 1 – 83%)
Fire Control (Lv. 1 – 62%)
Seasoning Sense (Lv. 1 – 60%)
Ingredient Identification (Lv. 1 – 65%)
Basic Gardening (Lv. 1 – 33%)
Basic Trapping (Lv. 1 – 45%)
Butchering (Lv. 1 – 21%)
Meal Preservation (Lv. 1 – 23%)
Food Packaging (Lv. 1 – 29%)
---
As dusk settled over Brimholt, Ken started wrapping up his things and prepared to head home for the night.
Today was a successful first day.
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