Each morning began the same way: gray light, damp wind, and the sound of work already underway.
Drew moved from shop, to workshop, to dock studying under different craftsmen each with their own habits, tempers, and expectations. Some spoke little. Others corrected constantly. None wasted time.
With the carpenters, he learned structure how wood wanted to bear weight, where it failed first, how a poor cut could doom an entire project hours later.
Drew learned that lesson the hard way.
He had measured twice, marked the beam carefully, and cut with what felt like practiced confidence. The piece slid neatly into place, flush against the frame. For a moment, he felt a quiet satisfaction.
The carpenter stopped him with a single raised hand.
“No.”
He pressed his thumb into the beam, right near the joint. The wood flexed ever so slightly, but enough.
Drew frowned and leaned closer. Now that it had been pointed out, he could see it: the fibers angling away beneath the surface, the stress already gathering where the load would sit.
“When the weight comes on,” the carpenter continued, tapping the joint once, “this will split. Not now. Later. After you trust it.”
“Do not waste wood” the carpenter chided. “It only grows on the oldest of Islands, and it grows slowly at this altitude.”
With the wicker weavers, his fingers burned and cramped as he learned how strength could come from give rather than rigidity.
The sail spinner taught rhythm, the quiet endurance of long, precise work, while the sail patcher showed him how to find mistakes after the fact and how to fix them without wasting what had already been made.
By the end of each day, Drew returned soaked, tired, and aching.
And each night, the system quietly took notice.
Carpenter — Structural Fundamentals
[SYSTEM UPDATE]Skill: Crafting +900 XP (Foundational Technique)
Skill Effect Gained:? Hand stability increased during repetitive actions? Minor reduction in tool slip errors
Learning Source: Master Carpenter
[SYSTEM UPDATE]Skill: Intelligence +400 XP (Applied Instruction)
Cognitive Effect:? Improved pattern recognition during supervised tasks
(Crafting now 900 / 3,500 | Intelligence 400 / 1,500)
-
Wicker Weaver — Tension & Flex
[SYSTEM UPDATE]Skill: Crafting +850 XP (Material Tension Control)
Skill Effect Gained:? Improved consistency when working flexible materials? Reduced fatigue during fine hand movements
Learning Source: Wicker Weaver
[SYSTEM UPDATE]Skill: Intelligence +350 XP (Cross-Discipline Transfer)
(Crafting now 1,750 / 3,500 → Crafting Level 2 reached)(Intelligence now 750 / 1,500)
This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.
[SYSTEM NOTICE]Skill Level Increased: Crafting → Level 2
Passive Benefits:? Minor efficiency gain across all manual crafting tasks? Error recovery speed slightly improved
-
Sail Spinner — Precision & Rhythm
[SYSTEM UPDATE]Skill: Crafting +900 XP (Precision Workflow)
Skill Effect Gained:? Improved hand eye rhythm during long duration tasks? Reduced quality variance between components
Learning Source: Sail Spinner
[SYSTEM UPDATE]Skill: Intelligence +450 XP (Process Abstraction)
(Crafting now 2,650 / 3,500 | Intelligence now 1,200 / 1,500)
-
Sail Patcher — Error Correction & Repair
[SYSTEM UPDATE]Skill: Crafting +850 XP (Failure Integration)
Skill Effect Gained:? Improved detection of weak points in finished work? Reduced material waste during corrections
Learning Source: Sail Patcher
[SYSTEM UPDATE]Skill: Intelligence +300 XP (Adaptive Problem Solving)
(Crafting now 3,500 / 3,500 → Crafting Level 3 reached)(Intelligence now 1,500 / 1,500 → Intelligence Level 2 reached)
[SYSTEM STATUS UPDATE]
Subject: Drew Wilson
Location: Arawinaya Territory
State: Active
Overall Level: 1
Skill Overview
Crafting: Level 3 | Current XP: 3,500
Navigation: Level 1 | Current XP: —
Aether Control: Level 1 | Current XP: —
Storm Affinity: Level 1 | Current XP: —
Endurance: Level 1 | Current XP: —
Volucite Resonance: Level 1 | Current XP: —
Combat: Level 1 | Current XP: 500
Intelligence: Level 2 | Current XP: 1,500
Drew could feel the difference the increased crafting and intelligence levels provided. He moved slightly faster in his work, had better memory recall and made fewer mistakes. Or at least he was learning these new skills faster here in this world than he did in his old one.
[SYSTEM ANALYSIS]
Growth Vector Identified: Non-Combat Specialization
Risk Assessment:
- Survival Probability increased in controlled environments
- Survival Probability unchanged in hostile encounters
Note: Environmental stability required for optimal survival outcome.
Each night, Drew met with Thren and Hernando over tea, answering questions about Earth. Thren quickly accumulated a stack of journals, each filled with careful notes drawn from Drew’s oral history.
In return, Drew pressed them about his new world.
“You’ve both mentioned the professor who grafts the Tzoma Kai,” he said one evening. “How long has he been here?”
“Fifteen season cycles,” Thren replied. “Three additional Tsk arrived with him.”
Drew nodded, then asked, “What was he a professor of?”
Hernando answered without hesitation.
“Chemical and Biological Engineering. He came from a city called Boulder. He discovered what he called a ladder of heaven a path that led here.”
Drew frowned. A professor and a group of graduate students vanishing from Boulder should have made the news back home. He couldn’t recall hearing anything about them.
Then again, he had disappeared too lost on a hike gone wrong. Perhaps their arrival was similar?
He dismissed the thought almost immediately. Everything he had heard about the professor painted a colder picture, someone deliberate and calculating. Not an accident. Not a mistake.
The question lingered anyway.
Just how many people from back home had crossed into this world?
“And the Tzoma Kai vines what makes them special?” Drew asked.
This time Thren answered, his voice slower, more deliberate.
“The Tzoma Kai grafts are not sanctioned vines. They are hybrids. Every other vine was granted by the Kachina after a trial, Tsk.”
He finally looked up.
“You saw the men who could fire spines from their arms?”
Thren’s gaze shifted briefly to Hernando.
“Those men carry a graft formed from the Arawinaya Stoneweft vine combined with an unknown strain.”
Hernando exhaled sharply.
“Wanting to create hybrids is what got them exiled and myself excommunicated.”
He clenched his fists.
“For the church the vines are divine gifts, passed down by saints and should not be experimented with by mortal men.”
Thren added.
“The purists in your church would… say that the vines are not in your holy book and thus should never commune with a man’s blood.”
After a moment, Thren shifted topics and turned to Drew.
“You depart for Deadwake at sunrise. I control a dock and several shops there.”
His expression grew more solemn.
“The other students under the Maestro de Ribera are learning to build ships for competitors. Learn from them…but do not trust them.”
He paused, letting the weight of it settle.
“This is a significant investment in you. When you return, I will expect you to add to my flight”
Drew gulped and nodded, uncertainty and excitement battling inside of his gut.