Ozzy didn't sleep a hell of a lot the night before their first day off.

He was finding out he really didn't need to.

Sleepless in Seattle meant he could get by on four hours of sleep and feel well rested.

But it had taken nearly a week to adjust to the skill.

Sleeping was a habit and even if your body didn't need the rest, your mind was in the habit of taking that time off.

Long before the sun rose he was awake.

He went down to the river where some of the women did the washing.

He filled a tub, stripped, and tossed his clothes in the cold water and added a bit of lye soap he found near the stacked tubs.

He scrubbed the clothes, dumped the filthy red water, and refilled the tub to let them soak.

His job really got both he and his clothes filthy.

He'd tried rinsing them out at night, but they really needed a good long soak.

So did he.

He knew the water was cold, but it really didn't bother him much.

A lot of things didn't bother him - and that fact bothered him.

The "don't worry, be happy" buff was always on.

After both he and his clothes were clean, he wrung them out to remove as much moisture as he could.

He had to be careful, it felt like he could easily rip them in half.

By the end of the week he had picked up his third level in STR.

That brought his total to 6.

He'd felt the same feeling of getting more powerful, but hadn't grown any bigger.

Instead, it felt like his muscles tightened.

They were more corded, less bulky, like they were made of steel wire.

This wasn't necessarily a good thing.

The text once again suggested he might want to focus on constitution or risk injuring himself.

At the end of the day his shoulders and elbows were sore as hell.

He'd made a visit to the general store the night before and bought some new clothes.

There was still a baggy look to the pants and tunic, but they were much better made than what he had started with.

The fabric was some sort of coarse, thick wool.

It was dyed in a light brown color.

The man running the store had said it would get softer after a couple of washes.

He also got a wide leather belt with hooks to hang a pouch.

A new set of heavy leather gloves and work boots completed his purchases.

He was burning through the money he'd gotten from pod testing, but he needed the clothes.

His first set was worn out after a week of hard work and multiple washings.

Thinking of his friends, he used the rest of the money on three more sets of boots, socks and heavy hooded cloaks for each of them.

Can't go adventuring without a nice cloak.

Ben, Rolly, and Suzette were quite thankful for the upgrades.

They wondered if they'd each get a chance at the relatively easy money; but neither Ben nor Rolly had died yet, and Suzette said she'd just played some games while dead and not received a message like Ozzy had.

Walking over to the barn, Rolly retrieved the gear they had stored behind the hay.

They had four wooden spears with carved bone tips.

Each of them had an eating knife that wasn't quite a dagger.

Ozzy took his hammer and cleaver.

The others also had a short wooden cudgel.

Pretty primitive shit, but they were also going after level 0 creatures.

At most level 1.

Ben had tried to craft some leather armor, but his skills and available patterns were mostly saddles and tack.

He had managed a sort of padded back and breast set from two saddle pads and a lot of straps added.

They were bulky, but better than nothing.

Suzette, Rolly, and Ben planned to wear them.

Ozzy would stick with the heavy leather apron he always wore.They each had packs, some food, and water skins.

Suzette had some first-aid supplies and herbs in a basket, hoping she wouldn't have to use them.

As the sun came up, they put everything in a pile and headed back for the morning debriefing, after which they planned to immediately take off.

The rest of the workers were there milling around and eating the ever-present groat muffins.

Billy came out of his hut and for once had no paperwork with him.

"Congrats folks! We all made it through our first week.

We got a lot done and made a good dent in things.

We'll pick up tomorrow morning right at dawn with some new goals.

But for today, you get a day off.

I made sure management kept their word on that.

Trust me, most any other manager would have you working 24/7 if he could.

This project means that much to ACME.

But I told the head office, "Hey, these guys are working hard.

They deserve that day to themselves.

We'll be back to it on Monday morning." I've got a bit of clout upstairs, so I went to bat for you.

And I want you to have fun.""But seriously, I've got to be honest with you.

I worry some of you are going to try and go do the adventurer thing and bop turtles on the heads for some experience and weapon experience.

It's not easy for a Contract Worker.

We got you guys a lot of skills that will pay off down the line, but we didn't figure on anyone trying to play Conan.

But that's up to you.

You want to get mangled by a rabid fox or piss off a bear? Go right ahead.

Good for you to die a few times and get it out of your system." "Of course, if you want to play it smart and avoid that, there's some things you can do around the village.

First, take a nice walk and go shopping.

I'm advancing you all another 100 copper on your paychecks.

And there's free lunch and dinner at the tavern with a complimentary ale at each meal.

My little thank you for a week of good work.

In the afternoon, I thought we'd work a bit on some quality of life stuff.

Fix up the huts a bit with some better cots and stuff some mattresses.

I'll bet we can make them downright liveable.

And for tonight, I've got marshmallows to roast on the campfire.

Should be a good time." "But, whatever you want to do is just fine by me.

Just don't say I didn't warn you.

Alright, off with you."

Billy has offered you a lovely package deal to help you spend your day off.

It includes:- +100 copper coins.

(Your salary will be docked 100 copper coins).- Free lunch and dinner with an ale at each meal.- Free classes on how to stuff mattresses and make homemade cots and stools.- A dozen marshmallows around the fire to celebrate the first week.- Your promise not to go do something stupid like trying kill things in the newbie zones.Y/N?