Select Reward:

1. Farmer's Almanac

2. Pesticide

3. Small Seed

60 seconds until random selection.

Nico stared blankly at the text box. The system had horrible naming sense, if it had such a thing. After thinking it over, the timer ran out.

Receive Bracelet, the Pesticide.

A copper bracelet appeared on Nico's left wrist. There were no symbols or craving on the bracelet, just a simple nondescript band that resembled more like a copper wire than a bracelet. There were no descriptions of the bracelet.

Tasks:

Plant and Harvest 5 Bushels of Vegetables. 0/5. Remaining Time: 30 days. Reward: Choice Box.

Catch 500 Fishes. 11/500. Remaining Time: 15 days. Reward: Roulette Coupon.

*New* Gather 100 Bushels of Vegetables. 0/100. Remaining Time: 15 days. Reward: Roulette Coupon.

Nico returned to Stein Lake and searched for a potential sleeping spot.

The first few days, he slept in the open alleyway with only a blanket as coverage. The makes.h.i.+ft tent he had built the first day was quickly taken over by an old vagrant the following day. He didn't want to get jumped, so he let it be. Luckily, it only drizzled the night before.

Since it didn't matter where he stayed, Nico decided to find shelter near Stein Lake.

A portion of the lake was located within the village zone and the fisherman regularly used the area for fis.h.i.+ng. The founder had probably planned it that way when the village was built. The area west of the lake was flat and perfect for farming. Nico wasn't particularly sure of the mechanics behind the safe zone, but the beasts have stayed away from the village. Only small birds and creatures could be seen roaming within the zone.

In the southern field, Nico found a maple tree that stood between two sections of the wooden fences. There were no defined border so it was hard to tell whether the area was inside or outside the safe zone. He draped a blanket on a branch and anch.o.r.ed it down on the ground to form a tent.

Nico placed a dead log nearby the tent, and piled dead branches and straws on top of the log. He tied a piece of leather string around an arched stick to form a small bow. Holding a stick and bow, he spun his fire contraption. The stick wasn't smooth, so there was a lot of awkward movement.

He had produced some smoke, but no visible ember. After exhausting all his energy, he took a moment to breathe. It looked easier on tv.

He scanned his surroundings for a flat piece of rock. Once he saw a piece of rock he liked, he gripped the rock with his left hand and anch.o.r.ed it on the stick for stability. He furiously worked the contraption. Once he could see a bit of ember, he gently blow on the embers. The fire flared up. Without much time to celebrate, he quickly fed it more straw and branches.

By nightfall, he had managed to grill two small piranhas and make beech leaves salad.

Nico savored every bit of the fish. It was the first time he had any source of meat in his body. He wasn't adventurous enough to try sus.h.i.+.

Nico carefully watched the movement in the wilderness. The scent of grilled fish attracted some predators. Nico could feel their amber eyes from the distant forest. In reality, the wilderness was nothing but pitch black to the naked eye. It was likely his imagination, but he felt danger. It was an eerie sensation he had not felt before, and he wondered whether it was the Midnight Koi or Pesticide that was triggering the feeling.

Nico removed the bracelet and the sense of danger disappeared.

Nico stared at the bracelet in frustration. He wouldn't be able to sleep with the bracelet on. The images of the beasts' eyes kept appearing in his head. However, if he didn't wear the bracelet, the feeling of unknown danger was going to drive him insane.

Nico decided to keep the bracelet on and focused on planting the radishes.

The field was off from the road, and partially hidden from view. It was within distance of the lake, making it a good location to plant radishes. He couldn't plow the field since it might have an owner, but he could plant it sporadically to blend it in with the field.

He walked closer to the village side, and the sense of danger suddenly disappeared. Nico paused and thought for a moment. He paced away from the village, and the sense of danger reappeared. He concluded that the safe zone did have some mythical properties. Old Fatty had been right about the land being blessed in some ways.

The fire pit was located outside of the safe zone, but luckily the tent was in the safe zone.

He decided to sow the seeds in both the safe zone and the unprotected land area.

After planting in a couple of spots, he had half a bag of seeds remaining.

Nico fell asleep when fatigue overtook him.

Before sunrise, Nico gathered his belongings and packed everything back in the small basket. Nico repeated his routine of fis.h.i.+ng in the morning and gathering leaves in the afternoon. In the late afternoon, he found another field in the north and started to plant the remaining seeds.

He bought two water buckets for 5 copper pieces and watered both fields. It took several trips to water the fields.

On the day when it rained, it was both a blessing and a curse. He didn't have to water the radishes, but there were many other problems.

When it rained, the fish became more aggressive. Netting the fish seemed easy, but if the fish were too aggressive, they could damage the net. Every time that happened, Nico had to re-tie everything. He thought about buying an actual net if it happens again.

He earned around 15 copper pieces a day, but he would rather keep the money for other necessities.

Another problem was the market. There were fewer stall vendors during rainy days. Shops were still open, but there were barely any customers. With fewer people shopping, the fishmongers were less willing to buy.

Although he wasn't able to sell the fish, he maintained his routine until the task was completed.

Congratulation, Catch 500 Fishes Task Complete.

Receive Roulette Coupon.

He excitedly clicked on the Roulette Coupon, he felt giddy like a kid again.

A strange wheel appeared in front of him. There were strange lines and symbols that covered the wheel in a language that wasn't from Earth or Kelseran. Upon waking up in a body of a young boy, Nico could understand the Kelseran language that were commonly spoken in the village of Rinlin. Although he could understand Kelseran and recognize the written language, he didn't know how to read it.

However, he could read and understand the strange symbols. The text in the system was written entirely in these symbols.

The wheel was curved with symbols that roughly translated into Eternal Life Wheel.

Nico watched the wheel spin, first slowly, then quickly, in reverse, and then forward. There were no particular reasoning or pattern behind the movement. After examining the wheel, he lightly touched it. The wheel stopped and an arrow landed on a symbol. It glowed and the wheel disappeared.

Receive First-Aid Ointment Recipe.

A new icon appeared on the lower right.

Recipes:

First-Aid Ointment

Nico clicked on the recipe.

An elaborate box appeared for the First-Aid Ointment recipe.

The recipe box displayed 5 ingredients, each with its corresponding images. Honey, ginger, sage, lavender and pennywort. Underneath, there were detailed directions on how to make the ointment.

Nico could experiment with the ointment later, but he had to complete the gathering task first as there wasn't much time left.

He had destroyed a lot of beech trees, but he finally completed the task.

Congratulation, Gather 100 Bushels of Vegetables Task Complete.

Receive Roulette Coupon.

The roulette landed on a different symbol.

Receive Spirit Enhancement.

As soon as the announcement appeared, he felt a bit stronger. The Midnight Koi danced around inside of him and his sense of the surrounding had also increased.

Tasks:

Plant and Harvest 5 Bushels of Vegetables. 0/5. Remaining Time: 16 days.

Since he only had one task, he focused on creating the ointment.

Although there were only five ingredients, it was not a simple recipe. There were heat, age, quant.i.ty, and many specific requirement that he wasn't able to meet without better equipment. He could only make it according to instinct.

Congratulation, First-Aid Ointment Grade F created.

Well, that wasn't too bad, he thought. It was his first attempt. He had minor scratches from climbing trees, and decided to test it on himself. He jarred up the remaining amount, but he wasn't sure if he could carry it with him.

He decided to gift the First-Aid Ointment jar to s.h.i.+rley. Out of everyone in the village, s.h.i.+rley was the one who had been constantly giving advice when needed. There were no library and books were expensive. The only way to gather information was by talking to the villagers.

s.h.i.+rley was touched by the gift. He told her the ingredients, so she wasn't too concerned about using it on herself. They were basic home remedies that could be found everywhere.

As someone who worked the farm, she had many calluses on her hands. The ointment was soothing and emitted a nice scent.

After a few days, the calluses were disappearing.

"Nico! I can't believe you have made much an effective ointment, you have to make some for me!" Kanna, a middle aged clerk from the Pinaton Shop, approached him.

It was not the first time someone had approached him about the ointment. s.h.i.+rley was one of the biggest gossipers in the village and it was easy to relay information just through her.

After seeing the effect for himself, Nico realized that selling ointment jars was a good source of income.

"All right Mrs. Kanna, it's not a problem, but can you teach me how to read?" asked Nico.

From what she had heard, Nico was selling the ointment for 50 copper pieces per 1 oz jar. She had also wanted to exchange him with something rather than money. If it was only teaching, she was more than willing to a.s.sist.

"Sure, come over to the Pinaton shop before noon," she agreed.

The Pinaton Clan owned the shop, which carried many medicinal herbs. They were one of the main families that owned the vast majority of land in Rinlin. The current head of the family was Baron Quilo.

Nico spent most of his time fis.h.i.+ng and making ointments while waiting for the radish to mature.

The radishes had been growing steadily and only a few were lost due to rodents and rabbits. There were slightly more radishes on the safe zone side, but he had no definitive proof since he didn't have a way to count the amount of radishes he had planted.

The ointment was a big seller and extremely popular with women. It was surprising to see a hunter requesting the ointment.

Most hunters had a higher standard of living than farmers and vendors. However, it was a dangerous occupation.

"My wife was telling me about," explained Lorne, the hunter.

Nico nodded. Lorne was Kanna's husband.

"I wasn't interested at first, but when she was redressing my wound, she spattered a good amount on my injury. It was actually quite nice and didn't sting like the other ointment. Healing time is good so I thought it would be nice to have while hunting."

"I have been getting a lot of orders, but I can prepare another jar," Nico responded. "Instead of money, can I come along on one of the hunts?"

Lorne hesitated for a moment. "A hunting party is quite dangerous and we can't guarantee your safety, are you okay with that?" asked Lorne.

"You hunt wild boar, how dangerous can it be?"

"We have a good team, so it's usually not that dangerous," said Lorne. "However, since it's in the wilderness, there are worst creatures than the wild boar. We usually only hunt once a week because of all the preparation needed."

"How many do you bring along?" asked Nico.

"Just 4," said Lorne.

"Can I also get a weapon?"

"I have a broken spear that might work," said Lorne. "You don't need a full length spear with your height anyway."

The next hunt was in three days. Nico prepared more ointment to sell and four jars as gifts for the four hunters.

Early in the morning of the hunt, Nico arrived at the southern gate of Rinlin.

He saw Lorne with a group of people on the back of a wooden horse carriage. Nico hopped onto the cart and greeted everyone. Although they appeared harsh and disagreeable at first, they didn't give Nico any difficulty. If anything, they had already chided Lorne for bringing a kid along.

Nico didn't know that Lorne had promised the others to carry him off if there was danger.

"Nico, this is Cobalt, he's going to be leading the hunt as the trapper," said Lorne, who was carrying a spear.

Cobalt signaled the carriage rider to head south.

Nico stared at the tall bearded man in his late 40s. He seemed to be the most experienced out of everyone. He also had the biggest leather bag Nico had ever seen. Nico was a bit jealous since he was still carrying the straw basket on his back.

"Mayan is a hunter and Logan is a scout," said Lorne.

Mayan was carrying a spear while Logan was carrying a bow and quiver on his back.

"What does a scout do?" asked Nico curiously.

"A scout keeps a lookout for danger," replied Logan.

"Trappers and scouts have similar skill sets, but they focus on different things," Lorne further explained. "Trappers search and set traps for the prey. Although it is frowned upon, some hunters leave traps out over night hoping to catch something. It's rare, but there are hidden traps left over by irresponsible hunters. The scout role is to look out for manabeasts and wolves."

"Manabeasts?" It was the first time he heard of the term.

"They are evolved creatures with mana core," said Cobalt. "They are stronger than regular animals and extremely deadly."

"What are mana core?"

"Crystallized mana, usually located near the center of the creatures," said Cobalt.

"Do we have mana core?" asked Nico.

Mayan, the spearman, laughed.

"What a funny kid," he said. "People have spiritual roots, not mana core. It's the foundation for all cultivation and magic."

Cultivation and magic? Nico haven't seen anything like that in the village.

"It's not unusual for you not to know," said Cobalt. "Most people are unable to cultivate."

"Are you able to?" asked Nico.

"I'm only at the 7th stage of Gathering. Only those in the 1st stage of Condensation are considered cultivators. I might not be able to become one in this lifetime."

"7th stage is already considered a lieutenant in the army," explained Lorne. "I'm only 4th stage, and could become a sergeant if I wanted to."

"How do you measure these stages?" asked Nico.

"By the Halostone in the Shrine of Darbi," replied Lorne. "Most people who test it out for fun will only waste their silver. The majority who haven't started to cultivate will most likely start at the 1st level."

"How do you gain level?" inquired Nico.

"There are many ways, like learning from the academies or using cultivation techniques, but they are all difficult," said Lorne. "The Kelseran Empire distribute the Kelseran Cultivation Method. That's how I was able to learn, but it's difficult for me to describe how it works."

Nico had more questions, but it wasn't long before they reached their destination. The foot of the Rinlin forest wasn't too far from the village.

The rider steadily pulled the reign and halted the horse upon arrival. The hunters unloaded everything they needed from the cart.

Lorne instructed Nico to leave his belongings in the carriage. If they came across a manabeast, it was difficult to outrun it with so many baggage.

Lorne briefed Nico on some of their protocols and gave him the 4-foot long spear.