Chapter 2: A farmer’s life 2

~ PRESENT TIME ~

"Thinking back on it again, after working on Roland’s farm I was sure that my dream to be the greatest farmer was right on track. "

“Haaaa…..” with a long sigh I can only feel deep regret regarding my past actions

Making so many mistakes just after starting is normal. Most people do so as well. But I guess not everyone makes a big enough mistake that can potentially ruin your gaming life…

“How many BIG mistakes did I make exactly?” pondering that question, I started recounting my past blunders so that I never again make those stupid mistakes of my life.

~ RIYEN”S PAST RECOLLECTION (about 3 weeks ago, *real world time*) ~

Today I was in the fields helping to harvest them. This field seems to be growing *Rye* the main ingredient for the famous “Rye bread”.

“Here we go!” with a shout I place a large sack of rye on the back of an equally large wagon.

“Fuuuuuu…. that’s the last one, you can go now Alan” after getting my breath back, I tell the driver of the wagon “Alan” that he’s good to go.

“Is that so, well, thanks for working hard there Riyen, The boss said that after your done, you should head over to the barn” says, Alan remembering the instructions of Roland

“Barn? Is there work still left there?” I asked with a confused and worried look

Weird, I’m sure I already cleaned and fed the animals there. Did I forget to do something? And I have to make a mistake today of all days…

“Ha ha hah, don’t look so worried Riyen; it’s just that the boss is getting something from the barn. Today is the last day you are working here after all, I doubt you would make a mistake now” Alan says this along with a laugh so as to ease my worries

“I see, aha ha ha, well then I guess I’ll be heading to where Sir Roland is, thanks for that Alan” hearing what Alan said got me in a good mood once again

“Right, I’ll be leaving as well since I still have to get these to the storehouses until they can be delivered to the city, Hiyaah!” with a smile Alan then leaves for the storehouses

After seeing him off, I also make my way to the barn where Roland is…I was in high spirits cause today marks the last day I’ll be working here and also the day I become a “Farmer”

“Ahahahahahhahahahh…1 week just flew by! If this was a test then I definitely aced it! Roland will definitely offer me to be a farmer!” laughing out loud, I even start hopping like an idiot

Yep afterwards I’ll just need to buy a piece of land to work with then I’ll be set! I have a lot of gold so I’m sure I’ll be able to buy a decent sized land…

“Maybe in the near future I’ll have a larger farm than Roland. If that happens maybe I can get Alan to work for me instead!”

Hmmm yeah that’s a good idea.

Allan is an NPC working for Roland, he’s been a great help to me in these past week and I also learned a lot from him…He’s the head and the pseudo leader of all the helpers in the farm. But maybe he’ll have a farm of his own by then, I did hear him say he’s been saving up to start a farm of his own…

While lost in my thoughts and still hopping like an idiot I reached the barn with Roland standing at the entrance

“OH~ you seem to be happy Riyen, but I guess I can understand since today marks the end of your contract with me. Though I am a bit sad, I still congratulate you for doing a splendid job”. Roland tells me this with a bit of sadness

“Thank you, sir! I enjoyed working here since I also learned a lot this past week”

*Nodding* “Take this; it’s the reward for your work.”

*Ding!!*

Quest: Roland’s Farmhand has been completed

You have worked hard for a week on Roland’s farm and have earned his respect. For doing such a great job at the farm, you will be rewarded with pay equal to 6 people. You have also gained Roland’s recognition!

Rewards: 1gold 20silver

Intimacy +50

*Ding!!!*

Level up~

Level up~

…

Yes! I got 6x the reward money and even got 4 levels in one go! I already expected an increase but this was higher than I even expected.

“I’m truly grateful! You even gave me more than what I expected sir”

“Yes, well you deserved it lad.*Ahem* there’s something I want to ask you though Riyen lad”

“What is it sir?”

“Well……since you worked so well, what are your thoughts about becoming a true farmer? Do you wish to be one?”

*Ding!!*

You have earned the recognition of Roland and he’s offering to give you a chance to be a true Farmer. If you accept your class will be changed to a Farmer and you will be able to learn all farming related skills

Do you accept? YES/NO

Here it is! Finally! It really did just take 1 week of working here to be a farmer…I guess it’s not quite well known since I haven’t read anything about Roland on the sites I visited about farming. Anyways, this is great; I guess it’s time to become a farmer!

“Sir, I would gratefully accept your offer”

Happy with my answer Roland vigorously started shaking my hands

*Ding!!!*

You have accepted the offer to be a Farmer. All farm related skills are now open.

Since a Farmer isn’t a combat class it will be twice as hard to level any combat skills.

As a farmer you will now have the right to own your personal farm.

If you have your own farm then you will be obligated to pay taxes to the governing lord of your area.

The skill Farming will only gain experience by doing farm related work

You can work on other people’s farm but working on your own farm shall award you more experience

You are now a Farmer

bonus stats shall be applied

+20 to str

+20 to vit

+50 to stamina

You have acquired skills

- Farming

- Animal Husbandry

- Herding

- Taming (only applies to farm related animals)

- Blunt Weapon Mastery

“Great! Now I’m officially a farmer! And animal husbandry has finally been activated even though I already learned it earlier”

“Good, good…. also Riyen lad, how about staying here for a while longer? I’m sure there are still things you can learn if you continue working here”

*Ding!!*

You have been offered to stay and work in the farm for a while longer. Since you have impressed Roland, he now wants you to stay and learn more about farming. You will be given better wage and the chance to learn other farmer skills from Roland himself.

Reward: 5g 50s a month

Optional: You may learn additional skills and knowledge

DO YOU ACCEPT? YES/NO

Hmmm….I guess I should have also expected this…

If I stay here I can probably learn a bit more, I can also raise my farming skill here at the same time. A chance to learn additional skills is also tempting but…Too bad Roland’s farming style isn’t the same as grandpa so I guess it probably won’t work out. I also want to start working on my own farm as soon as possible so…

“I’m grateful for the offer sir but sadly I will have to decline since I already have plans of my own” I try to sound as apologetic as I can so I can refuse it more easily

You have declined Roland’s offer, intimacy with Roland has dropped

Intimacy with Roland -10

~BIG MISTAKE NUMBER 1, I SHOULD HAVE ACCEPTED HIS OFFER AND LEARN FROM HIM~

“Is that so……if that’s the case then I guess it can’t be helped…”

Roland seems to truly sad now. I should go now before things get too awkward.

“Well then sir I’ll be on my way right after I say goodbye to the others on the farm”

After hearing my words, Roland seems to have remembered why he asked the lad to come to the barn instead of his office.

“Wait a bit lad, there’s still something I forgot to give you so wait here for a bit”

“…….?”

Roland then enters the barn. After a few minutes he returns with something really surprising.

“Here lad, you can take old “Ollie” here with you”

“….ha?” is the only thing I can reply with. I am quite familiar with “Ollie” since he’s one of the horses I’ve been feeding for the past week…He’s also the quietest one of the whole bunch, maybe because he’s a bit older than the rest..

“Um.....I don’t understand sir, why are you giving me Ollie?” still confused, I ask the reason why he’s giving me Ollie

“Well you see here lad, Alan told me that old Ollie here has grown fond of you hence we decided to give Ollie to you as an additional reward” Roland proudly states this

“Ummmmm, I don’t know what to say sir” I really don’t know what to say! I mean it’s nice to get a horse and all but Ollie is already pretty old. He’ll probably die off sooner or later.

“Ahahaha, no need to be shy Riyen lad, though Ollie here is a bit old, I assure you he still has quite a few more years on him, also as a farmer having a horse will definitely be helpful” Roland then lovingly looks at the old horse like it’s a long time family member

“If you say that much then I’ll be glad to have him sir” not bothering to refuse anymore I decided to just accept for now and just think of a way to dispatch old Ollie here

Roland then handed me Ollie’s reins….

*Ding*

You have obtained a horse!

Ollie is now registered as your own. You will now be able to view all of Ollie’s status window

“Well then sir, I’ll be on way now since I still have to say my goodbyes to the others”

“Ah yes….do take care of yourself lad and Ollie as well...”

“Will do sir!” I then resume walking, this time pulling on old Ollie’s rein

“Too bad…here I thought I finally found a good successor for my precious farm…It seems he wants to start his own farm. fuuuuu*sighing*…I guess I can only wish him luck…” Roland says this in a voice too quiet that even he barely hears himself and continues to watch the departing boy with lonely eyes

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

After visiting the other helpers around the farm, I then went to the road that will lead me out of Roland’s farm. On the way I come across Alan returning on horseback.

“Whoa” Alan orders his horse to stop a few feet in front of me.

I also stop since I want to properly say my goodbye to Alan.

“I guess you refused the boss’s offer then. And I see your with good old Ollie here, you’re lucky Ollie’s a great horse” Alan says this with a slightly sad smile on his face

“I have to since I want to start my own farm, also if Ollie here is such a great horse, do you wanna trade him for Gilbert over there?” I jokingly replied to Alan though I hoped he’ll agree…

Gilbert is the name of the horse Alan is riding. If you want to compare Gilbert with Ollie, then just think of Gilbert as a stallion and Ollie as a pony, that should be enough to clearly see the difference between them.

“Ahahhahahah….though I know you’re only joking, you still should not say that in front of your own horse, he’ll get mad you know, and besides Ollie there is the precious horse of the Boss’s late son who died on the war. I heard Ollie carried the body back with him and refused to part with him until it became light and joined with the world”

“Is that so? It’s not entirely a joke though…anyways its good I got to see you before I leave.”

That’s the first time I hear this story. So old Ollie here got quite the story huh? But why would Roland give this horse to me if it’s such a precious horse?

“I feel the same, and I see you want to start your own farm huh…it won’t be easy but I guess you already know that…also are you sure about not staying here and learning more from the Boss? You can probably still learn a thing or two from him.”

“Yes, well, I’m sure…though I’m thankful for the chance, I feel I should forge my own path…I also want to give you my thanks for taking care of me these past week, I managed to learn a lot from you…”

*Nods* giving a single nod Alan sees that Riyen is already sure of what he wants to do

“Think nothing of it. You’ve also been a great help so if you learned anything from me, then that makes me happy as well…I’ll be off then, there’s still some things I need to discuss with the boss and I’m sure you want to be on your way as well, Hiya!” after saying all that needs to be said, Alan orders his horse to start moving again

Seeing Gilbert move I also start moving again passing Alan on horseback and me pulling old Ollie. A few seconds after we pass each other I suddenly hear Alan laughing

“Aha ha ha ha ha ha, Riyen be sure to master horse riding as well. It won’t do for a farmer to keep falling off his horse the moment the horse moves you know! Even the boss before he got fat was an excellent rider” considering this his parting words, Alan shouts this without looking back but still laughing quite a bit

“Geeze, it’s not like I want to fall of the damn horse…” I mutter this while feeling slightly embarrassed. I then pass the gate that’s both the entrance and exit of Roland’s farm.

After a walking for a while, I once again return to Morata. At the entrance I spot the “informant” and his group. I decided to walk up to them so that I could thank them for the info they sold to me.

~NEEDLESS TO SAY, THIS WAS A BAD MOVE SINCE THIS WAS BIG MISTAKE NUMBER 2~

“Hey guys! Thanks for the great info!” I immediately say to the informant’s group

“Oh~ fancy meeting you here, I see your pretty happy. You even have a horse with you, I guess you’re a “Farmer” now?” inquires the informant

“Yup! The horse was given to me by Roland for doing a good job. Ollie here is a bit old though so I doubt it’ll be much help to me. What are you guys doing here anyways?” I casually replied back

“Us? We’re just waiting for someone so we can start “hunting” heh heh heh” the informant and his group suddenly started laughing weirdly

“Anyway, what’s your plan now farmer?” asks the informant who seems to be quite interested with my affairs

“Hmmm? I plan on heading to a Real Estate Agency to inquire about land prices since I intend to buy some and start my own farm” I easily replied not minding their weird laugh

“Heheheheh right...well you should head on then, don’t let us keep you here” the informant says with another weird laugh

“Right….I’ll be going then” not wanting to stay any longer with the weird bunch, I enter the city and head to the Real Estate Agency

“Heh heh heh heh heh heh….yes we’ll be hunting real soon, real soon indeed” the informant quietly says this, and along with the people around him laughs while greedily looking at their prey

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

After leaving the informants group, I head to the Real Estate Agency L&D which was located at one of the commercial areas. This place is also something that I found earlier on my starting days here on Morata, with the “help” of other “people”. I tied Ollie’s reins to a pole nearby and quickly entered L&D.

“Greetings! Welcome to L&D’s Real Estate Agency where we find you the best place for the best price!”

Just after entering, there was a person wearing a suit that immediately greeted me. I was quite surprised at the sudden greeting but didn’t mind it since I thought it was the norm here.

“I assume you are here to inquire about land or housing? If so please follow me so I can introduce you to a “Realtor” of our company” with practiced smile and speech the person in a suit tells me to follow him

“Uh...Okay (Hmmm they’re quite the professionals; they must be well trained and quite used to their jobs)” thinking that, I quickly followed the person wearing a suit. We headed to one of the doors near the back. He then urges me to go in and talk to the “Realtor” inside the room

“Well then, I do hope you find a place you like dear customer, there are plenty of nice places so long as you have the money for it” after saying that and showing a business smile the person in a suit leaves, and I then enter the room

“Welcome! My name is Roy a “Realtor” of L&D, how may I help you today?”

Again for the second time today I was immediately greeted just after entering, this time, the person who’s also wearing a suit introduced himself as well.

“Ah, hello, I’m Riyen and I’m here to inquire about land prices here at Arpen since I intend to start a farm”

“Oho, a farm you say? Truth be told, there aren’t that many free land in the Arpen Empire anymore. Most of the lands have already been bought when the Empire was still only a “Kingdom”. The patches of land that are for sale are normally quite expensive”

Hearing what Roy said is already within my expectations. Arpen Kingdom became an Empire about 12 years ago in real time, even before that happened, a large number of players in the hundreds of millions flocked to Arpen. Players with a good sense started buying land early on and then sold them off when the price was at its peak, making a killer profit

“Well, how expensive are we talking about exactly?” I carefully asked Roy

“Hmmm…The price right now, based on “land owners” is about 100g per square foot if you intend to buy land near a city; the price here on Morata is twice that. If we’re talking about land further out then it ranges from 40-90g the cheaper it is the closer it’s on the border” Roy says this as a matter of fact

“Wha?! Those prices are insane!” I shouted, shocked at the prices I heard

Those prices are truly ridiculous, I did do a simple browse on the web about land prices before and I found out that land price on Arpen was expensive; I just didn’t know how expensive they are.

Damn…I got 4million gold with me, I used about 80k gold on my 4 weeks stay so I have about 3.92m left. If I buy land here on Morata I’ll only be able to get 19600 square feet, 39200 in other cities…It isn’t even half an acre if I decide to buy land here….Should I just buy near the borders then?

“Well…I’m pretty shocked to hear such prices…can you tell me more about lands near the border? I have less than 4million gold with me and I want to buy a decent sized land….” After weighing my options, I decided to inquire about the lands near the border

Hearing what I said, Roy’s eyes instantly sharpened and started to explain about different types of areas that are for sale. It took nearly 2 hours and hearing his descriptions of each area only discouraged me to buy there, and made me think it’s better to just buy land near one of the cities in Arpen

“Well that’s about all of it, since we are still in a state of war with the Haven Empire, it’s not really recommended to buy land near the borders. They get raided regularly and that’s why they’re for sale” Roy finishes with a seemingly caring voice

“………………………….”

Roy who’s observing me quietly and realizes that I seem to be unable to decide on what to do patiently waits for me…After a while though, it seems that he remembered something and calls for my attention once again

“I see that I just made you more uncomfortable with my “sales” talk. If you don’t mind, would you care to look at this?”

Roy then handed me a poster

“Huh? What’s this?”

Taking the poster and looking at it, I was surprised on what I saw. On the poster was scenery of a vast golden plain with rivers and a mountain in the background. At the top of the poster was the title, printed with big letters saying “NEW WORLD! VERMILLION CONTINENT!”. I of course have heard of Vermillion Continent, it was the latest continent discovered in Royal Road. It boasts of high difficulty and that only about 8% of the continent have been explored.

“What you have there might be an answer to your dilemma. Vermillion continent is very new and land price there is still incredibly low. For how long I cannot say”

“Really? But isn’t this place dangerous? And how come land from there can be sold? I asked now gaining a bit of hope

“Indeed it is dangerous, for now, that’s one of the reasons it’s still cheap. The answer to your second question are the pioneer guilds that first reached Vermillion Continent and “claimed” large pieces of land for themselves. I’m sure you want to ask why they are selling land they claimed. The answer is because that’s the reason they claimed it in the first place, and also to use gold from the sales to fund further explorations”

Hearing this finally gave me newfound hope on having a decent sized land. Still there are things I need to confirm first

“That sounds interesting, but is the sale of those lands valid? Also how much are these guilds selling their “claimed” lands for?”

“Good questions, for the first one, so long as the sale is audited by a licensed agency like ours then it will be valid. For the price, it depends on the guild but I’m sure it’s about 5g per square foot maybe less.”

Hearing what Roy said, I started calculating how much land I’ll be able to acquire.

If these guilds are selling land at 5g per square foot then with 3.92m, I’ll be able to buy 784000 square feet of land! If I convert that to acres, then it’s…..18 acres! But of course I can’t spend all my money on land. I will need to buy farm tools, working animals and seeds, probably wheat and corn first since they’re easier to cultivate

Already planning what I needed to do, I then ask the next question that’s probably just as important as the first two

“These sounds really good, so Roy, do you know any guilds that are selling land on Vermillion continent? You did hand me a poster about it so I’m guessing you also know a guild selling land right?” I concluded that the reason Roy showed me that poster was because he already knew a seller and will get extra commission if he can find a buyer

“Well……sadly I’m not quite familiar with any guild that’s selling land on Vermillion continent, and that poster was just passed to me as well. You will have to find a “seller” yourself. If you do though, it would be great if you hire me as a mediator and I can file it as well, for a small fee of course”

What Roy said surprised me, really, how many times will I be surprised in this place? I was also not expecting what he said. I thought for sure he’s already in-touch with someone, but I guess I was wrong. I’ll have to contact those “Pioneering” guilds myself then have Roy as a third party witness and also to formalize the deal

“Hmmm. I will try to find a seller then, I’ll return here once I find one, you will also be a witness for the deal right?”

“Naturally, it would be my pleasure”

“Well I’ll be going then, thank you for your time Roy, I’ll be sure to come back, so please work with me in the future as well”

“No, no, it is me who should be thankful, please be careful on your way” Roy then stands and opens the door for me and sees me off

~THIS PROBABLY IS MY BIG MISTAKE NO. 3~

After leaving Roy’s office I quickly went outside. I nearly forgot about Ollie, the normally silent Ollie made a groan when I turned on the opposite side. Hearing it, I quickly went back for Ollie and then head to the guild houses located on Bingryong square

Just before I reach the square, I again spot the informant sitting in a bench. Remembering the great info he gave me before, I approach him to see if he could give me other useful info

~THIS IS DEFINITELY BIG MISTAKE NO. 4~

“Hey! You’re alone now? I thought you said you guys are hunting?”

“Oh~ if it isn’t Mr. Farmer, they are doing what they need to do now, me on the other hand am tasked with something different. Seeing as you “approached” me, is there anything this humble informant can do for you?” asks the informant with a smile

Not bothering to try and understand his cryptic words, I began to ask him about what info I need

“Yeah there is, I’m looking for guilds that are selling “claimed” land on Vermillion continent, I wish to buy some to start my farm”

“Oho~ is that right, you’re in luck Mr. Farmer, I do happen to know a guild selling land on Vermillion continent and for a cheap price as well”

“Really!?”

“Yes, yes. I can tell you but, you know, it’ll cost you a small amount of gold since nothing is free in these world heh heh heh”

“How much?”

“Not much….only 50g it’s a bit higher since this is info no-one else knows yet. I assure you it’s worth it since you can get a good deal heh heh heh”

Hearing that, I quickly handed him 50g

“Thanks for your “patronage” yet again...Now then, the guild selling land on Vermillion continent is called “One Winged Seagull”. Since you’re a good customer I can guide you to where their leader is now”

“Huh? You know where the leader is?”

“Yes, well….I was just talking to him earlier and that’s where I got my info. Heh heh heh, pretty nice coincidence don’t you think? So what do you say Mr. Farmer? Want me to guide you or not?”

Seeing the informant getting excited and thinking how weird he is yet again…I reluctantly agreed to follow him. The weirder thing that happened is that we returned to where I was just at, L&D Real Estate Agency

“That’s funny; I was just here a while ago”

“Is that right Mr. Farmer? Well the leader of “OWS” was planning to sell his lands so it’s not odd if he goes to a couple of Real Estate Agencies”

“Well….I guess that’s true..”

“Ahh…speak of the devil, there he is, coming out right now”

“Eh?”

A dwarf person suddenly comes out of L&D along with someone I recognize. When I said “dwarf” I didn’t mean a small person but a real dwarf. The surprising thing is that the person the dwarf is with, is the “Realtor” Roy

“Lookie here, if it isn’t “The Rat”. We meet again sooner than expected” says the dwarf

“….If it isn’t Mr. Riyen, you’ve returned faster than I would ever have expected” says Roy

They both exclaimed at the same time not looking the least bit surprised at all

“Good timing, this young man here is the person I was just telling you about Mr Grud. The one who wants to buy land on Vermillion continent” Roy says to the dwarf named “Grud”

“Oho~, and here I was just about to go to “The Rat” there and buy info on where to find him. It seems I managed to save some gold ahahahahah” the dwarf Grud laughs like it was really funny

“Now, now….seeing as I did a good deed here, I can expect some “compensation” right? *wink*” “The Rat” then winks at the dwarf

“That depends if we can close a deal “Rat”. Now then, Riyen was it? I hear you want to buy land on the “New World”, I so happen to be selling some of my “claimed” land so I can develop my other lands on Vermillion. I hope we can both get what we want ahahahhahah”

Hearing about the sale of “land” I quickly focused on what the dwarf is saying

“Yes sir, I do want to buy claimed land on Vermillion continent because I heard that it was cheaper there. If you don’t mind me asking, for how much are you selling exactly?” I timidly ask the dwarf

“It’s Grud, call me Grud. Now then, the price I am selling my land is a fixed 2g per square foot and I have about 100 acres of land to sell…though I say “fixed” if one is buying a certain size then I won’t mind giving a bit of “extra”. What do you say Riyen? Interested?

Holy! 2g?! Roy did say the price was 5g maybe even lower depending on the guild that’s selling…but wait, this too cheap and what did he mean by extra?

Seeing my surprise turn into suspicion, Grud then shows me something that cleared my doubts

“I see that you’re a bit suspicious Riyen. Do you want to take a look at the lands I am selling?.” He then shows me a viewing crystal

Still suspicious at such a good offer from practically a total stranger I slowly took the crystal and viewed its contents. And what I saw blew my mind. Endless sea of gold of what seemed to be varying types of grass coats the land. These plants show just how fertile the land is. One can see herds of unknown beasts grazing and a strong flowing river. If you can describe paradise for wildlife then this is the place

“This…….you’re actually selling these lands for just 2g? That’s crazy!” The place Grud is selling is probably different from what I just saw since that’s the only explanation

“Ahahahhaha I can see that you don’t believe me. If I didn’t posses thousands of acres of such lands, I probably will have to price it at 30g at the least! Sadly I gained too much and can’t develop all of my land so I hope to find a young and promising “Farmer” that will take care of my lands instead”

Hearing his words made me rethink of my assessment of Grud. I actually believed his story

“…………….(So he owns a lot of land and can’t take care of them all huh…I should get as much as I can before he sells them to someone else)…I understand your worries Grud, and if that’s the case then I would like to purchase land equal to 3million gold if possible” I then tell Grud how much land I’m willing to pay for

Hearing what I said seems to have made Grud extremely happy since he now can’t stop smiling while looking at me…or the gold I posses

“Oho~ 3 million worth of land you say? That’s a lot more than what I was expecting from such a new player. Can you really pay that much?”

“Of course, I may look like a newbie but I bought that much gold with real money so I can start my farm”

“I see…..hmmmmm……I can tell you’re quite resolute and seem to have a promising future…If it’s you then……………..Alright! I’ve decided that I will sell you 50 acres of land for 3 million!” loudly exclaimed by Grud

“Wha?! Are you serious? You’re giving away over 15 acres worth of land!! I don’t understand, why would you do that?”

I couldn’t believe what Grud just said. That’s nearly half of what I intended to buy and would have costs another million or more!

“Ahahahahhahahhah…Didn’t I say from the start that I might give “extra” and I can tell your gonna be a “Great Farmer” in the future so think of this as a favour from me…Just that, once your successful don’t forget about me! Also if you doubt my “goodwill” my feelings might get hurt ahahahhahah”

Not wanting to hurt Grud’s feelings, I happily accepted his offer and shook hands with him. Roy was quietly watching us and seeing that I was already “Hooked” decided that it was time to complete the deal

“It seems we have reached an agreement. Now if you both would follow me inside then I will conclude the deal. “

We then follow Roy inside of L&D and headed straight to his office. After a few late greetings we started on formalizing the deal

“Mr. Grud, you did bring your “Land Title” right? The one verified by the Arpen Empire showing your ownership of your “claimed” land.”

“Naturally Roy, I never leave home without it ahahhahahhah”

“Good…Mr. Riyen I would just need your sign here, here, and here, also over here.Since I will work on this personally it will only take a short time to process. Now, Mr Grud, Mr. Riyen, these are your copies of the contract details, please make sure you read it carefully. The other papers will be delivered to you Mr. Riyen 3 days from now along with the “Deed of Sale” the payment for the land can only be given then and not before. Please make sure of this”

Roy was truly a professional. It was all over before I even realized what was going on and just signed the papers in front of me…After we’re done we head outside once again. Roy didn’t bother seeing us off since he needs to do a bunch more of things

“Whew! To think it would end so fast! I can’t wait to reach Vermillion and see my land! Anyways Mr. Grud, how do I reach Vermillion continent exactly? Is there a “teleporter” I can use?” with stuff happening so quickly, I nearly forgot about this important fact

“Ahh……you see….there are no teleport points towards Vermillion continent just yet…To reach it, you will need to ride a ship…It just so happens there is one leaving in 3 days” Grud says this with an uneasy expression

“Ohh~ a ship~ that’s nice, I’ve never been on a ship before and it’s leaving in3 days? About the same time as when Roy finishes his work. Hmmm….well I’ll just get on the next one since I still need to buy stuff for my farm and it’ll take longer than 3 days to finish that…”After saying all that, I headed to untie Ollie’s reins from the same pole as last time

Hearing what I said Grud started to panic for some unknown reason.

“Ah ha ha ha…wa- wait a bit there Riyen, It won’t be good for you to miss this ship.”

“Hmmm? Why is that?”

“You see, if you miss this ship, you will need to wait for another 6 months before another one sets sail…you then will have to wait 6 months before you can start farming anything…”

“What did you say?! Why didn’t you tell me this sooner! Not good, I won’t be able to buy all the things I need with just 3 days!!” Now it’s me who’s started panicking

“We-well if you ummm don’t mind…I can help you buy all the things you need, you just need to give me a list of the things to buy and quantity…With the help of my guild I assure you that it’ll be done…”

“Really? You’ll do that?”

“Of course! Didn’t I say that you have a promising future? Just think of this as added “Extra” ahahahhah…Just give me the list and your budget and we’ll buy everything you need. You can just enjoy the city until it’s time to leave wahahhahahahh”

Hearing what he said made me think that Grud really is a great guy…I then listed down all possible things I would need and the amount I was willing to pay and handed it to Grud

“Right, if this is all you’ll need then we definitely will be able to get all this…We’ll buy all this at “Lipton”, ah right…I nearly forgot again…You will need to go to the port town of “Lipton” since the ship you will be boarding is anchored there…Now then, I best get started…Riyen make sure you’re in “Lipton” in 3 days before noon, I will hand you the receipt there as well, and don’t worry about Roy. I will tell him to meet us there instead.” Grud then started to leave with a smile on his face

“Whew! To think there are such great people here! Now I don’t even need to worry about buying all the tools I need…ehehehheh…I’ll just play around Morata wahahhahahahahah”

While laughing and hopping like an idiot, Ollie looks at me with pity in his eyes…(not that I notice it) and so 3 days flew by and I headed to “Lipton”

~3 Days later~

I used the teleport service of Morata and went to Lipton. I was charged extra since I have a horse with me. Lipton seems to be a city full of life though I didn’t have time to explore it since it’s almost noon. I quickly headed to the port of Lipton. At the entrance of the port, I immediately spot Grud and Roy so I headed towards them.

“Oho~ Your finally here Riyen. I thought you might have gotten lost or worse cold feet ahahahah”

“Geeze….why would I get cold feet? I was just a bit excited and woke up a bit late; anyways did you manage to buy all the things I asked for? It’ll be a different story if you don’t have them though” I ask this so I can change the subject

“Ahahahahha….of course I got them all, here’s the receipt. It’s a bit more than what you expected; it’s not a problem is it? If it is then I might have to return some of the stuff back”

Taking the receipt from Grud I saw that it is higher than what I said my budget is. Seeing as all that I asked for was here I didn’t mind it much and handed Grud my “Card” I then inputted 450000 gold on the screen that popped up and pressed “Confirm”

“Cards” are used to handle large gold transactions on Royal Road. Nowadays instead of carrying massive amounts of gold, you just pass the “Card” that you posses then input the amount on the screen. You will need to open an account on a “Bank” managed by an NPC from the system or “Private Banks” that are run by players…I happen to use the former one mainly because I was still a newbie. You are given up to 5 “Cards” by either one and if you want more you’ll need to pay a small sum…You don’t need to worry about it being stolen since it’s just a card, money will only be transferred if you wish it to, there’s also a tracking magic on the “Cards” which will alert your “Banks” if the card isn’t in your hands for 1 month or if you press the “Alert” in your status window. All in all, it’s not smart to steal cards since you will definitely be hunted down

~THIS IS TRULY BIG MISTAKE NO.5~ Should have checked the items first, no I should have bought them instead….

Grud checks the money on his own window screen then smiles, satisfied with what he saw.

Once again, Roy was just watching us quietly and with good timing finally presents us with the contracts and deed of sale.

“Now then, Mr. Riyen, here is the contract and deed of sale for the claimed land you bought. A copy will be given to Mr. Grud and another one will be at the administrative office. The contract will be active once the payment is given to Mr. Grud”

I took the papers from Roy and then smile. I can see my name written on the “Land Title”. After looking it over twice, I then inputted 3million and press confirm on the window in front of me. The papers in my hands along with the one with Grud suddenly shined.

*Ding!!*

You have acquired land!!

- You will be able to see detailed information of your land once you have set foot in it

- You can now build facilities on your own land

- You are now obligated to pay tax to your governing Lord. Since your status is a farmer 3% of your yield shall be taken as tax

- Your personal map is now updated. Your land will be highlighted in Green

Your deal with Grud has been completed; now your contract shall be valid and binding. If this contract is breached, the party responsible shall be dealt with by the Arpen Empire itself!

“With this the contract has now been concluded. I do hope both parties are happy with the deal” declares Roy

“heh heh heh heh heh heh of course I’m very happy eheh heh heh heh” Grud replies while still looking at his window now with an ugly smile

“Yes, I’m very satisfied. Ah… I nearly forgot about your commission Roy, so how much do I have to pay you?”

“Please don’t worry about that Mr. Riyen, Mr. Grud already promised to take care of it…isn’t that right Mr. Grud?”

“O? Ah, Yes, yes no need to worry about that. Now all you need to worry about is getting on the ship, it’s about to leave soon ahahhahahhah”

“Are you su-----------------“

~TOOOOOOOOOOT! TOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOT~

“You can hear the ships honking it’s horn now, Take a good look Riyen, this will be the ship you’ll be boarding “The Tempest Downer” ain’t she a beauty! Better hurry now, my guild members will take your goods and store it to the cargo hold”

I turn to see the ship I’ll be boarding. If I have to describe it then it would be….a Warship. Yep a warship…I’ll be spending 5 days on a warship. According to Grud “The Tempest Downer” is a Class 1 Magic Propelled Ship. It’s about 50 meters in length and posses 8 cannons on each side. Its main gun that looks like a railgun is placed at its deck. Despite its size, this ship is ultra fast since it only needed 5 days to reach Vermillion continent. Grud told me about this and that but I didn’t understand anything more. Once all my stuff was safely inside, I also boarded the ship.

“Oh right~ you don’t need to worry about the wagons since you also paid for-------------------------------“

~Tooooooooooot TOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOT~

Before I can hear the rest of what Grud is saying, the horn of the warship sounded again and it begun to move. And so my journey towards Vermillion started, at this point I was still filled with joy daydreaming of the awesome things I will be doing on the land I bought. But disaster struck right after arriving at Vermillion in the form of giant insects.

To be Continued…