Chapter 3: A farmer’s life 3

~~~~~~~~~~~~PRESENT TIME~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“God damn it!!! Now that I’m thinking about it, I already made five freakin stupid mistakes because of those sunovabi**! Die! Die! Die! All of those bastards need to die!” yelling like crazy, I even started beating the ground with the hoe in my hands

“Haaaaaaa………Haaaaaaa………Haaa…..Damn….wasted energy for no good reason again….better continue with my work now since I’ll have to log-off earlier today” regaining a bit of my sanity I started working again…..

“DOOORRRRYAHHHHHH!!!!!!”………*Clink*

“KAMEHAMEH***********”………*Tink*

“HIIIIIIIIIYAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!”……….*Clink…..clink*

“HADOKE***************”………*clink…clink..clink*

“GOMAGOMANOBA******”………*Krrrr…..*

“GETSUGATENS**********”………*Baaaannngg*

“Eh...?”

While I continue plowing the land while shouting tons of weird words to psyche myself up so that I won’t lose to despair. I suddenly heard something disturbing…There was a strange sound coming from the ground which I thought was just rocks….clearly it wasn’t, I even thought I fired an actual getsugaten***

“Wha…..no way….no no no no NO!!” It seems my luck is still going strong…and it wasn’t towards good.

The loud sound that I heard was my hoe shattering to pieces…I was incredibly confused because this hoe was made from steel, made by a top class craftsman. At least that was what the blacksmith on this village said. It also has high durability since I’ve been using it for a while and it only dropped by 10 points out of its 300 max durability, but now, it’s “head” was gone, which doesn’t make any sense

“My precious hoe… what did this to you…MY PRECIOUS!!!…...” I search the ground wanting to find the culprit and exact revenge…what I saw was not what I expected…

On the ground something black could be seen…realizing that it was the culprit I quickly un-earth it. Its length is about 3-4 feet. The strangest part is that…

“It’s made of wood? How the fu** can wood shatter steel!?” I cried out. The thing in my hands is clearly made of wood, what type I don’t know since identifying it kept failing.

Seeing that it was truly made of wood, I forcefully restrained my anger. If I didn’t, I might have started beating myself, since it must have been my fault that my precious hoe got destroyed…After a while of reflecting, I took the canteen which has less than half remaining and started drinking…thinking that this was all just part of my miserable fate…

“*glug*glug*glug*…..Wheeeewwww…….good thing the river is still here. I can get as much water as needed but it doesn’t seem to be of any help for me atm….what did those damn insects do to this place!!….and now my only hoe is gone as well!!! …”

Yes though the land now is barren, the river that I saw on the crystal still exists…after shouting a bit more and hitting myself with the stick that I found I concluded that enough is done for today

“………………..”

“Time to call it a day……….I’ll let you off with just this much today you piece of shit land but once I return I’ll definitely make you cry!” I started to leave after “threatening” my own land; I can only leave since my hoe’s no longer in one piece and I would need to have a new one made at the village

Though I say that with conviction I am well aware that it’s just one of the defense mechanisms I instinctually made to support my mind…another thing keeping me together is my beloved horse, Ollie….

“I forgot…I need to get water for Ollie since we’re running out...” Remembering to get extra water, I “carefully” head to the river with two large buckets I took from my “tool shed”

I need to emphasize the word “carefully” since going to the river is a life threatening action that I must do on a regular basis. I’ve nearly died 5 times from just trying to take water from the river. Insanely strong monsters frequent the river besides me so I learned to be especially careful. I even learned “Stalking” from one of the villagers which hides my presence to a certain extent and help increase my survival rate

“……………..coast is clear……….” I already activated “stalking” while walking towards the river. Seeing that it’s safe I quickly filled my buckets and hightailed it out of there

If anyone is wondering what I was “stalking”, the answer is the “river”. It might sound weird that I’m stalking a river but oddly enough it works…I tried stalking a rock before but it failed miserably. The only thing I can be sure is, that if anything “moves” then I can stalk it living or not

After leaving the river at high speed without spilling any water, I finally reach my “Cabin”. This cabin was built with the help of the villagers, I naturally paid them for their help, but for once I was truly thankful for it…I saw some farm tools I forgot to put in the shed, namely, my broken hoe, so I first made sure to put it inside, only then did I finally enter my cabin…

“I’m back………how are you feeling Ollie? Here I got some fresh water for you…I didn’t encounter any monsters this time aha…..ha….ha…”

With a weak laugh trying to reassure Ollie, I pour water on the bucket near him and put the rest on a larger sized version of my large buckets. I then decided to check Ollie’s status window to see how he’s doing

“Ollie’s status window, open”

Status Window[quart=Name,Species]Ollie,Horse[/quart]

[quart=Owner,Class]Riyen,Farm Horse[/quart]

[quart=Level,loyalty]100,Max[/quart]Health400/3000Status(Weakened State)(Disease *Low*)(Injured)[quart=Strength,Agility]200,100[/quart]

[quart=Vitality,Stamina]250,400[/quart]

[quart=Intelligence,Wisdom]80,0[/quart]

[quart=Luck,Defense]100,100[/quart]Skills

- Sprint

- Tackle

- Unwavering Courage (passive) (Depends on Loyalty)

“Fuuuuuuuuuuu…… your health has climbed from 50 to 400 now…and disease turned to low…good news Ollie! It seems your recovering well; we still need to be careful though so more bed rest for you”

“Brrruuuruurururuurhuhuhuu…….”

“I know you want to work as well but you need to recover first….If you die I might just delete this damned character….so be good Ollie”

“Brrrruhuhuh”

Seeing Ollie agreeing, I went to a cabinet near the bed to get Ollie’s medicine ointment and gently applied it to the wound at his stomach and neck…I make sure to properly put enough ointment then bandaged the wounds again….

“Good thing I also learned the veterinary skill from Allan before I left the farm…haaaa….why did I refuse Roland’s offer?” Seeing Ollie’s wounds made me remember that scary event yet again…but also remind me of why I grew so fond of this old horse….truly Ollie is such a great horse…

Yet again I remember that fateful day…it was just after I reached Vermillion continent and started heading to this forsaken land…I just have to meet the TOP predator on Vermillion, truly my luck has abandoned me….

~~~~ RIYEN”S ARRIVAL ON VERMILLION CONTINENT (about 21 days ago real time) ~~~~~

Finally, I can see land again…..my heart is racing with excitement at sight of land that will be called my new home! I almost want to jump in the sea and swim there; of course that’s a bad idea, first because the ship will be hundreds of times faster than me swimming and second because if I jump out to the sea, the monsters lurking there will tear me to shreds in seconds………………After a few more hours, the warship finally docked on the port of this city. I then immediately head out

~~~~~YOU HAVE ARRIVED AT VERMILLION CONTINENT’S PORT TOWN *NEW END*~~~~~

Suddenly a window popped in front of me confirming that I arrived at Vermillion continent. This town seems to be called *New End* which is pretty odd. I mean why would anyone name a town “New End”? Though I find it weird, I decided not to mind it much…Just before I could run, the Captain suddenly called me to a stop

“Hold yer horses there lad~! You aren’t forgetting something are you? You young ones, always in a rush” the Captain says this in a tone that indicates that he’s seen this one too many times already

“…………? I thought that Grud already paid for my ride? You said so yourself, captain” Not understanding what the captain wants from me, I just tilted my head…

Also why does everybody call me lad or boy or young one? It’s not like I look like a kid right? I mean I especially made my avatar a bit older and my face a bit uglier than what I really look like…

(I didn’t know it at that time but anyone whose wearing novice gear will always be called something along those lines. Wearing beginner equips practically tells people that you’ve just started after all)

“Aye. There’s no need to worry about payment lad, what I mean is your cargo. This ship will only be on this harbour for 3 days lad, so you can’t leave it here. You’ll need to take it out today cause the cargo hold will be filled with stuff from this place”

What the captain said made me remember all my stuff that I forgot because of my excitement. It was also a bit surprising to hear that the ship will only be here for 3 days. Grud said that it takes 6 months before a ship can set sail towards Vermillion continent so I assumed that this warship will be staying here for a while

“Right my stuff~ thanks for reminding me captain. It’s pretty surprising that you’ll only be here for 3 days. I thought for sure this beauty will be staying here for a while” I head back to the ship while saying that

~Har har har har. She’s a beauty ain’t she? Well lad, this baby here is warship of the Arpen Empire and there’s still an ongoing war with Haven Empire so we can’t afford to keep this ship far away” explains the captain in a happy voice. It seems praising his ship always gets him on a good mood

“Oh right~” is the only thing I said before I left the captain and head for the cargo hold

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

Since I already went to the cargo hold once before by asking sailors then, I manage to reach it this time rather quickly since I didn’t get lost anymore. When I reached the place, I saw that there are lots of people here already. They didn’t pay me much attention anymore, not like on the first day anyways. I head to the spot where my stuff are and inspect them like what other people are doing with their goods

“Hmmmmm…..hmmmmm……hmmmm” I opened a sack from inside of one of my two wagons, I naturally chose the one at the front. Inside I see “corn seeds” that’s one of the best grade there is. I open another and see a bunch of potatoes, they’re gonna be my starter crops until I get the hang of farming

Happy with what I saw on the first wagon, I then head to the second one. Inside are tools of varying sizes that will be used for farming. I take one out to check it and I was very pleased. On my hand is a “Hoe” made from steel. I saw similar ones on Roland’s farm so I’m sure that it’s top quality item. I bring out bring out several others such as “Forks”, “Rakes” and even a “Shovel”. There’s even a plough inside but I didn’t take it out because it’ll be a hassle. I also notice that once I pulled out my tools, the looks of the other people started to change as well.

I decided to put several items into my personal bag; I then took some rope and headed to where my horses are at. When I approached the horses, the players around me started to give me a funny look once again. I didn’t bother minding it and just admire the horses in front of me; Ollie was there as well of course.

“Whoa! Whoa~…… easy boys we’ll be getting off now so don’t make a fuss now” I said to the five horses I owned, scratch that, six if Ollie was included

I took two horses out, the ones that will be used to pull the wagons and set them up again. I already learned how on Roland’s farm. I then return to take out the others. I couldn’t help but stop and admire the three horses that I now own. These three can almost be compared to “Gilbert” Alan’s horse, that’s how nice they are. “Almost” because they’re clearly not yet thoroughly trained like “Gilbert” but I didn’t mind since I will personally train them anyways. I took their reins, used the rope that I have and tied them at the back of one of my wagons. I then connected that wagons horse to the back of my other wagon. I return for Ollie and tied him at the front since he’s the most experienced of the bunch, I’ll use him to lead the others.

“Hmmm……not bad if I do say so myself” Happy with my work I started pulling on Ollie’s reins and we started to move. I saw that it’s moving exactly as how I wanted, I then head out.

I see that the captain is still at the same place as last time. I bid farewell to him when and he just gave me a nod

I checked my personal map to verify the location of my land. I was extremely happy to see that my personal map is now updated to that of Vermillion along with the map Grud gave me before. I see a small dot in green on the map indicating where the land I bought is located

“Hmmm….I can’t tell if it’s near or far…..no matter, I have a lot of food and water in my wagons already so it doesn’t matter how many days this journey might take” Deciding that reaching it is the most important thing for now, I headed to the exit of this town. As I reach the exit, several “Guard Dogs” stop me

Now I say “Guard Dogs” because the guards are literally “Dogs”. I did hear that the natives of Vermillion are mostly “Beast People”. These “beast people” are most likely the ancestors of “beastmen”. They’re called “Beast People” and not “Beastmen” because they are normally “Beasts” that has a “humanoid” form. “Beastmen” on the other hand are beasts with natural humanoid forms. Well that’s the short summary and it seems these “Guard Dogs” won’t allow me to pass

“HALT! Where do you think you are going hyumen?” asks one of the Guard Dogs

“Well……..I was planning to head over to the land I bought…..I never heard that there’s some kind of condition to leave this town” I say to the dog that asked the question

“There is no condition hyumen, we just stopped you because your leaving by yourself” says the dog

“Ha? There’s no condition but the condition to leave is that I have to be with someone?” now I’m really confused

“Grrrrrrrrrrr……..hyumen……seems you are new here….haaaaaa…Fine! I shall explain why we stopped you. First! you seem weak! Second! you seem really weak!! Third! since you are weak, the moment you leave this town, you will die!”

Ughh…seems I made the dog angry…but what the dog says makes sense now that I think about it. On all the sites I checked while I was offline at the ship, all says the same thing. Vermillion is “harsh”. Monsters are so strong that you need a decent “group” and not just a “party” if you want to venture out. Seeing as I nearly made my first blunder, I was thankful to the dog and decided to give him some meat I have as thanks.

“Ah~ Right~…….what was I thinking, I appreciate you stopping me sir Guard Dog. Here please take this to show how glad I am for your help.” I handed the dog guard a very large piece of meat.

“You….are you really giving me this large piece of meat?”

“Of course. Also if you could point me to where I could hire mercenaries to accompany me, I would be forever in your debt”

“Grahahahahah.. Hyumen it seems you are a nice fellow though a bit dumb and weak! You may call me Dug-ahn. I am the leader of the guards here at New End. For the mercenaries you will need, I will have someone escort you as my thanks for the meat. Jiro! Go escort the hyumen”

“Yes Dug-ahn…also, can I have some meat after?” asks Jiro while looking hungrily at the meat

“Yes, after you escort him, all clan members shall have a piece of this large meat grahahhaha”

“Ahhhh….praise the Dug-ahn….now hyumen follow me! So I can eat some meat! Hurry now….” Jiro now rushing me to follow him

“Right…………thank you for this Dug-ahn…also my name is Riyen. If you will excuse me then it seems Jiro is already a bit far away…” Thinking how much their attitude change with just a piece of meat, I started pulling on Ollie’s reins to follow Jiro

“I shall remember it…….hyumen….Riyen…” Dug-ahn started repeating the hyumen’s name so he doesn’t forget it

“Hyuumeeen! Hurry! Hurry!......grrrrr” now it’s Jiro who’s growling

“I’m moving as fast as humanly possible Jiro”

“Grrr…hyumens are always so slow!!”

“haaa…really now. Do you really want to eat meat so much?” thinking that giving some meat to Jiro might improve his attitude, I was about to take a small piece of meat when the change I saw on Jiro made me rethink my actions

“YooooUU have more MEAT!! Grruhh gruhh” Jiro jumped in front of me with a really excited look if I describe it kindly and a really crazy look if described normally..

I was taken aback and immediately denied having more extra meat and quickly backing off

“Uwaahh! S-sorry to say Jiro but I don’t have that much left……I gave a lot to Dug-ahn remember?” I say that while nervously taking a few steps back

“Grahhh…I remember…grahh…nooooow….hurry along hyumen.......” Jiro turned and started walking quickly again

“………………….”

“…………………”

We then walk in relative silence and soon reached a building that looks like a tavern…no it is a tavern.

“In there hyumen…you will be able to find good mercenaries in there……guaranteed by Dug-ahn……I will be on my way…now” Jiro then walks away, no he ran quickly back…

Seeing Jiro disappear I head into the tavern. *Creak* the door made a customary creaking sound when I opened it. Inside the tavern is exactly like one of those old school cowboy movies on the *Prehistoric Channel* with old school looking thugs, I mean mercenaries. Looking around once, I head towards the bartender, which happens to be a very, very sexy woman. She has her hair tied in a knot and wearing a tight fitting dress and what appears to be jeans (?). She also has sharp looking eyes that seems like it could tell truth from lies. The moment I reach the counter, I decided to greet her with an old school greeting which I think fits the place

“Howdy~ I hear this place is where I can get quality mercs. Think you can be of help missy?”

I say this with a very serious and straight face thinking that first impression last…and it truly does. Because right after I say this, the barkeeper and everyone else inside the tavern started laughing, laughing at me.

“Hahahhahahahha…..mercenaries you say…hahahahhahahhah…….you walked in with such a serious face that…hahahhahahh…..I thought that…hahhahahah….you wanna duke it out with everyone here.hahahhahahh” the barkeep says fragmented words while laughing uncontrollably, her bountiful breasts bouncing in every direction

I can feel embarrassment filling my Virtual Body with all the laughing I hear. I wasn’t able to think of anything else to say cause of the humiliation I was dealt with.

“Ahahhahahh…..sorry little boy….really….hahhahahh……don’t take this personaly…it’s because you said something that could have been from that shitty *Prehistoric Channel*…hahahhahahah” the barkeeper was apologizing to me but still kept on laughing with her breast swaying along with her movements

“If you’re sorry, can you please stop laughing already!” my embarrassment was starting to turn into anger…also I didn’t dare say that it truly was from the said channel

“Ahahahh……*Ahemm*…..right…mercs…you need mercs, is that right? Everyone you see here are mercenaries…jobless…drunk….and got debt they won’t be able to pay anytime soon kind of mercenaries”

“…………………..” hearing that, made me think that I probably got the wrong place

“Hahahha….don’t look so serious boy, it makes me want to laugh again ahahahhaha….”

“Your already laughing again…..maybe this place isn’t the one Dug-ahn mentioned…the ones with mercs he guaranteed to be good” I started to turn around after saying that….then a change happened inside the tavern

“Wait…….Dug-ahn told you to come here?”

“No…He said a place with good mercs…that Jiro probably got lost or something.” I tried to continue walking but the guys that where drinking suddenly surrounded me

“Hoooo~ Since Dug-ahn himself sent you here…it means he at least acknowledged you…Did he try to remember your name?” now the sexy barkeeper is looking at me with sharp eyes again

“…….y-yeah he did….what about it? Really can you guys move? I’m gonna go back and tell Dug-ahn that Jiro got the wrong place” getting scared now, I try to squirm away from the guys blocking me

“No need little boy….you didn’t get the wrong place. Since you’re sent here by Dug-ahn himself, it would hurt our reputation if we let you leave without hearing your request. Welcome little man to our mercenary company....The ANTLION Company” The sexy barkeeper proudly says this with a really scary smile on her beautiful face

Seeing her change from a sexy barkeep with calculating eyes to a sexy laughing barkeep and now to a sexy barkeep with eyes of a hunter is truthfully quite fascinating. If only these guys around me would scatter away then I would be quite comfortable here

“Now then little boy…My name is Claudia; you can state your business now…just to warn you though, since you’re sent by Dug-ahn, we will give you a small discount, even so, the price of our services isn’t cheap. The amount will vary depending on what job you want from us”

“Ummm….can you tell these guys around me to go away first? I don’t intend to leave so this is unnecessary no?” I pleaded, being surrounded by muscular guys isn’t really nice, virtual or not

Claudia signals for the surrounding men to leave and I start telling her about what I want. I simply told her that I need mercs to escort me until I reach a certain place. She then asked if I could show her my personal map so that she can gauge the dangers and possible expenses that it might need of which I oblige. After asking about this and that she finally gave me her decision

“So it’s just simple escort service…the trip would take about 15 days, and it isn’t a round trip….The area you need to travel isn’t that dangerous as well…haaa…..I thought it was a big job since Dug-ahn sent you but…nevermind…It’ll be 1000g per mercenary little boy, food and other necessities will be on you. You will need at most 6 people so how about it?”

Hmmm….1000g wasn’t as high as I thought…I don’t mind feeding the mercenaries as well. The fact that it will take 15 days is the most surprising part…I guess I just need to figure out how many mercenaries I will need…she said 6 at most since it isn’t that dangerous…but just to be sure…

“Alright, I’ll hire your mercenaries Claudia. I’ll take 10 of them, no need to worry about provisions.” I’ve decided to take more than what she recommended just to be on the safe side

“OH? Really now? That’s surprising…..anyway the pay has to be upfront, I don’t accept “later when we reach the place” kind of reason since we got “runners” and “bankrupts” as our clients before.”

“I understand…” I then handed Claudia my card, the same one I handed to Grud and paid her there and then.

*Ding!!*

You have hired The ANTLION Company mercenary group

You have hired 10 mercenaries as escorts for your travel. You have paid the agreed upon price and they are now obligated to protect you against any dangers you might encounter. You agreed to procure the provisions necessary for the 15 day journey until you reach your destination.

The mercenaries hired will need to follow your commands no matter what. If they rebel or disobeyed you, then you will be entitled to reclaim the money you paid and their company’s reputation will drop.

Mercenary Reputation: ★★★★★

I checked the system window that appeared. It seems Claudia also got a system notice and was satisfied with it.

“Good…now, do you want to pick the mercenaries you want to bring with you? Or shall I pick for you little boy? Though I assure you everyone here is as good as the best hahahah” It seems Claudia knows that I can’t tell good mercs from bad ones so she offered to help.

“I’ll leave it up to you Claudia, also can you stop calling me “little boy”? I know it’s late but my name is Riyen, I would appreciate if you call me that”

“And here I thought you liked being called little boy since you never said your name, alright little boy I’ll pick the mercs you’ll be bringing along”

Haaaaaa….it seems Claudia has no intention of using my name…no rather it feels like she got attached to calling me “little boy”, I hope I’m wrong though. I then hear Claudia call the mercenaries that will be travelling with me. It seems she doesn’t like using names since she just points at someone and yells “You” or “That Idiot over there” until she got 10 people. I started to think that maybe its better that I choose them myself, but that’s no longer possible.

“Now then little boy, these 10 idiotic drunkards will be the ones to accompany you. Just call them bum 1 to 10, I’ll leave it up to you to number them yourself”

“…….ah Claudia-sis we got actual na……”

“neesan…….my na…….”

“QUIET…only people who make money has a name….you lot are nothing but dirt until you complete this job”

Two guys tried to speak but Claudia shut them up ruthlessly. The rest of the mercenaries didn’t dare utter a sound, same goes for the other people in the tavern. Looking at this made me feel sorry for them.

“It seems you don’t have any complaints little boy….they may look like a sorry piece of waste paper but their skills are the real deal. So when do you plan on leaving?”

“…………today if possible…..I want to reach my land as soon as possible you see”

“………………WELL! You heard him right? Why the hell are you dirtbags still just standing there! Go get your KAIRIRIS and prepare them for travelling! Don’t forget anything you shitheads, if you do I’ll stuff those empty bottles up your asses” roared the sexy barkeep now looking like a demon…

“………………..ummm I’ll be outside to check my stuff….and do any last minute preparations that I need” seeing that the hired mercs ran outside, I tried to excuse myself. I wasn’t leaving because I was scared of Claudia that turned into a demon, yep definitely not…….

“Wait…..little boy…..”

“………………?” I stop walking but only turned my head to look at Claudia

“You do know what you bought right?”

“Hmmm? Of course….I bought land….is there something the matter?”

“No……….nothing….well, good luck on your journey……..and I hope you don’t regret anything”

*Nods* I just answered her with a nod and then pass the creaking doors.

When I got outside, I saw the mercs already assembled and beside each one is a large chicken….no is that an ostrich? They look really fierce and really big. Each one is bigger than a horse. They have saddles on their backs that made me remember “CHOCOBOS” from some long lost game

“Seeing as how you’re staring at them I would guess this is the first time you’ve seen a Kairiri? I would suggest not to stare too much cause it might make them feel threatened and start trampling you”

Hearing what the man at the very front of the group say made me avert my eyes at lightning speed. It seems he’s one of the two guys who tried to talk to Claudia earlier

“It won’t be funny getting killed before I even leave town, thanks for the advice ummm mister?”

“………..Bum….just call me bum…feel free to add any number you like” says the man with a depressed look

“You know I can’t do that right? I mean Claudia did say that before but I have no intention of doing that” I clearly state this

“No……we insist that you call us that…..if sister finds out we “named” ourselves before finishing this job…she’ll kill us dozens of times….now that won’t be funny….so please bear with it boss”

Remembering Claudia’s demonic look earlier made me agree with the man’s words…She would most certainly kill them dozens of times of they dare defy her orders, it was that kind of demonic look

“Haaaaaaaaa…..I guess I have no choice huh? I would do as you say, umm, Bum 1? Since everyone seems to be all set, can you tell me what we might need besides food and water on this journey?” deciding to comply with the man’s wishes I resolved myself to call these 10 mercenaries as Bum 1-10

“Will you tell me where we’re going first? Since we still don’t even know where to take you, it might be a good idea to know our destination first.” Asks Bum 1

“Well…..it’s this place over here. Claudia said it will take 15 days to reach there” I then show Bum 1 my map showing the location of my land

“Wait…..this place…can’t be…..did sister say um, anything about this place?” asks Bum 1 with an uneasy look

“Claudia didn’t say anything in particular, only expected travel time and that it isn’t “that dangerous” at all” I say, not understanding what Bum 1 means

“Don’t mind what I said little boss, if sister didn’t say anything then there’s nothing to be said. Now, if you could show me your supplies then we’ll know what else we might need”

“…………..alright, follow me” I then head to the wagon that has sacks on them with Bum 1 right behind me

When we reach the wagons, Bum 1 immediately starts looking around. I saw him narrowing his eyes a few times but still continue checking the contents of the wagon. After a while he then tells me what we still might need

“…………we might need extra food for the journey little boss, not much though since you’ve got horses rather than “ARMORDILBOES” sis estimates is a bit off. With these horses the travel will only take 11 days maybe 9 depending on weather conditions”

“More food? I’m pretty sure there’s a lot in there already, also what do you mean by only 11 days? And what’s an “ARMORDILBOE”?” I ask, again not understanding what Bum 1 means

“Most of the foods we still need are for the Kairiris, as for what armordilboes are; you’ll see when we head to the market side of the town. You’ll also understand why only 11 days is needed. ”

Hearing what Bum said makes sense since I actually did not expect to feed giant chickens called Kairiris after all. Following Bum 1, we head to the market and spend 1 hour buying things we need. The food for Kairiris seems to look like beans. We also buy lots of bread a bunch of grass and lots more of water. It seems these Kairiris need a lot of water. For why we bought a lot of bread, I didn’t bother asking, same for the grass. I also saw what “armordilboes” are. They look like what their names suggests. “armordilboes” are giant versions of armadillos but with more “ARMOR” on, making them move far slower than horses. Once we’re done we headed straight for the exit.

I arrived at New End in the early morning but was past noon before I could finally leave the place. Hiring mercenaries and buying additional supplies is the main reason but once we’re done with the preparations we head out immediately. At the exit I once again see Dug-ahn and Jiro along with several other dogs.

“Good….hyumen Riyen….with these other hyumen with you, you probably will not die anymore, no matter how weak you are grahahahahh” says Dug-ahn without stopping me anymore. He kept calling me weak but I didn’t care since it was true

“Yes, it’s all thanks to you Dug-ahn. I heard from Claudia that it won’t be too dangerous but I probably will still die if I headed out alone. I won’t forget your help" I say this to Dug-ahn without bothering to stop

“That is good to know hyumen Riyen, it may not be too dangerous but this place is still dangerous. I bid you a safe trip” after saying this Dug-ahn heads back the doghouse no it’s a guardhouse

“Hear that? Dug-ahn really did remember the little boss’s name. That’s pretty impressive”

“Yeah, yeah” x9

“He didn’t even bother with our names, damn I feel jealous now”

“Yeah, yeah” x9

I hear the “Bums” talking while I continue to drive my wagon, and yes I’m no longer pulling on old Ollie’s reins since Alan already taught me how to. I don’t understand why they’re making such a big deal out of this. I better ask them about this later. Oh and Ollie’s at the back of the wagon I’m driving and the second wagon is driven by a merc I decided to call Bum 7, his kairiri’s reins is tied to the back of another kairiri that’s moving close to him. I just hung Ollie’s reins on the edge of the wagon not worrying about it because Ollie is pretty obedient and even if not tied to it, he will still continue to follow us

We travelled with a formation of four people at each side of the wagons and one as a scout. This was proposed by Bum 1 and I agreed. He did explain that this will ensure my safety the most. And like this we travelled for 7 days without incident.

~~~~~~~~~~SEVEN DAYS LATER ROYAL ROAD TIME~~~~~~~~~

Seven days have pass by without anything exciting happening which Bum 1 says is a good thing and I agree with him. The scout, Bum 3, seems to be excellent at his job since we avoided most monsters. Most because there were times that monsters suddenly appeared. There was a large snake camouflaged as the ground, several large scorpions that appeared from below the ground and large rocklike things which I couldn’t identify at all. All of these monsters were easily dispatched by the Bums. I found out that they are all over level 700 with Bum 1 at the lead at level 853. I also finally find out why the fact that Dug-ahn deciding to remember my name was so important. It seems Dug-ahn isn’t just a simple Guard dog. Dug-ahn’s level is 900 and is known as the top dog of this area. Even other tribes fears Dug-ahn because of how strong he is, he also doesn’t bother to remember anyone he considers weak. When I told the Bums that all I did was give him a large piece of meat, well, they were all so shocked that some even drop their bowls since we were eating at the time. I also tell them how odd it was that Dug-ahn will recognize me because he kept calling me weak.

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

We are passing an area that can be described as relatively safe since our scout Bum 3 is just loitering around. The other Bums seem to be also quite relaxed not wary of their surroundings at all. Seeing them also made me completely relax as well. I was quite happy since we’ve finally encountered some greenery and not just endless expanse of earth and rocks. The place we are at seems to a small forest. The Bums tell me that forests like this only contain weak monsters and just the sight of the kairiris will scare them off. This action of ours will prove to be a grave mistake

~~~~~~~~BIG MISTAKE NUMBER NO. 6~~~~~~~~~~

“Oho~ what a nice place~. Hmmmm? Ahahha that’s a pretty big ant! I wonder what other insects are here” looking around I spot a pretty big ant and thinking I might find other insects I keep looking around

*FREEZE* everyone suddenly stops moving

Seeing as the mercenaries suddenly stopped, I also stop the wagon I’m driving. Wondering why they suddenly stop I turn to my right to look at Bum 1. I was shocked because Bum 1’s face is now filled with fear. I was gonna ask him what he’s so afraid of but before I could say anything he bombarded me with questions

“AN ANT?! WHERE IS IT? HOW BIG WAS IT? WHAT COLOR WAS IT? WHICH DIRECTION WAS IT HEADING?” Bum 1 practically screaming now asks me these questions

“Huh? I-it was over there, over that tree” getting scared of Bum 1 I quickly pointed at a tree to my left

“It was um maybe 2-3 feet. Its color was orange I think…..heading for---------“before I could finish, I see ants, lots and lots of ants pouring from our sides even in front, they are already swarming the place

“DAMN!!! EVERYONE BATTLE FORMATION! IT’S CALAMITY ANTS! RIYEN GET ON A HORSE! WE’RE GONNA MAKE A RUN FOR IT BEFORE WE’RE COMPLETELY SORROUNDED!” roared Bum 1. He and the other mercenaries started fighting the ants that just continue to increase by the second

I quickly got off the wagon and headed for the second one where the 3 strong looking horses are at. On the way I see the mercenaries fighting fiercely against the ants. The kairiris they’re riding are also equally fierce trampling ants with their strong legs and pecking them with their sharp beaks. Bum 1 with his broadsword is blowing dozens of ants away and when they land they suddenly got sliced in several pieces and died instantly. Bum 3 is using a bow and firing arrows non-stop. Each arrow seems to posses some kind of additional element magic since when they hit the ants they either burn, shock or freeze them on the spot. Reaching the second wagon, I see Bum 7 is already on his kairiri and is holding a Polearm. He glances at me for a second, seeing that I was safe, immediately resumes fighting. It only took less than a minute to reach the horses on the back of the second wagon but somehow it felt hours passed by

“Ha…ha….ha……..WHOA! c-calm down now fellas, it’s all gonna be a-alright…” When I reach the horses I saw that they’re panicking and tried to calm them down…

While calming them down, I reached for the rope connected to the wagon that I used to tie their reins together. After fumbling a bit because I was nervous, I finally manage to remove the knot that tied the horses. What happened next shocked me. The moment the reins we’re loose, I relaxed my grip for a second and to my horror, the horses started to run away, without me. Still shocked and staring at the running horses, what happened next filled me with greater horror. The three horses were suddenly surrounded by black colored ants and was butchered and diced in seconds. That scene was forever ingrained in my mind.

“OH GOD! NO WAY! BLACK ANTS AT THE BACK!!! WHAT THE FU** ARE THOSE THINGS DOING HERE! RIYEN MOVE!!!” someone shouted, seeing Riyen still not moving and was just staring at the black ants

*In Royal Road, if players die they instantly turn to light dropping random items. For NPCs they last several days before turning to light. Monsters also immediately turn to light once killed, though there are exceptions. These exceptions are monsters that could be turned into food. Since they can be harvested for food and other things, their bodies remain. The worse part about this is that blood and “other” things are replicated to a disgusting degree.*

I didn’t even know who shouted because I was still staring in front of me, watching the black ants with 4 stars above along their names devour my three horses. Seeing as there are hundreds of them, they quickly ate every last bit then turn their sights to the next prey in the area. This naturally means me. However, before the black ants could reach me, something pulled me down. It was another ant with brown color. I was stunned, and it quickly moved on top of me; I could clearly see its large razor sharp jaws with something like saliva dropping from it. Its antennae touching all over my upper body and its eyes are staring straight at me. I could see its jaws about to tear me apart and made me remember what happened to my horses. This filled me with great fear that will continue to haunt me for a long time. The ant that was seemingly moving in slow motion was suddenly hit by something and flew a great distance away.

It was Ollie. Ollie seems to have gotten loose and charged at the ant on top of me. He then grabbed my clothes forcing me to stand up again. Ollie then started rubbing his head on my body a few times then turns sideways. He was most likely telling me to get on his back.

“haaaa…haaaa…huuu..” I am still a bit stunned and was panting madly but somhow managed to get on top of Ollie’s back and then held the reins as hard as I possibly can but couldn’t give Ollie any orders

Ollie then scans his surroundings. In front where the black ants and they are clearly the biggest threat, as such he decided to turn around and run on the opposite direction. There were several orange and brown ants on the way but he didn’t mind them and just charged right through.

The nearest mercenaries, seeing the ants blocking the horse, quickly head back to help. They couldn’t kill all of the ants and thought to stop the horse before it gets killed. But before they could do anything, the horse suddenly gained more speed and when the horse collided with the ants, the ants were tossed aside like they weren’t there at all. They were amazed by what the horse did but seeing more ants getting closer, they resumed fighting.

“RIYEN! GOOD! NOW STAY NEAR ME UNTIL WE’RE READY TO BREAK OUT! EVERYBODY ON ME! WE NEED TO GET OUT BEFORE THIS GETS NASTIER!!” Bum 1 shouts this seeing the horse getting close. He was expecting the boy to stop his horse like he said but the horse didn’t slow down at all and raced pass him

“WHA?! HEY! STOP! THERE ARE OTHER ANTS OVER THERE! RIYEN WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?!” Bum 1 was aghast that the boy didn’t follow his orders. But clearly he didn’t see what the horse did earlier since he got shocked when the ants that was supposedly blocking the horse suddenly flew a feet after crashing with the horse. There were at least a hundred ants blocking the horse but it still manage to clear away from them and continue running far away

“Oh boy that’s impressive; I didn’t think he would get away by himself! Ahahahha I guess that’s why Dug-ahn recognizes him huh?” Bum 3, still shooting arrows non-stop says this to Bum 1 with a laugh

“Haaaaaa….him getting away is good and all but I wished he still listened to me. What he did was absurdly reckless!” replies Bum 1, but clearly he was also impressed by what the boy did

“SO, WHAT ARE WE GONNA DO NOW? DO WE FOLLOW HIM?” shouts Bum 7 from a distance

“NO! IF WE GO AT THE SAME DIRECTION, WE WILL JUST LEAD THIS DAMNED ANTS STRAIGHT BACK TO HIM! WE NEED TO GET AWAY FIRST AND TELL EVERYONE ABOUT THIS. ALSO SIS IS ALREADY GONNA KILL US SINCE WE FAILED THIS JOB BUT IF WE LET A SINGLE KAIRIRI DIE THEN IT’LL BE HELL FOR US! ARREL! WE’LL GO THROUGH THE LEFT SIDE, LEAD THE WAY! EVERYONE GET READY!” Bum 1 can’t do anything to salvage the situation so he decided to escape first then whisper Claudia about what happened. Telling Arrel(Bum 3) to lead the way, they quickly made their escape

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

*DING!!*

WARNING! WARNING! YOUR MIND IS UNSTABLE! CALM DOWN OR YOU WILL BE FORCED TO LOG-OFF

It seems the noise around me have quieted down. I think there were people shouting something to me but I couldn’t understand them. Ollie’s also been running for a while now but my mind continues to recall that bloody scene and that ant on top of me. Breathing is getting harder every time I remember what happened. A window suddenly appeared but I can’t even pay it any attention. I was getting more and more afraid with every passing second, remembering that ant and its jaws and my horses getting turned to minced meat. I can even recall now what that ant smelled like and the smell of blood.

WARNING YOU HAVE REACHED A CRITICAL STATE AND WILL NOW BE FORCED TO LOG-OFF

YOU WILL BE FORCED TO LOG-OFF IN 10--

9

8

7

“Huff….huff….huff…huff...” I’m now breathing like someone who has ran a marathon, my mind still replaying the scene of the horses getting butchered and the ant on top of me….but then the lights are suddenly getting dimmer

3

2

1

And then the world turned black….

To be continued...