As the first rays of the sun kissed the horizon, I stirred from my slumber among the now thriving apple trees. My sleep had been peaceful, cradled by the natural energy of the grove I had created under the moon’s gaze. I opened my eyes to find a prompt hovering in my vision, a message from the system about my activities from the night before.

[New Species Discovered: Moonlight Whisper Apple Tree]

Congratulations. A unique combination of lunar energy and natural magic has given birth to a new species of magical tree. The Moonlight Whisper Apple Tree possesses silvery leaves, which seem to shimmer with moonlight even during the day. Its fruits are imbued with mild restorative properties, capable of rejuvenating those who consume them, enhancing their night vision and providing a calming effect on the mind.

I couldn’t help but smile at the notification. The creation of a new species was an achievement beyond what I had imagined when I began last night. As I admired the delicate shimmer of the leaves and the budding fruits that promised so much potential, Scott approached me, curiosity evident in his gaze.

“Morning, Gavrin. I see you’ve been busy,” Scott began, his eyes wandering over the grove of apple trees. “I came to ask about the quests and our new money system. The villagers are eager to start, but we need a bit more direction.”

I stood, brushing off the remnants of leaves and earth from my clothes. “Ah, yes, the quests. The quests I have definitely been working on. We need to ensure that our community is self-sustaining, and these quests will play a big part in that. For scouting quests, I want people to map the surrounding areas, identify resources and spot any potential dangers. For gathering quests, we’ll focus on collecting basic necessities and magical components that can be found in the wild. And for the kill quests, we’ll need to thin out the number of aggressive creatures around our settlement to ensure our safety.”

Scott nodded, jotting down notes. “That sounds comprehensive. And the money? How will that work?”

I smiled and pulled out a bag of coins. “I’ve created coins from some metals I found laying about. Iron, copper, silver and gold. Each coin is imprinted with impressions of leaves and flowers; because, well because I think its neat. I’m thinking about calling Verdant Coins. Iron is the least valuable, followed by copper, silver and gold. The system is designed to facilitate trade within the village and encourage specialization. As for the quests, successful completion will not only contribute to our community’s well-being but also reward individuals with verdant coinage which they can then trade between themselves.”

“Also, people will be able to post quests with me. They make the request and post the bounty and I will facilitate the transfer. For a fee. See, money goes out, money comes in.” I smiled as I made a wave motion with my hands.

“How do we keep people from cheating?” Scott asked. “In fact, how do you know you can trust me?”

I looked up to the side and nodded my head side to side. “Aww. That, I really hadn’t thought about that.”

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Fernando must have been listening, he chose that moment to drop down from the branches and landed on my head with a storm of chattering.

“You sure buddy?” I asked. “That’s a lot to ask.”

Fernando chittered at me again.

“Alright, take a Fernando with you.” I said. “In fact, offer a Fernando to anyone who wants one, but it decreases the rewards by a couple of coins each.”

“What do you mean by ‘take a Fernando?” Scott asked me. “There’s just the one right? I mean, I seen some out in the forest, but you have just the one.”

I rubbed my head in embarrassment. “Yeah, that’s all Fernando.”

“Are you saying they are all called Fernando?” Scott pressed for more details.

“I am not too certain of the details, but Fernando is a magical construct. Some sort of verdant revenant, but he is sort of a hive mind.” I explained. “Every new one I create adds to the entity called ‘Fernando’ and makes him more intelligent and powerful. Every Fernando kind of knows everything every other Fernando knows. So if you take a Fernando with you, the Fernando here knows what is going on and can keep track. You probably don’t want to explain too much to people. Fernando is a quest helper. With a Fernando in tow, you are basically auto mapping as you go along. If the group gets in trouble or needs help, Fernando can let me know and send help.”

“That sounds pretty helpful.” Scott said slowly. “Why do you seem nervous?”

I gave Scott a weird look. “I can see what Fernando sees. Same with Thor and Loki. I am a little uncomfortable having such a potent surveillance system at my disposal. People already give me weird looks, don’t need to let them know I have even more capabilities. Especially one that is so potentially intrusive.”

“When you say intrusive.” Scott began.

“Yes, I’ve seen you shit, dude.” I answered. “I was just as surprised as everyone else with Fernando’s abilities. But here we are. The more intelligent he gets, the more heavy lifting he can do so I don’t see unwanted things as much anymore.”

“I see what you mean.” Scott said. “I’ll offer a Fernando to people who want them. Out of curiosity, what the is value of the coins compared to each other?”

I shrugged. “I don’t know. I thought I’d leave that up to you. Doesn’t really matter, just bear in mind that these quests are pretty low level so shouldn’t be worth gold. I was thinking irons and coppers. The silvers and golds should be for large transactions or storing wealth. They should be rare, with that in mind I made more of the iron and copper than I did of the others. I made the silver and gold so you could see the whole thing. I guess, if we need more or different coins, we can just add them. It won’t be that hard for me.”

“Sounds good.” Scott said. “So where do I set up shop?”

I looked around. “Outside the apple trees but not too far away. I plan to offer my crafting services to people that come by.” Scott began to turn away. “Hold on, let me make the counter.”

I walked around the grove of trees and found a good spot. I let my magic work into the ground and a little booth flowed out of the ground. It looked a lot like a lemonade stand but made out of compressed earth.

“This will be a good start.” I said. “You got any paper? Make sure your Fernando is around and he will help keep track. And if you want me, just let him know.”

“I think this might work.” Scott said. “What’s the name going to be? Are you going to have a name?”

“Gavrin’s Shop? No, that doesn’t sound right.” I mused to myself. “Gavrin’s grove of gains? No, that sound like a gym. Potion & Plant Pantry? Bewitching Bounty Bazaar? Enchanted Essence Emporium?”

Scott interrupted me. “It doesn’t have to be hard, just pick something simple.”

“Alright.” I agreed with Scott. “The Adventurer’s Guild.” I channeled my mana again and caused a slab of rock to rise out of the ground. My vines lifted and helped carve the name into the rock. “I want to eventually turn this into a true adventurer’s guild.”

Scott looked at it. “I don’t get it.”

I nodded. “Not a gamer.” I observed. With that I went back inside the grove and left Scott to running the front counter. I was hoping he would keep too many people from bugging me but I wasn’t holding my breath.