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Chapter 23 – Busy day in Serabroug
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“That wasn't too hard... One item down, whats next?” Bunny asked herself after obtaining her new title.
Looking around, she noticed 3 burly men trying fruitlessly to hide from her view. Since she only needed to submit 30 men to the army, they were the left-overs. Bunny had single them out because she noticed callus on their hands. Bandits in general were lazy people, they would not swing their swords until their skin blistered or form callus; Bunny thought these 3 people had other professions beside banditry.
After leading them back to her private ranch, Bunny started to question them:
“Hey you!” She pointed at them “Give me your names and previous professions”
All 3 of them just looked at her fearfully without answering. Thinking they needed some motivation Bunny simply took out her carrot stick which yield immediate results... Just showing the stick allowed Bunny to know them as Clark, Kent and Bruce.
For Clark, Kent and Bruce, their previous jobs were Farmer, Woodcutter and Candle Maker respectively. They were all from different parts of Brent Kingdom and were forced into army. They learned the basics of fighting while in service. When their platoon was wiped out during a skirmish with Rosenheim Kingdom, they acted as corpses to stay alive, then ran away after. They couldn't find decent jobs as they were ex-soldiers from another kingdom, neither could they return home, so they ended up as bandits.
Most landlords would not hire them because of their status, but Bunny had no qualms about it. Their strength could overpower any normal civilian, but Bunny's animals were stronger. So, she offered them jobs in the ranch, which they agreed skeptically. With all agreements done, Bunny handled them to the overlord of Sera-Ranch, the squirrel called 'Prize'.
There were 3 reasons for hiring the ex-bandits.
Firstly, she didn't want to just randomly kill them. These men had skills which would benefit her ranch. Clark, the farmer could both gather and grow food which the ranch animals need, while Kent, the woodcutter could supply timber for the cats to practice woodworking. Timber could also be processed into wooden planks, ready to be used when Bunny decides to make another Ranch.
Bruce the candle maker was an oddity. When told that Bunny had a tannery which dealt with rat leather, Bruce was slightly perked but not too motivated. However, when he saw the size of the tannery which made 150 rat hides daily, he became totally delighted. Reason for his mood swings was the scale. Tallow Candles made with animal fats was a long process, if the amount produced was low, lots of time will be wasted on waiting; Producing a ton of tallow wax took approximately twice the time to just make a kilogram.
The second reason for hiring the ex-bandits was their looks and strength. According to the reports by the Squirrel Overlord, there were already over 20 dead newbies who either trespass or 'attempted theft of animals' from the seemingly empty ranch. Having some large burly men around would be a good deterrent for more senseless deaths. They could either verbally or physically persuade trespassers out of the ranch without incurring more seeds of revenge.
Also, they were strong, much stronger then normal civilians. They could gather materials without fear of attack. Gathering plants, cutting wood and harvesting beewax even in Bear or Wolf-infested forests would be like a walk in the park to them.
The last reason wasn't planned, but happened on coincidence. Bunny took it as a 'Divine Hint' and applied the use. It happened when Bruce was trying to tell the rabbit tanners about keeping the excess animal fats, a by-product of tanning usually thrown away. They couldn't communicate so Bunny had to be the translator. All animals spoke the same language, so they could communicate well with each other, but things became difficult when dealing with humans.
Thinking on the matter, Bunny decided to create animal translators with Gene's help for smoother operations. With animal-human translators, bargaining with player merchants would no longer be limited to hand signals and made possible with NPC traders. With Gene's Life-Link skill, creating translators would be easy.
*****
With the ex-bandits taken care of, Bunny went to the rumored chickens. Prize led the way proudly displaying his new innovation. Normally chickens have a 6:4 ratio of hens to roosters, meaning there should be more hens then roosters, having all 40 chicks becoming roosters was beyond anything natural.
The chicken coop was made from an old wild-west-type wagon, those with canvass covering the top forming semi-circular arcs. The front of the wagon was pressed against the house sealing it leaving the back of the wagon as the only opening into the coop. A small slope made of wooden planks bridge the opening with the ground.
Within the wagon was both hot and humid, but the chicks seemed to like such environments. On top of each chick's head was a red arrow shaped comb. Taking a few chick out of their coop, she placed them on the ground while observing them. Every arrow-shaped comb was directed towards the same direction. Finding it amusing, Bunny started tilting the chicks' heads and moving them around, the arrows remained pointing towards the wagon.
“Hahaha... these chickens have combs that acted as compass” Bunny laughed at the discovery.
The combs which were usually an idicator of a chicken's gender changed its meaning due to evolution. The chicks were still of mixed gender, but due to their new 'talent' all ended up with combs. Finding a relieve that she didn't break some world-record, Bunny told Prize to continue rearing them as well as train their levels.
On hindsight, the chicks obtaining a sense of direction wasn't anything special. Birds had been known to be migratory, just that domesticated chickens lost their original powers. Depending on what these chicks could do when they gain more evolution, Bunny would decide on their uses later... Currently, they were still regarded as suicide explosive carriers during extreme times.
*****
With her ranch taken care of, Bunny's last itinerary in Serabroug was to get her magic skill. The reason she didn't get it previously was because she was overwhelmed by the amount of magic classes and skills. After doing some research and thinking, she was now ready to learn new skills.
Similar to warriors who focused on one weapon type, spell-casters needed to focus on one element to bring out that element's mastery. The choice of element was simple for Bunny through elimination: Gene, being a druid, was proficient in Water and Earth magic. Angel as a priestess took Holy magic while eliminating Dark because they conflicted when used together. The animals instinctively fear Fire... so there was only Air magic left.
Luckily Air magic consist of both Lightning and Wind, which increased the spells Bunny could learn. Due to having no monetary issues, Bunny also bought simple spells of other elements like Firebolt, Iceball, EarthBullet and Darkhands
Laughing at her new collection of skills, Bunny exclaimed “Status Window!, Skill Info!”
Status WindowName:BunnyAlignment:GoodLevel:79Class:Phantasm BreederTitle:The KnowledgeableFame:1080Health:2940Mana:3400Strength:27+30Agility28+30Intelligence:300+30+10Wisdom:22+30+10Vitality:100+30Leadership:218+30Luck:11+30Charisma:23+30Animism:87+120Faith:5+30Endurance:11+30Attack:100Defense:85
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* All stats are added 30 points.
* Animism stat is added extra 90 points.
* Enables you to equip certain items specialized for the class.
* Enables you to learn all gathering skills to the stage of a Master.
* Enables you to learn all craft skills to the stage of Advance.
* Enables you to learn secret skills based on your level in Breeder Mastery.
* Increases Fame when evolving an animal above tier-3
* Intelligence and Wisdom +10 from title
Harp PlayingBeginner Lv 731%Song: CourageBeginner Lv 126%Identify (Scan)Intermediate Lv 744%RepairBeginner Lv 494%TailoringBeginner Lv 72%CookingIntermediate Lv 313%Animal Trainer MasteryIntermediate Lv 338%Raid Commander MasteryBeginner Lv 924%EcholocationBeginner Lv 612%Building DesignBeginner Lv 327%Wind BlastBeginner Lv 10%Wind ArmorBeginner Lv 10%Lightning SparkBeginner Lv 10%Fire BoltBeginner Lv 10%Ice BallBeginner Lv 10%Rock BulletBeginner Lv 10%Dark HandsBeginner Lv 10%
Pleased with her progress thus far, Bunny logged out. She had been online for over 40 game hours, so she needed a break for food and hygiene.
*****
Climbing out of his capsule, Alan stretched his stiff body while he recap the events that happened. Going online at 7am, fighting bandits, capture some bandits, fighting incubus, obtain the manor house, gain a title, complete the quest, bring the captured to the city, become a baronet, tidy the ranch, sort out the chickens, learn magic...
“Wow... I did lots today!” Alan exclaimed to himself. The call of nature stopped his other thoughts and hurried him to the toilet.
Alan wasn't fatigued, but he needed to show himself to his family. He knew how bad things would become if they labeled him as a game addict, so he suppressed his urge to return into the capsule. Feeling slightly hungry, he went to the kitchen to find grubs, but found his mother preparing dinner. After greeting her, and showing himself to his dad, he went back into his room to check up the forums while eating some chocolates.
While reading, he started thinking about Gene. In the beginning, due to his meek nature, Alan treated him like a younger brother he didn't have, looking out and watching over him. As he become more acquainted, Gene started to become someone who was stronger then he looked. The war with the bandits were mostly Gene's planning, and things may turn bad if he did not detect the bloodstones.
It was not easy to admire someone without feeling jealous; Alan felt very jealous of Gene, not in the bad way, just talents he never had. Unlike Angel and himself, Gene had not conceptualize any ideas, but he expanded on Bunny's and Angel's suggestion and constructed great strategies. He felt attracted to Gene... for his intellect.
Shaking his head over stupid thoughts, Alan went to the dining room for dinner with his family. After dinner and some small talks, Alan went back into the capsule.
*****
When Bunny was back, she got a few status reports.
Vinrouge Village has joined under your protection
Fame has risen by 20 points
Cuivre Village has joined under your protection
Fame has risen by 20 points
While wondering about the messages, Bunny got a PM from Gene
- Bunny! you back?
“Yes... I went off to eat dinner, have you eaten yours?”
- I have an early dinner, anyway, can you get another teamster and 2 stall keepers?
“Why do you need them? Isn't Annie and Anna enough?”
- Angel and I made some plans on gaining passive income, we need those two
“Then why do you want to hire more?”
- Those are for Litvart, we are not closing that stall there are we?
“No way! that stall makes like 200 gold weekly”
- That's why we need 2 more stall keepers, find the sharper ones so they don't leak about the cave
“Alright, so 2 stall keepers and a teamster with a wagon”
- Yes, I will update you on the progress, where are you heading now?
“I want to visit Soie Village, the village elder told me there is a master Tailor there”
- Ah... I heard the rumor too, but that person is a player, not NPC
“I know that, but I want to learn some tailoring tips from her, since she specialize in silk and velvet”
- So, you coming over with the teamster?
“I think I will buy another horse for fast travel... Oh, I need you to make some more Life-Links”
- Which animals do you want to link to?
“Not me, I hired the 3 extra ex-bandits, I want them to translate animal to human”
- Oh... Ok... That's a nice one, I never thought of using the skill that way.
“So what are you people doing while I am away?”
- I will update you on our progress.....
While chatting in PM, Bunny hurried towards the orphanage to hire another teamster and two more stall keepers. As the virtual sky started to darken, Bunny estimated she only had another hour before nightfall. To hire orphans, visit the stable master for another horse and the carpenter for a wagon. So many things, so little time.
Angel and Gene had cooked up a grand scheme on the trade route around the new territory. From what Gene explained, Bunny understood that they could monopolize the trade route from her new area rather then letting other merchants benefit. Since there were 3 villages in her new land with different produce, there was very little risk.
Just as night fell, Bunny left Serabroug with on a small wagon attached to two horses. With her, were 3 new orphans who were too excited to sleep. Kara and Zor were the new stall keepers, they would be learning the ropes from the twins on shop management. El was the new teamster, unlike the other two, he would have to start ferrying goods without much training.
Bunny borrowed 3 cats from the Sera-Ranch as temporary guards for the new transport. Since it was night, without fail, wolves had attacked and became target practice for Bunny's new spells. The wolves also served to improve confidence of her new employees on their safety, although that was not necessary due to the bragging of children she already hired.
Dropping off the 3 new employees at Litvart, Bunny continue towards Soie Village on the additional horse she bought. As Angel wasn't online, she PM Gene and end up chatting with him; Gene was rather bored cleaning the surrounding region of monsters, so he did not mind the call. Talking about random things, they managed to hold a 4-hour long conversation till Bunny arrived at her destination.
As the time in the real world approached midnight, the two grudgingly said goodbye. They enjoyed each others company, even if it was voice only, but both had school the next day.
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