After acquiring what he desired, even a bit more than expected, Ash expressed his gratitude to Hans and bid farewell. Upon leaving the mayor's residence, he verified directions from a kind-hearted guard at the entrance, ten minutes later, Ash found himself at the farmer's expansive property, the very one Mayor Hans had mentioned.
The farm, a testament to its owner's diligence, stretched across ten fertile acres, a golden sea of wheat swaying gently in the breeze. A fence, sturdy but showing its wear, encircled the farm, offering some protection from wandering creatures like dogs, sheep, pigs, and cows—rudimentary, but better than nothing.
Surveying the area, Ash soon spotted a modest house at the farm's entrance, exuding an air of quiet melancholy.
As Ash drew closer, he spotted the farmer himself, a gloomy-looking middle-aged man in worn-out clothes that appeared to have gone unwashed for quite some time. His face, etched with deep lines, wore the mask of one who had known too much sorrow. He toiled amongst his sheep, feeding them with mechanical precision, as though nursing the wounds of a recent heartbreak without the solace of alcohol to ease his pain.
"Why the f*ck does everyone in this town have such intimidating and somber faces? Are the goblins in this world also all perverts, stealing others' wives right in front of them, as in a certain G. Sylar anime?" Ash joked to himself, attempting to lighten his mood so he not be too nervous while talking. After taking a few deep breaths, he approached the farmer.
"What do you want?" The farmer rasped, his voice thick with a gloom that clung to him like a shroud. He didn't bother to look up as if Ash were just another chore on his already overflowing plate.
"I—I was told by the Lord Mayor that you might have some work for me. I'm new in town and urgently need a job to earn some money," Ash stuttered, feeling a great sense of fear upon hearing the farmer's disgruntled tone. A Part of him wanted to run away, but the realization that he had a stomach to feed before nightfall kept his feet grounded. Besides, finding a safe place to spend the night was also on his agenda, otherwise, he might not even know when he become a random goblin meal.
The farmer finally lifted his gaze, studying Ash with a detached curiosity. "Oh... Let's see, a slender body, a face that screams naivety. Well, you may not look strong or experienced, but since you're here, maybe I could use someone like you to help out on some small work," He spoke, maintaining a poker face while assessing Ash.
"What do I have to do? By the way, I don't know much about farming. In fact, I've never seen a real farm until today," Ash hesitated for a moment but decided to tell the truth, anyway it was better to be honest at the start than later making mistakes and getting kicked by a scary-looking robot like uncle.
"Haha, brat, you're overestimating your own capabilities. Do you really think I'd hire a pussy like you to work on the farm? Sorry, I don't engage in losing business," The farmer taunted with a laugh, still wearing his gloomy expression.
"I just want you to look after my sheep for five hours a day. You can work at any time between 7 am and 5 pm. In return, I can offer you 15 coins and a place to sleep, but only for the days you work for me. Oh, and my name is Jacob Alkar, by the way. If you're interested, you can come to work tomorrow. Today, I've already tended to my sheep, and they don't need your help," Jacob finished, patting Ash's shoulder before walking away, his demeanor still as somber as before.
After Jacob finished saying that he patted Ash's fragile shoulder with his strong heavy hand as if venting his anger for wasting his time before walking away, his demeanor still as somber as before.
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"Is my value in this world not even as good as a farmer boy?" Ash, doubting his own worth for the first time in his both life, however, he quickly reassured himself with thoughts of his system and the prospect of showcasing his abilities to Jacob once he became stronger.
"Those things are only temporary. Once I learn how to fight and raise my levels, it's only a matter of time before those guys die from envy and jealousy. I will make sure to show off in front of this uncle."
Guududdd...
While Ash dreamed about his beautiful future, the sound of his empty stomach brought him back to reality.
"But first, it would be better if I eat something. It's not a good idea to run around so much with an empty stomach," Ash muttered while rubbing his stomach. After looking around for a good resting place, he found a big tree beside the vegetable garden of a farmer named Jacob, his future boss, and walked toward it.
As Ash still wanted to work for Jacob for some days until he could save enough money to buy armor and a weapon to fight goblins, he didn't try to steal sweet and fresh vegetables from Jacob's garden. Instead, he honestly took out the pumpkin he found on the way from his inventory, which instantly appeared in his hand with a single thought. He stared at his lunch, which was also his dinner if he didn't earn some money to buy normal food, before looking around to find a sharp object. Since Ash didn't have a knife, he could only use small tricks like his human ancestors and use a sharp rock to cut the big pumpkin, which was clearly not an easy task for him.
After cutting, I mean breaking the pumpkin into many pieces with great difficulty, Ash started eating his lunch while finally focusing his attention on his system, which he still hadn't explored completely.
"But first, let me save the file. So even if something unexpected happens to me, I don't have to repeat everything again."
[ *Ding:- No.2 File Saved.
Location:- Woodworth Town
Day:- 1
Total Saved:- 2
Death Count:- 1
Coins:- 0 ]
After doing the simple work, that he now had to do daily unless he wanted to same work again for a little mistake, Ash opened his system's main interface.
[ System Version:- 1.0
* Status
* Skill
* Inventory
* Quest
* Save and Load ]
[ Status:-
Name:- Ash
Level:- 1 (0/20)
Health Point (H.P.):- (45/45)
Mana Point (M.P.):- (10/10)
Race:- Human (Tier: Low)
Age:- 18
Strength:- 6
Vitality:- 9
Intelligence:- 4
Agility:- 5
Charisma:- 7
Luck:- 10 ]
"Sigh, after running around half a day, my experience points didn't increase even a single point. It seems like this system is a completely copied version of classic RPG hack-and-slash games. If I want to increase my levels, I'll have to get my hands dirty. This is not going to be easy," Ash sighed helplessly and put the matter of leveling up aside for the time being before opening his skill page.
[ Skills:-
Minor Healing (Tier-0)
Gamer Body ( ??? ) ]
[Minor Healing (Tier-0)
Description: The most common healing skill that literally everyone knows and can use in their daily life. This spell was originally developed by Elves and given to some special humans as a gift. However, due to continuous wars with goblins, humans taught this spell to everyone. As a result, even goblins got their hands on it because of its simple way to use.
Effect: Can heal simple injuries, has no effect on serious injuries.
M.P. Cost - 3 for five seconds.
Cooldown Time: None ]
"Tsk, I wonder what kind of face those idiot humans of this world had in the past when they saw their enemies using their own magic spell to deal with them," Ash pondered with a mocking smile while reading the description again with great interest.