CHAPTER 3

On either side of us was a sea of wheat. As the wind passed through the field, it created a relaxing sound. It’s similar to the rustling of leaves, but a bit harsher on the ears. They were only as tall as my waist, so I could see over them. As we walked, I spotted a herd of cattle. They must be living in paradise. Food is all around them for miles on end. I would get sick if I ate wheat for my entire life, though. I need meat in my life, and plenty of it.

Not long after I spotted the herd of cattle, I saw a band of grazing horses. I looked in the direction we were walking and saw no village, so it must still be quite the distance. I grew impatient at the thought. I asked Sophia just to check, “How far away is your home from here?”

“Uhm,” Sophia rubbed her forehead as she mused aloud, “about two hours longer?”

Oh, no. Two hours just to get to her village? That isn’t going to work. I called out to her, “Stop for a moment, I’m going to get us a ride.”

“A ride?” She glanced around but didn’t notice anything.

I ran towards the direction of the horses and called out to them, “Hey, mind if you take us towards my friend’s village not far from here?”

I sensed her shake her head behind me before saying, “Those are feral horses, they haven’t been tamed. There’s no way they’ll li-”

Her words became stuck in her throat as she saw the horses nod and walk over to me. One of them bent their knees so it was easier for me to sit on top of it. I climbed on and patted its neck, “Thanks for the lift.”

The horse neighed and stood up before walking over to the road. I saw Sophia standing still with her mouth hanging wide open. I called out to her, “What’s wrong? Hop on already.”

She looked over at me and frowned, “How did you do that? Even before, the critters of the forest were very friendly with you. Strange.”

A horse left the band and walked up to her. It licked her face before bending down. She got on the horse and we began to ride towards her village. This time, we were traveling much, much faster. A moment later, her face lit up as she clapped her hands, “Aha! It must be an ability of your soul manifestation. I’m right, aren’t I?”

I shook my head and summoned my soul book, “Nope. My soul manifested itself as a journal.”

“Ah? A journal?” She widened her eyes in surprise. She took a close look at me before saying, “Don’t Braves usually have weapons as their soul manifestation?”

“Not me,” I said with a smile. I recalled her battle with Little Fang and asked, “I showed you my soul manifestation, now show me yours.”

“Hm, alright.” With a flash of light, a shield appeared in her hand. It was grey and looked just like a normal iron shield.

Ahh, so it was the shield. I took a close look at it before asking, “How many tiers have you unlocked?”

At this, she became weary. I chuckled, “Hey, we’re going to be traveling together, aren’t we? It’s better if we know how our soul manifestation works so that we work better as a team.”

“I suppose…” She said hesitantly.

I noticed she still didn’t completely agree, so I told her all of the tiers I unlocked so far to gain her trust.

Soul Manifestation

Journal

Tier 1

Your soul journal has infinite pages.

Tier 2

Your soul journal can connect to your thoughts. It will be able to write down things automatically.

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“Huh,” She said with an interested look, “I’ve never seen such a strange soul manifestation before.”

I promptly unsummoned my soul journal and snorted, “It isn’t strange!”

She ignored me and continued, “How many pages have you written so far?”

I connected my mind with my soul journal and said, “2,450 pages.”

“Really?” She said while giving a disbelieving look.

“Agh, enough about my soul manifestation. Tell me yours now.” I said with impatience.

This time her wariness was non-existent. She promptly told me her unlocked tiers.

Soul Manifestation

Shield

Tier 1

Automatically gain Beginner 1 Shield Mastery.

Tier 2

You can unsummon your shield no matter how far away it is from you.

“Oohhh,” I exclaimed. It made sense why her shield mastery was lower than her sword mastery. Everyone unlocked their soul manifestation at the age of 16, so she hasn’t been training with it for long. Her tier 2 was useful in the event something disarmed her. She could just unsummon it and summon it back.

“Hehe,” She chuckled with happiness at my reaction.

Fifteen minutes later, I spotted a village in the distance. We would reach it in a few minutes. As we got closer, I noticed an elderly man in the field of wheat. He held a scythe in his hands and swung it at the wheat. The wheat was easily chopped down. Strangely, the wheat that made contact with his scythe dispersed into light. I knew what I had to do. I thought, “Inspect!”

You have cast the spell, 'Inspect'.

Name: Hudson

Title: Mortal Enemy of Wheat

Age: 73

Race: Human

Health: 30/30

Health Regeneration: .15/m

Stamina: 30/34

Stamina Regeneration: .17/m

Strength: 12

Vitality: 15

Agility: 10

Endurance: 17

Intelligence: 9

Skills

Scythe Mastery

Novice - 3

Sword Mastery

Trainee - 8

Soul Manifestation

??

Let me see, let me see. Ugh, I still can’t see anybody's soul manifestation. How much higher of a skill level does my inspect have to be? Mortal Enemy of Wheat? Haha, what a strange title.

Sophia glanced at me and noticed my expression. She snorted, “You didn’t just inspect Old Hudson, did you?”

Sweat began to pour down my forehead. I glanced at the sky and whistled.

“Hmph, you really need to get in control of yourself,” She rebuked.

Old Hudson nodded at us as we passed. Sophia waved and said, “Good day to you, Hudson!”

A minute later, I couldn’t hold back my curiosity any longer. I asked Sophia, “Why did the wheat disappear after he cut it with his scythe?”

She looked at me and noticed my innocent look. She sighed before saying, “Well, everybody in the village already knows. I suppose it won’t hurt to tell you.”

Soul Manifestation

Scythe

Tier 1

Automatically gain Beginner 1 Scythe Mastery.

Tier 2

Gain Stamina when cutting wheat.

Tier 3

Wheat cut by your Soul Scythe will be automatically put in your inventory.

“Waaah,” My eyes sparkled as I listened. No wonder he had the title, ‘Mortal Enemy of Wheat’, he truly was their greatest foe. His Tier 3 ability sure was useful. He didn’t have to bend over and pick it up himself.

Sophia told me more about Hudson, “For generations, Hudson’s family has been cutting wheat. He single handedly provides enough wheat for the entire village.”

“Amazing!” I exclaimed. What a useful soul manifestation!

At this time, we reached the village. There were no wooden walls surrounding the village, only a few dirt paths leading in from different directions. There were no guards stationed outside, because there was no need to. Monsters never attacked villages or towns on Fertility Island. We climbed off the horses and waved goodbye, “Thanks for the ride!”

They neighed before turning around to return to their band. Just as we turned to face the village, a shout rang from inside, “SOPHIAAAAAAAA!”

Beside me, Sophia gulped loudly, “Uh, oh. That’s my father.”

A second later, a husky looking middle aged man appeared in front of us. He had blonde hair and blue eyes just like Sophia. He had a frown on his face. He didn’t look happy.