As Thaddeus ate lunch his notifications flashed the books, weapons, and armor he auctioned closed. Of the books, he auctioned the three blacksmith books sold for 5 gold each. Several guilds had fought over the books driving up the prices in a last-minute frenzy. To his surprise, the cooking books came in second, then the carpentry, and last the tanning books.

The [Edible Plants, Herbs, and Flora for Novices] netted him 2-gold by itself. Like the blacksmith books, guild alchemists fought over the book. The two cookbooks earned him 25 silvers, a respectable return on investment. In total, the books, weapons, and armor refilled his empty coffers to the tune of 22 gold, 87 silvers, and 44 coppers.

With his belly now full of food and his wallet full of coins, Thaddeus paid his bill and set off to City Hall to purchase his homestead. Before heading to City Hall, Thaddeus walked into the stable to check on Betsy. The old grain horse was standing in her stall eating a bucket of oats. Her bay coat glistened, as Tony, the stableboy, brushed her hair and spoke to her about his good day. Betsy whinnied happily when she saw Thaddeus, like a prima donna meeting a fan. The horse was enjoying being pampered, a little too much.

“Oh, Mr. Thaddeus, I didn’t see you there,” Tony said cheerfully, he was happy to greet his new favorite customer.

“She looks good. You’ve done a fine job,” Thaddeus complimented.

“Oh, this was nothing. She was easy to care for, she took right to grooming,” he explained.

“Good, I just want to check on her before I left,” Thaddeus said turning his back to leave.

“Wait—sir! I found you another horse, but the seller is mean and wants to take advantage of you. He’s the stable manager at the Ugly Goblin. He has one, but won’t sell it for less than 10 silvers, the horse should cost less than 5 silver, I reckon,” Tony said scratching his head as he did his best calculation.

“It’s fine, I have business over there anyway. I’ll see him, to see if we can’t agree,” Thaddeus said with a smile and walked out of the barn.

Thaddeus walked down the road and looked at all the players and NPCs. The Prancing Pony was across town from the City Hall. Along the way, he noticed most of the NPCs were either working or shopping and generally unarmed, except for the guards. The players ran around with their swords stretched, bows around their arms, of shields buckled to their wrists. Some players were randomly asking NPCs for quests, trying to find hidden quest lines.

One player claimed to have found a hidden quest accidentally when she was giving homeless NPCs food. Another claimed he found a hidden quest by being nice to a guide outside a dungeon. The more people found hidden quests; the harder others searched.

The city of Pinewood resembled a two-barred cross or the Cross of Saint Loraine. At one end were the City Palace, City Hall, and elite noble housing. At the other end were the churches, and guild halls, crafter workshops, middle classes dwelling. And in the middle, were the various shops, as well as the combat center where players paid to learn combat skills as they leveled.

In the middle of the city, players outnumbered NPCs 10 to 1. Thaddeus watched as players can run in and out of shops, buying potions and other buffs, but one shop caught his eye Jim’s Antique Bookseller. Along the busy row of shops, the bookstore looked lonely. The players seemed to avoid the building, maybe because the sign in the window said [No Travelers].

Thaddeus weaved his way through the traffic and stopped out front of the shop. The bookstore had two tall windows. In the window, the shopkeeper had several old leatherbound books. He recognized some human authors, but most he’d never heard of. After looking through, he entered the store to look around. Immediately, he knew something about this store was different.

Walking into the shop, the first clue Thaddeus noticed was the heavy smell of cigars or pipe tobacco. NPCs in Heaven’s Gate didn’t smoke. The second clue he noticed was classical music playing on a gramophone. Heaven’s Gate took place in a fantasy medieval world, and the technology behind a gramophone didn’t exist yet. Finally, next to an empty rocking chair, sat Chaucer, Dumas, and Tolstoy stacked on top of each other on a stool. Why would human books be in a fantasy world?

“You’re not supposed to be in here,” said a grumpy old spectacle white-haired man whose glass sat at the far end of his long nose. “I don’t have any quest or hidden quest to hand out. Now leave!”

“I came to look for books or maps on settlements. I’m on my way to City Hall to purchase a homestead and I was hoping to purchase a book in here that might help me,” Thaddeus explained.

“Settlement? Oh, you’re a crater. An artisan to be exact. You already leveled back up to 10. Yes, he is curious Tabitha,” the man said speaking to a cat that curled up in the rocking chair.

‘Wait—when did the cat appear?’ Thaddeus thought to himself.

“Oh, she’s always been here the whole time, it’s you that just arrived,” the old man responded rudely as if reading Thaddeus’ mind.

“Did you just read my mind?” Thaddeus asked unsure of what just happened.

“Yes, but it was just a minor spell. It can’t cause damage to your aptitude more than you already have. Now hush, I’m looking for something that might help you,” the old man said reprimanding him.

“Just who are you?” Thaddeus said trying to analyze the name.

System Message: Your Analyze Skill is not the sufficient

‘Just how high is this guy’s level?’ Thaddeus wondered.

“Ah, here it is!” exclaimed the old bookseller happily.

He pulled out an antique scroll and unrolled it to reveal an antique map of the Arcadian Empire. The map was highly decorative. Images of human traders, exotic animals, and maidens of different races. The Mercator map centered around Redwood, the imperial capital, then spread to other geographical cities, towns, and projected settlements. Next to each city, town, and projected settlement were different symbols of corn, tree, fish, ingot, and soldiers.

Thaddeus could guess symbols corresponded to a town’s major export. Corn meant agriculture, tree meant lumber fish meant aquaculture, ingot mean mining, and soldiers meant an important defensible location. The symbol next to White Pines Town was a tree, signifying its strategic lumber reserves.

But he also noticed there were several places without names where two or more symbols were located. He saw a mountainous area with ingots drawn next to it. Most areas had a tree symbol, but one location had a fish, corn, and tree symbol. But the area was crossed off, with an ‘X.’

“How much for the map?” Thaddeus asked curiously.

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

“Ha-ha, I knew you’d want it. I could let you have it for 3-gold and 40-silvers,” said the spectacled old man.

Even with his refilled coffers, 3-gold was a steep price to pay. Thaddeus scratched his head weighing the pros and cons of the map. Thaddeus didn’t want to spend too much money, because he didn’t know how much purchasing a homestead would cost.

While Thaddeus debated what to do, the old man let out a laugh. “Oh, I’m sorry, I couldn’t resist. You should have seen your face. Normally, I would fleece those brainless immortal travelers like yourself that cause more damage than good. They deserve to be fleeced. But I can tell you’re one of us. Just give me a gold piece,” the bookseller laughed.

“Here you are,” Thaddeus said dropping the gold into the old man’s hands.

After paying for the book, Thaddeus received a prompt.

System Message: Would you like to upload the Ancient Occidental Arcadian Imperial map to your display screen? Y/N.

Thaddeus selected yes, as the map glowed blinding white for a few seconds. When his sight returned, he saw a map in the top right corner of his sight. He noticed he could zoom in and out. A yellow dot marked his position. Right now, the yellow dot hovered over Pinewood City. He noticed that he could also zoom in on the city but couldn’t see a map of the city. With this map, he could easily travel around the empire and never get lost. At the same time, he wondered if he had a map of the city could he expand the map in his display?

“But of course,” replied the old man reading Thaddeus’ thoughts again.

“Do you have a map of the city?” Thaddeus asked wanting to experiment.

“What do I look like a common vendor? I’m sure the kiosk outside can tell you one for a few coppers. Now off you go,” the old man said, waving goodbye.

When Thaddeus looked up, he was back outside on the street. The antique bookstore he was just inside now had a ‘closed’ sign over the door. For a brief second, Thaddeus felt he dreamed of the past events, like a future premonition. He wondered if he had even gone into the store. But when he saw the map on his screen, he knew it was real.

‘Well, that was certainly interesting,’ Thaddeus said to himself as he resumed his trek to Pinewood’s City Hall. He thought and rethought his conversation with the old bookseller until he arrived at his destination.

The city hall in Pinewood City was a spectacular sight. The building had ten floors, and the area covered was about the size of a football pitch. At the entrance of the building, there were more than twenty garrison knights standing guard. These guards were all Level 150 Knights. The garrison captain was a Level 175 Knight; with his strength, he could easily decimate an entire town. Moreover, for a large city like Pinewood City, there would be two to three Level 200 knights and wizards on guard. Strong monsters and dark magicians would think twice before attacking.

Once Thaddeus stepped into the city hall, an elegant and beautiful clerk greeted him, and gave him directions to the residency counter. When he arrived at the residency counter, he was surprised to see another elegant and beautiful. He wondered if this whole building was filled with nothing but beautiful NPC clerks.

“Hello Traveler, how may I be of assistance?” asked the clerk. She wore a tight-fitting purple clerk uniform. There was a giant book on the counter, which looked like an unabridged Oxford English dictionary. She held a quill in her right hand. Honestly, it took Thaddeus a few seconds to gather his words she was so pretty.

“I'd like to become a resident of the Arcadian Empire?” Thaddeus said.

"Very well sir, I can help you. I can see you have the necessary reputation, all I need is for you to fill out this paperwork and pay the 40-copper fee,” she said warmly.

The paper was a simple first name, surname, class, birthday, and family history. He quickly filled in his birthday and the family history Josh imagined. He even embellished his family history, making his mother and father’s surnames. He gave his mother the maiden name Bearington, and his father’s last name was Brown. Honestly, it was fun like second character creation. When he finished, he paid the fee. -

“Thank you, sir. Just a moment while I look this over and print your residency papers and identification card,” she said. She quickly read over the paperwork, stamped it, and fed it into a magical device. The entire process was quick, and five minutes later, she handed Thaddeus his residency documents and identification card. “Here you go sir, is there anything else I can help you with?” she asked.

“I want to purchase a homestead,” Thaddeus replied.

“Very well sir, the Arcadian Empire has millions of square millions available for purchase. To incentive homesteading, the empire is prepared to offer homesteaders rewards to claim territories. You can also join an existing hamlet. Would you like to sort through these areas first or another way?” the clerk explained.

“What are the rewards?” Thaddeus asked.

“Money, weapons, training, or free supplies?” she described.

“I don’t want to join hamlet. Show me the unoccupied incentive territories. I want to purchase in a territory that has access to lumber, and fresh water, and is relatively safe for my level,” Thaddeus said.

“There are hundred twenty-three areas that match your criteria?” she said pulling up a map and showing him

“Let’s narrow the list a little more,” Thaddeus said. He compared the map the clerk showed him and the ancient map in his display. All the areas available for purchase were the same, except for one.

“I want a parcel of land, at least five hops from the nearest city. I also want land near the mountains,” Thaddeus said.

“Thirty-three villages match your requirements,” she said showing him the map.

But noticed there was one area that matched his requirements but was left off the clerk’s map. Thaddeus was curious to know why it wasn’t included as purchasable land. Was there already a hamlet there, if there was why didn’t it show up on her map? Deciding it was to ask, Thaddeus, questioned the clerk why a piece of land the near the southern mountain range was not for sale.

“Just a moment sir, let me check,” she replied as she looked at the map. When no information popped up, she excused herself to ask her superior. She slipped through a back door and left Thaddeus alone at the counter.

Ten minutes later, a stout bearded bureaucrat followed the clerk through the doors. The clerk explained the problem and asked whether Thaddeus could purchase a parcel of land in the shadows of the southern mountain range. According to the stout bureaucrat, the area was currently uninhabited, but a power dragon lived in mountains. The empire had attempted to subjugate the dragon in the past and failed multiple times. The last battle ended with the dragon burning down a town that once resided in that location.

Due to the trouble with the dragon, the land was removed from the purchase list. Not wanting to miss a deal, the stout bureaucrats offered to sell Thaddeus the land on the cheap, as well as offered him a supply voucher if he purchased that land. The deal was too good to be true. The bureaucrat was essentially paying Thaddeus to take the property off the government’s hands.

Sure, purchasing the land was a gamble, but it had been hundreds of years since the empire tried to subjugate the dragon. Who knew if the dragon was even alive? Let alone whether the dragon would burn down his hard work. But no other land available to purchase sat on the river, adjacent to a forest, and a mile from a mountain range. He would have access to fresh water, clay, limestone, timber, and hopefully iron ore. Those were all valuable assets.

On the other hand, he was under level for the area. Monsters leveled 10 to 30 roamed the plains, monsters leveled 30 to 50 roamed the forest, and monsters leveled 60 to 80 roamed the mountain, not including the over 500-level dragon. But as long as Thaddeus stayed in the plains and cut along the edge of the forest he would be relatively safe.

“I’ll take it!” Thaddeus said deciding the property was too good to pass up and paid the 25-coppers. When he walked into City Hall, he thought it would cost 8 to 10 gold to own a parcel of land. Instead, he was handed the deed to over 10,000 acres for 25 coppers and a voucher for 5-gold at good at any general store. At once he received two notifications.

System Message: Congratulations you have purchased a new land claim.

Additionally, his map updated. Another dot hovered over his map marking his home. The dot hovered on the northern riverbank, between a lonely wooden bridge and a majestic forest. The location was five stops away from the nearest city and the closest town was called Pine Grove.

System Message: New Title: Pioneer Stat Increase: +1 VIT, +1 CON Effect: 10% skill boost to farming and animal husbandry

Thaddeus put his deed in his bag of holding, thanked the clerk, and walked out of City Hall.