Twelve days later, on the last evening of April, Thaddeus and the horses finished plowing the last acre. Thaddeus and the horses spent 12, 18 hours days and only stopped for an hour lunch and rest. But the sacrifice was well worth the cost, the farm was finished, and Demeter’s blessing would take care of the crops.

Thaddeus was drenched in sweat. He stunk, his clothes stunk, and his skin was tan. Betty, Carl, and he walked an average of two marathons a day, from dawn to dusk, to plow the field. Without such a strong constitution, he wouldn’t have had the endurance to finish.

With the farm done, he jumped in the river for a quick bath, before bringing the animals inside. Sitting at his kitchen table eating cast iron coyote pan pan-seared, he planned out the next month. Starting tomorrow, he planned to spend the next 10 days felling timber and cutting lumber. The lumber in the kiln was still dry and ready to use.

But he still needed to build the barn, granary, goat and horse pens, chicken coop, and his house. Doing the math, if he cut down 70 trees for 10 days. He’d have more than enough wood for the houses, pens, and coop. He figured he could wait on the barn and granary. As long as they were built before harvest, he’d be fine.

But Sabrina was coming down in September, which meant he had five months to finish his house. Not a lot of time, but he could build the pens and coop quickly and then start on his home in late May or early June.

Thaddeus made his way to his loft. He settled into his sleeping bag on his mattress and blew out the candle to get some sleep. Before going to sleep, he had a habit of catching up on in-game news. Just as he opened the forum, he heard a loud banging on the door. The noise was so loud it startled the animals.

Thaddeus grabbed the candle and rushed downstairs. He slowly opened the door to peep outside. What he saw shocked him. A bleeding man was slumped across the door. Thaddeus opened the door a tad wider, checking to see if this was an elaborate rouse. Outside he saw a one-horse. On the side of the wagon read, Traveling Merchant. He scanned the surrounding for anything dangerous. When he didn’t see anything, he checked the man’s pulse. It was weak and getting weaker.

He picked up the dying man, locked the door behind him, and laid him down on his dining floor. He moved the table out the of way to give the man more room. Feeling the man’s pulse, he quickly called Sabrina, the only person who came to mind.

“Hey Thaddeus, how was your day?” she asked excitedly.

He quickly explained to her about the dying man bleeding out on his floor.

“I’m putting a middle-grade healing potion in the auction, hurry up and give it to him,” Sabrina said urgently.

“Alfred, buy it!” Thaddeus ordered.

“It’s in your inventory,” Alfred said withdrawing money from his savings account to purchase it.

“Thank you,” Thaddeus said to both, as he slowly poured the healing potion down the man’s mouth.

At once the man’s heart speed up and started beating normally. Thaddeus watched as the lacerations and puncture wounds closed. The man transitioned from dying to comatose. Thaddeus left the sleeping man to unhitch his horse and secure it in the sawmill. His yurt was too crowded already. After he finished, he walked back inside to see the man now snoring on the floor, covered in his bloody clothes.

Instead of logging out, he stayed in-game and talked to Sabrina. He didn’t feel comfortable leaving a stranger in his yurt by himself. But the man didn’t wake up until the next morning.

Thaddeus was in the kitchen making an omelet, from the eggs he picked that morning when he heard the man sleeping on the floor behind yawn and ask, “Where am I, it smells like a barn in here?”

“Morning stranger. You were wounded last night when you banged on my door. I gave you a healing potion, and you slept through the night,” Thaddeus explained.

“Oh, thank you. My name’s Cassian. May I ask who my savior is?” he inquired.

“I’m Thaddeus, Owen and Baronet von Boleyn told me to expect you,” Thaddeus said hoping to cut the ice. “Sit down and eat.”

Thaddeus put the coyote steak omelet on a plate by a chair with a glass of warm goat milk, and a fork.

“You’re the homesteader, Owen wrote me about. You must have impressed him for him to write me. The omelets were delicious, thanks for the food!” Owen said eating quickly.

Thaddeus made him a second omelet before he sat down to eat himself and him, “What happened to you last night? It looks like what attacked you on your trip, got you pretty good.”

“Goblins. Those green bastards ambushed me. Two days ago. Normally, they stay in the forest, across the river, and rarely come out. But they were exploring or hunting, and I just happened to come across them. One looks at me and they start firing arrows and chasing after my wagon. A few arrows hit me and the wagon, but I was fine.

Coming under attack is the norm for a trader. Usually, I can talk my way out of the situation. But goblins don’t speak English, do they? I put some distance between me and the goblins and when I was a safe distance away, I slowed down my horse. That’s when a goblin scout came out of nowhere and tried to cut my throat. Instead, they slashed my body and tried to stab me in the heart. I fought that goblin and managed to kill him just before he killed me. I remember crossing the bridge and seeing your yurt before I passed out,” he explained.

“While you slept yesterday, I put your horse in my sawmill. You want to check them?” Thaddeus said stacking the plates on the counter.

“Thanks again. It looks like I owe you a life debt,” Cassian said following Thaddeus outside the yurt to the sawmill.

“How long, have you lived here?” Cassian asked curiously. He was impressed by the water-powered mills, carpentry shop, open-air forge, outdoor tannery, church, and large farm. Most lords purchased hundreds of slaves to build the settlement. ‘But this man lived alone, how did he do it?’

“A month,” Thaddeus replied stepping into the sawmill.

“A month! You built all this in a month?” Cassian asked in disbelief.

“Yes,” Thaddeus answered instead of telling him the truth, that the game awarded him buildings for achieving a world first, completing a quest, and leveling up his hamlet.

“Travelers are blessed by the gods!” Cassian mumbled, patting his horses who looked uninjured.

“Your horse looks well. You want to walk her outside. He can join my horses while we talk some more,” Thaddeus offered.

This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

“Listen, I’d like to pay for your help last night,” Cassian said rubbing the back of his head guiltily.

“No, need. I hope you and I become future friends,” Thaddeus explained.

“You saved me, if that doesn’t make us friends, I don’t know what does,” Cassian laughed.

“So how does trading work? The Baronet gave me an inventory list of prices. Do I just tell you what I want, like an order at a restaurant?” Thaddeus asked.

“Sorta, but prices vary day to day. The sheet he gave you is just the average range of prices and not every route will carry every item. Normally, we’ll chat a bit. I’ll ask you what you need. You tell me your list, or most clients already have it written down, and then we agree on the price,” he said describing the process.

“And then you’re off to the next city?” Thaddeus asked.

“Yep,” he confirmed.

“And you’ll return with my goods?” Thaddeus doubled checked.

“Experienced merchants like me have a large spatial storage ring,” Cassian said pointing to his ring.

“Why would you tell me something so private?” Thaddeus wondered.

“I thought we were friends? Plus, if you were going to rob me, you’d a done it last night,” he said nonchalantly.

“Well, what goods do you have to sell?” Thaddeus asked.

Cassian unlatched the tailgate of his wagon to show Thaddeus crates of food, fine clothing, fruit, seeds, various ingots, jewelry, potions, tools, oil, and skill books.

Immediately Thaddeus was interested in purchasing the clothing, ingots, food, and skill books. The durability of his clothing had decreased, already his pants and shirt had holes. He was also excited at the prospect of eating more than just meat.

“Can I see the skill books?”

The first skill book was a combat skill that was perfect for him, Taunt. The second skill was Fast Slash, a sword skill, which he couldn’t use. But he could auction.

“All right, I’ll take all your iron ingots, a new set of beige cotton clothing, two rolls of bread, a mound of cheese, three pounds of salt, and the skill books,” Thaddeus decided.

“Since you saved my life, I’ll give you a good discount. The cost comes to Three silver and 44 coppers,” Cassian said.

“I thought we were friends? Where’s the friend’s discount? Two silvers and 75 coppers,” Thaddeus haggled.

“Could my savior be a devil? True friends of mine, pay more for goods not less. But, as you’re a new customer, I’ll come down just this once. Three silvers, 25 coppers,” Cassian bartered.

“We’re both 25 coppers away from settling on two silvers. Let’s shake hands and agree,” Thaddeus suggested.

“Come now, I got a family to feed. You want to take money away from my family,” Cassian said sadly.

“Funny isn’t it, Owen and the Baronet said you were a bachelor. Did you just get married?” Thaddeus lied.

“Of course, they would say something like that. Fine, two silvers, but before we settle do you have anything you want to sell?” Cassian said frustratedly now his tactic was seen through.

Thaddeus brought Cassian to the tanned coyote pelts hanging up on the drying rack.

“Due to their size, they’re not worth much. But I’ll pay you 25 coppers per pelt. What about the lumber, I’ll pay you a silver per stack of 20 twenty planks of lumber,” Cassian suggested.

“I can’t sell you the wood, but I’ll sell you the pelts,” Thaddeus agreed.

“What no haggling, this time?” Cassian joked.

“Nope, I think 25 copper is a fair price,” Thaddeus commented.

They shook hands and Cassian paid Thaddeus two silvers and fifty coppers. Cassian put the pelts in his wagon, and Thaddeus put the foot in his bag of holding, moved the 27 ingots to the forge, and put the sword skill up for auction.

He also saw his auction for the Crimson Fools gear was long over. Unfortunately, the auction was flooded with common and uncommon gear, the final price was less than two silvers. Since skill books were rare, he’d expected a much greater rate of return.

“Thank you again for saving me and it was a pleasure doing business with you. When I come back next time, is there anything you want me to bring back? Livestock, seeds, or maybe more iron ingots,” Cassian asked hitching his horse to the wagon and jumping into the driver’s seat.

After thinking for a while Thaddeus said, “Two large crates of coals and iron ingots. I also want more goats and some pigs. I miss bacon.”

“Pigs are expensive. I can bring you two for 50 silvers, and six goats for 18 silvers. I’ll be back in a month, Cassian said changing out of blood-stained clothes.

“Safe travels!” Thaddeus said as Cassian’s wagon trotted northward.

Speaking with Cassian, reminded Thaddeus how much he missed speaking to people.

As Thaddeus watched Cassian’s Wagon leave, he clicked to learn the skill book.

“Excuse me, sir, it appears this skill is similar to a Bear kin racial ability. The system is asking whether you’d like to modify the skill?” Alfred asked.

“What the racial ability called?” Thaddeus asked taking out his axe and walking to the forest boundary.

“Growl, sir,” he explained.

“Excellent choice, sir,” he said, as a new notification flashed.

System Message

New Active Skill: Growl. At higher levels, can summon support.

Stat Increase: +1 to STR, +100 EXP

Level 1: Novice Level 1

Effect: Taunt enemies, focusing their aggression solely on you.

Cool Down: 30 seconds

Thaddeus decided to try out the skill. He used to Surveyor to make sure there were no beasts or monsters nearby.

He activated Growl and could feel his body tense up. The hair on his back and arms stood up. He stretched out his neck and lifted his head to the sky and growled.

Unlike a familiar lion’s roar, it sounded more like a deep guttural bellow. He was happy with this skill. At Level 20 he felt like he could handle mobs. As he thought, he could feel the ground beneath his feet shaking. It felt like a tremor just before an earthquake.

Where a moment ago he felt like could take on the world, now his body was gripped with fear. His body was paralyzed. Thaddeus tried to move, but he couldn’t, he could only wait for death. He wondered if he was under the influence of a skill.

The closer his killer came the greater the vibrations, he could feel what felt like ground waves. He could tell the earth below his feet was rising and falling like cresting ocean waves. If he wasn’t paralyzed, he suspected he’d be bouncing up and down.

Soon a large brown grizzly walked out of the forest and stared at Thaddeus. It looked around, presumably for the bear that challenged it.

“Did you challenge me half breed?” asked the bear.

A talking bear. What the fuck. Mobs aren’t supposed to talk. How could he hear this bear? Maybe he was growing crazy in his solitude.

“Sir, have you forgotten your character can speak with bears,” Alfred reminded him.

“Answer me half breed cub, before I kill you!” the grizzly warned releasing him from the spell.

Thaddeus tried to analyze the bear when he received a system message.

System Message: Your Analyze Skill is not the sufficient

“Yes, elder, I apologize. I got a new skill and wanted to practice. I apologize for the trouble,” Thaddeus said bowing respectfully, hoping the bear wouldn’t maw him to death.

“You are wise to apologize cub. Why are you building near the dragon’s domain? Do you have a death wish?” the bear asked seriously.

“I just wanted to get away from human society,” Thaddeus explained.

“You have a little sense. But why are you a druid and a warrior? You are quite the aberration. I am Dhruvah, one of the seven Forest Kings. Tell me your story,” he said sitting down.

Thaddeus told him his fictional backstory, which he was getting more familiar with telling. He wondered if the game would weave his backstory into some sort of chain quest eventually.

“The Bearingtons are a long distinguished noble clan among Bear kin. How interesting that you’re the bastard of such a noble clan. Do you know if your mother was from the main family or a branch?” Dhruvah asked.

Thaddeus was shocked to hear Bearington was an actual family in Heaven’s Gate. He made that name up on a whim. Now, this poor bear suspected him of being a noble bastard. He needed to straighten things out as soon as possible.

“I do not. I was raised by human parents,” he said telling the truth. From now he vowed to tell the truth more.

“Make sense, Bear kin aren’t kind to half breed, but neither are humans. Can you polymorph?” Dhruvah questioned.

“Can I what?” Thaddeus asked in shock. He knew what the word meant but the thought never crossed his mind.

“Can you transition into a bear?” Dhruvah said slowly.

“No, I lack the skill,” Thaddeus replied.

“That’s too bad, I was going to train you. Maybe you’re too young? If you ever gain the skill or you’re in trouble, call for me again,” Dhruva said as he walked back into the forest and disappeared.

‘What a strange day,’ he thought. Today he saved one friend and was almost killed by his second. Life was truly bizarre sometimes, and it was still morning. He wondered what other adventures were in store for today.

Finding the nearest oak tree, he started chopping.