The Normal Farmer - Completed

Chapter 1.1

Riattus smiled. "Not quite. I guess my conscience linked to that box and those Cards inside of it when I lost my physical body. It seems my desperate attempt to escape to Earth has failed, so there's really no way back without the help of the God of this World."

Hearing that, Ronald became depressed again and said aloud all his frustrations while looking at the dog, "We are trapped here forever, Woof. So, first things first, what is a Great Sage Summoner, where am I, and why do these Cards make things appear?"

Riattus smiled, grabbed a chair, and tried to seat himself, failing miserably. It's impossible to sit on a chair without a body. He couldn't even grab the chair.

He gave up and explained, "This World, Craddumster, is full of Magic. Real Magic. Like you read in children's books when you were little, I bet. Some people, like me, that have worked and levelled up with a lot of effort and work, can use those Cards you have in your hand. Considering you also have a Status Sphere with you, I guess you already found out about Attributes. I can help you get stronger and even escape from this room, as long as you do me one little favour."

Ronald had nothing to lose, so he nodded. "I guess, as long as it's within reason."

"Take that Card Box with my name and those Cards inside with you when you get out. Like that, I can tag along and escape from here."

Ronald thought it was perfectly logical. Someone trapped inside a box like that for 200 years or more would want to get out as fast as possible.

But the day didn't go well for Ronald, so far.

"First, why were you inside that box and locked inside this weird room?"

Riattus looked shocked and spread his arms. "This was my perfect hideout, my Fortress of Solitude! In here, I created the most amazing Magical Cards that this World has and some that only I owned! I just made a miscalculation in my perfectly legitimate attempt at World Domination. I trusted some people who were greedier than me, and they betrayed me. An immense army of Mages fought against me outside, making me retreat to this hideout. I tried to get back to Earth to escape this World. The explosion I thought would happen that would blow up all of them because of the backslash of my Magic, consumed my body instead and sent my conscience to that box. I think they still died, considering that no one entered here. Everything is in the same place I left it, and nothing is missing. In the end, I won."

Ronald guessed his face betrayed him because Riattus frowned and said, "Why that surprised look? Wait until you reach 100 years old, living in a World you didn't choose to live in, and then judge me. I tried to make the best out of it, from all this c*****e, death, and stupidity, and I could even improve some things. When I tried to rule this World and make it evolve faster, those ungrateful bastards rebelled. But enough about me. Who brought you here?"

"One High Mage called Hakal, ordered by a 15-year-old Prince. There are five Mages, ten guards, and one servant dead in that room. The Prince ordered the guards to kill everyone, and the Mages fought them. Spears and swords were flying everywhere; a Big Rat, a Giant Spider, a hole in the ground, a rock ball, an explosion that sealed the entrance… You know, the usual."

"Oh, have you absorbed the Mana Orbs from them?"

"That's what they're called? Yes, I did. I felt some warmth, and it also tickled me."

Riattus smiled. "You lucky bastard! What is your level now? 500?"

"No, just 50. When I appeared, I was level 2, just like Woof here."

Riattus laughed a lot. "Ahahahah! I take it back! You're not a lucky bastard, you are a disgrace! Ahahahah! Until now, everyone that was summoned by using that Magic Circle has become at least level 40. I was level 60 when I arrived."

"Yeah, it also surprised them. That's why they tried again, and they brought the dog."

Riattus laughed even more. "I take it all back! Ahahahah! They were the unlucky ones! They tried twice, and on the second attempt, they brought a dog? Ahahahah!"

"I don't think it's that funny."

"Sure, it is! Do you know the odds of something like that happening? And twice? Man, if you can make me laugh like this at least once a week, I won't mind teaching you! Quick, place your hand on the Sphere. I want to see it for myself."

Ronald placed the Status Sphere on top of a table, and when he placed his hand over it, Riattus looked and stopped laughing. "This is truly amazing! All your Attributes are disguised, which I could only do after using some Magic equipment! You do it naturally! Since you have 1.250 points to spend, I suggest putting 100 on Strength, 50 on Quickness, 100 on Body, and the rest on each Mental. As soon as you get more points, you can place them on the Mental Attributes. Unless you want to be a Knight. But I always thought a Summoner is stronger. You just need to say the amount and the Attribute to place it."

"Okay, let me do that then."

After Ronald placed the points where Riattus said, the status changed.

Race - Human

Name - Ronald O'Sullivan

Age - 25

Job - World Traveller

LV - 50

ATK - 7.500

HP - 5.000

Skills - none

Hp Armor - 0

ATK Weapon - 0

Equip Intelligence - 0

Equip Wisdom - 0

Physical Attributes:

Strength - 100

Quickness - 50

Body - 100

Mental Attributes:

Intelligence - 500

Wisdom - 500

Special Attributes:

Willpower - 500

Mana - 50

Xp (x2) - 0

Ronald was looking at the Sphere, puzzled by the changes. "I have a weird Job, World Traveller. And that part there, 'Xp (x2) - 0', is also weird."

"That Job is self-explanatory. It will always be there, along with a future Summoner Job. And the 'Xp (x2) - 0', it's a cheat you get for coming to this World. It will help you get strong faster than everyone else. Your Mana is now 500 because your Wisdom is 500. The rest of the Mana was used to complete the placement of the Attributes. Now, grab from that box all the jewellery inside of it. Two rings, two necklaces and two bracelets. Put my Card Box attached to one necklace. Those Cards inside of it are my best creations. But you don't have enough Mana for them, so keep it hidden."

Ronald opened the box he pointed out and took everything from it. The Card Box had a small ring that Ronald used to attach it to one necklace.

He never enjoyed wearing jewellery. At least those were very simple. "What are these supposed to do? I must put this on?"

"Put one ring on a finger of each hand. It will disguise your status. The next time you use a Status Sphere, it doesn't matter which hand you place on top of it, you will have the same status as a weak Farmer. Like that, you will be just another normal guy, with nothing amazing about you. The two necklaces are for protection against Magical Traps and Magical Spells, and the two bracelets multiply your Willpower and your Mana by two when needed. Put those bracelets on your forearms, under your clothes."

Ronald put everything on. They would help a lot! He then looked at the dog, thinking he would have problems if he faced Monsters like the Spider and the Rat. "It's a pity you have nothing for the dog."

"Who said that I don't? See those two scarves over there? Put them around the dog's neck. It will help him destroy Magical Traps and disassemble Magical Spells, the same effect as your necklaces. There's a small rope on that table; it's better to use that as a leash."

Ronald picked up the two scarvs and tied them one at a time, tying the rope to the scarves and leaving it two metres in length. Woof seemed to like it.

Riattus nodded his head, and he then looked around. "I think there's a sword somewhere that you could use, but the one you have is also good. Although I never used one. Let me see the Cards you have. I'll help you build a deck that you can use with the amount of Willpower and Mana you have. Those five boxes that I have there all have powerful Cards, but you are too weak to use them. But keep them, you will get stronger. Normally, a person can only use Cards that are in sync with them, but because you're a World Traveller, you can use any Card, as long as you have Mana for it. Put them inside the bag along with the Status Sphere. Better to take the Sphere out when no one is in sight; those things are immensely expensive, and they could make some people suspicious about you."

Ronald arranged the six piles of cards he had gathered from the Mages who had died.

He had to place them side by side on the nearby table for Riattus to see them. "Well, you need Cards of 500 Willpower and some of 500 Mana. But with the bracelets that you now have, you can use 1.000 Willpower and 1.000 Mana. Those red Cards are Traps. The Traps can be used as long as there is Mana to spend and can be previously hidden. They normally cost 100 Mana to use, but if used in a moment like Spells, the cost will double. The orange Cards are Special Traps and they can be used as long as there are Mana and Willpower to spend. They can be previously hidden, and they can negate Traps or Special Traps. They cost 200 Mana and 200 Willpower, but if used in a moment like Spells, the cost will double as well."

While he was explaining those facts, Ronald was separating the Traps and the Special Cards.

Riattus pointed to the blue Cards. "The Dark Blue Spells can be used in a moment and as long as there is Mana to spend. Each one costs 100 Mana. The Light Blue are Special Spells and they can be used at a moment's notice as long as there are Mana and Willpower to spend. They can negate Spells or Special Spells. They cost 200 Mana and 200 Willpower."

So, Ronald separated those Cards by colour.

Riattus pointed to the Cards that had drawings of Monsters. "Each X or Mana Orb equals 50 Mana. Meaning, this Big Rat has three Mana Orbs, and if you want to make him appear, you need to throw the Card to where you want him and say, 'Summon Big Rat!', at the cost of 150 of your Mana. Since you have 500 Mana available, you can Summon three of them for the cost of three Mana Orbs. But because of the Mana bracelet, you can Summon six of those Rats. But of course, you will need six Cards with the Big Rat."

Ronald separated the Monsters by the number of Mana Orbs.

There were also some green Cards, and Riattus was pointing at them. "Those Dark Green are Mana Spells and they can be used in a moment and they use 100 Willpower to give 200 Mana. You don't need many of those, maybe four. The Light Green Willpower Spells can be used in a moment, and they use 100 Mana to give 200 Willpower. Maybe four of them as well."

Ronald took those Cards and chose four of each, as he said.

But it seemed like Riattus had more to explain because he was still looking at the Cards. "Since you are weak, it's better if you choose Cards that cost less. But with the bracelet, you can have four Magical Beings of 1.000 Mana and Spells and Traps at the same cost. But beware, if you spend all your Mana, you can't use any Card and you are doomed."

"Unless I use the Dark Green Mana Spells to exchange my Willpower for Mana, right?"

"That's right. You were listening! Maybe there's still hope for you!"

"Now, how can we escape from here?"

The old ghost pointed at a wall. "I have a loose brick on that wall. Behind it, there are three very special Cards. It was my emergency exit. It's the 'Spell Elevator', the 'High Slide', and the 'High Stairs'. Activate it by placing the 'Elevator' Card on that metal board on the floor near it, and the entire board will go up, and on the ceiling, there's a hatch. Just open it and climb. You will find yourself at the top of this mountain where we are now."

"You really thought about everything, didn't you?"

"Yeah, except for the fact that a group of Mages would prefer to keep their ridiculous power, instead of improving the World. I didn't foretell that one. I almost forgot, grab that leather one-shoulder bag on top of that chair; there are a lot of items inside that will help you, eventually."

When Ronald took a hold of the bag, he thought it was weird, being as light as it was, because Riattus just told him it was full of things. A quick look inside answered his suspicions. Darkness, never-ending darkness.

He looked at Riattus with a questioning look. "Is this what I think? A bag with a Compressed Dimension? These things exist here?"

Riattus shook his head. "No, I had that with me when I was summoned here. It's the only one in this World and I never revealed to anyone what it really was. People always thought it was a normal leather bag that I always carried around. Since it has password access, no one besides me could ever make it work or take anything from inside of it. If you put a small drop of your blood inside and say your name followed by the words, 'Full Access. Password, never-ending-home-sick!', the bag will recognise you as the new owner. Remember, never tell this password and never explain what this bag truly is. People will try to kill you to get it."

Ronald did what he said, by using a small dagger on a table to make a cut on his index finger. The blood and the words made the bag blink three times, showing that it had changed owners.

Ronald showed the small belt purse he had in the inside pocket of his leather jacket. "I had this belt purse with me when I arrived. I had to save for half a year to be able to buy it. It also has a Compressed Dimension."

Riattus looked at it, puzzled. "Those things weren't expensive on Earth, in my time."

Ronald shrugged. "Well, in Arctures-One, from where I came, these weren't too expensive. The problem was that I never had enough money. Normally, I needed money to eat, so this was a luxury I couldn't afford."

Riattus had his mouth wide open. "No way… You were from a colony? Where was your Planet?"

"In the Arcturus Solar System. I was one of the few Humans in there. At least I think I am Human. I can be a Half-Breed of any Race with a Human because I never knew who my father and mother were. I was told by a Dwarf co-worker that I am stronger and faster than a normal Human, but I have never met one to compare with. I know that the gravity of my home planet was greater than on Earth, and that could make me faster and stronger in comparison, but as I said, I really don't know."

Riattus stopped to think for a while. "I see… Because of the excessive gravity, there wasn't a colony in my time. That can be handy because the gravity on this planet is the same as on Earth. You may not need to spend points on Physical Attributes. If you had told me that before, I would have told you to spend your points on the Mental Attributes instead. Well, we can do nothing after the points are in place. Remember to spend the next points you get on the Mental ones, okay?"

Ronald nodded, and he went to the wall where the loose brick was. After he took the Cards out, he went to the top of the metal board on the floor and grabbed the dog by the scarfs, so that he didn't run away when the elevator activated.

When the Card was on the board, held in place by a small rock, and he said the words, the Card brightened up, the board vibrated, and it went up, in the ceiling's direction. Not too fast to be uncomfortable and not too slow to take ages to reach the high ceiling.

It stopped near the top, making Ronald kneel to not hit his head, where a wooden wheel was attached to a disguised hatch. Ronald turned it anti-clockwise and pushed the hatch a little.

When the sun was entering through the small gap, he looked down at Riattus. "You are not coming?"