The Normal Farmer - Completed

Chapter 2.1

Ronald was puzzled. He knew that name from stories that he heard at the Orphanage. "No way… Seya... I know that name! Wasn't he the one to create the Gateways that allowed Humans, BeastKind, Dwarfs and Elfians to spread among the stars more than a thousand years ago?"

Riattus nodded. "Yes, with the help of his friends, he created Gaya, that flying Mountain. Eventually, he became a God, and he is the God of this World. I don't know why he lets things go as they are. Maybe he abandoned this World or maybe he doesn't care. It's better if you don't say this out loud near another person. There are a lot of Church fanatics, and the Church is a force that you can't take upon lightly."

There was a strange thing in what Riattus said, and Ronald noted it, "Did you ever try to leave this World by going to a Church to be judged?"

Riattus shrugged his shoulders. "I wasn't a good person on Earth, and here I became even worse. I failed three times, and I could never try again. Maybe you have better luck than me, but I don't know which month it is. I don't know if Gaya will return soon or if she just left and you need to wait an entire year."

Ronald stopped to think for a while. There were a lot of things about that World he didn't know anything about. "Judging by the weapons and the clothes of the guards in the cave where I appeared, and the Church being a powerful force, I guess there's some weirdness going around, without talking about the Magical Cards."

"Yes, we are in Medieval times, with Mages, Knights, Kings, and spoiled Princes, Princesses, and rotten Nobility. Merchants, Priests, commoners, and Slaves fill the rest of the ranks. We need to find a way to gather some information about Gaya's return and a job for you to gain money to eat while remaining under the radar of anyone that could want to use your powers for a personal agenda. In the meantime, you need to level up quite a bit so that you can defend yourself in case of need. But levelling up without drawing attention is difficult, but it can be done. You can go to an Adventurer's Guild and apply to be a helper and a carrying mule, helping a group of Adventurers by supporting them without the actual need to fight. Like that, no one will notice you are stronger than you look, and you have more Magic than a normal Farmer. Because you are strong, no doubt about it. A Goblin Shaman has a very thick skin, and you pierced that one easily as if he was made of butter. You are also very fast. You started running after Woof, and you both reached the Goblin Shaman almost at the same time. And you could throw your Cards at a great distance without any visible effort. I had to level up a lot to be able to do half of that!"

"I see… But Seya's month… What's that? Is it some special thing or only the name of the month?"

"Name of the month. It's also the month when the Demonoids were defeated, in God Seya's homeworld. At least, that was what I learned in school, back on Earth. Here, the months have the names of God's friends and some family members. Winter, it's Heiji, John, Hina, and Zak. Spring it's Arys, Duncan, and Myra. Summer, it's Erza, Xenya, Null, Seya, and Ryn. Autumn, it's Lionelia, Bicary, and Talia. Each month has twenty days, and each day has twenty-five hours. Judging by the noise of the birds and the number of flowers and fresh grass all around, I guess we are in the middle of the Spring, maybe in Duncan or Myra's month, but I am not sure. It can also be Autumn, because the weather is similar in those two seasons. That's why I don't know if Gaya has already left or if she will arrive in five months."

Ronald was thinking some things didn't pile up quite well. "I once saw Gaya on my World. I was told in the Orphanage where I grew up that she was a kind and gentle being that always protected life. Why doesn't she stay here for a while, making sure the people don't suffer?"

"I asked that on my first try. The Knight told me that if she stayed for more than a week, she could be tempted to intervene, and God Seya didn't want that. And even a week was sometimes too much. Normally, when she is visiting, peace reigns all around. Crime goes down, wars stop, and people try to be gentler. I was told that many centuries ago, a war was being fought between two Kingdoms during Gaya's visit. She was sad because she saw a lot of beings dying on the battlefield, and she begged for God Seya's help. According to legend, he appeared high in the sky, engulfed in a strong light that resembled a small sun, and unleashed a massive flood of Fire Magic on both armies, killing everyone. Next, the Castles of both Kingdoms were obliterated, and the Nobles and the Royal family inside, along with the servants, Knights, horses, and chickens, were also vaporised. Since then, nothing similar has occurred again. The holes on the battlefield and where the two Castles were are still there. Not even grass grows up in there."

Ronald shook his head. "Damn! God Seya doesn't play around, does he? I have read every History book that I could find about him and his friends, and I always thought he was a kind and powerful Half-Breed Mage before he became a Deity. But here, he is very strict, right?"

Riattus shrugged his shoulders. "I suppose so. Just thinking about what I saw in my time, I can't judge him. And who am I to judge a God, right? This is a 'shilum' World, with 'shilum', disgusting people. And a lot of resentful beings, because of the ones that were denied the exit from this hell. But there are a few good people who will be allowed to leave sooner or later. And some were good people, but before Gaya arrived, they had some bad luck, and they either died prematurely or they did a very bad thing to save themselves, to save a loved one, or to avenge a death. It was for those that I tried to take over this World. I always thought that if I could enforce peace, even by force, things would become a lot better. Well, along with vast wealth, women, lands, and Castles, of course. What? I never said I was a good person when I was alive, right?"

Ronald smiled. "Yeah, that didn't turn out too good for you in the end, right?"

"Well, I almost accomplished it. I might still be alive to make this World a better place if I had been a little more careful and killed every Mage who showed even a hint of hatred or despise towards me, but I tried to make them see my way. It was a terrible decision on my part. But don't worry, I will make sure you don't ruin your chances of leaving this World. But first, we need to get going and leave this Kingdom before some guards appear in search of that dead Prince. If we head North, we will arrive in two or three days in the Kingdom of Loriath. It's not a bad place to stay for a while, or at least it used to be. I don't know how things are now, but it's better than staying here and explaining to the King what happened in that cave, right? In Loriath, we can look in the Adventurer's Guild if we can find a World Map to see how things are around us. We also need information about what happened during the last few years. I still need to find out how much time has passed since I disappeared and became like this, not dead but not living either. I may have to talk with that Magical Knight to see what can be done for me, because I would rather die for real, instead of being like this forever!"

Ronald touched the Card Box at his neck. "I bet that if I destroy this, you will disappear."

"Maybe, and maybe not. Either way, you could lose me, and I wouldn't be able to help you. No, for now, let's leave things as they are. I am also curious about what happened in my absence. Some people I knew may still be alive, or their children. I wouldn't mind seeing them. And try to kill some of them, of course. Ahahahah!"

Ronald shook his head. He looked through the ruined window to the empty field outside and the forest at some distance. "Well, we might as well start walking. I don't know what we can do about food, but me and Woof here will need to eat. I am not hungry, but I don't know when he ate last time."

Riattus smiled and pointed to the forest. "Well, during our travel, you can use your Magical Beings to hunt some rabbits, birds, or snakes. A Goblin is disgusting, but an Orc tastes just like pork. The lower half of Harpies tastes like chicken or pigeon, and the lower half of Lamias tastes like a snake. At least food will be available if you don't mind the hunting and killing. There are also a lot of fish in the rivers, but you need a Bear Card or a Beaver Card. I saw some of those on the piles you took from the dead Mages, so I guess you won't have any problems with finding food. For hunting birds, you could use a Hawk Card, which you also have. How good are you at cooking and hunting?"

"I know how to do it. I work… worked in the kitchen of a local restaurant over the last two years. The cook always said I had a natural talent for cooking, and he taught me a lot of dishes. The restaurant always had fresh fish on Fridays, so I have some experience with it. But I can order a Magical Being to hunt for me?"

"Yes, as long as you point to the prey in sight. Or else, it will look everywhere and kill anything that moves, be it prey or Humans. When they are more in sync with you and when you level up and increase your Intelligence, they will be more obedient and understand you better. By then, you just need to say to one of them to search for a hunt and they will bring you every eatable prey they can find."

"What, those Beings get smarter as I level up?"

"Yes, if you increase your Intelligence. By the way, take out one of the rings and the Status Sphere. We need to see the points that you have and place them in the right place. You need to allocate your points so that you can use more Mana. You can have a lot of Mana at your disposal, but when you spend it, if your Wisdom is low, you will not recover that huge amount when you go to sleep. Remember, the Mana you can recover during sleep depends on your Wisdom. High Wisdom, more Mana. You had 350 Mana, let's see how much you got with that village."

Ronald put his hand on the Sphere after taking out one ring, and they both looked inside.

Race - Human

Name - Ronald O'Sullivan

Age - 25

Job - World Traveller

LV - 92

ATK - 13.860

HP - 9.240

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 - 2.470

Xp (x2) - 212

Then, a message appeared, saying, "Each XP gives 5 points to spend on Attributes. You have 1.060 points. Choose the Attributes and the number of points to allocate". It then started to show just the Attributes.

Physical Attributes:

Strength - 100

Quickness - 50

Body - 100

Mental Attributes:

Intelligence - 500

Wisdom - 500

Special Attributes:

Willpower - 500

Mana - 2.470

Xp (x2) - 212

Riattus pointed to the Wisdom amount. "See? You should have 500 Mana at your disposal because your Wisdom is only 500. You have 2.470 Mana because of your fight, your bracelet, and the Willpower Spell Cards, minus the 1.050 Mana that you spent. If you don't increase your Wisdom, when you lose that huge amount of Mana, you will only recover 500. But maybe it would be better to increase your Physical Attributes a little. You are too strong for a Farmer. Okay, first, the Mental Attributes. Put 500 on Intelligence and 500 on Wisdom. Then, place 10 on Strength and 50 on Quickness. I think your 'Farmer Stats' need to go up quite a bit, making your strength and speed more believable. We can do that in the end."

Ronald did it, and his stats were updated.

Race - Human

Name - Ronald O'Sullivan

Age - 25

Job - World Traveller

LV - 92

ATK - 13.860

HP - 9.240

Skills - none

Physical Attributes:

Strength - 110

Quickness - 100

Body - 100

Mental Attributes:

Intelligence - 1.000

Wisdom - 1.000

Special Attributes:

Willpower - 1.000

Mana - 1.000

Xp (x2) - 0

Riattus nodded in approval. "Looking better… Your excess Mana was used to improving your stats with the points. Remember, because of the bracelets, you have 2.000 Willpower and 2.000 Mana to spend, but the Status Sphere can only show you, not your hidden equipment. Now, put on the ring again, place both hands on the Status Sphere and say the command 'Disguise Ring, update Physical stats!'. Like that, the next time you look at your stats in a Sphere, it will show you as a strong Farmer. I think…"

Ronald frowned. Riattus didn't sound too sure of what he said, but after saying the command, his 'Farmer Stats' appeared.

Race - Human

Name - Ronald O'Sullivan

Age - 25

Job - Farmer

LV - 14

ATK - 2.130

HP - 1.420

Skills - none

Hp Armor - 0

ATK Weapon - 0

Equip Intelligence - 0

Equip Wisdom - 0

Physical Attributes:

Strength - 110

Quickness - 100

Body - 100

Mental Attributes:

Intelligence - 200

Wisdom - 200

Special Attributes:

Willpower - 200

Mana - 200

XP - 0

Riattus smiled. "Perfect. I was not sure if it was going to work for you or not. Now, your cover story. You need one because you have a higher level than a Knight and more strength, too. If anyone asks, you came from the far East of the Kingdom of Terbik. It's a very small country where farming and fishing are the major businesses. They trade the excess products with the nearby countries, but they always had a problem with hordes of Goblins breeding like cockroaches. Well, it used to be, in my time, but I was told that Terbik was always like that, since the beginning of time. I suppose it still is. And you, being a Farmer from a region where you had a lot of opportunities to die and to level up thanks to the constant fighting against Goblins, no one will think your level and strength are strange. It will also be a good way for you to find a Party of Adventurers that wants to use your strength as a Carrier. And if you can also cook, you won't have any problems finding a job. If someone asks about your rings, say that they were a present from your wife and your daughter, who were killed by Goblins."

Ronald frowned. He had to remember that part so that no one thought he was suspicious.

Riattus made a small smile and continued, "I forgot to warn you of one thing before you sent the Spider and the Rat. If they were killed, you would lose some of our HP. You would also feel pain all over your body. Not enough to make it unbearable, but it could be a distraction during a fight, like the headaches."

"How much is 'some'?"

Riattus shrugged his shoulders. "The same ATK amount the attacker had minus your Spider and Rat's defence. Things almost got dangerous, but I was counting on the surprise attack. Orcs are very strong. One of them could easily kill both of your Magical Beings, but they killed the Orcs instantly, or it was your Spells. Either way, it worked."

Ronald was angry. "You could have told me that before we went there! What if the Rat and the Spider got killed?"

"That's why I told you that you need more Mana and to be ready with more Cards at hand! But you are right. I suppose I was too angry, and I didn't remember to tell you about that. Sorry…"

Ronald got up, and he caressed Woof's head. "What do you say, boy? Shall we believe this old ghost, or shall we leave him here and try our luck without him?"

Woof waved his tail while leaning his head to get a rub behind the ear. Ronald smiled and said, "Yeah, you are right. Let's give him the benefit of the doubt, but if he pulls another stunt like that, we burn his Card Box, okay?"

Ronald went around the ruined wall where they were hiding, and he looked at Riattus when Woof joined him. "Are you coming or what?"