The Normal Farmer - Completed

Chapter 3 - Explaining the World

Riattus frowned, and he approached them both, floating. "You could be more thankful towards your Teacher, you know that, right?"

"And you could be more thankful towards someone that took you out of that mountain after so many years. If I died in that village, what would happen to your Card Box and you? Maybe that Goblin Shaman would not want to have you around and would destroy your Card Box, along with the Cards inside. Or he could find a way to make you fight for him. I bet you wouldn't like to be the killing instrument of a Goblin, right?"

Riattus grimaced. "Yeah… that would be a nightmare…"

While they were walking North, deep into the forest, Woof was sniffing in front.

Riattus was silent, thinking, and Ronald was looking at the Cards that he got from the Goblin Shaman that he had killed. "There are some strange Cards in here… But I can more or less guess the effect of the Spells and the Traps, just by the drawings. But the Magical Beings are strange for a Goblin to have. I bet he took these Cards from someone else. How could he use these? You said a normal person had to be in perfect sync with a Card, to use it…"

Riattus nodded. "Yes, I bet that Shaman tried a lot of Cards taken from people his group killed to find those that worked with him. I also thought it was strange, the huge number of Mana Orbs you got. That could only mean there were a lot of Goblins in hiding and the Shaman had absorbed the Mana from the Humans that died in there. Leave those Cards aside; some people may recognise them and get suspicious. And please, keep my Card Box on your necklace with you, always! Preferably, hidden underneath your clothes."

While Ronald was putting the Cards in his bag, Riattus was looking around while frowning. "I keep forgetting that you are not as strong as I used to be. Summon a Big Rat. I would prefer one near us in case of danger. The dog is too weak to fight a Monster that could lurk in this forest."

Ronald summoned the Rat, and Woof turned back as soon as he felt the whirlpool of the summoning. There it was, the Rat that he saw killing those Guards in the cave when he arrived at this strange World full of weird smells.

Woof growled towards the Rat and Ronald stood in between them. "Stay, Woof! Look, he is friendly!"

While licking one of his front paws, the Rat nodded his large head. Ronald put one hand over that big head, and he became amazed at how it looked real.

The fur, the touch of the flesh, the breath coming from that big mouth. "This is so weird… it looks alive! Is this the one I used in the Goblin Village? Or it's another one?"

Before Riattus could answer, the Rat nodded, confirming it by showing his sides fully healed after the battle.

Riattus smiled and explained, "It seems it is the same. You used the same Card, and the same Big Rat appears. That's an excellent strategy because using the same Card will make him recognise you as the owner and be more willing to obey you. Now, if you tell him to protect you against Monsters, he will act as a bodyguard. If you see a prey, tell him to hunt it. Later on, he will learn how to recognise prey and hunt when you order him. We don't have enough space in this forest, but you can also mount him and use him as transport. But it's better if you don't do that anytime soon, because, after all, you are a normal Farmer, right?"

Woof was still growling in a low voice; he didn't trust that big rat. Woof knew how rats looked back on Earth, and that one, despite being the size of a cow, was still a rat. An ugly rat that appeared on dark corners or alleys, scavenging food from garbage or screaking at him when he passed by on patrol. But that Human that gave him those soft clothes that he had around his neck, ordered him to stay, so Woof was going to obey. But obeying didn't mean trusting a rat…

Riattus asked Ronald about his life before arriving, and while they were travelling, he got to know a lot about the past of the man who rescued him from his incarceration. What worried him was that Ronald was too innocent, too friendly and not worried about what happened to him. He had to make sure Ronald learned everything possible to survive in that dangerous World. At least long enough to return to his homeworld. And that worried Riattus. What would happen if Ronald left, and he stayed like that, like a weird ghost? Maybe if Ronald stayed…

"Ronald, do you mind if I ask you something?"

Ronald looked back while waiting for the two rabbits that Woof and the Big Rat caught to be roasted in the fire that he made previously, with a flint and a small dagger that were inside the bag that Riattus gave him. "Sure. As long as it is nothing weird. You have a strange frown on your forehead."

"Well… I was wondering. Do you have someone in your World you wish to see again? Because from what you told me, your life was very simple and sometimes unlucky. Although your job in that restaurant could give you more opportunities in the future. Maybe with my help, and if you are prepared to work for it, you can have a good life here."

Ronald threw some soil onto the fire to put down a flare that was burning a little too much the rabbit's meat. "No, not really. I never had the time, luck, or opportunity to search for a woman. You said it. This world is a living hell. Everyone is trying to get out of here, so why should I stay? Unless you are worried about yourself instead of me. You could say it without trying to fool me, you know?"

"Yeah… Sorry, you are right. I am also worried about myself. If you leave, I don't know what will happen to me. Maybe I could go with you, I could die for real, or go to Earth again…"

Ronald nodded while caressing Woof's right ear. "Well, let's think about that when that time comes, okay? I also don't know if I want to stay here or not. As you said, my life was not a big deal. Maybe here I can have better luck. Who knows, I may even like to live here, as long as there isn't always someone or something trying to kill me!!

Riattus smiled. "Yes, let's talk about that when that time comes. In the meantime, I can show you this World and explain many things about it. You saw from the top of my mountain, this World is beautiful. The people living on it, not so much."

"Yeah, you already said that. And that it's weird. If this World is so beautiful as you say, and Magic can be used in this new and strange way, why are there so many bad people? The number should be lower. If so many good people left, there should be a lot more trying to make this World a little better."

Riattus nodded. "I thought about that many years ago. It was difficult. I had to bribe, kill, or steal some things while trying to gather answers. The Church had some written History, but they kept it secret. The Elfians and the Dwarfs live twice as long as a Human and they also kept secret records. This, you can never tell anyone. I told some friends, and they were the first to betray me. In the beginning, when this World was discovered more than 1.000 years ago, it was chosen as a prison. A place where Earth, Myshkasyl, and the Legosyl Worlds, the First Worlds, together with the following colonies, dumped the criminals they had in custody, filling their prisons or condemned to Work s*****y forever. Those first inmates started a new civilization here, and their offspring continued to live here, trapped. Maybe because of their bad genes, but what started in their parents' time as some skirmishes and grudges evolved to full-out wars between the Kingdoms, killing many of them."

Ronald frowned. "That doesn't sound good…"

"It gets weirder. I only found out about this next part because the previous ones summoned here asked Gaya about it, and they left records behind before leaving this World. Two hundred years after the first inmates arrived, the Gods chose this World as the last chance for all the bad souls that died in those three Worlds and the colonies. Here, those souls that in previous lives did some horrible things would forget what they did in their past lives and start over. If they became a better soul while living a peaceful and gentle life, when they died or when they were judged by Gaya, they would be reincarnated or transported to one of the Three Worlds or the colonies. But if here they became evil or did bad things, when they died, they would have a second try. If they blew it for the second time, upon their death, that soul would be destroyed forever. Well, I need to clarify this part. A soul that blew up its second try would be reincarnated as a Monster. Upon the death of that Monster, the soul would cease to exist."

Ronald became alarmed. "Wait, a minute… You mean those Goblins I killed used to be people?"

"That's the correct grammar. Used to be. They weren't anymore. All of them used to be people that had two lives here and on both they didn't get any better and were reincarnated as a Monster. I think it's a good way of showing the ugliness of the soul. And that's also the reason why there are so many monsters in this World. I didn't know that when I went on a rampage, trying to kill every Goblin that existed. I always wondered why they kept appearing. Two or three years before my last battle, I found out about this. But even with all this, there were a lot of good people to who Gaya granted passage. And a few crazy ones that, instead of leaving, decided to stay to help the people. About those, there were stories and music, telling their deeds and kindness. I think there could still be some stories about me. I was an amazing villain and tyrant."

Ronald was slowly shaking his head, overwhelmed by all that information. "But… Why turn the bad souls into Monsters? What's the point?"

"Population control measure. Like that, the number of people living here would never exceed the capabilities and natural resources of the World. It is also a good way to kill good people so that they can be reincarnated into another World sooner and to kill bad people before they cause more harm. Hey, why are you looking at me like that? I wasn't the one to make the rules here! If you want to complain, complain to God Seya! Or to Gaya! You should thank me for getting all this information free of charge because I had a lot of work to find out about this! It was one of the reasons why I was 'killed'!"

Ronald gave a leg of one roasted rabbit to Woof, and he took a portion for himself.

He started to eat in silence while looking at the Big Rat, which was sniffing the air around. "This World is really weird… And this big guy, when will he disappear?"

"Only when he dies, when you say he can leave, or depending on your Level. I think he will stay with us for one more day. After he disappears, you can summon him again, and he will be with us for another two days. When your Level rises, the Magical Beings you summon will stay with you longer. I had a flying horse with me for ten years. And a Dragon for five. That one was a real menace. I used to ride him and scorch every village or army that didn't obey me! The memories…"

Suddenly, Woof raised his head and growled in the direction of a bush five metres away from the big rocks where they were resting and eating. The Big Rat stood next to him, sniffing in the same direction.

Before Ronald could say anything, five Goblins came running from behind the bush. The Rat was the first to attack, followed by Woof. When Ronald got up, and even before he could summon anything, the Goblins died by the Rat and Woof's double charge.

Five red Orbs appeared where the Goblins died, and Woof was sniffing one of them.

Riattus pointed at Woof and asked, "He deserves them, right? He did an excellent job, and Goblins don't die easily."

Ronald went near Woof and guided his right paw towards every Orb. They returned to the campfire, and while Woof was licking his right paw, probably because of the tickling caused by the absorption of the Orbs, Ronald placed on the ground the Status Sphere.

He then grabbed Woof's paw and placed it on top of the Sphere. His stats appeared.

Race - Dog

Name - Woof

Age - 3

Job - World Traveller

LV - 3

ATK - 450

HP - 300

Skills - none

Hp Armor - 0

ATK Weapon - 0

Equip Intelligence - 0

Equip Wisdom - 0

Physical Attributes:

Strength - 10

Quickness - 10

Body - 10

Mental Attributes:

Intelligence - 10

Wisdom - 10

Special Attributes:

Willpower - 10

Mana - 50

Xp (x2) - 5

And then, some letters appeared, saying, "Each XP gives 5 points to spend on Attributes. You have 25 points. Choose the Attributes and the number of points to allocate". It then started to show just the Attributes.

Physical Attributes:

Strength - 10

Quickness - 10

Body - 10

Mental Attributes:

Intelligence - 10

Wisdom - 10

Riattus pointed at the Sphere. "Put five on everything. He will become stronger, faster, more intelligent, and he also needs Willpower and Wisdom to improve the effects of the scarves he has."

Ronald did just that, and Woof's stats changed.

Race - Dog

Name - Woof

Age - 3

Job - World Traveller

LV - 3

ATK - 450

HP - 300

Skills - none

Hp Armor - 0

ATK Weapon - 0

Equip Intelligence - 0

Equip Wisdom - 0

Physical Attributes:

Strength - 15

Quickness - 15

Body - 15

Mental Attributes:

Intelligence - 15

Wisdom - 15

Special Attributes:

Willpower - 15

Mana - 15

Xp (x2) - 0

Woof shook his head, and he then rubbed it on the grass on the floor. He looked at Ronald and tilted his head, puzzled.

Ronald scratched Woof's ear while smiling. "Is it my impression, or he got bigger?"

Riattus nodded. "Yes, he did. He looks bulkier and with more muscle. He now resembles an alfa wolf even more. I wonder how big he will become as he levels up. Strangely, your stats were ten, and when you placed the points, it assumed you had zero. In Woof's case, it was added correctly. A glitch or is it because it's an animal? I don't know, maybe that's not important. So, finish eating. We need to get going. You can put some rabbit meat in the bag to eat later, but remember to say the name of it as you put the meat inside so that you can retrieve it more easily. I am still surprised by how you managed to recognise eatable plants and leaves to make a salad!"

Ronald shrugged his shoulders. "As I am, for you to have inside this bag some salt, salad dressing, and aromatic plants for seasoning this salad and the meat!"

...

As soon as lunch ended, they continued. Riattus pointed to a small cluster of blue plants that were hidden behind a huge rock that he found during the night, saying those were very rare and valuable because, upon boiling, the liquid would serve as a Healing Potion, accelerating the cicatrisation of cuts and wounds to an astonishing speed.

Ronald picked the best leaves and placed them inside a cloth, keeping them in the bag with the Compressed Dimension, while Riattus taught him how to make perfect Healing Potions.

During the rest of the day, they walked along the forest by using some narrow paths. Where the vegetation was too much, the Rat took care of opening a path.

By the end of the afternoon, the Rat and Woof managed to hunt a deer, and Ronald roasted it, cutting it into small portions to keep inside the one-shoulder bag.

They finished the rabbit's meat at dinner, heating it on the bonfire that Ronald made for passing the night inside a small cave.

Ronald and Woof slept together, wrapped up in a thick blanket, while the Big Rat stood guard in front of the cave.

Riattus did not need to sleep, so he spent the night thinking and walking around the forest, not too far away from his Card Box, but still at a good distance so that he could be sure the night would be safe for Ronald.