Chapter 31: The appearance of the first Adventurer (II)
The summer month went by, and the land was quickly cleared. Large patches of land were dug out to create underground stone passageways that water could flow through. It was the base for the ducts that were intricately laid out, leading to one area.
An open space where a building was built. This was the first building that the people all worked hard to create, a filtration duct for the sewage itself.
Dozens of level E common Magic Stones were embedded into strange machines that purified and recycled the water. Only three Level D Magic Stones were present inside the building itself that controlled the water's flow, the basic machinery, and the other smaller Level E common Magic Stones. This building was purely for filtering out the sewage itself and maintaining the health of the people.
With the help of Duke Hon, the people were divided into four groups. Construction, hunting, gathering, and farming. Even though the people still lived in tents, the houses and other intricate complexes were underway. Everyone pulled their own weight, and by the end of the day, women and men came together to eat a hearty meal.
"Berry!" Phil called out and came over to take a seat next to me. He had a warm bowl of soup and bread in his hand.
"Hey, Phil. How is the hunting going?" I took a bite out of the bread that was stuffed with gold. Coco had snuck a couple in the bread, making it that much easier for me to hide.
"Pretty well. There is quite a fair amount of games inside the walls. I didn't expect it to be so plentiful here. I was expecting to have to leave outside the walls to hunt."
"Eventually, you'll have to. At the rate you guys are hunting, it's going to kill off the population. I recommend you guys be careful on how much you hunt."
"I understand." Phil took a sip of his soup. "How is the sewage system coming along?"
"It's finally completed. Every time we have a new house or an apartment, we can just connect it to the main pipes. Don has been busy planning new buildings. He already has the draft ready to create a town square so we can start a marketplace."
"I've rarely seen him lately." Phil took a bite out of his sandwich.
"Well, you haven't, but I've seen him every day. We have been planning on incorporating a couple of special features into the building itself. The kids are doing well in learning the language."
It was good to see the growth of the kids learning, I felt like a proud teacher seeing them grow.
"I expect in a couple of months they could start on learning magic. Though the funny thing is everyone wanted their children to learn how to read and write. I was swamped with teaching five hundred kids from the age of five to thirteen. We had to divide the class up to manageable size. Sol and Sam are the first ones to absorb the materials fast enough, so I assigned them to teach. I, on the other hand, am only teaching the more advanced coding to a few. Being swamped with working with Don, teaching, and creating new stones does get to me."
"I could see that. You seem exhausted."
"Well, I've been barely sleeping." It was fun, no doubt about it, but a strenuous daily work that needed my attention.
"That could be a problem. Why don't you take a rest after you eat."
"I don't have time."
"Well, a few hours won't hurt."
"No," I finished eating up the food in hand and got up. Phil followed behind me with his bowl as well. Taking it to the group of women who were washing dishes, I handed it to them.
"Berry, you ate all your food today as well. I'm glad that you don't waste food like a couple of these old buffoons." One of the elderly women spoke with a huff in her voice as she scrubbed the plate that we gave her. She wasn't too pleased such precious food was wasted.
"Hello, Mrs. Beca. The food you made was delicious. I wouldn't dare leave a single bit behind when we are scarce on food."
"I'm glad that you enjoyed it."
Leaving the area, Phil and I went over to the open field. It was a rough laid outfield, small sprouts were growing in a neat row. A man with a straw hat stood in place with a hoe on his shoulder.
"Mr. Tson!" I waved my hands to catch his attention. He was bent over checking on his crop.
"Berry!" Mr. Tson looked up with a smile. He pushed back his straw hat for him to see.
"How are the crops coming along?"
I was curious about how agriculture was going. Things looked like it was going well from the small sprouts that were forming.
"They have just sprouted." Mr. Tson straightened his back. "My old bones are getting too old." He chuckled.
"It has only been a month, and the small portion of the garden is growing?"
"It is the middle of summer. The fertilizer that you have suggested was quite useful. I never thought of using animal waste, and fish mixed with plants created such rich soil. I have been tending the soil continuously so we can be ready for next year."
"I'm glad that helped. I wasn't so sure my small bit of knowledge would help." I felt a bit embarrassed, reading those books was a lot helpful.
"No. No. It's a great help." He was pleased with his work.
"Did you receive the instruction I sent you about crop-rotations? Sol should've read it to you."
"Yes, I did. I didn't expect that they were more into farming. I'm grateful for learning something new every day."
"Crop Rotation?" Phil asked as he leaned against the fence.
"It is when you rotate different plant families from one season to the next, so related crops are not planted in the same spot more often than every three years or so. The purpose of crop rotation is to help maintain the balance of nutrients, organic matter, and microorganisms necessary for healthy soil. There is more to it, I can send you a copy of the book that I have read it from." I suggested, knowing that there was too much to say.
"This young lady certainly says some unique things. In all my years in farming, I have never seen such a method before. Trying something new won't harm us at all."
"But Mr. Tson, this is food that we are talking about. Aren't you worried that it might fail?"
Mr. Tson chuckled. "Young lad, if I lived every day in fear, then they would be no progress. This young lady has created a more easily accessible sewage system that is cleaner and healthier than the town we lived in. I mean no offense, young lord. The knowledge she brought with the magic stones have been greatly helping improve our lives. I have no qualms against trying something different, especially seeing how diligently this lady is working to improve the quality of our lives."
Phil understood his statement. I felt a gush of pleasure at his kind words.
"Not only that, but she is also willing to teach the younger generation how to create magic stones. For common people like us, handling magic is something that we have never dreamed of."
"Well, Mr. Tson, I hope you have a blessed day!" I waved goodbye and continued to walk through the small village that was being formed right before our eyes.
There weren't many buildings that were built yet. Although there was a three-story apartment complex that was being built first as a high priority project to save space. People were busily moving material from one spot to another. Even in the darkness, the multiple light magic stones that were hung up like Chinese lanterns decorated high up against the buildings. Bright lights brightly lit up the surrounding area, making it possible to see in the dark. No more fire burned for light, and instead, the magic stones took its place.
"Don has been creating some strange buildings," Phil replied.
"I wouldn't consider it strange. It conserves space."
"I could see that, though, wouldn't it be better to just build one house?"
"Well, from what I have been learning from Don, it takes more material to build a house then the apartment. Plus, he's on the same page on conserving as much nature as possible. That's why you see plants growing out of some of them. I think he's on the whole thing about keeping a house clean and fresh by having plants in it will brighten up your health."
"That is one way to look at it. He's not too far off on that subject. The elves are known to live with nature hand-to-hand and taught me that it purifies the negative magic in the air."
"So, you lived with the elves before?"
"Temporarily." Phil did not continue on with the subject and just kept quiet.
I felt like if I had probed any further, he would've gotten irritated.
We continued down the open path looking around to see the progress of the town. Small shops were opened for everyone to trade as rich culture was slowly starting to show. The liveliness of the people was coming back slowly but surely.
"The people are doing well," I stated, enjoying the peaceful atmosphere.
"Yes, I was worried that they would want to go back home even though it's so dangerous outside. We had reports that the goblins have been amassing in our abandoned towns. Already there have been sightings reaching over twenty thousand."
"So many?"
"I'm not sure what is going on, but my hunches are telling me that the world is getting ready for the next appearance of the Legendary monster. The Black Gryphon."
"Has one year already passed so soon?"
"No, we still have another four months left to go, though I feel like the goblins gathering is just a harbinger of ill tidings."
This was a problem in itself. I understood what this could bring to the people at this trying time.
"How is the magic stone collection coming along?" I asked. That reminded me that I was starting to run a bit lower than the lower level stones.
"It's a bit harder than I thought. It would be much easier if we traded it with other cities."
"We should go out and trade with the nearest city before the winter sets in."
"I've been thinking the same thing as well," Phil mentioned.
"Do you have a specific time frame in mind?"
"Yes, In the next coming week."
"Okay then, let's set a date for next week to slip through the goblins and head towards the nearest city."
"Let's do that."
"I'll ask Don to free up his days. Coco and the rest might be a bit too busy watching over the castle, so I'm not sure if they will be willing to go. It seems that it makes her a bit nervous."
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