socalfunplaces Chapter 8 Difficult Choices on the Journey
Chapter 8 Difficult Choices on the Journey
Time flies, and more than a month has passed since the three of them set off to "head north" to explore. Now, Rogge and his two companions have temporarily settled down in Broken Amber Village.
After a month of training, Roger estimated that he had lost at least ten kilograms, and his originally youthful and rounded features had become angular.
Under the guidance and training of Gold and the other two, Rogge's strength has significantly improved:
[Rogge (Level 4) (Experience: 150/600)]
[Combat Power: 63 (Tier 1)]
【Strength: 7】
[Agility: 7]
[Physical Fitness: 7]
【Intelligence: 15】
【Charm: 18】
Melee Weapon Proficiency: 27
……
Including the experience gained from killing bandits, he leveled up four times.
All four attribute points were allocated to Strength and Agility.
Furthermore, by utilizing experience candies, their physical abilities are enhanced...
Without affecting his level progression, Roger converted the experience he gained into "experience candies," which directly doubled his training efficiency!
Even more incredible is that Rogge's "Experience Candy" can also be used by others!
As long as his subordinates (comrades) genuinely agree with him and follow him, Rogge can also realize the experience they gain!
This means that Rogge can concentrate resources on training elite troops!
However, at present, Gold and the other two are not yet familiar enough with Roger to the point of being able to "talk about anything," and Roger is not yet able to manage their skills.
Rogge also envisioned the future.
If he can form his own squad, warband, knight order, or even own a territory in the future... his strength will increase exponentially!
The beginning is always the hardest, and the most difficult period is often the initial capital accumulation from zero to ten thousand...
……
Why did the three of them give up heading north and choose to settle in Duanpo Village a month ago? It's a story full of bitter tears.
At first, the three of them headed north full of hope.
Gold patted his chest and boasted that with his skills, he could easily become a knight's squire in a big city like Raven City.
Rogue, who could discern his true strength, remained silent.
The level 15 "Mettenheim Adventurer" is indeed much stronger than him, but on the battlefield, he is also definitely a bottom-tier cannon fodder.
When they were traveling, the three of them consumed three days' worth of dry rations in less than two days.
By the third day, Gold's lofty ambitions were largely worn down by his rumbling stomach; he was practically reduced to eating tree leaves.
The wilderness of Pendor has never been a friendly place; it is teeming with roaming bandits and rampant robbers.
What alarmed Roger even more was that his scan revealed that even the Vanscare pirates from the western seas could disguise themselves and infiltrate deep into the interior!
If Rogge hadn't used his "Eye of Insight" to avoid them several times, the three of them would probably be wolf droppings by now.
The three of them dared not take the main road, but instead followed the main path through the forest. Although they were in a sorry state, they successfully arrived at the large village at their feet – Duanpo Village.
Duanpo Village belongs to Gangdes Fortress and is located on the south side of the fortress, on the east shore of Guangxiao Bay.
This village, built along the lake, is a fishing village. Most of the residents are free people who own their own small fishing boats. Compared to the wandering and displaced migrants, they can be considered to live a peaceful and prosperous life.
Gangdes Fortress is the easternmost core inland castle of the Fieldsway City-State Alliance, and the first line of defense against the invasion of the Eastern Lion Kingdom. Regular troops are stationed there year-round.
The nearby Duanpo Village also benefited greatly from this, and ordinary soldiers and bandits dared not provoke it easily.
For three people who couldn't even afford to eat, this was undoubtedly an excellent place to stay.
If it weren't for the fact that each of the three received five dinars and twenty cavalar coins during the division of spoils, they would have been practically penniless.
The saying "Even a hero can be brought down by a penny" is more true than any knightly oath in the land of Pendor.
Without money, he couldn't recruit any young men in any village who dared to embark on an adventure. Rogge had already tried, and the idea of organizing a large group to "farm experience candies" was dead.
These rural youths are all more profit-driven than anyone else, and they especially love to say one thing:
"I won't go with you without twenty dinars..."
Damn! They're asking for a settlement fee of twenty dinars right off the bat, as if it's a consensus!
Roger and his two companions searched their entire bodies but couldn't afford to hire even one person!
In Pende's monetary system, the dinar was on the second tier, derived from ancient silver coins. One dinar was equal to one hundred kavalas, and the dinar had considerable purchasing power...
Without money, you can't buy food, the team often goes hungry, morale plummets, and nobody will follow you!
Without money, you can't acquire good weapons and armor. Without good weapons and armor, you lack strength. Don't even think about clearing out bandits and getting spoils; that's suicide!
Rogue was certain that he only had one life, and once he died, he was dead, unlike a game where you could start over...
And so, Roger and his two companions were trapped in a vicious cycle.
Gold and Virgil were the lowest-ranking mercenaries in Mertenheim, and their combat skills were mediocre at best.
However, those who come from Eisenberg Island all know a thing or two about iron forging. Mertenheim is a city-state with top-level forging technology, second only to the Noldor elves.
And God and his companion happened to know a little about basic forging!
Even though they have some shortcomings, Roger's abilities can make up for their flaws!
The three of them discussed it and decided to put their northward journey on hold for now, regardless of whether they would seek refuge with a powerful figure.
My ideals are lofty, but my stomach is bony.
First, they needed to find a way to fill their stomachs; the three decided to start by accumulating their initial capital here...
……
Recalling when the three arrived at Broken Po Village,
As they walked along the forest, their linen clothes were torn to shreds by the branches, their exposed toes were covered in mud, their faces were dusty, and their hair was disheveled. If it weren't for the curved knives tucked into their waistbands, even the beggars at the village entrance would have been better dressed than them.
When they first entered the village, the villagers looked at them with suspicion, and some even tried to drive them away...
Fortunately, the village's respected leader, Yar, after learning that Rogge and his companions knew how to forge, agreed to take them in.
The price was that the three of them had to repair farm tools for the village for free for a month, for which Yar specially sponsored a small anvil for Rogge and the other two.
The three of them had only fifteen dinars and sixty copper coins in total. They exhausted their savings to rent a dilapidated farmhouse at the end of the village for six months.
Whether it's a loss or not, Rogge doesn't know, after all, he's new here and doesn't know the prices...
Both Gold and Virgil were clueless about finances, had never received any systematic training, and even basic addition and subtraction within ten required them to count on their fingers for ages...
In the Middle Ages, commoners had very limited social circles, few channels for information, and resources were monopolized. "Ignorance" was the most fitting adjective to describe the commoner class.
While they weren't stupid, the knowledge Rogge gained from the internet, even pieced together from various sources, was far beyond what ordinary people in the Middle Ages could possess...
After spending some time together, Gold and his companion were filled with admiration for Roger's knowledge.
In Gold's and his companion's view, Rogge was simply a top-tier scholar.
Even though at times Rogge spouts nonsense about some medieval common sense...
……
The three of them found a place to stay and settle down.
The farmhouse consisted of only two rooms. The inner room was still intact and became the place where the three of them slept and rested at night. Inside, there were three "beds" made of straw, with straw as the mattress and straw as the cover.
The outer room leaked rain and wind, but fortunately, Roger and his two companions were all very handy and spent several days repairing the farmhouse roof.
At Roger's request, the three of them transformed the outer room into a simple "blacksmith shop"!
With their current strength, they shouldn't even think about making money by fighting bandits; that would be suicide! Blacksmithing is currently the most effective way for the three of them to quickly accumulate wealth!
At that time, Gode and Virgil spent three days modifying a broken wooden barrel into a bellows and borrowing a usable iron hammer from the villager Yal to build a barely usable earthen forge.
Initially, the villagers of Duanpo Village viewed this "serious" blacksmith shop, which was so poorly equipped that it couldn't even gather all the necessary materials, with a sense of amusement.
But when God and Virgil, with Rogge's secret assistance, razed the three chipped machetes that Aunt Slin had brought for the first time to a point where they were sharper than new, everyone's attitude changed; they were no longer as dismissive as before.
In this alliance of merchant-dominated city-states of Fieldswehr, even villagers in ordinary small towns have heard of the blacksmiths of Mertenheim to some extent.
That's the forging skill that's recognized throughout the entire continent, second only to the Elf race!
Gold and Virgil's reputation as blacksmiths in Mertenheim spread, and villagers gradually began bringing their iron tools and farm implements to them for repair.
Rogge was mostly in charge of receiving guests.
A full month has passed, and this blacksmith shop, converted from a dilapidated farmhouse at the end of the village, has consistently maintained that it only repairs iron farm tools.
With the free repair service over, Roger and his two companions began preparing to charge for their craft.
However, before they could start making money, the three of them seemed to have a favor to repay...
……