Chapter 9. Hello stranger

POV: Unknown villager

I looked out over the village from the top of the church. The wind flew over the wooden rooftops while the people walked calmly on the gravel road.

Ever since I was stationed here, I kept wondering if it was a curse or a blessing.

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Everything began on the day of the ceremony, where the world would bless me and other teens with our future jobs. And when the time came I was blessed with the job of the cleric, It's one of the rarest jobs you could get. It was so rare, that it elevated me to a small noble which was the only way to get in the nobility besides being born into it.

I had to pack up my things and leave for the academy since it was mandatory, but it was paid for by the Royal Family at least.

The day I had to leave for the capital was one of joy and sorrow for my family, but with everything I needed in my inventory, I went to the academy. The journey was a long one but safe nonetheless, I heard that in the outer lands at night, monsters come out of the darkness to take the lives of common folks, but with the intellect of humanity combined we found out their weakness which was the light, after that the royal family generosity was shown when they spread all over the kingdom the unending light of the lantern, once that was done the monsters didn't attack the people anymore but we still had to be careful when going too deep into the forests at night.

As I arrived at the big city in the capital, I was amazed by what I saw. The whole city was surrounded by a wall of stone bricks 5 blocks tall and well-lit, the buildings were so tall and grand that I had to crane my neck to see the top. The streets were bustling with people of all shapes and sizes, all dressed in the finest clothes and accessories. The smell of freshly baked bread wafted through the air, making my stomach rumble with hunger. I felt like a small fish in a big pond, but at the same time, I was excited to explore this city.

I made my way to the academy, which was located in the heart of the city. The building was even grander than I could have imagined, with its towering spires and intricate carvings. I registered myself at the academy and was assigned a dorm room. As I made my way to my room, I marveled at the architecture of the building. The walls were made of brick stone, and the floors were made of white concrete. It was like living in a palace!

Once I settled into my dorm room and introduced my name to my new roommates, I decided to explore the campus. The academy was huge, with numerous buildings dedicated to different subjects. There was a building for crafting, a building for combat, a building for history, and so much more. I was amazed at the sheer size of the academy and the number of students who attended.

Over the next year, I spent most of my time attending my courses and studying. The academy was more challenging than I had anticipated, but I was determined to excel in my studies. I took courses on brewing and crafting, hoping to level up my skills and become a master in these areas.

In the brewing class, I learned how to make various potions using different ingredients, but I was shocked by the fact that at level 1 I could only brew awkward potions in which I had to use one ingredient that you could buy from the academy, unfortunately, the potion didn't do anything by itself making almost completely useless. but like every first level after 10 of those potions I went to the next level where I could craft the same thing with the exception that I could now throw the potion and it breaks, but now I had to pay for two ingredients. Even though the beginning was not that exciting, I learned from the library what I could do in the future levels, from running faster than a horse at Level 3 to a potion that can kill your enemy with only a drop at the legendary Level 7.

In my crafting class, I learned how to make various items, including weapons, armor, and tools. I started with the basics, like wooden swords and stone pickaxes, but soon moved on to more advanced items like iron armor that I couldn't make yet. I even managed to craft a few rare items, like a bow and lanterns. If I came back with this knowledge to my village I would be the richest villager overnight.

As the year went on, I became more confident in my abilities and started to make a name for myself in the academy. I even joined a guild with some other students who shared my interests and skills and studied in the library the most recipes for every skill and what would be the most efficient way to level them up.

Unfortunately, the popularity was also my downfall. In the second year, I had my first interaction with the true nobles, and it wasn't an enjoyable one, they started to pick on the commoners for their lack of wealth and knowledge.

One day, they invited me to join their group, which I refused, and that's when the bullying got worse. They would make fun of me in front of my classmates, spread rumors about me, and even steal my crafting materials. It was a constant battle to maintain my dignity and not let them get to me. Those last two years were a nightmare where I even stalled on my skills, with the Brewing one being at Level 3 and a half, and the Crafting at Level 4.

Despite all that, I persevered and continued to study hard. I even managed to catch the eyes of an official who worked at the palace. He was impressed with my skills and offered me a job as a clerk. It was a dream come true, I could finally escape this hell away from those nobles, and concentrate on my passion and growth, but unfortunately, the nobles found out and were infuriated.

They knew they couldn't let a commoner like me work at the palace, so they came up with a plan to get rid of me. They framed me for stealing valuable items from the academy and presented false evidence to the officials. I was devastated when I was found guilty and was exiled from the capital as punishment.

I was sent to a small village, but this wasn't a normal village it was the furthest village from the capital at the borders of the country where they had only one lantern as a light source for the night, and on top of that it was a broken village.

A broken village was something that I found out while I was browsing through the library. The village was a small one that had only corrupted people who were thrown out from the cities or villages.

Corrupted villagers were normal people who were suddenly corrupted by an unknown power that made the people dumber to the point that they could barely speak. It's unknown what causes the corruption but they are exiled to those villages In fear of spreading the corruption to the rest of the population.

I didn't know what to do, I thought of running away and hiding somewhere else, but then they'd go to my village and arrest my parents so I couldn't do that, with a defeated sight I decided to pack my things and went to the village.

But when my friends heard about my situation, they started to help me with what they could, they gave me books and ingredients for potions, and they even managed to sneak out a block of soulsand so I could grow my own nether wart. And I was very thankful for them and their help, and with a final goodbye, I left for the village.

The journey was longer than anything that I'd done before, and even though it started safely, after halfway there the roads didn't have lights anymore, the path was more dangerous, and the nights were a death sentence to travel. In that journey, I fought my first zombie with my iron sword, and luckily I took some combat classes so it wasn't that hard, but I decided to make a fort every night and walked in the morning until I arrived at my destination.

At first, I was terrified to be exiled to such a village, but I had no other option. As soon as I arrived, I realized how bad the situation was. The village was barely livable, and the corrupted villagers were all around. I was afraid that I would be corrupted too, but I had to make a living somehow.

I decided to use my skills and knowledge to help the villagers in any way I could. I noticed that they lacked basic light to keep the monsters away, so I started to make some lanterns and put them all over the village so the monsters wouldn't spawn, I started teaching them how to grow their crops better and improve their yields. At first, they were resistant and didn't trust me, but over time, they started to see the results of my teachings and came to respect me.

As time passed, I realized that corruption was not just a disease that affected the mind, but it was also a disease that affected the soul. I saw how the villagers had lost all hope and were living in poverty and misery. I tried to help with what I could and make a place more liveable.

It wasn't easy, but I started to gain their trust and respect. I was no longer seen as an outsider but as one of their own.

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As I recounted how I got here, I started to smile bitterly and climbed down to brew some more potions. But as I checked the chest I realized that I was out of ingredients to my disappointment, so I had to go to the next village to buy them.

I left the church and walked to the nearby house and knocked at the door.

"Bob the librarian!"

The door opened and a tall man with a big nose responded.

"Village head?"

" I'll be going to the next village to buy some more ingredients, please tell the other. "

"Ok, Bob will! "

After I told him that, I took some emeralds and other items with me and left for the nearby village.

POV: ?????

The journey was the longest one that I had, even with the map it took two nights of nonstop walking until I was almost there. The nights were a nightmare to walk through, I had to stop most of the time, dig a hole, and wait for the daylight to come. This made me think that I should search for a horse for easier and faster travel next time.

But it didn't matter since I finally arrived, I could see the structures in the distance, and they were not abandoned. I quickly ran towards the village and managed to see a villager like in the game with the exception that it had its arms beside his torso like me.

"Hey, Hello there!"

The villager turned to look at me.

"Hello, stranger. "