Chapter 24 - Going to the City

The next morning arrives and I wake up to a beautiful sunrise. The golden rays illuminate the canyon below glittering off the surface of the water. Another day in Settlement and another day closer to civilization.

After a bit of time, everyone else starts to wake up and they start doing their daily works.

"Ian, do you want to come with me to look at the vegetables. I also told old man Hus to make some hoes in case we are making a farm."

Lucina walks towards me while pointing towards the storage.

"Yes, lead the way."

We walk towards the storage and I could see a couple of wooden pots next to each other. Lucina bends down and lifts the lid of the barrels showing me the food inside.

"There are only 4 wooden barrels with food inside them. The first one has mushrooms that Oscar harvested further from the edge of the forest. The second contains root vegetables a few potatoes and wild carrots. We usually eat this in the vegetable soups I make for dinner. The third and fourth are fruits food on trees. I am unfamiliar with a lot of them but most of them have been sweet and juicy."

"Well from what we have we can potentially replant the root vegetables and we can try planting the seeds from the fruit and see if they will bear fruit. The place in the corner of HavenFall near the fence looks like a good place to start a farm. We would just need to build a more secure fence maybe another mudwall near the edge for safety. Then we plow the ground and mix soil from the forest into the ground. How does that sound Lucina?"

"It sounds good but I'm not sure how to proceed with the planting process."

Lucina had a worried expression as she told me about her problem.

"It's fine for now keep finding more vegetables I will get Howard or David to start on the mud wall while I wait for old man Hus to make me a hoe. I will start tilling the field once I get a hoe."

Lucina nods her head and heads off with a woven basket in her hand towards the forest. I also see Oscar and Luke walk towards the forest accompanying Lucina. The two boys seem to have grown closer together after the goblin encampment incident at the same time I also see Howard and David making mud bricks off to the side. I had previously told them to make a small mud house for the first goblin companion and they were diligently creating mud bricks and placing them on the side to harden up in the sun. I walk over towards them and started to help out while waiting for the log-off screen.

....

Morning in the real world. My routine is still the same. Morning jog, breakfast and check the forums. The forums have mostly been about random things in the game from talking about an animal or a flower to about an NPC's stats. The forum is flooded every day with new players talking about their daily deeds.

I turn my computer off and decide to go on a walk since today was my day off. I live in a suburb in New Straya, a country part of New Oceania. Earth had now become 4 nations, New Oceania, EuroNation, Asiafreeca and Ameri. New Straya is part of the 4 states of New Oceania. It is a new state with a lot of construction in the works. If you move closer to the middle of the state there are more cranes and more skyscrapers. I live on a more humble side of the state with only a one-story house and quiet streets.

Deciding to do something different I walk towards the train station and board a train to the city. The train ride was quiet with only a few other people sleeping or on their phones. I decide to lean back into the seat and close my eyes thinking about the next steps in Settlement.

After an hour's train ride, I arrive at the city. Stepping outside of the train was like stepping into another world. The hustling and bustling of the platform overwhelmed me. People were pushing and shoving each other trying to get onto the train before the door closes. I squeeze myself through the crowd and escape the train station. I rarely leave my suburb and have never gotten used to the chaotic scene of the city. The front of the station was as crowded as the platforms for the trains. Hundred of people crossing the streets, constant chattering everywhere and the sound of horns and exhaust pipes.

I walk towards a gaming store 2 streets down the main road. As I turn the corner I was finally able to escape the main bulk of the crowd and with fewer people around me, I could finally breathe more freely. I walk inside the store and then I see a huge display at the front for Settlement. A whole wall dedicated to the game with various mythical creatures that were shown in the trailer around the title of the game. I could see a group of people crowd around the side of the wall talking to each other.

"How's Settlement for you?"

"Did you clear the second event?"

"Who is SAMurai?? He topped the leaderboard twice in a row!"

"I came top 50 this time!"

"NO WAY! What were the rewards??"

"Increase one random stat by 1 to 5. I got Strength increased by 2."

"Man, I wish I can see the elves."

I stood near them placing my phone to my ear eavesdropping on the group. I was not sure if I should approach them or talk to them even though. However, that last comment made me wonder if one of those people was Elves_or_Nothin.

As I stood there contemplating whether I should approach them another customer entered the store. A girl with long crimson hair tied in a high ponytail wearing a scarlet tank top, short denim shorts and white sneakers. She was sucking on a lollipop as she looked around the store with a lazy expression.

"Over here, Sabrina!"

The girl looks towards the voice and her expression changed. She storms over and kicks a tall lanky guy with brown hair and glasses.

"Don't yell my ign like that you elf-loving dumbass!"

"OWW! Don't kick me, you idiotic witch!"

"HUH?? I guess you want to be beaten up."

The pair start to curse at each other and from the way they acted I could tell they were part of the top 10 in Settlement, Elves_or_nothing and Scarlet Witch Sabrina.