Apinsig
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Chapter 306 Homesteading in a fantasy world
🕑 Added 2023-09-06 17:42:15 +0000 UTCI was sitting on a stage with everyone else who were important figures in the United Freeholds. The winter solstice celebration had just begun, and I was required to participate at least in the opening ceremony. There were so many people, and while it was nice to see everyone in a festive mood, for me personally, it was too many people.
Another thing that made it hard to continue sitting was the smell of the different foods that were being cooked in the numerous stalls everywhere. Now, I didn't like large crowds, but I could tolerate them, especially for good food, and before I went back to my home, I would visit as many as my stomach could handle.
It took me an hour before I was finished with my mandatory participation, but after that, I got to enjoy all the sweet pastries, wonderful meat, and interesting combinations of different foods that I had never tasted before.
I have to thank my body because I was actually able to enjoy everything, and while I did feel stupidly full, I was incredibly happy with the quality and taste of everything I tried. Usually, I run back home, but this time I walked, enjoying the cold winter. This year we hadn't seen much snow yet, but during January and February, the snow should get taller than a human.
My apprentices were not home, but Francis and the wolves were. It's been nice reconnecting with them, and especially with the wolves, whom I have been taking on survey missions. Unfortunately, I’ve been told that I’ve been doing too many of them and not giving others opportunities, which I guess makes sense, and in all honesty, it was getting a bit dull because none of them went up north where there were more dangerous areas. I also didn’t want to go too far out just in case trouble showed up, but when the snows get thick, it should be a lot safer for me to explore a bit further.
The house was empty without anyone else here besides me, but I really missed the quiet and remembered the early days when I was literally alone here. Things were so much simpler, and I kind of did enjoy it that way. Knowing that you were the only one around for miles and that everything you got was done with your own hands was honestly marvelous. Now, I could just go and buy all the resources I need to do anything I want. What a weird sentiment, wanting things to be harder just because I enjoy that more.
During tonight, I enjoyed the sauna and was incredibly thankful that I built one. During the spring, I will have to help George build his own, and probably after that, Emma and Arthur will want one as well. I have enough fire bricks for a lot more saunas than that, thanks to my current apprentices working harder during the summer.
Speaking of my current apprentices, they have been pushing themselves hard in the dungeons, and already a few are just two levels short of getting Apprentice Homesteader to level 20, so they could finally become real homesteaders.
They have also been working hard on planning their own homes. They are constantly going to the capital to search for the land they want and to acquire the resources to build their homes. While most of the wood they will get from here, my land couldn't support all the building wood and other resources; otherwise, I would be left quite barren. To get the credit they need, they have had to take loans from the nation, but there's barely any interest on that, and they should be just fine even if all they do is farm.
Two of my apprentices actually took up the offer to claim land in the grasslands, where there were a lot of rabbits, and I was quite interested to find out how their skills and classes would evolve if they are able to once again reach the max level.
I had a feeling that there were hundreds, if not thousands, of different variations for the Homesteader class, depending on what you did, but we will need to wait and see if I was correct about that. This spring will certainly be quite busy for me, but currently, I was enjoying my free time and, because of that, was planning my own expedition that I wanted to go on in the following few days.
I always start my expeditions on Saturday because from Monday to Friday I give lessons, and while usually I make it back to give my lessons on Mondays, sometimes I don't. But I don't worry about it, and I have already stated to every one of my students that if I'm not here, then I'm not here, and they should work on just strengthening their basic manipulation of energy. The days went by quickly, and I found myself geared up and ready to leave.
Walking through my forest was always a pleasant time, and this time I wasn't really going that far. My target was the east mount where the stone creatures lived. I still remember the cave opening next to a river, and that has been in the back of my mind ever since I saw it.
It was now a lot easier to notice all the stone creatures, and I was quite impressed by how many there really were, but most of them are just three or four stones. It really made me wonder how they reproduced and why they lived on this mountain and not somewhere else. But that would be something to discover at another time, or perhaps the cave might give some clues.
When I reached the entrance, I was amazed by how big it truly was. If you stacked three of me on top of each other, we could still walk in without having to worry about hitting my head. The light didn't reach too far in, but I didn't have to worry about that thanks to my eyes.
I didn't know much about the caves, but it did seem natural, and I slowly continued to walk deeper in. It was constantly curving and descending. After about half an hour of walking, the barren cave started to change into a more lively place that didn't look like anything I had seen before.
It started slowly; there were a few mushrooms at first, then some moss. It was so dark that even my eyes had trouble, but slowly as I walked deeper in, I began to see better once again. Soon, those mushrooms and moss that seemed normal started to give off a bluish light, and the further I walked, the brighter it got.
Still, to a normal human it would be no better than a night light, but for me, it was enough to see this place like it was daylight. Soon, more plant life started to appear, and then creepy crawlers. They were not aggressive and hid from my approach, but they were definitely quite dangerous for smaller animals.
Sometimes the cave opened up to a larger room, and a few times there were splits and other openings. Slowly, I started to map everything out, and I did find even a few interesting things like crystal formations and salt pillars that didn't seem quite normal.
Everything was quite damp, and there were even small streams of water flowing downwards. After about a two-hour walk, my map was telling me that I had descended enough to reach the ground height outside the mountain, and it seemed that the cave network got even bigger after that.
The creepy crawlers were getting bigger, and I actually had to step on a few of them who rushed me. I still haven't seen any mammals, but I have seen a few dung piles that indicate there should be some other creatures down here besides bugs.
The deeper I go, the more the plants were changing, but mostly they keep getting bigger. Currently, I was admiring a mushroom that was a little bit shorter than me and wondered if it was edible. It didn't seem dangerous, but there must be a reason why it wasn't eaten, so I currently left it alone.
