Emerald Forest, Gray Rock Town.
In the early morning, the wind blowing from the forest awakened this gray border town.
“Ding-a-ling—”
The small wind chimes hanging on the window frame swayed and collided, emitting a crisp sound.
Gaosi sat on the wooden box bed, reaching out to press the linen cloth beneath him, feeling the rough texture of the thick straw padding, and remained silent for a long time.
Fragments of past memories constantly surged in his mind, the memories of a young hunter who left home to make a living and a university graduate who had just started his first job intertwined, plunging him into a state of confusion.
Who am I? Where am I? Is this a dream?
As if to confirm, he stood up, walked to the window, and looked out.
The morning mist had not completely dispersed, merchant caravans rumbled along the sandstone road, women with ceramic pots in their arms placed goods on display shelves outside their shops, and the blacksmith's apprentice pushed open the door, hanging up the 'Open' sign.
What greeted him was a street scene completely different from his previous life, full of an otherworldly atmosphere.
Everything was concretely telling him that he had transmigrated to a brand new world.
Gaosi stared blankly.
If the memories in his mind were correct, this world seemed to be filled with various magical powers of a fantasy nature.
Whether it was Goblins, Dog-Headed Kobolds, or Mud Monsters that even commoners might encounter, or Dragons and Devils that could threaten the survival of kingdoms, they all truly existed, not merely fictional stories passed down by bards.
In addition to a wide variety of monsters, there were also professional practitioners who mastered magic and combat skills: Mages, Sorcerers, Warriors, Druids, Rangers, and so on.
Thinking about these things, Gaosi's somewhat gloomy heart couldn't help but beat faster.
Although it was difficult for ordinary people to become professionals in this world, he had not come empty-handed.
Along with him, a magical book that only existed in his mind, the “adventurer's handbook,” had also arrived in this world.
【Attribute Panel】【Monster Compendium】【Map】
The appearance of this book in his mind greatly increased Gaosi's sense of security after suddenly transmigrating to another world.
Name: Gaosi
Strength: 5 (physical strength, carrying capacity, burst power, etc., kinetic output)
Agility: 5 (body flexibility, dynamic coordination ability)
Constitution: 5 (stamina, physical fitness, wound recovery, cardiopulmonary metabolism)
Intelligence: 6 (memory, thinking, mental power)
Perception: 5 (senses, intuition, judgment)
Charm: 5 (temperament, appearance, demeanor)
Skills: None
The attribute panel page recorded his various stats; except for Intelligence at 6, all others were 5.
His physical condition was unremarkable; 5 points should be the average attribute level for the general populace.
Could the 6 points in Intelligence be related to his transmigration?
Shaking his head, Gaosi continued to look at the Monster Compendium.
The Monster Compendium was divided by threat level into Ordinary, Dangerous, Elite, Extraordinary, Legendary, and ??.
Currently, the only section he could view was the Ordinary Monster Compendium; the subsequent pages were firmly stuck together, and he couldn't open them.
Unfortunately, even the Ordinary interface was still hazy.
Clicking on any dim icon would bring up a prompt: “You have not yet killed this target, so the corresponding target compendium path cannot be illuminated for now.”
“Hint: Compendium accumulation is divided into single species and all monsters. Upon reaching the corresponding cumulative quantity goal for the compendium, you can claim the reward for the corresponding stage.”
It seemed he had to kill monsters first to fully unlock the Monster Compendium and receive various stage rewards.
Gaosi nodded thoughtfully.
Then he looked at the last item, “Map.”
He focused on it, and a map quickly appeared in his mind.
The center of the image should be his own location.
The current location was a simplified icon of a stone house.
“You can name this building.”
“Sofia's Inn,” he silently recited, and soon the building he was in was named.
Very few areas on the map were lit up, only his immediate vicinity.
Other places were shrouded in a mist; based on intuition, he felt it should be related to exploration progress.
He hadn't even left his room yet, so naturally, he couldn't gather information to complete the map.
As he deepened his exploration of the surrounding environment, the map should also gradually light up.
After checking all the functions of his golden finger, Gaosi felt much more at ease.
Packing his personal belongings, he went downstairs.
“Sofia, one breakfast, please. Thank you.”
The first floor was the dining area and front desk, with several empty round wooden tables.
This building, which he had named Sofia's Inn on the map, was actually more like the youth hostels from his previous life that were converted from private homes, serving freelancers like him who didn't have a fixed residence.
Rental options were divided into short-term and monthly leases.
A single room cost 2 copper coins per day, while the monthly discounted rate was 30 copper coins per month, which was quite cheap compared to a tavern.
Additionally, for an extra fee, the owner, Sofia, could also provide meals.
Breakfast was 1 copper coin per serving, while lunch and dinner, which were main meals, were 2 copper coins per serving.
The prices were low, enough to fill one's stomach, but one shouldn't expect anything extra from the dishes.
Meat was, of course, out of the question; black bread, homemade pickles, wild vegetable soup, stewed beans, and oatmeal porridge were the most common dishes on weekdays.
“Alright,” a middle-aged blonde woman emerged from under the front desk counter and responded. “Little Gaosi, did you oversleep today?”
“Yes, I couldn't sleep last night. The amount of prey I can catch has significantly decreased,” Gaosi casually found an empty wooden table and sat down.
“You still need to make sure to rest, though.”
Not long after, Sofia brought over the pre-prepared dishes, heated up.
Today's breakfast was black bread with stewed vegetable soup.
The black bread on the plate had already been sliced and looked very hard.
Seeing that Sofia had returned to the kitchen, Gaosi picked up a slice and tapped it on the plate; the black bread slice and the wooden plate made a crisp thudding sound upon impact.
Can this thing really be eaten?
He suspiciously looked at the stone-like object in his hand; upon closer inspection, he could even see tiny wood splinters mixed in.
Never mind!
Following the eating method from his memories, he put the black bread into the hot vegetable soup.
After quite a while, the black bread finally softened from being soaked in the hot soup, absorbing the broth and becoming edible in appearance.
He pinched the wooden spoon, scooped up a piece, and, along with the soup, put it into his mouth.
He chewed a few times and swallowed it.
The food passed through his throat, leaving a sticky, nauseating sensation, with a slight discomfort that scratched his throat.
Ugh? This taste, this texture... it really wasn't good.
Even though Gaosi was mentally prepared, it was still worse than he had imagined once it was actually in his stomach.
There was nothing he could do. In his previous life, he lived in a world of abundant resources; even as an ordinary worker, his three meals a day were far superior to this kind of basic sustenance meal for the lower class in another world.
Gaosi numbly finished his first meal in this other world.
Amidst Sofia's concerned farewell of “Be careful on your way,” he waved his hand and officially embarked on his journey in another world.
The rising sun had already climbed to the peaks of the distant mountains.
The early morning light spilled onto the gray stone rooftops of Gray Rock Town, and this border town, nestled next to the Emerald Forest, began to bustle.
People came and went on the streets; besides merchants trading and acquiring goods, groups of what appeared to be adventurers could occasionally be seen, though the most numerous were freelancers like his original self.
His original self was a half-baked hunter who made a living by hunting. His daily work was to frequent the outermost areas of the Emerald Forest, setting up various hunting traps.
If he caught prey like wild rabbits or pheasants, one could sell for 20 copper coins, because meat was a relatively expensive commodity for commoners in this world.
However, hunting success depended on luck; there were quite a few hunters active in the outermost reaches of the Emerald Forest, and hunting resources were not as abundant as imagined due to competition.
On a lucky day, Gaosi once caught a maximum of 3 wild rabbits in a day, earning a daily wage of 50 to 60 copper coins.
If he was unlucky, he might not catch anything for four or five days or even longer.
Fortunately, after setting his traps, he could also gather wild vegetables, wild fruits, and medicinal herbs on his way back along the forest's edge, and these random gains could prevent him from returning empty-handed.
In addition, he could occasionally do odd jobs, buying agricultural products from villages to sell at stalls in town. With these small earnings, his life wasn't actually that difficult.
His original self had been away from home for a year, and relying on his inherited trap-making skills and diligent, frugal habits, he had managed to save a small sum of money.
3 silver coins and 65 copper coins.
His goal for saving money was to buy a house in the town, but the cheapest houses in town started at 90 silver coins and upwards, plus the various property taxes that needed to be paid continuously later on. His savings were actually quite far off; it could be said that without a fortunate encounter, he would likely need to work for at least thirty more years before he could purchase property.
Gray Rock Town was located in a border area, but it wasn't a mere village. Furthermore, being adjacent to the Emerald Forest, there were many adventurers and merchant caravans passing through, making commerce prosperous and services comprehensive. Owning a house here was naturally not a simple matter for ordinary people.
But precisely because of this, his original self, forced to leave home and strike out on his own, wanted to purchase property here and settle down, thereby proving to his family that he had made something of himself.
“It's a pity that the money you painstakingly saved for over a year to buy a house will be used by me today,” Gaosi shook his head, seemingly talking to himself.
He didn't plan to continue hunting today but intended to hunt a monster to light up the Monster Compendium and see what special rewards he would receive afterward.
He wanted to escape his identity as a low-level freelancer, and for now, his hope lay in this “adventurer's handbook.”