Farming in the Magical World

When Black Tiger returned to the team, the team members whispered enviously.

"Wow, this medal looks really cool."

"Yes, I really envy him. He was promoted to second-class guard in one step."

"Yeah, yeah! I heard that those two bars represent our castle's secret weapon, the Dark Pattern Sword!"

"A sword with dark patterns, very valuable?"

"Valuable? It's not valuable at all, kid. I heard that this Dark Pattern Sword costs at least several dozen gold coins!"

"Hiss..." Upon hearing the price of the dark-patterned sword, a collective gasp rippled through the crowd, clearly indicating that the price was completely unimaginable for the team members.

At that moment, Henry's voice came from beside Black Tiger.

"Hey... Tiger, let me see your promotion order. Was it really written by Lord Lanny himself?"

Henry looked on with envy, his eyes fixed on the people on the stage, while he muttered something under his breath.

He dared not make any more small moves. The discipline of the guard was too strict. Although everyone was very excited at the commendation meeting today and whispers were constant, no one dared to challenge the discipline of the guard.

He was unlucky this time and didn't get any credit. He could only watch as several people were promoted, and he was so envious that he almost drooled.

“Of course, how could it be fake? The master just read it aloud, and the recipient is the master himself, so it must have been written by him personally!” Before Black Tiger could speak, Gavin interrupted first.

"Gavin, you're just lucky. You got credit by following Tiger. What's so great about that? Wait until I get a second-class guard next time. Let's see if you, a first-class guard, will have to bow to me then."

Henry was indignant about Gavin's good luck. Although his palms were sweating and his whole body was tense, and he even had the thought of turning around and running away, he didn't run away in the end. As a result, because of a slight hesitation, he didn't get any credit.

He secretly resolved that next time he must take the lead and try to get some credit.

Although he said he wanted to catch up with Black Tiger, he didn't really have any hope of it, after all, Black Tiger had earned four merits.

Even if I can't catch up with Black Tiger's second-class guards, I should still try to become a first-class guard like Gavin, that chatterbox.

"Hmph, wait until you get your hands on it, remember..." Just as Gavin was halfway through his sentence, Lenny's voice came from the stage, "Gavin, Tommy... come up here!"

"Go on, it's your turn, Gavin!" Black Tiger looked up and straightened his chest, staring at the podium, but urged Gavin next to him.

Although this guy is a chatterbox, he actually performed very bravely in this battle, which impressed even Black Tiger.

When Gavin walked onto the podium, he was so nervous he could barely walk. A slight smile appeared on Black Tiger's serious face.

Gavin was a little younger than him, and every time he saw Gavin, he would think of his younger brother, Black Deer.

My father was not very knowledgeable; he was just an ordinary old hunter in Black Mountain Village. The names of the three brothers were also chosen casually: the eldest was Black Bear, he was called Black Tiger, and the younger brother was called Black Deer.

In the father's mind, all the prey in the Black Mountain had black fur and must be the strongest. He also hoped that his sons would be as strong.

He hadn't thought much of it back in the village, but after coming to the castle, joining the guard, meeting more people, and learning to read and write, he realized that his father's naming skills were really not that great.

Regardless of the name, Black Deer was his younger brother after all. He didn't think about it much during training, but seeing Gavin's nervous look, he couldn't help but think of it.

It had been almost a month since he left home, but it felt like an eternity. So much had happened during that time that he couldn't help but have the illusion that time had been stretched out.

I remember once asking the master about this issue, and this was the master's answer.

"Human memory is actually a very strange thing. The judgment of time in memory is not linear, but rather jumps around based on memory. If you experience the same things every day, repeating them over and over again, you will feel that time passes quickly, and when you look back, it will seem like a year has become a few days."

"But if you experience different things every day, or even every moment, and these things are of great importance to you, then you will remember every moment in between, and a month's worth of experiences will feel like a year has passed!"

He couldn't understand many things the master said, such as linearity and leaps. Although he had been trying very hard to learn the culture, he still couldn't understand.

However, he understood the general meaning. Just like when he completed his first hunt, he remembered every run and every arrow he shot clearly.

The same applies after joining the security guard; there's something new to learn every day: formations, postures, physical fitness, encirclement tactics... ...plus evening cultural studies, it's incredibly busy.

It made him involuntarily feel that he had been away from Black Mountain Village, a village that had remained unchanged for a very long time.

He heard that after today's promotion ceremony, this month's salary would be paid in advance, so he plans to take leave and go back to Heishan Village.

Now that I'm gone, my younger brother's hunting skills aren't quite there yet. I wonder if things will be difficult for the family? I hope my salary can help my dad and brother have a better life.

When salaries were distributed in the afternoon, things took Black Tiger's surprise once again.

When he was told to go into a newly built small room next to the camp, Lord Tim was sitting behind a table taking notes. Hearing him enter, he looked up and said, "Ah, Black Tiger's here. Sit down and let's talk."

After Black Tiger sat down, the other person reached into the drawer and took out a small cloth bag, handing it to him.

"Here, this is your salary for this month. And congratulations again, you did a great job this time!"

"Thank you, sir. I will try my best." Black Tiger wasn't very good with words, but he straightened his back again to show his determination before reaching out to take the small cloth bag.

But he soon realized something was wrong. "Sir, why are there 10 silver coins? Shouldn't it be 2 silver coins?"

Seeing Black Tiger's surprise, Tim laughed first before explaining.

"Lanny is very satisfied with your performance in this battle, so he has decided to pay this month's salary according to your promoted rank. Black Tiger, that means you'll get this much every month from now on!"

Only Tim would call him Lenny; the guards all called him Lord Lenny.

Feeling the weighty texture in his hand, Black Tiger's gratitude and admiration for Lanny deepened.

Such a thing is impossible. From as far back as he can remember, every time he went to Elfen to sell furs, all he heard was that the noble lords would give as little as possible, and ...

Even the meager income from selling furs was often deducted by the servants of those noblemen.

Lord Lanny is truly different from ordinary nobles; he's so different that he doesn't seem like a noble at all.

Since joining the guard, I have never heard of any officer arbitrarily beating or humiliating a member.

I heard that this was something the master specifically instructed him to do, and it was strictly forbidden in the guards.

This was completely unimaginable among the servants of other nobles. It was said that those knights, whenever they were in a bad mood, would take a whip and start lashing any servants they could see, and they took pleasure in it.

When he decided to join the guard, he was prepared to be humiliated by the knights, but he never expected that he would never encounter such a thing after being here for so long.

Could this be what the master meant when he said that the guards were the people's guards, the sons and daughters of Castel Ridge, and the protectors of the people?

Black Tiger stood up abruptly and bowed again solemnly, "Thank you, Master Lanny!"

Tim glanced at Black Tiger's actions casually without saying anything, but he secretly admired Lanny's decision.

It was payday, and he wasn't surprised that several of the medal recipients pulled this stunt.

However, he did not realize that he might have misunderstood Black Tiger. Black Tiger's salute at this moment was definitely not just because of these 5 silver coins.

"Alright, if there's nothing else, you can go down now and call Gavin in for me!" Tim picked up his pen, marked Black Tiger's name on the roster, and instructed Black Tiger to prepare to call the next person.

But Black Tiger didn't leave immediately. Instead, he stood there, hesitantly preparing to say something.

"What's wrong? Just say what you want to say." Tim looked up at Black Tiger in surprise.

"Um, um, Lord Tim, I... ...can I ask for leave? I'd like to go home!"

Looking at the constipated Black Tiger, Tim was somewhat understanding. He thought of sending the money home as soon as he got it, which Tim actually agreed with. It was better than sending it to those prostitutes in Elfen.

"It's alright, don't be embarrassed. Lanny was originally thinking of giving you all a break, but considering that the castle's security still needs someone to be responsible, we can't all take the break at the same time. We'll take turns!"

"He calls this family visit leave. From now on, each person will have two days every month, which can be accumulated."

"I've approved your leave. Is two days enough?"

Hearing that he had been granted leave, Black Tiger nodded quickly, "That's enough, that's enough. I'll just go home to see my brother and dad, and I'll be back the next day!"

Once he knew he could go home, Black Tiger could no longer suppress his longing for home. He left Tim's place, took his wages, his bundle and bow and arrows, and left the camp.

By the time he finally arrived at Black Mountain Village after his long journey, it was almost midnight. As an experienced hunter, he was very familiar with the road, so as long as he didn't encounter any large animals like tigers or bears, he wasn't worried about any risks.

Besides, he was very familiar with the large animals in the mountains; he could smell them from afar and avoid them. If he wasn't thinking about getting home as soon as possible, he might have gone hunting instead.

As you round the last bend, nestled among low hills, the outline of Heishan Village comes into view in the quiet night.

We've arrived at Heishan Village!