What? New Home?
(o_o)
"New home! Our leader has chosen a place!"
Someone in Wolfram's wagon called out to the other wagons.
And soon, many poked their heads out.
The wagons they purchased at the start of their journey had a wooden frame above their heads and little wooden windows with latches on them.
Very quickly, many scrambled to get a glimpse at the site their leader had chosen.
Immediately, they spotted several hills in close ranges basking amidst a fair moderation of forest and open fields.
At the perimeter of the space were trees and trees that created a natural wall.
You look at me; I look at you.
You look at me; I look at the horizon.
The site chosen was nowhere near the roads and was up several inclined spaces.
Looking at the far distance, it would take several hours to branch off the main roads and head towards that hidden location.
Luckily, because of the fear concerning the forest of death, these parts were very uninhabited.
All this time, they hadn't seen another traveler on the road. They saw a few villagers on foot, probably belonging to the nearby villages.
Some of these villagers seemed to be on a visit to the other nearby villages. Maybe for trade or to see relatives married in other villages
And from time to time, they stopped them to ask for directions, confirming their closeness to the Forest of Ashes.
Sure enough, these parts were very deserted, just the way he wanted.
Wolfram's eyes glowed with excitement.
Finally, he would get to unlock that bastard system of his.
It was time to boost his strength up!
.
~Thang. Thang. Thang~
The wagon wheels clashed with the stones, soil, and vegetation.
The site they were headed for had no roads to traverse across.
So naturally, they had to force their way through while staying vigilant.
Though the site they were passing through wasn't as deadly as the forest of Ashes with supernatural beasts, one shouldnt drop their guard down so easily
These sites were the typical sites that held mortal animals. And many villagers around these parts hunted in such places.
And though many felt that it was unlikely to come across bandits here, one could never be too sure.
"Everyone, be on guard!"
Word went out, and the men held their weapons, looking back and forth, listening to the sounds of nature.
It would take several hours to reach their destination.
Wolfram was now seated out in the open alongside one of the wagon drivers.
"Take it nice and slow."
It was better to reach there later than expected than to bash into a rock and have a breakdown here. The wooden wagon wheels, once broken, would take quite some time to fix.
"Yes, Leader." The wagon driver replied, slowing his pace.
Like so, they continued their journey.
And Wolfram couldn't help marveling about how much unused land existed in this world.
From what he gathered, this world might be 30~50 times bigger than his previous one.
It was true.
No one knew just how big this world was.
Even the many Sky Hailers that would whoosh around like the wind have found themselves flying for years with no answer to this mystery.
So it made sense that everywhere one looked, they would see forest, forest, forest, and scenes of greenery.
Sometimes, it felt like one was living on the edge of the wilderness at every turn.
The level of unused land was a lot.
As they advanced, some parts were very thick and forest-like, while others were scanty, with trees far spaced out and a lot of bush and ankle-level greenery.
Soon, they crossed a stream, went up an inclined space, and continued in that manner.
No bandit attacks, no fierce animal attacks apart from the boars.
Phew.
So far, so good.
.
4 hours later.
"Wowww~"
The men pulled the horse reins.
"Leader, this is it, right?" One of the wagon drivers asked.
They were currently standing in a space with far apart trees.
It could be seen that this space was pretty open.
And just in front of them was a thicker forest that once again created an illusionary wall.
But they knew that just beyond this blockade of trees was their new home.
The hill peaks there at the beginning were all there.
Wolfram smiled. "Yes, we are in the right place."
Hahahahahha~
Wolfram's words were passed along, and many began trembling with sheer joy.
For months they had been on the road very panicked and worried.
The women in the wagons hugged their children and one another.
The idea of making a new home filled their bodies with unfounded energy.
If before, some were sleepy, now they've fully woken up!
~Gallop. Gallop.~
The horses marched on at a steady pace amidst everyone's joy.
And soon enough, the difficulty was over.
So beautiful!
Open lands that took up about 60% of the space.
Though the space had a few slight inclinations, sunken regions, and bumps here and there, it was more or less a leveled plain.
Additionally, there were also 4 raised plains positioned at various corners of the space.
He would like to call them hills, but seeing how 3 of these raised spaces were rectangularly shaped with sharp edges, wouldn't it be better to call them little cliffs?
Even more interesting was that these sharp-edged hills formed paths like a maze.
One would have to move around and around these hills to get to the top.
Again, these hills were not small.
Though they weren't sky-high, they made up for this in width.
Wolfram rubbed his jaw, looking at the maze path.
He could probably build a few structures on the path, and there would still be enough room for the road leading to the top.
Of course, right off the bat, he decided that his castle would sit on one of these hills, while the other hills would have watchtowers and all the like.
Though the system was crazy, Wolfram knew that with its help, he should raise his title above peasant level.
So, a castle wasn't much to ask for, no?
.
Just like Wolfram, the villagers were also assessing their new home… especially the women.
Look! Over there, there, there, there, and there! Golden wild berry bushes! Food! This was good!"
"It's good that the space doesn't have a stream running directly on the space, or else won't wild animals visit us at night?"
"Yes! I did see many streams on the way. So carrying water over wouldn't be an issue."
Many commented.
It was better to do the work than attract danger.
With their years of experience, they did their best to access the soil quality to the best of their knowledge.
The only thing they noticed was that the ground here was far darker, almost pure black compared to their light brown soil back in Clovis village.
"Is this a good or bad thing?"
They looked at each other in confusion.
They had never seen such dark soil before. But looking at the bushes of berries and trees all around them, since these could grow here, then food could also germinate here too, right?
With everyone out of the wagons, they continued to explore their new homes.
But for Wolfram, he had other things to do.
[Hahahaha~... Finally, you've made a settlement. This daddy was going crazy with your stupid caution throughout your journey. Now, I want to see blood!]
'Fine Fine Fine. You'll see it. So give me access already!'
(->_->)
Wolfram rolled his eyes heavenwards.
[Heh… Slow down, host. Because of how famous this system is, it has been told to go through certain boring questions with you.]
Why was he not surprised?
[First question host: Are you aware that once we begin, your discount will be void?]
'Yes.' Wolfram replied, feeling that it should've been those in the heavens that forced the system to do this, enduring that its many hosts that reach this stage knew what they were getting into.
[And are you doing this on your own will, or are you forced?]
[Are you mentally handicapped to go on with this stage?]
[If you need help, blink thrice to send the system away]
[Fellow pitiful soul… are you sure you want to do this?]
[What? Do you still want to go on? Alright then, good luck, and may the heavens be with you.]
….
Wolfram didn't know whether to laugh or cry after answering the many questions.
May the heavens be with him?
Weren't they the heavens the ones asking him the questions?
What sort of bullsh** was this?
Forget it. Forget it.
He had already made it this far, so there was no room for regrets.
And soon, he heard the system's sly yet playful laugh echoed within his ears.
[Bahahahaha~ Host, you and I are now completely bound! As for what system I am, I assure you that I'm not ordinary. So why don't you take a look at your interface and see?]