Chapter 81: Simulation, Clues to Improving Individual Strength

In the end, it was the shrewd and beautiful Caroline who left Wilderness Town with the majority of her clanspeople.

She left behind Gale and several dozen wounded, along with twenty young men responsible for caring for them; it is good for young people to spend more time in big cities and broaden their horizons.

Before leaving, Caroline and Gale spoke privately for a long time; she mainly urged her companion, who tended to think less, to watch and think as much as possible.

She hoped Gale would observe the living standards of the people here more, and observe the attitude of the people here toward those in power even more.

She told him to think more about how to get along with the power-holders here, especially his relationship with Allen, as this would ultimately affect the future lives of their clanspeople.

These few requests of hers were truly too difficult for Gale, and it was estimated that this rough man would not be able to do a single one of them well.

Caroline herself was aware of this, but what else could be done?

As the leader with the most prestige among the three villages, she needed to return to inform everyone of these matters and prepare to begin cooperation with Wilderness Town.

At the same time, she also needed to discuss with the prestigious elders in the village whether everyone should participate in this work; if everyone were to participate, they would have to migrate the entire clan to a more suitable place to live.

These tasks were even more difficult to handle, and letting Gale return to complete them was equally strained; between two benefits, choose the greater, and between two harms, choose the lesser; in the end, only Caroline herself could return.

As for Gale, under Allen's recruitment, he became Allen's guard, a duty that would continue until the cooperation between the two sides ended.

Allen did not think about having Gale do too many things; he only needed him to deliver letters and pass messages from time to time, which meant being responsible for the information exchange between Wilderness Town and the other three villages.

With Gale's personality and ability, there was absolutely no problem with him doing this job.

Additionally, Allen also wanted to see if, over time, he could rely on his own personal charisma and the strength of Wilderness Town to gain Gale's allegiance, and thereby further gain the allegiance of Pine Village.

As for whether Gale would bow down and pledge his service just because of the rescue in Mirkwood, Allen had never once thought of such a good thing.

Gale's personality was indeed frank and direct, but he was not stupid; this big man, nearly two meters tall, knew himself very well, otherwise he would not have been so obedient to Caroline.

Moreover, he still had to be responsible for the hundreds of clanspeople in Pine Village; although Gale's parents passed away early, his grandfather was still alive, helping Gale hold down the fort in Pine Village, so this was not something he could decide on his own.

As for becoming Allen's guard for a short time, Gale did not have any resistance to it.

In his daily life, Gale would not do much in Pine Village, and Allen would not overly restrict his freedom, so he could often go back to visit.

Gale also felt that after becoming Allen's guard, he could better complete the tasks Caroline had entrusted to him.

Besides, the food here was simply too delicious, and Gale was not particularly willing to leave.

In fact, Allen also had a very good first impression of Gale and intended to have him become his second Attendant.

This position had been vacant ever since Alayen became the commander of the Buping Jun Tuan.

Allen had not found a particularly suitable candidate; he had originally intended to keep it vacant until Bard's son, Bain, grew up a bit, let him take over this position, and after three or five years, let Bain go back to take over Bard's role.

After all, Allen might live longer than Bain; once Bard accepted the gift of Ilúvatar and left Arda, Bain would certainly become the second Lord of Esgaroth, and by then, Allen would have enough prestige and connections to control this regional governor.

It was just that now, Allen had taken a liking to this straightforward fellow Gale; keeping him by his side as an Attendant, or perhaps as a Personal Guard later on, would also be good.

But this matter still had to be considered in the long term; he could not be in a hurry and had to take it slowly; Allen still needed to observe him for a while.

After settling the employment matters, Allen picked a room for Gale in the lord's house and simultaneously arranged for Alice to notify Yamila to entertain those Northmen who had stayed behind.

Allen then returned to his bedroom, exhausted and lying on the bed, looking at the Simulator, which had refreshed its cooldown due to the opening of a new world, and he felt an urgent desire to go and take a look at a new world.

However, Allen thought about it carefully and decided to wait until he woke up before simulating; he must not have another case of excessive mental exhaustion and falling into a long, unawakening sleep.

……

The next morning, Allen woke up feeling refreshed and subsequently opened the Simulator.

【Simulator starting】

【Welcome to the Magic Continent of Calradia, Dark Ages】

【Time: Unknown】

【Location: The banks of the You River, a few miles from Zendar】

【Your father was a small merchant who traveled between the Nord Kingdom and the Vigia Kingdom all year round; when you were very young, your father sent you to school to study cultural courses, and you, being intelligent, graduated quickly.】

【After graduation, you began to participate in your father's business, traveling between the two kingdoms.】

【Today, the group preparing to head to Zendar encountered an attack by bandits on the banks of the You River and, after a battle, were captured.】

【Now, having descended here, you have just cleared your memory, and as you open your eyes, you discover that you and your father are kneeling beside a large river, and your father is wailing and begging for mercy.】

【You turn your head to look, and a crudely made great axe has already beheaded your father as he begged for mercy; what falls onto the grass is a face of terror and panic, and a pair of worried eyes are now staring fixedly at you; the blood spraying from the neck splashes into the river, instantly washed away and diluted by the river water, disappearing without a trace.】

【You stare blankly at all this, seemingly adapting to this sudden, bloody scene.】

【At this moment, the owner of that great axe walks toward you with a hideous grin.】

【Facing the blood-covered bandit, you have no time to think too much; you struggle with your bound hands, snapping the ropes, and you immediately spring up from the ground, charging toward the bandit holding the great axe.】

【In this process, you clearly feel that your physical fitness has become stronger again.】

【The bandit approaching you is startled by this sudden turn of events, and then, his surprised expression is shattered under your seemingly weak fists.】

【Your full-force strike directly smashes his head.】

【At this moment, a dozen or so bandits who were looting spoils are attracted by the commotion here; they stand frozen in place, looking at you, covered in blood, and the headless corpse lying on the ground.】

【They cannot imagine that a weak merchant who was crying and wailing just a few minutes ago could now smash a person's head with his bare hands.】

【You do not waste even a single second; after exploding the head of your father's killer with one punch, you immediately bend down to pick up his great axe, and then charge toward the group of bandits with the largest numbers.】

【The surprised bandits also react one after another; they are seasoned killers and, facing such a situation, do not panic, but instead move to surround your position.】

【However, in the midst of the enemy's encirclement, you wantonly swing this crudely made great axe, venting the uncontrollable rage in your heart.】

【Those bandits moving to surround you soon suffer heavy casualties; their severed limbs, mixed with blood, are scattered everywhere, and you, still standing on the field, seem to have become a demon who has just returned from a hell of blood.】

【The remaining few scattered individuals no longer dare to approach you, but instead retreat one after another, looking toward their leader.】

【That is a middle-aged man wearing a pointed helmet and tattered Plate Armor; before the battle occurred, he was sitting on a carriage, wiping a Two-handed Battle Sword in his hand with a piece of linen cloth.】

【Now, he is frowning, looking at you with a gaze of astonishment, seemingly wanting to see something from you.】

【And at this moment, you are already carrying that great axe, walking toward the direction of the bandit leader; your enemy does not hesitate either, raising his Two-handed Greatsword to meet you; a life of licking blood from a blade has not taught this wandering Knight to retreat, but rather filled him with the law of the jungle.】

【At the moment of contact, you gain the upper hand; the enemy, after parrying the great axe's attack, which is filled with rage and heavy force, retreats with a face full of horror.】

【At this moment, the bandit leader, despite wearing a suit of Plate Armor, actually wants to engage in a skirmish with you, who are wearing cloth clothes; his legs sometimes faintly glow with a trace of red light, and at these times his speed suddenly becomes very fast, making it very difficult for you to grasp his rhythm.】

【You do not know if this is an illusion or some other ability, but you are not afraid in the slightest; your still-abundant stamina supports your continuous attacks, and under such fierce offensives, your enemy soon breaks out in a sweat.】

【Just when you thought the enemy was about to reach their limit, the bandit leader's expression suddenly turned ferocious.】

【After dodging one of your attacks, a faint red light surged over his entire body, and he lunged forward to charge at you; the two-handed battle sword in his hand was also stained with a glimmer of light, stabbing toward your heart like a bolt of lightning—it was too fast, more than twice as fast as before.】

【You finally knew this was no illusion; this guy could really glow. Your formidable physical constitution, in this moment of surprise, allowed you to shift your body slightly, dodging the vital point of your heart, but the enemy's two-handed battle sword still pierced through your lung.】

【You felt a chill in your chest, and before the pain could even reach your brain, your right hand swung your great axe toward the enemy's neck.】

【A human head flew off under the force of your powerful swing, and the body, spraying fresh blood, collapsed before you.】

【You endured the pain, clutching the two-handed battle sword with your left hand; your originally refined face was covered in blood, and your eyes, filled with hatred, stared at the few lackeys nearby.】

【Those guys, holding crude weapons, looked at each other and surprisingly didn't run; instead, they cautiously moved slowly toward you, seemingly waiting for your death.】

【You endured the pain coming from your chest, steadying your breathing that threatened to cause tearing, and prepared for the final struggle; you knew you had the strength for one last strike.】

【You feigned weakness, swaying your body to lure those few bandits into charging at you quickly. The moment you knelt down and stopped moving, those guys, believing you were already dead, accelerated toward you, then bypassed your kneeling figure to surround their leader.】

【It was clear their goal was not you, but the bandit leader behind you.】

【Just as they were rummaging through the bandit leader, you slowly stood up again, swung the great axe in your hand, and hacked them to death before they could react.】

【The entire riverbank was covered in dense piles of corpses and severed limbs—bandits, guards, and merchants alike. At this moment, you finally could not hold on any longer; your vision suddenly blurred, and you collapsed to the ground, weak all over.】

【Just then, a white figure crept out of the grass in the distance. Seeing the corpses everywhere, he hurried to your side, looking at you as you still showed some signs of life.】

【Your blurred eyes barely managed to make out the person, and you dredged up his identity from your memory: this was Manid, one of the merchants you were traveling with. Then, you sank into darkness.】

【.......】

【When you weakly opened your eyes, you were lying in a narrow wooden room, covered by a thick linen blanket, and on the bed next to you lay your savior, Manid.】

【Your slight movement immediately woke him, and he then picked up a cup of warm water, carefully feeding you while explaining the current situation one by one.】

【The place you are currently in is the "Merry Boar" tavern in Zendar; now, more than two months have passed since that battle.】

【During this time, you have been in a coma, barely hanging onto life by relying on milk, rice porridge, and meat broth—foods that are extremely easy to swallow—and your body has recovered quite well under Manid's careful care, at least remaining clean and tidy.】

【When you first entered Zendar, you were severely wounded. Several merchants who survived because of you quietly left; only Manid stayed with you, spending a large amount of money to hire the most expensive Physician in Zendar, who was said to understand the "Qi" that could heal others.】

【But your injuries were too severe; after the Physician finished treating you, he only gave a diagnosis of leaving it to fate. However, Manid did not give up because of this. Your figure in the battle, which was like that of a demon god, was deeply imprinted in his heart, deeply moving this merchant who had been robbed many times while trading. He prepared to pledge his loyalty to you once your wounds healed, seeking a powerful lord for himself.】

【To pay for your treatment, Manid sold all his goods, and even sold the bandit leader's set of worn-out plate armor and the manual on how to cultivate "Qi" that was on him, leaving only the two-handed battle sword that had pierced through your chest.】

【Most of the Dinar obtained from the sales was used to treat your injuries, while a small portion was used to bury the companions who died on the banks of the You River.】

【However, the Free Knight Rogue, who followed Manid to investigate the battlefield, gave Manid a large bounty after confirming the identity of the bandit leader; otherwise, Manid would have had to sell that longsword and go out begging by now.】

【You looked with difficulty at the longsword by the bedside, which held some special significance, thanked Manid hoarsely for his care during this time, and then, feeling the state of your body, struggled to sit up.】

【It must be said that your formidable physical constitution forcibly pulled you back from the gates of hell.】

【In the following days, you began to recuperate in Zendar. After your wounds healed, you followed the Free Knight Rogue to strike at bandits several times, becoming a well-known Bounty Hunter.】

【You did not forget Manid, handing over most of the money earned from striking bandits to him, letting him do some small business in Zendar. You told Manid that one day, you would take him away, and Manid agreed with a face full of joy.】

【This simulation has ended, and has been saved.】

【Retain the identity of Zendar Bounty Hunter; abandon this identity to gain the loyalty of Manid; simulator cooldown is 3 days.】

【You have obtained a two-handed battle sword.】

【Please note, you have obtained a special ability of the Calradia Magic Continent, a clue to "Qi"; this ability can be accumulated for exchange.】

【A friendly tip for veteran players: There are many types of Qi; please choose one suitable for yourself to cultivate. It can be used and recovered in the real world, but due to environmental issues, the difficulty of cultivation is extreme and the danger is very high; it is not recommended to attempt it.】

【Received a reward of 20 points of renown and 2000 Dinar.】

【Can continue the simulation, Yes/No?】

【No】

Allen rubbed his slightly swollen head, looking at the simulation results, and pondered the clues regarding Qi.

In fact, the red light that surged on the bandit leader was the so-called "Qi," a unique ability of warriors on the Magic Continent.

Under the enhancement of this ability, that bandit's combat power instantly increased by more than double, causing Allen to be severely wounded before he had fully adapted.

However, according to Allen's observation, that kind of "Qi" also consumes a great deal of physical strength and should not be used easily.

And those bandits bypassing Allen should have been going to search the bandit leader for the cultivation method, but to save Allen's life, Manid sold that cultivation manual.

But it doesn't matter; as long as the person is still alive, the cultivation method can be obtained sooner or later, and Manid is also very important. Doesn't Allen lack a Finance Minister?

Once he summons Manid and lets him familiarize himself with the commercial environment of Middle-earth with Stephen, he should be able to take on the position of Finance Minister very soon.

It's just that this down-and-out merchant might still need some merit to obtain this title.

Although Allen knows Manid saved his life, it was, after all, in a simulation, and it is unlikely to be accepted by the existing members of the Cabinet.

After all, if Allen were just sleeping at home and a savior suddenly appeared by his side, it would be too troublesome to explain.

And since Allen has already set up an administrative organization that looks quite formal, Allen, as the direct beneficiary, cannot be like the amateur outfit he had before, casually bestowing titles upon others.

Doing so would not only make the titles Allen gives appear too cheap, but would also make others think that as long as they curry favor with Allen, they can obtain power, which is not conducive to managing a formal organization.

However, as a King, Allen still has many ways to realize his ideas; at worst, he just won't give the title yet, letting Manid do the work as a King's Attendant or subordinate.

Anyway, there is no suitable candidate right now; after Manid works for three or five years and produces results that everyone gets used to, then bestowing the title of Finance Minister upon Manid would mean Allen's administrative team is temporarily complete.

However, in Allen's memory, there seemed to be an irreconcilable conflict between Manid and Alayen, but this is a different world, and the timeline is different, so there shouldn't be any problem, right?

Even if there is a problem, Allen can coordinate their work to keep them from being in the same place as much as possible, and the problem could be solved.

This is not something particularly difficult to handle.

Just looking at the simulator, Allen was still a bit eager to try, but after thinking about it, he closed his eyes; there was still a lot of work ahead.

The renovation work on the Old Forest Road needs his attention, and the training at Holimion also needs his follow-up.

Not only that, the breeding of the Elf Horse descendants is estimated to be close to having results, and he is also preparing to go to Horse Pasture Village to take a look in a while.

Additionally, he also wants to discuss some matters with Radagast.

This encounter made him feel it was time to start preparing a team for intelligence gathering.