Calder's Farm
#5 of Aspire
It had been about a year, and with Calder on the front lines a lot changed in the world. His level had increased many times, but being stronger didn't make him happier. Luckily, the people of the world were grateful and gathered money to buy him three blocks of land. He knew about the land from the rule book a long while ago, but things always seemed a bit too chaotic, not to mention that land was expensive.
In the area were two 2x12 blocks of land divided by a large main road up the center. Forest backed the blocks to create a sense of isolation almost, though Calder found it peaceful. He was given three blocks at the end, though the corner by the forest was also forest so he had an "L" shape to work with. In front of the extra forest he used his money to buy a windmill and a well. He built his house next to it, and in the final block behind his house he build a two-sided farm, one side with wheat and the other with pumpkins.
He liked the house, a stone and wood house with a steep roof. Another well was just in front, but behind the house in the block was left open for a sense of space. It was all rather nice, though Calder had spent just about all of his money to do it. He took off his armor for simple clothes and got to work farming up a storm. There were too many farming spaces for him alone, but it did make the farm seem more realistic. When he had enough he went to the windmill and used the game interface to instantly turn the wheat into flour. Using the buckets he bought before leaving the city he gathered some water and finally returned home.
Cooking was much simpler in the game than in real life. All he had to do was mix the flour and water then use the oven interface to cook bread, "This is much better than having to fight..." A few messages popped into his vision from Mary asking how he was doing and if he would consider coming back to the guild full-time.
"Sorry, but I think I've done enough honestly. I fought and killed too many. Take care of the guild, I'll help when I'm really needed."
"If you say so. It's too boring around here without you."
Calder sat in his chair and for the first time in a long while just breathed. There were no dragons, no evil guilds taking advantage of people, and no bandit groups killing for no reason. Just sitting on a chair with a loaf of bread that probably tasted like air.
Then, for the first time since the start of this game, he was surprised. The bread tasted like freshly baked bread, "I don't think I read about this." Then an idea struck him like a bolt of lightning, "I have to sell these."
Using what little coin he had left, he bought a wooden sign from the game and wrote, "Fresh Bread 1 G" and then put it by the roadside. The usual food that could be bought was overpriced and tasted like nothing, so anyone that would see this could get some tasty meals for dirt cheap. He was still helping people, just in his way.
Now there was time. Time to wonder why he didn't just let himself die, time to wonder how long he could stand the monotony of this never changing world. Horrible thoughts filled his head, only to be broken up by Mary trying to contact him, "We're going on a raid of a dungeon. Lots of monsters that have been harassing travelers. You want in?"
"Not right now, I have a lot on my mind."
"What's up? Want me to stop by?"
"You go have fun killing monsters. I won't be going anywhere anytime soon. Try stopping by later though, you have to try this bread."
"Alright Calder, but it better be good. Otherwise I'm dragging you out to stomp out some goblins. Your combat skills aren't rusty are they?"
"Better than yours. I did take down that dragon by myself while the rest of you were struggling with the babies."
"What about that time you were getting pummeled by an orc army and I had to step in to knock them away?"
"I keep telling you, one of my skills is to absorb damage and release it in an area of effect attack. If you hadn't stepped in we wouldn't have had to use all of those potions to survive."
"You have to let me win one. Oh, we're here. Someone riled up the monsters, probably stole something they find precious."
"You know what to expect. Pointy sticks, daggers, and the occasional rusty sword. Probably a shaman too, so keep your eyes open."
Calder sat back in his chair and pondered some more depressing thoughts to himself. Combat was tiring and often didn't fix anything, but it was a necessity. Monsters were easier to fight because you knew that they were born as 1's and 0's and not from an actual person's mind. They were also insanely predictable and posed little threat to anyone who had fought them before. Goblins were around the bottom of the danger spectrum, with only the magic-capable shamans keeping them from being powerless. Mary was a high enough level to take out the nest on her own, and with some other guild members it would be over in minutes.
"That wasn't a good distraction at all..." The oven stopped glowing so he checked it and pulled out the other twenty loaves of bread. His cooking level went up by one in the process, "I should really start making some more bread."
Calder left his home and sauntered to his farm while checking the cooking guide. In a few levels he could make pies, but at the same time, cooking level rose slowly for anyone who wasn't a chef class. He had nothing better to do, so he went about harvesting the same few spaces over and over, over and over. He couldn't even tell how much time had passed, but his inventory was completely full. Calder was about to head home when he saw a few people on the road. A young lady in clothing, and three men in studded leather armor with swords and knives. Bandits.
"No, please! I don't have anything else!"
"Your clothes will sell for a few coins, now hand them over!"
Calder wiped the digital dirt from his hands and approached the men, "Now now, this is a non-aggression zone. Any attacks can only take place on the road." He looked at the woman, "That means you should go towards the windmill or my house."
She rushed off of the road, "Hey! You owe us some money too, farmer boy! There's a toll."
"A toll on a public road. I doubt it."
They raised their weapons, "We asked nicely, now you're gonna hand over everything you have or we'll kill you!"
Calder opened his inventory, "Have it your way." He equipped his heavy armor, massive tower shield, and barbed spear, "Let's go!"
With a mighty charge he pierced into the man with the sword and followed it with an uppercut charge. Upon landing he slammed his shield into the ground and sent shockwaves outwards, sending the other men into the air. All three landed and were clearly near death, "Who... are you..."
"Calder of The Watchers. You should know better than to pick on your elders."
"You ain't... got a guild... title..."
Calder looked up and saw only his name, "Mary, did I get kicked from the guild or something? I don't have that title."
"Kicked? No, you shouldn't have." There was a pause, "I don't see your name on the list. That isn't right... I'm going to look into this."
"You three, get out of my sight. If I see you again I'll cut you down permanently. But first, why don't you drop everything you stole from this lady." The thugs dropped everything, which appeared in a sparkly brown bag, before crawling away. Calder knew they would keep trying to steal, but he didn't want to end any more life.
The young woman ran over to the bag and picked up her items, "Thank you so much! My name is Elizabeth! I thought they were going to kill me!"
"Very likely. But you have your stuff. You don't look much like a combat class. Maybe try getting a few friends or paying someone to escort you around would keep you safer."
She smiled, "I don't have that much money and nobody wants to be friends with a chef class." A strange bit of serendipity, "All I can do is cook, but I can't cook if I don't have an oven. Or ingredients. I heard that a Cooking Guild existed in another city, so I was trying to go there."
Calder wasn't an expert on any guild that wasn't trying to rule the world, so he shrugged, "I suppose you know where it is. I'd help but I'm waiting for someone."
"Do you... live here?"
He nodded, "Yeah, a bunch of people bought me some land for all I did. I can cook some bread and live in peace. Not bad all in all."
She looked around, "How much is the land exactly?"
"They wouldn't tell me, but apparently it's pricey. I had a bunch of gold but I spent just about every single coin on what you see here."
"Can I buy a loaf of bread?" Calder nodded and Elizabeth handed over a coin. Calder in turn handed over the bread, "I haven't eaten in a while... oh my God..."
"Yeah, it has taste. Weird, right? I don't remember reading about that in the rules."
Elizabeth scarfed down the bread, "I have an idea, but I'd need to talk to a lot of people. Hey, do you know a fast path back to the main city?"
"You should be able to walk down that road there. Unless you're armed to the gills that's also the safest route."
"I wonder... would you mind having a lot of neighbors? If I can get enough craftspeople, we might be able to buy some land and a big craft hall. No guild limits but a lot of freedom. That would be a dream!"
Calder was impressed. Finally someone else wanted to make a better world without falling into the confines of the existing rules, "If you can get it done, more power to you. If you mention that I live here it may help. Oh, and try inside some of the in-game guilds too. Some members may wish to expand their horizons a bit."
She smiled, bowed, and ran towards the city, "We're all done, can I stop by?"
"Yep, come on down."
Calder unequipped his gear and sat on the bench in front of his house while eating a loaf of bread. He sent a friend request to Elizabeth who immediately accepted, "Hey Calder."
"Mary, looking sexy as ever." Her newest gear was more revealing, black and red with large metal spikes all over, "Want to buy some bread? Only a coin for the adventurer."
She giggled, "Sure, why not?" They exchanged the coin and bread, "Holy crap... this tastes like bread!"
"Insane, I know. Anyways, that's pretty much what's new with me. Fought off some bandits a couple minutes ago. I'm just glad they didn't choose to fight to the death. I would have killed them too fast."
Mary sat next to him, "Tell me about it. I saw you take down a cyclops in seconds a week ago. I tried looking into your guild issue, and..."
"Spit it out."
"A new rule came out of nowhere. Any member that doesn't directly participate in guild activities for more than a week is automatically booted. This is world-wide, like in an update or something. A lot of people have been complaining on the message board. I can't get booted because the guild needs at least one founder to stay active, and the last founder is immune from booting."
Calder looked at the swaying digital trees, "Bizarre. Probably know who is responsible, but there isn't much I can do. Take care of them, just keep in touch. If the guild needs my help I can still show up."
Mary stretched her arms up and legs out, "Yeah, but there aren't many massive creatures left or evil guilds. It would be nice for you to stop by now and then, but you've got your own thing going on out here. I may have to move in." She laughed, "After I get bored of fighting that is. A few more monsters away from leveling up you know."