Chapter 1: Adventurer’s Handbook
Emerald Forest, Graystone Town.
In the early morning, the wind blowing through the forest awakened this gray frontier town.
“Ding-ling-ling——”
The small wind chime hanging on the window frame swayed and tinkled crisply.
Gauss sat on the plank-box bed, pressing down on the linen beneath him, feeling the thick straw padding’s feedback through the rough fabric, and remained silent for a long time.
Fragments of past memories flooded his mind: memories of a young hunter striving away from home and of a newly graduated college student entering the workforce intertwined, plunging him into a certain 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 over the town.
The morning mist hadn’t fully dispersed, a merchant caravan’s freight wagon creaked along the sandstone road, a woman tucked a clay jar under her arm to place it on the display shelf outside her shop, and the blacksmith’s apprentice pushed open the door and hung the “Open” wooden sign.
What greeted him was a street scene suffused with an otherworldly atmosphere, entirely different from his past life.
Everything was concretely telling him that he had transmigrated, that he had arrived in a brand-new world.
Gauss stared blankly.
If his memories weren’t wrong, it seemed this world was still filled with various magical forces of fantasy.
Whether it was goblins, kobolds, mud creatures that even ordinary low-class civilians could encounter, or dragons and demons capable of threatening the kingdom’s survival, they truly existed, not merely tales passed among minstrels.
In addition to a wide variety of monsters, there were professionals skilled in magic and combat techniques: mages, warlocks, warriors, druids, rangers, and so on.
Thinking of these things, Gauss’s somewhat bleak heart couldn’t help but beat faster.
Although it wasn’t easy for ordinary people in this world to become professionals, he hadn’t come empty-handed.
Along with him had come his “golden finger,” a magical book existing only in his mind—the Adventurer’s Handbook.
【Attribute Panel】【Monster Encyclopedia】【Map】
The sudden appearance of this book in his mind greatly increased Gauss’s sense of security after transmigrating to an unfamiliar world.
Name: Gauss
Strength: 5 (mechanical force, load capacity, explosive power output)
Dexterity: 5 (body agility, dynamic coordination ability)
Constitution: 5 (endurance, physical fitness, trauma recovery, cardiopulmonary metabolism)
Intelligence: 6 (memory, thinking, mental strength)
Perception: 5 (senses, intuition, judgment)
Charisma: 5 (personality, rapport, appearance, posture)
Skill: None
The attribute panel recorded his various values, with all stats at 5 except Intelligence, which was 6.
His physical condition was unremarkable; 5 points were likely the average for ordinary people.
The 6 points in Intelligence might be related to his transmigration?
He shook his head and then looked at the Monster Encyclopedia.
The Monster Encyclopedia was divided by threat levels into Common, Elite, Transcendent, Lord, Legendary, and ??.
The only section he could currently view was the Common section; the later pages were stuck together and he couldn’t open them.
Unfortunately, even the Common interface was dim and gray.
When he randomly clicked on a dark icon, a prompt would pop up saying, “Target not yet slain; cannot light up the corresponding Monster Encyclopedia entry yet.”
“Tip: Encyclopedia accumulation points are divided into single species and all monsters. Upon reaching the corresponding accumulation target in the Encyclopedia, you can claim the corresponding stage reward.”
It seemed he would first have to kill monsters in order to fully unlock entries in the encyclopedia and receive various stage rewards.
Gauss nodded thoughtfully.
Then he looked at the last section, “Map.”
He focused, and soon a map appeared in his mind.
The center of the image should be his own location.
He was situated in a stone house marked by a simple icon.
“You may name this building.”
“Sophia Inn.” He muttered silently in his heart, and soon the building he was in was named.
Very little of the map was illuminated, only the area around him.
The rest was shrouded in a layer of mist, and by intuition, he felt it was related to the degree of exploration.
He hadn’t even stepped out the door yet, so naturally, he couldn’t gather information to improve the map.
As he explored the surrounding environment further, the map should gradually light up accordingly.
After checking all the functions of his golden finger, Gauss felt much more at ease.
He packed his personal belongings and headed downstairs.
“Sophia, one breakfast, please.”
The first floor served as both the dining area and the front desk, with a few round wooden tables currently empty.
This building he had just named Sophia Inn on the map was actually more like a youth hostel from his past life, transformed from a residential house, catering to freelance workers like him without fixed residences.
The rental was divided into short-term and monthly leases.
A single room cost 2 copper coins per day, or 30 copper coins per month at a discounted rate—much cheaper than staying in a tavern.
In addition, by paying extra, the manager Sophia could also provide meals.
Breakfast was 1 copper coin per portion, while lunch and dinner, being full meals, cost 2 copper coins each.
The price was low and could fill the stomach, but don’t expect much in terms of taste.
As for meat, forget it—black bread, homemade pickled vegetables, wild vegetable soup, stewed beans, and oatmeal were the most common items.
“Alright.” A plump blonde woman emerged from behind the counter. She looked to be around thirty but didn’t appear old; instead, she carried the charm of a mature woman. “Little Gauss, slept in today?”
“Yes, couldn’t fall asleep last night. The number of catchable prey has noticeably decreased.”
Gauss casually picked an empty wooden table and sat down.
“Still, make sure to get enough rest.”
Before long, Sophia reheated the pre-prepared food and served it.
Today’s breakfast was black bread with stewed vegetable soup.
The black bread on the plate had already been sliced and looked very hard.
Noticing that Sophia had returned to the kitchen, Gauss picked up a slice and tapped it on the plate.
The moment the bread struck the wooden tray, a crisp tapping sound echoed.
Can this thing really be eaten?
He suspiciously examined the unidentified object in his hand, which felt like a stone.
Looking closely, he could even see tiny wood shavings mixed in.
Whatever!
Following the method in his memory, he dunked the black bread into the steaming vegetable soup.
After quite a while, the black bread finally softened in the hot soup, soaking up the broth and becoming something that looked edible.
Gripping a wooden spoon, he scooped up a piece, dipped it in the soup, and brought it to his mouth.
He chewed a few times and swallowed it.
As the food passed through his throat, a sticky, nauseating texture hit him, accompanied by a slight scratchiness.
Ugh? This taste, this texture... really not good.
Even though Gauss had mentally prepared himself, the actual experience was worse than expected.
No way around it.
In his previous life, he lived in a world rich in resources.
Even as an ordinary worker, his three daily meals were far better than the sustenance meals of the lower-class in this otherworld.
Gauss numbly finished the first meal of his new life.
With the innkeeper Sophia’s concerned “take care on the road,” he waved his hand and officially embarked on his journey in the new world.
The rising sun had already climbed to the pointed peaks of the distant mountains.
Morning light spilled across the gray stone rooftops of Graystone Town, which sat adjacent to the Emerald Forest, and the town was beginning to bustle.
People came and went along the streets.
In addition to merchants trading and purchasing goods, groups of people who appeared to be adventurers could occasionally be seen. But the most numerous were freelance workers like his former self.
His predecessor had been a half-baked hunter who made a living by laying hunting traps along the outer edges of the Emerald Forest.
Catching a rabbit or wild chicken could earn him 20 copper coins apiece, since meat was considered a luxury for the lower class in this world.
However, hunting results depended on luck.
Many hunters roamed the outer forest, so competition for resources made it less abundant than one might imagine.
On lucky days, Gauss could catch up to three rabbits and earn a daily wage of 5 or 6 copper coins.
On unlucky days, he might go four or five days, or even longer, without catching anything.
Fortunately, after setting traps, he could forage along the way back, picking wild vegetables, fruits, and herbs in the forest’s outer areas—random gains that ensured he never returned empty-handed.
Sometimes he also did odd jobs, buying agricultural products from villages to resell in town. Bit by bit, the income wasn’t so bad.
The previous self had already left home for over a year, and through inherited trap-making skills and a thrifty lifestyle, had saved up a small sum.
3 silver coins and 65 copper coins.
His goal for saving money was to buy a house in town.
The cheapest homes in town started at 90 silver coins, and that didn’t include the continuous taxes required after purchase.
In truth, he was still far from his goal—barring a miracle, it might take another thirty years of hard work to afford one.
Graystone Town lay on the frontier, but it wasn’t just a village.
Thanks to its proximity to the Emerald Forest, the traffic of adventurers and merchant caravans was high, making it commercially prosperous and well-serviced.
Owning a home here was no simple task for ordinary people.
But precisely because of this, the former self who had been forced to leave home and work independently wanted to settle down here, buy a house, and build a life—to prove his success to his family.
“Too bad. The money you spent over a year saving to buy a house is going to be spent by me today,” Gauss muttered, as if talking to himself.
Today, he had no plans to continue hunting.
Instead, he aimed to defeat a monster and light up the Monster Encyclopedia to see what special rewards awaited.
His hope of rising above the bottom rung of freelance workers now lay in that Adventurer’s Handbook.