Chapter 2

In the evening, the two of them ate roasted fish and dry bread by the campfire. The cleaned armor and weapons were placed on a nearby rock to dry. "We should reach Friendly Arm by noon tomorrow. According to the plan, we'll sell these armors and weapons at the market first, then we'll have a big meal at the inn and rest for a week until your arm is fully healed. I'll keep watch tonight," the dwarf warrior said while stuffing food into his mouth.

"There's no need for that. I just used a handful of pine nuts to hire a little guy," Henry pointed to a squirrel on a tree behind him. While Kegan was busy roasting the fish, Henry noticed many pine nuts on the ground and started picking them up. As he picked, he saw this little creature. Considering the dwarf's snoring from last night and his own tendency to fall asleep easily, he used the Druid and Ranger's unique ability to understand animals, communicated with the little guy, and eventually exchanged a large handful of pine nuts for the squirrel's help in keeping watch tonight.

"Oh! I almost forgot, you're a Druid. It's great that we don't need to keep watch. I didn't sleep well last night because I was worried, and I kept having nightmares. I'll go to sleep after dinner," the dwarf said happily.

Not long after dinner, the dwarf's snoring began. The squirrel, already hired with pine nuts, jumped to a high branch to start its watch. Seeing the dwarf asleep, Henry silently activated his spell.

Male Human, 14 years old, Level 1 Wizard 88/2500, Level 1 Druid 87/2000

The five hill giants from the day contributed 175 experience points, which were evenly split between his two classes. Each hill giant contributed 35 points, similar to the game. Looking at the massive amount of experience needed for leveling up, Henry felt a bit frustrated. In the D&D series, leveling up is always difficult, especially for spellcasters. Normally, reaching level 5 in a class is considered somewhat famous, level 11 is usually a leader of a faction, level 15 can be called a master, and beyond level 20 is legendary. At that point, the body and mind begin to transcend the mortal realm, allowing for a lifespan of several thousand years. Most humans, due to their limited lifespan, cannot become legendary. Well, thinking about these things now is pointless. For now, he should focus on following Kegan on adventures to earn some money. Thinking about the prices of various magic scrolls and enchanted items made Henry's head hurt. Costs ranging from a few hundred to hundreds of thousands were not something a low-level wizard and druid could afford. According to his memory, Henry also had a single mother and a sister, living a life that was neither too good nor too bad. Since becoming a Druid, the money he earned from healing with divine spells was mostly sent home.

After a bit of daydreaming, he began preparing his spells for the next day. Level 1 spell, "Hypnotic Pattern." During the day's battle, Henry found this spell surprisingly useful, as it could make enemies fall asleep immediately. Although they would wake up if they took damage, it didn't matter if their heads were cut off. Level 1 divine spell, "Cure Light Wounds," "Stone Fist," and "Entangle." "Stone Fist" could instantly boost the caster's strength to 18, though it only lasted for 5 minutes, which was enough. "Entangle" would cause surrounding plants to entangle the enemy, preventing them from moving freely. It was a great disruptive divine spell.

After praying, Henry lay down to rest. Adequate rest is essential for spellcasters, a common knowledge in the Forgotten Realms. As the sun slowly rose, a drowsy Henry felt something gently nibbling on his ear. He got up and opened his eyes to see a squirrel chirping. The ability to understand animals instantly let him know that the little guy was saying goodbye, having completed its task. Understanding, he took a handful of pine nuts from his pocket and placed them in a tree crevice, one of the squirrel's food caches. Seeing its payment, the squirrel turned and jumped up the branch to return to its nest.

"Kegan, wake up. We still have a journey ahead." After sending off the squirrel, Henry started waking the dwarf.

"Oh! Damn you, little Henry. Couldn't you wait a bit longer to wake me up? I was just dreaming about being at Friendly Arm, where old Bantley was offering me a drink of Evermeet. It's a great wine, costing 20 gold pieces. Couldn't you let me finish my drink before waking me up?" Kegan grumbled as he got up and started grooming his beard, which was more important to dwarves than hair. After a simple breakfast of dry bread and jerky, they set off. Standing at about 1.4 meters, Kegan carried the packed armor and weapons, along with travel supplies and his own armor, totaling about 80 kilograms. However, Kegan walked without any difficulty.

Before the sun reached noon, they finally arrived at Friendly Arm. It was a small town with a medieval castle-like feel. The tall stone walls provided good defense. At the drawbridge entrance, they were warned by the two guards about no fighting or stealing, among other things. It seemed that adventurers and merchants had brought economic prosperity to the town, but also a lot of trouble.

"Damn! We finally made it! Let's go to the eastern market and find a merchant to sell these things. They've been weighing me down the whole way," Kegan complained non-stop. The town wasn't large, and they soon reached the market. Kegan led Henry to a female merchant and shouted, "Molien, you heartless merchant! I've brought some weapons and armor. If you try to lowball me, I'll split your belly open with my axe and rip out your heart and liver!"

"Kegan, you old miser! You've never let me make more than a 40% profit on the goods you sell me," the female merchant shouted back. The two embraced. "It's good to see you, Molien," Kegan said with a smile. "Me too, Kegan." The female merchant patted Kegan's shoulder. "Let me introduce you. This is Henry, my neighbor and adventuring partner. He's a Level 1 Druid and a Level 1 Wizard. Henry, this is Molien, my former adventuring partner and a skilled crossbowman. She's now a merchant in the guild," Kegan introduced them briefly.

"Pleased to meet you, beautiful lady," Henry greeted her according to custom, then began to carefully observe the female merchant. She was about 30 years old, with deep-set eyes, a straight nose, fiery red hair, and green eyes, exuding a commanding presence. Although she was wearing a long dress, her tanned skin suggested she had a history of adventuring in her youth.

The female merchant, Molien, smiled proudly. "What a sweet young man, you're much more polite than this old miser. I can't believe you're his neighbor."

"Cough, that's a slander, Molien. Alright, let's get to the point. How much are these worth?" The dwarf, clearly not a match for the female merchant in banter, quickly changed the subject and put down the swords and armor he was carrying.

"Five steel helmets, no obvious damage. Three studded leather armors, need simple repairs. Two chainmail armors in good condition. Three longswords with slight edge damage, two greatswords need resharpening. Total: 60 gold pieces," Molien quickly inspected and gave a price. "Hey! Heartless merchant, these are worth at least 100 gold pieces. That's fraud," the dwarf quickly countered. "Old miser, these need repairs and resharpening to be sold. 65 gold pieces is the most I can offer," the female merchant added a bit more. "65 gold pieces? You might as well rob me! 95 gold pieces is the lowest I'll go," Kegan jumped up, continuing to haggle.

Seeing the two begin to haggle fiercely, Henry looked around, bored. They eventually settled on 80 gold pieces. Kegan then walked to Henry with the money. "Here, 40 gold pieces is yours. According to our agreement, we split everything equally." Henry took the gold and said, "Thank you." Kegan smiled. "You earned it. Let's go to the inn for a big meal." Henry shook his head. "You go ahead, Kegan. I saw a temple of the God of Knowledge. I want to see if I can buy some scrolls and spell components."

The dwarf nodded. "Alright, come back soon. I'll book a room at the inn." Henry waved. "See you later." Then he headed to the temple of the God of Knowledge.

The God of Knowledge, Oma, is a deity who values the protection of knowledge and scholars. His temples generally sell magic scrolls, books, magic ink, blank scrolls, and other items. For Henry, copying scrolls was currently his only option. With the system's help, casting spells didn't require spell components, just magic ink and blank scrolls.

In a few days, they would head north to kill burrowing worms, which were not to be underestimated. With green bodies about ten feet (3 meters) long, they could sense vibrations within 60 feet and suddenly emerge from the ground to attack. Their large mandibles could easily cut a person in half, and they could also spit acid.

Entering Oma's temple, a female gnome cleric approached and softly asked, "Welcome to the abode of the God of Knowledge. I am Galana, servant of Oma. Is there anything you need help with?" "Hello, Lady. Son of Nature greets you and your god. I would like to buy a bottle of magic ink and some blank scrolls. I also want to buy a book on alchemy," Henry carefully listed his needs. The female cleric quickly calculated. "Magic ink costs 18 gold pieces per bottle, blank scrolls 1 gold piece each, and we have one alchemy book (Common Magic Potions) for 40 gold pieces."

Henry looked at his money pouch, which, with the 40 gold pieces Kegan had given him, now had about 80 gold pieces. He bought the book, a bottle of ink, and 20 blank scrolls, leaving him with only 2 gold pieces for lodging and supplies. As he left, the cleric Galana gave him a quill as a gift and welcomed him to visit often. This was probably the benefit of having high charisma, Henry thought. After bidding farewell to the female cleric, he headed to the Friendly Arm Inn. Climbing a two-story stone staircase, he entered a bustling hall. Merchants and adventurers traveling north to Baldur's Gate and south to Beregost and Nashkel gathered here for a brief rest. The inn's business was very good.

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