Aivest Continent Northern Territory Map (Incomplete, to be supplemented)
"Cluck, cluck, cluck."
Luo Lin sat at the entrance of his thatched hut, grabbing a small handful of oats.
He fed them to the two hens in front of him.
A faint wisp of light, visible only to him, rose from the two chickens.
It drifted down into the small, square copper plate in his hand, covered in verdigris.
Then, the faint light entered the circular groove in the center of the copper plate and disappeared.
"When will this end?"
Luo Lin muttered to himself.
Due to an accident, he had transmigrated a year ago to another world called Aivest Continent.
He became a Serf whose wife's first night belonged to the Lord (Note 1).
This square copper plate was dug out of the ground by the two chickens in front of him while they were foraging.
He accidentally discovered that when he fed them, a faint light would appear.
Finally, it would enter this copper plate.
At first, he was very happy, thinking, 'This is a cheat!'
Immediately, the deeply ingrained Chinese spirit of 'Are kings and nobles born so?' and the grand vision of becoming his own master began to sprout wildly in his heart.
However,
After a year of hard work, squeezing out grain from between his teeth to feed the chickens,
The copper plate only absorbed the faint light, with no other changes.
He couldn't help but start to suspect that this 'cheat' might truly be a dud.
Therefore, the grand sprouts in his heart remained tender green.
"Laotie, this is bad, something big has happened."
A thin, freckled young man ran over from a distance.
Laotie was Luo Lin's name in this world.
It was given to him by Baron Bruner when he was inspecting his Land.
Serfs born within the Land would occasionally be 'bestowed' names by the Land Lord, the quality of which was closely related to the Lord's mood and what he saw at the time.
Although Laotie didn't sound great,
It was still better than 'Fen Shao', who was running over.
"What's so urgent that you're like this?"
"Lord Dorn's Freeman attendant is sick and bedridden."
"He's sick, what does that have to do with us?"
Luo Lin continued to feed the chickens.
The Land beneath his feet was the Dorn Knight's Land, although there were only about 20 Serf households. It was still a privilege only a titled Knight could enjoy.
"You're right, it really has nothing to do with me,"
Fen Shao stood outside the dilapidated fence of the courtyard.
He leaned on the fence, panting from his run, and said, "But it has something to do with you. Lord Dorn received a notice from Baron Bruner that he will depart the day after tomorrow, accompanying Marquis Walker on an expedition to suppress the Barbarians of Frost Land. His Freeman attendant is sick, and he can't find a suitable person for a while, so he chose you. He wants you to prepare your own dry rations tomorrow and set off with the army early the day after tomorrow."
"..."
Luo Lin stopped feeding the chickens.
As a transmigrator and a Serf, not to mention any combat skills,
He had no armor or weapons. Go on an expedition with the army?
Wasn't this making a joke out of real cannon fodder?
For his current self, it was simply devastating news.
He looked up and asked for confirmation, "Swear to the gods, this isn't true."
"I swear to the gods,"
Fen Shao raised his arm to the sky, his expression solemn: "This is absolutely true."
"Hmm, got it."
Luo Lin continued to feed the chickens.
Since it was true, there was no need to dwell on it.
Feigning illness? Forget it, everyone isn't stupid.
Running away was definitely impossible; if caught, he would surely be executed.
After all, this wasn't just ordinary fleeing, but fleeing due to cowardice in battle.
Even if he succeeded in escaping, the outside world was even more chaotic, with Barbarians, fierce beasts, bandits, perverts, and so on, everywhere.
Precisely because the world was not peaceful, it was common for many Freemen to voluntarily become dependent farmers for nobles to gain protection.
"Laotie, you can go with peace of mind,"
Fen Shao cast a comforting glance, "After you leave, I will definitely take good care of your chickens. If you don't come back, I will also look after them as if they were my own."
"...Thank you."
Luo Lin had made up his mind.
Since the copper plate in his hand hadn't changed at all, he would stew these two chickens tonight.
Whether he could come back alive or not, he'd at least have a good meal first.
Immediately, he scattered all the remaining oats in his hand.
Before I eat you,
I can't treat you badly.
Again, a faint light, visible only to himself, rose from the chickens and entered the small copper plate in his pocket.
Then, with a crisp click.
Luo Lin's heart stirred, and he immediately turned sideways to pull out the copper plate.
He found that the copper plate had a crack.
It could actually be opened like a book.
However, inside were folded, horizontally elongated pages of an unknown material.
On the pages, a large tree with only branches but no leaves was sketched upside down.
At the base of the tree on the left, small characters were appearing vertically:
> Breeding Talent Tree...
Breeding Talent Tree?
After feeding chickens for a year, and then deciding to eat them,
The cheat activated?
"Laotie, I promise you,"
Fen Shao walked into the courtyard, looking at his friend who was facing away from him and seemed helpless, and said solemnly and comfortingly, "I will also take good care of everything in your house, just like I take care of my own home."
"Hmm, thanks."
Luo Lin responded perfunctorily.
He quickly scanned the copper skin book Talent Tree.
He found that two of its branches, leaning to the right, had new small characters appearing.
> Food Type Breeding: 10 copper coins to unlock.
> Combat Type Breeding: 10 copper coins to unlock.
It actually needed money to unlock.
This was not a cheat; this was clearly a cheat with a money-swallowing virus implanted within it.
As a Serf, after a year of hard work, what remained after paying taxes was only enough to fill his stomach.
How much was left to sell for money?
However, he was going to set off with Dorn Knight the day after tomorrow, and his life was uncertain.
Even if it was a money-devouring beast, he had to give it a try.
He couldn't miss the opportunity to change his fate.
"Fen Shao, I need your help."
"Laotie, you are my best friend. Just say it, I will definitely help if I can."
"Get your family's single-wheel cart and load all my grain and radishes onto it."
Luo Lin put the copper skin book into his pocket, having made up his mind.
Whether the decision he made today was right or wrong could only be verified in the future.
"Laotie, you're not leaving until the day after tomorrow, there's no rush now."
Fen Shao was very excited internally.
He didn't expect Laotie to trust him so much; he truly was a good friend.
With this grain and these radishes,
He immediately felt like he had become a rich Serf among Serfs.
"I'm in a hurry. If I go late, the market in the Land will be gone."
"Go... go to the market to do what?"
"Sell all of these."
"..."
Fen Shao.
Luo Lin's idea was simple.
Since the secret of the copper skin book had been revealed, and it even had a Combat Type Breeding branch,
It was worth taking a gamble.
As for why he sold all his remaining grain,
It was because the copper skin book felt like it would cost a lot of money to use.
A moment later.
"Laotie, you must be crazy. You sold all your grain, what will you eat when you come back?"
"Without winter food, you'll starve to death."
"I don't want to see you starve to death."
Fen Shao heard Luo Lin's decision to sell the grain.
As he pushed the single-wheel cart full of grain and radishes, he spoke earnestly.
He thought Laotie was definitely crazy.
"I'm not crazy, I'm sure."
At the market, Luo Lin went directly to the grain buyer in the Land.
In this world, the remaining crops of Serfs had to be sold first to the true owner of the Land they stood on.
That is, Baron Bruner.
Moreover, the remaining crops sold had to be much lower than the market price.
This was the privilege of the nobility.
In the end, all his belongings combined sold for 8 silver coins and 95 copper coins.
Luo Lin grabbed some copper coins and put them in his pocket, close to the copper skin book.
His hand moved inside his pocket, inserting each copper coin into the groove on the copper skin book's cover.
He could clearly feel it.
The copper coins disappeared the moment they were inserted into the groove.
Indeed, this cheat was devouring money.
"I'm going to pee."
Luo Lin ran to the corner of the market and took out the copper skin book to examine it.
On the blank branch of the Food Breeding talent tree on the inner page, a chicken's head was outlined, with an egg next to it.
Below the drawing, two lines of small characters were written:
--Primary. Large Egg: Large egg, rich in nutrition, requires 1 silver coin to unlock and light up.
--??
After the hen, a duck's head was also outlined.
Below it was written:
> Requires breeding 20 chickens + 1 gold coin to unlock and light up.
> ??
This...
Luo Lin felt that this talent tree was quite suitable for farming.
However, in this vast world, he didn't own a single piece of Land.
Therefore, the most important thing right now was to
First, increase his chances of survival on the expedition.
He then looked at the Combat Type Breeding branch below.
A dog's head was outlined in the blank space.
Small characters were also written below it:
--Primary. Fierce Hound: Dogs bred are fearless of death. Requires 1 silver coin to unlock and light up.
--??
Below the dog's head image was a strong warhorse image.
Below it, there was still text:
> Requires breeding 10 Fierce Hounds + 1 gold coin to unlock and light up.
> ??
Fierce Hound, dogs bred are fearless of death.
Luo Lin rejoiced in his heart, quickly pinching a silver coin and putting it into the groove of the copper skin book's cover.
To unlock the Fierce Hound talent.
---
Note 1: In the author's note, the settings for Serfs, Slaves, and Freemen in this book are explained, as well as the noble settings in this book.
The settings refer to historical materials.