In the stables, doing his daily routine of organizing hay for the horses to eat, stood a young man, with a plain white tee and ragged jeans. His boots clearly worn out from walking and doing errands all day. As the young man was busy tending to the horses, a shout came from outside the stable.
"Maddox, come over here" shouted Old Miller.
Old Miller, an old man in his late 50s has a kind old face that was weathered by the times, one foot replaced with an iron hammer, and an unkempt beard that looked like a certain individual that lived in the North Pole.
As Old Miller limped with his iron foot towards the other side of the stable, a memento of a terrible past, he began to see the silhouette of the young man.
Maddox, 17 years of age, greeted Old Miller.
"Hello Mr. Miller, I just got done feeding the horses" said Maddox.
As Maddox faced Old Miller, he can see the usual kind and easy going old man in front of him with a grim expression on his face.
"Just got word from the sheriff, the Big Bang Bandits are back. I heard whispers from some of the ranchers they set up camp on the outskirts of Devil's Canyon. Be careful, after you finish with all your chores head home before the sun sets" said Old Miller.
"Yes sir, I'll finish tending to the horses and then I'll go to Mrs. Callie's general store to buy ingredients for our supper tonight. I should be back before sunset" replied Maddox hurrying his footsteps after hearing about the Big Bang Bandits.
'Outlaw system' said Maddox in his mind.
Name: Maddox Cross
Class: None
Title: None
Stats:
Strength: 8
Dexterity: 12
Intelligence: 10
Endurance: 8
Perception: 15
Skills:
Nimble Hands (Common, Proficiency: (23/100)
Horse Riding (Common, Proficiency: 12/100)
Bounty: 0
'It's been a month since I transmigrated into this world and the only thing that's changed with the system is the two skills I learned and an increase of one in my Strength and Dexterity' sighed Maddox.
Maddox gained the Nimble Hand skills from working all week at the stables and helping Old Miller with some of the daily chores. Some days when they got done with all their chores, Old Miller would grab one of the horses and teach Maddox how to ride. This is how Maddox got his second skill.
As for his increase in stats, it was also due to doing the daily chores. Maddox would help with cutting wood, cleaning the stables, running errands around town, etc. Cutting wood and running around town especially helped him develop his strength and dexterity.
As Maddox finished tending to the horses, he grabbed his satchel and began heading in the direction of Mrs. Callie's General Store. On his way to the store Maddox begin to reminisce on the crazy month he's had.
One day Maddox was on Earth and the next he woke up into this world the locals called Ironridge. With nothing but the clothes on his back, he had to travel nearly 15 miles from the center of Devil's Canyon just to see the first sign of civilization.
Thinking more about it, Maddox truly didn't know how he survived. From bandits to mutated beasts that he soon came to know as the Scourged, everything in Devil's Canyon screamed death. It took him a day and a half of carefully treading between life and death until he finally saw a sign that said Redhold Town.
By the time Maddox stepped foot into town, he was filled with bruises and scrapes begging for a drop of water. He looked like he just came out of a war. Yet for some strange reason the folks around town seemed unsurprised like it was a common occurrence.
As Maddox slowly walked into town, he mustered every single strength that was left in his body in order to walk into the shade of a worn down saloon. Ever since he came into the world of Ironridge, the sun's scourching sunlight burned through every single particle of his body.
Before he could enjoy the comfort of the shade however, his body that's been running on pure adrenaline was suddenly hit by all the fatigue and exhaustion that he has accumulated running away from the Devil's Canyon. Maddox passes out in the middle of the road.
When he woke up he was lying in a bed with bandages all across his body. From the other side of the room he saw a woman who looked like she was in her late 40s, blonde with streaks of white hair, dressed in an apron and a cotton linen dress that goes down to her ankles.
Before he could say anything, the woman in the other side of the room noticed he had finally woken up and said "Good your finally awake".
Maddox still groggy from fatigue said "where am I?""
"This is Redhold Town. Don't you know where you are? We're the only town in a 20 mile radius. You're lucky my husband found you in the middle of the road and not some outlaw that would have surely robbed you of everything that you own. Not that you have a lot of valuables with you from what I can tell" said the woman.
"I don't remember anything. I suddenly woke up in the middle of a desert and some bandits tried to kill me and I just ran for my life and then I saw some hound looking creatures and by the time I stopped running I was here" said Maddox emitting the whole Earth part in his story.
"Well my husband should be coming back any minute. My name's Abigail but most people call me Mrs. Miller. What's your name lad?"
Maddox paused for a brief moment thinking whether he should say his real name or not. After pondering for a moment knowing that no one in this world knew who he was, he quietly said "Maddox".
Before he could ask anymore questions, Maddox heard the door to the room open and two people walked in.
One was an older gentleman which was Old Miller while the other was a younger man closer to his age around 15 to 16 years old he presumed.
"Hey lad, you're lucky to be alive when I saw you I thought you were dead. I'm Cadius Miller but most folks call me Old Miller. This here is my son, Kaiden" pointing to his right.
He turned to look at Kaiden which proceeded to give him a nod.
"Look son, I won't ask you how you got into that state. Everyone in this town has their past that they'll rather not talk about. Looking at your state, you should be good after a few days of rest. You can stay as long as you want but you'll need to help around the house after you recover" said Old Miller.
Maddox taken aback by the genuine kindness of this old man didn't know what words to say so he just nodded.
"Get some rest lad, you'll need it if you want to survive out here in Asheworth" said Mrs. Miller.