[Oi Oi! I promise I didn't know two days had passedđ I'd recently started Web3 so I had been busy with a lot of things! Please if you can show me support of X! Username: OxFonma]
***
I woke up to sunlight streaming through the small window and the sound of people talking outside. For a moment I forgot where I was, then everything came flooding back. The village. Martha. The offer of work.
I got dressed quickly and went downstairs. Martha was already up, bustling around the main room with plates of breakfast for the few guests staying at the inn.
"Good morning, Rimuru," she said with a warm smile. "Sleep well?"
"Better than I have in weeks," I said honestly.
"Excellent. Tom's outside waiting for you if you're still interested in that work."
I grabbed a piece of bread and some cheese from the breakfast spread and headed outside. Tom was indeed waiting, along with his horse and a wooden cart full of farming tools.
"Ready to earn your keep, kid?" he asked with a grin.
"Absolutely."
We rode out to Tom's farm, which was about a fifteen-minute walk from the village center. He had several fields planted with different crops - wheat, barley, some vegetables I didn't recognize. The work he wanted me to help with was pretty basic. Pulling weeds, hauling water, moving tools around.
But as we worked, I got to watch Tom do more advanced stuff. He had this technique for cutting wheat that was way more efficient than just swinging a scythe randomly. His movements were smooth and practiced, cutting through the stalks in perfect rhythm.
*Ding.*
â¨Archive Status: Storage Full. Cannot record new skills. First Floor Capacity: 10/10âŠ
I blinked in surprise. The Archive couldn't take any more skills? That was... frustrating.
"You alright there, kid?" Tom asked, noticing I'd stopped working.
"Yeah, just... thought I heard something," I said, getting back to pulling weeds.
But inside, I was annoyed. Here was Tom showing me really useful techniques, and my Archive couldn't record them because it was full. This was a problem I hadn't expected.
We worked until midday, then Tom's wife Sarah brought us lunch and cold water. As we sat in the shade eating, Tom started telling me about the village and the area around it.
"We're pretty isolated out here," he explained. "Nearest big town is Blumond, three days north. We get traders coming through maybe once a month, and they usually bring news from the outside world."
"What kind of news?" I asked.
Tom's expression got a bit more serious. "Lot of strange things happening lately. Monster attacks increasing in some areas. Rumors about new demon lords rising to power. Political tensions between the human kingdoms."
I nodded, pretending this was new information to me. But inside I was excited. This confirmed I was definitely in the Tensura world, probably sometime before Rimuru became really famous. The monster attacks and demon lord rumors fit the timeline perfectly.
"Nothing to worry about too much out here though," Tom continued. "We're too small and remote for most troublemakers to bother with. Long as we keep the goblins and wolves away from the livestock, we do alright."
After lunch, we went back to work. Tom tried to show me more advanced techniques - how to properly maintain farm tools, how to judge soil quality, how to predict weather patterns by watching clouds and wind.
Each time, I got the same message from my Archive.
*Ding.*
â¨Archive Status: Storage Full. Cannot record new skills. Upgrade required to expand capacityâŠ
It was incredibly frustrating. I was surrounded by useful knowledge and I couldn't absorb any of it. There had to be some way to expand the Archive's capacity, but I didn't know what the requirements were.
"You seem distracted today," Tom observed as we were packing up to head back to the village.
"Sorry, just thinking about things," I said.
"Well, if you're interested in learning more than just farm work, you should talk to Marcus tomorrow."
"Who's Marcus?"
"Village guard captain. Ex-soldier from one of the human kingdoms. He knows fighting and magic and all sorts of useful things. Teaches the young men basic combat skills in case we ever need to defend the village."
My pulse quickened. Combat training. Magic lessons. Maybe higher-level skills would trigger some kind of Archive upgrade.
"That sounds really interesting," I said, trying to keep the excitement out of my voice.
"I'll introduce you tomorrow. Marcus is always happy to teach kids who are willing to learn."
We rode back to the village as the sun was setting. Martha had dinner ready - a thick stew with fresh vegetables and bread. As I ate, I listened to the conversations around me. Villagers talking about their daily lives, sharing gossip, discussing plans for the next day.
But I was also watching. Observing. One man was using a small magic spell to light his pipe - just a tiny flame at the tip of his finger. A woman was using some kind of preservation technique to keep food fresh longer. An old man was demonstrating a knife-sharpening method that looked pretty advanced.
Each time I tried to focus on their techniques, hoping my Archive would record them, I got the same disappointing message.
*Ding.*
â¨Archive Status: Storage Full. Cannot record new skillsâŠ
I was starting to get really frustrated. All this knowledge was right in front of me, and I couldn't take any of it. It was like being starving and having food just out of reach.
After dinner, I went up to my room and lay in bed thinking about my problem. The Archive had to have some way to expand its capacity. Maybe I needed to reach a certain level with my existing skills? Maybe I needed to encounter something specific? Or maybe I just needed to figure out the right mental command to unlock the next floor.
I tried concentrating on the Archive, focusing on the idea of expansion or upgrading. For a moment, nothing happened. Then suddenly, text appeared in my mind.
â¨Archive Expansion Requirements: Second Floor AccessâŠ
â¨Condition 1: Master at least 3 skills to Expert levelâŠ
â¨Condition 2: Defeat an opponent significantly stronger than previous encountersâŠ
â¨Condition 3: Acquire knowledge from 5 different skill categoriesâŠ
â¨Current Progress: 2/3 Expert skills, 0/1 strong opponent, 4/5 skill categoriesâŠ
So there were specific requirements. I needed to get better with my existing skills, fight something tough, and learn more diverse abilities. The farming stuff today would have given me a fifth skill category if I could have recorded it, but since the Archive was full, it didn't count.
Looking at my current skills, I had combat abilities, magic, survival techniques, and basic crafts. I needed one more category - maybe social skills or advanced magic or something like that.
As for the expert-level skills, I'd need to practice more with what I had. And the strong opponent requirement... well, there were definitely powerful creatures in this world if I went looking for them.
But first, I wanted to see what this Marcus guy could teach me. Even if I couldn't record his techniques yet, I could still learn from watching him. And maybe his training would help me improve my existing combat skills to expert level.
I was just drifting off to sleep when I heard it again. That distant roar from deep in the forest. Veldora, still sealed away, still angry.
Maybe that's what I needed for the "strong opponent" requirement. Eventually, I'd have to face something truly dangerous to unlock the Archive's full potential.
But not yet. I wasn't nearly ready for that kind of fight.
For now, I'd focus on what I could control. Learning from the villagers, improving my existing skills, and preparing for whatever challenges lay ahead.