After leaving the house, Luke wandered through the village for a while.
This small village was part of a larger tribe, something like a central authority that governed all such settlements.
If two tribes were to engage in battle, all the men from these villages, at least those capable of fighting, would be summoned.
Aside from that, the village chief paid a fixed amount of Tora collected from the villagers. In return, the tribe provided warriors to help protect the village.
It was a two way arrangement, with both sides benefiting.
As for how many tribes existed, or whether more advanced humans lived somewhere else in the world, he really didn't know.
After all, back on Earth, there had been several nations with regions where people lived in tribes, completely cut off from the outside world and resistant to modern technology.
Although the system had confirmed that this world lagged far behind the era Luke once lived in, there were still many things left for him to explore.
But for now, his focus was the village itself.
There were not many shops here, and those that did exist were usually set up right outside people's homes.
Those skilled at stitching accepted Tora to make clothes for others. Farmers sold vegetables from small stalls. Hunters rarely opened shops of their own, so most of the meat was sold through the barter hub.
Right, the barter hub reported directly to the tribal chief rather than the village head. That alone said enough about how resourceful the man was.
"Ah… aren't you Gustav's son?" someone called from behind.
Luke turned and saw a young man, perhaps a few years older than him, approaching with a friendly smile.
The man was holding a large, tightly bound slab of meat that looked like the ribs of a boar.
"You are?" Luke asked, raising his brows. As mentioned many times before, he rarely stepped outside to socialize.
Helping with chores and working in the kitchen had been the entirety of his life until now.
"My name is Dart. I live in the house next to you."
Luke's brows elevated, "Neighbour, huh? Well, what can I do for you?"
The man chuckled. "I heard you hunted a wolf yesterday? Never thought Gustav was hiding such a brilliant hunter behind the walls."
Luke shrugged. "I got lucky and found a wounded one."
Dart then asked, "How about we go hunting sometime? I know a place beyond the walls where we can find fresh toctile."
Toctile, if Luke remembered correctly, was a three-headed chicken that sold for good Tora. Its meat was quite good as well.
However, before that,
'Appraise.'
[Name: Dart]
[Race: Human]
[Str: 30]
[Spd: 18]
[Def: 21]
[Int: 13]
'Damn... he is quite strong.' Looking the man up and down once again, Luke asked, "Is hunting your main job?"
Dart nodded. "Yes. I mostly go out of the village to hunt. It takes less time, and the pay is good."
Luke hummed. "You are right. Well, I am not planning on crossing the perimeters any time soon, but sure, we can go sometime."
Dart grinned. "Well, let me know. And yes, please come over to my house sometime. I really do not have any friends since mostly everyone here is older than me. Nadia would like you too."
Luke's eyes narrowed. "So you have a mate too, huh?"
Dart nodded. "Yes. She has been quite down recently. Maybe your presence might help her."
Luke hummed. 'Now you have my interest.'
Giving a small nod, he parted ways with the man and headed toward the chief's house.
"Hmm?" Luke narrowed his eyes as he saw his elder brother in the distance. He had just left the barter's window, stomping away.
Luke made his way to the window and knocked twice.
"Tch, why are ah... it's you." The man was clearly expecting someone else, and he looked annoyed.
Luke rested his arm on the side of the window and asked, "Why is Lex bothering you?"
The man snarled. "He is your brother, right? Does he get his ass beaten every morning by his mate or something? Why was he acting like an asshole?"
"Hmm? What happened?"
He clicked his tongue. "He kept asking how you earned so many coins. I just told him the truth, but he looked like he wanted to hear something more."
Luke chuckled. "Not something I didn't expect."
Shaking his head, he asked, "Well, forget about him and tell me, do you have any job?"
The man huffed, still annoyed, but answered anyway. "How good are your ears?"
Luke tilted his head. "What do you mean?"
"Rabid moles have entered the chief's backyard and are destroying the crops. Go and hunt them down before I assign this to someone who is an expert."
Luke grinned. "What about the pay?"
"Hmm... how about two Tora for each one of them?"
Luke scoffed. "I will take five and relieve the chief of this disaster within an hour."
The barter manager shrugged. "If you take all of them out, I am sure the chief will reward you himself."
Luke said nothing more and turned to look at the large gates of the chief's house.
"Let's see this place from the inside."
°°°°°°°°°
A/N:- Add the book to your library.