Looking at Alp, it seemed a bit difficult to find other players beside Rak. The truth is that Chaos theory is astronomically large and people have been split up over hundreds of thousands of countries into millions of villages, towns and cities. And from there these people have wandered about. It can be considered impossible for a human to understand Chaos theories current size.

Even when people gather in cities they get buried under the overwhelming cities population, some cities, like empire cities, reaching tens of billions. This doesn’t make it impossible to contact other ‘real’ people, but it does it make extremely difficult.

Even now, with the Devion families wealth, none of their family members or subordinates know were each other are. It is likely they are not even in the same continent. After all, the Chaos theory general intelligence knows what people know each other and may have decided to split them up thoroughly.

From this issue, sprouted a different issue, not exactly an issue, perhaps a boon instead. People began cozying up to the dwellers of Chaos theory, after three weeks since humanities forceful introduction to Chaos theory they have spent at least hundred and ninety hours living in Chaos theory’s universe.

“This place is like a small zoo.”

One of the charming things about towns and villages in Chaos theory is the activities the residence take in. One example has already been introduced, Orlic the new head brewer at Absitance brewery.

Url has has the hobby of taming beasts. Outside the sizable barn, a medium sized house and a rather large stable is a bunch of miscellaneous animals waddling around.

“This is the right place.”

Rak just glanced at his map, on it was very clearly a marker that says ‘Url’. Town planner Ung had marked it on Rak’s map, or more precisely shared this piece of information from his own map.

“Hello! Is anyone home!”

There was no way Rak was going to walk through this group of animals, he already didn’t like dogs or cats, these didn’t look any more pleasing to him.

“Maybe I should’ve gone to the Laughter’s medicine instead.”

After a moment passed and Rak called out once more, a young boy walked out from the barn, his clothing practically screamed he was a farm boy through and through.

“Can I help you sir?”

“I’m looking for Url.”

“You found him.”

“Oh. Eh. Well, you see, I’m looking to hire you as a driver.”

“Driver? You from town hall then?”

“Not exactly, I've spoken to town planner Ung and rented the carriage for the next two days.”

“I see.”

One of the more irritating things about the people of Chaos theory is that their deep reluctance to do anything for a person they do not know. It is however fortunate that Rak isn’t asking for charity but instead a paying customer.

“Two days of work. Today included?”

“Today included, I need to head to a few of the local towns. I will also need to deliver some beer to the taverns in town as well.”

“Beer is it? You a merchant?”

“Something like it, I recently built a brewery in town. The name is Abstinence.”

“I see. Good to meet you Abstinence, I’m Url.”

After a brief introduction and expanding on what Rak wants to do, a deal was finally made. It was good that Rak went to Url, it just so happens that the man had some business near a nearby town as well. He has plans to capture some beasts near Inte and one near Hort.

“I will fetch the carriage, wait here a moment, best to stay away from the pack. Not that they’re hostile, they aren’t used to being around people other than me and the kid.”

“No problem, Actually, I’ll wait over there.”

Nodding at Rak, Url went off to prepare the carriage. Rak went to stand by the end of the property, however he did not escape the scent of manure.

“This Url has really gone overboard with collecting all these animals. How does he feed them all?”

It was a bit troubling for Rak to watch these critters and beasts roam about, he even felt a bit itchy.

“What even is that?”

After staring at one particular creature for a good few minutes, a creaking and the sounds of hoofs stomping emerged and slowly became clearer until Rak was finally woken up from his daze.

“Hop on.”

“Oh. You were quick.”

“So, where are we going?”

“We should drop by the brewery before heading to Horst. I don’t think we’ll managed too far but if we take this path, we might reach Gorg before heading back to Alp.”

Rak waved his hands about and pushed it towards Url. Viewing the updated the map, Url nodded and snapped his leash, making the two horses start picking up pace.

“I know the route, there's a bit of a Igorra infestation there but I’m sure we’ll me alright, those things don’t care for big creatures like horses.”

Even though Rak has no idea what an ‘Igorra’ is, the words beast and infestation caused his skin to crawl.

“Should we go straight back from Horst? I’m not sure if it's worth it, its an abandoned path afterall, it must be abandoned for a reason.”

If it wasn’t for the good of the brewery, Rak wouldn’t be willing to even step out of town, what not going on some sort of road trip to all local villages. Rak had been doubting himself these past weeks, he wasn’t sure if it was worth investing in a town like this rather than a city.

The only reason he stuck to a town is because his father, some of his father’s subordinates and his own subordinates had already travelled to a city, and starting up a business there is no easy task. Considering it took him well over forty days just buy a house and build the brewery, the city would be even more difficult. In the end, it was still a gamble on Rak’s part to stay in Alp town.

It is indeed more difficult, not only are the quest to gain reputation mountains more difficult, but requirement to be ‘known’ in a city and a town is worlds apart. This isn’t even the half of it. The value of a property in the city is enough to make a young man grow grey hair, and on top of that, any sort of expenditure from building a business, hiring workers and what not inconsequential.

One of the most lucrative thing a new arrival in Chaos theory can do, is to train to be carriage driver and purchase, or even build a carriage. After that they can try and investigate the difference in the economy and flip common or rare goods.

While a some sixty percent of the ‘real’ human population has struck out as a combat profession of some sort, a good forty is twiddling their thumbs doing other things. Rak is of course of one such examples.

Another thing to note, is that a job a person can take requires some investment of time, people can only gain a job through an instructor or directly through a quest Chaos theory provides through some means like a lost shrine of a forgotten warrior or mage.

“Not much for talking this Url.”

It didn’t take long to travel to the brewery, seeing as he was in a hurry, Rak quickly explained to Orlic what his plans were before jumping back on the carriage and head over to Horst.

After approximately two hours it was already early evening and the stun was showing signs of setting. The day in Chaos theory are always exactly as long, there is no deviation. The only difference is the amont of star and moonlight each night. Three days out of every thirty there will no starlight and everything becomes pitch black.

Today, the last two days and all the way to two days from now is a ‘high moon’. This means during the night people can still depend on moon and starlight to walk around during the night.

“How long do you think this will take?”

“Horst is just over that ridge.”

Rak could see on his map they were just about to arrive, the only reason he asked was to get this man to talk about anything. The trip had been eerily silent, with only Rak asking questions, trying to strike up a conversation while Url gave one word answers.

“Will you join me at the local pub? I shouldn’t be long but you can grab a drink at least.”

“No need.”

Sighing in his heart, Rak didn’t know how he should feel about this solemn quiet zookeeper. After putting away his thoughts he began thinking about the cost of transportation and how much it would affect his final price.

Unlike in Alp, Rak didn’t need to give too much of a discount as the reputation in the village Horst wasn’t something he valued. The land here was almost three times cheaper than in Alp but even then he didn’t have many plans for it. At the end of the day, it is the transportation cost that piles up not the land he builds on.

“I still don’t know what they are paying down here, and what kind of product they are getting.”

To poor villages, ones that mostly sustenance farm and hunt, drinking alcohol can be seen as a luxury, but not unattainable once in a while. While the price might remain high, what happens instead is they buy less frequently but in high quantity.

What is weird is that it isn’t difficult to create more than they need and sell it, they just don’t do it. Most laze around doing hobbies with their spare time.

“I’ll try and talk them into buying enough for a about a month, I still don’t know how much they go through but this carriage should be able to carry enough.”

“You know where the tavern is in Horst?”

“Tavern should be the village center.”

While some villages are large enough to complete with some towns, most of them are too poor to compare. What ends up happening is that the ‘village government’ as it were, takes on the common supply issues. This is why most shops in a village are actually a communal shop and can’t really be called a real shop. There are of course exceptions to this as many shops can also be living quarters.

“This should be it.”

“Good, I’ll head in.”

It was already obvious this was the tavern, while the insides were a bit grander than what a tavern should look like, it was still housing quite a few people. Unlike in the Alp’s tavern, there was not singing or music playing, only people merrily chatting.

“Evening mister, are you new in town?”

Rak had spawned in this village but he only stayed here long enough to pay for his way to Alp, his impact here in the village Horst was minimal. Most villagers knew or at least recognized all adults in the village.

“You can say that, I wonder if I could speak to the owner of this, this tavern.”

“The owner? I guess that would be old Tom, but its Ronald that manages it most of the time.”

“I see. Where can I find Ronald then?”

“He’s out back, should I go get him?”

“Please.”

After giving the tavern a good look around, he noticed there was no bar area, in its stead was something you’d see in kitchens or buffeys. A larger window like opening in a wall and on the other side of it is a clear view into the kitchen.

At this window a couple of people were chatting, presumably waiting for an order or something like it.

“Villages really are different from towns.”

Rak had no interest in drinking, so he had never entered this establishment, most of his time was doing random chores before hitching a ride to Alp. This held true even in Alp.

“There is a good few people here and they are all drinking. This looks like the Horseshoe tavern crowd on a slow day.”

“This is him, Ronald.”

“Oh, greetings mister Ronald. I am Abstinence, a merchant of sorts.”

Ronald’s stern eyes gave Rak a rather good look before nodding.

“Good to meet you mister Abstinence. You say your a merchant, what do you need?”

“It’s like this. I started up a brewery up in Alp, and I’m looking to sell some of the breweries product to you at a fair price.”

“A brewery.”

Ronald had a few things running through his head. None of which pertained to the brewery, and yet he took this moment to let his mind wander. It wasn’t until the young man beside him nudged that he woke from his stupor.

“Right a brewery. Alright, follow me out back, we’ll talk in my office.”

After getting into an ‘office’ which was instead something like a conference room with a large table and three designated areas which would constitute as office space.

“First of, how much are you paying for a barrel of tier one beer?”

“About twenty four copper.”

“What’s the quality like, does it hold up?”

Ronald shook his head, the quality would vary depending on who delivered it, often it was siphoned and then watered down a bit. This was even expected and hadn’t changed in the last ten years.

“I can promise you eighteen copper a barrel, and guarantee its quality. What do you think?”

“Eighteen? Really? That sounds a bit too good to be true.”

“It doesn’t matter if its too good to be true, I’ve got a contract here to guarantee it.”

“You’ll sign a System contract?”

“That’s right.”

“Alright, let’s see it, if checks out, we have a deal.”

Just as expected, Rak didn’t believe he would meet any resistance. In fact, he believed he could just guarantee the quality and offer the same price as the competitor and still they would accept. The only issue was if the competitor had friendly ties with the costumer, it would be hard to convince them even with up to forty some percentage discount.

Ten minutes had passed before Url and Rak were on their way to Gorge through a beaten ‘abandoned’ path. The traffic between Gorg and Horst is practically non-existent, most trafic goes from the town Whor through Horst and into Alp.

“You’re looking for some creatures on this path?”

“If I see them, If I can’t spot them, it’ll be a waste to look for them.”

“What?”

Rak has more questions but decided it wasn’t worth it, he found Url to be an unpleasant talker. The words all sounded off, Rak was convinced Url hadn’t spoken as many words as he had farted through his lifetime.

“He did say something about an infestation on this path.”

At this point in time, it is good to remember that Chaos theory does reward advancement through combat, more so than any other aspect of the world. While absurd riches or clever strategies allow one to complete and even excel, it is generally combat that gives the most abundant rewards.

Rewards in terms of experience, items generated from slaying anything from a wild critter to somethin ethereal, this includes human humanoids. In addition to this, harvesting the corpses of ‘carbon’ lifeform results in anything from meat, alchemical materials, rare cooking materials, fur, bones and claws.

Outside of carbon lifeforms there are primordials that can result in various materials as well but the harvesting methods differ greatly. Of course everything can be learned, but not everyone has the time, and in some cases, not the talent.

“Looks like Igorra tracks.”

“Igorra.”

“What exactly are Igorras?”

Url can’t help but give Rak a good hard look. He hadn’t expected Rak to be this useless, not even knowing the local wildlife, not even a common pest like Igorra.

“A four legged omnivore that eats just about anything with a pulse.”

Again Url shook his head when he saw Rak’s face go pale, he hadn’t expected he was with some wet behind the ear rookie.

“Don’t worry about the Igorras they might be pack animals, but you should manage a group of three to five of them. Worst case I’ll take them all down. They aren’t good for eating but their claws and bones make for good arrows.”

“Take them on? Forget it.”

Seeing Rak nod at thim, Url shook his head again and sighed deeply in his heart. In truth Url doesn’t care for people but he has no aversion to them.

“As long as we don’t run into their nest or mating ritual, they probably won’t even bother with us.”

“I-I see.”

Rak was unable to take his eyes off the surroundings, every blade of grass moved by the wind was suspicious now. In the height of his paranoia, time went slowly for Rak. The carriage still made decent speed, the road still not in too bad of a shape.

“Hooh there. Hoh there. Easy girls.”

“What is it?”

“You smell that?”

“Huh?”

“That muddy smell.”

“Oh, yeah. I can smell it.”

“Most likely, that means somewhere upwind there is an Igorra mating ritual. If we barge in on them, we’ll either have to take off or fight them.”

“We can’t fight them right?”

“We can. A mating ritual makes them more aggressive but its not as bad as stumbling upon their nest, and depending on our timing, only a portion of them might bother with us.”

Url didn’t bother to explain why or how the Igorra mated and why only a portion might notice them. Instead he fished out an old rusty container, popped the lid of and took a good drink.

“Here, this’ll help you find bravery.”

Usually Rak wouldn’t hesitate to go along with what town folk asked him to do, but this was a bit too much.

“Come on! It’ll calm your nerves.”

It is unlike Rak to feel pressure like he is now, but his understanding of Url and the sudden change in atmosphere has Rak doubting himself. After receiving the container Rak directly mimicked Url’s previous swig, and the burning liquid scorched down his throat.

“Uaaaaah! That’s hot.”

“It’ll make a man out of you.”

This was the first time Rak drank any strong alcohol in Chaos theory, and he was no stranger to stiff alcohol in the real world, but it was as if this particular drink was brewed to feel this incredibly hot and spicy.

Rak noticed his notification log was highlighted, indicating something of note had occurred. He willed the window to pop up in front of him.

Url’s homebrew has caused your senses to heighten for a short period.

Url’s homebrew has increased all attributes by 3%

“He brewed this devil drink?”

Just as the notification said, he felt his senses heighten, the smell of mud became more distinct, he felt he could hear the carriage a bit better and even his sight seemed to have improved.

“Isn’t this a bit too powerful?”

As Rak basked in this new sensation, the carriage continued its march toward Gorg at a good pace, if they managed to dodge the Igorra rut, they’ll make it well before late evening. Best case scenario, they’ll be back in Alp within three to four hours.