The Strange Egg

"Ugh! I'm exhausted. It's terrifying how hard it is to be uneducated—it's all hard work and brainpower!" Ryan finally made it back to his home, tossing his box on the ground and collapsing onto the bed covered in thick grass, panting as he complained. His little house was beginning to look like a proper living space—clean floors, a bed covered with fresh straw, a large wooden barrel of clean water, and a hanging iron pot with a fire underneath. There were even thick grass curtains hanging on the stone walls, giving it more of a homely feel.

"Well, let's see what's in the box. Hopefully, there are some books with pictures to make it easier." After resting for a while, Ryan got up, grabbed a wooden ladle, and drank a big gulp of water. He always made sure to drink boiled water, knowing how dangerous it could be to get sick in ancient times, especially from something like food poisoning.

Ryan poked the fire in the hearth, adding a few more pieces of wood. Surprisingly, the firewood lasted a long time, even through the night, and it also worked as an indirect light source. It was already dusk, and the room was becoming dimmer. He dragged the box over and sat down on a wooden stump next to the fire, starting to go through the things he had collected today.

The first item Ryan picked up was the so-called magic book that looked exactly like the one he already had. After looking at it for a while, he still couldn't make sense of it. For the next half hour, Ryan flipped through the entire box, and finally found two books with illustrations. One of them had both illustrations and text, while the other was purely made up of drawings.

"What is this? Everything's blurry, and there's even a long tail—total garbage!" Ryan tossed the purely illustrated book aside. It was supposed to be a book of lifestyle art, but the sketches were so confusing to him that they made his head ache. He thought to himself, Even I could draw better than this, and the poses are all the same.

Of course, who would be interested in that kind of stuff after seeing high-definition, 360-degree real-life battles online? That would be sick.

"Wait a minute…" Ryan picked up the book again, examining it closely. Gradually, a look of excitement spread across his face.

"Hmph! If things really go south, maybe I can start drawing these kinds of pictures. Look at how worn this leather cover is—it must sell well. Hmm, maybe I should do some interdimensional erotic art with pictures and text. Yeah, that's a serious option!" Ryan placed the book on his lap, lost in thought.

"Wait, to even do that, I need to learn how to read, or I'll end up signing contracts and selling myself. Hmm, maybe after I survive this winter, I'll head somewhere else for some fun. There's no place like home, and with my art skills—ranked tenth in my class—I can definitely make some gold, right? Well, I also have a ton of ideas in my head. Sharpening my skills will only make me more efficient. I'll learn to read first!" Ryan dreamed of a bright future ahead of him, although his art ranking was low because the entire art class only had ten people, and it was a hobbyist class. As for the knowledge in his head, he could talk endlessly about famous actors from various countries.

The second book didn't disappoint him. It was indeed a book with both text and illustrations, and even had maps. However, the creatures depicted in it were unlike anything Ryan had ever seen. The first page showed a creature with long ears—was it a rabbit? But this "rabbit" had tusks, and its fur was blue. Ryan scratched his head in confusion.

"Geez! Good thing I saw a rabbit on the mountain before. Otherwise, I'd really think this thing was a rabbit." Ryan continued flipping through the pages, finding increasingly bizarre creatures: winged horses, horned snakes, and even a tree with a giant face.

"What is this stuff? Wait… could this be a book about magical beasts? Yeah, that must be it. With magic, there must be magical creatures, right? Now it makes sense!" As Ryan got excited, his stomach rumbled loudly, pulling him back to reality. He carefully placed the book, the six gold coins, and the two other magic-related books aside.

"Tonight's dinner will be mushroom fish egg drop soup. Yum!" Ryan began quickly preparing the ingredients, thinking about how delicious the egg would be. Although he had been living in the mountains for months, it was autumn, so birds weren't laying eggs. He didn't dare venture too deep into the woods, as the dense trees gave off an eerie vibe. Ryan valued his life now, especially after dying once before. Safety first.

"Bang!" Ryan looked strangely at the egg in his hands. He had already thrown the fish, mushrooms, and salt into the pot, and they were nearly cooked. Impatiently, he cracked open the egg to check if it was bad. But when he tapped the wooden bowl, the egg stayed intact, and the bowl flew across the room.

"Magical beast eggs are this tough?" Ryan mumbled, then picked up the bowl and tried again.

"Bang!" The bowl shattered, but the egg remained perfectly fine.

"Ah! I'll just cook you whole!" Ryan was about to lose it. No matter how hard he tried, even using the hardest tools in the room, he couldn't break open the egg. In a fit of frustration, he tossed it into the iron pot, planning to cook it whole, but he didn't think about the fact that if it couldn't break open raw, it probably wouldn't break open cooked either.

"Ahhh! I've had enough of this egg!" Ryan fumed, staring at the unyielding egg. After more than an hour of cooking and trying everything, the egg still wouldn't break, not even with a giant rock.

"Ryan, wake up!" Ryan groggily awoke, not sure how he had fallen asleep. When he heard someone calling his name, he saw Holman, the butler, standing in front of him with a big smile. Ryan quickly sat up.

Holman was still worried about the stables, so he brought Torry with him to check on the horses. Seeing the well-fed, healthy horses and the extra foals, as well as the large haystack, Holman and Torry both felt more at ease. After that, they headed to Ryan's house, which looked quite tidy. Holman nodded in approval. Holman and his team were not like other servants who didn't care about cleanliness; they were meticulous about their personal hygiene. When Holman saw the well-worn book with only pictures, he couldn't help but laugh.

"We've brought people to help repair the stables and also check on your work. You've done well." Holman said in a managerial tone, while Torry had already gone to check on the horses. Torry, after all, had been the trusted servant of a knight lord and had even fought on the battlefield. He had a special fondness for horses.

"Thank you for the compliment, Master Holman. It's all thanks to your great management," Ryan replied, forcing a smile as he tried to suppress his disgust.

"Well, it seems like Ryan has grown up." Although Ryan was a slave, he was still part of the family, and the shrewd butler wasn't about to let anyone cause trouble behind his back. He was always smiling at everyone, but with his awkward appearance, it seemed rather out of place.

"Ryan is a good kid. When spring comes, he'll undergo the guard team's test. If he passes, he'll be trained for a while and then join the guard. If he's lucky, he might even follow the master," Torry said with a big laugh as he slapped Ryan's shoulder so hard that it nearly knocked him over. Torry's job at home was to select talented people, and if someone with great potential was found, it would be a big accomplishment. He also had to oversee the stable, as knights typically had several fine horses and needed at least ten attendants to manage them. The attendants cared for the horses, cleaned the armor, helped the knights dress and undress, and even acted as decoys when the knights needed to escape. Of course, Torry didn't explicitly say all of this.

"Thank you, Lord Torry," Ryan sincerely thanked him. What drew Ryan to these words was the opportunity to leave this remote mountain area—a legitimate chance to get out into the world.

"Good, work hard. Here's the food, salt, and some clothes for the next three months. Winter roads are tough to travel, so we've brought enough. There are also some iron nails and other tools. Be sure the stable doesn't collapse under the snow," Holman said, offering some last instructions before walking away with Torry and the others. The stable was then reinforced with iron nails by the workers Holman brought. It took less than an hour to complete.

"Still some time left, might as well take a walk in the forest," Ryan thought, watching their figures disappear in the distance. He realized he had fully settled into the identity of Ryan.

Walking through the thick fallen leaves, Ryan carefully searched for some dried vines. What he was looking for was a large, sweet-tasting tuber hidden beneath the vines, a rare treat in this world. He also discovered several giant beehives, which he planned to return for once the snow fell.

"Heh, lucky me, another nest." Ryan almost shouted with excitement as he found a bundle of these tubers. Beneath one vine, there were at least a dozen, each weighing dozens or even a hundred pounds. He carefully moved the plants aside, preparing to dig them out.

"Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh! Boom!" Ryan heard the rustling of the grass, and then a rabbit the size of a lamb crashed into a tree, fainting.

"Ha, this is too good!" Ryan quickly used a sickle to deal with the situation. He had been craving meat, but safety was a priority. If the large rabbit bit him, it could lead to severe infections or worse.

"Who are you?" a voice suddenly called out behind Ryan.

"Ah! I'm here to manage the stable, who are you?" Ryan jumped, turning around to see an honest old hunter. He quickly raised his flag.

"I'm from Curly Village, just up the mountain to get some game for the New Year," the old man replied dryly, eyeing the rabbit in Ryan's hand.

"Why are you still up here at your age? Where's your son?" Ryan asked, noticing the man looked quite old.

"All gone. I only have a grandson, seven years old. We have no food, so I had to come up and see what I could find." The old man's eyes were dull, void of any sorrow.

"Sigh, take it with you," Ryan said, seeing the old man's pitiful state and noticing blood on the rabbit's rear. He generously offered it to him.

"Thank you, sir! Thank you, sir!" The old man immediately bowed his thanks.

"Wait a minute, old man, here's something else for you." Ryan quickly dug up some more tubers, giving the majority to the old man.

"Thank you, thank you! These are cassava, good stuff," the old man said, bowing again, praising the tubers.

"Go on, go on, it'll be dark soon," Ryan said, watching the meat he'd hoped for slip away, feeling both disappointed and helpless.

"By the way, sir, are you new to the stable? Not far ahead is a place without trees. You mustn't go there. It's said to be haunted. It used to be a forest, but one night, it was like thunder struck the back mountains, and the next day, the forest was gone, leaving only stone. The stone even looked like it had been burned by fire. That was decades ago, and the land wasn't even under Lord Torry's control at the time," the old man turned back to say, then walked off.

Ryan had been excited, thinking the old man might return the rabbit to him, but it wasn't meant to be. He spent the rest of the day struggling with the strange egg, unable to crack it open, not even with iron nails. Reluctantly, he went to sleep, making up his mind to check out the place the old man mentioned tomorrow.