CHAPTER 11: VISITING THE VILLAGE

Early the next morning, Ray woke up, had breakfast, and prepared for the day. He decided to visit the nearby village to collect supplies and stockpile at least enough for a few days.

It has been three days since he was transported here, and he has not encountered a single human. Therefore, today he plans to cross the mountains surrounding him to visit the nearby village if present, and learn about the affairs of human civilization.

Ray first went to the forest, selected some ripe fruits, and collected them in his basket. He planned to sell these fruits in the village market to earn some money, which he would use to activate his third talent.

Yesterday, he attempted to activate the third ability, and the hint he received was that he could generate any kind of currency he desired, provided he knew the type of currency he wished to generate and could envision the rough blueprint of the coin.

After exiting the forest, Ray re-entered it with a rope and axe. First selected a few dried trees, felled them with ease, tied them with the rope, dragged them out, and placed them in the open space.

Ray is going to make a makeshift boat with these logs to cross the lake. 

As this is his first time leaving his abode, Ray decided to travel light, carrying only his axe, a fruit basket, and a bag for carrying supplies on his return journey.

First Ray determined the route for climbing down the mountain which was at the junction of two forest meeting point.

The path was wide enough to carry a horse carriage. This reassured Ray as he feared he couldn't carry the logs if the path was too narrow.

Ray first dragged the logs along the path and reached the ground where he freed them. He then started arranging them side by side, took three flat pieces of wood, arranged them horizontally, and fixed them with nails driven from top to bottom.

After that Ray tightened them with a rope and dragged the prepared wooden board into the lake.

As the wooden boat slowly descended into the water, it initially sank a little before floating on the water. Ray cautiously boarded and checked its buoyancy, finding that the raft was sturdy enough to carry two or three adults.

Ray sighed a relief as this was his first time building a raft, he couldn't believe he got it right the first time.

With great enthusiasm, Ray began his ascent up the mountain after securing the raft to a nearby rock.

He entered the house to retrieve the items he planned to take him, then locked the door then proceeded to the backyard. He tapped on the tree trunk and informed it that he was going out for the night, returning the next day, and requested it to look after the house.

After descending the mountain, Ray transferred all the items he was holding onto the raft, then untied it and climbed aboard.

Using a piece of wood as a propeller, Ray began rowing the raft in the direction of the water flow, so he could determine the exit of the valley.

After sailing for a few minutes, he found a cave which is wide enough for two carriages to pass.

Ray initially halted the raft at the cave entrance and secured it to a nearby rock to prevent it from drifting in the water when the wind blew heavily.

Ray came to the entrance and saw that the cave had wind flowing and the water was deep enough for the raft to pass.

Realizing that this path would lead him to the outside world, Ray boarded the raft, took a torch, and switched it on to illuminate the dark cave. He secured the torch at the front of the raft and directed the raft into the cave passage after untying it.

After drifting for a few minutes in the water cave, Ray slowly Adapted to the darkness and realized that the cave was huge in length, height, and width.

It took an hour for Ray to reach the exit, The exit of the mountain range is again surrounded by a larger lake.

At first, Ray thought he was on an isolated island surrounded by ocean after seeing the huge lake.

But after checking the water was still freshwater and he sighed a sigh of relief.

Ray effortlessly steered his raft into the lake and began rowing toward the west as he saw a vague outline of land present in that direction. 

By the time Ray reached the island, it was past afternoon, the island was not a big one.

It was only a radius of 500 meters, and he saw a few fishermen fishing in the nearby water with their boats.

Seeing that his raft drifted from the depth of the lake the fishermen rowed their boats near to him and stopped him to inquire his business for visiting their island.

Ray informed them that he was a businessman who had heard about an island in the lake. He had come to sell some fruits and buy supplies after losing all provisions to bandits and losing his way while traveling with the caravan.

Although it seemed like a weak excuse, the fishermen allowed him to pass after noticing his attire, which stood out in the remote place, and Ray was only carrying an axe and a few supplies with him.

Upon departing, Ray inquired about the marketplace of the village and was informed that was situated in the center of the village.

After reaching the island Ray tied the raft at the pier and entered the island.

It took him a few minutes to reach the island as the village was located at the center of the island.

After a brief checkup at the entrance of the village, he was allowed to enter the village under the watchful eyes of the guards.

Seeing him swagger into the village, the guard who allowed him to enter slowly left his place and went to inform them that a new person had entered into the village to the village chief.

The village has only about 100 households with only about 300 to 400 people. Few people were visible as it was still afternoon and most of them were still in fields.

Following the guard's directions he received at the entrance, Ray arrived at the marketplace in the village.