Chapter 152: A Road to Fortune Outside the Village

Pete was an ordinary villager from Eastgate Village.

This past winter, the villagers from Eastgate Village had been among the first to arrive at Fruitvale Village during their migration.

Unlike everyone in Stonefall Fruit Village, who all chose to stay, only part of Eastgate Village remained behind while the rest left under the leadership of the village chief.

Now, Pete was extremely grateful for the choice he had made—life in Fruitvale Village was just too comfortable.

As long as one was a bit diligent here, there was no fear of starving. In fact, one could live quite well.

At first, when the villagers saw those job postings, they found them hard to believe.

After all, the tasks seemed simple, yet the pay was surprisingly generous. It didn't make sense to hand such good jobs to outsiders like them.

But Pete trusted it completely and was among the first to accept the job—simply because it had been issued by Aven!

Collecting Gloom's saliva only required one bottle to earn two copper coins, and gathering a bottle wasn't particularly difficult—after all, Glooms were everywhere outside the village.

This job was simply too easy! And what use could Gloom's saliva possibly have? It was obvious Aven was just handing them free money!

Speaking of free money, Pete remembered how Aven had bought large amounts of unripe berries when winter first arrived. Back then, they all thought the same thing.

Well, that's just Aven's style—and the reason? He probably just wanted to help them, giving them a chance to earn some coins through labor.

Sigh... such a hopeless good guy… Pete let out a sigh, remembering how he once called Aven an idiot. He truly regretted it now.

But while the idea had seemed so promising, the reality turned out to be much tougher.

When he eagerly accepted the job and went out to collect Gloom's saliva, he ran into all sorts of trouble.

First, he had to overcome the horrible stench coming from the Glooms themselves.

And then, there was the sheer number of competitors. After all, each Gloom only produced a limited amount of saliva per day, and there were just too many people out collecting it!

"Winter's over, and Aven's back… maybe it's time we head back too," Pete muttered with a sigh.

He felt that he had already gotten used to life in Fruitvale Village—he didn't really want to leave. But more importantly, jobs that made money this easily were rare.

As he thought this, he spotted a Gloom nearby, its reddish-brown petals poking out from the bushes.

He quickly walked over and sniffed the air—his experienced nose telling him that this particular Gloom had already had its saliva collected.

"Still no fresh saliva, huh?" Pete was starting to sense that something wasn't right.

Since Aven had returned, the amount of saliva the Glooms were producing had noticeably dropped. On top of that, their smell had also weakened a lot.

"This won't do…"

Wandering aimlessly, Pete had only managed to collect two bottles of saliva after all this time.

Just as he was feeling disappointed and ready to call it a day, he suddenly caught a whiff of a terrible stench—a really awful smell.

Most people would've turned around immediately after smelling it, but Pete's face lit up with joy. He took off running toward the source of the stink.

Running across the grassy fields, Pete's pace gradually slowed.

He turned to look back at Fruitvale Village and realized he was already far outside its boundaries.

"Why would a Gloom wander this far from the village?"

"Wait… When Aven came back, didn't he bring a group of magical beasts with him?"

"These magical beasts are supposed to live just outside the village… Could the smell be coming from them?"

Pete pondered this, glancing back at Fruitvale Village and then toward the direction of the abandoned orchard in the distance.

Aven had said those beasts wouldn't hurt humans…

Suddenly, Pete made a decision—he'd go take a look. He believed Aven wouldn't lie to them.

Over his time in Fruitvale Village, he had seen many magical beasts that were friendly to humans. There shouldn't be any danger!

Resolute now, Pete quickened his pace, running across the grassy fields until he reached a large expanse of meadow.

Seeing the meadow, he couldn't help but marvel—he had no idea how Aven had pulled it off. Not long ago, this place had just been a patch of bare ground.

As he got closer, he soon saw the magical beasts resting in the grass—and among them, a massive Torterra!

As soon as Pete saw the Torterra, it also looked over and locked eyes with him.

Gulp.

Pete swallowed nervously. The Torterra's sheer presence was overwhelming!

"Don't be afraid. These magical beasts won't hurt me," Pete told himself, trying to stay calm.

Forcing a smile, he waved and greeted the Torterra. "Hello there."

Then he held his breath. Even though he trusted Aven, he still felt a bit anxious inside.

"Terra…"

Looking at the human before it, the Torterra remembered Aven's instructions and gave a slight nod.

"It just greeted me?"

"This magical beast… it really doesn't see me as an enemy!"

"Aven wasn't lying—these magical beasts have truly been tamed!"

Pete felt his heart nearly jump out of his chest—then came a rush of exhilaration.

Waving happily to the Torterra, he stepped into the grassy meadow and began walking toward the source of the stench.

Behind him, the Torterra quietly watched, which put Pete at ease. He fully relaxed.

That area… was where the Glooms were living.

The Torterra continued to observe the human before it.

It had heard from the village Glooms that the humans there didn't mind their smell—but this was the first time it had seen it with its own eyes.

Before long, Pete found the Glooms sunbathing in a cluster—there were hundreds of them!

"The smell is intense… and almost every Gloom has drool at the corners of its mouth." Pete made a quick judgment, his eyes gleaming with excitement—he was going to get rich!

The Glooms also noticed the approaching human and curiously sized him up.

Recently, Aven had encouraged the village Glooms to interact more with the wild Glooms to strengthen their bond.

Among the Glooms gathered here, some had come from outside the village and recognized this villager who frequently roamed near the outskirts.

"Hello, everyone."

"Don't worry—I mean no harm."

"I just want to collect a bit of your drool."

Pete tried to keep a friendly smile as he slowly approached.

The Glooms exchanged glances and all squinted their eyes happily. These humans really were just like their leader had said—they truly didn't mind their smell!

(End of Chapter)