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Ragnar woke up feeling extremely weak, his vision was blurry and his head ached badly. He opened his eyes weakly to an unfamiliar ceiling and gently lifted his upper torso from the uncomfortable bed he was lying on.

"Where am I?" he muttered, worriedly observing the unfamiliar room.

Just then, the wooden door creaked open, and Noah strolled inside with a gentle smile on his face.

"Ragnar, you're finally awake," he said as he strolled beside him.

Seeing him, Ragnar's mind quickly flashed back to what happened before he blacked out, and he managed to figure out his current location.

He heaved a sigh and tried to get up from the bed, but his body was extremely weak and tired.

"You overexerted your body, Ragnar," Noah said in a calm tone. "On my first day of endurance training, I collapsed right after completing the third lap, but you managed to pull through five."

Ragnar simply nodded while listening. Right now, he could not wait for him to leave the room so he could take a painkiller.

He tilted his head toward the window and noticed that it was already the dark hours of the evening.

"Everyone is waiting for you at our normal meeting spot," Noah revealed.

Ragnar nodded—how could he forget the meeting he proposed?

"Alright, excuse me for a few minutes to prepare myself," Ragnar excused himself.

Noah wondered what sort of preparation he was talking about, but he did not argue further and strolled out of the room, leaving only Ragnar inside. Apparently, Old Man James was among the people waiting for him at the meeting spot.

Left alone, Ragnar quickly opened his inventory, took out a painkiller, and swallowed it with his saliva.

Ragnar sat still for a few minutes, waiting for the effect of the drug to kick in—and it did.

About five minutes later, the exhaustion from the drilling exercise was relieved. His headache vanished, his vision returned, as well as his strength to stand up and complete the meeting tonight.

"Haha, painkillers are the best!"

Ragnar commented as he stood up from the bed and performed a few stretches before walking out of the room to meet Noah waiting for him outside.

"Let's go."

Both youths strolled towards the meeting spot.

****

At a particular field not so far away from the gathering of huts, the small population of the 10th Hamlet gathered.

A small campfire was set in the middle of the gathering to provide warmth and illumination. With the glow of the scorching campfire, one could see the varying expressions of the people.

Their discussions could also be heard clearly.

"Why did Ragnar call a meeting?"

"Have the ancestors revealed something important about the future of our territory?"

"I hope it's not bad news—my heart is too feeble to accept any form of bad news right now."

"Maybe he wants to pick a wife, too bad I'm a dude."

"That is weird... Badmus."

"Heh, what do you mean weird?"

"Speaking about marrying a man when you're a man, not just a man, but an ugly and muscular one."

"Who are you calling ugly? How dare you underestimate my manly beauty? Is it my fault you're built like a scrawny boy at 30?"

"Scrawny? Just say you're jealous I look younger."

"You know what? Fuck you!"

"Fuck yourself, I'm not fucking you, weird-ass man."

The collective discussions generated a noise that reached the ears of Ragnar and Noah as they approached.

One of them, a shirtless muscular man, noticed Ragnar first and flashed him a sweet smile.

'Why do I suddenly feel uncomfortable?' thought Ragnar, seeing the smiling middle-aged man.

"Ragnar, welcome."

"Welcome, little one."

"Ragnar, you look more refreshed now,"

The people welcomed him with smiles.

Ragnar nodded and waved as he found the middle of the gathering. He cleared his throat before uttering, "I'm glad all of you were able to make time for our meeting tonight, I promise to make it worth your time."

Ragnar's gaze moved down the faces, observing their positive expressions.

"The reason I called you all tonight is the bad state of our water supply, which has greatly affected our well-being," he announced.

The people exchanged worried gazes—the issue of bad water supply has been in the settlement for years now.

"How has the water affected our well-being?" one of them asked.

Ragnar smiled before answering. He discussed the many dangers of drinking bad water, including increased rates of fevers, diarrhea, and many other diseases. He also spoke about how the people could be swallowing a deadly parasite residing in the water without knowing.

Hearing his answers, the expressions on their faces dulled, and one of the little kids began to cry.

"But all that would end today," Ragnar's voice rang out, igniting hope in their hearts. "I have a few purification methods that would make the water from the stream healthier."

Everyone became attentive at his last statement. Some even impatiently prompted him to share the methods he had in mind.

Ragnar smiled at their response and began sharing the first method.

"The first method is pretty simple and something you guys do always—boiling."

"Heh? How does boiling help?" one of the curious women asked, causing the others to nod their heads in agreement.

"Boiling is the safest method to purify water; it kills the germs in the water and makes it fit for drinking, cooking, and basically everything you can use water for. All you have to do is boil your water for at least six minutes, store the boiled water to cool for some time, and it would be fit for drinking."

The people gasped in realization—although they practiced boiling every single day, they only used that method for preparing meals and concoctions, only now were they were aware of its other use.

Ragnar allowed the first method to settle amongst them before introducing the second one: "The second method I'm about to discuss requires less effort but more time, and it also works on a large amount of water compared to boiling. It is called sedimentation."

"Sedimentation?" someone mispronounced.

"I have never heard of something like that in my whole life," another commented.

"Sedimentation," Ragnar said, "is when you fill a clean jar or pot with stream water, let it sit undisturbed for a few hours so mud and grit sink to the bottom, then slowly pour the clear water on top into another pot—giving you cleaner water for cooking and washing."

"Wow! Can that really happen?"

"I think I've noticed this before! Each time I leave water in my clay pots till morning, I always find small bits of sand at the bottom!"

Ragnar was excited with their reaction and proceeded with the last method, which was cloth filtration. He explained the method to them and they easily understood.

"I have shared three methods: boiling is the healthiest and is good for drinking, sedimentation and cloth filtration are fit for cooking and washing. Practice these methods I've given, and you'll notice your well-being improving," Ragnar finished the meeting with a smile.

Everyone present stood up and gave a round of applause.

"Ragnar, although I'm a man, I can still marry you!"

"Ragnar the blessed, the ancestors are truly behind you."

"Such intelligence."

While the people applauded, Ragnar received the notification he had been waiting for.

|| Quest: Spread news about the bad water and suggest effective means—completed, 100 XP has been awarded. Your territory progression has risen by 3%. ||

|| You've leveled up! ||

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