I Somehow Got Tasked With Managing A Realm

Squish.

An older teen sat on the ground, leaning against a clay-brick house. His hands boredly clenched the mud that blanketed the village, which was semi-hardened from the intense sun overhead. Mere feet ahead of his outstretched legs was a line of newly created clay pots placed upon decades-old wooden platforms that were drying in the sun's heat.

His eyes wandered further down the line of rotting boards, where he spotted a familiar cluster of pots that no longer glistened with any bits of moisture. Unlike many that the villagers used in everyday life, these pots were more elaborate and shaped with beautiful swirling patterns that added an artistic touch to their utility. There was no awe or elegance in the teen's eyes when he gazed upon the pottery- any that was present had long been replaced by feelings of worry and disappointment.

Those are never getting finished, are they?

It was not due to their quality, nor because of a lack of need, but rather due to the village's inability to fire-treat them to make them suitable for use. There was simply not enough fuel for it. Heat-treating all of the bricks needed to build the Claymore's homes was already an extremely resource-heavy task. All of the muddy cherry trees within several hours of traveling had long since been chopped down for use as firewood.

While reflecting on this, the teen could see a team of figures approaching from the west; his eyes lit up upon seeing the masses of wood being pulled upon sleds behind them.

Finally!

The teen jumped up from the muddy ground, tossing the blob of mud in his hand down onto the ground with a plop. It was clear he'd been waiting all day for their return. As he watched their slow-moving approach, however, he quickly grew impatient and started sprinting through the sticky mud to meet them.

"You guys are so slow! Water drains through the ground after a flood faster than you all are moving!"

His critical shout was only met with eye rolls and scoffs from the dozen-man team pulling the first sled- the nearest of the pack of 8 that embarked on the trip at sunrise.

"Like usual, Mergo runs over to tell us to work harder," an older man hauling the sled shook his head, speaking to his team before looking back at the teen, "Since you have so much energy, how about you take over for me?"

"Huh? No way. How about you have one of the giant chickens do it?" the teen, whose name was now revealed to be Mergo, answered, only to be met by the man's sarcastic laugh.

"Ha! A chicken pulling a tree? Those things are only good for pooping out eggs when they live and roasting over a fire when they die."

"You know I raised a few myself. They are actually pretty strong," Mergo argued.

"And I helped raise you. It is too bad that I can not say the same. Maybe you would have some muscles on yourself if you came with us more often."

As he said this, the man handed his section of rope over to Mergo, who reluctantly joined the rest of the exhausted and sweaty team in pulling the chopped logs.

"Ugh- this is heavy," he whined as he tugged the rope.

"Yeah, it is. Just imagine how much worse it would be if we burned the rollers like you wanted us to."

Mergo glanced back toward the sled as he pulled, seeing two of the members drop thin logs on top of the mud for the sled to move over before retrieving it from behind.

"Well... we really needed some fire..." Mergo muttered, refusing to meet the man's sharp eyes, "B-but you guys got a lot of wood this time! We should have some to spare to finish the last set of pots, right?"

"About that..." the man's sharp expression turned somber, as he walked beside him, "We might have to give up on making them entirely."

"WHAT!? WHY!?"

A sigh escaped the man's mouth as he explained, "The trees we found today are actually part of the neighboring village's area. They were kind enough to let us take them this time, but we can not take any more. We already used up every unclaimed tree within a reasonable day's trip in the other directions... any trees we get now will be very hard to get and need to be reserved for cooking."

Mergo's heart sank for a moment at the news, yet he quickly shook it off and looked back at the man.

"But we already started growing our own trees in the mud! Can we not just chop down those?"

The man shook his head, "We planted those well before you were born, yet it will be another 5 summers before the first set of them are ready to be chopped down."

That long!?

The news was dire, yet Mergo did not give up yet.

"E-even if we can not use trees, we can still make fire! We can just burn some of the cornstalks and grass!"

"We use those to feed the chickens. They never stop eating, but it is worth taking care of them for their eggs," the man sighed.

"Ugh."

Although he continued pulling the sled in silence, Mergo's brain was still going wild trying to think of a solution. Eventually, he spoke again.

"I heard stories that there are giant trees up north, outside of the mud. Could we just do one big trip up there? A single one of those trees could probably give us a whole season's worth of fire!"

"Hmm..." the man paused, "It is true they have giant cherry trees up north- I have seen them myself. The problem is that they do not start appearing until after a week of traveling- and that is not an easy trip. That whole area also has some large villages that probably claim those trees."

"So? I am sure they could spare a single tree or two."

"I do not want to bring a hundred men on a two-week journey just for that chance," the man rolled his eyes, "Even if they did agree to let us take one, we would have to lug it back for a week straight. No one wants to do that."

"Sure, no one wants to, but they still can!"

Flick!

"Ouch!"

Mergo briefly let go of the rope to rub his forehead after getting harshly flicked by the man, before continuing to pull the sled.

"You are already sweating, and you have only been pulling for a few minutes, yet you boldly want us to pull for weeks," the man grumbled.

"We need wood! You know we do! How is it any different than traveling like you did today? We would be camping instead of coming back to the village at night," Mergo argued, "Besides, we can take as many breaks as we need! It should be even easier than normal since we will not have to rush to get back by nightfall."

"Easier?" the man spat, "You really do not know how difficult this is. I blame your mother for not letting me take you on a full trip with us... look at how spoiled you grew up to be."

"I am helping you all right now!" Mergo defended.

"Yes, while we are within sprinting distance of the village. If it is so easy for you, how about you do the trip yourself?"

"By myself!? You know that is impossible!"

The man shrugged, taking the rope back from Mergo, "Then use those chickens. Unless you can prove that we can get the wood by making the trip, I can guarantee that not a single person will go with you."

Mergo's feet stood still in the mud as he watched the team pull past him and near the village's edge.

This is so unreasonable.

Despite how unfair he found the ultimatum, Mergo knew the man's words were right. So after a bit of pouting, he came to one conclusion.

I guess I really will need to make the trip myself.

.

..

...

Mergo spent the next few days planning things in his mind while doing his usual routine of taking care of the village's giant chickens.

There are just so many things I need to figure out.

Making such a voyage by himself would not be easy by any means- especially not when he would need to carry a tree back with him. Obviously, he would need to pull a sled with him to transport the wood, so this was the first problem that Mergo tried to address.

Pulling an empty sled wasn't easy by any means, but it was still definitely doable. The problem would come when a giant mass of wood was added for the journey home.

"Sure, no person would want to come with me, but you would not mind it, right, Mr. Chicken?" Mergo whispered sweetly to the giant chicken he was feeding with a bundle of dried cornstalk.

"Bawk."

"That is the spirit!"

"... Bawk?"

With an evil look on his face, Mergo slowly began tying a rope around the giant chicken, who immediately began moving and dragging the teen across the muddy ground in an attempt to escape the bindings. It was only after he bribed the creature with a mushroom that it stayed still long enough for him to finish his knots.

After a bit of re-tying and adjusting, he was able to successfully bind the creature in a manner that was secure without overly restricting its movement.

Holding onto the loose end of the rope, Mergo patted the creature, "Come on, pull me!"

Clearly not interested, but wanting to be done with whatever the teen was putting it through, the chicken began to slowly walk forward, pulling Mergo behind it.

Hmmm... it is not as strong as I thought.

Although the chicken's pull was enough to slide him across the muddy ground, his weight paled in comparison to that of a lumber-filled sled. When factoring in the fact that its pull would need to be sustained for a week of traveling, the force he was feeling on his arms was a bit less than ideal.

"It would probably take two of you to fully pull me for a long walk, so maybe ten chickens could pull the sled if I am pulling with you? I would need rollers to help, though..."

This brought the teen to his next problem.

If I am the only one going on this trip, there is no way I can keep repositioning those rollers by myself.

In the teams that went for lumber, there were typically two to three people dedicated to placing the thin logs in front of the sled and picking them up from behind it after the sled passed over them.

Even if the chickens could handle the pulling without him, Mergo knew he would quickly collapse if he had to keep running back and forth for a whole week.

Going to the trees is one thing, but I need the rollers to have any chance at bringing the wood back.

This was the problem that he had been going crazy trying to solve over the last few days. After a ton of thinking, he finally came up with an idea.

Bringing the rollers back to the front of the sled will not be a problem if the rollers never leave the sled in the first place!

.

..

...

Later that evening, just before the sun disappeared over the horizon, Mergo snuck over to the hut sheltering the sleds on the village's outskirts. There were ten total, all with flat bottoms and a raised frontal lip. Nine were typically used in the transporting groups, with the tenth staying behind as a reserve.

"Look at these beauties," Mergo whistled.

The old man would have murdered me if he saw me touch one of these, but it is not like they will be using them now anyway, since there are no trees left to move.

Even so, Mergo held his breath as he poked the nearest sled. After quickly looking around and standing still for a few moments after the poke, the teen released his held breath and moved to the corner of the hut.

I am still alive! I guess that means I am free to get started, then!

The hut already had everything he needed: some sharpened stone tools, new and old rollers, and even a small amount of lumber in the form of fully broken ones.

With the last glimpses of light the sun still had left, Mergo picked up a stone blade and began carving.

.

..

...

"Phew... that is the last one!"

That took longer than I thought.

Since there was only a small window between when there was light and when there were people in the area, Mergo had to continuously abandon and return to the hut over the course of several days.

The result of all of this effort now sat inside one of the sleds: ten total traingluar pegs, each corresponding to a small hole that Mergo carved into the sled's flat bottom.

With little effort, Mergo hoisted the sled onto a set of four worn-down rollers that had thinned considerably where the sled had continuously rolled over them. Afterwards, he plopped the pegs into the holes spaced between the rollers.

The rollers should not be able to move outside of their areas because of the pegs, but they should still have enough room to rotate when the sled is pulled!

The worn-down nature of the rollers meant that their edges were much thicker than the part the sled was resting on, which made it impossible for the rollers to slide out from under the sled's sides. They were essentially caged in, underneath.

I wanted to use ropes, but they would just be too tight for the logs to rotate.

In reality, that was just one of several of his failed ideas, but he had no time to dwell on it- today's sunlight was only a few minutes from vanishing completely. He had to leave now to have any chance at finding his way back to his bed.

I am almost ready- there are just a few more things I have to get done!

With one last look at his creation, Mergo slipped outside, sneaking into the dimming light.

.

..

...

"Come on! Come on! We are almost there!"

The day had finally come... well, just barely. The sun was hardly visible enough for Mergo to make out his surroundings, yet he had no choice but to leave at such an early hour.

Cluck. Cluck. Cluck.

Marching behind him were ten chickens who were matching his haste, motivated by the poisonous mushrooms strapped to his back.

"Shhh- cluck quieter, chickens! If the old man sees what I did to the sled, he might actually kill me!"

His warning did little to silence the creatures, but luckily for Mergo, they were able to reach the sled's hut within a few minutes. Mergo immediately reached into the loaded sled and snatched two long ropes stashed next to a head of cornstalk and grass.

"Okay! We have to do this quickly, so stay still, chickens!"

Mergo had prepared extensively for this moment, so the giant chickens already had makeshift rope harnesses tied around them; all he had to do now was attach these harnesses to two long ropes connected to the sled for them to pull.

He looked back at the sled as he hurriedly tied the knots.

That should be enough food and water for the trip there, but I might need to get some more for the way back.

Aside from the grass and cornstalks, there were also ten large, decorated pots inside the sled full of water and corn. Actually finding these pots was difficult, since he had to carefully swap some of the fancier ones around the village for the basic ones they had in storage. Mergo himself didn't see anything wrong with this, however.

After I am back from the trip, I can swap them right back! I just need whoever is up north to see them; once they see what we need the wood for, I am sure they will let us have as much as we want!

It was a bit of an arrogantly innocent thought, yet Mergo himself found no flaw with his mindset.

"Done!"

The teen finished his tying just after his reminiscing concluded.

"Okay, we only have a few more minutes before people start waking up!" he spoke to the giant chickens, now neatly arranged in two rows of five at the front of the wooden sled, chopping off the excess rope with a stone axe and tossing it back into the sled, "So follow me and let us get those giant trees!"

Mergo snatched a third rope and stationed himself at the front of the two rows of giant chickens. With a quick breath, he took his first step.

Roll.

"Success!"

The sled moved forward in sync with his step, with much less resistance than even he expected.

It looks like my rollers are working!

Although he desperately wanted to celebrate, Mergo knew there was no time, so he continued taking his heavy strides forward across the hut's claybrick flooring, sharing the load with the giant chickens behind him.

I knew I could do it! That old man will be eating his words once I am back with the- oof!

The moment the sled left the hut, the rope was instantly met with a huge resistance, which threw the teen off balance and set him falling face-first into the sticky mud.

"Bleh."

Mergo pulled himself off the ground while spitting out the mud that filled his mouth.

"What was that!?" the teen asked aloud, looking back at the sled, "Stay here, chickens, I will be right back!"

As he got closer to the sled's side, the answer was obvious: the gaps between every roller had become packed with mud. Instead of helping the sled roll over the mud, his invention dug the sled deeper into it.

A disappointed sigh leaked from Mergo's mouth.

"What a waste. It worked so well in the hut, too..."

Despite his groans, the teen knew the situation wouldn't magically improve simply by complaining.

I already have the chickens tied up... people will be outside before I can get them back to their area. Then I would have to explain and then the old man would see the sled and then-

A vision of an axe cutting his neck flashed in his mind, causing the teen to shiver.

We have no choice! It will be way harder, but I need to get rid of the rollers!

In a rush, Mergo hopped into the sled and pushed through the loose cornstalks and grass to remove the pegs that held the rollers in place. Once he finished, he pulled the sled forward, letting them fall out from behind its path.

"How sad," he muttered, looking back longingly at the rollers laying in the mud, "You were very nice in the few steps before the mud started, but now I can only pull your memory with us to the cherry trees. Come on, chickens!"

The group took a few steps north as his own words echoed in his mind.

Cherry trees... cherry trees... ah!

Mergo quickly dropped his rope and dashed back to retrieve his four wooden rollers.

"I remember hearing that there is no mud where the cherry trees grow! These things might not work on mud, but maybe they will work on whatever is up there!"

Plop!

"There you go, my wooden friends. Lay on those comfy cornstalks until we get to those giant trees!"

With one last look back at his village, Mergo returned to his spot at the front of the chickens and began pulling the rope.

It is a bit harder now, but we should get there in no time! Cherry trees, here I come!

.

..

...

"This... is horrible..."

Mergo muttered this while collapsed flatly on the considerably thinned pile of cornstalk in the sled. Day five of his journey north was nearing its conclusion and his fatigue was overwhelming. The teen's feet throbbed from all of the muddy trudging, yet pain shot through his arms and back when he went to rub them; they were equally tired from physically pulling the sled.

The way back is going to be even harder...

His arms twitched just from thinking about pulling a lumber-filled sled.

Those poor chickens must be tired, too.

Mergo sat up with a groan and peeked over the curved lip of the sled as he thought this- his eyes focused on the ten giant chickens munching on grass that he had laid out for them.

Maybe I should find some more mushrooms for them as a treat. I could probably find some near those trees up ahead.

Despite his hunt for wood, Mergo's group had actually begun to pass a decently large number of trees after the third day of traveling. A huge part of him wanted to chop a few down and bring it back, but he knew he would likely still be screamed at by the old man once he returned to the village.

The old man's words echoed in his mind.

No one would want to keep coming on such a long trip for some wood.

It would take dozens of these muddy trees to offset the village's seasonal needs and he had no idea if there were nearby villages that claimed these trees. If there were, they were bound to be angry if his village kept making this trip and taking dozens of trees from here.

A single cherry tree should give us enough wood to last for a while, and the northern villages should not mind giving up one tree a season. Unless I can get back a cherry tree to prove it, they would not think it was worth me stealing the chickens... or taking the cornstalks and the grass... or the pots... or me putting holes in the sled...

His head instinctively lowered under the weight of his actions.

"It really is too late to turn back now..."

With a sigh, Mergo raised his head, only for something moving in the distance to catch his attention.

Is that a wild giant chicken? It looks so weird...

He squinted his eyes in an attempt to see the creature more clearly.

No... it is a bit too short... and it has a longer body.

Mergo continued absent-mindedly looking at the odd creature as it approached. Eventually, it got close enough for him to make out more details.

Those are such weird wings... they are practically like arms. And where is its beak... wait!

A creature he heard about in the tales of the previous Oracles flashed in his mind. Mergo's body instantly went cold.

"A-a mountain chicken!?"

It was slightly different than how it was described in the legends, yet that was the only creature he knew about that even somewhat resembled what was currently rushing toward the sled. Even if it was only half as ferocious and tough as the ones in the stories, it was bound to be a devastating encounter.

Frantically, Mergo dove to the far side of the sled and scrambled to grab his stone axe wedged between two pots, flinging it out in a hurry.

His eyes darted back to the rapidly approaching creature.

Was it really moving that fast!?

It would be there in less than thirty seconds, yet as it got closer, Mergo came to a realization.

That is a weird angle to run at me with... it looks more like it is running at the chickens. Ah-

"CHICKENS WATCH OUT!"

The giant chickens all looked toward him as he jumped off the sled, yet it was too late.

Chomp!

"CAWWWL!"

A giant chicken howled in pain as the creature lunged at its back and took a bite out of its side. The other giant chickens frantically ran around in a panic, but they only succeeded in wildly shaking the sled due to them being bound and running in different directions.

"GET OFF OF HIM!"

Mergo's arms were shaking, yet he ran full speed toward the attacking creature with his axe held high.

"I CAN NOT GET BACK WITHOUT THEIR HELP, YOU EVIL THING!"

"CAWW!"

His axe swung down, deeply cutting the creature's back leg. Blood from both the prey and the predator gushed into the mud.

"Cawwww~"

"Oh no..."

While he succeeded in wounding the attacker, Mergo now became the focus of its wrath. Its sharp teeth glistened with chicken blood as it slowly stepped toward the teen. A second later, the creature lunged toward him with its mouth held open.

"GAHH!"

Mergo was only able to hold his left arm in front of his neck to block its attack; its sharp teeth effortlessly sank into his flesh as the force of the lunge sent him flying backward and allowed the creature to pin him into the mud.

As if by miracle, he somehow maintained his grip on the axe with his right hand through the impact, and, fueled only by adrenaline, Mergo swung with all his might at the side of the creature that was tightly gripping his left arm between its teeth.

Chop! Chop!

"LET GO!"

He screamed as he swung his axe.

Chop!

"CAAWWWW!!!"

And after the third deep wound on its side, the creature finally released his arm and retreated back a bit.

"Ha.... ha..."

Mergo staggered to his feet- his left arm was oozing blood out of distinct teeth marks. The creature wasn't in great shape either and was staggering after taking a total of four axe wounds to the side. Even so, the predator's fierce glare remained, as if telling him it would attack once more after it regained its footing.

His eyes shook. His hands trembled. His legs wobbled.

As blood continued to drip down his arm, doubt filled his mind.

If that thing attacks me again, will I even be able to fight it off?

"AHHH!"

He cried out in frustration, but there was only one thing he could think to do.

In a mad dash, Mergo sprinted toward the giant chickens and approached a bloodied one, injured from the predator's first attack, with his axe held high.

"I am so sorry, Mr. Chicken! Please forgive me!"

Chop!

His axe chopped through the rope connecting the chicken's harness to the sled, allowing it to run free.

"Cawwl! Cawwl!"

Mergo looked back toward the injured predator as the giant chicken sprinted away. The bloody creature took one glance at the teen before making up its mind and sprinting after the loose chicken.

"COME ON! WE NEED TO GO!"

Mergo threw his axe into the sled and grabbed the lead rope with his right hand. The nine remaining giant chickens, now in less of a panic with the retreating predator, stopped frantically running in circles and instead sprinted in the direction he was pulling. All of his effort went into driving his tired legs into the muddy ground and pulling the sled with his unbloodied hand. He could only keep pulling as the sounds of a chicken screaming echoed in the distance.

I have to keep going.

Blood dripped from one arm. The other struggled to pull the sled, now with one less helper, as the sun began to dip under the horizon. Yet even as the fifth day came to a close and dark night descended on the mudflats, the teen continued moving.

I have to get that cherry tree.

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..

...

"Is that... yes, it is! I DID IT! I FINALLY DID IT!"

Halfway through his eighth day of traveling, Mergo caught his first glimpse of the cherry trees he had been searching for between gaps in the muddy cherry tree canopy. The further north the teen went, the denser the tree coverage became. Now, in this area hardly covered in mud, it was difficult for him to even find an open area to rest in.

There are so many trees here! The people here really should not mind letting me take a cherry tree back!

Relief was clear on the teen's face as he continued pulling the sled through what was essentially a muddy cherry tree forest.

This trip took a little longer than I planned for, but I am just happy I made it.

Despite him not yet having the tree, simply seeing them was enough to lighten his mental burden, along with his now lightened physical one. The thin layer of mud in this area meant that he was able to put his sled's rollers back in place without them getting too clogged. His one-armed pulling became a lot easier with that switch.

I really made it~

Although he thought this, his arrival was really cutting it close. While he still had two whole pots of water left, thanks to him being able to refill the pots in the numerous streams in the area, he underestimated just how much food the chickens needed.

There is still a lot for me to do now that I am here. I might need to ask the villagers I find for some cornstalks after I ask about the tree. I took care of these chickens in the village, but pulling the sled made them way more hungry than I thought.

Aside from the food shortage, Mergo was not in the best condition himself, made clear by the blood covering his corn husk clothing. While his injury was now finally scabbed over, it took many corn husk bandages to stop the bleeding initially- his delayed arrival was in part due to the time it took him to address the wound on his left arm. He was also absolutely covered in sweat and mud, along with this blood.

That was why, when he now caught a glimpse of a clearing with a small lake up ahead, the teen immediately rushed the chickens to approach it, passing through an almost harsh transition between mud and muddy cherry trees to moss and their tall counterparts.

Upon reaching the clearing containing the large lake that was surrounded by towering cherry trees, Mergo brought the sled close to the water so that the chickens could wade inside.

"The water is beautiful! Drink up, chickens!"

Splash!

Mergo himself dove into the water seconds after saying that- his exhaustion seemed to wash away along with the mud that caked his body.

"Ah~ that feels amazing!" he shouted upon surfacing.

"It sure looks like it does!"

Mergo whipped his head around toward the unexpected voice, where he quickly noticed a group of around ten boys to the left of the lake, gripping wooden spears.

"Oh... hello."

"Save the introduction, stranger," one of the boys spat, "What are you doing in our lake?"

"Your lake?" Mergo repeated, beginning to retreat back to the land, "Sorry, I did not know your village claimed-"

"What do you mean our lake? This lake clearly belongs to Mich village!"

Mergo quickly looked toward the right of the lake, where a new group of boys was emerging from the forest, equally armed with wooden weapons.

"Oh, so you were with those idiots! I should have known the Mich would try to pull a trick like this! It is really pathetic pretending to be a traveler just to sneak into our lake!"

"I am not with-"

"He is not one of us, you Ohm morons! And this lake belongs to us!"

"You just do not get it do you-"

Mergo watched helplessly, standing awkwardly in the lake as the two groups continued to bicker. The only thing that prevented him from getting nervous was the fact that neither group approached the other despite all of the yelling. Their fighting was only calmed by the sound of footsteps and rustling tall grasses emerging from the left.

"Are you kids fighting again?" a woman asked as she came out from behind the trees, followed by three men and another woman, instantly grabbing the attention of the kids.

This attention only seemed to redirect their complaints.

"They keep going in our lake!"

The woman sighed at the kid's whine, "They are allowed to go in the lake. There is more than enough fish for all of us."

"But mom-!"

As the bickering shifted away from the two groups of kids and instead toward the Ohm kids and the parents, an elderly man from the new group glanced at Mergo's sled with interest before meeting the teen's eyes.

"Now, who do we have here?" he spoke, walking toward him. The elder's voice instantly cut off the arguing from behind him, "You do not seem to be from here."

"Y-yes. I am from the south."

"I can tell," the elder nodded, now close enough to gently pat the head of a giant chicken clucking near the water, "They only have these chickens near Claymore."

"That is where I am from..." Mergo admitted readily.

Despite his age, the elder gazed at the teen fiercely, as if trying to study his mind.

"Claymore is a long way from here. What brings you to these parts?" he gestured to Mergo's wrapped arm stained red with dried blood, "Did you escape some battle in your village? Are there more people coming after you?"

"Huh? No- it is not anything like that!" Mergo looked at his arm, then flusteredly replied, "I got attacked by a mountain chicken on my way here! I was able to fight it off, but I lost a giant chicken during the fight-"

His explanation was cut short by one of the kids yelling out.

"Huh!? That stranger is obviously lying! There are no mountain chickens near here!"

The elder waved at the kid to get him to settle down, then turned back toward Mergo and held his palm at his own chest, "Was the 'mountain chicken' about this high and white?"

"Yes..."

"Then that was a predator chicken, not a mountain chicken," he explained, "They are smaller and not nearly as strong, but they are a real nuisance to us here and eat way too many of our chickens. With that said, I am surprised you found one so far south."

The elder redirected his focus onto the teen's sled.

"A lot has changed since I last visited Claymore. I do not remember seeing sleds like this, let alone giant chickens pulling them."

"That is because it was my idea," Mergo revealed, "I could not pull the sled or move the rollers on my own, so I had to come up with this method."

The elder flinched a bit from shock, "Really now? And what brings such a creative young man to our village?"

Mergo finally emerged from the water and began explaining his situation. After a bit of talking and showing off the pots that he needed the fuel for, the elder seemed to be in a very good mood.

"Well, we can certainly give you a tree- we have plenty of them. Are you sure you want a cherry tree, though? Even if we chop it up, it is impossible to fit it all in your sled."

Mergo glanced at the towering trees around him, then back at his small sled.

He is right.

Seeing the teen's discouraged expression, the elder continued speaking, "So, I have a proposal for you, young man."

"A proposal?" Mergo tilted his head.

"Indeed. You said you are only going to use the wood for fire, correct?"

"Yeah..."

"Then, how about we fill the sled partly with cherry wood, and the rest you can fill with torch tree branches."

"Torch tree branches?" Mergo repeated, seemingly completely unfamiliar with the word, "What are those?"

It was the elder's turn to be confused.

"What are they? I know torch trees were scarce in the south, but for you to not know about them is odd... are the villages there really desperate enough for wood that they chopped all of them down?" he pointed toward a smaller tree with a leaf canopy that nearly resembled the shape of a flame, "Follow me, I will show you."

Once at the tree, the elder snapped off a small branch and ignited it with a small flame retrieved from the village by a kid. Mergo watched in awe as the branch instantly ignited in a hot flame. Despite the heat, it seemed like the branch hardly even shrank- it was clear the flame would last for a while.

A single small branch might be enough to heat a pot! If I bring those back, even the old man would know this trip was worth it!

"T-that is amazing!" Mergo stuttered in excitement, "Thank you so much!"

"Ah- hold on there, young man," the elder suddenly spoke, his eyes serious, "Gathering all of this will be a lot of work for us, our village would like something in return."

"In... return?"

The elder nodded, turning his back on the teen and approaching his sled.

"Indeed," he smiled, opening one of the lids, before continuing. "As I thought, they could hold all of this water for such a long trip, and they also look so nice... Claymore really has great pots. You have ten of them- we will keep eight. In return, we will give you all of the wood and branches. I will also send a few of the kids with you to help you pull the sled back and get some cornstalk for your chickens."

Give up eight of the pots... that is a big ask.

Mergo was taken aback at the proposal, yet his eyes gravitated toward the burning torch tree branch in the man's hand.

But I could make dozens of them with those branches! Still, only having two pots for the way back is a bit...

The elder seemed to notice his expression and immediately added, "If you are worried about water, I know of a stream that leads nearly all the way there. If you follow it, you should have no water problems."

"Then I-"

"Wait a second!"

Their conversation was interrupted by a young voice from their right. The two turned to see the Mich kids gathered near the sled.

"How come you guys get to take the pots!? He came to our lake! We could easily get the branches for him instead!"

The Ohm elder smirked, "Your lake, is it? Last I checked-"

He was instantly interrupted by a woman's shout.

"Hey! Are you really arguing with those kids? You are exactly the reason why these boys keep fighting!"

"Fine, fine," the elder sighed at the comment from the side and turned back to the Mich kids, "Your village leader is not here to argue, and I feel a physical altercation would be inappropriate, so how about we settle it with a competition?"

The elder scanned the ground before picking up two small stones.

"It will be one of you against one of our boys- whoever can throw a stone further will get the pots this time," he finished.

"This time?" Mergo flinched at the sudden development, to which the elder grinned.

"Well, you certainly will need more torch tree branches, will you not? So, you better come back here soon with more pots for us!"

A smile naturally crept onto the teen's face as he nodded readily. Two splashes in the water soon followed, quickly joined by the sound of the Ohm village's kids cheering. Before he knew it, he was back wandering through the mudflats, only this time he had a sled full of cherries, wood, torch tree branches packed with mud, and a group of four Ohm kids by his side.

This is amazing...

Even more so than the thought of finally getting fuel for his pots, another feeling washed over him. It was a new one born not of victory, but rather of curiosity and exploration.

All of these new things were within only a week of Claymore. I wonder what other exciting things the world has to offer~

The world was not prepared for how much change such an innocent thought would bring.

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Map of Mergo's Journey:

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