Moriquend's Enchanted Expedition

The rhythmic sound of hooves echoed from a distance as a young man leisurely swayed on the back of an old horse.

The old horse's ribs were faintly visible on its sides, and its eyes were cloudy and lifeless. At this moment, it wearily carried the young man along a muddy rural path.

Walking along the muddy country road, the surroundings were divided into well-organized farmlands. Green wheat seedlings covered the fields, and nearby were vegetable patches with cabbage, carrots, and turnips.

Villagers with pale faces worked in the fields, occasionally looking up blankly at the distant wilderness, their eyes filled with numbness.

As the figure of the young man on horseback entered their sight, their gazes shifted from numbness to fear and flattery.

A thin and weak villager hastily put down his farming tools and crawled to the front of the old horse, obsequiously saying, "Young Master Adam, why do you have time to visit the farm today?"

"My father asked me to inquire about the growth of this year's wheat seedlings," the young man's gaze had no focal point, as if he was in a trance, but it didn't stop him from asking questions.

The villager lowered his head even further, "Oh, it's your father, Sir Kent the Knight!"

Seemingly sensing impatience in the young man's eyes, the villager hurriedly added, "We have opened up several plots of fallow land this year, following your instructions to collect bat guano from the caves for fertilization. The harvest of wheat and vegetables this year will surely be much better than previous years."

The excited villager rubbed his hands together, and the wrinkles on his face deepened.

"Old Jack, I need to claim my share for this year in advance!" The young man's voice sounded somewhat ominous.

"What!" Old Jack exclaimed, then lowered his voice, "Haven't we always waited for the farm to be harvested before distributing it proportionally?"

The sound of hooves continued on the muddy country road, with the old horse still moving forward. Old Jack followed, pulling up his trousers.

"I turned thirteen this year. Do you know what that means?" The young man's voice remained indifferent, but beneath the calm words lurked suppressed anger.

Surprised, Old Jack raised his head, "Is Sir Kent going to drive you out of Crab Claw Village?"

"I have come of age. As the second son of a landed knight, I do not have the inheritance rights to this piece of knightly land. So, to prevent any unfortunate incidents, I need to go out and find my own path."

Old Jack lowered his head even further, "Does Old Jack understand! Six bags of wheat, one bag of cabbage, one bag of turnips, and half a bag of carrots. Old Jack will prepare them."

The young man pulled the reins, turning the horse's head towards Old Jack. "As usual, deliver them to the hunting lodge downstream of the Mud Crab River."

Leaving the modest farmland behind, the young man allowed the horse to roam freely in the wilderness. Fine raindrops fell on his cheeks.

The horse-riding youth sighed, realizing that he was not originally from this world but a desolate youth from a blue planet.

He had spent three years in this world, his soul inhabiting the body of the second son of a landed knight named Adam. It took him only a month to transition from confusion to accepting his current reality.

To adapt to this new world, he began learning the language, culture, geography, and more. However, being a knight's second son, he lacked the means to learn reading and writing. As for matters of culture and geography, they were even more out of reach.

Adam's father, the knight Sir Kent, could read. After all, he had served as a squire in the baron's manor in his youth.

However, as Old Kent put it, the more one learned, the more one thought; the more one thought, the more one desired.

In these three years, he had managed to find ways to learn to read. In the town of Lunka on the baron's estate, there was a church where he could learn theology for free. Though the content was theological, at least he could learn to read.

The free theology lessons came with additional conditions, as stated by the church priest. God had already shown His grace, and humans should also make offerings.

The offering was one bag of wheat per month. In this medieval-like world, a bag of wheat was enough to sustain a family for half a month.

For the opportunity to learn theology, he spent several months sneaking around the manager of Crab Claw Village's farm, Old Jack.

Fortunately, when he inhabited the body of the young Adam, he gained his memories and language skills, enabling him to communicate without difficulty.

Their plan was to share the additional profits from the annual farm harvest.

Old Jack needed wheat and vegetables to exchange for money to support his son's future, while he needed wheat to get the chance to attend the church's theology classes.

It was a mutually beneficial arrangement, with him taking the lead. In three years, he helped the farm move away from extensive farming, focusing on more detailed land cultivation to maximize per-acre yield.

Previously, an acre of farmland producing forty to fifty pounds was considered a good harvest. Now, the yield was at least a hundred pounds per acre.

Of the additional profits, seventy percent went into his pocket, twenty percent belonged to Old Jack, and the remaining ten percent counted as Old Jack's contribution to managing the farm.

Old Jack was also commended by his father, Sir Kent, and his son joined Crab Claw Village's hunting team.

Over the three years, the two worked together seamlessly in this small village.

The sound of hooves continued, and several young people carrying bows and wearing light leather armor teased him, "Isn't this our bone-weary Adam?"

"Jerry, Domi, Poya, and Uncle Vana, you're back," Adam said coldly.

Adam, the Broken Bones, that was his nickname before. Due to the timid and somewhat chubby nature of the previous owner, people used to call him Adam the Broken Bones, implying that his bones were so rotten in his flesh that he lacked the courage of the southern mountain folks. This nickname faded away gradually as he, after possessing this body, consciously started exercising and learning archery with the hunting team.

Of course, members of the hunting team still teased him with this name occasionally.

The hunting team was Lord Kent's private armed force, carefully selected from the Crab Claw Village, led by the hired knight, Uncle Vana. They were the backbone of the future heir to Lord Kent, loyal only to Lord Kent and his heir. As for Adam, the second son, they did not hold much respect for him, especially now that he had come of age and was about to leave the place where he