Chapter 1
Chapter 1: Hoof Trimming
Chapter 1: Hoof Trimming
The month of Harvest.
Master County, Glintstone Town, the Outer Courtyard of Habsburg Manor.
In a corner of the courtyard, a skinny boy with black hair stood with one hand pressed against a large bump on his head, staring blankly at the spacious grounds and the towering castle in the distance.
"Ouch! Where am I?" Rain rubbed his head in pain, examining his surroundings.
In the courtyard, a group of teenage boys in coarse linen coats formed a semicircle, watching a tall and robust man trimming the hooves of a black donkey.
"Hoof trimming?" Rain's eyes widened in surprise.
Suddenly, a flood of memories rushed into his mind like a slideshow, each scene flashing before his eyes.
"My name is Rain. An hour ago, I was accidentally kicked in the head by a donkey, and the bump on my forehead is still there."
"The man trimming the donkey's hooves is the blacksmith of Habsburg Manor."
". . ."
Startled, Rain, who was still dazed, heard the hoof trimmer's loud scolding.
"You little bunnies, haven't you eaten? Can't you even hold down a donkey's hoof?"
"Come on, hold it down!"
Two young pages were sweating profusely as they struggled to hold down the donkey's hoof, but their young age made it a challenging task.
Rain shook his head, knowing that these young pages, like himself, were too weak to handle the strong donkey.
According to his memories, his original body had joined the Habsburg Manor's page training program just the day before, securing a spot with most of his family's savings and connections to the manor's head servant.
In this world, it was customary for nobles with territories to select a few individuals as official servants through page training and evaluations, nurturing them from a young age.
Typically, the official male servant roles included stablehand, guard, cook, baker, butcher, winemaker, blacksmith, dog trainer, and falconer.
In three months, the manor would conduct evaluations and recruit five outstanding pages as official servants, including two blacksmith apprentices, two guards, and one dog trainer.
Therefore, the training for this batch of male pages focused on these three positions.
"A parallel world's version of the imperial examination?" Rain's mind buzzed with this thought.
"I can accept being transported to another world, but what's with this goal of becoming a servant?"
"This is ridiculous!"
At that moment, a burst of giggling voices made Rain, who had been kicked by a donkey, even more annoyed.
Gritting his teeth against the pain, Rain turned to see several tall boys in clean linen coats standing not far from him, pointing and laughing uncontrollably.
"Kicked by a donkey, hilarious!"
As Rain watched them, memories of these boys surfaced in his mind.
These "privileged" pages were the children of various shop owners in town, making them the so-called "rich second generation." They often bullied the other pages.
Rain was no exception; upon his arrival, they had made him clean the dormitory daily, a task that was supposed to be rotated among all the pages.
"The one with thick eyebrows and big eyes is the youngest son of the town tavern owner, nicknamed Browbeard."
"The freckled one is the son of the town innkeeper, nicknamed Freckles."
"The one wearing brown linen shorts is the tanner's son, and he doesn't have a nickname."
". . ."
"Damn, I'm so useless! Bullied by a bunch of kids?" Rain looked down at his slender frame and shook his head helplessly.
After mocking Rain, the group started chatting casually, and Rain, eager to learn more about this world, pretended not to care but listened intently.
"Did you hear? Yesterday evening, Albero Town, not far from our Glintstone Town, was attacked by a roaming ogre, and many people were injured."
(End of Chapter)"The freckled boy whispered.
The freckled boy's family owned an inn, and he was one of the few well-informed individuals among the wealthy second-generation families.
'Is it true? Why are there so many of these rumors lately! A few days ago, I heard from the caravan people that there seemed to be a cultist sacrifice incident in Mo'Naim Town, and many people died.' The bushy-browed boy exclaimed with a look of fear.
The bushy-browed boy's family owned a tavern, and he was another well-informed individual.
'Ah! It would be great if we had a chance to go to the County City. Living there would be much safer!' The tanner's son sighed and said.
'It's not that easy! Unless we pass the selection this time, become official guards, and then get noticed by the higher-ups and transferred to the County City, that's too difficult.' The freckled boy shook his head.
'That's true, but no matter what, passing the estate selection to become official guards is the first step.' The bushy-browed boy waved his sturdy arm confidently.
'.'
Upon hearing this, Rain couldn't help but fall into deep thought.
'Ogres?'
'Cultists?'
'Could this be the Extraordinary World?'
Rain's heart couldn't help but feel a mix of excitement, worry, and aspiration! He wondered what kind of extraordinary world this was. There was very little related information in his memory.
Since his previous self had never ventured beyond the town's boundaries, he had never encountered any monsters or mysterious beings.
However, traveling bards and mercenaries from afar often brought all sorts of unbelievable news. There were frequent sightings of monsters in the night, giant sea creatures in the ocean, haunted houses in bustling cities, highly deadly plagues, and more.
The previous Rain would have dismissed these as fairy tales.
'Listen to the wealthy second-generation kids; could these rumors be true?' Rain stroked his chin, deep in thought.
'Next group, Rain, George!' Bar called out.
Hearing his name, Rain immediately stood up and joined a boy with short, light yellow hair, and together they began the arduous task of holding down the donkey's hooves.
At this moment, the blacksmith, Bar, stepped forward. With ease, he picked up a large iron spade and began trimming the donkey's hooves, which had grown excessively long.
However, the central part of one of the donkey's hooves seemed to have some inflammation, and as Bar trimmed it, a thin strand of pus and blood oozed out.
'Hee-haw!'
The strong black donkey suddenly felt pain during the trimming process and let out a loud bray, its entire body starting to shake violently in struggle.
Rain immediately held the donkey's hoof with all his might, preventing it from moving and interfering with Bar's work.
In less than two minutes, Rain's forehead was already dripping with sweat, and his black hair was sticking to his forehead in strands. His stamina was almost exhausted.
'Luckily, this is the last hoof of this donkey.'
'Once we finish with this black donkey, the next group of pages will take over, and then I can rest for a while.'
'Pay close attention when caring for the donkey's hooves; be bold and meticulous. Keep your wrists loose.' Bar demonstrated and explained as he worked.
When the last hoof was trimmed, Rain couldn't help but fall into deep thought.
'Ogres?'
'Cultists?'
'Could this be the Extraordinary World?'
Rain's heart couldn't help but feel a mix of excitement, worry, and aspiration! He wondered what kind of extraordinary world this was. There was very little related information in his memory.
Since his previous self had never ventured beyond the town's boundaries, he had never encountered any monsters or mysterious beings.
However, traveling bards and mercenaries from afar often brought all sorts of unbelievable news. There were frequent sightings of monsters in the night, giant sea creatures in the ocean, haunted houses in bustling cities, highly deadly plagues, and more.
The previous Rain would have dismissed these as fairy tales.
'Listen to the wealthy second-generation kids; could these rumors be true?' Rain stroked his chin, deep in thought.
'Next group, Rain, George!' Bar called out.
Hearing his name, Rain immediately stood up and joined a boy with short, light yellow hair, and together they began the arduous task of holding the donkey's hoof.
At this moment, the blacksmith Bar approached, effortlessly picking up a large iron spade and beginning to trim the donkey's hooves, which had grown excessively long.
However, the central part of one of the donkey's hooves seemed to have some inflammation, and as Bar trimmed it, a thin strand of pus and blood oozed out.
'Hee-haw!'
The strong black donkey suddenly felt pain during the trimming process and let out a loud bray, its entire body starting to shake violently in struggle.
Rain immediately held the donkey's hoof with all his might, preventing it from moving and interfering with Bar's work.
In less than two minutes, Rain's forehead was already dripping with sweat, and his black hair was sticking to his forehead in strands. His stamina was almost exhausted.
'Fortunately, this is the last hoof of this donkey.'
'Once we finish with this black donkey, the next group of pages will take over, and then I can rest for a while.'
'Pay close attention when caring for the donkey's hooves; be bold and meticulous. Keep your wrists loose.' Bar demonstrated and explained as he worked.
As Rain watched, he couldn't help but feel a mix of emotions.
'Ogres?' he thought.
'Cultists?'
'Could this be the Extraordinary World?'
Rain's heart raced with excitement, worry, and aspiration. He wondered about the nature of this extraordinary world, but his memory lacked relevant information. His previous self had never ventured beyond the town, so he had no experience with monsters or mysterious beings.
Yet, traveling bards and mercenaries from afar often shared incredible tales. They spoke of monsters lurking in the night, giant sea creatures in the ocean, haunted houses in bustling cities, deadly ploy, deadly plagues, and more.
Rain had once dismissed these as mere fairy tales.
'Should I listen to the wealthy second-generation kids? Could these rumors be true?' Rain stroked his chin, deep in thought.
'Next group, Rain, George!' Bar called out.
Hearing his name, Rain immediately stood up and joined a boy with short, light yellow hair, and together, they began the arduous task of holding down the donkey's hoof.
Bar approached, effortlessly picking up a large iron spade and skillfully trimming the overgrown and misshapen hoof.
However, as Bar worked, a thin strand of pus and blood oozed from the inflamed center of the hoof.
The donkey brayed in pain, its body shaking violently.
Rain held the hoof with all his might, ensuring it didn't move and disrupt Bar's work.
In less than two minutes, Rain's forehead was drenched in sweat, his black hair sticking to his face. He was almost out of stamina.
'Luckily, this is the last hoof on this donkey.'
'Once we finish, the next group of pages will take over, and I can finally rest.'
'Observe closely when caring for the hooves; be bold yet meticulous, and keep your wrists loose.' Bar demonstrated and explained as he worked.
As the other 'wealthy second-generation' boys watched Rain, they couldn't help but burst into laughter at his struggles. George's face turned red with embarrassment, but Rain seemed unaffected, lost in thought.
Suddenly, a transparent panel appeared on Rain's retina, automatically flipping to the second page.
The second page displayed several lines of small text and a set of icons.
[You have assisted in hoof care work, and your understanding has improved!]
[You have gained insight into hoof care!]
[Your hoof care skill has improved. Experience Points +1]
[Congratulations! You have unlocked the Profession Panel - Blacksmith Apprentice]
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(This chapter is complete)
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