At night, Bilbo was somewhat restless.
"I'll go tidy up the room for you to sleep in... the empty room inside."
"I'll help too." Levi followed along.
Bilbo didn't refuse.
While bending over to help tidy the room, Levi finally asked a question that had been circling in his mind for a long time.
"Speaking of which, what time is it now?"
"Now? It's evening, of course. Most people are asleep at this hour."
While answering, Bilbo picked up a somewhat obstructive small box, and Levi took it from him, placing it outside the door.
Both kept their hands busy.
He shook his head. "No, I mean what year is it, what time period?"
"Oh, this year... this year is 1340, and it's May now."
Clang.
"Ow!"
Carelessly, Levi's head hit the eaves, his health bar flickered, but no damage was taken.
Shire Reckoning 1340, which was Third Age 2940.
When did the dwarves' journey to the Lonely Mountain begin?
It should be late April 1341.
That meant the current timeline was one year before the Quest for Erebor began.
At this time, Gandalf was still on his way, and Thorin was still wandering and working.
Dwarves, elves, men, orcs, wargs.
Dragons, golden mountains.
The Great Eye, Dol Guldur.
War.
The One Ring...
A series of words flashed through his mind.
At the same time, a dark figure began to grow in his pupils.
"Are you alright, Levi?"
Flash.
His eyes trembled, and he recovered from his daze.
"Oh, nothing, nothing, I'm fine, just accidentally bumped into something."
"I guess you'd be considered tall even among humans." Bilbo teased.
"Of course, I'm six feet one!"
Levi instinctively puffed out his chest.
Thud!
His health bar jumped.
His waist immediately bent down again.
"Pfft."
Seeing him grimacing, Bilbo couldn't help but laugh.
Levi covered his head and shook it.
What could be accomplished in one year?
Peaceful days always passed quickly.
A few days later.
During a leisurely moment after a late-night snack, Levi sat in a small chair in the garden with a blade of grass in his mouth, staring absent-mindedly at an unusually bright and conspicuous star in the night sky.
If an ordinary person came to this world with no support... even if they knew the historical trajectory of The Lord of the Rings very well, what they could accomplish in one year would be quite limited. Perhaps even figuring out where they were and how to survive would be problems.
However, he was destined not to worry about these things.
Creak.
"Levi, it's very late. Aren't you going to sleep?"
He turned his head and saw Bilbo coming out the door.
"Soon, I want to look at the stars outside for a while."
"Alright, remember to lock the door in a bit."
Bilbo went back inside first.
Levi yawned, looked at his full health bar and overflowing hunger, suddenly jumped up from the chair, turned around, and carefully examined this cozy hobbit hole.
Living peacefully like this wasn't bad at all.
Of course, provided this life wouldn't be destroyed by something...
The next morning.
Just as dawn was breaking, rustling sounds came from the door of the small hobbit hole.
In his drowsiness, Bilbo struggled to open his eyes, threw off the covers, and got out of bed, poking his head out from the bedroom door.
"Levi?"
Seeing him fully dressed at the door, Bilbo asked, "Are you going out?"
Levi stopped his movements and turned around.
"The journey waits for no one. I must go, Mr. Baggins."
While speaking, he bowed slightly and said, "Thank you for your hospitality during this time. Please let me repay you when we meet again."
Bilbo blinked several times and immediately became alert.
"Won't you stay a few more days? I still have so many things I haven't introduced to you..."
Levi smiled and glanced at him.
The words that had rushed to Bilbo's lips caught in his throat, realizing that no matter what, he couldn't keep this person today.
"Partings are common, but I believe we'll meet again soon, Mr. Baggins." Levi said meaningfully.
"I shall embark on my adventure."
Adventure...
Something in Bilbo's heart was vaguely stirred, but it immediately settled down again, and he just shook his head.
"Then please wait a moment, Levi."
After saying this, Bilbo quickly ran into the inner room, then to the storage shelf, and soon brought over a bundle, handing it to him.
"Take this!"
"This is...?"
"Some food. I think you'll definitely need this... traveling always requires provisions, right?"
Levi was momentarily stunned.
He took the bundle, crouched down, gently patted Bilbo's shoulder, and said sincerely, "Thank you, my friend."
Although the two had only known each other for a few days at most, their time together had been very pleasant. Combined with Levi's system-level cooking skills and stories that came readily to mind, the man and hobbit had developed quite a good relationship.
"Levi, you must come back!"
This hobbit, who had never left the Shire, was somewhat reluctant to part.
He smiled and nodded. "I will."
Partings seemed to be commonplace on this land.
Without excessive sentiment, just a simple wave of the hand, and the two returned to their own paths.
Though somewhat embarrassed, before leaving, Levi still shamelessly asked Bilbo to help him get a map.
Actually, as a former story audience with a god's-eye view, he was quite familiar with Middle-earth's geography, but no matter how familiar he was, he had never actually traveled there, so having a map was more reliable.
The Shire, where all stories began.
To the north were the ruins of the Kingdom of Arnor and the Angmar Highlands.
To the west were Lindon and the Blue Mountains.
To the east, past the Brandywine Bridge, was Bree, and further east was the Lone-lands, where Rangers commonly wandered, watching the evil from the further east and secretly guarding this wilderness.
On the road between the Brandywine Bridge and Bree, heading south, there were two large areas:
The Old Forest and the Barrow-downs.
Both areas were uninhabited and always had strange rumors coming out of them, requiring careful avoidance.
Anyone who had played Minecraft knew that Minecraft players always needed a base first before developing, otherwise they would be hindered everywhere for various reasons.
Only with a fixed residence could one feel at ease.
After thinking it over, Levi's gaze fixed on one place.
A large area east of Bree.
The region called the Lone-lands.
Vast and sparsely populated, with few people... perfect for building a home and developing.
Of course, there were actually many places that met these two conditions.
The reason for choosing to build a home here had an important point: in the future, whether it was the Company of Thorin or the Ring-bearer, they would all pass through that area.
He definitely wanted to join in on this excitement.
Having a base there would be very convenient.
No sooner said than done.
Putting away the map, he determined his direction.
From dawn to dusk, Levi ran on the main road, rushing eastward without stopping for a moment.
He had discovered days ago that as long as he had enough food, his stamina was unlimited, and he wouldn't feel tired.
The cost was that food would be consumed rapidly.
The provisions Bilbo had given him... enough for a normal hobbit to eat for a week... were consumed by Levi by nearly half in just one day.
That was a week's worth of food for a hobbit's appetite.
But correspondingly, the efficiency was also very good.
In just one day, he had crossed multiple Shire towns, crossed the Brandywine Bridge, and arrived near the Old Forest and the Barrow-downs.
He was like a human thoroughbred... as long as there was sufficient food, he could keep running.
At this moment, the sky had completely darkened.
However, the sky was not dim.
By starlight, Levi found a not-too-thick dead tree by the roadside and took out his stone axe.
Thud thud thud thud thud...
Soon, a crisp breaking sound rang out, and the entire dead tree broke from the bottom and crashed to the ground with a thunderous roar.
Thump!
In the silent wilderness, the sound of the dead tree falling was particularly obvious.
He paid no attention, just continued using the stone axe to chop the fallen trunk, dividing this dry natural firewood into multiple small sections to serve as kindling.
A moment later, a campfire was lit.
Levi took out the large bundle of food Bilbo had given him from his backpack.
This bundle of food was counted as one item, occupying only one slot.
But if he took the food out of it, it would have to occupy another slot.
He guessed that things placed in the same inventory slot either had to be completely identical stackable items or had to be considered "one whole" to work.
Thinking casually, while using wooden sticks to skewer several sausages and roast them by the campfire, Levi pondered various crafting recipes.
Shields, armor... these things that could most directly protect himself and increase combat power, he had none of them.
They all lacked one most crucial thing: Iron.
Seeing the campfire burning somewhat weakly, he conjured several more wooden sticks out of thin air and threw them in.
If someone happened to pass by at this moment, they would probably exclaim and mistake Levi for a "wizard" with magical powers.
With nothing else to do, he took out his stone sword to examine and play with.
A line of description appeared:
[Stone Sword · Attack Power +5]
This weapon, as if carved bit by bit by a craftsman, had a surface as smooth as jade, sides as sharp as could be, and a blade quite sturdy, almost matching metal products.
It was simply a perfect work of art.
He examined it, feeling that no matter how many times he looked, it was worth admiring.
With this level of excellence, it could probably be taken directly to auction as a collectible.
Creak.
The burning wood behind him suddenly made a sound, and only then did Levi remember he was still roasting sausages.
However, when he turned around, he found the fire had dimmed somewhat.
Did these wooden sticks burn so quickly?
Though puzzled, the fire couldn't be allowed to go out... the sausages weren't cooked yet.
He took out several wooden sticks and threw them into the fire.
However, the next moment, he seemed to hit something.
Making a thud sound.
His heart suddenly jumped, and Levi abruptly looked up.
He saw a head with eyes glowing red, covered with a layer of withered, gray skin like a mummy, emerging from the shadows, staring down at him from above.
[Chapter Complete]
***
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