Morning sunlight draped the village in soft golden warmth. Ji stretched, feeling the lingering stiffness from yesterday's exercises with Yi. The winding paths below led to clustered wooden huts, smoke curling lazily from chimneys, and villagers bustling about with baskets and tools. Children played between the houses, imitating the older scroll users in clumsy gestures, attempting moves that flickered faintly in the air. To a casual observer, it looked peaceful. But Ji's eyes caught the subtler signs of struggle and inefficiency.
Yi walked beside him in silence. Calm, steady, his presence exuding quiet authority. Yet Ji noticed something: Yi's knowledge, vast in combat and scroll energy, was entirely rooted in village life too shallow.
City tools, trade, engineering, or material economics—foreign. That meant all the observation, analysis, and innovation would fall on Ji. He smirked.
"Cool… silent guide. Works for me."
As they wandered through the village, Ji's gaze swept over details most would ignore. A shallow irrigation ditch with cracked banks, threatening the wheat and barley crops, leaning livestock pens, some missing boards, goats peeking out, sheep chewing stray weeds beyond the enclosure, villagers carrying makeshift weapons, patches of cloth and wood, glancing nervously toward the forest beyond the hill, children mimicking sword stances or floating glyph motions, often tripping or sending minor sparks in unintended directions. These scene made Ji shivered,
'this village needs to be taught the right way!'
As a person in a modern world, he can't accept such living standards.
"Alright…" Ji muttered under his breath. "Water, fences, tools, unsupervised kids… and maybe a stray goat or two. Got it."
Yi observed the same sights with quiet approval but didn't comment. Ji noted that Yi's strengths combat and scroll mastery didn't extend to village economy or planning. Any structural inefficiencies or trade issues would remain unnoticed without Ji's perspective. He grinned.
"Guess that makes me the planner. Step one: observe. Step two: think. Step three… improvise. Step four introduce them modern world inventions!"
Walking further, Ji noticed a market stall unattended during what should have been busy hours. He watched a villager approach, only to frown at the empty shelves.
"Looks like trade routes are inconsistent… or merchants don't even visit anymore" he whispered.
The children caught his attention next. A small group tried to mimic the basic floating glyphs of older practitioners. Sparks fizzled and popped, some letters blinking out of sync. Ji knelt.
"Hey, careful. You don't want to set the roof on fire… not yet." They giggled, trying to mimic him, though clumsily.
Beyond that, tracks in the soil suggested beasts had wandered close to the village last night. Nothing massive, yet enough to leave goats spooked and villagers uneasy. Ji took notes mentally:
"Minor threat, but growing… fence reinforcement and early warning systems needed."
By late morning, they approached a large hut on a hill—larger and more ornate than the others. Faintly glowing glyphs floated in precise patterns along the walls. Clearly, this was the chief's residence and the hub for scroll practitioners. Inside stood a tall man, exuding authority: the village chief. Two other scroll practitioners hovered nearby, their scrolls shimmering faintly in the morning sun.
The chief's piercing gaze fell on Ji.
"You are new," he said.
Ji bowed lightly. "Ji. AB English student from Cavite dorm life… essays, ranked LoL, Arena Breakout… now apparently village scholar. Pleasure."
The chief's stern eyes studied him. Silence hung for a beat, heavy but not unkind. Ji continued, bold as ever:
"I noticed a few… issues while walking through the village. Irrigation, livestock pens, minor safety concerns… I can help, if you'll let me."
The chief hesitated, then nodded slowly. "Very well. You may assist. But the work is not trivial. You will need guidance from the scroll practitioners here."
Ji grinned. "Perfect. Lead me to your best helpers."
The two practitioners stepped forward. "We will assist," one said.
"Good," Ji replied. "Let's see what we can improve first."
The group walked through the village. Ji quietly assessed, mentally cataloging priorities:
Water scarcity and inefficient irrigation.
Livestock vulnerability to wandering beasts.
Economy issues: inconsistent trade, lack of merchants.
Child training in scroll techniques: chaotic and potentially dangerous.
He sketched quick glyphs on parchment, observing how small changes could improve flow, reduce water waste, and guide livestock more efficiently. He tried minor demonstrations: a glyph that caused a bucket of water to float slowly down the irrigation ditch, a small brace reinforcing a pen's corner, a subtle energy flow to guide children's practice safely.
The chief and two practitioners followed carefully, assisting where needed but clearly impressed by Ji's innovative approach.
By midday, Ji tested more ideas.
He rigged a simple pulley system for water using scroll-guided mechanics. Villagers stared in awe as water slowly filled the dry ditch, making the need of magic undesirable.
He adjusted fencing around livestock, strengthening weak posts with minimal material and energy-guided alignment. He rearranged storage of crops and tools, minimizing labor and waste. Children tried to mimic him again, laughing as small glyph sparks fizzled harmlessly. Ji winked.
"Don't worry, first day's always messy. Tomorrow, we aim for a little more precision." Yi watched silently, energy calm but attentive. His skill was immense, but Ji realized once again: Yi lacked perspective beyond village life. This meant planning, improvisation, and problem-solving would remain Ji's role, while Yi provided strength, guidance, and execution. The afternoon brought subtle tests for Ji's ingenuity. A goat slipped through a partially broken pen and wandered toward the irrigation ditch. Villagers panicked briefly, but Ji calmly sketched a guiding glyph on the ground. The goat paused, then followed the faint glowing path back into its pen.
"Dorm life, essays, ranked games… nothing prepared me for goat herding," Ji muttered.
"But hey, problem solved."
Nearby, a villager whispered, "Is he… really from another village?" Ji caught the remark, smirked, and whispered to Yi:
"Guess I'm the kind of problem-solver you don't see every day." Yi didn't answer, only observing, energy flowing quietly.
Ji noted the subtle difference: Yi's knowledge was deep but localized. He could guide defense and combat, but innovation and integration of new ideas were Ji's domain.
By evening, Ji climbed a hill overlooking the village. Faint glyphs floated around him, pulsing softly in the sunset. He reviewed his notes and observations: Immediate focus: water, livestock, tools. Village trust: show tangible results gradually. Scroll integration: small, incremental improvements with practitioner assistance. Future planning: merchants, bandit mitigation, large beast threats, layered defenses. He smiled. "Dorm life, essays, ranked LoL… turns out all that prepared me to notice problems, improvise, and start fixing a village, that's all bullshit wa just joking hays I'm so handsome. One glowing phrase at a time."
Yi's calm voice broke the silence.
"Tomorrow… new tasks await." Ji smirked.
"Tomorrow… we turn small improvements into real change. Step by step, one glowing phrase at a time." For the first time, Ji realized being the master in a world of real challenges scarcity, beasts, and untapped potential was exactly where he belonged. this was the story...he don't like.