Earth elemental begins to elbow strike wildly.

Wild Harvest Town is a border town on the southern border of the Balefro Empire, known for its grain storage and transportation.

The Four Seasons Forest bestowed upon the town a unique natural protection, making it one of the few safe havens within the empire, spared from the ravages of war.

The reason is simple: to date, no one has ever been able to traverse the Four Seasons Forest.

Even the legendary dragons couldn't do it.

Legend has it that before the Elemental Era, the four elements of earth, fire, wind, and water could complete a cycle in less than four hundred days and nights, hence the name Four Seasons Forest.

However, in the mainstream understanding, it was nothing more than a false rumor spread by the world.

Now, the world has entered a new era.

Elemental Era 34, First Round of Primordial Earth Period.

Morning light shone through the thin mist onto the sickbed in the mossy herb hut, where Sovia was still fast asleep.

"Mr. Earth Elemental, this is my father and brother. They have a few small plots of land, so... so I'll trouble you to help them..."

"Splash!"

Viola roughly threw off the tattered wool blanket and said sternly:

"Sovya, the sun's already high in the sky! If you don't get up now, I'll break your legs!"

"I know, Auntie. My leg has just healed, and I can't afford to break it again."

Sovia struggled to her feet and reluctantly moved away from the warm blankets.

She stared blankly at the two glass medicine bottles on the windowsill, lost in thought.

What happened a few days ago feels like a lifetime ago.

My aunt said that the earth elemental ran out by itself and brought back three bottles of magic potions.

She was able to save her right leg by drinking the treatment and recovery medicine.

But after that, Sovia tried to summon several earth elementals, but all of them were just lumps of something, lacking intelligence and unable to reshape their bodies on a large scale.

"Sovaya, stop daydreaming. Your dad sent you a letter." Viola tossed the letter to her niece and went back to changing the bandages for the injured.

Sovia opened the envelope and read it carefully.

To my daughter, Sovia:

I asked a literate young man in the village to help me write this letter. I can't read and I don't know what to say, so please bear with it.

My family successfully weathered the most difficult flood season, and I took advantage of the high grain prices to sell all the remaining wheat in the warehouse.

But after deducting the cost of buying seeds and repairing farm tools, there's not much left. The village will also need to hire adventurers to come and clear out the monsters soon, so even less money can be sent.

However, your brother wrote to say that he has passed the apprenticeship stage and is now officially working in the blacksmith's workshop in the Valley of Heroes.

I reckon it won't be long before we've saved enough for your tuition to go to college.

Your family can't help you with the points system for getting into a good school, don't worry, everything will be fine in time.

Don't push yourself too hard. It's chilly in the mornings and evenings during the early spring, so wear more layers and don't catch a cold. Remember to give my regards to your aunt, and be good and help with the chores.

Everything is fine at home, don't worry.

Your father

Bonus: 1 silver coin, 63 copper coins

--------

Sovia carefully folded the envelope and stuffed it into her backpack.

He then reached into his linen money bag and slowly began to count the coins.

The money bag looked bulging, and when it was emptied out and counted, there were a total of 2 gold coins, 34 silver coins, and 151 copper coins.

The silver and copper coins inside contained both the payment for this commission and some odds and ends belonging to Luca, Ben, and himself.

But this meager amount of money is far from enough to even buy a bottle of medicine.

Sovia didn't know the price of three basic potions, but she knew they would cost at least one gold coin.

Upon closer inspection, the purse suddenly contained two gold coins and 15 silver coins.

"Mr. Earth Elemental, where did you get so many coins?"

After much deliberation, Sovia made up her mind.

She decided to send Ben and Luca's coins, along with their obituaries, to their families.

In addition, the fact that goblins have learned martial arts skills must also be reported to the Adventurers' Guild.

Thinking of this, Sovia immediately jumped out of bed and shouted, "Auntie, I'm going to the Adventurers' Guild, I'll be right back."

"Wait a minute, Viya."

Viola wiped her hands as she came out of the inner room and said, "I found this while cleaning up the earth elemental residue."

A crystal cone the size of a thumb was handed to Sovia.

It is brownish-brown all over, with a cloudy crystalline texture and dense impurities inside. It looks ordinary and is difficult to distinguish even if you throw it into the mud.

Sovia put the crystal cone into her purse, keeping it as a memento.

"When I have time later, I'll make it into a necklace and use it as my lucky charm."

She pushed open the door and left the Mossy Herb House.

......

The main street was already packed with people, who gathered together, singing, dancing, and making a ruckus.

Everyone was relieved that they had finally survived the floods at the end of the last century and were celebrating the arrival of the new century.

This is a grand celebration that only happens once in a century.

The celebrations usually last for more than two weeks, and some wealthy and powerful city-states even celebrate for a whole month.

The so-called celebration is nothing more than people going out to dance and beat drums, using the excitement to release the fear that has been building up in their hearts.

All of this is because the changing of the four seasons in the material plane has gone wrong.

A century in the Elemental Calendar involves passing through four cycles of Earth, Fire, Feng Shui, and Water, with each cycle lasting approximately 8 to 12 months.

People often refer to 8 months as the short term and 11 months or more as the extreme period.

The final watering period was longer than any previous one.

During this period, cold, famine, and epidemics will claim countless lives.

Many families accumulated wealth over half a century, only to have it completely drained away during the floods at the end of the century.

Sovia jogged along, dodging a group of people celebrating wildly.

Beside the main street, a newsboy with a tattered cloth bag slung across his shoulder held aloft the "Imperial Gazette" and shouted enthusiastically at the top of his lungs:

"Ladies and gentlemen, would you like to purchase a copy of the Imperial Gazette? It contains everything from royal decrees to border war reports!"

Sovia walked through the crowds, a worry weighing on her mind.

With the dawn of the new century approaching, will the empire introduce tax reduction policies or enact policies to support farmers?

But she would never be willing to spend two copper coins to buy a newspaper.

"There's no need to waste money. We can just go to the Adventurers' Guild later and borrow some old newspapers from other people who have finished reading them."

Sovia muttered to herself as she followed the crowd into the Adventurers' Hall.

Just a few days later, the guild hall was already packed with people.

Most of the people gathered here are trying to take advantage of the situation and find some bargains.

The commission for water-related projects is already much higher than that for soil-related projects.

The bulletin board still has many tasks left over from the last water season, which can be accepted.

Sovia waited in line for over an hour before finally reaching the receptionist and speaking:

"Hello, I encountered a goblin that knows martial arts during my last mission, and I thought I'd come and report back."

"Haha, hiccup~"

The burly man behind her couldn't help but burst out laughing.

Upon hearing this, the surrounding adventurers burst into laughter, their teasing and mocking gazes all falling on Sovia.

"Hahaha, goblins know martial arts?"

"This is the funniest joke I've ever heard in my life, no, in this century!"

Her cheeks flushed crimson, and she hurriedly protested, "Ben and Luca were killed by that goblin who knew martial arts!"

"What do you mean, 'a roadside stall'? Never heard of it."

"Don't just occupy the toilet without doing your job; we still need to submit our requests!"