novelraw Chapter 1540 - 826: First Encounter
Chapter 1540 - 826: First Encounter
Even without mentioning professional survival skills, just maintaining a functioning temporary dwelling, Jimmy performs much better than Roland.
This shabby place forced him to dig out a dry toilet nearby, utilizing the height difference of the surrounding mountain, with a cesspit below, and a platform made of planks and stone walls above. Although it's not as good as a toilet, it at least avoids the risk of falling in, and crucially, it's far from their wooden house and the ruins, so the smell won't waft over.
Clothing, food, shelter, and transportation—the basic needs are still quite troublesome. It's important to know this world is a mixed world, with remnants of high-tech developments alongside prevalent medieval living. The dwelling is casually constructed wooden huts, making many things hard to manage.
Fortunately, they have supplies brought from Earth, so clothing doesn't need much consideration. However, Jimmy realizes he's brought only a few sportswear which aren't suitable, completely mismatching the surrounding environment. Roland's clothes are evidently much better: a black leather trench coat, linen shirt, blue and gray jeans—a combination that ensures even if a little dirty, it won't be too conspicuous. Jimmy's clothes, on the other hand, show dirt very easily, which he hadn't considered before.
For food, there's staple grain, compressed food, canned goods brought from another world, combined with local wild vegetables and hunted meat, so there's not much of a problem.
The living arrangement has been sorted by Jimmy during this time, but transportation remains the biggest issue. Currently, they can only rely on their legs to walk. Horses are not uncommon, but they need to be purchased or traded from other settlements, which can wait until Roland has the time to take Jimmy out.
After three consecutive days of testing, Mage Vito still hasn't felt any energy changes. The disappointment on Roland's face can no longer be hidden. For this reason, he has been traveling back and forth between both worlds multiple times, consuming so much time before calling Jimmy over, only to end up with nothing.
Jimmy doesn't feel much about it. In fact, during the days he spent here, he hasn't felt much abnormality in this world. Of course, mainly because he doesn't have any special feelings towards this world, and he's seen too little of it.
Vito did not delay here; he has many things to tend to. Being able to rest here for a few days was already quite nice. At least the place Jimmy has managed feels quite comfortable. Roland prepared some compensation and supplies for him before saying goodbye.
Roland sat dazed in front of the wooden house, the cup in his hand no longer steaming. Due to concerns about the water quality here, Jimmy has consistently filtered the water to boil for over ten minutes before cooling it down before drinking. However, Roland pays no mind to such reactions; their physique seems very adapted to the waters drawn from wells or rivers here, as he always drank cold water directly before.
Seeing Roland's dazed appearance, Jimmy felt somewhat sorry for him. Nearly a year had gone to waste; no one would feel good about that. However, since he isn't a savior, he should deal with his own matters: "Roland, what are your plans afterward?"
Roland gave Jimmy a vacant look before gazing into the distance again, "No thoughts."
Jimmy: "Oh, could you take me for a tour around the area? You know, Nia will come look later, and I'd like to tidy up a bit."
Roland: "Of course, pack up a bit, we can set off now."
Going out for work naturally requires thorough preparation. Jimmy used his large backpack to pack quite a few bullets and supplies, while Roland was more carefree, only taking a small backpack with some bullets and food before setting out.
As for sleeping arrangements, he didn't particularly care. As he put it, as long as there's a fire, sleeping directly on the ground is quite normal. This made Jimmy quite uncomfortable, since even back when he was a homeless person, he at least had a shabby tent for shelter.
Jimmy didn't comment on Roland's decision, but out of habit, he still brought a sleeping bag and ground sheet, deciding whether to use them when the time comes. After all, the additional weight poses no problem for him.
The scenery of the Dark Tower World is indeed quite impressive. Setting aside the bizarre flora and fauna caused by various inexplicable elements, just for the scenery, this place could be used to shoot fantasy films without deliberately choosing a location—any spot here serves as a perfect wilderness scene.
The reason for the strange forms of flora and fauna is evident as Jimmy and Roland just left the ruins site and saw an overly large porcupine, its layered spikes could even deflect a bullet. Of course, the second shot went straight to its head, "Nicely done, our lunch has arrived."
Roland swiftly skinned and gutted the creature, directly using a rope to tie it up and hang it outside his backpack. His actions were skilled and precise, and the discarded waste wasn't buried. "Nature will take care of them, so no need to worry. By the way, there aren't any large carnivores around here, so there won't be any danger."
This time they set out on foot again, and if everything goes smoothly, Jimmy and Roland only need to tour the vicinity, without trekking afar to trade for horses. The key is that they will return to Earth after some time, by which time the horses would need to be released back into the wild. Roland isn't a tycoon, so that would be too wasteful.