Fanfiction: Experiencing Freedom CHAPTER 47 is a go! (February 7th)

Okay, although I have written countless scientific essays in real life, I have never wrote literature in my life. Thus, This is my first attempt on making a fan fiction on a game I love. I hope you enjoy it. This is in memory of my maternal Grandfather. May he rest in peace.

Dragged by his parents to the Farbanti General Hospital, 7-year old James Suh was curious of why he is here. After a few turns left and one turn right, his mother opened the door of a room with an old man lying on a bed. James instantly knew who he was: his grandfather. As soon as James saw his most beloved person of his family, he released himself from his parents' grasp and ran to the bed. "Grandpa! Grandpa! I missed you so much!" He cheered with glee. "...I missed you more than anything you can imagine, my special grandson." His grandfather replied weakly. "Grandpa, are you sleepy? Oh, what is that on your hand?" James asked, noticing an envelope with a purple paraffin seal. "...It's my gift for you, my jewel. Take it." James snatched it from his hand and attempted to break the seal. "No, no, don't open it yet. Have patience, my boy" "wh...why? But grandpa, I want to see what's inside!" James pouted, hopping. "Now, listen carefully." Grandfather continued. James climbed on the bed, but his father carried him down. "There will be a time when you will be exhausted by the dread of modern life. You spirit will be consumed by the void of monotony. When that happens, my boy, you are ready to open your gift." Grandfather said weakly. James, not knowing what he meant, simply nodded. "I will, grandpa." "Now, let me rest..."

The rest of the night passed by with many tears. James, not being able to comprehend the situation, constantly shook his lifeless grandfather crying a flood of tears. His parents had to tear him off of him. At midnight, the doctors took the body away for cremation. When James's family walked out of the hospital gate, a group of black figures with green eyes attacked the family and swiftly took the crying child away.

So there, this is the preview of my fanfiction. I hope you all enjoyed this small piece of work. I have very strong desires to continue this series. If you have any questions about each character, don't be afraid to ask. In fact, spoilers actually give hypes to stories. PS: Farbanti Hospital is in the Gotoro Empire.

 

Okay, I can't help it. I want to post the first chapter. Here it is.

"Your performance is... unsatisfactory, soldier." said General LeFancel. "Your training will have to be more strict. You are a supersoldier for a reason." "Yes, sir." James replied. "Very well. Go back to your dormitory. Training starts at 4 in the morning. Dismissed."
Another horrible day for experimental supersoldier James Suh. As he entered the toilets to brush his teeth, James kept noticing the blue steaks of light flowing through the veins of his cybernetic right arm. In fact, one quarter of his body has been modified with cybernetics. Ever since he was taken away by the Gotoro 'Gorgon' program, his eyesight was greatly enhanced by an ocular implant replacing his left eye along with both of his legs and his mentioned right arm replaced with cold, metallic ones. He and his comrades had only one purpose: be the best killing machines to serve the Empire. Even though he was thought to be brainwashed since his arrival fourteen years ago, he disgusted his life.
Spitting out his foamy saliva full of toothpaste, James looked up to find that it was already 2 in the morning. He had to sleep fast to prevent drowsiness in his gruesome training. In fact any form of disobedience and laziness resulted in death in the spot. 'lost alot of good friends.' James thought to himself as he walked into his dormitory and shut the door. He needed to take his daily dosage of nanodrones for his cybernetics and his neural tracking beacon on the back of his head. As he opened his drawer to find his pills, he felt something other than a cylindrical plastic container: A letter with a purple paraffin seal. James didn't hesitate to open the letter to see what was inside.

Dear beloved James
It has been quite some time since I last saw you in our home, Korea.
The Same thing has happened to me before.

'He definitely wasn't a robotic slave like me', James thought to himself.

I lost track of what was important to me: Real connections with people and nature. So I dropped everything and moved to a place where I truly belong: Cerulean Farm. It is located in Stardew Valley in the southern coast of Ferngill Republic. I have enclosed a deed to that place. I know you will honor our family name. Good luck, my boy.

Signed: Your Grandfather

James folded the letter back and picked up the envelope to find the deed of Cerulean Farm inside. 'Oh my god, grandpa...' James thought to himself as he drew a tear from his fleshy eye. 'Thank you so much'. James lied on his bed and drowned himself in to questions and optimistic thought. For the first time in fifteen years, he found something worth smiling for. But as he thought deeper, he realized that he had a huge obstacle in front of him: How will he get to Ferngill Republic without his head getting blown into pieces by snipers?

 

Welcome to the writing community! Well, art community too. Community in general. WELCOME.

Rather short so far, but you're going a different route than others with a more sci-fi take on the Gotoro Empire, and including the Gotoro Empire to begin with. That's certainly one way to look at it and it definitely breeds some significant shenanigans to happen later down the line. It'll be interesting to see what you do with that!

Some small suggestions for future writing: more than one person talking in the same paragraph can be very confusing and it can be easy for the reader to mix dialogue up, so I think it would be more useful to break the paragraph whenever someone else begins talking. For example, there is this part:

"Grandpa, are you sleepy? Oh, what is that on your hand?" James asked, noticing an envelope with a purple paraffin seal. "...It's my gift for you, my jewel. Take it." James snatched it from his hand and attempted to break the seal. "No, no, don't open it yet. Have patience, my boy" "wh...why? But grandpa, I want to see what's inside!" James pouted, hopping.
​

​

Even though we can tell who is talking in this example, it might be easier on the reader of the following happens:

"Grandpa, are you sleepy? Oh, what is that on your hand?" James asked, noticing an envelope with a purple paraffin seal.

"...It's my gift for you, my jewel. Take it." James snatched it from his hand and attempted to break the seal. "No, no, don't open it yet. Have patience, my boy."

"Wh...why? But grandpa, I want to see what's inside!" James pouted, hopping.

The break in the line indicates that the flow has been changed with someone else's words, and it becomes much easier to follow.

Happy writing!

 

Awesome twist to SDV! I'm excited to see how this turns out good luck with your future chapters!

 

Always happy to see new work here. This is some crazy stuff so far and I like it. Go in deep and never look back I like where this is going. Just follow the tips from @MagicallyClueless as she is easily one of the best writers here. You mentioned it was your first fanfic so that can definitely help you. and of course, may your late grandad rest in peace as well. Having lost all my grandparents and a dear uncle, it hits home. Don't be afraid to extend the narrative into longer chapters if you can. Experiment a bit. Stories can be essays if you want them to be, but they can also bear fruit over the long term.

 

Incoming Chapter 2!

It was 4 in the morning. James slammed his alarm clock, accidentally destroying it with his right hand. “Not this again” he grumbled. He had slept for only twenty minutes, but according to the ‘Gorgon’ project, this was more than enough. James dashed out his room to an outside court to meet the commissar who was waiting for him. Thus, hell of the day has begun.

Training was harsher than anything. He had to perform four thousand push-ups and run seventy-five kilometers nonstop. He could finally take his meal at twelve in the morning after his training. The cafeteria was empty as everyone else ate their meals four hours ago. The emptiness was perfect for plan to escape. Looking at the schedule of the next day, James found out that the snipers will be replaced at three in the morning. Thus, with luck, he will have thirty seconds to climb out the walls. The next problem was the electric fence above the walls. Fortunately for James, he had rubber boots in one of his drawers James somehow found beside his dormitory. That will insulate his body from the lethal shock. ‘This is going to be easy. Fools’ James thought to himself, sneering as he took another bite of his pasta. He brushed his teeth after his meal and went back to his dormitory. He embraced the envelope lying down. He just needed to wait three more hours until he will be free. He couldn’t close his eyes. He was excited.

It was 2:50 in the morning. James immediately got up from his bed and dashed out of his dormitory as silently as possible. He didn’t care about the security cameras. ‘Let them see. I’m going to get out of this hellhole!’ thought James. He entered the outside court at precisely three in the morning. Just as he expected, the towers were empty. James wore his rubber boots and dashed for the wall. As soon as he reached it, he leaped over the wall and stepped over the electric fence without being shocked thanks to his boots. At the other side, James tore off his boots and ran towards the mountains. He was free! He could hear the sirens echo as he ran farther away from the base. James was happy. He ran and ran until he saw light over the distance. It was a port city. He could already smell the soil of Cerulean Farm from here.

For some reason I think Kent and James won't be in good relations...

 

Chapter 3 inbound!

The sun was beginning to rise when James looked at the large clock of the city hall of Comberth harbor city. It was 8:24 in the morning. He had run 103 kilometers nonstop, and yet he showed absolutely no signs of exhaustion. He went to a clothes shop and bought a green hoodie and blue jeans to cover up his cybernetics. All that was in James’s mind was Stardew Valley. How did it look like? Is it peaceful? Are the people friendly? He hadn’t had social interaction for years confined in that base. Suddenly, he snapped with a horrible realization: He would be wanted across the entire Empire. He had to get to Ferngill as soon as possible. James dashed to the port, stealing a large wallet full of money in the process.

“Excuse me, ma’am, do we have any ships to Ferngill Republic today?” James asked politely in the ticket booth.

“Uh, yes sir. The FRS Graceful Mercy is to set sail at 10:00 AM. Would you like a ticket?” The woman behind the booth asked.

“Definitely, here’s the money!” James said cheerfully as he handed out the money in exchange for the boat ticket. He checked the time. It was 9:46 AM. He didn’t have much time. Luckily, the Graceful Mercy was right beside him. He dashed to the stairs leading to the ship and showed the crew his ticket. They let him through as they raised the stairs. The Graceful Mercy has set sail with a blast of horn. James was finally free. He couldn’t wait to see his grandfather’s farm.

It has been a full day in the Gem Sea. James walked on the deck of the ship to feel the warm salty breeze. He had never slept for more than four hours. It was as if it was a dream. When he decided that he wanted breakfast, he noticed about thirty people on the port-side taking pictures and pointing at a narrow black figure underwater a few hundred meters away. “Look, mommy, a whale! Look!” James heard a girl call her mom. However, James realized what it was and was full with dread. He knew two things: That he forgot about his neural tracking beacon behind his head and that black figure was a Gotoro submarine. He tried to scream but it was too late. The submarine had fired its torpedoes. All five hit the ship with violent explosions.

James knew what he had to do first: He reached for his neural beacon and attempted to tear it off from his head. But as he did, excruciating pain followed as he slowly removed the beacon. After three tries along with twelve people bumping onto him, he managed to take the damned machinery off of his head. However, James realized that he was bleeding heavily due to the beacon. He threw the beacon as far as he could overboard. He ran to the starboard side and jumped off the listing ship. He stayed underwater for ten minutes. He felt the ship sinking fast. He heard gunshots. The submarine was killing the passengers. James knew the same fate will fall onto him as soon as he surfaces. Despite the risk of drowning, he stayed underwater until his surroundings faded to black.

With a gasp and sand on his left fist, James woke up only to find out that it was late night. How long was he on the sea? Yoba knows. He got up and searched his surrounding wreckage. He still had his envelope with him, fortunately. He found a wallet with five hundred Galleons (The currency of Ferngill Republic) and a smartphone from a locker. Where was he? According to his surroundings, it looked like a coniferous isolated island. ‘What have I put myself into?’ James thought to himself. He tried to walk, but his cybernetic legs failed. He fell to the sand and fell to sleep.

There you go! The introduction of the game starts next chapter. I guess you can say that this was all a prologue or something.

 

Innnnnnteresting. You're taking a very tech-heavy and rather dark approach to your story. I love these forums so much! Everyone has a different style and story to tell and they've all been brilliant so far. Putting you on my 'watch' list for later, mate, I look forward to seeing where you go with this! Post at the rate at which you feel comfortable; I much prefer quality over quantity! (...says the weirdo who's putting out three updates a week...)

 

Here's Chapter 4! I have been storing these things up till now!

“Mmmm, training day…” James mumbled as he woke up. He placed his arms to lift himself, only to feel softness of wool instead of sand below him.

“Ah, you have awoken, I see.” said a voice. James quickly got out of the softness and stepped on wooden floor. He was confused. He was looking at a young man with long hair with Rococo-esqe clothes. “W, who are you?!” shouted James.

“There is no need to be aggressive, stranger. The name is Elliot Cromsworth, but simply call me Elliot.” said the man calmly. James calmed himself down. “Take your time to look around you.” Elliot said. He was holding some kind of mug.

“Why am I in a cabin?” James asked.

“As you can see, I found you lying helplessly on the sand when I was taking a break from all my writing.” Elliot smiled. “Now would you be so kind to introduce yourself?”

“Uh… Call me James. I came from the Gotoro Empire. My ship sank and I may be the only survivor.” James said.

“Ah, I see, James.” Elliot said holding out the mug to him.

“Thank you” James said has he quickly took a sip of whatever was inside. It was hot coffee. “Where am I, anyway?” He asked.

“You are in Stardew Valley, my friend.” Elliot said with a grin. James, hearing this, quickly rummaged his body to find his envelope. The deed was still there. “May I ask what that is, James?” Elliot asked kindly. “It’s… it’s a deed to a farm owned by my grandfather here.” James said nervously. He couldn’t believe it. He somehow ended up in Stardew Valley. “May I use a phone?” he asked. Elliot walked to his old fashioned telephone and said, “Be my guest.”

James called the mayor about Cerulean Farm. Mayor Lewis gratefully said yes and expected to see James tomorrow. As soon as he hung up the phone, Elliot has already fixed breakfast. “You look famished, James. Perhaps you desire something to eat?” James agreed without hesitation and ravaged the food. “Uh, Elliot, I may have to stay in this place for one more day. I’m sorry if I was being rude.” James asked.

“No problem, James! You weren’t a nuisance at all. Feel free to stay overnight!” Elliot happily replied.


It was the next dawn. The sun wasn’t even visible. James woke up from Elliot’s bed. He saw him sleeping on a mattress on the floor. He wanted to thank him, but he just didn’t know how. He hasn’t been granted such kindness for more than a decade. He slowly exited Elliot’s cabin and walked north to a town. He found a bus station at the northwestern side of the town. He decided to wait there as he promised Lewis that he will ‘arrive’ at 6: 30 in the morning. He waited and waited until he felt drowsiness. “Hello, you must be the new farmer!” A feminine voice started him from his sleep.

“Uh, hello! The bus arrived earlier than we all expected, huh?” James laughed falsely.

“I’m Robin, the local carpenter. Mayor Lewis sent me here to pick you up.” said Robin. “By the way, where is your luggage?”

“I, uh…. Lost it.” James said.

“What? Is it those lazy luggage handlers again?” Robin asked.

“I guess” James said moving his left hand to scratch the back of his head. But as soon as he touched what was remaining of his neural beacon, it made a large zapping sound of electricity along with excruciating pain. James screamed and dropped to the floor, quenching his head.

“Oh my Yoba! Are you okay?!” Robin asked, kneeling down on him. James quickly gained conscience and got up. “Yeah, I’m fine. Let’s go to the farm!” James said.

“Great, then! Let’s get a move on!” Robin said with concern. They walked to the western path.

“This is Cerulean Farm.” Robin said, showing what looked like a dilapidated field with overgrown flora and a relatively good looking wooden cottage. There was a wooden box beside it. “Sure, it may look deserted, but there is plenty of good soil underneath!” Robin assured James. He didn’t mind, as he expected such situation due to the lack of maintenance. They walked to the door of the cottage. “And here’s your new home.”

“I love it!” James exclaimed. Just then, an old man wearing a green shirt with suspended pants came out from the door.

“Ah, the new farmer! I’m Lewis McLengst, mayor of Pelican Town!” The man with a heavy Irish accent said.

“Mayor Lewis! I spoke to you over the phone, remember?” James said holding out his right hand for a shake but quickly shifted his hands and shook the mayor’s hand.

“Why did you switch hands?” Lewis asked.

“Uh… I sprained by right hand in the bus. Still hurts.” James laughed. He didn’t want the mayor know about his cybernetics.

“Oh I see. Anyway, it’s not common for newcomers moving into our community. It’s quite a big deal!” Lewis said. “So you are moving into your grandfather’s cottage. It’s a very nice place. Very rustic.”

“Rustic? I think the right word is ‘crusty’.” Robin replied jokingly. James looked at both of the people with curious eyes while Lewis scolded Robin as he had no idea what they were talking about.

“Don’t listen to her, James. That is her way of convincing you to guy one of her house upgrades.” Lewis told James.

“Oh, it’s some form of advertising?” James asked. Lewis nodded.

“Anyway, you ought to come to town and meet the people tomorrow. Have some rest today, young man. I hope you enjoy your new home.” Lewis said. “You may sell your produce in that box over there.” He pointed at the wooden box. “Well good luck! Let’s go, Robin.”

“Thank you, sir! See you tomorrow!” James replied as the two people walked out of the farm. As soon as they went out of sight, James entered the cottage to find a CRT TV with a comfy bed and a fireplace. He had watched TV before, but only once per month. This was all new for him. He had lived almost entirely in orders by his superiors. For the first time, James felt independence. He gave an optimistic sigh and searched through a bag beside the door to find the tools necessary for his work. ‘tomorrow will be different. I’m sure!’ thought James as he jumped on his bed and closed his eyes.

 

Oh well, life can't be full of pixie dust and apple pie. There needs to be some raw steak at some point. Thank you so much for appreciating my work. Yours are flawless.

 

Here's Chapter 5! I added alot of dialogue on this one.

James spent his first day with waking up at 6 in the evening. He spent the rest of his day watching something he had never watched before in TV- Entertainment shows. He laughed at every joke each celebrity and comedian threw out. When it was 10o’clock, he went back to his bed and continued his slumber.

The next morning greeted James with a chicken’s cry. He was glad that there was no alarm clock that he might have destroyed again beside him. When he got up, he noticed a small wooden package with a note stuck on it. James walked to it and picked it up. He attempted to open it from the top until he gave up and dropped it on the ground and smashed it open with a mighty stomp. There, he found fifteen parsnip seeds. ‘Here’s a little something to get you started! –Mayor Lewis’

James smiled when he read the note. He picked up his tools and headed out the door to greet the world ahead of him.

After cleaning a small portion of the farm, James tilled the soil and sowed each parsnip seeds with equal precision thanks to his cybernetic left eye. He found a way to utilize it rather than identifying enemies. As he finished off by watering each seed, he heard a few rustles somewhere near him. “Who’s there?” James shouted. The rustles became more frequent. Fearing that the source might be assassins hunting him, James dropped his watering can and held out his axe and sneaked into the mess of trees and tall grass. As he got near, his optic sensors switched to infra-red and detected a heat signature near him in a figure of a man. ‘I knew it. They want me dead, huh?’ James thought to himself, tightening his right grip of his axe. Just as he was right above the heat source in a pile of tall grass, a figure sprouted out from it. James reacted quickly by swinging his axe, missing the figure and instead knocked a tree down. As he focused, he noticed that the figure was in fact a short girl with purple hair wearing a black tank top and blue short-sleeve coat. Definitely not an assassin. Realizing what happened, James lowered his axe.

“Oh my god, I’m so sorry! I thought you were some kind of wolf!” James lied. The girl didn’t seem to listen to him, but looked like she was concentrating at the fallen tree.

“…Did you just bring a tree down with one swing?!” She asked with fear in her eyes. “Please don’t kill me…” She started to cry.

“Hey lady, I said I’m sorry. Please look at me.” James said with concern as he tried to comfort the crying girl.

“…I didn’t know somebody was living here. Please let me go and I swear I won’t come back here…” She continued crying.

“Lady, I moved in yesterday. I’m the new farmer. Please don’t cry. That tree was rotten anyway.” James said, inspecting the tree. It was definitely healthy. The girl finally seemed to calm down and looked at him. When she did, James felt some sort of surge somewhere in his body. He had never felt this before. “So, what’s your name?” He asked politely.

“My full name is Abigail Berneau. What’s…yours?” The girl answered. The surge in James continued.

“Uh… please call me James. I’m really sorry for nearly killing you. Will you forgive me?” James asked.

“…okay, but please be careful.” Abigail replied.

“Speaking of which, can you tell me where the rest of the community is?” James asked, relieved that she forgave him. Abigail nodded and told him to follow her. And so he did.

When the two entered Pelican Town, James noticed two middle-aged women talking to each other. “Hey mom!” Abigail called out. The woman with green hair turned around and greeted the girl.

“Hello, Abby! What were you doing in the farm? Oh, isn’t this man the new farmer?” The lady asked. Abigail nodded.

“Greetings, ma’am. The name is James.” James bowed down.

“My name is Caroline. It is nice to meet you! Jodi, why not greet him?” Caroline asked the other lady. The other lady turned around to James.

“Oh, it’s the new farmer! I’m Jodi. I live in 1 Willow Lane. You may come over if you wish!” Jodi said.

“Heh, I have some work to be done though. It was nice knowing you!” James said, walking away with Abigail.

“That’s my house there.” She said pointing at a general store.

“You live in a store?” James asked.

“My dad owns it. Let’s go inside!” Abigail said.

The store had a pleasant scent of fresh products of vegetables and fruit. The left side had all the freshest fruits and vegetables stocked neatly for customers to choose. The right side had miscellaneous items such as oil, vinegar and flour. There was a slightly stout man with coppery hair with glasses behind the counter.

“I guess you are Mr. Pierre Berneau?” James asked to the man.

“Oh yes I am! It is nice to meet you, Mr. James! Your efforts will surely benefit the town economy!” Pierre said with enthusiasm. ‘Great, I met him for 2 seconds and he’s already going into economics.’ James thought to himself.

“Abigail, can you stay here for a bit? I need to talk to you.” Pierre said to Abigail.

“Uh… sure thing, dad! James, can you do it from here alone?” Abigail asked James.

“I guess I can. See you later!” James assured her, walking out of the store. Throughout his ‘journey’, he met many people such as Alex, who looked like some kind of American Football player he saw from TV. Trekking through the mountains and passing by an abandoned building, he found the carpenters shop. There, he met a young man with deep dark purple hair wearing a black hoodie similar to James’s.

“Oh, you are the new guy that moved in, right? Cool.” The man said.

“Uh, yes that is. The name is James. Yours?” James asked.

“Weird. I can’t understand people that introducing themselves without getting asked. The name is Sebastian. Sebastian Callahan.” The man asked, lighting a cigarette.

“I see, Mr. Sebastian.” James nodded.

“How old are you, bro?” Sebastian asked. James hesitated. He didn’t remember his age. Counting in his mind, he finally found his answer.

“Twenty.” James replied.

“So am I, bro.” Sebastian said, taking a drag from his cigarette. “Say, among all the possibilities, why here?” He asked.

“It’s a beautiful place. Besides, I need to carry on my grandfather’s legacy.” James said. “Say, what’s the time?”

“It’s… 9: 21 PM”. Sebastian answered, reading his smartphone from his pocket.

‘damn, I gotta go back home!’ James thought to himself. “Anyways, nice to meet you Sebastian. I gotta go! Bye!” He said, running back to his farm.

‘What a weirdo.’ Sebastian thought to himself, throwing his cigarette away.

The time was 11: 45PM. James came out of the shower with the TV on. He was going to get some field rations he stole back from his base when he stopped at the news.

“BREAKING NEWS! Emperor Vignon of the Gotoro Empire has declared war on Ferngill Republic! The main cause is thought to be the destruction of FRS Graceful Mercy by a Gotoro submarine attack. All citizens are to be in alert for expected attacks, especially major cities like Arcadia and Zuzu. We now return to Kate Lockwell…” James dropped his rations. He couldn’t believe it. His actions have not only killed two hundred people, but put fear to millions of citizens. He felt like 9 quadrillion tons of osmium weighing down on him. James dropped down next to a wall with his face on his cold steel knees. He wanted to die. He started this war. He spent the second night crying.

So there you have it, the fifth chapter that basically shows the first day of the game. I may have made some scripts for some dramas before, but I rarely made dialogues such as the ones shown here. Besides, I wanted to show how the Ferngill-Gotoro War abrupted. I think it's a nice touch. Finally, I may open a poll to ask what type of calendar I should use.

 

haha that's the second time I've seen Abby involved in some swinging sharp stuff too close for comfort. I really liked this latest chapter. The dialogue is easier to follow, the pace is more even, and we're getting to meet some of the NPCs.

 

Good story so far! I'm excited to see where you take this, but if you hurt best waifu we're gonna have a problem.

 

Many people will die in the very late chapters. Beware.

 

As long as best waifu (Abby obv) doesn't we're all good. (I'm just playin... kinda)

 

I like you. I'll kill her hast. (Just kidding. I'll make her a hero or something) Say, how do you like her last name I gave her?

 

See I'm absolute trash at names so my opinion isn't the best, but I like it! It suits her and her fam.

 

WARNING: CHAPTER 6 INCOMING. EVADE. EVADE.

James woke up abruptedly with sweat pouring from his half-naked body. He had another nightmare about all the souls taken away because of his escape. He hasn’t slept properly for two days, as his fears of death kept crawling onto him. Trying to fight the negativity from his mind, James concentrated on his work in the farm. He tried travelling to the town to hang out with the people, especially with a young man named Sam Arvidel who seemed like a kind-hearted man. James sometimes bumped into Abigail who usually took walks around forests. Whenever this happened, they usually walked together talking about their past and interests. James tried to lie as much as possible as his past was too dark and he didn’t know what he was interested in. Only then would James feel comfortable.

One day, James found some mail in his box. Most of them were advertisements from Pierre’s and a corporation called Joja, but one of them seemed interesting. It was an invitation to the dock he had seen when he stayed at Elliot’s house. ‘Yeah, why not? I guess it’s good to meet new people.’ James thought. He continued with his work. He decided that today was perfect to start sowing potato and cauliflower seeds. He had mostly made his living by selling some wood and foraging. His crops weren’t mature yet. When it was 10 o’clock in the morning, James walked to the beach.

In the beach port, he found a man wearing a peasant’s hat facing the ocean who seemed to be smoking a pipe. His red cardigan had stitches on. James approached him. The man seemed to have noticed his arrival. “Ahoy there, son!” He said with a raspy pirate-like voice, turning around to face the newcomer.

“Uh, hello? I guess you are the man who wanted to see me, right? You name was… William Drake?” James asked looking at the letter’s post stamp.

“That I am, son! Feel free to call me Willy! Heard there was a newcomer in town. Good to finally meet ya!” Willy continued. He turned back around and took a deep breath of the sea’s salty breeze. “I’m unwindin’ from a month in the salty seas. Finally save enough to buy me a new rod!” He said, holding up a purple metallic fishing rod.

“Cool.” James replied, looking around the sea. It was beautiful. “Speaking of which, why did you call me here?”

“I wish to give you my old rod.” Willy replied, handing him a bamboo fishing rod. James took it with both of his hands. “There are good waters around the valley. All kinds’o fish! My store is open by the way, come by if you want to buy some supplies!” He continued.

“Thank you, sir!” James said. He was a little bit nervous. He had never fished in his life. All he remembered was that his grandfather caught a chubby green fish at a lake when he was four years old. “Uh, captain, how do you fish? I have zero experience…” James asked.

“No problem, sailor! Let me teach ya!” Willy jokingly replied. “Throw the line, son!” James did as he told and dropped the fishing rod in the water. “Now, if you see the bobber sink down like a carrarck on fire, you pull the rod and let the fish have it!” Willy instructed. Just as he finished speaking, the bobber sank down quickly. James thought that this was it and pulled on the rod as hard as he can. The fish gave a strong fight, but it was no match as James’s cybernetic arm pulled ten times its strength. The fish flew to the dock and landed in front of James. It was his first catch. “Impressive, son! Nobody catches such a large fish in their first try!” Willy complemented James.

“Heh, thank you, cap’n.” James said with a laugh. He felt so proud of his accomplishment.

“Anyways, good luck, sailor!” Willy said as he walked into his shop. When he heard the door close, James gave out an optimistic sigh. He found another mean of letting him forget his painful past other than meeting the teenager trio. In fact, Friday was coming close and James has yet to visit the Stardrop Saloon. ‘Perhaps I will go there soon.’ James thought to himself as he drew his fishing line once again.

It was six in the afternoon. James was walking back to Cerulean Farm with two buckets full of various fish. As he was walking through the Cindersap Forest, someone crashed into him, tumbling both of the people down. “Oh my god! Are you okay?” said a feminine voice. The perpetrator had long orange hair braided on her right shoulder. She had eyes with the color of an amethyst and was wearing a green shirt slightly exposing her belly. She quickly stood up and reached out to hold James’s right hand.

“NO!” James shouted, pushing her hand away with his left hand. Just then, James realized what unmannered thing he had commited. “…I’m sorry. It’s just that I sprained my right arm.” James apologized.

“No, it’s fine. I’m sorry for bumping into you.” The young woman said, holding his left hand and helping him stand up. “Oh, aren’t you the new farmer that everybody was talking about? It’s James, right?” She asked.

“Well, yeah. It’s surprising to see someone that doesn’t know that, though.” James said, wiping the dust off from his hoodie. “Say, what’s your name?”

“Leah. Leah Kjellsten if you wish to know. It’s nice to meet you in person!” Leah replied. “You don’t look like you’re from this country. Where are you from?”

“I’m from Got…. I mean Korea.” James replied. He was telling the truth. However, he had lived in his home country for only six years until he moved to Gotoro. In fact, he feared that people will desert him because of the newly abrupted war.

“Ooh, Korea? I love their fresh food!” Leah exclaimed.

“Well, I guess it may be for people like you…” James said, reaching out for the back of his head, but didn’t because of what happened with Robin. He looked around him. There were fish everywhere. “Well, I guess I should pick these fish back up…” he said as he started placing the fish back to his buckets. Leah tried to help, but he refused. When he finished, he continued the conversation with Leah until the sun was nowhere to be found.

“Well, I have to get inside and continue my project. It was nice talking to you, James!” Leah said, as he waved goodbye and walked into a cottage next to a river. James gave out a shrug and continued his way to his farm, passing by a ranch along with a middle-aged man wearig a blue coat and green shirt drinking what looked like beer. At home, James took his time to look through his smartphone he found at the beach a few days ago. He went through the applications store and found an app with a blue ‘F’ icon. ‘What the hell is Facebook?’ James asked himself, tapping the download button. As he entered the app, he had noticed that he needed an ID and a password, which he obviously didn’t have. He decided to ask through Google and found his answer. He thought gmail was his best bet and made an account on it and Facebook. He tried searching the names of the people he met in the Valley, only to find the accounts of Sam, Sebastian, Abigail, Leah and Alex. He sent a friend request on all accounts. The notifications came to him instantly telling him that they all accepted them. He spent the rest of his night chatting with Abigail and Sebastian until he decided that 11o’clock was the best time to fall asleep.

I took alot of time researching the game and the random last name generator to make this chapter. We can see that James has yet to use the social media as he was confined in a secret military base for fifteen years. I just wanted to make the early parts of the novel dark until something or someone will show him the light of happiness.

 

I might get James into engineering. I'm thinking of making him really good friends with Clint and they invent things together. I think he might be the first person to know the true nature of our protagonist.

 

Wow, thats really quick writting. I am impressed.