*Dump*

"This is your food for some time. Don't eat it all at once. If you finished this then you would have to forage for food on your own. Don't eat my plants and trees."
"Baaa!"
"If you start munching on them then I will shave your horns for material."
"Baaaaa!!"
"You don't want a harness decorated with your own horn, right?"
"Baa!"
"Ok, be good and lay low until I come back. If you need help then go to the village chief's house."

The possibility of horn basher actually eating my plants is high.

Hmm, I'm going to need a bit more food for him.

"Ok, I have left you extra food. Don't eat my garden!"
"Baa!"
"Alright, I'm counting on you."
"Baa!"

I made three piles of hay mixed with the special food I bought at the town for horn basher. He would either grow fat after eating it all or attract outside animals which he would need to battle. Either way, he can handle himself.

I'm sure the defence force can handle it if this attracts some wild animals into the village. I don't know how much it would attract since this is the equivalent of dried fruits for people.

There is still a bit of light, I'll just wait for night to come. Those that would evacuate aren't leaving until tomorrow. I should get ahead of them or the chances that I see them on the road would be high. There isn't exactly anywhere to hide on the plains around here. The volcanoes near the village could hide me but its plains and mountains after I leave the vicinity.

The surroundings of the village are horrendous. I doubt the bandits would want to raid a village in this kind of environment but you never know what they are thinking, so it's still safe for us to go according to our plans. The more dangerous the place, the easier for them to hide after all, and with a village like ours as a snack, they just might set up a stronghold here.

Alright, it's night time. This would be the most dangerous part of my journey. Well, if I have to be honest, this is one of the two most dangerous parts of the trip. I have to sneak back inside too. Sneaking back in is actually more dangerous since I don't know what happened while I was away. If they change their patrol routes or they are doing some kind of training exercise, there is a chance I would get caught. I have to be extra careful when sneaking back in.

"...Hey, I'm taking over for you."
"...You look worn out. Are you sure you can do this?"
"...I was part of the construction group today. The timing for my night patrol happened to land on the same day."
"...The schedule wasn't finalised yet, so things like this happen."
"...It's a good thing that we have a break from the construction for some time. I will relax tomorrow."
"...That's good. Well, I'll leave the patrol to you. May the night be peaceful."
"...May your rest be undisturbed."

Now!

*Run* *Run* *Run*

This is the point of time where they are least likely to notice me.

*Look left* *Look Right* *Run*

Good, I'm now clear of the village. I successfully escaped the patrols. I should be worrying about the security of the village if I could escape unnoticed like this but I'll give them some slack since they lessened the patrols to give the defence force some time to spend time with their family, especially those who have people from their family that are part of the evacuating group.

*Run* *Run* *Run*

The plan for now is to run all the way to the next region and buy a map of the cities where they sell the materials that I need. My stamina should hold up but I need to take a rest since I want to keep a bit of gas in the tank in case I encounter problems on the road.

"Please present your I.D."
"Here."
"Ok, go in."

Hmm, First time I visited this city. The guards look really slack though.

*Bonk!*

"That is not how you greet people. Stand proud and alert at all times. Properly introduce our city and ask them what they are here for. I don't care if you are a new recruit but if you want to be part of the city guards then you need to act like it!"
"*Gasp* Instructor! I'm sorry! It won't happen again!"
"I'm sorry for that sir...Smith. To start over; Welcome to Tungsten City #2! Excuse us but please state the reason for your visit.”

I see, this town is starting to fortify their guards.

"I'm here to buy some things and stay for a night to rest."
"Thank you. The market is over this way. We have a range of things that might interest you. May you have a pleasant experience during your stay. Next!"

I wonder if the bandits have already arrived in this region. From what the village chief said, the bandits are heading to our region from the direction of the capital, so I chose the region adjacent to it in hopes of avoiding them.

Well, I'm sure even the bandits are acting cautious in this kind of situation. They are going into a new environment. It's not like the dragon's road where they built up their little playground where they know where everything is.

Anyway, I need to buy a map first before buying anything. I know that I can buy cheap tungsten in this town, though I don't know what I am actually going to do with it, but I want to know what kind of materials I want to buy in this region.

The raw ore can be bought for cheap but the alloy isn't cheaper, even if one of the main materials for their alloy is the specialty product of the town. Those alloys are under property of the one who made it, though most of them are under licence by a large merchant guild.

Those alloys can only be bought at the best deal if I buy it from the main source, which is their home base. In some cases for the individual creator, it should be their hometown, but most of the time it's the headquarters of the merchant group they are working for.

I remember that some of my classmates worked in a big workshop. They start as coal shovellers and fire watchers for the first few months. I didn't really know where they are stationed, so I can't exactly ask them to buy me some.

"Welcome to Silver City! Please present your I.D."
"Here."

This is the last town I need to visit.

I bought all that I can and my funds have been reduced to an eight of what I receive from the prince. This isn't a cause for concern since my work at the village and the things I sell at the town nets me a positive income but I can't experiment with materials as much as I did when I first received the coin.

It shouldn't be as much as wasting my sudden wealth but more of investing in my skills. I mean, this gold coin might not be valid when I rebirthed into a different continent. I better make use of this money while I still can.

It has been four days since I last left the village. I bought up everything that I need and to make sure people won't recognize me as someone who is visiting different places while buying bulk goods, I disguise myself every time.

Everything that I might need is already in my [Soul Storage]. I should start heading back to the village. I don't know if they finished escorting the evacuees to their destination but if they discovered that I was gone, it would invite suspicion.

The villagers are friendly enough to not outright denounce that but I don't really want to show a crack in my 'persona' in this life.

"What might be your intentions in visiting?"
"I'm on an errand from my masters. They gave me a shopping list here. I'm an apprentice at a smithy."
"Oh, It looks like they are already putting you to good use. The market is that way. This is a little tip but make sure to get a receipt if you are buying anything. Running a business is hard, so make sure to give the receipts to your masters."
"Thank you."

These disguises and backstory are good and all but I can't exactly hide myself with every town needing me to show my I.D. I don't have a way to fake an I.D., so the officials would know I am the one who is buying all these materials.

Well, I can only count on the chance that they won't pay attention to someone as anonymous as me. I haven't exactly built a reputation where someone would know me just from a name from another region.

It can't be helped though, the continent is entering a state of emergency, at least in my eyes.