Chương 117: Chapter 113 – Bus Driver’s New Ride

Brian heard a knock at the door and then heard David tell him to get ready. They were in a village named Northridge. They had an appointment to get the new wagons after breakfast. Brian was still feeling a little lost. When he showed up in this world, he was so lost. He had a job that he loved, and now he lived in a world that had no buses. When Mark dragged him on this adventure, he thought it sounded like something he could do. But now he was a little scared.

After the last few days riding a horse, he realized how out of his depth this all seemed. He knew buses, but horses were nothing like a bus. But Mark said he believed in him, so he would have to give it a chance. He saw Mark at breakfast, but he was heading somewhere else, so he just said hello to him and followed David and his men back to the stable where they were going to pick up the wagons. When they got to the stable, there were 2 wagons, each with 2 horses hitched to them, standing ready.

This was the first point that he believed this was real. There really were wagons waiting for them. Brian was interested in the wagon; each one had four wheels, of course, but there was a spare wheel also included. He could see that it had a cargo box with a waterproof tarp that could be strapped over the load. He saw a wooden box with a lid and went over to look inside and saw spare parts and tools. The wagon seat looked more comfortable than he had expected but all in all was a pretty simple thing.

David took his time walking around the wagon; he kicked the wheels and looked under the wagons and around them. He then talked to the stable manager to have him show them around the wagon and let him give them some pointers. The manager came out and showed him the items that were improved in this wagon from the original wagons that David was shown on his last visit. These wagons had metal rims on the wheels and axles to make them stronger.

They were assembled with the new brackets and nails that they had received in their first shipment from the Forgeworks. It almost seemed to Brian that the guy was trying to sell him the wagons, and it was his understanding they already paid for them. While the manager kept going on and on, Brian brought up his task Mark gave him. [Task] Bus Driver Learn to drive a wagon. Operate a regular route between Northridge Village and Beaver Crossing. Reward: XP Contribution points based on route performance.

Brian looked over the task. He was worried about completing it. The first step was he had to learn to drive one of these wagons. The manager apparently stopped talking about the wagon as they were asking him to follow while they took a ride to the outskirts of town, where they would train Brian and David how to drive the wagons. The manager began giving them a tour of the wagon. He talked about harnessing the horses and put the harness on and off a couple times. He then made Brian and David each do it a few times.

He then taught them how to hitch the team to the wagon and again followed that same pattern of making them do it each a couple times as he watched and corrected any mistakes. Then he moved on to loading and unloading cargo and talked about weight balancing. He showed them how they could watch and see when a section was overweight or underweight and talked about how important that process was.

He then made them load a few things that were not easy to tell by size how to balance, and they went through that process until they both could do it correctly. Then they were instructed to get in and out of the driver's bench, how to set and release the brake, and how to use the reins to direct and drive. He went over the need to keep the pair of horses in sync. And then had them go through this process, showing him what they learned. It took longer than he expected, but the man was very good at what he was doing.

He then went over proper care and feeding of the horses. How to brush them down, feed them, and watch for signs that they were tired or needed any kind of assistance. He then had them each brush down one of the horses and feed it. Then he finally got to the scary part: they had to drive the wagon. Find this and other great novels on the author's preferred platform. Support original creators! This part reminded him a lot about the DMV test on driving his bus. How to back up.

How to make a turn with a pair of horses and a wagon. The only thing the man did not do was tell him to stop at the railroad crossing and look both ways, but that was, of course, because there were none. Brian lucked out in that David was picked first to do his driving test for lack of a better word. The instructor, Brian, and David were all in the wagon. They went down a road. Turned around and came up the road. Had to back up, and he even made him stop on a hill and get the brake on and get out.

Chock the wheels so they would not roll away. Then get back in, remove the chocks, and continue. Brian, by the time it was his turn, was almost confident in what the task required. He only made one major issue, and that was he almost drove the wagon and team into a ditch. But he was able to back it up some and then continue on. He was sweating by the time he was done over the stress of the ordeal, but he was deemed sufficient to be able to drive the wagon.

Right after the man said he was sufficient, he received a system message. [Task Updated] Bus Driver Learn to drive a wagon. Status: Complete Operate a regular route between Northridge Village and Beaver Crossing. Status: In Progress Reward Granted: XP Awarded He almost lost control for a sec on the wagon and pulled it to a stop. Moments later, he received another system message.

[Level Up] Brian — Level 5 +5 Stat Points Available Skill Selection Available This excited him, and he let the others know of his level up. David told him to sit in the back of the wagon while he drove them back so Brian could go through his level-up messages. The first thing he did was add his stat points, as Mark had reminded him a number of times about forgetting to do his own. Once that was done, he brought up the skill choices.

[Skill Selection] Wagon Handling (Level 1) Improves wagon control • Reduces chance of cargo damage • Improves maneuvering on rough terrain Teamster's Bond (Level 1) Improves cooperation with draft animals • Animals remain calmer while under your direction • Slightly reduces draft animal fatigue Route Memory (Level 1) Improves navigation on previously traveled routes • Reduces chance of becoming lost • Highlights more efficient travel paths All three choices were great.

He eliminated route memory first, as it was a good skill but was not what he needed most. Looking at the other two, it took him some time to decide which was best. After his ride here by horse, he realized that his biggest weakness was the animals. His bus he never had to feed or take care of; this thing, though, required a good pair of horses. Before overthinking it, he chose the Teamster's Bond.

[Skill Acquired] Teamster's Bond (Level 1) Improves cooperation with draft animals • Animals remain calmer while under your direction • Slightly reduces draft animal fatigue When they got back to the stables, they all got out of the teacher's wagon, and then both Brian and David looked over the two wagons. Both looked identical other than their horses. Brian pointed out the pair he was going to take, checked the setup of his horses, made sure the harnesses were set up correctly, and got up in his wagon.

He told Brian to have a safe trip back and that he was going to go pick up the load he was assigned to bring back and get on the road. Brian took one last look around and thought, It's just like a bus; you just have to feed it rather than fill up a gas tank. He drove the wagon to where his load was waiting and picked it up.

He made one last stop at the store Mark had told him about and picked up a few boxes of items and a crate that looked the size of a painting and loaded it all up, checking three times to make sure the load was balanced and tied down, and then headed back to Beaver Crossing, following the map that Mark had shared with him on the best and safest route there.