Chương 3: The Law of the Fallen

The avenue leading out of Hazor's eastern gate rose at a steep incline. To the left, corporate players from the European syndicates argued with a local grain merchant. Their loud, modern accents sliced through the low hum of the bazaar. To the right, a long line of local laborers carried heavy baskets of harvested barley up toward the granaries of the inner citadel. Ethan stopped at the edge of the stone threshold. His eyes weren't tracking the gleaming bronze daggers in the weapon stalls.

He was staring at the ground. [System Prompt: Passive Resource Detection Active (+5% Modifier)] Target Material Identified: Broken Barley Stalks (Trash Quality). Value: 0. 00 Shekels. Ownership Status: Unclaimed / Public Waste. Ethan pulled up his interface, opening the regional cultural database. The developers had simulated the complete legal and social frameworks of the ancient Near Eastern Bronze Age to maintain historical accuracy.

He scrolled past the heavy martial codes of Hazor's king until his eyes hit a sub-clause buried under agrarian customs: The Law of Gleaning (Leket). By ancient customary decree of the Southern Levant, the corners of a harvested field may not be reaped by the owner. Any stalks that fall from the bundles during harvest belong legally to the poor, the stranger, and the landless. Ethan's lips twitched into a sharp, thin smile. Zero ownership. Zero acquisition cost. Protected by server-wide cultural law.

He turned away from the inner city and followed the line of wooden barley carts out into the valley. The corporate guilds were all sprinting toward the wolf-infested hills to farm experience points, their expensive iron swords swinging from their belts. They didn't look down at the dirt. They were burning money on weapon durability just to kill level-1 desert pests. Ethan walked into the freshly harvested fields flanking the valley. The heat was brutal.

It baked the red soil until the air shimmered, but Ethan didn't care. He dropped to his knees, his bare hands pressing into the warm earth. He began collecting the stray, broken ears of barley left behind by the NPC reapers. One stalk. Two stalks. Ten stalks. System Alert: You have collected [Low-Grade Barley Grain x10]. Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings. Current Inventory Weight: 0. 2% / 100% Hey! Clear out, F2P (Free-to-Play) trash!"

A player wearing a polished bronze helmet—a low-ranking scout from Merlion Holdings—glared at Ethan from atop a low stone boundary wall.

"Our guild leased the hunting and harvesting rights for this sector from the Hazor tax governor. Move your character before we flag you for resource theft." Ethan didn't stand up. He didn't even look the scout in the eye. He simply pointed his finger at the broken barley stalks remaining in his hand, triggering the local game law interface.

"Check the server code, friend," Ethan said, his voice flat.

"This is Leket. It's a foundational regional custom. If your guild touches me or tries to confiscate these scraps, you violate the local religious covenant mechanic. Enjoy the automatic fifty-point penalty to your city reputation and a localised drought curse on your guild's primary farm nodes." The scout blinked. He opened his guild interface, his face twisting as he read the system restrictions regarding cultural laws.

"Cheapskate," the scout spat, turning his back.

"Have fun earning half a copper after five hours of digging in the dirt." Half a copper? Ethan thought, his fingers moving faster through the dust, scooping up every discarded seed pod within reach. Idiots. They think grain is just food. After two hours of systematic, back-breaking crawling through the dirt, Ethan's inventory was maxed out. He hadn't lost a single point of health. His stamina had drained, but stamina recovered for free if he sat completely still under the shade of an olive tree for ten minutes.

Total cost of operation: Zero shekels. He stood up, brushing the dry soil from his knees, his eyes fixed on the massive canvas bags of raw grain in his inventory screen. He had the fuel. Now he needed a mechanism to process it without paying a manufacturing tax.