Milkovich is a young trapper in the village of Hallyn. When Milkovich was barely old enough to go hunting on his own, he started collecting furs from rabbits, otters, and beavers, and selling them as furs to the caravans. This let him buy extra candles, some books, and other comforts. He taught himself to read by night, and sat and talked to the merchants, getting advice on deals and how to make friends. All of this has left him, now in his late twenties, a well liked and relatively wealthy member of the village.
His sights are set on taking over the bar from Hallr when he passes, or grows too tired to run the place. He dreams that one day the town will be large enough to contain an embassy with the dwarven mines, something he can call himself the Mayor of. In his wildest dreams he wants to buy a noble title, become the first Lord of Hallyn. Of course he can never tell these dreams to the rest of his family, or village, because of how everyone else in town is trying to get away from someone.
This frontier life is the constant confounding part of Milkovich's life. He often cannot get ahead of the well travelled foreign merchants, but he can often separate the caravan guards from their money. He's one of the worst hunters in town, but easily a better hunter than those who only stay for the spring. He is deeply power hungry at his core, he feels like he needs to be special, but his eyes never have gone beyond Hallyn. He's unsuited to life outside its long-houses and forests, he dreams of the big city, but he wants that city to be from his home. Hallr tends to view Milkovich as a friend and an heir, the person who will keep the town together when he passes, but he's unaware that Milkovich is the greatest threat to the city. Someone who will attempt to grow it, while also keeping it exactly the same.
Milkovich's biggest flaw is his desire to one-up anyone who boasts, at any time. His desire to be the best in the world at anything is the subject of many good stories, especially the many times he has jumped into frozen lakes, ran naked through the town, or been beaten up by caravan guards far larger than him. The other children, or the younger caravan guards love to get him to try anything, and he rarely has had the self control to not be egged on.
A Burning Wheel Monster Every Week