The morning sun sliced through the canopy of the forest like threads of gold, snagging on dew-wet leaves and sending warm glows across the small clearing Sylas had cut. It wasn't much—only a patch of earth hacked out with sweat and calloused hands—but to him, it was a start.
Barefoot, with the hem of his pants soaked from the morning mist, Sylas stood with a short hoe in one hand and a worn pouch of seeds in the other. His muscles ached from the past week of labor, but there was a quiet satisfaction in the pain. After all, it was proof he'd survived, that he was making something of this second life.
> [Inventory:
– Carrot Seeds (x20)
– Onion Seeds (x15)
– Snaproot Beans (x10)
He knelt down, breaking the earth with caution, spacing out the seeds more by instinct than competence. It was all trial and error, based on the fundamental agricultural advice he'd had from experimentation, mistake, and sporadic direction from the system.
> [Quest Progress Updated: 1/3 Crops Planted]
He smiled. "Good. Let's continue."
By noon, sweat dripped down his back, and dirt stuck to his skin. His palms, already calloused from chopping wood and constructing the chicken coop, ached with new blisters. He stopped only to take a swig from his waterskin and admire the fence he constructed—rough but solid, sufficient to keep out stray chickens and, hopefully, the wildlife around.
> [Quest Progress Updated: 3/3 Crops Planted]
[Bonus Goal Available: Sell produce at town market (Pending Growth)]
Sylas let out a breath and wiped his forehead. "That's that."
A gentle chime.
> [New Feature Unlocked: Farming Basics I]
You can now identify crop growth stages.
Passive Bonus: +10% Yield on Harvest
His eyebrows rose. "Not bad. That one's actually useful."
He walked back to his shack—a little, hand-built hut of solid earth, gathered wood, and a mended roof. It was not imposing, but it was sturdy, and it belonged to him. It seemed a little more home every day.
Halfway home, he heard leaves crunching in the scrub. He touched the wooden spear propped up against the side of the coop, just in case.
Mira emerged from behind the trees, her serene expression as inscrutable as ever. She had a small, cloth-covered basket in her hand.
"I brought mushrooms," she said, speaking softly. "And a warning."
Sylas eased back. "A bit foreboding for breakfast, but I'll take a bite."
She offered him the basket. "Forest mushrooms. They're found near the moss rocks on the northern slope. Safe, provided you cook them right."
He glanced under the cloth and nodded with appreciation. "Smells good."
Mira knelt by the garden, tracing her fingers through the earth with a approving hum. "You've done well here."
"Trying my best."
"I've heard rumors," she said. "From the foragers. You're getting… noticed."
Sylas stiffened slightly. "That a problem?"
"Not yet. But folks are curious. You don't sound like you're from around here. You don't talk like the locals, and you weren't raised up in these woods. Even when you try to fit in, the land still remembers strangers."
"I've avoided them."
Mira shot him a look. "Exactly. That's why they're having this conversation."
He crossed his arms. "So what? They'll march up to my door with a mob?"
"No," she said. "They'll try you. Test whether you're weak, or worth getting to know. Some will arrive with honeyed words. Others with blades."
Sylas didn't answer initially. The flames spat quietly behind his house. The clucking of his chickens carried softly on the wind.
"Then I suppose I'll have to grow up faster," he said finally.
She nodded. "You're learning."
Sylas sat next to the fire afterwards, the mushroom basket chopped now and stewing with river fish and wild plants. The smell filled the intimate space like reassurance. He rested against a log seat, stirring with a wooden spoon.
> [Crop Growth Tracker: 3% – Soil Quality: Stable – Water Level: Acceptable]
[Estimated Harvest Time: 6 Days]
> [System Tip: Build a simple irrigation line or raincatch barrel to facilitate long-term production.]
He let out a sigh. "Oh, great. Something else to build."
The tasks were piling up. Between caring for the chickens, maintaining the crops, and now creating water systems, he was coming to see that creating a life from the ground up was less a matter of big choices and more a series of solving tiny problems, one at a time.
> [New Quest Available: Build a Water System (Optional)]
Reward: +1 Farming Efficiency, +10 XP
He gazed into the flames for a moment, then pulled open his tattered notebook. It was a rough ledger—bits of wood pulp pages bound with twine—but it contained drawings and scribbles from the last few weeks.
He wrote:
"Barrel – rainwater. Dig shallow trench to garden. Perhaps bamboo stalks for piping?"
His writing hand was still unsteady. Weeks had passed since he'd written before he landed in this world. The process itself was akin to finding a limb again.
He looked in the direction of the garden. The fence creaked softly in the wind. The moonlight bathed the plot with an eerie beauty.
"You'll grow," he whispered. "And I'll grow with you."
During the dead of night, he woke to the faraway howls.
He remained motionless, pounding heart.
The forest here was not domesticated. He'd caught sight of claw marks on trees and heard the warning calls of birds fall silent all at once. There were things in the dark—wolves, maybe worse.
But nothing came near. The chickens stayed quiet.
Sylas slept slowly and slid back into sleep with his hand on the spear next to his bed.
The next morning, he started the trench.
It wasn't attractive. The ground was rough, covered in roots and boulders. He dug with a wooden shovel, already sweating through his shirt as the sun rose higher. But he didn't quit.
His existence had once been governed by hospital beeps and white, silent rooms. Here, each of the scars on his hands reminded him he was alive. And each of the drops of sweat he shed was an investment in the future he would create.
> [Progress: Trench Dug – 80%]
[Barrel Missing: Incomplete]
He stood back, panting. "Need that barrel."
He could maybe construct one. Possibly. If he had the proper equipment. But equipment cost coin, and coin cost bartering or a trip into town.
Not yet, he decided. Not until he knew more of the language.
He went back to the coop to collect eggs and inspect feed. The chickens fluttered listlessly at his coming, already having grown used to him. One even tolerated him scratching its neck without complaint.
> [Chicken Mood: Satisfied]
[Egg Count +1 Today]
It was slow. It was small. But it was doing its job.
He picked up the egg and added it to the basket. As he brought it back towards the shack, he stopped and turned his eyes to the line of trees.
One day, he'd have to confront what lay behind them.
But not today.
Today was for planting roots.