"Hahaha! I like ya. You know how to treat yer seniors right, unlike those other greenhorns. It don't matter if you're lucky or not. Learnin' Crop Consumption requires Skill. If ya report it to the Boss, he may promote you to Rank 2 right away and join our row. Still far from the Inner Farms though. All those guys are monsters.", Carl said, shaking his head with a sigh.
"At least on that, I can agree with ya. I already lost the feelin', so let's spar on another day. This may or may not come as a shock to ya Lloyd, but we farmers can spar to pass the time. Normally within a Rank or two at most. There's particular platforms that let us fight. Helps earn experience and all that. Ya can get somethin' more raw if ya head into town. Ya know the rumor I told you about already.", Frank said.
'Inner Farms? Spars?', Lloyd thought to himself. So it wasn't just about farming here. That message from earlier was making more sense now. Frank previously told him about a Labyrinth appearing beyond Rooting Plains. He was considering wandering there once Lloyd was settled and all, but he learned something new. He could fight against other farmers here on the farm.
Thinking that, Lloyd received a familiar feeling. It was that same feeling while reading those eastern stories in his past life. What, is someone about to call him Young Master?
But before Lloyd could say anything, the calm man laughed.
"Haha, you two are loadin' way too much information on the poor lad. It's still his first day. At least you look promising. And I don't think I introduced myself. I'm Bobby. Like what Frank and Carl said, we're part of Plot's 88-90 in the second row. Ya likely haven't met other greenhorns, right?", Bobby said, and introduced himself to Lloyd.
"At least for now. I'm still trying to get my bearings. Once I'm squared away, I might go meet the others. But if it's as you said, I might enter the second row before long.", Lloyd said. While he did tell them he learned Crop Consumption, he didn't tell them how he learned it. Through a deeper understanding. It was basically Gaia's doing, seeing how she granted him the Harvester Log. He decided to remain quiet on that part. These guys likely didn't even have a Harvester Log, but that of a more generic system Lloyd wasn't aware of it.
But what Bobby said was true. Lloyd learned way too much information on his first day, and his head was beginning to form a dull headache.
"Then let's leave it at that. We're gonna go drinkin' later after gettin' a bite to eat. Yer more than welcome to join us, if ya don't decide to meet the other greenhorns.", Frank said, and smiled.
"Thank you. I'll keep that in mind.", Lloyd said. "For now, I plan to rest. This is all still new to me."
"Then we'll catch ya later lad. Don't be a stranger.", Carl said, and grinned again. Bobby also nodded his head, and the three soon departed on the paved dirt road, leaving Lloyd to his own devices.
The dull headache soon faded away as Lloyd was left alone. The sunset was well underway. Now that he was alone, Lloyd sighed, and activated his Inventory. He pulled out his 31 day token. It was a wooden crest with simple wording printed on it that read "Rooting Plains - Room 205". On the backside were the Plot and Block numbers.
[Ding! You have consumed a 31 day token for Rooting Plains. You may now make your way to the Farmer's Hub. Present your left hand to the door Room 205 and it will open. Upon opening the room for the first time, it will become bound to you as a final safety measure to prevent break-ins.]
"Neat. So no one can break into one's room if they have this token. It can probably be purchased from the Hall. I think they called it the Farmer's Hall? Gaia went out of her way to skip that step, and presented me with one directly. I don't know if I'll stay here beyond one month, so this will be good.", Lloyd said, and looked toward the rows of medieval-style homes.
Layers of forged cobblestone were neatly placed alongside a winding cobblestone street. Buildings constructed of timber and stone and thatched roofs were aligned on each end one after another. It wasn't just some large building where it was composed of multiple rooms. No, each number denoted a single house here in the Farmer's Hub. Lanterns hung on the frontside of each one. Thanks to the amount of lanterns, the street itself was illuminated, allowing farmers to navigate the street with ease, even with the sun currently setting.
It was enough to see that some form of civilization took place here, even if it wasn't fully modern to what Lloyd was previously used to. Every so often, horses carrying a carriage filled with people would pass by, wandering further south.
Lloyd had no more reason to stay on the dirt road here any longer, so he carried himself all the way to the Farmer's Hub, and saw other worn out people who barely could keep their eyes open. He inwardly laughed, as he too was once in that position. Not physically draining as a farmer's work, but that of mental strain from becoming a new hire at a job.
But this was no longer just a job to Lloyd. This was his new life.
After finding the rows of 200s, Lloyd found himself standing in front of a compact house at the edge of the Farmer's Market. It was likely placed here because as the seniors called him, he was a greenhorn. A newbie. Better houses were likely available the further he went into the Farmer's Hub. For now, this sturdy-looking house was enough for him. Lloyd was surprised he even got lodging at all.
The only thing Lloyd might miss out on since he was brought into Solaris were video games.
"I'm going to miss that old life...", Lloyd said, and sighed. Still, he did as he was instructed. He brought the backside of his left hand toward the wooden door, and a hidden rune suddenly appeared on the door itself. It flashed a bright earthen-brown glow, then vanished back into Lloyd's hand, making it a relatively painless process.
Following that, Lloyd saw a prompt appear before him, causing him to smile.
[Ding! Room 205 has now been registered to you. Any trespassers will be automatically stripped of their hub token and reported to the Farmer Hub's administrator. Once inside, you will find a simple how-to guide placed on the desk. Mana reservoirs are stocked for one month.]
"A guide?", Lloyd asked, wondering what that was referring to.
Still, Lloyd saw the token disappear into his hand, meaning it was active now. He walked up to the door, and raised his left hand. Sure enough, he heard an automatic click open, making the door open on its own. Lloyd just stared at his new home, wide-eyed.
"Was that Magic just now?", Lloyd uttered, and mused at the new sight before him. He wasn't used to Magic, in a physical sense. He had watched plenty of anime and read plenty of stories in his past life that had Magic, but now, he was experiencing it for the first time. Well, second time, if he counts the Earth Spirits he saw on his farm prior. Now it was making sense as to why it was talking about a guide earlier.
Lloyd had no bags or anything with him. Just his Harvester Log and his Inventory. Honestly, it made moving in that much simpler. What surprised him next was the door closing on its own. Click.
Since Lloyd had nothing to unpack, his eyes wandered around his new place. It didn't have that new home smell. But it definitely gave Lloyd a home-y feeling. Very inviting. Toward the other end of the room in the left corner was a simple bed with a couple pillows and a cover placed over it. Toward the right corner was a small kitchen with various tools Lloyd wasn't familiar with apart from the closed oven. Looking toward the right was another room, separated by a carved wooden wall with a solid foundation. This was likely where the bathroom was.
Toward his left, Lloyd saw a simple desk with a single manual placed on top of it titled, "Basic Requirements of the Farmer's Hub".
"Well, let's hop to it. If there's a set of rules in place, I'll need to learn what they are so I don't cause trouble for that Boss.", Lloyd said, and proceeded to open it. It was separated into different sections. They were titled "Farming", "Cooking", "Tasks", "Fighting", and "House Use".
Lloyd didn't have a particular one to go through first, so he just started from the top, and began reading the "Farming" section.
"Farming has become a popular Occupation here in the world of Solaris, offering various kinds of effects to one's own crops. All newbies brought to Rooting Plains are placed on Plots 91-100. Only by accumulating merit points from Tasks, which are offered by the Farmer's Hall on the opposite end of the farm, can one Rank Up, and proceed inward and get assigned more land. More land means more crops. And more crops means more respect...", Lloyd uttered, and began reading the manual before him. Once he started reading the next point, did Lloyd raise his eyebrows.
"Unlike other Occupations, Farmers have a unique Skill where they can consume the crops they create, which further empowers them. Once you become a Farmer, you are assigned three common-grade Crops, and one Specialty. All of this is assigned at random, so you are at the whims of the Earth Mother. Rarer Specialties, such as Strawberry, are highly sought after for both flavor, and its effects to bolster one's Mana.", Lloyd continued.
Did he hear that right?
It took a moment for Lloyd's thought to process those words written on the manual.
"Eh?", Lloyd asked, only to have his eyes turned wide-eyed. He recalled the four crops listed in his Harvester Log, and Strawberry was definitely on that list!
If Lloyd consumed Strawberries...would he learn Magic? What kind of logic is that?