“Confirm!”
[Tomato Seeds]
Grade: F
Description: Seeds needed for farming.
Plant and manage them in a garden plot to grow delicious tomatoes.
Usage Requirement: Farmer.
Option: +2% Germination Rate
The seeds I got from raiding the squirrel’s nest added up to exactly 100.
I never imagined I’d be able to get seeds like this.
‘And…’
“I also gained a new skill.”
There were various types of titles.
Some offered options that increased stats like abilities, attack power, or defense, while others rarely granted new skills.
This time, it was the latter.
“Confirm!”
[Exploration LV. 1]
Grade: E
Category: Active
Experience: 0.00%
Description: Explores objects, items, and living beings within a 10-meter radius of the caster.
Mana Consumption: 500
Cooldown: 60 seconds
Search Range: 10m
Effect: +10% Search Range
Hiro decided to test the newly acquired skill.
“Explore!”
[Exploration skill activated.]
[Please specify the target for exploration.]
“Hmm… seeds?”
[Exploring…]
[Exploration complete.]
[No seeds were found within a 12-meter radius.]
[Exploration skill experience slightly increased.]
With the skill effect and title options, the search range extended by about 20%, covering 12 meters.
Unfortunately, there were no seeds within the search range.
“Well, no big deal. Let’s plant these for now.”
“Kyuu!”
Hiro returned to the garden plot with Pepper, holding a hoe.
Sweet potato seeds had already been planted on one side.
“Let’s plant the tomatoes a bit further away.”
“I’ll help, kyuu!”
“Alright.”
Hiro swung the hoe and began to turn over the soil extensively.
[Land Clearing skill activated.]
[+15% Work Speed]
[-13% Stamina Consumption while working]
[Land Clearing skill experience slightly increased.]
[Job experience gained.]
Thud! Thud! Thud!
“Kyuuu!”
Pepper, trying to assist, rapidly dug into the ground with its front paws as it moved forward.
Its speed was quite impressive.
“Not bad, huh?”
“I won’t lose either.”
Hiro also increased his pace.
The initial garden plot was relatively soft, making it easier to dig up.
However, once beyond that area, the ground became harder.
Thud! Thud!
“Whew… this is tougher than I thought.”
“Kyuu… my paws hurt… kyuu…”
What should we do?
Hiro, after a moment of pondering, came up with a good idea.
“Pepper, let’s sprinkle some water.”
“Kyuu? Water?”
“Yeah. If we water it a bit, it’ll soften up, making it easier to dig.”
“Kyuu!”
“Alright. Watering!”
[Watering skill activated.]
[Watering skill experience slightly increased.]
Swoosh!
Hiro used the skill to sprinkle water over the hard ground.
Once he thought the water had soaked in enough, he swung the hoe again.
Thunk!
“Oh! This is much better than before!”
The ground was slightly damp, but noticeably softer, making it much easier to dig compared to before.
[Land Clearing skill activated.]
[Land Clearing skill experience slightly increased.]
[Job experience gained.]
[Level up!]
While clearing the land, the sound of leveling up rang out.
Hiro opened the status window.
“Status Window!”
[Status Window]
Name: Hero
Level: 5 Experience: 1.33%
Job: Spirit Farmer
Title: Discoverer of the Spirit Realm
Health: 1,500/1,500 Mana: 7,712/8,000
Satiation: 65%
<Attributes>
Strength: 5 + 10
Stamina: 5 + 10
Agility: 5 + 10
Wisdom: 5 + 10
Luck: 10 + 10
<Special Attributes>
Mana: 5 + 75
Remaining Attribute Points: 25
“What should I do…? Should I increase it?”
The decision was tough.
Once attributes were increased, they couldn’t be reversed.
Hiro originally planned to learn more before deciding.
However, even after searching the internet, he couldn’t figure out which attribute to focus on.
‘Some jobs failed after increasing special attributes… but some say they’re crucial.’
Spirit Farmer was an EX-rank special job.
There was no reference material available.
“Well, I have no choice. For now…”
Hiro allocated the attributes based on the forum posts he had read so far.
“10 to Strength, 10 to Stamina, and 5 to Mana.”
He increased Strength and Stamina by 10 and invested the rest in Mana, then closed the window.
Was it because of the attribute increase?
“Wow… I feel stronger!”
Hiro’s grip on the hoe tightened.
When he swung the hoe again, the soil was dug up more easily than before.
“Kyuu! Master! You’re so fast, kyuu!”
Pepper was startled to see Hiro suddenly increase speed and quickly tried to match the pace.
They cleared the land, made furrows, and planted seeds along the way.
[Seed Planting skill activated.]
[Growth Speed +10%]
[Harvest Yield +5%]
[Seed Planting skill experience slightly increased.]
[Skill Level Up!]
[Seed Planting LV. 1 -> Seed Planting LV. 2]
With the Seed Planting skill reaching Level 2, all the tomato seeds were planted.
“Final step! Watering!”
“Kyuu!”
[Watering skill activated.]
Swoosh!
Water spread over the garden plot, quickly soaking into the soil.
“Good work. Now, how about we eat some sweet potatoes?”
“Kyuu! Sounds great, kyuu!!!”
“But before that…”
Hiro checked Pepper’s condition.
Was it from digging in the watered soil?
Pepper’s gray fur was completely covered in mud, making it look quite filthy.
“Kyuu, kyuu… Wh-Why are you looking at me like that, kyuu?”
“Well… Pepper, you’re too dirty.”
“D-Dirty, kyuu?!”
“Yeah. So…”
Hiro smiled and grabbed Pepper.
Sensing something was off, Pepper tried to escape, but Hiro held on tight.
“Whimper… whimper…”
“M-Master… this is scary, kyuu…”
“It’s okay. It’s for your own good.”
“Kyuu…”
“Let’s get you cleaned up.”
That day, Pepper was scrubbed by Hiro until all the mud was gone.
***
“Hmm… this is such a curious place.”
Hiro entered the shrine.
Pepper was sleeping outside, likely exhausted from the bath.
‘Animals really dislike bathing.’
“Can spirits be considered animals?”
Anyway, Hiro had given Pepper a thorough wash, but Pepper looked betrayed and refused to make eye contact—until Hiro offered a sweet potato to make up for it.
Meanwhile, Hiro explored the shrine. He had previously done a brief exploration, but there wasn’t much to do after planting tomatoes.
“By the way, whose shrine is this, really?”
Hiro asked Pepper, but it didn’t seem to know much either.
“Let’s see… Explore!”
Hiro used the exploration skill.
[Exploration skill activated.]
[Please specify the target for exploration.]
“A hidden room?”
Ding!
[Skill level is too low to find a hidden room.]
[Exploration skill experience slightly increased.]
“Huh? I can’t find it?”
The skill’s low level limited its effectiveness. Hiro clicked his tongue in disappointment.
“Looks like it won’t be that easy.”
He continued exploring the shrine. Eventually, he came across a few doors he hadn’t seen before.
“Huh? What are these doors? They definitely weren’t here before…”
It was a wooden door he’d never seen before. Hiro grabbed the doorknob.
Ding!
[Entry denied.]
[You do not have the required permission.]
“Huh?”
A message appeared, stating he lacked the permission to open the door. The other doors were the same, all showing the same message, with no way to open them.
“Hmm…”
After wandering around for a while, Hiro ended up back at the altar.
“So, I can only access this place, huh?”
Hiro gazed at the altar. After harvesting sweet potatoes, he had already offered 200 of them at this altar. It was for the mysterious entity mentioned in the quest—an ‘unknown entity.’ The shrine bore the name ‘Shrine of the Forgotten God.’ By simple deduction, it seemed likely that the unknown entity was the owner of this shrine.
“A god of the spirit realm… so, a god of spirits?”
Who was the master of this shrine? There wasn’t enough information to determine the identity of the unknown entity.
“But…”
Hiro looked around.
When he first entered the shrine, it felt cold and eerie, like a ruin. Now, however, there was a faint sense of warmth, as if the atmosphere had shifted a bit.
“I don’t know who you are…”
But the quest had certainly been beneficial to Hiro.
Although it took the sweet potatoes, it offered useful job skills in return—a fair trade. These were the essential skills needed for farming in this place.
Hiro could feel that the quest-giving entity was friendly toward him. It seemed like a good symbiotic relationship could develop.
“I’ll be counting on you.”
***
A few more days passed.
“The tomatoes have grown quite well.”
“Kyuu!”
“It’s about time to set up the supports.”
Tomatoes are plants that need support. As the fruits grow heavier, the plant can break or the fruit can spoil if it touches the ground. Therefore, supports must be set up to hold the stems upright.
“First, I need to cut some nearby branches.”
“Kyuu! I’ll help too!”
Hiro and Pepper wandered around, gathering branches suitable for use as supports.
“Now, let’s…”
Hiro planted the branches firmly into the ground near the tomatoes.
“Pepper, can you go get some sweet potato vines?”
“Kyuu! Sure!”
There was nothing else to use for tying up the stems except sweet potato vines.
“Here you go, kyuu!”
“Good job.”
Hiro used the sweet potato vines to tie the tomato stems securely to the supports.
Pepper wanted to help too.
“Kyuu…”
But how could it possibly tie vines with its tiny front paws?
“Kyuu…”
Feeling dejected, Pepper slumped down with a sad expression.
“You just wait there.”
Hiro quickly tied the stems to the supports.
With the stems secured this firmly, the tomato plants should be able to bear fruit without collapsing.
“Whew… that should do it.”
Hiro straightened his back.
Crack!
An odd sound came from his back.
Bending over repeatedly to tie the stems had left his back feeling a bit sore.
“I can even feel back pain in the game.”
The Overlord game was designed to replicate all senses as realistically as possible, including pain. Of course, extreme pain, such as losing an arm or near-death pain, was suppressed.
But minor discomforts, like backaches or wrist pains, were still felt.
“They said it adds realism to the game… but this is one feature they could’ve left out.”
Hiro clicked his tongue and chomped down on a raw sweet potato. The sweet, nutty flavor spread in his mouth, easing the pain a little.
“Kyuu…”
Pepper watched him. Pepper was deeply shocked by its inability to help Hiro.
‘I want to be helpful to my master too…’
“Kyuuu…”
Then, Pepper saw something. Hiro, patting his lower back, seemed to be suffering from back pain despite his young age. Pepper’s small, dark eyes sparkled.
‘I can help too, kyuu…’
***
Twenty minutes later.
Hiro was startled to see Pepper returning, covered in dirt and other debris.
“Where did you go?”
“I gathered herbs for you, master, kyuu!”
“Herbs?”
“Kyuu!”
Upon closer inspection, Pepper was carrying something that resembled herbs in its mouth, wagging its tail. The thoughtfulness was admirable, but…
“First, let’s take a bath.”
“…Kyuu?”
Cliche Novel 