After Lloyd reviewed his new information, he was greeted with another, unexpected prompt. It was as if the Harvester Log had sensed his determination. Lloyd's eyes shifted to the new screen that appeared before him.
[Ding! A new Quest has been issued to you: Till An Acre Of Land.]
"A second Quest already? That does align with what the Boss wants me to do. Hopefully I have it in me to finish by the end of the day. It is almost as big as a football field...", Lloyd uttered again. Still, Lloyd decided to have a look at this new Quest.
[Quest: Till An Acre Of Land]
You have to till one acre of land. Should you fail and decide to explore other prospects of the Harvester Log first, there is no penalty. At worst, you might get berated by your Boss for not finishing your job. There is no timer to finish this Quest.
Reward: 50 EXP, 5 Fine Potato Seeds, 5 Stat Points, 100 Bronze Coins
"Neat. I really can choose to not do Quests. This one in particular has no set time frame. Not like I'd go down such a route. This Quest is so free. I mean, what kind of farmer doesn't till their own land? Heh.", Lloyd uttered, letting out a chuckle. He then glanced at the run-down hoe he still held in his hand. Since he had reviewed his Harvester Log, he realized he had the Appraisal Skill. And so, he decided to use it. He wanted to see if one of these was enough to till an entire acre.
"Appraisal.", Lloyd whispered, using a voice only he could hear. The hoe's details came into view on a new blue screen that appeared before him. On that note, Lloyd learned how to make his Harvester Log come and go after a little trial and error.
[Crude Hoe-Lv1 (White)]
A crude piece of farming equipment meant solely for breaking soil. Poorly balanced and quick to shatter. Enchantment is possible.
Rank 1 Effect: +1 Strength, +1 Endurance
Breaks after five uses. Can be purchased from the Farmer's Market for 2 Copper Coins.
Uses Left: 5/5
Remark: You shouldn't use this as a weapon.
"Pretty basic. But Appraisal sure is something. I've learned several details I didn't even know could be possible until now. For one, enchanting is a thing. I can empower items to make them stronger. This feature existed in Farming Is Life, and was a major portion of its endgame content, trying to create the perfect universal tool and all of that. And this hoe is currently in my hands, but how do I proceed to equip it?", Lloyd wondered, and tried a few attempts to do so, just like how he learned how to open his Harvester Log.
[Ding! You have equipped Crude Hoe-Lv1 (White)]
Now, Lloyd felt slightly stronger. Just slightly. Holding onto his new piece of equipment, he had a quick look at his Log, and saw that his Strength and Endurance increased as the Appraisal's description stated.
"Nothing else is stopping me now. Daylight is being burned, so let's hop to it. Time to see whether its durability decreases with every swing, or if it's through a certain amount of land.", Lloyd said. Thankfully, his actions didn't become mechanical like a game character would behave. He did the full motion, and swung down hard into the dirt before him. Thud!
Still, swinging the hoe felt natural to Lloyd. In his past life, he was merely an office worker. He wasn't a farmer. He enjoyed playing farming simulation games, amongst other genres. That was the difference here. That was because the body Lloyd has now wasn't his previous body. The Earth Goddess Gaia crafted a new one for him as part of his rite of reincarnation. This new body was more used to farming than his previous one was!
Again, Lloyd swung down, and saw the blade tear into the dirt beside him. Dragging it downward toward him, a full row soon formed. His movement was smooth. Just like that, a good chunk of dirt already was torn up, which prompted another blue screen to appear. Lloyd's eyes were drawn to it.
[Ding! Your Crude Hoe's durability has decreased by 1. Remaining uses: 4/5. Land Progress: 5%.]
Wiping some sweat away with the backside of his hand against his forehead, Lloyd sighed. A hot breath of air escaped from his lips as he reviewed this new screen before him. But before he could do anything, he was greeted by one more, which made him raise his eyebrows.
[Ding! You have tilled some land. 1 EXP has been obtained.]
[Ding! Point*2 Skill has triggered, doubling EXP gain.]
[Ding! You have obtained 2 EXP. Next LV EXP: 8.]
"Just with a single swing and break of some land, not only did its use decrease by one, I even gained experience from it?", Lloyd questioned himself, seeing his unexpected gain. And since he had obtained one experience point from it, his Point*2 Skill activated, which effectively doubled it. Lloyd's current Occupation is Farmer, so perhaps that had some play in this. If he really could continue gaining experience like this...
Another smile appeared on Lloyd's lips. At the same time a calculative look appeared in his eyes. "You don't know how seriously overpowered this Skill is, Gaia...", Lloyd uttered underneath his breath, keeping it quiet enough so Gaia couldn't hear it. Mechanics were meant to be torn apart, and this was definitely something that could be exploited!
Lloyd can effectively do something twice as fast as a normal person could do it!
"Still, 5% isn't a lot in the long run. Tch, such a cheapskate boss. I have to go through four of these to finish breaking the entire acre.", Lloyd continued while clicking his tongue. He looked back at the nearby shed. It was a communal shed that was assigned to several plots. It didn't just belong to him. It was wide enough to store several pieces of equipment, so it's not like he was short on it. There was the Farmer's Market, but he had no currency to spend inside there. For now, until he was truly self-sufficient, he had to rely on this shed. Every so often, he would see sheds aligned, marking just how big this farm truly was.
And that pondered the question, where exactly was Lloyd? All he knew was the name of the world, which was Solaris. He didn't even know what continent he was on. He lacked information!
For now, all Lloyd could do was look at the dirt he dug up a moment before. As much as he wanted to find out where he was, he had a Quest to do.
"Dig a hole dig a hole dig a hole...", Lloyd uttered to himself, letting himself swing his hoe without a single worry. As he continued his motions, the prompts continued rolling in.
[Ding! You have reached 10% of one acre farmed.]
[Ding! You have obtained two experience points. Next LV EXP: 6.]
[Ding! You have reached 15% of one acre farmed.]
[Ding! You have obtained two experience points. Next LV EXP: 4.]
.
.
.
[Ding! You have reached 25% of one acre farmed.]
[Ding! You have Leveled Up! Level 1 -> Level 2.]
[Ding! You have received 1 STR, 1 END, 1 DEX, 1 SPR, 1 LUC.]
[Ding! Points*2 Skill has triggered. Point gain has doubled!]
[Ding! You have received 2 STR, 2 END, 2 DEX, 2 SPR, 2 LUC.]
[Ding! Your Harvester Log record has been updated.]
[Ding! Your Crude-Lv1 (White) has broken. It can no longer be used.]
[Ding! Your Next LV EXP: 20. Current Level: 2.]
Wooosh! Wooosh!
Lloyd felt a gentle touch wrap around his entire body, soothing him. It was very similar when Gaia blessed him with Gaia's Blessing.
"I leveled up...", Lloyd said, cracking a smile on his lips.
At the same time, Lloyd saw the hoe in his hands suddenly crumble apart into bits and pieces of light. It then got swept away by the wind, leaving his hands bare. His Crude Hoe broke, just like that. In return, Lloyd felt a little stronger. Even more so than what he previously felt. The stats he had from his equipment vanished, but he gained more despite that. After going through these prompts, he wanted to see what his new Log looked like. He knew how to open it up now, so Lloyd spent another moment taking a look at his updated details.
[Harvester Log]
Name: Lloyd Vantira
Age: 16 Year: 1
Season: Spring
Month: March Day: 1
Plot Number: 91 Acre(s): 1
Occupation: Farmer
Level: 2
Next LV EXP: 20
Affinity: Earth
ATK: 3 END: 3 DEX: 3 SPR: 3 LUC: 4
Available Points: 0
SKILLS:
Gaia's Blessing(SSS), Points*2(SS), Appraisal(S), Luck(S), Spirit Link(A)
QUESTS:
*Grab a Hoe (1/1)
*Till An Acre Of Land (0/1)
"I wonder how this compares to a normal person. I don't have anything to base this off of. I could very well be weak to the rest who are on this farm.", Lloyd said while he reviewed his progress.
Looking up at the sky, the was now moved past high noon, marking it around one o'clock in the afternoon. Without a hoe, he couldn't continue. His eyes turned back toward the shed. A new thought formed in his mind. He recalled another feature of the Harvester Log.
Inventory.
"Let's see if this does what I think it does.", Lloyd uttered, and proceeded to walk toward the shed. What Lloyd didn't realize was those little specks of amber light that were flying around on an undetermined path began to change. They saw some of the land before them was broken apart from the earlier tilling. The Spirits soon released some specks of light onto the area Lloyd just finished touching...