Charlie arrived at Robin’s house, pushed the door open, and walked in.
The moment he stepped inside, he bumped right into Maru.
“Oh, hi, Maru.
Good afternoon.”
He quickly greeted her.
“Oh, it’s Penny’s boyfriend.
What brings you here?” Maru said, covering her mouth as she laughed.
Wait, what?
Penny’s boyfriend?
Before he could react, Maru suddenly leaned close and sniffed him.
“Hey, Maru, what are you doing?” he asked, confused.
Then she leaned in right in front of his face.
Her eyes narrowed, and she gave him a wicked little grin.
“You smell like another girl.
That isn’t Penny’s scent, farmer.
You’ve moved on!”
Charlie froze completely.
He had carried Abigail home yesterday, so there probably was a little of her scent on him.
But seriously, did Maru have a dog’s nose?
How was she that sharp?
“Uh… wait, Maru, that’s not.
I was…”
Just as he was about to explain, Robin walked over.
“Oh, isn’t this our new farmer?”
Robin’s arrival gave him the perfect excuse to escape.
He immediately stepped around Maru and went over to her.
“Yeah, I saw your letter,” he said with a nod.
“I want to buy a Coop.”
“How much does it cost?”
Robin went to the counter and pushed a list over to him.
[Coop: Houses 4 coop-dwelling animals.]
[Barn: Houses 4 barn-dwelling animals.]
[…]
After reading through the list, his eyes widened.
“A Coop costs 4,000g, and I have to provide the wood and stone myself?”
“Don’t you provide those?”
He was baffled.
He had to pay that much and bring the materials too?
“No, we don’t.
You can chop the wood yourself.”
“Or you can buy it from me.
I’ll give you half off,” Robin said with a businesslike smile.
Charlie: “…”
“Then maybe next time…”
“I’ll go fishing for a while and save up some money.”
Just as he was about to leave, a Black man walked over.
“Hey, you must be the new farmer.”
“I’m Demetrius.
I’m the local scientist.”
As he spoke, he held out his right hand for a handshake.
Demetrius was the first Black person he had met since arriving here, which made him wonder if he was the only one in town.
Still, Charlie kept the thought to himself and greeted him.
“Uh, hello.
I’m Charlie.”
He held out his own right hand.
Demetrius gave him a simple, straightforward impression.
His grip was strong, though his hand felt a little strange to the touch.
Maybe it was because he spent so much time doing research.
But as the two of them were talking, Maru leaned in from the side and adjusted her glasses with an annoyed look.
“Dad, you just finished running experiments on marine plant samples.
Your hands are filthy, and you’re shaking hands with people.”
At his daughter’s words, Demetrius looked like he had only just realized.
Then he turned to her with a fond expression and apologized.
After that, he apologized to Charlie as well.
Charlie scratched the back of his head awkwardly.
“It’s really fine.
My hands aren’t exactly clean either.
I’m a farmer, after all.
Heh.”
He laughed along awkwardly.
…
By the time he left Robin’s house, it was already three in the afternoon.
Charlie felt great.
The family of three had been very warm to him.
Their cozy household left a strong impression.
Demetrius looked big and serious at first glance, so seeing how gentle he was with his daughter caught Charlie a little off guard.
Honestly, he was a little envious.
But now that he’d enjoyed himself, it was time to get down to business.
That meant exploring the mine shaft above the mountain lake.
Then he suddenly smelled smoke.
“Sniff… wait, is that smoke?”
“Who’s smoking?”
He looked around, puzzled.
Following the smell, he found the person.
A purple-haired teenager was hiding behind a tree, smoking.
It was a face he didn’t recognize, so he figured he might as well say hello.
He walked up to the tree, then froze.
The guy was handsome, with purple hair.
Probably the best-looking villager he had seen so far.
“Hi, I’m Charlie.
I’m the new farmer here.”
The other guy took a deep drag from his cigarette.
“Hey.
I’m Sebastian.”
“I don’t really like being interrupted while I’m smoking.”
“Sebastian?” The name felt familiar.
“Oh, right.
I remember now.
You’re Abigail’s friend.”
Charlie remembered Abigail mentioning him the day before.
“Oh, sorry.
I just wanted to meet you.”
At that, Sebastian stood up.
“It’s fine.”
“I don’t really care.”
“Everyone likes bothering me.
I’m used to it.”
That left Charlie speechless.
He had no idea what to say.
Seeing him standing there blankly, Seb helplessly scratched at his bangs.
“Sorry.
I didn’t mean to come off like that.”
“I don’t talk to strangers much, so I’m not great with words.”
Charlie quickly waved it off to show he understood.
“Ah, um, I…”
But before he could say anything else, Sebastian spoke first.
“Anyway, let’s talk another time, friend.”
“I’m meeting some people today.
Heading to the Saloon.”
As he spoke, Sebastian put out his cigarette, shoved both hands into his pockets, and walked off alone.
Charlie watched his lonely figure disappear and thought back to the warm family he had just seen.
The contrast made him sigh.
“Looks like there’s someone else who’s alone like me.”
“I wonder whose family he’s from.”
But the thought had barely crossed his mind before he shook his head.
“Wait, isn’t he pretty close with Abigail?”
“And with that face, he’s basically a brooding heartthrob.
There’s no way he doesn’t have friends.”
“What am I even thinking?”
Charlie couldn’t help making fun of himself.
…
6:00 p.m.
After wandering around aimlessly for a while, he arrived at the entrance to The Mines.
He looked inside and swallowed.
“What’s waiting for me in there?”
After some mental back-and-forth, he stepped inside.
Inside The Mines, he saw an old man with white hair, a cloak, and a black eyepatch.
The moment he entered, the old man began speaking in a strange tone.
“Hmm… The Mines have been abandoned for many years.”
“There may be gemstones inside.
Perhaps other things as well.”
“I have something here for you.”
With that, he took out a worn old sword and handed it over.
Charlie accepted it in a daze.
[Rusty Sword: A rusty, dull old sword.]
The old man spoke again.
“By the way, my name is Marlon.
I run the Adventurer’s Guild just outside.”
“I’ll be watching every move you make.
If you prove yourself, I may let you become a member.”
With that, he left.
Charlie was left standing there, completely baffled.
He hadn’t said a single word, only listened quietly.
“Uh… well.
Then he looked down at the sword.
“Should I go down and take a look?”
After spending some time checking the place over, he found an abandoned mine cart, an unusable elevator, and a staircase leading down.
“Forget it.
I’ll take a look.”
With that, he climbed down.
Floor 1
Charlie descended to Floor 1.
The lighting was awful, with only one lamp giving off a faint glow.
After making a full circle around the area, he found nothing except stone.
“Didn’t he say there were gemstones?
This place looks like nothing but rocks.”
He frowned.
“The Coop needs stone, doesn’t it?”
Charlie suddenly remembered the materials he needed.
“Then I’ll mine some stone.”
He summoned the Pickaxe from his backpack.
One… two… five… eight… fourteen…
He counted the stones he gathered.
Once he reached one hundred, he planned to call it a day.
Just then, he brought the Pickaxe down and broke open a stone, revealing a hole with stairs leading downward.
“Hm?
Stairs to the second floor?”
Floor 2
When he reached the second floor, the first thing he saw was a green blob with something like an antenna on its head.
“A slime?”
Charlie immediately thought of the anime he had watched as a kid.
There had been creatures called slimes in it, and this thing looked a little like them.
He wanted to move closer and get a better look.
But the creature seemed to notice him too.
It started bouncing toward him.
A second later, it slammed headfirst into his stomach.
He hadn’t been on guard at all.
He had even thought it looked a little cute, so it hit him cleanly.
It was soft, but the impact was no joke.
He was knocked straight into the wall.
“Ugh.”
He collapsed to the ground, winded and hurting.
“This thing…”
Charlie immediately put away the Pickaxe and summoned the sword.
As the creature charged again, he blocked it with the rusty blade.
Then he knocked it back with a sharp swing, putting distance between them.
“Now!”
The moment it landed, he rushed forward and closed the gap.
“Stab!”
He thrust the sword forward, piercing straight through its body.
After pulling the blade out, he suddenly noticed the creature beginning to swell.
The next second, it burst, and something like white jelly dropped onto the ground.
“Hmph.
newbie, I’ve practiced swordsmanship before,” Charlie said, looking at what was left of it.
By “practiced swordsmanship,” he meant waving a wooden stick around in the vegetable patch when he was a kid.
Then he stepped forward and picked up what it had dropped.
[Slime: A shimmering, gelatinous glob with no smell.]
“Looks like loot,” he guessed, studying the little thing.
Just as he was starting to feel pretty cool…
A wave of dizziness hit him.
His vision blurred.
A second later, his legs went weak, and he dropped to his knees.
“Uh… what… what’s happening to me?”
His first thought was the Slime.
Was it poisonous?
Had that hit to the stomach done more damage than he thought?
Or maybe he had slammed his head against the wall too hard earlier?
The more he thought about it, the worse it felt.
A heavy wave of drowsiness swept through his whole body, dragging his eyelids down.
“No.
I can’t fall asleep here!”
This was a mine.
A cave.
There were monsters down here.
If he passed out in a place like this, who knew what would happen?
Fighting the dizziness, he forced his eyes toward the interface.
The time displayed there was—
2:00 a.m.
“…Seriously?”
In the next second, his eyes closed.