I Harvested Sweet Potatoes
“Whew…… I’m full.”
Yeong-ung finished a simple meal with a lunchbox he had bought from a convenience store.
Convenience-store lunchboxes were not something to look down on.
These days, they came with such good assortments that you could take care of a meal for half the price of eating at a restaurant.
‘Fifteen thousand won for a bowl of blood sausage soup with rice is way too expensive.’
By comparison, convenience-store lunchboxes only cost around 7,000 won at most, so buying one did not feel burdensome.
After cleaning up, Yeong-ung opened the Overlord community on his phone.
“As expected, there’s nothing, right?”
Since hundreds of millions of people played the game together, the community was enormous as well.
Thousands of posts were uploaded every day, and quite a few of them were strategy guides.
Yeong-ung searched for things like ‘Spirit Farmer’ and ‘Spirit Realm,’ but nothing came up.
‘So I really am the first.’
“It seems like a good thing, but that also means it could be dangerous.”
Being the first was good, but the lack of information meant he had no idea what kinds of dangers might be lurking.
It seemed best to farm near the temple for now, slowly expand his territory, and learn more about the surroundings.
“Whatever. As long as I can farm.”
After letting his food settle for a while, Yeong-ung went into his room and lay down inside the capsule.
| [Please select a game to launch.] |
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“Overlord.”
| [Launching Overlord.] |
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***
From then on, two weeks passed in real time.
Given the game’s 1:2 time ratio, two weeks in reality meant four weeks had passed in the game.
Yeong-ung looked troubled as he stared at the well, which had completely dried up.
‘I barely managed to get by with that water……. Drinking water is a problem, but farming is going to be difficult like this too.’
Water was fundamental to farming.
Crops needed water to grow, but now that the well had dried up, he could no longer use it.
‘Is there a river somewhere?’
Since this was a forest, it would not be strange if there were a river or a small lake nearby.
However.
“No. It’s too dangerous.”
With no idea what was in the forest, going out looking for water could expose him to who knew what kind of danger.
Yeong-ung put off searching for water and headed toward the garden plot.
“Let’s see.”
Using his Beginner’s Shovel, Yeong-ung carefully dug into the soil to check the sweet potatoes.
A thick sweet potato shyly revealed itself.
‘Maybe because this is a game, crops really do grow fast.’
“I think they’re ready now. I should start harvesting.”
The sweet potatoes looked fully grown, so it seemed safe to harvest them.
Ding!
| [Quest, ‘Sweet Potato Harvest,’ generated.] |
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| [Sweet Potato Harvest]<br>Grade: F<br>Description: Farming ends with the harvest.<br>As the saying goes, patience is bitter, but its fruit is sweet. It is time to see the fruits of your efforts so far.<br>Let us harvest the sweet potatoes.<br>Success Condition: Harvest sweet potatoes.<br>Success Reward: Class Skill, EXP, Beginner Hand Hoe.<br>Failure Penalty: None. |
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| [Accept?] |
| ----------- |
“Accept.”
Yeong-ung accepted the quest and put on his gloves.
They were a reward he had received for clearing the Sowing quest.
“Check!”
| [Farmer Gloves]<br>Grade: F<br>Description: Gloves made to protect a Farmer’s hands.<br>Wearing them protects your hands.<br>Requirement: Farmer.<br>Durability: 468/500<br>Options: Stamina Consumption while working -5%<br>Maintains Cleanliness. |
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Wearing the white gloves, Yeong-ung carefully dug into the soil with his shovel and harvested the sweet potatoes.
| [Harvesting skill used.]<br>[Harvesting Speed +10%]<br>[Stamina Consumption while harvesting -10%]<br>[Harvesting Skill EXP has increased slightly.]<br>[Earth Sweet Potato harvested from the ground.]<br>[Class EXP acquired.] |
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“Oh, it grew perfectly.”
Yeong-ung smiled in satisfaction as he harvested the sweet potato.
It was about the size of his forearm.
The sight of it naturally drew admiration.
It was huge.
“Beautiful…….”
Just look at that splendid form.
He had grown and harvested sweet potatoes when he tried farming in real life, but this was on a completely different level.
The fresh sweet potato looked delicious just from seeing it.
‘Come to think of it, it called it an Earth Sweet Potato, right?’
“Check!”
| [Earth Sweet Potato]<br>Grade: E<br>Description: A sweet potato grown under the devoted care of a Spirit Farmer.<br>It is imbued with Spirit Power.<br>Upon consumption, the options remain active for 60 minutes.<br>Grower: Yeong-ung.<br>Options: Stamina +10<br>Defense +5%<br>HP +5%<br>HP Recovery +1,000<br>Satiety +30% |
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“What is this?”
Yeong-ung looked shocked after checking the sweet potato’s options.
The effects were ridiculous.
He checked a sweet potato posted on the Overlord community by another Farmer.
| [Delicious Chestnut Sweet Potato]<br>Grade: E<br>Description: A sweet potato carefully grown using good fertilizer and nutrients.<br>Upon consumption, the options remain active for 15 minutes.<br>Grower: Rugel.<br>Options: Stamina +3<br>HP +3%<br>HP Recovery +500<br>Satiety +15% |
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They were the same grade, but the quality of their options was on a completely different level.
Even the duration of Yeong-ung’s sweet potato was far longer, making it much more useful.
Ding!
| [You are the first Revelator to personally harvest a sweet potato imbued with the power of spirits.]<br>[From now on, Earth Sweet Potatoes may only be cultivated by the Spirit Farmer, ‘Yeong-ung.’]<br>[Without your permission, no one else can cultivate or collect seeds from an ‘Earth Sweet Potato.’]<br>[Title, ‘Greedy Farmer,’ acquired.] |
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| [Greedy Farmer]<br>Grade: B (Unique)<br>Acquisition Condition: ‘Harvest’ a special crop imbued with Spirit Power.<br>Options: Spirit Power +10<br>Spirit Power Recovery Speed +10%<br>Effects of consuming an exclusively owned crop are doubled.<br>Description: Hehehe…… This is mine…… No one can touch it! My Precious! |
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“It’s Unique Grade?”
In Overlord, titles had classifications of ‘Multi’ and ‘Unique’ in addition to their grades.
Multi titles could be obtained by anyone who fulfilled the conditions.
Unique titles could only be obtained by the first person to fulfill the conditions, and no one else could ever obtain them afterward.
‘They said that among titles of the same grade, Unique titles have better options than Multi titles, right?’
In fact, the options were excellent for a B-grade title.
The stat increase was useful, but the doubled effect on crops he exclusively owned was the real prize.
“This is nice.”
Yeong-ung continued harvesting with a satisfied smile.
| [Harvesting skill used.] |
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He carefully harvested the sweet potatoes so they would not be damaged.
Ding!
| [Quest, ‘Sweet Potato Harvest,’ cleared.]<br>[Class Skill, ‘Seed Collection LV. 1,’ generated.]<br>[EXP acquired.]<br>[Level increased.]<br>[Beginner Hand Hoe acquired.] |
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He cleared the quest and received the rewards.
‘Seed Collection?’
Yeong-ung checked the skill.
| [Seed Collection LV. 1]<br>Grade: F<br>Classification: Active<br>EXP: 0.00%<br>Description: Collects viable seeds from plants for cultivation.<br>Spirit Power Cost: 50<br>Cooldown: 10 seconds.<br>Success Rate: 10%<br>Effect: Seed Collection Success Rate +5% |
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It was the Seed Collection skill.
“Oh, so this is how I get it?”
He had gotten lucky.
He had already been wondering how he was supposed to keep farming after planting the sweet potatoes.
And now, just when he needed it, the perfect skill had appeared.
‘If nothing else worked, I was even thinking about replanting the sweet potatoes themselves.’
Not having seeds did not mean sweet potato farming was impossible.
There were a few conditions to consider, but it was possible to cultivate them again by replanting the sweet potatoes.
But with this skill, there was no need to do that.
“Let’s see.”
Yeong-ung examined the sweet potatoes.
He had harvested around three hundred of them.
‘The germination rate is about 60%, huh?’
“Lower than I expected. Maybe I can fix that somehow by leveling up?”
Germination rate was important in farming.
The higher the germination rate, the more crops he could obtain.
He might be able to raise it with fertilizer or nutrients, but there was no way to get those in his current situation.
“Now then…….”
A heavy sweet potato sat proudly in Yeong-ung’s hand.
He exerted some force and snapped it in half.
CRACK!
“Oh!”
The moment it split open, a rich, sweet fragrance wafted from the sweet potato.
Yeong-ung could not help but admire it.
At the same time, he felt proud.
He had planted the seeds himself, watered them, and painstakingly raised them.
Seeing the result of all that effort with his own eyes gave him a real sense of accomplishment.
“This is why I farm.”
A deep, satisfied smile spread across Yeong-ung’s lips.
The sweet potato had grown enough to be perfect for harvesting.
“Should I taste it?”
It was a shame.
If he had a fire, he would have tried roasting it, but he did not have any tools for starting one right now.
Yeong-ung ate the sweet potato raw.
CRUNCH, CRUNCH.
“Mmm!? This is seriously good.”
He had only bitten into a raw sweet potato, yet the sweetness and nuttiness were intensely rich.
The flavor of the sweet potato itself was deep.
CRUNCH, CRUNCH.
“Mmm, mmm!”
The more he chewed, the stronger the nutty flavor became, and the sweet potato’s distinctive texture was exquisite.
It was delicious.
No sweet potato he had ever eaten in reality could compare.
A heavenly taste!
“I think this tastes even better than Dangjin sweet potatoes or Haenam sweet potatoes. Whew…… Now this is what I’m talking about.”
| [You have consumed an exclusively owned Earth Sweet Potato.]<br>[Due to the effect of the title, Greedy Farmer, the effects of the Earth Sweet Potato are doubled.]<br>[Options will remain active for 120 minutes.]<br>[Stamina +20]<br>[Defense +10%]<br>[HP +10%]<br>[HP Recovery +2,000]<br>[Satiety +30%] |
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“Wow…… these options are insane.”
They were hard to believe for something that came from a crop.
This was the Spirit Farmer.
This could certainly be called an ability worthy of an EX-grade class, the highest class among Special Classes.
‘Come to think of it.’
“I leveled up, didn’t I?”
Yeong-ung opened his Status Window.
| [Status Window]<br>Name: Yeong-ung.<br>Level: 3 EXP: 32.98%<br>Class: Spirit Farmer.<br>Title: Discoverer of the Spirit Realm.<br>HP: 2,500/2,500 Spirit Power: 4,500/4,500<br>Satiety: 77%<br><Stats><br>Strength: 5 Stamina: 5 + 20 Agility: 5 Wisdom: 5 Luck: 5<br><Special Stats><br>Spirit Power: 5 + 40<br>Remaining Stat Points: 15 |
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“How should I distribute my stats? Would it be better to put them into the Special Stat?”
If he were an ordinary Farmer, raising Strength and Stamina would make sense, but as a Spirit Farmer, he still did not know what he should prioritize.
Once stat points were assigned, they could not be taken back.
He had to be careful.
‘Still, I need Spirit Power to use skills…… so raising Spirit Power…….’
“Hmm…… I’ll think about this later.”
Without reaching a conclusion, Yeong-ung closed the window.
“For now, I should sort out these sweet potatoes…….”
Ding!
“Hm?”
| [Quest, ‘Sweet Potatoes for the Altar,’ generated.] |
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| [Sweet Potatoes for the Altar]<br>Grade: ???<br>Description: Let us offer sweet potatoes at the altar inside the Temple of the Forgotten God.<br>If you offer sweet potatoes at the altar, you may receive a special gift.<br>Success Condition: Offer 100 sweet potatoes at the altar.<br>Success Reward: Class Skill, EXP, ???<br>Failure Penalty: An unknown being becomes dejected. |
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“What is this?”
A quest had suddenly appeared.
“By altar, does it mean the one inside the temple?”
Yeong-ung thought for a moment.
Originally, he had planned to sell the sweet potatoes after harvesting them and make some money.
However.
‘It said I might get a special gift, right?’
“But if I fail…… an unknown being gets dejected? What even is this…….”
He did not know exactly what it meant.
Still, the success reward included a Class Skill, so there was no reason not to do it.
“For now…….”
Yeong-ung gathered one hundred sweet potatoes and headed to the altar inside the temple.
Then he placed all one hundred sweet potatoes on top of the altar.
Ding!
| [Quest, ‘Sweet Potatoes for the Altar,’ cleared.]<br>[Class Skill, ‘Spirit Contract LV. 1,’ generated.]<br>[EXP acquired.]<br>[Level increased.]<br>[Favorability of an unknown being has increased significantly.] |
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