Rowan’s newfound strength was already paying off. He was now strong enough to defeat giant worms in one hit. This meant he could clear off the common pests of his farm without taking a hit. This meant he could save on healing items. Instead of eating so many ears of corn, they could all be used to fulfill orders.
As Rowan slashed a couple worms to protect his crops, he noticed how much XP was needed to reach the next level.
Level 3 XP to next level 96 HP 14/14
So the experience needed was ramping up. The more he leveled up, the harder it was to reach the next level. This was nothing to be concerned about. He continued to water his farm, and fought any easy monsters he saw along the way. Slimes were easy to pick off too, and could be done without costing any damage.
Rowan thought to himself that these enemies were basically free to kill. There was no reason not to kill every easy pest he came across. It took such a short amount of time, and he would lose any health as long as he didn’t miss. Rowan figured that even though the next level was harder to achieve in terms of the quantity of XP needed, it was easier given the strength he had. He could simply kill 48 worms or 96 slimes or some combination of the two. And he could do so without putting himself in harm's way.
Of course the main focus was still farming. He put some tomatoes and celery in a crate and started replanting. It would still take a long time to encounter over 40 enemies. Maybe one or two would wander onto his farm every hour or so. He could seek them out, but he didn’t want to get too sidetracked when farming was the primary focus.
It was funny how his attitude had changed. He was once scared of fighting and wanted only to farm. Now that he realized how easy fighting could be, he craved more and more of it. It wasn’t as scary when your opponents were so much weaker than you.
He thought about what the ranger had said, and wondered if he should take it as some kind of warning. Maybe his actions were upsetting some balance of nature. But it was no worse than what anybody else was doing. There were farms much bigger than his from humans and goblins alike. And if he wasn’t using this plot, someone else would be farming on it. So there was no reason to change his actions in favor of nature. He would just be leaving someone else the opportunity to unbalance things.
Besides, aren’t humans part of nature? No matter what he did, one could argue it should be factored into the balance of nature to begin with. His actions couldn’t affect the world too negatively. He decided to pay no mind to what the ranger had said, and wasn’t interested in adopting his point of view.
After watering some plants and seeing they needed a good deal more time, Rowan looked around for something to do to pass the time. He was stocked on wood and tools. He had enough corn to chow down if he got in serious trouble, but at the moment he was at full health. Grateful that he seemed to have stabilized somewhat, he decided to explore a little more of the forest. He would be careful, and turn around if things got out of hand.
He estimated how long it would take the crops to grow based on his past experience with them and decided to turn around once half that time had passed. That way he’d arrive back home to a lovely farm with fully grown plants. Rowan set off into the woods in the direction he’d gone when he rescued Scrumble.
He picked off a slime real quick, and saw another almost out of sight near a distant tree. He walked over and dispatched it, bringing another slime into sight. He decided to follow the trail of easy XP.
After knocking out the second slime, Rowan saw a group of 5 slimes together. He thought about rushing in and slashing them all, but realized that he might take damage if they ganged up on him. He decided to take his time circling the outside of the group while hiding behind trees and bushes. In truth he was in plain sight, but the slimes were fairly unaware creatures. They didn’t observe his movements. Occasionally one would bounce away to the outskirts of the clearing, and Rowan would pick it off for free. Rowan continued using this method until only two slimes remained. At which point he jumped into the clearing to quickly finish them off.
After trading a little time and a single hit point for some decent XP Rowan was feeling pretty confident. But all this kiting and ducking around had wasted enough time that he figured he should head back to check on his plants.
Before he could turn around, he noticed a pile of green sludge oozing along. The grass behind it was gray and dead. It slowly crawls its way toward Rowan.
Rowan also became aware of a new intrusion. After fighting all those slimes, a new piece of information reached his consciousness.
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Stamina 3/12
That explained why he started to feel tired. Sometimes when you’re doing an activity you enjoy, it can be easy to get carried away without noticing the time slipping by. And then it’s only when you stop that you realize how tired you are. That’s what happened to Rowan. Very poor timing for this new ugly creature to show itself.
Rowan decided it was too late to be fighting new enemies, and that it was time to focus on farming. But the ooze pursued him. It was still slow, but when Rowan saw the effect it had on the plant life around it, he took the creature as a serious issue. Not only did it kill the grass it slid over, small plants and flowers near it would wither away. Rowan didn’t think it was a good idea to walk the creature all the way back to his farm.
Rowan sighed and gathered his strength. He held his wooden sword and stretched his arms to warm up. The creature slowly approached. Rowan shrugged and gave his sword a swing.
Rowan attacks 3 damage the Sludge attacks 4 damage Rowan attacks 3 damage the Sludge attacks 4 damage Rowan throws a tomato 5 damage The Sludge attacks 4 damage Rowan throws a tomato 5 damage The Sludge is defeated Received XP +10 XP to next level 79 Received Slime droplet x2
Taking that creature down was more costly than Rowan was prepared for. After a couple swings he realized he was no match for the creature. Because he was in a pinch he threw a couple tomatoes to deal a little extra damage. It pained him to part with the precious vegetables, but he didn't know the creature's total health, and it was possible that little extra damage made a difference. It was such a tedious and dangerous ordeal bringing down the creature that Rowan didn’t look forward to having to face one again. Rowan didn’t feel like he had done his best work in that battle. He wondered if the fact that he was tired meant he performed with less efficiency.
The battle had clearly attracted the attention of his goblin neighbor, because Scrumble came to cackle and sneer, “What are you doing attracting a sludge so close to home? You’ll be packing it up really soon if one of those gets on your land.”
“I didn’t attract it. It just showed up,” Rowan said defensively.
The goblin shook his head disapprovingly, “Everything you do attracts monsters. You don’t see me picking fights with random slimes. See I’m a very positive individual. I’m always at peace with those around me.”
Peaceful wasn’t exactly the word Rowan would use to describe his bothersome acquaintance, but he let it go. He had heal in order to to rescue a few of his crops from troublesome roaches, but was still able to salvage a majority of his crops. He was disappointed to come home late, but at least his losses were minimal.
Rowan tilled the earth and replanted a good mix of celery, tomatoes, and corn. He was looking forward to getting some new stuff though, noticing the crate he just filled would reap the reward of potato seeds.
It was now about midday. With some fresh seeds in the farm, Rowan assessed his personal state.
HP 1/14 Stamina 1/12
Rowan found himself at yet another low point. Instead of rushing to the next task or looking for something to occupy his time, Rowan simple stood there and did nothing. Then he sat by the desk and just breathed, contemplating life.
For the first time since he arrived, he realized how much he missed his sister Lydia. Perhaps he had been running around busying himself to avoid thinking about her. But she was back home in Iridia alone, having to look after a farm all by herself. He started to worry about her. He wondered if he would ever get a chance to see her again. Even if he got back into good standing with the goblins, he had no idea if they would ever let him go home.
If Rowan tried to escape, he doubted he could find his way back. He was unconscious when he was brought to this particular part of Zyndak. He knew the neighboring human kingdom was vaguely to the east, but he didn’t have confidence that he could find his way safely. He’d surely run into wild monsters too strong to fight, or goblins that would arrest him or worse. He didn’t like his odds.
Rowan remained seated, just thinking about life. He ate some corn and listened to the sounds of nature. Birds chirping, the nearby stream babbling. After a while, he started to feel a little better.
HP 11/14 Stamina 3/12
Rowan didn’t usually sit still doing nothing. But now that he realized there was a use for the practice, he considered making a habit of it. More of this sitting still contemplating life had value. It meant he’d be able to go out and fight stuff again. Rowan gathered his tools and headed out again.