Chapter 2 – An Unbeatable Crop of Beets

“Are you saying that you can connect stances if you follow through with a sword swing?” Alger asked his father.

“Indeed, this is a simple example of the principle. When you get into higher end sword play you can connect any stance with almost every kind of swing.” Henry instructed. “Speaking of swings do you remember the main sword trajectories I taught you?”

Alger nodded before he used his sword to trace his father’s figure with his sword swings. “On both of the body it goes from shoulder down to the opposite hip. There is the horizontal strike from both sides of the body. You can reverse the first swing on both sides from the hip to the shoulder. There is also either straight down from head to groin and vice-versa. Finally, there is the stabbing motion.”

Henry nodded in acknowledgement to his son’s answer. “That covers the main targets when fighting a human. When fighting beasts you will need to study where they are weak and target those areas or learn as you fight in an emergency. That’s all for the lesson, now let us get to swinging!”

“Yes sir!” Alger answered energetically.

Henry and Alger proceeded to practice their swinging motions. The father demonstrated while the son mimicked to the best of his ability for another half hour before the practice ended. Both henry and Alger were covered in sweat while breathing hard. The mother Ann brought them a wooden bucket full of water with a ladle so they can drink and freshen themselves up.

“Don’t you guys two have to check on those beets today? Alger worked hard growing those this passed winter even though we usually don’t sow during the cold season. It would be a shame if they started to rot when the rain comes this year.” She said to remind them.

“She’s right Al, we best get to checking them out. We can take some into town to get appraised. Any coin we get from them will all go to you since you did the work.” Henry Added.

Alger blinked in surprise. Usually when money is earned it goes to the family’s finances. Sure, they are not doing bad financially because of Henry’s savings from when he was an adventurer, but that would one day go dry unless work was done. Therefore, Alger’s parents decided to start farming. The land they owned is fertile since it benefits from the mana vein of Brighton City which lets their farm yield good and bountiful crops every year and has been a blessing to the family ever since they started. That is why they let Alger start his own crop as a side project.

“Father, are you sure about that? I don’t even know what to buy with the money even if I had it.” He asked.

“There is no need to decide that so fast. I will take you to the market street before we leave town. If anything catches your eye, we can get it otherwise we can decide what to do after we get back. For now, let’s go get those beets.” Henry said.

Alger and Henry put their wooden swords up while Ann fetched a basket of laundry from the house. When Henry came to the first line of beets, he bent over and used his hand to pick up the first one at the base of the green stem to pull it out of the ground. As he hefted the root out of the ground, he couldn’t help but to let out a gasp of surprise.

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

“What the hell is this!” he exclaimed while holding a beetroot which was half the size of his face and had a deep maroon color to it. “This is not normal; they should be able to fit in our palm. What did you feed these things Alger?”

Alger was just as confused as his father. He bent down to pick another beetroot only to find that the one he picked was the same size as the one his father had picked. “I don’t think I did anything special. I used the regular compost and watered it normally.” He said.

Ann came around to the field to see what the commotion was about. “What’s the fuss all about?” She asked as she eyed the two men. They both silently showed her the size of the beets they picked, and her eyes went wide. “They say you need to raise plants with love. I don’t know how much would be needed to make them that big.” She joked as she took the beets to inspect them.

“What’s the verdict mom?” Alger asked as he watched his mom do a freshness test to the beet which included knocking on the side of it to listen to the sound.

“It seems to be okay. I’m not completely sure but I don’t see any other problem except the size. Why don’t you guys pick a few more and take them into town to get them appraised by the produce marketers. They will know more than me.” She said as she placed them into a basket that was prepared next to the field.

“That sounds good to me.” Henry answered. “I will get the carriage and the horses ready. Al, go ahead and fill up a couple baskets.”

“Yes, Father!” Alger answered.

1 Hour Later

Brighton City Produce Market

Marybeth sighed heavily as she sat at the counter of the appraisal desk. It was a relatively quiet day as most of the farmers were in their sowing season so very few people came in to present anything to her. She also happened to be a temporary hire for the exchange as she took on this request for an easy completion for her Adventure guild credentials. Since she has an extensive knowledge in plants due to her primary job as an Alchemist, she tended to take on jobs involving plants and organic materials. She could even hold her own against beasts if they showed up as she was also an Intermediate Mage Apprentice. Essentially everything about today has been a cake walk for her, and it was just as boring as it was easy.

“Next time Ill take that forest deep dive request. Maybe I can find some good materials while I look around the inner parts.” She spoke to the void.

Almost as soon as her voice finished the door opened and the little bell attached to the top of the doorframe chimed in response.

Dinga-ling-aling!

“Welcome to the Produce Exchange” Marybeth said as she quickly perked up. Even though she was bored he had been fulfilling this request on and off for the last year while she attended the academy, so she knew how to handle matters here.

“Good afternoon young miss” said the man with blonde hair with a big smile. “Me and my son are here to appraise some beets we picked today to see if they are suitable for the market.”

“We can help with that; do you have them with you or are they in your carriage?” She asked professionally.

“They are in the carriage; my son is watching our belongings. Please follow me” He added.

“Lead the way.” Marybeth followed the man outside. As she left the building, she was met with a carriage at the front door with a young blonde-haired boy of about thirteen years of age in the driver’s seat. She peeked at the boy and was surprised how handsome he looked despite being a commoner. She also noted his platinum-colored eyes as they met her eyes with a smile.

“What a rare color” she said to herself under her breath where no one else could hear. She then turned to the man beside her as he removed the covers on the basket of beets he had. When she saw what underneath, she stared at the contents of the basket with a blank face for a few seconds before she responded.

“This what you wanted to show me?” She asked as she took a double take.

“Yep” Henry answered.

“What kind of plant did you say these were?” she said to confirm

“They are beets.” He responded.

“Beets?” she asked again

“Yes” he replied

“What do you have to feed them to grow them this big?” she retorted.

Henry gave a smirk as he crossed his arms as if to declare his pride. “My son’s beets are unbeatable!” he exclaimed before he let out a guffaw.