[Good Morning: Today’s Date is 3rd Autumn 21 the Time is 0600, Weather Forecast calls for Clear skies]
[Fielders Corn - 5 Days Remaining]
[Dragon Bell Peppers - 5 Days Remaining]
[Crestvalley Spinach - 3 Days Remaining]
[Goldmane Wheat - 4 Days Remaining]
[Sugarsmoke Sweet Potatoes - 3 Days Remaining]
[Credits Deposited - 23,390 ]
Winter was fast approaching, the lingering memories of Summers warmth now replaced with the cold promise of the oncoming seasons embrace. Mornings started leaving Alex Chilled, even under all the Covers that his room provided. It was probably time to find the basement access, to finally ignite the home’s internal heating system. Though he would have to wait a little longer, while the system would need to be addressed within the next week. The Farmer had more pressing concerns to face today.
After getting dressed and performing his routine stretching. Alex walked up to the window. It was a silly tradition to maintain, but he had grown to love the new life this farm represented. Not to mention the amount of work that he put into restoring the run down property. The debris and overgrowth that plagued the field was nearly gone, save for an old gnarled stump. They also finally had enough money and materials to restore the barn and stable, an expensive remodel that also kept the household from utilizing the wood burning system.
The crops Alex noticed were also growing well on schedule. After Melody took over management of farming and regular finances, she worked out a rotation schedule for several of the crops. The little Gobliness wasted no time carving her own niche out within the team. The memory of their misconceived meeting with the rest of the rest of the Villagers was still a sore subject to him.
Shortly after Evelyn walked in with Ned and Flint in tow, Armed to the teeth for a brutal boss fight. The sight of Alex, ropes around his legs, face pressed onto the waist of the shapely goblinaire. Last thing he remembered was hearing the word “IDIOT” being yelled before waking up, once again tied up on his kitchen floor. Eve and Melody sitting on the kitchen table talking over tea. Knowing better than to cause more problems, he simply waited for either of them to speak.
“Seems like you had a ‘fun’ adventure.” Eve spoke in a flat tone, after watching the farmers defeated stare. “I can’t say that I’m not mad. However, Melody here was able to explain what happened, in great detail thankfully.” She took a sip of her drink and sighed.
“You are still an idiot, Alex.” She remarked coldly before smiling. “Thankfully, that trait of yours is why I believe you meant no harm earlier.”
“I am happy you are safe.” Eve said before placing her cup in the sink and walking away from the kitchen. “Come on Melody, I’ll show you to your room.” beckoning the new resident to join her, and leaving Alex to his already expected fate.
The next day, after Flint untied him with a giant grin on his face, Melody and Evelyn started taking charge of the house. Claiming that while Alex was doing a fantastic job running the farm, he needed to start expanding his operations soon. Winter was fast approaching and no crops grew in the frozen fields that would soon descend upon the growing populace. So the group needed to look towards raising livestock, mine in the nearby cave system that Eve found during the goblin raid event, or both.
Another issue brought up was Ned's complete lack of thought concerning what crops he decided to teach Alex to grow, not once thinking about building a sustainable pantry of ingredients, solely relying on imported foods and whatever Eve was able to forage and hunt. While it was necessary to grow funds, no field rotation schedule was utilized, no variance in crop was thought of, and aside from Eve’s Daily Contribution to Foraging and the occasional help in harvesting that the Mayor provided. Alex was basically left to handle everything.
So with the help of Eve and Melody. The three of them laid out the groundworks for the next few weeks. Alex would sow the fields of crops to boost pantry’s wares, selling any excess for a small recovery in costs. Melody would manage all finances from then on, and utilize her summoning ability to create a small team of Goblinoids to assist with all future farming chores. Flint would assist by forging workable tools for the goblinoids to use. Finally Eve would continue her normal routine, with the exception of one last issue for them to address later.
Admiring the work that they all accomplished since that day, Alex smiled. That Auburn haired girl wasted no time at all becoming a valued member of the team, and he was happy for her. Deciding he wasted enough time reminiscing, the young farmer grabbed his staff, storing it once more in his personal inventory and made his way downstairs.
“ALEX! Good Morning!” A bright bubbly voice called out as a flash of green tackled him into a welcoming hug. “Ready for another day?” She mused, completely ignoring the daggers being glared by the emerald eyed beauty.
Trying to avoid any potential red flags, Alex gave Melody a quick hug, before escaping to the safety of the Kitchen table. “Good morning, how did everyone sleep tonight?” He asked, making sure to keep everything neutral as possible, a warm smile on his face.
Eve, turning her stare away from the gobliness, smiled back at him, a basket of rolls in hand, “I'm quite well this morning. Save for a loud little goblin girl, the morning has been peaceful.” She answered, a slight glance at melody was given to increase the effect. “Breakfast?”
Not even needing to look, he already knew that Melody’s normally soft green complexion was now turning a flustered red. Working to avoid the conflict clearly about to ensue, he happily accepted the roll, while making his way to the rear exit. Unfortunately this turn of events was starting to become a normal trend, one that Alex really hated, but normal all the same.
He wasn’t dense, he knew exactly what was happening. While flattered at the idea of the situation, he already knew how well this would play out. He was not going to give the universe more ammunition in its crusade to impede his life with every cliche that anyone in his predicament would suffer, let alone blindside him into the forced harem trope.
He wasn’t even five feet outside before he heard Melody yelling at Eve about ‘Scaring the poor boy outside’ and the sound of screams and destruction as the two continued their ‘discussion.’
Turning towards the door he recalled the words commonly spoken in the shows and literature about this, closing his hands together in respect.
“Sumimasen!” He apologized before slightly bowing, and quietly walking around to the front, eating the one roll he could grasp before escaping. It wasn't much, but it would need to be for now.
Having a few moments of peace, Alex sat on the front porch Enjoying his secured meal. The Ensuing battle grew louder behind him as he watched the goblinoid crew walk towards him. While still system generated creatures that were only able to perform simple daily tasks, they were more developed than their raging counterparts from before. Standing around four feet in height, their bodies were a lot more sleek and proportional, compared to the short rounded bodies of a standard goblin. The five of them were also capable of simple conversation, understanding commands, instructions, and simple greetings.
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“Good Morning everyone.” Alex greeted, the leader Gobwon looked up at the farmer giving a simple nod as the rest of the group picked up their tools and marched towards the field. “Guess I should get started, myself” He mused to himself. Smiling as he stretched and taking a deep breath of the fresh clean air the young farmer once again greeted the new day.
“Alright, you demon stump. It’s time for you to go!” The farmer breathed out, annoyed at the sheer tenacity of the monstrous stump. “I've been at this for over an hour now.”
Standing firm in its rooted position a lone gnarled trunk opposed the farmer. Roots running deeply into the ground, the stubborn mass felt like he was hitting a wall of iron. Each strike he made with his ax, sent a shockwave through his body. His actions made slow progress against his foe. While he was thankful his farming level was 20, allowing him to perform a decent amount of actions, but he needed something with a little more… Kick.
Making sure the coast was clear, Alex took a deep breath. “Form change, equip Blue Spear” He called willing the system to change his staffs form, while the weapon held a different name he felt the simpler “Blue spear” worked better, much to the the annoyance of the dwarf Phaestus.
[Equipped: Spear of the Azure Tide]
[Class: Farmer Adept 20 -> Cobalt Lancer]
A radiant glow of light enveloped Alex as the system transformed his clothes from his standard Overalls into a full suit of deep blue plate armor, including the fantasy style helmet you would expect to find. Putting the helmet on he expected to have his vision limited. However he found to have full view, albeit a small amount of his peripheral was missing, a built in HUD was also incorporated on the helmets personal screen. Checking his new weapon, it seemed… familiar. The spears oversized blade emblazoned with the art of a great leviathan, the shafts deep blue color, trimmed in black cording and silver accents. It was beautiful, and fit wonderfully in his grasp. All together he felt powerful.
“Alright , let's try this for good measure, demon stump.” Alex mused out loud, taking a stance he remembered for using a spear to thrust forward.
[Use skill Piercing Thrust?]
[y/n]
“Yes!” Alex roared in answer, watching as a torrent of blue light gathered at the tip of his spear. After feeling the comfortable urge to press on, the iron clad warrior stepped forward lunging the spears blade toward the unfortunate target. Within the breadth of a heartbeat the world exploded into a flash of silver, blue, and white as the energy of the spear screamed past the stump out into the wood line and beyond, arching up into the azure blue sky.
The world turned deathly silent once the light dissipated, a crater carved into the farm where the stump once lay, billowing smoke in its destruction. Feeling accomplished at defeating his foe, he commanded the system to revert him back to his farmer class. Dancing with joy at experience, unaware of the danger that quickly approached him from behind.
As Alex turned towards the farmhouse for lunch, his vision turned skywards, as a small fist collided with the unfortunate farmer. “I guess I went overboard again…” He acknowledged to himself, as he fell once more to the earth below. Unable to hear what Evelyn was saying to him due to the landing, he could already guess that she was lecturing him for going overboard. It would be harsh, but he knew she cared deeply for him, and didn’t like when he pulled stunts like this.
While he felt bad for worrying his dear companion, he smiled as the system notification popped up. the accomplishment listed clear as day.
[Objective Complete: Clear Field of Debris]
* Chicken Coop Unlocked
* Farm Level Increased to level 2
* Crop Quality increased to grade C
Sitting up slowly, he felt the small frame of Evelyn crashing into him, hugging him by the neck with tears in her eyes. He guessed she was more worried than he first thought, as a Blur of green and Auburn crashed into the both of them. This wasn’t good. He needed to find a way out before things became heated. Trying to shift out of their grasp, Alex felt as both of the girls pushed down, pinning him where he sat.
“Where do you think you're running off to?” Eve asked as she shifted directly into his line of sight. Her face was completely void of all emotions, staring directly at him. Melody’s matching glare appeared beside hers.
“I think we need to have a small chat about some important things later,” Melody suggested, placing a small hand on Eve’s shoulder. ”But first, we need to know. What Happened just a moment ago? Why were you in that suit of armor?”
Alex tried giving a disarming smile before explaining everything about the spear, the class change ability, and the stump. After a long time of working with the ax, he wanted to try using something a little stronger to get rid of the stubborn enemy. He also wanted to find out what abilities the new spear would offer. Maybe it would be an effective substitute for the Gentleman’s Riposte.
The pair of them looked at each other before returning their gaze on Alex. “Alex, what did I tell you before about trying dangerous things?” Eve asked him, before answering it herself. “You need to tell me about these things.”
“I know it’s been difficult to talk to us, with how we’ve been acting.” Melody spoke up this time. “We’ve been acting like spoiled children, I know you and Eve have some history and…”
Alex placed a finger up to her lips, “Shh… look, I'm sorry I worried you both again. I may be a little ambitious about some things, but I'm not dumb. I can see how you both feel.” Alex started to explain, “Look I do care about the both of you, but I’m still very new to this world. I don’t know the laws, customs, or really anything except what I’ve seen or really only the few things I’ve asked.”
He placed his hands on theirs. “I don’t want to rush into anything, nor do I want to do anything to hurt either of you. I care about you as dear friends, maybe more than that. Look I’m sorry that I'm having to do this right now, but… I just need time to sort the mess that we’ve all been tossed into. OK?”
Tears in their eyes, they both gave him a hug. Nodding to themselves and each other. After a few minutes of silence in their personal embrace. Alex helped the two girls up and gave them a smile. “Alright now that we’ve handled that, who wants to see why I did what I did?” Alex asked before showing the Girls the completed Objective. “Now, who wants to watch me complete the other ones?”
Giant smiles now formed on the girls' faces as they all walked up to the farmstead barn as Alex pulled up the system screen for it. Double checking how many credits Alex had in the farm’s wallet. He took a deep breath, gave the girls a knowing smile and selected the option on the prompt.
[Repair Farm Facility: Barn and Stable]
[Cost: 200,000 Credits]
[Credits Available: 210,300]
[Begin Transaction?]
[Y/N]
“Yes” Alex answered, Causing the Barn to erupt in a flash of light. The sounds of Wood and metal creaking, splitting, and cracking, as the once demolished structure repaired itself. Turning the clock back on itself, becoming solid, dependable and new once more. As the chorus of reconstruction ended, a new Notification popped up automatically.
[Objective Complete: Rebuild Barn and Stable]
* Farm Level increased to 3
* Carpenters Hut Unlocked
* Livestock Ownership Unlocked
[Hidden Objective Complete: Restore Farm Facilities]
* Office Unlocked
* Field Quality increased to Grade B
* Seed Pack Converter unlocked
“Oh this is better than I thought!” Alex cheered, wrapping his arms around the girls. "How about I make something for all of us to celebrate?” He asked, a big smile on his face.
The two of them simply smiled at Alex, before both grabbing his hands and pulled him to the farmhouse. Laughing as they all ran towards their shared home. He couldn't help but appreciate his new family.