Three solid hours later, Daeron had explored every corner of the farm.
"Gods, this place is massive. That took forever."
He wiped his forehead, yet didn't feel tired at all.
He'd mapped out the entire farm now.
To the lower left of the coop sat what looked like the foundation of a concrete structure—probably the locked greenhouse.
Below that, bushes and weeds grew thick, with plenty of wood and stone scattered about, along with vast patches of blue and green grass.
In front of the cabin lay a patch of rich soil perfect for cultivation—ideal as his starting field.
Past a stretch of uncultivatable grassland, there was a dark cave that hadn't yet been colonized by mushroom-cultivating or fruit-eating bats.
All that took up less than a third of the farm's space.
Beyond the northern and western passages, across the vast expanse of grass covering most of the farm, a path led east to a beach.
There was no southern passage.
A waterfall cascaded down from the hilltop behind the coop, forming a clear stream that naturally marked the farm's southern boundary.
"The problem is the water's pretty far from the cabin."
Daeron considered solutions.
Besides the waterfall and stream, there were three ponds—one large, two small—in the farm's center and lower corners. But none were particularly close to the cabin.
By his estimation, the entire farm covered about six square kilometers.
An ordinary person would need half a day just to walk around it once.
"I can fetch water from the waterfall for now. Pet the chickens while I'm at it."
Daeron had farming experience and quickly formed a plan.
The farm animals weren't ordinary livestock—they'd produce premium-quality animal products.
They didn't eat regular feed or bran. Only grass growing on the farm, or hay made from that grass.
Raising them properly required attention to detail.
Except in winter, you had to open the coop or barn door to let the animals roam and graze.
Free-ranging increased their happiness.
Eating one clump of fresh green grass daily also boosted happiness.
On rainy days or in winter, animals stayed inside, requiring pre-prepared hay—one serving per animal per day.
Animal husbandry was convenient here, showcasing another major advantage of the Meadow Farm.
Blue hay!
On other farm types, this hay wasn't unlocked until very late game, by which point animal products were no longer essential and it became mostly decorative.
Its effect: animals only needed to eat half a clump per day, with an extra happiness boost.
The happier the animal, the higher quality products they produced.
Which meant better profits.
"Starting with a coop, two chicks, and tons of grass—I'm already way ahead."
Daeron planned to focus on animal husbandry while supplementing with crops.
Any proper farmer needed to balance both.
Creeeak!
The cabin's weathered door opened with an ear-splitting scrape, though surprisingly little dust filled the air.
Directly ahead sat a brown table with a bench, flowered curtains hanging beside the windows. Sunlight streamed through clean glass onto a boxy old CRT television.
Hard to believe he'd see modern items again.
"Hmm. Not bad at all."
Daeron nodded approvingly.
To the right, against the wall, stood a single bed with full bedding. Above the headboard was an old-fashioned brick fireplace. In front of the unlit hearth sat a worn tan sofa.
He could imagine it: coming home after a long day's work, sinking into that soft sofa by the warm fire—pure bliss.
"There's a box here." Daeron's eyes were drawn to it.
On the brown carpet with white patterns sat a blue gift box. Untying the red ribbon, it popped open to reveal a large bundle of hay.
Dry to the touch, with a faint pleasant scent.
"Since it's Meadow Farm, instead of fifteen Parsnip seeds, I get fifteen hay."
Daeron had expected this.
Ding!
A pleasant chime sounded. The interface appeared automatically, displaying a line of text.
[To become a farmer, start with the basics: remember to feed your chickens every day. You can let them out to graze, or put hay in the feeding bench. Once they're grown, you can collect eggs.]
—Harvest an egg from a chicken
A tutorial quest from the System.
"Looks like I'm staying four days minimum."
After checking the details, Daeron planned his schedule.
"Time to get to work."
With his tasks clear, Daeron accepted the System's magic. He reached out with his right hand—the hay vanished.
One of the System's abilities: the inventory.
The inventory worked like portable storage. It started with twelve slots, with identical items stacking up to 999 per slot.
The catch: items had to be ownerless. You couldn't pick things from someone else's hands or pockets.
"I need to get some seeds."
The lack of starter seeds didn't faze him.
The cabin came with two accessories: a mailbox and a shipping bin.
The mailbox was metal-wrapped. Inside was a letter.
It told him to check the shipping bin, which apparently served multiple purposes.
Daeron followed the letter's instructions.
Opening the large beeswax chest—two and a half meters long, one meter wide and tall—he found a wooden divider splitting it into two sections.
Left side: buy. Right side: sell.
Strange—the chest was completely empty, yet through the System interface, Daeron could see available items for purchase.
Spring Seeds:
Parsnip: 20 gold
Cauliflower: 80 gold
Green Bean: 60 gold
Potato: 50 gold...
Several other spring-appropriate seeds were listed, along with fruit tree saplings, grass starter, furniture, flooring, and such.
"Let's get started."
Buying seeds could wait. Daeron decided to clear some land first.
The inventory included five tools: axe, hoe, pickaxe, watering can, scythe.
Plain appearance, light weight, yet completely indestructible.
Thwack!
Daeron swung the axe, splitting a fallen log in two.
The farm interior—including the tillable area in front of the cabin—was choked with logs, rocks, and weeds, with the occasional tree blocking the way.
He'd tried clearing things by hand. Labor-intensive, and items couldn't go into inventory that way.
Using tools was far more efficient.
One swing of Daeron's axe shattered the log, leaving behind a pristine piece of lumber.
The wood went straight into inventory.
"So it's not fully gamified?"
Daeron paused, feeling faint warmth flowing into his swinging arm.
In that instant, he'd touched the threshold of life force.
This morning when he drank that milk, he'd felt a subtle reaction in his body.
Just now, swinging the axe, he'd noticed his stamina draining—a result of sensing his own life force.
Ser Gerold had explained that a knight's mastery of life force came through gradual, long-term practice.
First you had to sense life force's existence, then try to observe it, touch it, control it...
"Looks like my talent's decent. Living up to my name."
Daeron worked with renewed vigor.
For life force cultivation, he had a cheat code.
Using the farm's high-quality crops to constantly nourish his body, keeping his life force abundant.
Other people didn't have such luxurious conditions.