Lewis walked over to Carter's side.
"Welcome! I'm Lewis, mayor of Stardew Valley. You don't know this, but many people are very curious about you. Since people rarely move here, you've instantly become the center of attention."
He turned his head, looking at the small cabin.
"So... are you ready to move into your grandfather's old house? It's a nice house... just... very... 'rustic.'"
"Rustic? What a terrible word..." Robin laughed.
"Run-down is more like it!"
"Don't listen to her, Carter. She's just trying to tempt you into buying her Renovation services."
'Renovation services, so this house can actually be improved.'
Carter thought.
"Anyway... you must be exhausted from traveling so far. You should go rest. Tomorrow you should head into town and meet some people. The townspeople are all eager to meet you."
Having said this, he prepared to turn and leave.
Halfway gone, he seemed to remember something.
"Oh, almost forgot. If you have anything to sell, just put it in this box. I'll come collect it every evening. Well then... good luck!"
Then he slowly departed...
The scene ended, and Carter's vision went dark.
The game officially began.
Morning. Carter woke up in the cabin bed.
[You've received a package! Approach to open]
He looked around with some curiosity. The house was very simple, just a table and chair.
Inside was a fireplace. Beside the table, there was actually a magic crystal TV.
These things existed in reality, but they were expensive.
He first familiarized himself with the controls. In his view, many tooltips appeared.
All basic stuff, like how to use the inventory, how to check item information.
Not far away sat a gift box, probably the starter pack from the prompt.
He walked over and opened the starter pack.
Congratulations! You received 15 Parsnip Seeds
[Parsnip Seeds +15]
A note was attached.
"Take these and work hard."
-Mayor Lewis
This touched him somewhat. Since arriving here, the mayor seemed to care for him greatly.
This place gave him an unexpectedly warm feeling.
He'd never experienced this kind of dream world before.
A prompt appeared on his left hand. After clicking, a light screen emerged.
It showed the weather, time, date, and such.
Next he opened the quest log, two quests popped up.
This thing, like an adventurer's quest panel, instantly sparked his curiosity.
First quest: Plant and harvest parsnips.
The starter pack he'd just received had 15 parsnip seeds.
Second quest: Greet the townspeople.
He fumbled around a bit before exiting the interface.
In the room's corner was a magic crystal TV. Curious, he turned it on. Several options popped up.
Weather Report
Fortune Teller
Livin' Off The Land
He tentatively clicked the Weather Report.
"Welcome to KOZU 5... your number one choice for weather, news, and entertainment."
"Now reporting tomorrow's weather forecast. Tomorrow will be sunny and pleasant weather."
So you could get future weather conditions here.
Then he clicked Fortune Teller.
These features all seemed useful, but he didn't know what they meant yet.
Next, he couldn't wait to push open the door and exit the cabin.
A messy farm appeared before his eyes.
He checked his inventory.
The starting supplies included a tool set.
Stone Axe, Pickaxe, Hoe, Scythe, and Watering Can.
Then some initial tooltips appeared in his vision.
He pulled out the scythe, somewhat curious, unsure how to operate it next.
So he tentatively swung it at the weeds before him.
Swish swish swish, the weeds were quickly cleared away.
Several fibers and unknown seeds dropped. He found it magical.
Dropped items glowed like little light orbs.
He put the dropped fiber and seeds into his inventory.
Initially with only 12 slots, each item type occupying one slot.
Next he tried other tools, using the pickaxe on stones, the axe on wood.
Smashing stones and chopping trees also dropped lots of materials.
He was somewhat puzzled about what these dropped stones and wood were for.
Before long, his inventory filled up and he couldn't pick up materials on the ground. He felt confused.
The initial 12-slot inventory couldn't hold much, plus axes, scythes, and such.
Next he opened his inventory, the system prompted him to open the crafting menu.
Turns out collected materials could be used to craft furniture and tools.
Consuming 50 wood, he got a chest.
Carter's eyes lit up. He seemed to vaguely understand how to play now.
He put all the random stuff into his chest.
Then he used the hoe on the ground, and the plot got tilled. Felt very simple. Somehow, farming in a dream was way more fun than in reality. He found it extremely interesting.
Then he enthusiastically got to work.
Before long, he'd cleared a large open space, then tilled it all into farmland.
He took out parsnip seeds one by one and planted them, then watered them.
Mission accomplished. Looking at his handiwork, he felt a deep sense of achievement.
Having finished this, he suddenly remembered, yesterday Mayor Lewis seemed to have told him to wander around and meet the town's residents.
He checked the time, somehow it was already noon, 12 PM. Time here seemed to pass quite fast.
He roughly estimated one day was probably about two real-world hours. (Here the time's been slowed slightly, after all, first-person versus god's-eye view differs. Some actions consume more time compared to the pixel style. Basically, the pace was slowed down.)
Looking around, there was a farm exit to the east.
So he headed out. Leaving the farm, a country road appeared with fences on both sides.
After walking a while, a large clearing appeared to the north, with a spacious road in the distance.
He remembered this place, where he'd gotten off the carriage yesterday.
Suddenly he noticed a flower growing on distant grass. He walked forward, a prompt saying he could pick it up.
[Daffodil +1]
So you could obtain various crops in the wild too.
He opened his inventory to check.
[Daffodil]
Foraged Item
A traditional spring flower, suitable for gifting.
He wandered around more but found nothing useful and then continued toward town.
Stepping into the town for the first he, he heard a cheerful music surrounding him, making him feel relaxed.
Strutting confidently, he began wandering everywhere.
"Hey, I'm Sam. Nice to meet you."
"Hi Sam, I'm Carter!"
"I heard about you from Mayor Lewis ages ago. Welcome to Pelican Town!"