บท 20: Farming for Dummies, Vol 1
The book opened with another foreword, causing Roger to roll his eyes.
'Here we go again…'
He took a deep breath and continued reading.
"As you have chosen to heed my unending and infallible wisdom, you have proven yourself a mage worthy of great fortune! However, as you find yourself needing it, you are indeed a dummy, as the title so intelligently points out. It is great acts of foresight such as this that prove this book will provide great value to those who wish to learn the ancient and difficult task of Avarian farming, a challenge very few should attempt."
Roger's eye twitched, and he stifled his first, second, and third response to the Systems penchant for insulting him.
"In this text, you shall find detailed and scholarly accounts of how to properly plant, cultivate, and grow the foliage native to Avar. You should take caution to heed the details, as the methods of farming differ quite a bit from all currently known intelligent worlds. For those of you who are, shall we say, mentally troubled, you can interpret that as don't be a moron and listen to the information I so graciously offer."
Roger momentarily considered the long-term repercussions of throwing the book into the fire and ending his torment here and now.
'Calm yourself, Roger, it's just a System. A very intelligent, very rude, System. Zeros and ones, zeroes and ones.'
Wisely choosing to spare himself the torment, he flipped past the next few pages, all of which belonged to the unnecessarily long foreword.
'Does this thing ever shut up? I want to learn how to grow food, not new words to describe how awesome the System is!'
Somewhere around page 26, the actual book began.
This chapter was titled "Basic Overview of Avarian Farming."
'Finally!'
After so many pages of foreword, Roger had begun to question if the book even did what the title claimed it did.
"If you are from an agricultural planet, you will no doubt know that farming is usually based on two main factors; the plant itself, and the soil you plant it in. Avar operates on much the same basis, with one notable addition; mana. The mana content of both the environment the plant belongs to, and the soil it is planted in, can determine if it properly germinates or dies. Fluctuations in this mana concentration can kill a plant just as quickly, if not more so, than any known disease."
Roger clung to every word, each one being entirely new to him. Although Earth had plants on it, they were rare and precious commodities only the rich could afford. For centuries, all agriculture had been closely regulated and controlled by the government, causing society to largely forget about how food was actually made.
All they cared about was that it was on the dinner table, not how it got there.
The entire concept of farming was strange to Roger. Growing life as a casual hobby seemed a little unusual outside of providing sustenance, which he was now trying to do.
From what he could glean from the first paragraph, farming on Avar seemed to rely on what you planted, where you planted it, and what happened while it was growing.
'Is this the impressive knowledge the System was boasting about? I could have guessed at all of this stuff!'
Hoping it would get a little more helpful, he continued reading.
"When farming plants on Avar, take care to control mana fluctuations near the crops. Unexpected mana expenditures, such as that of battle magic, can entirely disrupt the growth and maturation of the plants, leading to deformity or death. A good method to avoid this is to fence off your plants so they can be nurtured while secluded from outside influences."
Roger slapped the page he was reading with his hand.
'Now that is what I wanted to read! Useful information, finally! Now I know that I need to grow my plants somewhere I won't be using my abilities, otherwise I could mess up their ability to bear fruit! Maybe this System does know some stuff after all!'
"As you farm, take care to till the ground with a hoe, and then plant the seeds with enough room between them for them to sprout without being crowded. Crowded plants may be unable to yield fruit properly. Plants must be watered often, at least once a day. Without this, they will die, and be unusable."
Roger yawned while reading.
'Blah blah blah, yeah I get it if things are placed on top of each other they fight for space. Living things need water. Don't mix fire and water plant fruit juices or else they explode… Wait, what?'
Snapping back into focus, Roger sat up straight as he read the last few sentences again.
'Take care when growing and harvesting plants of contrary elements or they may cause unintended side effects. A good example of this is mixing the juices of fruits taken from fire-based plants and fruits taken from water-based plants. While it is not an absolute rule, as many great recipes combine both kinds of plants, the vast majority of combinations will result in a sudden and profound explosion. This is due to the rapidly excited fire mana interacting with the contrary water mana, causing a chain reaction of clashing energies.'
His eyes widened as he re-read the passage for a third time.
'You mean these things can explode!?'
He slowly turned his head to the side and stared at the bag of seeds resting on the ground not very far away.
With an exaggerated motion, Roger scooted a good few feet away from it, hoping to put some distance between himself and the potential bomb.
'Better safe than sorry, right? I'm definitely not scared of a couple seeds causing the entire glade to go up in smoke!'
Slowly, as if looking away could set them off, Roger turned his attention back to the book, hoping to any god that was listening that there was an easy method to avoid this.
"An easy method to avoid this result is to have an intelligence greater than a field mouse and not mix the elements that are clearly opposites."
Roger's jaw dropped.
'It's like the System knows my thoughts! It is setting me up, I can feel it!'
Thinking back to the Administrator, a shiver went down Roger's spine.
'I guess it kind of can read my thoughts. That's not a very reassuring feeling.'
Despite his issues with the delivery, he did have to admit it was a pretty simple solution. If you don't want something to explode, keep the ingredients separate. Roger also acknowledged there was definitely a benefit to knowing about the effects ahead of time.
"When growing plants, you may speed up their maturation by injecting mana into the crop of choice. To do so, place your hand or similar appendage near the site of growth and filter the mana through your body, allowing it to exit in a direction facing the seed. When doing so, take care to not mix contrary elements, as the plant shall explode, most likely taking your hand with it. It is for this reason that most farmers are recommended to grow crops related to their element."
It seemed that the contrary elements theme was a recurring one, affecting more than just mixing fruit juices. Roger couldn't but think how much it would affect him, however.
'Can't I copy other elements? Does that mean I could theoretically swap to whatever mana is best suited to grow a plant? Or do I have a bland, unflavored, mana that can help any plant grow, just not very well?'
It was a question that would have to wait until he began to plant the seeds, which Roger planned to do the next day.
He tried to focus back on the book but found himself yawning again, covering it with his palm.
'I must be more tired than I initially thought…'
It did make sense, to some degree, that he was still very tired. He had a very busy last couple of days, full of physical labor and adrenaline. On top of that, he had been unable to properly rest that night, being awoken by crazed mind beasts which he then had to fight to the death.
'If I ever go back to Earth, I'll have some great stories to share.'
The thought soured his mood, causing his gaze to drop low.
'What would the point even be? It's not like there is anything back there for me. All I can do is build something new and better here on Avar.'
It was strange to think about, but sitting by himself in a forest clearing, holding a sarcastic book, and relaxing after fighting strange beasts made Roger feel more alone than he could remember ever experiencing.
Sighing with more emotion than he expected, he gently closed the book and stood up. He returned it to the top of the stack, taking care to avoid the bag of seeds, and went to lay down in his bed.
Relaxing in the dirt ditch, he silently listened to the crackle of the flames in the nearby pit, eventually closing his eyes and letting the noise carry his exhausted body to sleep.
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