Kaelen squinted at the patch of dirt outside his hut like it had personally offended him.
"So... this is farming."
The squirrel sat nearby, lazily gnawing on a stolen root.
"You're not even doing it right."
Kaelen jabbed a stick into the soil. "It's dirt. I stab it. I put stuff in it. What more do you want?"
"For starters, a brain."
He ignored it and opened his menu. A new tab had appeared after finishing the shelter quest.
[Farming Basics Unlocked]
Required Tools: Wooden Hoe
Required Materials: Any Seed
Bonus: Understanding plant thoughts (Passive)
"Oh good," Kaelen muttered. "I can now hear vegetables scream."
He built a wooden hoe with leftover scraps and walked to the dirt patch.
He took a deep breath, raised the hoe, and swung.
Thud.
The hoe bounced off the ground like the earth itself rejected him.
"Solid start," he muttered.
Three awkward swings later, he'd managed a few furrows. They were crooked, shallow, and looked like a raccoon's art project. But they existed.
[Tilled Soil: 3x]
Progress.
From his bag, he pulled out the seeds he found days ago—labeled only as "??? Seed."
"Yeah, this feels safe."
He dropped one into each hole and covered them up. Done.
Then—nothing happened.
Of course nothing happened.
Kaelen stood there, arms crossed, staring at the dirt.
"You forgot to water it, genius," the squirrel said, now lying on his porch like it paid rent.
"I was getting there."
He grabbed a wooden bowl, filled it from the stream, and splashed the water onto the soil.
A second later, something… stirred.
The dirt wiggled.
The seeds pulsed faintly.
And then—
[You have successfully planted Unknown Crop x3]
Estimated Growth Time: 2 Days
Thoughts: "Dark. Wet. Confused."
Kaelen raised an eyebrow. "What kind of crops think that?"
"Ones with issues," the squirrel said.
He sat down and watched the tiny mounds of dirt like they were going to explode. When they didn't, he sighed.
"Well… that's that. I guess I wait."
But the system wasn't done with him yet.
[New Quest: First Harvest]
Wait for crops to grow
Keep them alive
Harvest without dying
Reward: Farming Skill + Mystery Item
Kaelen read the last line again.
"Why is 'harvest without dying' on the list?"
"Good question," said the squirrel, now somehow inside his hut again.
Kaelen rubbed his temples. "You're not even scared of me anymore, huh?"
"Were you even scary?"
The rest of the day was spent gathering more supplies, checking the perimeter, and trying to figure out how his mystery core fit into all this.
By nightfall, the hut was lit with a small flame, and Kaelen was sitting cross-legged, sharpening sticks and pretending he knew what he was doing.
Then—
[Plant Update]
One crop has developed a personality
Mood: "Hungry. Irritated. Mildly evil."
Kaelen looked outside at the patch of dirt.
"Okay, what did I plant?"
"You ever hear of man-eating lettuce?" asked the squirrel.
"I swear, if I die to an angry vegetable, I want that written on my grave."
[Unlocked Passive: Green Whisperer]
You now understand basic thoughts and feelings of growing crops.
Warning: Some crops are not mentally stable.
"Why does everything I touch come with a therapy bill?"
As night deepened, Kaelen laid down and stared at the ceiling of his hut. The fire crackled. The core glowed. The squirrel snored softly from the windowsill.
He closed his eyes.
Tomorrow, he'd check on the crops again.
Maybe they'd behave.
Maybe they'd try to eat him.
Honestly, with his luck, it was a coin toss.
But he had shelter, a hoe, angry plants, and a talking squirrel.
It was a start.
And weirdly?
It didn't suck.