The next morning, Ronald stretched wide beneath the rising sun. His body didn't ache. No grogginess, no sluggish weight of exhaustion like in his old life. Just steady, humming energy.
He glanced at the Verdant Bracelet on his wrist and grinned. "All right… time to get to work."
With a thought, it shimmered and expanded into a sturdy axe. The wooden handle felt perfectly balanced in his grip, its green metal head glinting as though freshly polished.
He walked to the edge of the meadow where clusters of young trees grew. Brontus followed in calf-size, giving a stern nod.
"First lesson: shelter. A farmer without a roof is just fertilizer waiting to happen."
Ronald smirked. "That's… blunt."
"It's the truth," Brontus replied, steady and unamused.
Ronald raised the axe and swung. The blade bit into the trunk with surprising ease, sending a thrill up his arm. Chips of bark scattered.
---
[Tool Used: Axe]
+5 EXP
Axe Mastery (Novice) → 3/100
---
Ronald's eyes widened. "It really tracks tool use…"
Brontus grunted. "Then keep swinging. Good timber makes good homes."
Hours passed with the rhythm of chopping, hauling, and trimming. Maphala, sitting nearby in her calf form, occasionally swished her maple-leaf tail and offered encouragement.
"Careful not to bite more than you can chew, child. Even a tree deserves respect before you fell it."
By midday, Ronald had a neat pile of logs and a frame set up for a small cabin. Sweat beaded his skin, but his stamina never dipped—endless energy pulsed steadily through him. He grinned like a fool, driving stakes into the ground with practiced swings.
When the structure was stable enough to sleep under, Ronald sat back, panting more out of habit than need.
"Shelter… check."
Brontus gave an approving nod. "A start worthy of a farmer. Now water."
---
The trio set out, Ronald leading, the divine beasts flanking him. After some searching through the meadow, they heard the sound of rushing. Ronald broke into a jog, pushing through a patch of shrubs until he found it—a river, sparkling clear beneath the sun.
Maphala's voice was warm. "Perfect. Land without water is only a desert's dream. With this, you will thrive."
Ronald knelt by the bank and splashed his face, laughing at the cool refreshment. He filled his hands and drank deeply, sighing.
"This'll do nicely."
---
Back at his budding homestead, Ronald pulled out something new from his Seed Storage—odd, knobbly vegetables the system identified as:
---
[Sprout-Tubers]
A potato-like crop that thrives in most soils. Nutritious, filling.
Rare effect: Very low chance to grant a permanent stat increase upon eating.
---
Ronald blinked. "…Potatoes that can boost stats?!"
Brontus huffed. "Rarely. Don't count on luck, boy. A field is fed by certainty, not dreams."
Maphala chuckled softly. "Still, even the smallest chance is worth planting. A farmer who never plants never harvests."
Ronald smiled and readied his hoe. The bracelet shifted smoothly into form, and he began turning the soil with excitement.
---
[Tool Used: Hoe]
+10 EXP
Hoe Mastery (Novice) → 12/100
[Soil Proficiency Increased → 1]
Able to sense moisture and fertility in plowed ground.
---
The soil beneath his hoe glowed faintly as he worked, like the land itself was eager. Carefully, he planted the strange tubers one by one, covering them and patting the earth firm.
Finally, he switched the bracelet to watering can form and gave the rows a healthy sprinkle. Though his can produced endless clean water, he knew Brontus was right—this was a tool for him, not for everyone else. The river he'd found was essential.
When the work was finished, Ronald leaned on his hoe and gazed at the neat little rows of sprout-tubers, pride swelling in his chest.
His first field. His first shelter. His first step.
Maphala lay beside the rows, eyes half-lidded like a mother basking in the sight of her child's achievement. "A fine start, little farmer. You've planted more than seeds today. You've planted roots."
Brontus snorted, but his golden eyes gleamed with approval. "Don't get complacent. Shelter, water, food. These are basics. But the farmer who tends them well will never fall."
Ronald smiled wide, brushing soil from his hands. "Then I'll keep planting. Keep growing. Until this whole world is fed."
---
[Quest Unlocked: First Harvest]
🌱 Grow and harvest your first field of Sprout-Tubers.
🌱 Reward: Farming EXP, +1 Farming Skill, chance of rare bonus.Ronald stood before the pile of logs he'd cut, eyes gleaming like a child staring at building blocks. His cabin frame was crude, but in his mind a memory stirred—videos he used to watch late at night, short clips of Japanese craftsmen shaping beams that fit together without nails.
"Japanese joinery…" he whispered, touching a log as if seeing potential in every grain of wood.
The system hummed faintly, almost like it plucked the memory from him and set it neatly before his mind's eye. Diagrams appeared—angles, cuts, precise lines he barely remembered but now understood perfectly.
"Wait… I actually remember how to do it?"
Brontus lowered his head, giving a rare smirk. "A farmer builds more than fields. The land provides wood, stone, clay. If you recall how to shape them, then shape them well."
Maphala tilted her maple-leaf ears, humming. "And the system will reward a hand that creates, just as it rewards a hand that sows."
With a grin, Ronald shifted his Vardant bracelet to axe form, then to adze, then to chisel, marveling at how naturally it flowed between tools. He began trimming beams, shaving bark, cutting precise slots. The rhythm was almost musical: swing, cut, check the fit.
Hours passed in focused work. The cabin began to rise—not nailed, but joined, beams interlocking so smoothly it felt like a puzzle coming together.
---
[New Skill Acquired!]
🪵 Carpentry Lv.1 – +5% efficiency when working wood.
🪚 Wood Shaping Lv.1 – Slightly reduces stamina cost and improves precision.
🏠 Joinery Lv.1 – Unlocks ability to create interlocking wooden structures without nails.
⚒️ House-Building Proficiency Lv.1 – Gain experience when designing and building dwellings.
---
Ronald blinked as the messages scrolled. "No way… my hobby knowledge actually counts?!"
Brontus chuckled, deep and rumbling. "Knowledge is seed, effort is soil, will is water. Put them together, and the harvest will come."
Maphala swished her tail, resting beside the beams. "I think it's wonderful, little farmer. Even your old world hobbies are sprouting roots here."
Ronald laughed, working with the excitement of a boy given his first set of blocks. His unlimited stamina meant his hands never trembled, his back never ached—he could focus purely on craft. By evening, the skeleton of the cabin stood tall, its beams neatly slotted, stable without a single nail.
When he stepped back, wiping imaginary sweat from his brow, the system chimed again.
---
[Milestone Reached!]
Beginner's Shelter Constructed (Joinery Method)
✨ Reward: +10 Carpentry EXP, +10 House-Building EXP
✨ Blessing of Hearthlight (Passive): +5% warmth, comfort, and durability when building shelters.
---
Ronald's smile stretched ear to ear. "This… this is mine. I built this."
Brontus nodded with quiet pride. "And it will stand as long as your will does."
Maphala softly hummed a lullaby as the twilight deepened, her voice like wind through maple leaves. The little cabin glowed faintly under the blessing, warm and inviting even unfinished.
Ronald sat on the frame, legs dangling, staring at the stars beginning to peek out. For the first time in years, he didn't feel the weight of exhaustion—only the eager buzz of creation.
"Tomorrow… walls. Then a roof. Then I'll have a real home."
Brontus rumbled, "And then fields to feed it."
Maphala giggled, "And maybe flowers by the door, to make it lovely."
Ronald chuckled, the three of them bathed in starlight. His first night in another world felt less like survival, and more like building a future.