Season 4: Chapter 98. Radish Servant (5)
Groups began to form like usual when people gathered in one place. Some dreamt of a dramatic reversal, digging underground and mining for resources, while others lived in luxury and built massive houses that seemed to touch the sky.
Some always received all the attention.
[Miho: Almond Oppa just logged in! He's online!]
[Bubblegum: What? Are you for real??]
[Pickle: Eh!?]
[CreamPuff: EMERGENCY! Where’s Almond?!]
“Sigh.”
On the other hand, others received no attention at all. These people found it hard to even get involved in the server chat.
[ForeverAlone]
A prime example of this was the streamer ForeverAlone.
“People don’t even look for me.”
— Gi-Chan, don’t bring up that stuff, it’s just gonna kill the mood, haha
— How can you even say that out loud? Forever Alone is a genius at being awkward, haha
— Go out and meet some people, Gi-Chan.
— Just go tell them that Chikicha is yours, why can’t you say it?
— ForeverAlone, just farm, dude.
He only focused on farming.
“Why do you keep telling me to go out and talk? Every time I go out, I get spammed by the chat about being a loner and all that...”
— Lmao, that’s hellish.
— Just farm already, it’s better for us.
— Spoiler alert, no spoilers!
ForeverAlone tried to interact with others before. Every time, the awkward atmosphere and jabs from viewers made him give up on socializing for a while.
“Let’s just farm. They’ll come to me if I become someone people need. That’s the Law of Attraction.”
Clank.
He kept muttering as he tended to the soil.
— Haha, what weird book did he read again?
— Did he read a self-help book or something?
— So the solution is farming, haha?
“Just wait. I’ll beat Sweet Radish. Won’t people start looking for me once I become the richest farmer in the village?”
ForeverAlone aimed to become the wealthiest farmer in the village. For those who knew how the server worked, this goal seemed a bit strange.
Ding.
[Doritos has donated 1,000 won.]
[What? There’s Sweet Radish, then Black Tea, then CreamPuff... How did you suddenly become the wealthiest farmer? Haha]
— For real, haha
— It’s a dream he has, take it down!
— Haha, big dreams, huh?
— You’re literally broke.
“No, I mean... Right now, yes, but I’m aiming for a different approach.”
ForeverAlone had his own beliefs. After all, he came from a challenger background and quickly understood the game’s mechanics.
“It’s about job advancement.”
He sought job advancement. So far, no one in Cheese Village had a real job. At the moment, farming was more efficient than focusing on job-related quests. However, ForeverAlone viewed it differently. Simple farming had its limits. He needed to keep expanding his land, but land kept getting more expensive.
If the land became too large, traveling would take too much time. Unlike others, ForeverAlone focused on job quests. By talking to the character with the straw hat, he could get a job-related quest. Each time he completed a quest, he earned Farmer Coins. After collecting ten, he could advance to the farmer class.
“You know, I’ve almost collected all the Farmer Coins myself.”
Indeed, no one had collected as many coins as ForeverAlone.
“If I advance to the farmer class, my harvest speed will increase, and I can water more than ten tiles at once.”
The benefit of advancing to the farmer class’s first level was simply speed. Players could plant more, water more, and harvest more. This was the strategy for the farming profession.
— Oh...
— Gi-Chan has a plan, huh?
— But won’t it just be a lot of work if the soil quality is bad? Haha
— Even if Gi-Chan gets rich, Miho will still follow Almond. I’ll bet on that.
— Yeah, plant... plant endlessly...
The viewers didn’t seem too convinced by ForeverAlone’s plan, but he didn’t care and kept sharing the opportunity he saw.
“I heard Sweet Radish hyung almost got ruined by monsters at night. You’ll get attacked if you get too far ahead in this type of content.”
The former wealthiest farmer, Sweet Radish, had fallen. Meanwhile, ForeverAlone was about to become a real farmer.
“Now, it’s Forever Alone’s world! Mwahahaha!” He laughed as he raised his shovel and watering can.
— What’s with the sudden laugh?
— Wow, this is such a loser move.
— Mwahaha, so true, haha
— What is this? Haha
At that moment, a message appeared in the chat.
Ding.
[AcornJelly: Oh... All Black... Why is it in our village!?]
[Bubblegum: What? Sweet Radish bought Fertile Soil!?]
[Takoyaki: Is Sweet Radish teaming up with Almond...?]
The variable that could turn everything upside down was now lying in front of Sweet Radish’s house.
“What?”
Sweet Radish had certainly fallen. ForeverAlone had heard the news first since he always kept track of his competitors’ fields. How did Sweet Radish suddenly get Fertile Soil?
***
A few minutes ago...
"You said you had over 100 tiles of soil, so this should work perfectly."
Ding.
The title on one side of Sweet Radish’s land changed.
[Joint Ownership: Sweet Radish, Almond]
In exchange, Almond handed the soil over to Radish Servant.
Rumble.
For the first time, the chunks of soil revealed themselves.
Whoosh...!
The soil sparkled and shone like deep sapphires.
“Radish Servant is happy...”
Sweet Radish felt that it had been the right choice to become Radish Servant.
— Lmao
— Radish Servant, haha
— Radish Servant... not so bad after all?
— This is life.
“Potato Servant, let’s get started. First, let’s plant the ones that grow the fastest.”
“Alright! Let’s go with peppers and tomatoes!”
Clink!
The two quickly took out their shovels and began laying down the soil. It was still night, but morning had come by the time they finished laying down all the soil, planting the seeds, and watering everything.
“Phew.”
“We’re done.”
In Survival Craft, crops grew in half a day.
“Now, we’ll get nearly five times the harvest, right?”
“That’s right!”
“But...” Sweet Radish quickly scanned the surroundings. “Where’s Almond?”
“Huh?”
He had disappeared.
“Well, at least he laid down all the soil before leaving?”
“Everything is planted already?”
Almond’s area was already fully planted. He moved fast.
— Lmao, did the boss leave early?
— Haha, where did he go for real?
— I think he mentioned where he was going earlier.
— The Servant duo was so focused on their work, they didn’t hear him.
***
The night, filled with monsters, passed. As dawn broke, the NPCs came out again. Cheese Village began to buzz with activity. Almond stepped out to take a proper look around and wandered the streets.
‘I’ll head back when it’s time to harvest.’
It took some time for crops to sprout from the soil. He didn’t have much to do while waiting in front of the farm.
“I’ll check the market trends.”
— Market research, whoa
— Is this the Almond-style business?
— Kya
— Market trends, huh? Almond Inc.
Right now, Almond’s viewers were in praise mode. How he had turned Sweet Radish into Radish Servant and devised a tenant farming system with Fertile Soil still impressed them.
Almond approached the NPCs and familiarized himself with the prices of the goods they sold.
‘The seeds are more expensive than I thought.’
Having just started farming, the seed prices seemed pretty high to Almond.
‘If the soil is bad, the seed cost goes to waste.’
Even if a player harvested crops, they didn’t always get the seeds. Eventually, they would have to buy the seeds at a certain cost. Using rough soil often meant that the costs exceeded the benefits from the harvest. They end up working hard for a loss.
“Ah, the crop prices have changed.”
He arrived at what looked like a crop sales booth.
[Emmental]
One staff member was manning the booth.
“Hello! Mr. Almond!”
“Hello.”
“Did you come to sell crops?”
“No, I’m just looking around. Do the prices change often?” Almond looked toward the potatoes.
“Yes, big changes happen daily. Smaller fluctuations happen every hour according to Cheese Village time.”
“Ah...” Almond nodded. “Today’s... Oh?”
A crop caught his eye.
[Potato] [△12%]
“Potatoes are up!” Without realizing it, he pointed at the potatoes and shouted.
— Lmao
— How cute, haha
— Is this the stock market?
Almond grinned and enjoyed the moment.
“Ahh~ Young one, you can’t say that here.”
“Huh?” Turning around, Almond saw an avatar with a strict face standing there.
The strange avatar had a big red Rudolph nose and donut-shaped ears on its head.
[Donuts]
Donuts was a streamer who specialized in stocks and high-budget RPG games. It was a peculiar combination, but he had a surprisingly big fanbase. As a result, he became a massive creator with over 5 million YouTube subscribers and a top-tier live viewer count in the non-gaming category.
— Donuts, haha
— This old guy is here too?
— Whoa, a big one is here.
— Did Donuts come?
— How is his streamer name Donuts?
— Is this the same Donuts from earlier?
“Huh? Why?” Almond, having never been into stocks, innocently asked.
He wondered if he couldn’t say that due to a game-related reason.
Donuts, seeing his innocence, laughed. “Potatoes went up, but other crops went down. If you keep smiling so much and showing off when you’ve done well, you’ll definitely get in trouble. The entire universe will pull you down!”
‘He means jealousy?’
Only then did Almond understand and look around. Sure enough, people began whispering.
“Potatoes went up?”
“Almond doesn’t even farm.”
“Looks like he really teamed up with Sweet Radish for an M&A deal?”
“Ugh, this is making me so jealous!”
“Dirty capitalist pigs...”
Everyone whispered with dark expressions. It seemed like no one had thought much about it at first, but everyone started speaking out after Donuts’s words.
— Lmao
— They’re deliberately whispering now, haha
— Lmao, situation roleplay.
— Haha
— M&A, really?
— We’ve got to respect Donuts, haha
Donuts was an older creator with 5 million subscribers, so maybe everyone just went along with him. Almond accepted the situation.
‘He’s not wrong.’
In the end, Donuts was right. One couldn’t speak so openly about these things.
“I’ll be careful.”
“Good. Heh, you’re a smart... no, a proper young man. I’m so impressed that I’ll teach you something.”
“Oh.”
— He couldn’t even say “smart,” haha
— Donuts is teaching?
— This is destiny, haha
A streamer well-versed in the economy, whatever Donuts said would be helpful.
***
Meanwhile, Zelo and ChocoShroom were hard at work.
Clang...!
The mournful sound of pickaxes echoed through the mine.
“Huh?”
They discovered something strange. It wasn’t ore.
“Who are those people?”
Other people had appeared, but they didn’t seem friendly. Their IDs were also hidden.
“Mr. Zelo, let’s hide for now?”
Shh!
The two hid behind a large rock and observed.
“Damn unknown... We’re not leaving until we take back ten more tiles of Fertile Soil...”
“We’re only surviving by mining.”
“Yeah...”
Clang! Clang!
In despair and anger, they kept swinging their pickaxes.
‘Fertile Soil?’
Zelo instinctively realized something.
‘This...’
Almond probably acquired Fertile Soil from these people.
“M-Mr. Zelo?!” ChocoShroom tried to stop him.
However, Zelo decided to step forward.
‘If I just walk away, will this even be a good stream?’
He did it partly for the stream.
Raising his arms, he called out to them, “Excuse me?”
Their reactions were completely unexpected.
Swish!
The startled Paprika villagers jumped and immediately drew their weapons.