Chapter 24
Who would feel bad about receiving a gift box?
Just looking at a neatly wrapped box gave me excitement and lifted my mood.
‘But, I feel like I’ve seen this somewhere before.’
The gift box that appeared on the screen gave me a faint, nostalgic feeling.
I recalled my childhood memories of playing <Animal Farm>.
I had cleared quests several times and raised animals.
After that, it was given as a reward for working hard.
‘Wasn’t it a kind of achievement reward?’
I clicked on Hwayo, who was sleeping with its tail curled.
Soul Flame ‘Hwayo’
Level: 6
Mood: Sleeping well, Stress 0%.
‘The level did go up.’
Hwayo was level 6, and Boogie was level 5.
It seemed they had gained a large amount of experience while sparring with Ren in Episode 3.
‘They do give quite a lot of experience when clearing a main episode.’
Maybe it was thanks to having influenced the episode clear.
I had received quite a bit of experience.
‘I thought that was the reward, but if they’re giving me more, I should take it right away.’
First, let’s open it and see what’s inside.
After I double-clicked the box, the wrapping paper fell away and a white light filled the screen.
Thump thump!
Open the gift box!
Ta-da! Tada-ta-da!
When the light faded, the first thing I saw was a letter.
The sender was written as ‘Goddess’.
I clicked it and began to read.
Let’s read the congratulatory message sent by the Goddess!
ꠓꠑꠗꠗꠓꠙꠗ逮ꠛ똱홑}PHQE&h?쌺ꠑwR愰흖?WCΘ찥퉘삲ꠑꠗꠗꠓꠙ원묫�_kUs2yQpk슙?k{됲??
‘I can’t read this at all.’
I stared at it for a while, then clicked my tongue and stored the letter in the mailbox.
It wasn’t even a cipher—just an error that broke the letters.
Looking at it further was meaningless.
‘Now that I think about it, what kind of connection could there be?’
I had been wondering for a while about the link between Animal Farm and Yggdrasil.
‘Why did Animal Farm end up combined with Yggdrasil of all things?’
<Animal Farm> was a discontinued children’s classic web game.
<Royal Academy Yggdrasil> was a console game now in its second year since release.
No point of connection came to mind at all.
Was it just a simple error?
‘Or do they actually share the same world?’
What kind of link existed between them?
‘I’d at least like to check if they were made by the same developer.’
If I searched about <Animal Farm>, I’d find out quickly.
But there was no way I could access the internet here.
Since I was inside the game world, there was no way to confirm the truth.
‘Forget it, let’s just check the reward.’
I pushed aside the complicated thoughts and checked the contents of the box.
Fortunately, the reward wasn’t bugged.
‘A ticket? A jewel?’
Inside the box were a coated ticket and a single jewel.
I clicked the jewel first.
Skill Crystal
Acquired Ability: You can go outside and play together with an animal friend from the farm!
‘What is this?’
A crystal containing a skill.
Once shattered, it could be transferred instantly.
‘Yeah, I know that part….’
But going outside to play?
Is that even something you could call a skill?
It was just going out to play, so calling it an ability felt strange.
With a complicated expression, I read the description again and focused on the word ‘outside’.
‘…No way.’
Catching on, I immediately shattered the crystal.
With just one click, the crystal broke into pieces and vanished with a soft light.
After confirming that, I opened my palm toward the air.
‘Card.’
Flames rose, dust gathered, and soon two cards appeared.
When I looked at Hwayo’s card, I could see a new skill.
Cost 0 – Summon Young Salamander.
However, when used, the maximum cost limit decreases by 2.
※ Maximum summonable amount is 1.
‘Just as I thought.’
Going outside the farm to play meant this.
It meant summoning the animals from within the system into reality.
Not only Hwayo’s card, but Boogie’s card was the same.
‘So it’s a common ability.’
But there was the condition that the maximum summon count was one.
I couldn’t summon two at the same time.
It meant I had to choose either Boogie or Hwayo to summon.
‘Come to think of it, ever since I registered them on the farm, they’ve never actually come outside.’
Except for one single time.
It was when I used their card ability.
They tore through the magic circle and showed their face for a moment.
But that was it, and a few seconds later, they returned back into the system.
‘I thought they only materialized briefly when using the cards.’
Now, I could leave them outside and keep them like summoned beasts.
‘What merit would there be in summoning them?’
It couldn’t just end with them appearing.
I was curious about what abilities they would have once materialized.
‘Boogie.’
I grabbed Boogie’s card and told it to come out.
This place was a farm with plenty of bushes.
If I summoned Hwayo, a fire might break out, so I chose Boogie.
A small magic circle appeared in the air, and a green shell appeared there.
Gik.
Boogie popped out, stretched its neck, and looked around.
Giik.
It lifted its head, met my eyes, and tried climbing up my shoe frantically.
It seemed to be struggling to crawl into my arms.
‘Rather than liking me too much, it feels more like it’s scared of its surroundings and wants me to protect it.’
It was still a baby, so it was timid and small.
‘Guess I’ll have to carry it around in my arms.’
When I picked up Boogie and put it in my arms, it finally calmed down and stayed still.
I brought my face closer to it.
“So, what can you do?”
Gik.
It only made that sound, as if it didn’t know either.
I sighed and stroked its shell.
‘Well, what can I expect from such a little thing.’
It was too scared to even walk around and just clung to my chest.
I couldn’t exactly force it to show some ability.
Would it change once it leveled up more?
Thinking it through carefully, it did make sense.
‘I remember in <Animal Farm>, you could evolve them into three stages.’
Depending on the level, they were divided into Infant, Adolescent, and Adult stages.
Most Infants were timid and weak, but starting from Adolescent, they grew bigger and could do more.
‘Yeah, it probably needs to get bigger.’
It seemed evolution was necessary to make summoning effective.
That was the conclusion I reached.
‘Looks like there isn’t even a summon time limit.’
After about thirty minutes of letting Boogie look around, I was able to figure that out.
“Boogie, let’s go back now.”
Gik.
Boogie cried as if saying it understood.
It gradually turned green and was sucked back into the card.
‘So I can return them back into the system too.’
It didn’t mean much yet since it was still an Infant.
But if it evolved, it might become quite a useful skill.
‘Anyway, I’ve confirmed the summoning ability, and now the rest is…….’
I clicked on the ticket remaining in the box.
I thought it was some kind of voucher to exchange for an item for free.
Farm Registration Free Ticket
You can register a farm for free! Complete a farm and receive special rewards!
“Farm?”
I muttered, dumbfounded.
As if in response to my words, the system continued explaining.
You can register your own farm anywhere!
Hearing that, I thought for a moment and then asked again.
“…Not the farm inside the system, but a real farm?”
Build your own farm in rivers, grasslands, forests, mountains, or even the sea!
‘You can even set it up in the sea?’
Not just in the system, but a real, physical farm.
‘…And if I build it, they say I’ll get a reward.’
My eyes naturally went to the words ‘special reward’, and I read the additional explanation.
In summary, it went like this.
Additional chances to earn points.
Maximum cost +1.
‘That’s definitely a big merit.’
Once the farm was completed, quests would double, allowing me to earn more points.
On top of that, even the maximum cost would increase by one.
‘If the maximum cost reaches five, I can strengthen my combo abilities.’
The more cost I could save up, the more diverse my strategies would become.
‘I could even enhance Hwayo’s fire by channeling it into a flaming sword.’
In any case, the possible uses were endless.
‘In that case, building a farm is a no-brainer.’
I had already made up my mind.
With so many things to gain from setting up a farm, there was no reason not to.
When I clicked the ticket, a new screen appeared.
Choose a location to build your farm!
The screen was filled with a cutesy illustration divided into five parts: grassland, river, forest, mountain, and sea.
‘Looks like I can only build it on the grassland or river.’
The forest, mountain, and sea were all greyed out, so I couldn’t click them at all.
‘So I have to choose between the river or the grassland.’
I was already managing the livestock shed.
It would be convenient to build it in the grassland, where there wasn’t much difference from now.
When I clicked that, an X mark appeared on the screen.
There are no farms nearby available for registration! Please build a farm first, then register it!
At those words, I blanked out for a moment.
“You mean I have to build it myself?”
Please build the farm first, then register it!
With that, the minimum conditions for a farm appeared.
‘How very kind of them to explain it so thoroughly.’
The instructions said I had to build not only the stable but also the storage and the pens myself.
Even manually, hammering nails into wood.
‘Does that even make sense? How am I supposed to build this?’
I felt empty inside.
Getting materials to make the farm was already a problem, but even if I had them, it would take at least several months.
It would only drain my strength and waste my time.
‘So they weren’t going to hand out the reward so easily after all.’
Was it life’s way of saying there’s no easy path?
I sighed and, with no expectations, selected the ‘River’ farm.
‘…What’s this?’
My dull, lifeless eyes suddenly sparkled like crystals.
A farm by the river surprisingly showed some hope.
All I needed to do was create a large pond connected to the river.
‘This looks much more feasible than the grassland option.’
A farm built in the water.
I would dig a pond near the river and connect it to the stream.
Even if I added natural water plants and decorated here and there, it would take no more than a week.
‘This is doable.’
No, I absolutely had to do it.
The special reward was too valuable to pass up.
‘If it’s a river nearby…’
Luckily, there was a river that led to the sea, not far from the livestock shed.
‘Let’s hurry and check it out.’
I grabbed a shovel and headed toward the riverbank.
It didn’t take long—about ten minutes from the livestock shed.
‘I can’t even see the end of it.’
It truly was a river that flowed all the way to the sea.
As I walked along the river, I looked for land that could be dug out.
‘This spot should work.’
I quickly found land suitable for creating a pond.
‘Do I need to get permission from the school?’
But it should be fine, right?
After all, it was a deserted place with no people.
No one would care about a plot of land left unattended for ages.
‘Still, I should probably go through proper procedures later.’
For now, I would just start.
I began digging the ground with my shovel.
‘Looks like I found a great spot.’
The soil was soft without any hardness.
Thanks to picking the right ground, I would be able to save some effort.
As I repeated the digging, a sudden question crossed my mind.
‘But where am I supposed to get the animals?’
That was the most important thing.
Building the farm first when I had no animals to bring—it felt backward.
‘Forget it, I’ll just build it for now.’
Even if I couldn’t run the farm, the special reward was mine.
Just receiving that wouldn’t be a loss, so I kept working.
‘My arms are killing me.’
After a long time of shoveling, I collapsed into a sitting position, exhausted.
‘What kind of creatures besides fish could even live here?’
While I was drinking some water and scanning the surroundings, I saw something.
‘…What’s that?’
Something caught my eye near the river.
Kkeuruk, Beep!
A furry creature.
It was hiding by the river, watching me.