I Grow Crops with a System

”Honey Sweet Potatoes?! Where did you get these, meow?!” Pearl asked in surprise.

”A few days ago we went hunting in the territory of the Bicorn Dragon, and gathered them there. Hahaha,” Lombiat laughed.

Rare items indeed.

Ethan opened the bag. It was filled with fist-sized sweet potatoes, their color like honey — crystalline, almost translucent.

”They look a bit like regular sweet potatoes. Are they very rare?”

”That’s right, meow! Honey Sweet Potatoes are incredibly precious crops, meow!”

”Why?”

”Not only are they sweet and delicious, but after roasting, some special ones can even increase your strength, meow!”

”Hmm... sweet potatoes should be a fairly easy crop to grow...”

”What are you talking about, meow?!”

”I’ve planted similar things before.”

Growing sweet potatoes wasn’t complicated. Back on Earth, they were a favorite for city folk visiting farms to try their hand at agriculture. If the ones here had similar habits, it shouldn’t be a problem.

”Then let’s plant them too, meow!!”

”Good idea.”

Vargan’s fertilizer would work perfectly for both the Sweet Beets and the Honey Sweet Potatoes. Besides — if he wanted to attract merchants, he needed precious crops.

”Haha, wonderful. If you manage to grow them, could you sell some to us?” Lombiat asked.

”Of course. Help me get more treasures like that hammer, and I’ll sell you every Honey Sweet Potato I grow.”

Since he was going to live in this world, he might as well live comfortably.

Lombiat nodded happily. ”Things like that require hunting far outside the Great Forest, but... we can manage.”

”Can I come with you?”

”No. It’s far too dangerous. A weak human like you wouldn’t survive.”

”Just how dangerous is it...?”

”Outside the Great Forest is the Stormlands, meow! The wind there is as sharp as knives — your skin wouldn’t withstand it at all, meow! Unless you have proper equipment, absolutely do not risk going, meow!” Pearl chimed in.

’Wind like knife blades, huh.’

He’d think about that later.

”Then we’ll take our leave,” Ethan said.

”Alright, until next time. Draugor! See our guests out!”

At the chief’s call, Draugor came running and scooped Ethan up, same as before.

”If anything else needs repairing, come find me anytime. Oh — could you help me get materials for making pottery?”

”We traded for those from other beastmen, so it may take some time,” Lombiat replied.

Another fruitful trip.

Holding the bag of Honey Sweet Potatoes and the items from the storage room, Ethan said his goodbyes.

”I’ll be taking these. Thank you.”

”You’re very welcome, haha.”

Draugor was as fast as ever. By the time they reached the shelter, the sky was fully dark.

”Thanks for the hard work.”

”It was nothing! See you next time!”

”Right — can you come by again tomorrow? I’d like to borrow your pottery kiln. In exchange, I’ll help you make some pottery.”

”No problem!”

Draugor agreed cheerfully and left.

Ethan lit the campfire, then opened his bag to take stock of the day’s harvest.

A saw. Nails. An iron plate. A wooden bucket with the Purify effect.

And a bag of Honey Sweet Potatoes.

Not a bad haul at all.

”From now on, no more grilling on a stone slab.”

”The stone slab worked pretty well too, meow!”

”An iron plate is much more convenient. Let’s see if the traps caught anything.”

Down at the riverbank, the traps held two Red Trout. After a full day of work, hunger had well and truly set in.

Ethan cleaned both fish, laid them on the iron plate, and set them grilling.

”Want to roast some Honey Sweet Potatoes with it?”

”I vote yes, meow!!”

He cut the fist-sized potatoes into chunks and added them to the plate. The aromas of grilled fish and roasting sweet potato tangled together, mouth-watering.

And right at that moment—

Ding!

[Delicious Grilled Fish]

[Red Trout grilled on an iron plate. Though seasoned with only a little salt, it perfectly brings out the fresh, savory flavor of the fish.]

[Delicious Effect: After consumption, stamina increases for one day.]

[Delicious Effect: After consumption, willpower increases for one day.]

[Delicious Effect: After consumption, production skill level increases by 1 for one day.]

[Crafting Difficulty: ★★]

”Huh?”

Cooking had finally triggered extra effects. It seemed grilling on an iron plate made it easier to produce truly delicious food.

”Hurry up and eat, meow!” Pearl was already out of patience.

”Mm... alright.”

’So if I cook with enough care, I can keep producing food with effects like this?’

”Meow, meow! I’m digging in, meow!”

Pearl couldn’t have cared less about any of that. It seized a piece of grilled fish and tore into it.

”So good, meow! Way better than the stone slab, meow!”

”Really? Good.”

”You’re amazing, meow! The Honey Sweet Potatoes are delicious too, meow!”

”Let me try...”

Ethan popped a piece of roasted Honey Sweet Potato into his mouth.

”Wow!”

A rich, fragrant sweetness flooded over his tongue. He had never eaten a sweet potato this good in his life.

”This thing really is precious.”

”Meow~! That’s right, meow!”

Full and satisfied, man and cat lay back on the grass, soaking in the quiet of the night. Pearl patted his cheek lightly with its tail.

”By the way, how are you going to plant the Honey Sweet Potatoes, meow?!”

”I’ll let them sprout first.”

”With Growth Acceleration, meow?”

”Growth Acceleration on half, hydroponics for the other half. We’ll see which works better.”

He wanted to experiment with different methods.

”We could get some pottery jars from the Minotaur village for the hydroponics, meow.”

”I’d like to, but they seem short on jars themselves.”

Every one of those crude jars had been painstakingly made by the Minotaurs. He was too embarrassed to ask for them — which was exactly why he’d offered to go make pottery tomorrow.

”You know how to make pottery too, meow?”

”I learned for a while, back when the winters left me with nothing to do.”

With that experience, simple pottery shouldn’t be a problem.

”I’m so looking forward to it, meow! I wonder what you’ll make, meow?!”

’And I wonder — will pottery come with extra effects too?’