I Grow Crops with a System

”There’s actually such a thing as an Exchange Box? That sounds pretty good.”

”Then it’s a deal. By the way — when will your crops be ready to harvest?”

”Well, about that...”

At a normal growth rate, months at least. His ability could shorten that drastically — but the growth cycles of crops here might differ from Earth’s, so he couldn’t say for certain. Still, judging by their progress, it shouldn’t take more than a few days.

”Alright, I’ll come back and check in a few days. See ya!”

Zharok picked up all three monster corpses in his mouth and bounded off, gone as swiftly as he’d come.

Ethan watched him disappear — then remembered something.

”Oh, crap.”

The fish traps. The monsters had destroyed them.

”We have to make new fish traps again, meow...” Pearl said glumly.

”Yeah...”

Ethan sighed. His work, it seemed, would never truly be finished.

Time slipped by, and a few days passed in a blink.

Thanks to Growth Acceleration and Soil Fortification, the crops grew far faster than he had expected.

”We should be able to harvest tomorrow.”

”That’s wonderful, meow!”

Pearl spun in excited circles.

Right then, a rustle came from the tall grass.

”Yo! How’ve you been lately?!”

Zharok.

He had said he’d drop by to check — and then proceeded to show up every single day. He really, really wanted those crops.

”Why are you looking at me like that?”

”We already agreed on the trade. You don’t have to come every day — and even if you do, you don’t need to bring a gift every time.”

”Ahaha~! I’m just dropping by to score a free meal, that’s all.”

He never came empty-handed, either. Ethan eyed the massive chunk of meat in the wolf’s grip and shook his head.

”Let’s go eat lunch.”

”Meow~! Sounds good, meow~!”

Back at the shelter, Ethan cut the meat into chunks, sprinkled on salt, and set it roasting. Zharok watched him cook, visibly drooling.

”Sigh. I can’t roast meat this deliciously.”

”You could, with a few practice runs.”

”Can you get the Cooking skill by doing this?”

”I haven’t gotten the Cooking skill yet.”

Probably because he hadn’t yet prepared a dish in the truest sense of the word. He’d try again once he’d gathered more seasonings.

Ethan handed over the freshly roasted meat.

”I’m digging in!”

Zharok tore into it at once, savory juices bursting in his mouth. Between bites, claws still working at the meat, he asked, ”By the way — got some free time after we eat?”

”What is it?”

Ethan had been planning to make more pottery after lunch.

”I want to take you somewhere,” Zharok said with a smile.

”Where?”

”I found some human ruins.”

”Ruins!”

Anything left behind by the humans who once lived in the Great Forest interested him greatly. But if there were monsters inside, he wasn’t confident he could protect himself yet.

Reading his troubled face, Zharok laughed.

”Hahaha! Relax, there are no monsters inside. Think of it as visiting a warehouse full of old things.”

”So that’s how it is.” Ethan smiled awkwardly.

”Monsters need something to eat before they bother going in. An empty ruin like that — who’d be interested besides a nostalgic old guy like me?”

For a self-proclaimed old guy, he didn’t act the part in the slightest.

Ethan gave him a curious look and nodded.

Satisfied, Zharok wolfed down the rest of his meat. Once they’d eaten and packed up, he grabbed Ethan.

”I’m going to speed up. Hold on tight!”

With Zharok carrying them, they crossed far beyond the river, into land thick with unfamiliar flowers and trees.

”That’s Snow Return Grass, meow! If you get burned, mash it up and apply it to the wound to heal, meow!”

”Then let’s pick some to take back.”

”This is limestone, meow! And this is...”

”Mm. Grind it into powder, mix it with sand, and you can make cement.”

”How do you know that, meow?”

”They have it where I used to live. Zharok — can you remember this location?”

If he could get his hands on cement, whole new doors would open. A better furnace. Even a real house.

Unfortunately, there wasn’t much limestone here. If there had been enough, he might have seriously considered settling on this very spot to mine it.

Hearing his soft sigh, Zharok patted his shoulder.

”I wander around a lot. I’ll let you know if I find more.”

”Thanks in advance.”

”So just focus on your farming.”

”Hahaha!”

The mood between them grew warmer by the minute. They agreed to grab the limestone on the way home and pressed on.

After a while, Zharok stopped before a small structure built directly into the mountain ridge.

”Are these the ruins?”

”Meow... judging by the architectural style, it looks like a temple of the Goddess Gaia, meow.”

”Oho! You know a lot, little guy. That’s right — this is the temple where the humans who lived here worshipped their god.” Zharok gestured ahead. ”Let’s take a look inside. It’s a human ruin. How could a human not go in?”

”The Goddess Gaia is a benevolent god. She won’t curse visitors, meow.”

The interior was far cleaner than expected. An ancient ruin should have been buried in dust and cobwebs, yet barely any had gathered at all.

As Ethan looked around, Pearl hopped nimbly onto his shoulder and said, smug as ever, ”Temples built in places like this usually have excellent ventilation, meow. See those vents? The wind blows straight through, so dust can’t pile up, meow. Plus, temples are blessed by the gods — they rarely gather filth.”

’Temples don’t even need dusting, huh...’

He walked deeper in, arriving at a wide, open space.

In his experience, places like this meant traps — and monsters spawning out of the dark. But Zharok and Pearl looked completely at ease.

”This doesn’t look like an ordinary temple,” Zharok said. ”It feels more like a hidden temple.”

”A hidden temple?”