The breeze that drifted across the quiet field carried the scent of damp soil and wild grass. Felix stood still for a moment, staring at the patch of land before him.
His heart was beating a little faster than usual.
The moment he had touched the soil earlier, the system had reacted immediately. Now that he had confirmed the soil was fertile enough, he wasted no more time.
Felix slowly raised his hand.
"Spirit Farm… activate."
The moment the words left his lips, the ground beneath his feet seemed to tremble faintly. It was not a violent movement. Instead, it felt like the land itself was acknowledging his command.
A faint green light spread across the patch of soil in front of him, forming a square boundary that marked the newly claimed farmland.
Then, familiar faint blue translucent panels appeared before him.
——
[Spirit Farm successfully established.]
[Location: Fertile Soil]
[Quest Completed: First Field]
[Rewards Granted]
+20 Experience
Spirit Seed x3
Beginner Fertilizer x1
——
Felix's eyes widened.
"So it worked…"
Felix noticed that the rewards went directly in his inventory. As he tapped the icon of spirit seeds, there was an option to delete the material or take out. He chose take out.
The next second, something warm appeared on his palm.
Three tiny seeds materialized in his hand. They were small, round, and faintly glowing with a pale green light. The moment they appeared, Felix felt a subtle spiritual energy radiating from them.
"So these are the Spirit Seeds?"
Even without the system explaining it, Felix could instinctively feel that these were not ordinary seeds.
Each seed pulsed with life energy.
It felt powerful.
Felix clenched his fist slightly, excitement rising in his chest.
"I should plant them right away."
He quickly got to work.
At level 1, his Spirit Farm only 2 metre square in total. Not large but definitely enough for these three tiny seeds.
Felix knelt on the ground and began preparing the soil. Thanks to the Spirit Farm claiming the land, the dirt felt strangely soft and easy to work with. It was almost as if the soil itself wanted to be cultivated.
Still, Felix made sure to do things properly.
He loosened the soil, removed small stones, and made three small holes with careful precision.
While doing this, he glanced at the small creature resting beside him.
King.
He was nibbling on a small pebble he dug up earlier. King's cheeks puffed up adorably as he chewed.
Felix laughed.
"You're the best, King."
King tilted his head.
"Squeak!"
It looked excited.
Felix smiled and continued preparing the land.
Once the soil was ready, he carefully placed the three Spirit Seeds into the holes.
He covered them gently with dirt.
The moment the seeds were buried, something unexpected happened.
Three faint lights flickered above the soil.
Then a transparent window appeared above each spot.
Seedling Growth Timer
[05:00]
Felix blinked.
"…Five minutes?"
He leaned closer to check again.
Each planted seed had the exact same timer.
Five minutes.
Not five days. Not five hours. Just five minutes.
Felix stared at the timer as if they might suddenly disappear.
"Are you serious…"
Even though he had already seen strange things from the system, this still shocked him.
If spirit crops could grow this fast…
Then farming might become ridiculously powerful.
Felix leaned back slightly and crossed his arms.
"Well… I guess I just wait."
The quiet field returned to silence.
The timers slowly began counting down.
[04:59]
[04:58]
[04:57]
Felix exhaled slowly.
"Since I have time…"
He focused his mind.
"System Interface."
The familiar translucent window appeared before him again.
Felix carefully examined the interface.
———
System Window Opened
Host: Felix Lin
Title: Beginner Farmer
Level: Apprentice Lv.1
Experience: 20/100
Attributes
Strength: 5
Agility: 4
Vitality: 6
Spirit: 7
Skill
Soil Appraisal Lv.1
[Details]
Beginner Tilling Technique
[Details]
Passive Bonus
Natura Affinity Lv.1
[Details]
Plot Owned: 1
Spirit Farm: Lv.1
Inventory: 1/10
Beginner Fertilizer x1
Bonus Attribute Points: 0
———
Felix rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
"Only one plot so far."
The square of land he had just claimed was considered a single farming plot.
Which meant if he wanted to grow more crops, he probably needed to evolve his farmland or unlock more of it.
His gaze then shifted downward.
And that was when he noticed something new.
A glowing notification icon blinked at the side of the interface.
Felix raised an eyebrow.
"Another notification?"
He tapped it.
Immediately, a window appeared.
New Quest Available!
[Quest: First Harvest]
Objective: Successfully harvest your first Spirit Crop.
Reward:
+50 Experience
Basic Farming Technique
Mystery Spirit Seed x1
Felix inhaled sharply.
"50 Exp?"
That was more than double the reward of the previous quest.
And the other rewards sounded even better.
A farming technique and another seed.
Felix couldn't hide the grin spreading across his face.
"The system truly rewards me with awesome rewards just by farming."
That made sense, though. After all, it was called Secret Farming Cultivation System.
Suddenly, a small squeaking sound came from beside him.
"Squeak."
Felix looked down.
King was staring at the floating interface curiously.
Its tiny nose twitched as if it could somehow sense the system as well.
Felix chuckled.
"You're part of this too, you know."
His gaze suddenly sharpened.
"Speaking of that…"
Earlier, he had been too busy planting the seeds to properly examine his spirit beast.
Now that he had a few minutes to spare, he decided to check.
"Show King's status."
Another interface appeared.
———
Spirit Beast Status
Name: King
Species: Earth Spirit Hamster
Rank: Common
Bonded Owner: Felix Lin
Core Stats:
Power: 2
Health: 35/35
Skills:
•Earth Sense
•Soil Enrichment
•Dig Assist
———
Felix leaned forward.
"Skills?"
His eyes quickly scanned the details of each skill.
Earth Sense
Allows Dirt Muncher to detect high quality soil and underground spiritual energy within a certain range.
Felix's eyes widened.
"I see."
He had originally thought Dirt Muncher beasts just like digging.
But now it made sense.
This little creature could actually locate fertile land.
"But this patch of land was just normal soil yesterday…"
Felix immediately moved to the next skill.
Soil Enrichment
Dirt Muncher can naturally improve soil quality by mixing spiritual earth energy into the land.
Felix sat up right.
"This is it. That's… incredible."
Fertile soil was already valuable.
But if King could improve soil quality even further…
That meant even ordinary land could potentially become spirit farmland.
Felix turned to look at King.
King puffed out his chest proudly.
"Squeak."
Felix laughed.
"Don't get cocky yet."
But inside, he was already thrilled.
Then he read the final skill.
Burrow Assist
Dirt Muncher can quickly dig and loosen soil, greatly increasing planting efficiency.
Felix slapped his forehead lightly.
"So you really are a farming helper."
King squeaked happily.
Felix shook his head with amusement.
When he first awakened this spirit beast during the academy ceremony, everyone had laughed at him.
A hamster.
Not a Phoenix.
Not a Cerberus.
Not even a wolf.
Just a tiny hamster.
Even Amelia had looked disappointed.
Felix's expression had darkened for a moment. He still couldn't believe Amelia did that to him. He felt betrayed.
He glanced at King.
Then slowly smiled.
"You're the best…"
King suddenly jumped onto Felix's shoulder.
"Squeak!"
Felix gently scratched its tiny head.
"Alright, alright. You did a good job."
The hamster closed its eyes happily.
Just then, a faint chime echoed in Felix's mind.
Ding.
Felix turned his head toward the planted soil.
The timers were nearly finished.
[00:12]
[00:11]
[00:10]
Felix immediately stood up.
His heart began beating faster again.
"This is it…"
King also perked up, standing on Felix's shoulder as it stared at the soil.
The countdown continued.
[00:02]
[00:01]
Ding.
The moment the timer hit zero, the dirt suddenly split open.
Three small green sprouts burst out from the soil.
A faint glow surrounded them.
Fresh spiritual energy spread across the air.
Felix's eyes widened with excitement.
"They grew!"
In just five minutes, the Spirit Seeds had already sprouted.
Even more astonishing, the sprouts were already the size of small plants.
Felix stepped closer carefully.
Another system notification appeared before his eyes.
Spirit Crop Ready for Harvest.
Felix clenched his fist.
His very first harvest.
He slowly reached forward, preparing to collect the crops.
Behind him, King squeaked excitedly, his tiny eyes sparkling with pride.