The land was dead.
Not the kind of dead where "maybe water will fix it."
Not even the kind where "give it a week."
No—this was the kind of land that looked at you and said,
"You made a mistake coming here."
"…This is a scam."
Ryo stood in the middle of the field, hands on his hips, staring at ten rectangular plots of cracked soil.
Behind him sat a crooked wooden shack that leaned slightly to the left like it had already given up.
To his right: a broken fence.
To his left: more dirt.
In front of him: regret.
"…No, seriously. This is 100% a scam."
whooooo…
The wind blew across the empty land like it was agreeing with him.
Three days ago, Ryo had a job.
It wasn't glamorous.
He carried crates. Lifted boxes. Got yelled at.
But at least:
He had food
He had money
He had no debt
Then came that guy.
"Have you ever wanted passive income?"
"Imagine relaxing while money comes to you!"
"Farming is the future!"
"…I hate that guy."
Ryo slowly crouched down and grabbed a handful of dry soil.
It slipped right through his fingers.
"…This isn't even soil. This is dust."
A faint ping echoed in the air.
He froze.
"…No."
Another ping.
"…Don't."
A translucent blue screen appeared in front of him.
[ Welcome to Life System v1.03 ]
Initializing…
Assigned Role: Farmer
Land Ownership: Confirmed
Debt Status: ACTIVE
Outstanding Debt:
→ 1,200 Gold
Daily Interest:
→ +5 Gold
"…No."
He blinked.
Once.
Twice.
"…NO."
"WHY DO I HAVE DEBT?!"
His voice echoed across the field.
"WHO STARTS A JOB WITH DEBT?!"
The wind blew again.
whooooo…
"…This place is cursed."
Another screen appeared.
[ Unique Trait Unlocked: Lazy Growth ]
Description:
Crops grow better the less effort you put in.
Warning:
High effort reduces results.
Ryo stared at it.
Long and hard.
"…That's not real."
He poked the screen.
Nothing happened.
"…This is a joke, right?"
No response.
"…So if I work hard, I get worse results?"
silence
"…Who designed this system?"
"…I want to fight them."
Day 1 — Reality Sets In
Another notification appeared.
[ Daily Requirement ]
Plant or harvest crops worth 10 Gold
Failure Penalty:
→ -10 Energy
→ Increased Debt Interest
"…There's nothing here."
Ryo slowly turned in a full circle.
"WHERE AM I SUPPOSED TO GET CROPS?!"
whooooo…
"…Great. Even the wind is useless."
— Starter Items
A small bag suddenly appeared near his feet.
"…Huh?"
He picked it up.
[ Starter Pack Received ]
- 10x Basic Turnip Seeds
- 5x Fast Sprout Seeds
- 3x Unknown Seeds
"…Unknown seeds?"
He held one up.
It looked… normal.
Too normal.
"…That's suspicious."
He immediately put it back.
"Nope. Not touching that yet."
— Trial 1 —
"Alright. Farming. I've seen this before."
He rolled up his sleeves.
Cracked his neck.
"…How hard can this be?"
He started digging.
Carefully.
Measured spacing.
Even depth.
Straight lines.
plop… plop… plop…
"…Yeah. This looks professional."
He wiped sweat from his forehead.
Sat back on his heels.
"…Now we wait."
Five seconds passed.
Ten.
Thirty.
"…Grow."
Nothing.
"…GROW."
Nothing.
"…Do something!"
Nothing.
[ Result: Poor Growth ]
Effort Level: High
+1 EXP
"…One?"
"…ONE?!"
"I JUST DID ALL THAT FOR ONE?!"
— Trial 2 —
"Okay—fine!"
He stood up quickly.
"Maybe it needs MORE effort!"
He started again.
Faster.
More aggressive.
THUD! plop! THUD!
"COME ON—WORK!!"
He pressed the soil harder.
Dug deeper.
Planted faster.
"I'M DOING EVERYTHING RIGHT!!"
Nothing.
[ Result: Worse Growth ]
Effort Level: Excessive
+0 EXP
"…I'm going to lose my mind."
He stared at the ground.
"…You're doing this on purpose."
Frustration Peak
His stomach growled.
"…Great. I'm hungry too."
He checked the system again.
Energy: 46 / 100
Warning:
Low efficiency detected
"…Low efficiency?!"
"I'M WORKING HARD!!"
"…WHY IS THAT A BAD THING?!"
— Trial 3 —
"…You know what?"
He grabbed the seed bag.
"Fine."
He turned around—
—and threw seeds behind him without looking.
plop—tink—plop—
One hit a rock.
One rolled away.
One disappeared entirely.
"…Whatever."
He walked a few steps.
Then collapsed onto the grass.
THUD
"I'm done."
"…This farm can do whatever it wants."
zzz…
— Trait Activation —
The wind shifted.
whoooosh
The soil trembled.
Cracks spread.
Something moved beneath the surface.
Then—
SPROUT.
Leaves burst out of the ground.
Fast.
Violent.
Unnatural.
Plants grew crooked.
Twisted.
Uneven.
One spiraled.
One leaned sideways.
One… looked slightly aggressive.
Later…
"…mmgh…"
Ryo slowly opened one eye.
"…what now…"
He sat up.
Looked at the field.
Froze.
"…WHAT."
"…WHAT IS THAT?!"
"WHY IS EVERYTHING GROWN?!"
[ Trait Activated: Lazy Growth ]
Condition:
Minimal Effort + Resting
Result:
Enhanced Growth
+18 EXP
"…You're kidding."
He stood up slowly.
Walked toward the crops.
"…I WORKED HARD—NOTHING HAPPENED."
"…I SLEEP—THIS HAPPENS?!"
"…EXPLAIN!!"
— Harvest Chaos —
He grabbed a crop.
pop!
"…Okay that's—"
He grabbed another.
pop! pop!
"…This is actually good—"
Then he grabbed a bigger one.
"…You look expensive."
He pulled.
…
"…Don't do this."
He pulled harder.
YANK—!
The crop flew out—
—and smacked him directly in the face.
THWACK!!
"…AGH—!"
He stumbled backward.
Holding his nose.
"…I got attacked…"
"…by a vegetable…"
[ Mutated Crop ]
Quality: Unstable
Value: High
+12 Gold
+8 EXP
"…Worth it."
— Daily Requirement Complete —
He gathered everything quickly.
Still confused.
Still annoyed.
[ Daily Requirement Complete ]
Gold Earned: 21 / 10
Bonus:
+10 EXP
"…At least something went right."
LEVEL UP!
Lv. 1 → Lv. 2
Choose Skill:
1. Idle Planting
2. Nap Recovery
3. Messy Harvest
"…These all sound lazy."
He looked at the field again.
Messy.
Weird.
Working.
"…So I just don't try?"
A seed rolled past him.
Stopped.
Then slowly sank into the soil.
plop
Ryo stared at it.
"…I hate this place."
He slowly lay back down.
thud
"…Fine."
"…I won't try."
"…Let's see how far this stupidity goes."
zzz…