Winston stretched languorously as he laid in his comfy bed. His body felt like hell but that was oddly satisfying. He wasn't used to physical labor and was a little impressed with how good it felt to wake up sore, knowing that he'd done real work to earn the soreness. He wondered if this was what a proper 'morning after' felt like but one without the hangover and awkward small talk. He felt alive in a way he hadn't in a long time.

Winston laughed aloud still staring at his ceiling then pried his sore body out of bed. He was starving. After a large breakfast, he decided to finish up his homework then do some more research. He needed to see what information he could find on farming in game. Soon he had his homework done and was flipping between a dozen browser tabs. His eyes scanned over data looking for anything that might be helpful to a newly budded farmer.

He found a good deal of information but not what he was looking for exactly. He did find some things on items though that were interesting. Items in Otherworld had ten ranks based on their rarity and value: Common, Uncommon, Rare, Magical, Attuned, Potent, Mystical, Mighty, Unique, and Legendary. Those were the basic divisions of any item in the game and were a judge of how much magical power an object held.

To add to that, all crafted and created items in the game also had a secondary set of divisions that designated the quality of the the object. This had less to do with the magical properties of the item and instead signified the skill and care with which it was created. These rankings were bad, poor, low-quality, standard quality, high-quality, superb, excellent, masterwork, and perfect.

So a master smith that used only common iron to make a sword would likely produce a common item of superb, or excellent quality. The sword would have no magic in it at all, so would provide no stat boosts to the player, however it would contain bonuses that related to the weapon itself such as increased damage or durability. On the opposite end of the spectrum, if someone gave a complete novice a Dragon-heart and told him to make a sword with it, he might produce something that had high potential magical power, but it's stats and overall rating would suffer a lot because of its low quality and poor construction.

The system was complex and although lots of research had been done by players on the way the two mechanics combined, little that was concrete had been discovered, but in vague terms an item that was well crafted seemed to make better use of the ingredients it was created with. Even ingredients of low magical potential could be made into some impressive items with enough skill and care. For things like crops that were both a crafted item and an ingredient, the chefs and alchemists that used them would get better results from higher quality crops, even if they were common rarity.

The other interesting thing about Otherworld was that monsters did not drop items. Winston had already been aware of this but not that he was taking up a production class it was good to get a refresher.

A player would never get a sword, axe, or piece of armor from killing a orc, even if they were attacking you with one right before you killed it. All items in the game had to be created by players. So a player would never get a sword of 1000 truths from slaying a dragon or completing a quest. Instead the dragon would drop dragon skin, a dragon heart, bones, ect… as well as various gems and magical curios. Those had to be taken back to a crafter, combined with other resources such as metal, wood, stone and then made into a weapon. Quest rewards were generally experience, reputation, money, or skill gains. Many players disliked the system but it made the crafting and production professions very valuable, and kept the economy from getting clogged up with thousands of junk goblin swords that no-one wanted.

Winston read on and started looking into specific crops to grow. Wheat was the most common and could be grown pretty much anywhere. It matured in twelve hours and usually produced about 12 bushels an acre. So he could have the whole mess knocked out in about a day. Granted, it would take a single person three days to harvest an acre of crops in game, but he could grow it in twenty-four hours. Corn on the other hand produced about four times the grain per acre, but it was an a 48 hour growth cycle to balance it out. Rice wasn't really an option as Grimstone Keep was in a temperate environment that was too dry.

There weren't any specific farming tips he could find and he looked. That was one area where a person could see how seriously players took the game. Information and tips on how to increase one's combat skills were fairly common, especially at lower levels and skill ranks. However information on craftings skills were much more rare. In a lot of cases proprietary crafting knowledge was how players made a living. The top crafters kept their techniques and processes secret, sometimes even from their own guilds. Winston briefly thought about looking up some information on actual farming, but figured he could do that later.

Winston was excited to get in game and get his first planting under his belt. He hopped in his machine at about 10:00. Without any school he'd be able to play until the game booted him out. Since he was still a minor his play time was restricted but he planned to make the most of it. He hopped back in game and found it was early morning at the keep. Rimmi was already back at work, sweating under the just rising sun. The in-game time ran at the same speed as the real world, and much like reality the time of day varied based on your location in game. Grimstone keep was a few hours behind Winston's time zone in the real world. So at 10:00 his time it was 7:00 in game. Rimmi must have been up for a while, because he'd managed to get quite a bit of work done while Winston had been sleeping and doing research.

"Damn You've put in some work." Winston said as he walked up to the gnome who was currently digging out a field. The small guy had managed dig things out pretty well and should be ready to start planting in a few hours. The gnome turned and looked up at him, scowling slightly as a bead of sweat ran down his narrow face.

"Yeah, no shit us adults can't dilly dally around all day in class and pretend we're getting something done." He said over a bony shoulder as he continued to work. Winston wasn't sure that was fare but he didn't argue.

"This your job then?" Winston asked. Lots of people did try to earn a living in game but only a few could make a good money that way. Although, you could make some money pretty easy but usually not enough to live on.

"Yeah, for now. That's what happens when you have to do a nickel in the pen and have no real job skills when you get out. Sure this deal sucks but it gets me in game and at least gives me a chance to make some money. This way I can self-employee and don't have to worry about a bunch of bullshit managers refusing to hire me to stock-shelves. " The guy said. Winston just looked at him a little stunned and the gnome snorted and continued. "You gonna go run crying to mom now? Don't wanna work with a con." The gnome said bitterly.

"It's not that at all." Winston said defensively. "Just surprising, I could honestly give a shit less. Sure if you're a crazy pedo or a serial rapist that's one thing, but those aren't the kinds of crimes you get five years for. Everything else is whatever. People do things for all sorts of reasons. That might mean I wouldn't wanna loan you money but it doesn't mean you're a bad person." Winston said with a shrug.

The gnome looked thoughtful for a while as he worked then nodded, as if satisfied. "You're alright for a weird mole thing." The gnome said nodding. "You need any help clearing out a space for yourself?" He asked. Winston looked over at the plot they'd managed to clear last night. The gnome had claimed half for himself, then expanded that bit today. Winston was left with an area about twenty-yards square with no trees, bushes, or rocks. Winston wanted a quarter acre for himself. He'd done the math this morning and needed to turn all the earth as well as expand it another 15 yards each direction. .

"Sure, I figure I need about 15 years in each direction." Winston said as he started hacking down the weeds and tall grasses with his the his scythe. At first his motions were awkward. His pudgy mole body made swinging difficult. He had to work around his belly and get used to his disproportionate arms and legs but after ten minutes or so of work he started to get the hang of it.

(Blip)

(Blip)

[You Have Unlocked A New Skill]

[Two-Hand Weapons]

[Current Rank: Novice I]

[You have learned Scythe Sub-Skill]

[Current Rank: Novice I]

Winston raised an eyebrow at the message but kept swinging. He didn't know scythe had its own sub-skill. Skills in otherworld didn't work like most MMO's. There were no talent-trees or initial selection menus. Instead you just unlocked and leveled up whatever you used, at least at the beginning. The full system was a little more complex as the skill ranks got higher. The game forced you to pick a smaller number of skills to focus on eventually but the catch was you had to unlock a skill first, and if you discovered a skill you wanted after choosing you were SOL. That would come later though. Winston was still weeks from having to worry about the skill system.

It took about two hours to clear the patch that Winston had mentally designated as his wheat-field. The next part was actually turning the soil. This was the one of the parts he was looking forward to. Farming was, at its root, drudge work. That's why so few players did it, even with the massive prices of grain. He had an advantage though.

A mental command activated his racial ability and thick black claws shot out from his chubby but dexterous fingers and toes. The claws were heavy, flat on the inside, and slightly curved, almost perfect for digging. Picking a spot he bent over he started to dig. At first his posture was awkward until he gave up trying to just bend over and instead went to all fours. That made everything much easier and Winston was able dig like no tomorrow. His claws were perfect for breaking the soil, and his large shovel-like hands made dirt moving swift, even the claws on his feet made decent tools once he learned to start using them. Soon he was moving at nearly walking speed, turning the soil and he moved all all fours.

He finished digging up the whole field in about an hour, which was way faster than the gnome was managing on his field with a hoe and shovel. By the end Winston was filthy, exhausted, and his brown fur was lathered up like a horse. The dirt he was covered in had turned to mud in his fur and it was caked on thick.

"Damn boy, you can dig." The gnome said looking over at Winston's field. Rimmi was trying to till a larger area than Winston had chosen and was still working. He looked over at the Yawnshu with a slightly incredulous expression. Winston didn't know what to tell him. He had picked a mole-man race of course he would be able to dig well.

"I'll tell ya what. You start planting wheat on my field and I'll finish digging yours. Just lay out the boundaries you want, and I want plant some of the wheat. The guides I've read online say you've actually got to till the earth then plant something to unlock the first level of farming." Winston said, offering the gnome a deal.

Rimi looked happy so Winston got back to work. His body protested but he knew he'd earned this pain with his laziness. At least he'd get a big stat boost to strength and endurance if he ever managed to level up. That was something else he'd need to get working on but he had to get his crops in soon if he was going to make this week's quota.

Winston headed to the shed and grabbed a handful of wheat, then sprinkled some into the trench he'd made. After that it was a simple matter of covering the seeds back up.

(Blip)

(Blip)

[You Have Unlocked A New Skill!]

[Farming]

[Current Rank: Novice 1]

[You have learned Grain Sub-Skill]

[Current Rank: Novice I]

Winston smiled in satisfaction. His new life had begun. Now he just had to turn himself into the best farmer possible, make a bunch of a money, maybe pick up some chicks. He looked over his field with the smug satisfaction of someone who'd just taken his first step on the path to success. Then realized he was a overweight mole who was covered in mud while staring at a small garden. His fantasy shattered and he opened up his menus to distract himself with text.

[Farming]

[This skill is unlocked when a character manages to till and plant grain, fruits, vegetables, herbs, or any other plants or fungus. This skill improves the quality and yield of any crop planted by the player. It also increases the growth rate of crops, the quality of soil worked by the player, and many other related bonus.

This skill will gain mastery as a player plants and harvests crops.

[Current Skill Rank: Novice I]

[Bonus Crop Yield: 2%

Bonus Crop Quality:1.2% +15.0% (16.2%)]

[Grain Sub-skill]

[Current Skill Rank: Novice I]

[Bonus Grain Crop Yield: 3%

Bonus Grain Crop Quality: 1.5%]

It took the Winston and Rimmi the gnome another hour to finish things up. Winston could barely lift his arms by the time he was done and crawled inside the shed to collapse in a heap before logging out. Otherworld wasn't like other games. Your character didn't leave the game when you logged out unless you were in a safe zone like a city. Grimstone keep was not a safe zone, and both monsters and other players could raid and attack if they thought they could get away with it. Winston's body would would lay in the shed asleep until he logged back in.

Winston was a mess when he got back to his body. He hadn't recovered all the way from yesterday's workout and now he felt completely awful. Running around on all fours in game had required muscles that normally didn't get used and he was a giant ball of exhaustion. He wobbled on noodle-like legs over to the shower and washed off the sweat. The game really was a workout.

Winston took a short break to let his muscles relax a bit and grab some lunch. Then it was back in the game to dig more fields. Winston didn't really need to, The field he had going now should be enough to finish his weekly quota, but if he wanted to make money on the side, or just give himself some breathing room he'd need more. Besides, it would improve his skills, and help raise his attributes. So Winston and Rimmi spent the rest of the day clearing the keeps massive courtyard and digging fields.

Winston was nearly insensate with fatigue by the time he he was finished expanding his field. He was laying on the ground gasping for air like a landed fish when Therion finally came out to check on them. His armor was shining under the early-afternoon sun, as a faint breeze ruffled his black-hair The wind was cold and with a hint of rain in it. Winston was glad he'd gotten his fields dug already. They'd turn into a muddy mess if the skys cut loose.

"Looks like you guys have been working your asses off." Therion said as he examined the fields with a critical eye. "Most players spend their first few days bitching and moaning then either bail or end up having to play almost non-stop for the last few days to make the first quota. I'm pretty impressed actually." He looked over the fields with a distant expression for a while then nodded. "Anyway. Since you guys don't have any real access to shops or basic services since we stole you out of the noobie cradle we've got some stuff to give you. He said pulling out two crumpled looking sacks. He tossed one each to Winston and Rimmi. Winston picked his up and examined it.

[Harvest Pack]

[Common, High-Quality]

[A pack made with care specifically tailored to hold large quantities of crops, herbs, vegetables, fruits, seeds and tools. The pack was made from common cow leather, and buckled with the iron from an old hoe.]

[Class: Pack]

[Slot: Pack]

[Durability: 120/135]

[Effect: Holds 30 lbs of non-crop material. Holds 150 lbs. of crops and seeds]

[Crafted by: Muric Peltman]

It was a pretty good pack. Packs were expensive and specialized packs were even more expensive. This was actually a really nice gift, probably two or three-hundred gold. Winston was surprised. Therion had seemed not to really give a damn during their previous meeting.

"These are yours as well he said, pulling a few clay jars and loaves of bread out of the pack. We didn't really give you many supplies when you started and since you have no real way to earn money. These were the least we could do." He said as Rimmi and Winston took the food and tossed it into their new packs. Winston kept out one loaf and ate it instantly. His food counter was around 10 out of 100 after two days without food, and he was getting some wicked debuffs. He chewed while Therion continued to talk.

"That's the good news. Now for the not good news. It seems the Crimsons have been sniffing around. Now honestly, I can't imagine what they'd possibly be doing out here. The closest real city is almost two days ride away. It would take twice that on foot. Still, We've heard a few reports and a few guildies have gotten PK'd. So it's pretty safe to assume their only real objective is to cause trouble for us." He continued.

The Crimson Suns or Crimsuns were another of America's well known guilds. They and the Swords of Solomon had gotten into a fight over a boss when the game first came out. Now years later, both had risen to the top of the virtual heap but their animosity had never cooled. Although they weren't actively at war, each took every opportunity to kill, harass,disrupt, and generally piss off the other whenever possible.

"So I want you guys to be on the lookout. I doubt they'd put in the effort to steal your crops but they'd be plenty happy to burn them. We do have guards, but a raid could cause you guys a lot of trouble. If that happens we'll waive your quest for the week but you'll still be S.O.L… Well That's it for me. Have fun with the harvest." He said, before turning and heading back into the keep.

"God damn it... " Rimmi muttered as Therion walked away. "I gotta spend all damn day out here clod-hopping, that's bad enough. Now though, I gotta deal with Politics. This is such a shit-show." Winston raised an eyebrow at his smaller companion. Sure it sucked, but it was honestly whatever. Getting out of his weekly quota would save Winston tons of time. The skill gains were more important at this stage.

"It's not that big of a deal. We'd lose one crop and would get the whole week off. That's a net gain of time." Winston said, non comprehending.

"That's all fine and good for you weekend warriors, but this is my job. I can't be losing those man hours." Rimmi complained. Winston shrugged said his goodbye to the gnome and logged. His harvest wouldn't be ready till nearly midnight and there was no reason to waste his play time.

He was finishing up his homework from yesterday when his mom got home. Winston winced as he saw the expression on her face. She did not look happy. She looked at him for a moment with a raised eyebrow as she took off her shoes and put away her purse with a bit more drama than usual.

"So Mr. Anderson called me at work today. It was quite a surprise. I mean I can't image that my son would have gotten suspended for a fight, apparently gotten his nose broken. Then failed to tell me about it as he hid in his room all night." She said calmly as she turned her best glare on him.

He rubbed his still bandaged nose as he smiled. "He attacked me first honest. There were witnesses and a security camera." He didn't actually know if there was a camera but it was probably a safe bet. Most places were crawling with them now-a-days for insurance reasons.

"Yes, he did mention that. He also said you were fighting over a girl. Which I find fairly hard to believe. You've never seemed that interested in girls." She continued and Winston shot her a scowl. She laughed. "I don't mean like that. I'm sure you're interested in girls. You're just not the type to go into a fight over one. You are my son after all. Your a but more subtle than that."

"It wasn't so much over her as about her. She's the one the came to me with the offer to get a system so she could earn points with her guild, figuring I'd melt for her and do whatever she wanted. Which I honestly might have." He admitted. "Fortunately it was also something I wanted. Anyway, the guy who started the fight thought he could make a name for himself by beating me up as some sort of social climbing technique." Winston explained. Then quickly recounted how he was ambushed, and what he remembered of the short fight.

His mom sat on the couch and listened to his short story. Shaking her head with a slightly disgusted look. "Ugh, I don't miss high school drama. All the stupid posturing and lying. Although, the business world isn't much different." She said, sounding wry.

There was a knock on the front door and Winston got up to answer it. Trish stood on the other side of the door in her normal sweatshirt and jeans looking a bit awkward, but all the cuter because of it. That thought made him frown but he held his tongue as she spoke.

"Hey Winn what's up? They sent me your homework so you could catch up." She said handing over a few papers. Winston smiled at her and waved her inside.

"Thanks Trish, you wanna come in?" He asked her. Trish looked a bit unsure for a moment before nodding and heading inside. She parked herself on an armchair across from Winston's mom and nodded to her. "Hey Mrs. Stevenson. I was just dropping off Winston's homework. Just so you know it wasn't his fault. I saw the whole thing and he was attacked completely unprovoked." Winton tried to both smile and grimace, one that she was defending him and the other because she'd seen him flattened.

"Although he needs to learn to keep his hands up. He's not much of boxer." Trish said, giving Winston a grin. Winston scowled at her, although she was right. He really wasn't much of a fighter. Hopefully Otherworld would change some of that for him. That was part of the draw of the game. Skills translated both directions. A master martial artist would be able to level their skills in game very rapidly. While someone who'd raised up their skill in game would eventually get better at it in the real world.

"I don't doubt that. My son isn't the sort to engage in fisticuffs. That's more Josh's style, throw a few punches then buy the guy a drink. Winston on the other hand holds grudges." She said with a smile that seemed almost proud. Which was very strange. He couldn't think of anytime when his mom has acted particularly proud.

"Well, I better get back home." Trish said, getting up from her chair. "Mom will be wondering where I ran off to. You'll be back at school monday right?" She asked as she headed towards the door.

"Nope got a five day suspension. Won't be back till Friday." Winston said with a shrug. "Not that I'm really torn up about it. I can do the work without real problems. Although, reading all the history i'll have to catch up on after missing that many days of class will be unfortunate." Winston got up and walked over to her. "Thanks again, Trish. I'll have to look you up in Otherworld if I ever make it out of the stupid keep i'm stuck in. It's in the middle of nowhere in the Brethren plans."

"That's in Lunari right? I'm based out of the Red-Sands so we're on opposite ends of the world." She said with a shrug. Maybe I'll teleport over near you though If I get some time. Ruger and Jason said all you're doing is just farming, might be fun watching you slave away for a while. Anyway, I've gotta get going. See ya Monday." She said then headed out the door.

"That girl has the biggest crush on you."Winston's mom sighed as the door closed. "It almost hurts to watch you two. She doesn't know what to do and you're just oblivious." Winston frowned. Why did everyone keep telling him Trish liked him. Well, he was sure Trish liked him, they were friends, but he didn't think Trish liked him liked him. Trish was just Trish. Sure she had some large…. assets, but she was Trish. He'd never really thought about her that way and wasn't really sure he wanted to start. He had too much to deal with anyway.

After enduring a bit of yelling from his dad at dinner Winston had slunk back off to his room. He played a few games of LotA with Jason, Brad, and Ruger, before they logged off to do some homework and Winston logged back into Otherworld. He'd finished planting at about 10:30 am, so his wheat should almost be ready to harvest.

The sun was setting over Grimstone keep when Winston woke up on the ground in the shed. Rimmi was finally gone and Winston had the entire place to himself as he looked around the dour stone structure. Green sprouts of corn pushed up through Rimmi's field while golden stalks of wheat waved in the light breeze at Winston's. Winston nodded smugly at the wheat. This was his life now and he'd make the most of it.

Luckily for Winston harvesting in this game used video game logic, instead of actual techniques. Normally he'd have to reap, dry, thresh, and winnow the wheat. However this was game so all he really required was to reap the wheat down then shove it all into his pack. There it would be collected and sorted and he could pull out just the grain to turn in for his quest.

The harvesting itself was pretty anticlimactic, even with it being his first harvest and everything. There really wasn't much to say about. Swing scythe, step forward, repeat ad nauseam. Winston cut the stalks off near the ground and just let everything pile up. It took him about forty minutes to work through. Then all that was left was to pick everything up. Winston would fill his bag until it was full then simply pour everything that wasn't the wheat seeds back onto the ground. Once his bag was full of seeds it was back to the shed to dump them in the receptacle marked by Therion. Another hour and he finally managed the whole field.

(Blurp)

[Quest Updated!]

[Food for the Guild]

[You are to deliver 25 bushels of Corn, Wheat, or Rice to the guild stores at Grimstone Keep within 7 days.]

[Time Remaining: 142:33]

[Progress: 3.2/25 bu]

[Recommended Level: N/A]

[Difficulty: N/A]

[Rewards: N/A]

Wiston acknowledged and cleared the popup. It was a start, although at this rate it would take him eight more cycles to clear the task. Then he'd need to actually try to make some money and get some gear, level up and do the whole MMO thing. Raising his farming skill was only one thing his character needed. He needed to secure transportation if he really wanted to do the farming thing full time. Then maybe get some fertilizer or something? Maybe he could try to infuse magic crystals into the field or something? It would be something to look into. It was a fantasy game after all.

Winston stared down at all the straw and chaff left ever. Straw was useful for raising animals but they didn't eat it normally. Winston wasn't sure if it had any actual value or use in this world. He supposed he could try to weave it into something, or he could just just farm it under. That would re-fertilize the field to some extent. Then again, he didn't know if would rot, or how long that would take. The game might just disappear it all as it seemed to have done with the weeds.

Shrugging Wiston started re-digging his little garden while turning the leftover straw-stalks under. They seemed to dissolve as he did it. Not in the normal way for Otherworld, which was to sort of explode into black vapor like enemies did when they died or when an item was destroyed. These just sort of melted into the dirt, like some weird Dali painting. Winston took that as a good sign and soon finished his second digging. Then more seeds, and finally his second planting was growing. It was well past dark when he finished and he was sore all over.

(Bliiiiiip)

[Farming Skill has Ranked Up!]

[Current Rank: Novice Rank II]

[Bonus Crop Yield: 4%

Bonus Crop Quality: 2.5% +15.0% (17.6%)]

[Grain Sub-Skill has Ranked Up!]

[Grain Sub-skill]

[Grain Sub-skill: Novice Rank II]

[Bonus Grain Crop Yield: 4.5%

Bonus Grain Crop Quality: 6.0%]

(WURP!)

[You have been playing for more than eight of the last twelve hours. As you are a minor, you must log out now or face log-in penalties.]

Winston sighed at the message. Minors got screwed in this game. Couldn't sleep with barmaids, couldn't get drunk. You couldn't stay in game until your IRL body crapped itself. It just wasn't right.

It was one of the things that Nexus had been forced to add into the game after launch. Any under-aged players had limits on their play time. They could only play so many hours a day during the week with a bit more leeway on the weekends. You could ignore the prompts for a while, but the then the game would suspend your account based on how long you went over. Playing twelve hours straight would usually earn you a day a non-play time. Eight hours straight would cost Winston about 12 hours on a weekday.

That was fine though. His wheat would be done by then and he'd have his homework from today to makeup. Winston sighed and logged for the night. He was both physically and mentally exhausted. He was sure he'd sleep for at least ten hours.