Chapter 33

The next day, Keith woke up earlier than usual to join Annallee and Uncle Ridger in their morning workout session, much to their surprise. Sadly, Keith didn’t get the ‘rush’ his sister and Uncle experienced when working out, so he could only grit his teeth and bear with the pain.

And so, two hours later, Keith made his way to the living room and collapsed facefirst on the couch. If a disaster struck at this moment, he’d just stay still and play dead. He was too exhausted to make an effort.

However, Keith had to admit the pain was worth it. In two short hours, he gained 6 points in Strength and 4 points in Health. That was more stat points than what a single level gave. And it only took Keith what, two hours? He couldn’t believe it.

When Keith voiced his doubts to Uncle Ridger, he warned Keith shouldn’t expect such incredible growth to be the norm. Conventional methods could only gain so many stats. Eventually, the System wouldn’t grant you a single point. For example, the last time Uncle Ridger gained a stat point from working out was several months ago. At that point, you had to get creative and use special potions or gravity rooms.

Mariane had been reading a book in the living room when Keith entered and subsequently collapsed on the couch. Seeing his pitiful state, she teased, “Did you make sure to drink your protein shake?”

When Keith groaned in response, she said, “Don’t waste it. The herbs that go into that shake are very expensive.”

Keith’s ear perked up at the word ‘expensive.’ He wondered if he should secretly collect one. Uh, probably not. Those shakes were Uncle Ridger’s work of love. How could he shamelessly steal it?

By the time the sun reached its peak, Keith had rested long enough to regain a bit of his usual energy. Sitting up, he saw Uncle Doven sleeping on a chair with drool hanging from his mouth while his mother was still engrossed in her book. A thought occurred to him just then.

“Mom,” Keith called out, “you never explained how Uncle Doven’s related to you.”

Mariane looked over. “Oh? I guess you’re right. It’s nothing so amazing. He’s the manifestation of my innate gift – a soul companion.”

“What? Really?” Keith’s eyes lit up as he scrutinized Uncle Doven. “Hm. Hm. I didn’t know you had such tastes.”

“Pfft!” Mariane froze before exploding in anger. “What the hell does that mean? Huh?”

Keith gave an expression that said, ‘you know what I’m talking about.’ Exasperated, Mariane threw the book she was reading at Keith and explained, “That isn’t his real appearance. It's an illusion cast by an item.”

Keith paused. “Why do you need to hide his real appearance?”

“Heh,” Mariane sneered in contempt, “don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

Mariane mentally communicated with Uncle Doven as Keith’s imagination kicked into full drive. Was he so ugly that Mariane was too ashamed to walk around with him? Or maybe he was too beautiful? Keith imagined all sorts of reasons when the air around Uncle Doven suddenly rippled, revealing his true form.

Keith was wrong.

Uncle Doven wasn’t a pretty boy, ugly, or anything like that. No, he was a black suit of full-body armor. The ends of his gauntlets and shoes had long claws while a gaping maw of serrated teeth spread across his helmet, giving Keith a scare.

Keith’s mouth hung open as Mariane walked over and merged with Uncle Doven. When she did, the cloth bandages she always wore abruptly shot out between the gaps in the armor and hovered mysteriously in the air. The armor tilted its head as Mariane’s voice came out from within. “Scared?”

Keith came to upon hearing his mother’s question. He took a deep breath and shook his head. “I didn’t know my mother was the famous ‘Mad Grappler.’ If the world knew you were a helpless drunk, what would they think?”

The Mad Grappler was a renowned soldier who fought against the demons fifty years ago in the last great war. Although no one knew her appearance, her unique and savage fighting style gave her great renown.

Mariane was worried Uncle Doven’s true appearance would cause Keith’s attitude towards him to change, so she didn’t expect him to crack a joke. Exasperated, she unmerged with Uncle Doven and defended herself. “Alcohol only affects me if I want it to.”

Keith shrugged dismissively and tossed back the book Mariane threw at him. Suddenly, he froze and wore a grave expression. “I just realized something terrifying.”

“What?” Mariane looked over and turned serious when she saw Keith’s face.

Keith slowly counted with his fingers before sighing, “You’re so much older than I thought. You were active in the war fifty years ago, so you must be approaching one hundred, right?”

It took a moment for Mariane to process what she heard. When she did, tears formed in the corner of her eyes as she pouted, “Why are you bullying me today? What happened to my adorable son?”

Keith gave her a look. “Was anything I said wrong?”

“You’ll be single your entire life with an attitude like that,” Mariane grumbled as she turned away from Keith and returned to her book. In her mind, she calculated how many years were left until her one-hundredth birthday and felt miserable. Bah, whatever. Looks mattered more than age, and with her figure and face? Hmph.

When Keith recovered some more energy, he returned to his room and wondered how to increase his strength further. The money from Adeiv was still coming in consistently, giving Keith guaranteed stats every week. It was quite exhilarating to cash in a massive paycheck every week and watch his CV, CP, and stats grow considerably. He wanted more of this type of growth.

Laying in bed, Keith summoned his Grimoire and browsed through the shop and its functions while deep in thought. Keith currently had about 4 million CP after farming ants for two weeks and was now very close to reaching his goal of purchasing Equipment Enhancement. Once he got that, he would loan it to Adeiv and increase his weekly income.

However, Keith began to have doubts. He flipped to the ‘Energy’ tab and saw his current Mana storage. Since he never used Mana for anything, Keith figured he might as well store it, so he currently had a bit over 50,000. It was unfortunate withdrawing it cost a considerable sum.

That wasn’t important.

What mattered was two new functions unlocked in the shop when Keith first stored Mana in his Grimoire. He didn’t consider the implications at the time because he was too excited to use the orbs. Now that Keith couldn’t use them anymore, he considered what this meant.

What if, like Mana, there were items he hadn’t collected yet that would unlock new functions? What if they were potential money makers like Material Fragmentation and Material Synthesis? Keith’s heart began to beat faster at the thought.

Think.

What was he missing?

Keith racked his brains long and hard when his eyes abruptly lit up. That’s it! Food, ores, metals - he’d collected thousands of different items so far, but there was something he overlooked.

Seeds.

Who could blame him? How valuable were seeds compared to the food they produced? Keith had ignored them in the past, but now he realized they might be the key to unlocking new functions.

Feeling increasingly certain he was on the right track, Keith went to the auction house and promptly purchased seeds of all types. Then, he sprinted out of his room, down the stairs, out the front door, and into the warehouse. Once he collected the seeds he ordered, he quickly brought up the Grimoire’s shop.

“I knew it!” Keith exclaimed out loud and hopped in joy. Just like he thought, new functions appeared in the shop. However, when he read the description of the first one, he couldn’t believe what he saw.

Farming Simulator – 5 million CP

Description: Everything you need to to become a farmer. Mana cost varies. Experience cost varies. Gold cost varies. No cooldown.

Why did it seem like his innate gift was taking a strange turn?