I found Ranic near the back of the building, arguing with the architect. Neither of them was yelling—which made this was one of their better days.
Ranic saw me and broke off his conversation with a “Don’t you dare think this is over.” Then he turned to me, caught my annoyed expression, and said, “So you heard about the second reservoir, I take it?”
My annoyance grew. “What second reservoir?”
He suddenly found something fascinating to look at on the ground. “I misspoke.”
“Ranic, what second reservoir?”
The old man cringed and finally returned my gaze. “The one they began constructing this morning.”
I squeezed my forehead and took a breath, fighting to remain calm. “Why are they constructing a second reservoir?”
“The road builders are too far ahead of the miners and ran out of material. Since you were paying them to sit around, I figured they might as well dig a second reservoir on the western side of the village to power waterwheels for a grain mill, lumber mill, and the stone cutting shed the quarry will need. As they are already here and working on the other one, it is only going to cost a few hundred crowns.”
I looked at him confused, momentarily losing my annoyance to curiosity. “How is it so cheap?”
“Well, this one will be much shallower than the other one and it’s not going into the granite. The road builders are just digging out the soil and clay so the builders can line the walls with stone blocks from the other reservoir. You are basically only paying for a few extra days of work and a few materials like mortar. It’s a good investment.”
On the surface, everything he said sounded reasonable. But I nearly lost it. “Ranic, I talked to the foresters weeks ago. I know how little that wood is worth. Only towns bother with lumber mills. Villages don’t produce enough to justify the cost.”
Ranic sighed and waved me over. He led me to another room and checked no one was nearby before continuing. “Normally, I would agree with you, but you went and made yourself an enemy of the regent. Isabelle told me the regent has requested that all this quarter’s taxes be paid in foodstuffs. If I hadn’t put in the clause that the guilds you hired are required to feed themselves, then they wouldn’t have brought in outside food, and our workers would already be going hungry.”
“I know that, but what does that have to do with a second reservoir?”
“I believe once the workers are gone, she’ll have the taxes paid in wood. If half of all wood suddenly left the village, you wouldn’t have enough to run the farm at full capacity. Yes, the cost isn’t justified from an economic point of view, but the increase in lumber from having a mill protects you from the regent’s meddling, which makes this a necessary investment.”
My frustration and annoyance finally boiled over. “I can’t afford this, Ranic. It’s just cost after cost after cost. Putting aside the workers’ wages, I’ve spent all but a thousand gold of the loan. I’ve only got my personal wealth left, and that’s nearly gone after purchasing the quarry. Most of what I have I need to pay the interest and other unexpected costs.”
Ranic pulled out a flask and handed it to me. “Drink, relax. Take a breath. You’ve dug yourself into a hole, but you’ve got everything you need to dig yourself out again.”
I took a swig. There was no burn. This was Ranic’s good stuff, something called ambrosia. I took a breath to clear my head. “What if I can’t do it?”
“Well, then you will be famous. I mean, if this endeavour fails, it is going to make the largest footnote in any scholarly text I’ve ever read.”
That made me chuckle.
“Just to be clear, Arnold, I don’t think we will fail. You certainly aren’t a farmer, but you have a vision and the makings of a decent leader if you ever decide to put in the effort. I wouldn’t have helped you secure that loan if I thought you couldn’t pay it back.”
“I spent 20,000 crowns so that the villagers could abandon the village.”
“I expected nothing less.”
The way he said it made me frown. “What?”
Ranic smiled and patted my shoulder. “Honestly, Arnold, you can’t think you were somehow lucky enough to have just the right amount of money to purchase everything you needed for the traps and farm with enough left over to purchase the remainder of the village?”
“Not until right now,” I said, shocked. “You planned this?”
Ranic shrugged. “Planned, saw the possibility, guessed at the decisions you might make, does it matter? What matters is you had the tools you needed at the time you needed them to make a decision that most wouldn’t have made.”
My annoyance returned. “That sounds a lot like manipulation to me.”
“Does it? When you offer someone their favourite food and something else they simply like, are you manipulating that person into taking their favourite food? No, of course not. They are behaving as they will. Knowing they will take that option when you offer them the choice doesn’t invalidate them making their decision.”
I scowled, now seriously annoyed for a whole other reason. “Are there any more options you plan on offering me?”
“Of course, I took an oath to help you to the best of my ability. Now go and get some rest, and drink something. You need to be relaxed and focused when you plant the seed.”
Chapter Forty-Three
PLANTING A MAGICAL TREE
It was about half an hour before sunset when everyone arrived at the orchard. Casks of ale and bottles of wine were stacked under tables at my expense. Everyone laid out blankets and pulled out food for a shared picnic dinner. My threshold party wouldn’t start until I planted the seed, but already everyone was in a festive mood. Instruments were out and music filled the air. I left my guitar case with Isabelle, planning to introduce everyone to country music after my charisma rose and I could finally sing without criticism.
Ranic took me aside, pulling me away from people wishing me well. A few of their names were unknown to me, as I’d never really talked to the village farmers or bothered analysing them, but I recognised the faces. Apparently, I now employed hundreds of the villagers who had sold me their land which is why they all had to be invited to my threshold party.
At least it was only my first threshold. The size and customary extravagance of threshold parties increased as they went along, and my funds were currently limited.
Ranic led me across the grass to a field he’d personally prepared, which would hold my future orchard's first apple trees. The moment I stepped onto the field, my vision changed and several areas were highlighted. Information began to pile up as I looked at the trellises the apple trees would be trained to grow along and soil at their base. The soil overlay had a vibrant shade of green I had never seen before.
Ranic cleared his throat. “Now, I’ve been developing the ground here and those nearby for the past few months. The quality of this field is bountiful. There is no higher quality. Pests, disease, and weeds are non-existent. However, there is one thing this field still lacks.”
I looked around, having to take his word for most of it. I didn’t really know how to recognise those things without the overlay—and that was showing me very little because my level was too low. “What’s missing?”
“Levels. I want you to go into your farm interface and level this field to 100. That will give it a 10% increase in quality.”
My annoyance over the second reservoir hadn’t disappeared. And what he was asking me to do was impossible. But since he was asking me to do it, I knew it couldn’t be—which meant he was hiding something from me again.
“I’ve been getting a few farming points from the villagers that stayed behind and are working the fields I bought,” I said. “I’ve also got the points from killing those monsters before the giant showed up. But I’m well short of what you need to get even a single field to that level.”
Ranic gave me a guilty smile.
“…Right?”
“Well, not exactly.”
> “Explain.”
Ranic had me open my interface and walked me through the process of selling the field upgrades that were part of the farms the villagers sold me. I hadn’t known that was possible. Fifty years of hard work was sold in a few short minutes. The act didn’t receive the reverence it deserved. I’d undone multiple generations of toil with only a few thoughts.
“Now you need to upgrade this field the way I taught you,” Ranic said.
That had been months ago, but with my memory everything came back within a few seconds, since I was focusing on something specific. I pulled up the farming interface.
You have 256,347 farming points in reserve.
You have 2734 active fields.
I accessed the field I was standing in, skipping the more complicated interface.
Unspecified Field
Level: 5
Cost to level: 100 farming points
Soil Quality: Bountiful
Effect:
+.5% quality to produce grown on this field
+5% quantity to produce grown on this field
+5% to experience gained from this field
-.5% to the negative effect of pests and diseases
-.5% to the fertilizer required for this field
Yield: None
Huh, I could see the quality of the field. I just had to look through my upgrade interface, not my overlay. Ranic had missed teaching me that part. I put that thought aside, spent 9500 farming points to push the level to 100—and the field began to glow.
Unspecified Field
Level: 100
Soil Quality: Bountiful
Effect:
+10% quality to produce grown on this field
+100% quantity to produce grown on this field
+100% to experience gained from this field
-10% to the negative effect of pests and diseases
-10% to the fertilizer required for this field
Yield: None
Ranic smiled. “Perfect. Now, don’t spend the rest of those points. I’m going to need more fields this level for my plan to work.”
“What about the rest of the farm?”
“The five level bump to fields is more than enough.”
“Seriously?”
Ranic nodded. “Too many people get caught up in field levels thinking that two level 50 fields are just as good as one level 100. It just isn’t true. A single level 100 is worth more than a dozen fields half its level. Quality is key when it comes to large operations.”
“Fine…wait, not fine.” A thought suddenly occurred to me. “I need to spend some of those points.”
Ranic scowled. “On what?”
I ignored him and pulled up the interface, focusing on a single upgrade so I wouldn’t get bombarded with hundreds of options.
You have 246,847 farming points available.
In less than a second, I dumped 100,000 farming points into the Quick Foot upgrade and immediately felt the difference. It was like putting on the rings.
Ranic growled. “What did you do?”
“I purchased Quick Foot.”
“Why would you waste 100,000 points on walking faster? You’ve already doubled your speed with that damn ability and increased it further with those items. How much faster do you want to be?”
“As fast as I can handle. And you’re forgetting that it’s not just me anymore. The others are going to be manning the barns. That extra speed might save their lives.”
Ranic muttered angrily for several seconds. “Actions like this is why I didn’t tell you how to sell those upgrades. Next, you are going to want to increase your carrying capacity or halve the stamina cost.”
“That doesn’t sound too bad.”
Ranic raised his finger. “Don’t you dare.”
He was talking to me like a child. I didn’t like that. “Lower that finger or we are going to have a problem.”
I wasn’t going to fight the old man. Not because he was old and not because he had more than a hundred points in strength and could slap me senseless with a light backhand, but because you just didn’t do that with people unless you absolutely had to. My father taught me that violence should always be your last option, but it should also almost always be an option. There were some situations where it was your only option, but this was far from one of them.
However, just because I wasn’t going to fight Ranic, it didn’t mean I was going to put up with this either.
Ranic glared but lowered his finger. “Do you know how long it will take you to replace the points you just spent?”
I shrugged.
“Years. You have an opportunity here, but if you go around making foolish decisions, you are going to squander that.”
“Ranic, we are going up against a giant. Its roar picked me up and threw me when I was halfway to the village. We need every advantage we can get just to survive because if we don’t, all this is pointless.”
Ranic glared. “I know. Don’t think I don’t. But those points are more important than you believe. Don’t spend anything else without discussing it with me.”
“I’m not going to promise that.”
“How about until after we deal with the giant, can you promise me until then?”
“You’re going to have me spend the rest by then, aren’t you?”
“That’s not the point.”
“It kind of is. I think you and I need to sit down after this and discuss your plans for my farm in a little more detail. I’m tired of these surprises.”
Ranic glared. “If that’s what you want.”
“It honestly isn’t, but I think it’s become necessary. Now let’s get this over with.”
Ranic nodded and led me through the trellises to the centre of the field where a small hole had been dug. A thin layer of white powder lined the bottom of the hole and there was a watering can and a pile of rich dark soil beside it.
Ranic handed me the pouch that contained the heritage seed. “You haven’t made any mistakes in a few days, but we’ll still go through the steps one more time and then I’ll call the others over.”
I nodded.
After learning my available mana was now 1530, Ranic managed to convince me to not just plant the seed but perform an expensive magical ritual while I did so. I’d spent days learning how. And I wasn’t going to waste this opportunity just because I was angry with him and wanted to do it out of spite.
Maybe that’s something I would have done when I first arrived in this weird world. But I had a lot of charisma now and it was much easier to keep my petty emotions in check. Valid anger was just as difficult, but pettiness wasn’t.
So I went through the process with Ranic, miming what I needed to do, practicing one last time.
When Ranic was satisfied, he called everyone over and had them form an audience twenty feet back.
Emily came up, dressed formally, and stood before the crowd. This was the village’s first heritage seed, a rare chance for her to act as a lord and gain experience while the abandonment order was in place. The only other time was when she opened the quarry and the noble experience gained was substantial.
Emily gave a rather inspiring speech, which had everyone nodding their heads in agreement. She finished with, “This is a monumental day for the growth of Blackwood.”
A round of applause went up along with a few cheers. Everyone here was devoted to the village or at least devoted enough to care. I saw a crystal of experience form in Emily’s hand as she stepped toward me.
“Landlord Arnold, I offer you my blessing as Lord of Blackwood. Plant this seed so that our village and your farm may grow together.”
Ranic leaned over and whispered, “You’ve got two more minutes before you can begin.”
I looked at the crowd. The smiths and carpenters were there with their families. Datter and the other masters had shown up along with all the various heads of the different guilds and projects, adding another eighty to the hundreds of farmers.
I clear
ed my throat in mock seriousness. “Sorry, everybody, but you’re going to have to stare at my pretty face for a couple of minutes. We didn’t time our speeches right. We are a little ahead of schedule.”
The crowd laughed.
“I don’t mind,” yelled an elderly woman from somewhere at the back.
The crowd laughed harder and then quickly broke out in conversation. Emily walked over to Ava’s oldest daughter, and the two began chatting. Wendell, the village drunk, opened one of the ale kegs, and more than half the men drifted off, forming a line to slake their thirst.
“It’s time,” Ranic said a few minutes later. Only a third of the men had managed to fill their tankards and they were annoyed they had to come back.
I pulled the drawstring on the pouch and removed a rainbow-coloured apple. The heritage seed was about as far from a typical seed as you could get. It wasn’t just the colour or the fact it looked like the fruit. It had an electric presence that made the hairs on my arms stand on end and it was hot to the touch like a mug of steaming coffee.
A prompt appeared as I pulled it out.
You have found a heritage seed. Would you like to plant it?
Yes/No?
I selected Yes.
Would you like to attempt to enhance the planting process with the reagents you have prepared?
Yes/No?
I selected Yes again.
You are 0% effective.
I knelt beside the bucket of rich dark soil, pulled out a handful, and put the seed on top. Then I grabbed another handful of soil and cupped the seed between the dirt, covering it completely. Wherever the soil touched the seed, it stuck, like it was held with glue. The rainbow colouring vanished under dark brown earth. Ranic wasn’t sure why covering the seed in soil before planting it was necessary, it was just one of the many mysteries of this world, but if you didn’t do it, you wouldn’t receive the experience bonus.
Oh Great! I was Reincarnated as a Farmer Page 49
