The Prince Who Absorbs Abilities With a 'Click' - C33
Chapter 33: Real Farm and Imperial Wizard
[Survivor ‘Kang Ha-yoon’s faith significantly increases.]
[Survivor ‘Kang Ha-yoon’s abilities are upgraded.]
[Survivor ‘Kang Ha-yoon successfully contributes outside the shelter.]
[You have earned 100 points as a reward!]
Alarms popped up one after another.
It had been a while since I had earned points, but right now, there was something more concerning than that.
It was the presence of Kang Min-hyuk.
‘I almost made a big mistake, didn’t I?’
Min-hyuk in the screen was shaking his body.
Thankfully, it didn’t look like he was injured.
Who would have thought that such a young sibling pair would pull a knife and take Min-hyuk as a hostage?
I certainly didn’t expect it.
‘Is this what an apocalypse world is like?’
A world where even children can turn cruel. It was a more horrifying place than I thought.
Fortunately, the people who had come with Kang Ha-yoon were skilled, so the situation was quickly resolved.
What would have happened if something had happened to Min-hyuk?
‘I don’t even want to think about it.’
To be honest, I didn’t care what happened to Min-hyuk.
If it were a game, a troublesome character like that would have been dealt with a long time ago.
But this is not a game.
‘Be thankful it’s not a game.’
Above all, Min-hyuk was Kang Ha-yoon’s only biological brother. And my care target is Kang Ha-yoon.
For her sake, Min-hyuk needed to stay safe.
If Min-hyuk died and Kang Ha-yoon did something rash, all the effort so far could be in vain.
Even though Ha-yoon had awakened, she was still young. What if her only family member died?
It would be a chaotic situation.
‘That would mean my sponsorship is gone too.’
More importantly, it could also cause problems with acquiring items through Ha-yoon in the future.
Even if I could find other survivors, Ha-yoon was special because she was Ha-yoon.
This game had one fatal flaw: the inability to give direct commands to survivors.
Other games like ‘Magical Girl Maker’ allowed communication and command by controlling the winged cat ‘Kain’.
In ‘Dungeon Master’, I could control monsters or give direct orders to dungeon owners.
However, ‘Earth’s Last Day, Raising Survivors’ did not allow that.
I could only choose the next action for the survivor, and there was no system for giving direct orders.
The conclusion was that the items Ha-yoon offered were not things I forcibly obtained.
Yet, Kang Ha-yoon continued to offer me items consistently.
‘There’s no reason to give up when she’s treating me this well.’
Would other survivors do the same?
Definitely not.
Moreover, her abilities had been upgraded because of this incident.
If she continued to improve her skills, it would only be a matter of time before Ha-yoon became the real force in the shelter.
If she rose higher, wouldn’t the items she gave me also get better?
‘Alright, Ha-yoon coins are definitely going up!’
I still didn’t know how much her upgraded abilities had improved, but this experience would have been beneficial for everyone.
‘She must have realized how scary the world is.’
Especially for Min-hyuk.
He must have realized the dangers of the world he lives in, so I believed he wouldn’t cause any more accidents like that in the future.
‘Once we get back to the shelter, Ha-yoon will surely scold him properly.’
And the people around us would likely pay even more attention to Min-hyuk than before.
Once the situation settled, the group began to clean up the area.
They even set fire to prevent the corpses from turning into zombies.
And Kang Ha-yoon watched the scene indifferently.
[Survivor ‘Kang Ha-yoon’s mental strength increases.]
[From now on, she will think and act calmly in any situation.]
The additional alarm messages made me smile naturally.
‘This should be fine, right?’
Calmness is an essential element for surviving in this world.
Like Min-hyuk earlier, rushing in without thinking could lead to disaster in an instant.
‘Thinking about this, I suddenly remembered the magical girl.’
I suddenly thought of office worker magical girl Seo Ji-won.
I wasn’t sure what she was up to now since I didn’t log in, but when she first became a magical girl, her mental state wasn’t very strong.
‘Maybe it would have been better if I had helped Ji-won’s mental strength rather than Ha-yoon’s.’
But that wasn’t possible, so I resolved to work on improving Ji-won’s growth soon.
‘Maybe I should try another game for a bit?’
Raising Ha-yoon was important, but right now, I didn’t really need to watch it.
They would return to the shelter anyway, and with security, there didn’t seem to be any real risk.
Staying here and watching wouldn’t change anything.
‘Maybe I’ll try that instead.’
The recently downloaded game, Real Farm.
The phrase “We’ll deliver for real!” next to the game’s name was the most intriguing part.
‘Do they really deliver?’
‘How would they deliver?’
The game concept seemed to involve growing crops, but would it offer something beneficial to me?
After all, I already had all kinds of top-quality fruits and vegetables from the royal family.
I didn’t need to grow crops myself.
‘Ah, could I give this to another dimension?’
Since I already knew other games existed in the real world, this game could be the same.
That wouldn’t necessarily be a bad thing.
If I didn’t eat them, Ha-yoon could, right?
‘Alright, let’s give it a try.’
The decision was quick.
I immediately launched the game “Real Farm (We’ll deliver for real!)”.
And since it was about managing a farm, there was likely a lot of healing involved.
When the game started, a cute teddy bear doll appeared on the first screen.
The teddy bear waved its hand and greeted me.
‘So cute.’
It must be a healing game, right?
The game felt definitely different from the others I had played so far in a healing way.
‘But why a teddy bear?’
A farm and a teddy bear…
No matter how I thought about it, it was a strange combination.
[Please choose a teddy bear to manage your farm!]
‘Is this real?’
I couldn’t believe it, but the teddy bear was going to manage the farm?
It was an entirely mismatched combination, and I was at a loss for words.
But since the game told me to pick one, I had no choice but to follow.
I manipulated the screen and looked through the options one by one.
‘First, let’s start with…’
-
- [Beginner Teddy Bear]
-
- Cost: Free
-
- Management Quality: 50%
-
- Poor Crop Chance: 30%
-
- Features: Can manage basic crops of normal grade.
Since it was free, it didn’t seem too appealing.
The teddy bear looked cheap too.
I quickly moved on to the next teddy bear.
-
- [Experienced Teddy Bear]
-
- Cost: 5,000 Gold
-
- Management Quality: 70%
-
- Poor Crop Chance: 15%
-
- Features: Can manage high-grade crops.
-
- Special Ability: Manages pests and diseases.
‘Oh, this is where the in-game purchases come in?’
Since this teddy bear was a paid one, it was clearly better than the free one.
‘Should I look at the others too?’
-
- [Expert Teddy Bear]
-
- Cost: 10,000 Gold
-
- Management Quality: 85%
-
- Poor Crop Chance: 5%
-
- Features: Can manage rare-grade crops.
-
- Special Ability: Occasionally boosts crop quality by one level.
-
- [Magic Teddy Bear]
-
- Cost: 50,000 Gold
-
- Management Quality: 95%
-
- Poor Crop Chance: 1%
-
- Features: Can manage hero-grade crops.
-
- Special Ability: Reduces growth time by 20% and has a small chance to create mutated crops.
[Legend Bear]
-
- Cost: 100,000 Gold
-
- Management Quality: 100%
-
- Poor Crop Chance: 0%
-
- Feature: Can manage all grades of crops, including Mythical grade.
-
- Special Ability: Skilled hand movements reduce growth time by 40% and have a rare chance to increase crop quality by two levels. Also, can preserve mutated crops.
The higher the price, the better the bear’s specs and appearance became.
‘By the way, crops also have grades?’
Upon checking, it seemed to increase in the order of Common-Advanced-Rare-Hero-Mythical.
The final Legendary Bear could manage crops from Common to Mythical grades, but it displayed an insane price of 100,000 Gold.
“……”
Do I really need such an expensive bear just to manage a farm?
Of course, up until now, spending money on the game had not betrayed me.
Perhaps this Real Farm game also had some value, which is why such a bear appeared?
‘Should I go for it…?’
I wasn’t lacking in money.
Thanks to embezzling wealth sent by the empire to Balderheim City, my pockets were full.
‘Though I couldn’t take everything.’
I left most of the money in Balderheim, but that city now belonged to me under the name of a dungeon.
With zombies guarding it, it was safe to leave money there for the time being.
In fact, it would be safer there than in my possession.
‘Alright, since I have plenty of money, I’ll just go for it.’
My hand was already touching the screen.
The 100,000 Gold I had been hesitating over disappeared in an instant thanks to my smartphone.
[You have selected the Legendary Bear!]
[As a special bonus for purchasing the Legendary Bear, you have obtained the Rare-grade ‘Wisdom Blueberry Seed’.]
A moment later, the screen switched to a large farm.
The vast farm was filled with fertile soil and divided into sections by a grid pattern.
‘But where’s the bear?’
As soon as I thought that, a bear appeared.
It walked across the farm with a cute stride, its golden fur sparkling.
About a meter tall, with a chubby body and cute black button eyes, it was a bear.
In its arms, it carefully held the blueberry seed.
‘…It’s cute.’
I wasn’t just saying that—it was really cute.
The bear settled in one spot and lovingly planted the blueberry seed.
“……?”
Then, suddenly, the bear’s head twisted at an eerie angle toward the ground.
“……!”
And from the twisted head, water started flowing out of its mouth.
Yes, the bear was watering the seed it had planted in the soil.
‘This isn’t just a cute game, is it?’
That wasn’t all.
After pouring all the water out, its eyes began to glow red and it focused a beam of light on the seed.
“Oh…”
Is this really a normal farm?
The bear’s actions didn’t stop there.
Suddenly, a sparrow appeared, and the bear’s head stretched out long to catch it!
The extended head immediately devoured the sparrow.
“Wow.”
[The Legendary Bear managing the farm caught a sparrow!]
[You found a Grape Seed on top of the sparrow!]
“Wow, seriously…”
This game is more complicated than I expected?
The bear chewed the sparrow it had in its mouth and spat something out.
It was a grape seed, stained with the sparrow’s blood.
The bear then buried it in the soil, watered it, and shone light on it.
At this point, the farm was far from what I had imagined as a healing experience.
“……”
In the midst of a bit of shock, I blankly stared at the screen, and a change occurred.
[You have discovered a new seed and earned the title ‘Pioneer Farmer’.]
[As a result of the ‘Pioneer Farmer’ title, a hidden reward is given.]
[One of the crops you are growing will be fully grown to its highest level.]
[‘Wisdom Blueberry’ grows!]
‘Pioneer Farmer?’
It seemed far from pioneering, but I just let it go.
Then, from underground, a green aura began to rise.
A sprout pierced through the soil and quickly started growing, as if enchanted by magic.
Light green leaves sprouted one by one, and branches stretched out, gradually turning into a sturdy tree.
The tree grew quickly to a height exceeding one meter.
Between the dark green leaves, purple buds appeared and soon bloomed, emitting a dazzling light.
[As a bonus from the Legendary Bear, the ‘Wisdom Blueberry’ grade increases by two levels.]
[The Rare-grade ‘Wisdom Blueberry’ changes to the Mythical-grade ‘Sage’s Blueberry’.]
When the petals fell, mysterious blue blueberries started to form in their place.
[The ‘Sage’s Blueberry’ has appeared on the tree. Would you like to harvest it?]
The tree had grown and its grade had increased, which was great.
However,
“…Only three?”
To my surprise, the blueberries that grew on the tree were only three in total.
‘Is this right?’
Where did all the flowers go? Only three came out?
It was ridiculous that only three blueberries had appeared, but they were Mythical grade.
Curious to see what the difference was from regular blueberries, I tapped on the blueberries.
‘If it’s nothing special, I won’t spend money here.’
But that was my mistake.
When I tapped the blueberries, a description appeared.
[Sage’s Blueberry]
-
- Forms a mana circuit. If the mana circuit is damaged, it will fully restore it.
“……!”
It restores a mana circuit?
I was speechless in awe.
The mana circuit is like a lifeline to a mage.
Just like blood vessels carry blood, the mana circuit serves as the pathway for mana to flow inside the body.
No matter how much mana one can sense or store, without a circuit to circulate it within the body, it’s useless.
That’s why, when evaluating a mage’s talent, the amount of mana and the development of their mana circuits are crucial factors.
How well the circuit is opened determines the mage’s potential.
And furthermore, it restores damaged mana circuits!
Even if they cast magic that exceeds their limits or take damage, the circuits will break.
Even without those circumstances, as one ages, the mana circuits naturally narrow and close.
But the fact that this can restore them is nothing short of revolutionary.
‘This is amazing.’
Not just amazing, but an item that will revolutionize mages.
Crown Prince Raiel put down his pen and stared at the royal court magician who had come to his office.
“Well, what is the reason? I’m curious as to why you’re planning to leave the palace and return to your hometown.”
It was a cold voice.
The person in front of him was a royal court magician, Edwin.
Though he was from a commoner background, his magical abilities were unmatched.
If things continued like this, it would only be a matter of time before he became the representative magician of the Exion Empire.
But why was such an outstanding magician asking for resignation?
‘Could it be that he’s planning to go to another country?’
Edwin was a staunch neutral within the royal palace. He was a magician who didn’t even pay much attention to the Crown Prince himself.
He wondered if perhaps Edwin had shifted his loyalty to somewhere else.
However, the reason was entirely different.
“You must know that I have a daughter, Your Highness.”
“Yes, I know. She’s a magician like you. But why…?”
Raiel stopped speaking.
Edwin’s daughter had walked the path of magic like her father, but there had been an accident recently.
She had made a mistake in a spell, causing a mana backlash. As a result, her mana circuit was destroyed, and she could no longer stand.
“Is her condition really that bad?”
“Yes…It’s all because I was lacking…”
“Hmm.”
Raiel grasped the situation.
There was no way to fix a damaged mana circuit. There could be slight improvements with continuous treatment, but they would be temporary at best.
No matter how skilled Edwin was, even if he called upon magicians specialized in healing, a full recovery would be impossible.
‘What should I do about this?
Raiel tapped his fingers on the desk, lost in thought.
His daughter would eventually die. People often feel deeper sorrow in the process of dying.
Edwin would also be unable to bear watching his daughter die.
Perhaps that was why he was resigning, to be with her until the end.
But once his daughter dies?
That sorrow would eventually fade.
And then, he would return to being a magician, with various mage towers and countries reaching out to him.
By then, it would be too late.
Edwin was someone who would rise to the rank of Grand Mage.
Raiel wondered if there was a way to keep him at the palace for now.
After some thought, an idea struck him.
‘Ah! That would work!’
Based on this sudden realization, Raiel made a suggestion to Edwin.
“What you need is time to protect your daughter, isn’t it? Then, I’ll make a special offer to you.”
If Edwin stayed at the palace, he would eventually be of great help. For now, it was important to keep him close.
“Edwin, I will assign you to the guard of Kain. Of course, it’s just a formality, so you don’t need to report for duty. Don’t worry about it. As the Crown Prince, I personally guarantee this, so you can be at ease.”
No matter how much Raiel wanted to keep an eye on the 8th Prince Kain, Edwin was a staunch neutral.
Right now, his daughter was his priority, so there would be no chance of him getting involved with Kain.
Besides, if he were to keep Edwin close, it would be safer with Kain than any of his other brothers.
A smile crept across Raiel’s lips.
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