I Grow Crops with a System

Ethan met her gaze and smiled. "I’m a farmer, not a chef."

The corners of the giant dragon’s mouth curled upward.

’What does that smile mean?’

Pearl was rigid with nerves, Zharok’s claws were halfway out, then the giant dragon spoke, her voice light.

"As expected of a human who dares to resist Chaos, to actually refuse my proposal."

"I just don’t want to do things I dislike," Ethan said.

"But if you’re willing to visit my farm as a guest, you’re welcome anytime."

It was just treating someone to a meal, no big deal, even if that someone was a giant dragon.

The giant dragon nodded. "You are right, if I want to eat what you make, I should visit in person, that is proper."

"I’m glad you understand."

"Well, enough of that, it’s rare for me to come out, so let me give you a gift, what would you like?"

"Crop seeds," Ethan said without hesitation.

"Crop seeds? That works, let me give you this."

Her figure vanished.

Ethan, Pearl, and Zharok all flinched, before they could react, she reappeared, a small bag now rested in her palm.

Ethan opened it and peered inside, a few seeds the size of walnuts.

"What are these?"

"Seeds of the World Tree."

"Pfft—"

"Meow?! Cough, cough! Meow! Meow!"

Zharok sprayed a mouthful of tomato juice, Pearl choked and hacked.

Ethan closed the bag and tucked it away carefully. "Thank you for the gift."

"I wasn’t able to grow it myself, but I believe you can, take good care of it."

"I’ll do my best."

"Hoho, then I’ll be going, may I visit you again?"

"Of course, my farm is in the middle of the Great Forest, come anytime."

"Then goodbye."

"By the way — I’m heading south right now, it might be a month or two before I return."

"A month or two is nothing, it will pass quickly, I’ll be waiting."

The giant dragon smiled, patted Ethan’s shoulder, and disappeared.

Ethan turned to Zharok and Pearl. "What’s wrong with you two?"

"Cough, cough! Do you even know what that is?!"

"Meow! Those are seeds of the World Tree, meow! To think a giant dragon would have such a thing!"

"What is it?" Ethan was lost.

"The World Tree is the root tree that forms a world, meow! If you plant this seed, you can create a new world, meow!" Pearl nearly tripped over its own words.

"It’s said the World Tree was once guarded by the elf tribe, but it withered, no one has seen one since, this is a priceless treasure!" Zharok added.

To Ethan, though, it still sounded like a tree.

’Be great if it bore fruit.’

He turned the seed over in his fingers, studying it.

"You’re not actually thinking of planting it, are you, meow?"

"Since I received a gift, I should cherish it."

"The World Tree isn’t just a regular tree, meow! Planting it means you become the god of a new world, meow, getting it to sprout alone is supposed to be incredibly difficult, let alone keeping it alive, meow~"

’Become a god? That burden sounds a bit heavy.’

Ethan smiled wryly and shook his head, still incredibly difficult to keep alive was exactly the kind of challenge that made his fingers itch, he had coaxed stubborn Earth crops to life in strange soil, he refused to believe this seed could beat him.

"By the way, the World Tree should bear fruit, right?" he asked.

"Should? I heard the fruit grants wisdom," Zharok said, not entirely sure.

"And it tastes super delicious, meow!" Pearl added.

"Then I’m looking forward to it."

’Seeds of the World Tree, from a giant dragon, before even reaching the Ape Beastman village.’ The trip was off to a wild start.

"The giant dragon showing us goodwill means we can pass through her territory safely, right?" Zharok sounded excited.

Ethan nodded, the dragon had been friendly, she wasn’t the type to turn hostile over a transit, based on their conversation, she could be reasoned with, there shouldn’t be any problems.

"Shall we fix the handcart first?" Ethan suggested.

"I was thinking that... hmm... let me see..."

Zharok circled the cart, frowning, Ethan inspected it as well — and winced, besides the broken axle, the floorboard was cracked and damage had spread to other parts.

’Going to have to build a new one.’

With his crafting skills, it wouldn’t take long, Ethan gathered the Ironwood, timber chopped from the nearby forest, and nails he had brought with him. He got to work.

[Lightweight Wooden Handcart]

[A handcart made of wood. It has two wheels and is convenient for transporting goods.]

[Hammer of Gaia effect triggered: Lightweight effect added.]

[Crafting Difficulty: ★★]

"Why is it just a Lightweight handcart again? What do I have to do to get a ’Well-crafted’ one?" Ethan muttered, staring at it.

The Hammer of Gaia’s effect had kicked in, but not the Well-crafted trait, Zharok looked the cart over and gave a tight-lipped grin.

"Maybe the materials are too simple?"

"Maybe, I only used wood, when I get some iron, I’ll try again."

’The new furnace can handle high temperatures, with coke, I could smelt iron.’

Ethan loaded the luggage onto the new cart.

"Keep moving, or rest here?" he asked.

"No water here — not a great spot for resting, let’s keep going." Zharok stretched his arms.

"You sure you’re okay?"

"This level of exertion is nothing."

Zharok flexed, making a show of his stamina, Ethan grinned, and Zharok grabbed the cart.

"Hold on tight."

They didn’t stop until late that night, the sound of flowing water reached them — a stream, by the sound of it.

"Let’s rest here, we should clear the giant dragon’s territory by tomorrow," Zharok said.

"And from there, it’s the south?" Ethan asked.

"More or less."

"Anything we need to watch out for?"

"Nothing special, I was there the year before last, quite livable — don’t overthink it."

Good news. Ethan made a cup of Moonlight Tomato juice for the exhausted Zharok and started preparing dinner, he roasted the meat he had prepped and fried a few eggs sunny side up.

Zharok devoured everything in sight, Ethan’s gaze drifted to the World Tree seeds.

"Why do you keep staring at them?" Zharok asked.

"Thinking about how to plant them."

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