Arlen stared at the dirt like it was a freshly baked pie and he hadn't eaten in days. For once, the word "dirt" didn't make him think of backbreaking labor or cruel mockery from his family. It looked... rich. Inviting. Alive.
He crouched and touched the soil with his hand. Soft. Moist. It felt better than any farmland back in his family's estate. Heck, it felt cleaner than their bathwater.
"Is this real...? Or am I having a very slow mental breakdown?" Arlen asked himself, blinking at the seemingly endless field ahead of him.
No walls. No monsters. Just quiet wind brushing through the dimensional grasslands. The strange sky above shimmered with light from a weird triple sun. One was gold, the other pale blue, and the third... suspiciously looked like a giant turnip.
The system chimed again, in its usual cheerful, slightly condescending tone.
[Welcome to your Dimensional Plot: Zone 001 - "Blank Farmland"]
[You may name this zone now.]
"Name it?" Arlen scratched his head. "Like a farm name?"
He thought for a moment. His hands clenched into fists.
"…Trashfield? No—no, too bitter. My life already sounds like a sad tavern song."
Then a stupid grin spread across his face.
"…Hoe Haven," he muttered. "Yeah. Yeah! That's it. Hoe Haven."
[Zone renamed successfully: "Hoe Haven."]
He swore he heard the system sigh.
Let 'em laugh. One day, they'll beg to get into Hoe Haven, Arlen thought, puffing his chest.
His first goal was obvious. Plant something.
He pulled the Hoe out from his back. The second his hand gripped the handle, the air shimmered again.
[Hoe of Origin activated.]
[First-Time Function: TILLING STRIKE.]
Before he could react, the Hoe yanked his body forward—like a possessed plow machine—and dragged a perfect ten-meter trench across the field with a clean shhhrip.
Arlen tripped and landed flat on his face. Dirt kissed his nose.
"…Ow. Okay. So she's got a personality," he groaned, wiping his face. "Didn't even buy me dinner first."
He stood and looked at the trench. It gleamed faintly. Magical energy flowed in the soil, like glowing roots under the surface.
This isn't just any land, Arlen realized. The Hoe—it improves the land when it tills it. Like... supercharging it. Enchanting it.
For a moment, his mind drifted back to all those family meetings, the condescending chuckles, his father's voice calling him "a boy who plays with sticks."
Well. Look at him now. Stick boy with a world of magic dirt.
He opened the System Shop.
The menu unfurled before him with a dramatic sparkle. Rows and rows of plants he'd never heard of flooded his vision.
[Molten Root Carrot - 50 points]
[Time Bean (Not Edible) - 100 points]
[Voidberry Seed - 200 points]
[Basic Earth Potato - 5 points]
His eyes narrowed at the potato.
"…That's more my budget."
He checked his current balance.
[Points: 15]
"…Okay. Maybe I'm not even a potato farmer yet. I'm a... dirt enthusiast."
Still, the shop had a Daily Free Seed section.
[Free Item: Dreamleaf Herb (Uncommon)]
He grabbed it before the system changed its mind. A small glowing green seed popped into his palm.
"Alright, buddy. Time for your first baby."
He planted the seed gently into the magical trench. The Hoe lit up again.
[Hoe of Origin Function: Accelerated Growth — Passive]
Woosh— the ground shimmered, and within seconds, a green sprout burst out, stretching toward the triple sun.
In under a minute, it grew into a full herb bush. Arlen's jaw dropped.
"It's alive! I'm a plant dad now!"
He picked one of the leaves. The texture was soft, like silk, and it smelled like morning rain.
Then the system dinged again.
[You have harvested: Dreamleaf Herb x1]
[Effect: Restores 15 mental energy. Smells nice.]
He sat down next to his new magical herb and leaned back in the dirt.
"Arlen the Exile... now Arlen the Farmer. Hah. What's next? Arlen the Salad God?"
Hours passed—or something like that. Time felt different here.
He planted more Dreamleaf using a few daily bonuses. He tried tilling smaller lines, made a basic square farm patch, and even crafted a scarecrow out of sticks and... well, hopes.
At some point, he remembered he hadn't eaten since getting thrown out.
His stomach grumbled like a demon waking up.
[Hunger Warning: Mild]
He laughed dryly. "Of course the system tracks that."
Back in the real world, the forest was still out there, with possibly deadly animals and no free buffet.
But here… he had his crops. And a weird dimension with no threats. Yet.
Still, the moment he thought about "yet," he got nervous. Because if there's one thing fantasy stories taught him—it's that peace never lasts.
And right on cue...
[DANGER: External Dimensional Disturbance Detected near Entry Portal]
"…Oh, come on," Arlen muttered, hopping up and grabbing his Hoe.
The glowing portal that led back to the forest began to flicker. Something was pushing against it from the other side.
What now? A bear? A bandit? A really angry squirrel?
He braced himself.
Suddenly, a huge furry paw shot through the portal. Arlen screamed like a bard who stepped on a lute string. A massive wolf's head shoved into view—but it stopped at the threshold.
The creature couldn't fully enter. The system pulsed.
[Unauthorized Entity Cannot Enter Without Permission.]
The wolf snarled, eyes glowing red. It wasn't just any beast. Something about its aura screamed possessed. Like dark magic had tangled its soul.
"Not today, Satan-pupper," Arlen said, gripping his Hoe tighter.
Then a quest popped up.
[New Quest: Purge the Corrupted Beast]
[Objective: Strike the beast from your portal and claim a corruption core.]
[Reward: 50 points + Beast Fur + ??? Seed]
"…I just wanted to plant some vegetables, man."
Still—this was a chance. His first real challenge. His first actual fight.
And a chance to show himself... that maybe he wasn't useless anymore.
Arlen walked toward the portal. Slowly. Heart racing. Knees wobbling like wet noodles.
The Hoe pulsed in his hand, humming with quiet energy. It felt alive. As if it knew exactly what it was meant to do.
He lifted it.
The wolf snarled louder.
"Listen," Arlen said, voice cracking. "I don't want to hurt you. But if you think you're breaking into my dirt dimension... you're barking up the wrong farm."
He swung.
The Hoe's head glowed blinding gold and slammed into the edge of the portal, striking the beast's snout.
A shockwave exploded.
The wolf howled and vanished backward—sucked back into the forest like a rejected curse.
Silence returned.
The system chimed again.
[Corruption repelled. Quest complete.]
[Reward received: Beast Fur x1, 50 Points, ??? Seed (Cursed Pumpkin)]
Arlen collapsed backward in the dirt, panting.
"…Okay," he whispered. "So this is going to be more than just gardening."
But lying there, watching the turnip-sun spin gently above... he smiled.
He had a plot of land. A magic hoe. A system that actually wanted him around. And no one yelling at him to shut up about soil pH levels.
He wasn't just some trash exile anymore.
He was the farmer of a dimension.
And his crops?
Were about to become legendary.