Ser Kaelen's second visit cemented a new status quo. He became a semi-regular, welcome presence at the farm, arriving every week or so with new "gifts from the Crown"—which were, in reality, carefully chosen diplomatic offerings. He brought rare fertilizers from the alchemists' guild (which Ren found inferior to his own simple compost), books on advanced agricultural techniques (which Ren found mostly irrelevant to his "intuitive" methods), and, most valuably, more and more varieties of rare seeds.
In return, Ren would happily trade his latest harvests. Kaelen would return to the capital with a small, carefully curated selection of produce that sent the entire Mage's Spire into a frenzy of study and analysis. The 'Sun's Fury' tomatoes were found to drastically cut down recovery times for wounded soldiers. The 'Energized Blue-Leaf' carrots were given to the kingdom's top strategists and mages, leading to unprecedented breakthroughs in military tactics and arcane research.
Archmage Theronius Vance had classified Ren's farm as the single most important strategic asset in the kingdom, and his policy of "Friendship, not Force" was now sacrosanct. The secret of Oakhaven was guarded with paranoid fervor.
Back on the farm, Ren was facing his most exciting challenge yet: the 'King's Melon' seed.
He held the single, large seed in his palm. It was the size of his thumb, shimmering with a pearlescent, rainbow-like sheen.
[Analyzing Seed: 'King's Melon' Seed (Royal Grade)]
[Quality: Exquisite]
[Potential: Legendary. A fruit of royalty, known for its unparalleled sweetness and juice that contains complex euphoric compounds. Traditionally takes an entire year of constant magical nurturing to grow a single melon.]
[Farming God System Note: A year? Pfft. Let's see what we can do in an afternoon.]
"A whole year, huh?" Ren grinned. "Challenge accepted."
He prepared a special plot of land, right in the center of his farm where he felt the life energy was most concentrated. He lavished it with attention, tilling the soil until it was as fine as silt. With great ceremony, he planted the single precious seed.
Lyra and, by coincidence, Ser Kaelen, who had just arrived with a gift of premium-quality rope ("for tying up vines and things," he'd said), watched the proceedings with keen interest.
Ren watered the spot with his seemingly inexhaustible watering can. The result was instantaneous and far more dramatic than with the tomatoes or carrots.
The earth began to thrum. A thick, vibrant green vine erupted from the soil, not with the speed of a plant, but with the explosive force of a geyser. It uncoiled rapidly, thick as Ren's arm, and spread across the prepared ground, sprouting huge, healthy leaves. Within minutes, a twenty-foot-square patch was covered in a single, massive melon vine.
A large, golden flower, the size of a dinner plate, bloomed at the center of the vine. It opened its petals to the sun, releasing a wave of intoxicatingly sweet fragrance that washed over the entire farm. Bees from miles around, drawn by the scent, began to swarm the area.
"Remarkable," Ser Kaelen breathed, his stoic composure, as always, failing him when it came to Ren's farming.
The flower's petals wilted after only a minute, falling away to reveal a tiny, green orb. And then, it began to grow.
It swelled visibly, expanding second by second. It was mesmerizing to watch. The orb grew from the size of a fist to the size of a head, its skin a smooth, pale green. It continued to expand, its sheer mass causing the ground beneath it to groan and settle. After a full ten minutes of this unnerving, silent growth, it finally stopped.
Sitting in the center of the vine was a melon. It was perfectly spherical, easily four feet in diameter, and weighed, Lyra estimated, several hundred pounds. Its skin was a beautiful, pale jade green with swirling, silvery stripes that seemed to move and shimmer. The sweet, euphoric aroma it emitted was so powerful it made one feel light-headed and joyful just by standing near it.
[First Harvest Complete: 'Overcharged King's Melon']
[Quality: Divine (Upgraded from Legendary)]
[Effect: Induces temporary state of extreme bliss and contentment. Fully restores all stamina and vitality. Permanently increases the consumer's baseline happiness (results may vary). WARNING: Juice is highly concentrated. Consume in moderation.]
Ren stared at the colossal melon, a wide grin spreading across his face. "I think I overdid it."
Lyra circled the melon, her eyes wide with disbelief. "This is not a melon. This is a house."
"How," Ser Kaelen asked, his voice filled with a familiar sense of awe and resignation, "are we going to cut it?"
This proved to be a genuine problem. Ren's pocket knife was useless. Lyra's daggers couldn't even scratch the surprisingly tough rind. Ser Kaelen, at Ren's insistence, drew his masterwork longsword. He struck the melon with a practiced blow that could shear through steel plate.
The sword bounced off the melon's skin with a dull thunk, leaving not even a mark. The knight stared at his sword, then at the melon, his worldview taking yet another severe beating.
"Huh," Ren said, tapping the melon's rind. "It's like a rock." He looked around, spotted his trusty, rusty, "surprisingly sturdy" starter hoe leaning against the shack. "Ah! I have an idea."
He picked up the hoe. It felt right in his hands, humming with a familiar energy. He approached the melon. "Everyone stand back. This might get messy."
He raised the hoe and brought the blade down on the top of the melon, not with a violent swing, but with a firm, decisive tap.
There was a soft hissing sound. A perfectly straight, hairline crack appeared on the melon's surface. The crack spread, branching out over the entire fruit in a beautiful, fractal pattern, like ice spreading on a windowpane. Then, with a gentle pop, the entire melon split perfectly into a dozen large, equal-sized wedges, falling open like a blooming flower.
The wave of aroma that was released was overwhelming. A pure, unadulterated scent of supreme sweetness and joy washed over them. Kaelen felt all his knightly worries and duties melt away, replaced by a simple, profound happiness. Lyra felt the shadows in her soul recede, leaving only a feeling of calm contentment.
The flesh of the melon was a shimmering, translucent pink, and it was so saturated with juice that it dripped constantly, forming a pool of sweet, silvery liquid on the ground.
"Well," Ren said, picking up a massive wedge that was as big as a shield. "Who wants to try some?"
That day, a Knight-Errant of the realm, a legendary assassin, and an Overpowered Farmer sat together in a field and ate a melon that could make gods weep with joy.
The news of Ren's agricultural prowess, meanwhile, was beginning to leak, despite the Crown's best efforts. The mercenaries Ser Kaelen had arrested talked. The informant, Silas, sold his story to a traveling merchant with a loose tongue. The bounty on Lyra, though officially rescinded by the Crown, had already been copied and passed along shadowy networks.
Far to the east, in the opulent, decadent Queendom of Saccharo, known for its obsession with rare delicacies and exotic pleasures, a Royal Taster reported a rumor to her Queen—a rumor of a fruit so divine it could bring ultimate bliss.
Far to the west, in the smoke-choked, industrial city-state of Ferros, the head of the Alchemists' Guild heard whispers of new, potent reagents that could rewrite the laws of potion-making.
The world hadn't just started knocking on Ren's door. It had picked up a battering ram. The peace on the small farm was beautiful, blissful, and running on borrowed time.