Liam stepped out of the cabin while the sun was still at its highest point. He hadn't wasted any time since returning from town. He set the seeds down on the table, grabbed the hoe, and headed to the plot in front of the pond. He had already tilled part of it the day before, but the bags of potato seeds held more than he had expected, so he had no choice but to expand the farming area.
The work went smoothly. The soil gave way easily and he could plow without much effort, so he extended the tilled area just enough, marked new furrows, and kept going without interruption. He planted the seeds one by one and then watered carefully, making sure not to leave any dry patches. When he finished, the sun had barely moved. Not as much time had passed as he thought.
That was when his body reminded him.
His stomach didn't hurt, but it was empty. He hadn't eaten anything since he woke up, and he had no food stored. In his previous life he had gone through days of fasting, but this wasn't the same. Here, everything depended on constant physical effort. He couldn't afford to keep going like this.
'I should have saved half the food Gus gave me.'
The thought crossed his mind clearly. He allowed himself a moment of irritation before discarding it. There was no room for regret. What was done was done.
He stepped out of the cabin again and took the axe.
He couldn't spend the day like this.
He left the farm and took the path toward Marnie's house. He walked slowly, watching the terrain carefully, memorizing the surroundings and looking for anything that could serve as food. The place wasn't empty. There was movement if you knew where to look.
He saw squirrels running between the trees and birds taking flight when they heard him approach. For a moment, he thought a slingshot might be useful in the future. Not now, but later on.
He kept walking and, farther ahead, among the bushes, he made out the body of a deer. He stopped and watched it for a few seconds. The animal didn't seem alarmed, but it wouldn't stay there long.
He didn't try to get closer. He didn't know how to hunt and didn't have any proper tools. Without a weapon and without experience, trying something like that would be stupid. He set that option aside for now.
He continued on until he found acorns near several trees. He crouched down and picked one up, examining it carefully. He had never eaten acorns in his life and wasn't sure if they could be eaten raw. The same thing happened with some chestnuts he found a bit farther on. He held them between his fingers and frowned.
Something felt off.
Not about them, but about the sensation they gave him. As if they weren't complete on their own. He looked around, searching for what might be missing, until he saw a maple tree that wasn't very tall. He approached it and picked up some of its seeds.
With everything together, he understood.
He remembered the field snack bar.
Before he could fully react, the chestnuts, maple seeds, and acorns began to disappear from his hands. They didn't fall to the ground or crumble. They simply stopped being there. In their place appeared a field snack bar.
Liam froze for a second.
Then he smiled.
"Yes!"
The reaction was immediate. In very little time he had accumulated too many doubts about himself. He wasn't sure how far he could do the same things as the farmer in the game. He had no visible inventory, no menus, no clear system explaining how he carried things with no apparent logic. Deep down, he had assumed he was just a normal human, with some talent for farming, very basic knowledge, and nothing more.
Liam tried to calm himself and took a quick look at the field snack bar before taking a bite. Even though the ingredients looked fused into a single solid piece, the texture was strange. When he bit into it, it didn't crumble; it was a dense, crunchy, extremely dry mass that forced him to work his jaw hard. The flavor was a flat mix of wood.
There was no trace of sweetness. It was like chewing a piece of compressed bark that turned into a thick paste in his mouth. Liam swallowed with difficulty, feeling the mass slide heavily down his throat.
When he finished, there was no magical feeling of recovery, but at least he didn't feel as hungry as before.
'It's not pleasant, but it works.'
He finished eating it and clean his hands on his pants. As he resumed walking, the idea settled in on its own. If he could craft field snack bars, it was likely he could also craft many other things, like lightning rods, totems, furnaces, rings, and many other items from the game. For now, though, he set those thoughts aside and focused on the main problem: how to get food.
It made no sense to spend money on anything else when he was short on resources. So he planned to make field snack bars and, if possible, seed cookies. They weren't good, but they were cheap, if not completely free, efficient, and didn't depend on a kitchen.
That was enough.
He kept walking for about fifteen minutes until the area began to change. The trees spread out a bit and the path became clearer. He recognized the place before seeing the house. He slowed his pace without realizing it and looked around more carefully.
Marnie was outside, busy with some crates near the barn. When she saw him, she looked up and smiled naturally.
"Hi, you must be Liam, the new farmer. Are you getting used to the valley?"
"Little by little," he replied as he approached. "I'm still learning what can be done and what can't, and getting to know my neighbors."
"That sounds pretty good. I'm Marnie, and this is my ranch."
Marnie observed him for a moment, evaluating him without discomfort.
"If you ever need anything related to animals, you know where to find me."
"I'll keep it in mind."
There was nothing more to say. They said goodbye with a simple gesture and Liam resumed his walk without lingering.
From there on, he started paying closer attention to the ground. It didn't take long for him to find a wild leek growing near the edge of the path. He crouched down and pulled it up carefully. He examined it for a second before putting it away. Farther ahead he found daffodils. They weren't food, but he knew they could be used for trading or selling.
He picked up several as he went.
At a bend in the trail, he almost ran straight into Leah. She was holding some clay in her hands and seemed distracted. When she saw him, she stopped.
"Oh, hi. I hadn't seen you around here before."
"Hi. I just moved to the StarFarm that's a bit far from town."
"You picked a good time to move here... Spring is beautiful."
"Yeah, and the best thing about spring is that a lot of wild food is growing, so I can get things to eat."
"What a coincidence, I usually do the same thing, if you know where to look. I eat fresh salads almost every day."
"Really? Can you give me some advice on what to look for and what to avoid? I'm worried about eating something poisonous by accident, so I avoid picking things I don't know. I'm from the city, so I'm not very familiar with the countryside."
"That's normal. If you're from the city, it's best to play it safe."
"Safe how?"
"Wild leeks, spring onions, wild radishes, dandelion leaves." She said it without hesitation. "Around here, some of us pick them."
"What you should avoid are certain mushrooms, like the red one with white spots." Her tone became firmer. "Many mushrooms in the valley can be eaten, but a few can't, so for now it's better not to pick mushrooms except for the common mushroom, which is right there next to that tree."
Liam nodded.
"Nothing else dangerous?"
"Not really." She shrugged. "Most of the rare plants around here aren't poisonous, they're just quite pretty."
"Good point. Thanks a lot for explaining all this to me. By the way, you didn't tell me your name."
"I'm Leah."
"It was a pleasure talking to you, Leah. See you around."
Author Note: Rasmodia or Rasmodius?