For the next three days...
Daeron repeated his routine of waking up early to water crops, pet the chickens, pick up eggs, and mine, keeping himself busy every day.
It was exhausting, but the results were equally significant.
Daeron sat in front of his cabin, watching four furnaces glow with heat as they smelted the Copper Ore he had worked so hard to obtain.
He had reached floor 17 of the mines.
The elevator floors were 0, 5, 10, and 15.
While mining, he also crafted furnaces; his remaining stone and Copper Ore were low, and he had only smelted six Copper Bars.
Including the four currently smelting, he would have a total of ten.
"I really am a superman!"
Thinking back on the hardships of the past few days, Daeron couldn't help but sigh.
He hadn't noticed it in the game, but in reality, finding the entrance to the next mine level was truly difficult.
He also had to be constantly on guard against the small monsters that might jump out.
He was stuck on floor 17 because the deeper he went, the stronger and more numerous the monsters became; with only a Rusty Sword and a worn-out steel sword, they were already hard to handle.
Occasionally, he would take light damage from a Slime's sneak attack.
Daeron decided to play it safe.
Of course, constant mining and fighting had many benefits.
[Farmer: Daeron Targaryen]
Farming: Level 1
Mining: Level 3
Foraging: Level 1
Fishing: Level 0
Combat: Level 2
His Mining and Combat levels had increased, with Mining even jumping to Number 1.
Besides unlocking various craftable items, there were great improvements to his personal self.
Daeron closed his right hand into a loose fist, slowly mobilizing Life Force to coat every fingerprint on his palm.
Control improved!
Additionally, he discovered that eating special crops and leveling up didn't increase Life Force as he had imagined, but rather subtly improved his constitution.
The stronger the constitution, the more Life Force it could hold.
It was like the relationship between a bottle and water.
Continuously using Life Force for mining and combat rapidly increased his mastery over it.
An increase in proficiency.
The special crops he ate regularly replenished the Life Force he consumed.
Harvesting special crops through farming, mining to improve farming efficiency, combat to ensure smooth mining, and using special crops when tired—it formed a perfect closed loop.
"If I persevere, challenging Robert with a sword and smashing Rhaegar with a hammer won't just be a dream."
Daeron found joy amidst the hardship.
Checking the panel:
Spring Day 9, Tuesday, Sunny, 7:30 AM.
[Gold Coins: 240]
"No mining today; today is for harvesting."
Daeron stood up, stretched, and walked toward the farmland where the crops were mature.
Potatoes take six days to mature; the time had come.
Pop~~ Pop pop~~
One Green Bean and ten Potato plants; each pull made a pleasant sound.
In this setting,
Daeron couldn't help but hum: "Bumper Potato harvest, bumper Potato harvest..."
A harvest song exclusive to old farmers.
Singing a song made a difference; the harvest was bountiful.
One bunch of Silver-star quality Green Beans, ten normal quality Potatoes, and seven Silver-star quality Potatoes.
Due to his Farming level being too low, he hadn't grown any Gold-star quality or higher.
Ding!
A panel notification appeared:
[You have some things you want to consider at the end of the day]
Farming level increased.
Having experienced the benefits of several level-ups, Daeron did some simple exercises and went back to work.
He sold the entire harvest.
The shipping bin made a thumping sound as it took in all the crops.
Daeron calculated silently.
He currently had 240 gold.
100 gold came from the [Forging Ahead] quest, 100 gold from the [Smelting] quest, and 40 gold from selling a Leek.
In these three days, he had completed two tutorial quests.
[Smelting: Now that your furnace is built, you can start smelting.]
—Use a furnace to create a Copper Bar.
This was the follow-up quest to [Forging Ahead].
[Initiation: Kill 10 Slimes and you'll be eligible to join the Adventurer's Guild.]
—Kill 10 Slimes.
After reaching floor 5 of the mines, he would receive a letter in the mailbox the next morning.
The Adventurer's Guild was decent.
After Daeron killed 10 Slimes to join, he could buy or sell weapons from the counter.
However, buying was incredibly expensive, and selling prices were suppressed to the death.
Daeron would absolutely not buy a single weapon, nor would he sell one.
Even though he currently only had a Rusty Sword with pitifully low attack power.
Back to the point.
A bunch of Silver-star Green Beans sold for 50 gold, a normal Potato for 80 gold, and a Silver-star Potato for 100 gold.
This wave of harvested crops could be sold for 1,550 gold.
Adding the 240 gold in savings, the total was 1,790 gold.
"Four days until Spring 13..."
Daeron calculated back and forth, feeling slightly disappointed.
Crops sold in the shipping bin only paid out at 2:00 AM the next morning.
Among spring crops, the Parsnip had the shortest growth time, taking four days from planting to maturity.
Today was Spring Day 9; to raise funds before Spring 13, he couldn't plant any more crops.
According to traditional custom, Spring 13 was the "Egg Festival."
Strawberry Seeds would be for sale during the festival.
One strawberry seed cost 100 gold; it took 8 days to mature, after which it could be harvested again every 4 days.
The selling price for strawberries, by Normal, Silver, and Gold quality, was: 120/150/180.
If planted on Spring 13, the strawberries would mature for the first time on Spring 21 and be harvested again on the 25th.
This way, he could get two harvests.
The profit was higher than Cauliflower or Potatoes.
"I'm a bit short of 2,000 gold; since I can't farm, I can only forage and fish."
Daeron wanted to save at least 2,000 gold before Spring 13 to buy 20 Strawberry Seeds in one go.
Two harvests would mean 40 mature strawberries.
Even at the lowest normal quality price, they could be sold for 4,800 gold.
With that money, he could consider building a barn to raise cows or buying more chickens.
"Prince, I have finished feeding your horse."
Ser Jon walked into the farm, leading the chestnut mare.
The farm had no stable, so the horse still needed someone to look after it.
Daeron stood up: "Ser, I'm leaving now."
He needed to return to King's Landing.
First, to inquire about his position in the City Watch.
Second, to instruct the Maesters to prepare some wound medicine, which would be useful for mining.
"Safe travels, Prince."
Ser Jon bid him a helpless farewell.
White marble materials for the castle's construction were being continuously transported to the territory, and he was responsible for receiving and supervising the work... King's Landing, The Red Keep.
The Tower of the Hand.
There was a knock on the door, and Pycelle entered after receiving approval.
"You are here, Grand Maester."
Tywin sat in his chair, using a candle flame to melt wax to seal a letter.
Pycelle acted very respectfully, saying slowly, "My Lord, I wonder what instructions you have for me?"
"Here is a letter. I want you to send it by raven to Lord Hoster Tully of Riverrun."
Tywin blew on the seal of the envelope to dry it.
"This is...?"
Pycelle was somewhat lacking in tact.
Tywin glanced at him and said, "You do not need to know; just do as I instructed."
"Yes, My Lord."
Pycelle obediently took the letter and withdrew.
The title of Grand Maester sounded prestigious, but in reality, his status was unique; his influence on the Small Council depended entirely on the King's favor.
His duty was to provide correct answers whenever the King had a need.
Normally, he was responsible for mixing potions, managing ravens, and keeping other Maesters in the court in check... a typical high-workload, low-power position.
Therefore, being ordered around by the immensely powerful Lord Hand was only natural.
"An old bag of bones full of trivialities."
After the man left, Tywin gave a cold snort.
He had intimidated the other man to make him secretly side with the Lannisters, but he had been brushed off with various excuses.
He neither wanted to be loyal to Aerys nor to himself.
A shameful chameleon.
"I hope Lord Hoster can make a decision as soon as possible after receiving the letter."
Tywin pondered his plans and reached for some administrative work.
Since the Defiance of Duskendale, Aerys's temperament had changed drastically, and the political landscape of the Seven Kingdoms had shifted quietly.
As far as he knew, old Arryn of The Vale had taken Robert, Lord of Storm's End, and the Second Son of Lord Rickon Stark of The North as wards.
Furthermore, Lord Rickon's daughter was betrothed to Robert Baratheon, who was still in The Vale.
Not long ago, Lord Rickon visited Riverrun and had his eldest son enter into a marriage contract with Lord Hoster's eldest daughter.
What were they trying to do?
With political instincts as sharp as Tywin's, he immediately saw that the Four Great Houses of Eagle, Stag, Wolf, and Fish were forming a network.
For what purpose?
Without a doubt, it was to form an alliance to guard against Mad King on the iron throne.
Tywin saw it clearly but did not intend to expose it.
On the contrary, he wanted to join in.
His eldest son, Jaime Lannister, was at Crakehall in The Westerlands, serving as a squire to Earl Sumner Crakehall.
He had already written to Earl Sumner, asking him to find an excuse to send his eldest son Jaime to Riverrun to deliver a letter.
The goal was to arrange a marriage between his eldest son Jaime and Lord Hoster's second daughter.
When the time came, the five great houses would be linked by marriage and form an alliance.
Aerys could forget about being arrogant anymore.
"With Jaime's charm, he's bound to enchant that old fellow Hoster's daughter to death."
Thin
king of his eldest son's excellence, Tywin smiled with pride.