Hear me out, farm labour is intensive work. During my time on my relatives farm, I could barely go through an hour without taking a break.
Don't get it wrong, it's not because I have poor fitness. I do pretty well on the endurance runs, comparable to members of the track team. Though admittedly, my arm muscles are lacking.
Where am I going with this?
Right, farm labour is a good indicator of my physique improvement. If I can get through two hours, my stats would've doubled. For my stamina and endurance at least.
I wonder what stats this world measures?
In D&D, the core stats are Strength, Dexterity, Constitution, Wisdom, Charisma and Intelligence.
For RPG games, it'll be Strength, Agility, Toughness, Defence, Magic and Luck.
It's interesting how D&D makes the spellcasters each rely on a different spell modifier while the spellcasting classes all rely on the same Magic stat to work their spells.
Alright, enough pondering about game mechanics, time to work! I get up from the bed and start off my slow day helping around the farm.
Throughout the day, I helped out with the chores.
Ralph
I won't get into what I did on the farm, because this is a series about my misadventures not a glorified farming documentary.
The entire da
By the time I finish overturning the land, I have broken into a light sweat.
It seems my physical prowess has improved. Quite greatly, in fact.
Does this mean my stamina quintupled?
However, I don't know the full extent of my newly gained strength.
My arms look nothing like Schwarzenegger's, but I feel like my biceps and triceps are tighter and more robust, same as the rest of my body.
I decide to help run the farm for the next two days to see how much my body's changed.
The answer?
A lot.
There are plenty of isekais revolving around farm life, so I don't think I need to describe every little detail that happened.
You want more of an explanation? Go and read one of those slow-life farm novels. This isn't it.
Still, for those of you with 2000 hours in Stellar Yew Valley, here's a little taste of what farm work is actually like: boring and repetitive.
Two days of nothing but ploughing the land and planting oats, barley, whatever.
Hey, just because I spent a summer on a farm doesn't make me an expert who can discern wheat seeds from oat seeds.
The whole process didn't take too long.
Before working on the farm, Ralph and I had a little discussion about how I'd work.
No, it wasn't a discussion about wages. He simply didn't want me, his benefactor, to toil for him for free.
Very swell guy. When I make it big, I'm definitely coming back and repaying him tenfold.
So I made him a deal. Three days. I'd work on the fields for three days.
Not knowing I had leveled up, he agreed, probably thinking I'd finish tilling only one field by the deadline at most.
The sight of his stunned face when I told him I already finished two fields was mighty entertaining.
Okay, we're finally done with the farmwork description. Now it's time to talk about how it affected me physically.
Quite simply put, I didn't break a sweat.
If I went back to Earth with my current stats, I think I might open a farm of my own.
With the three days 'stamina training' done, I decided to finally move the plot along.
The next morning, I'm back at the outpost again, looking at the requests.
Alin came up to greet me. "Good morning, Shin."
"Hey Alin, how are you doing?"
"Fine, have you found a party yet?"
"Unfortunately, no. I'm socially awkward. It was a real stroke of luck for you guys to invite me. God bless everyone's souls in heaven."
"Don't lump me in with those guys lying in their graves."
"Of course, my bad." I quickly apologize and ask her about her situation, "How about you? Found anyone?"
"I was hoping you were available."
Why does that sound like a cheap pick-up line?
"You want to form a group with me?"
"Yes, is there a problem?" she questions.
"None, but my skills are limited to just throwing Eldritch Mote and Rune of Protection. I'm pretty much useless as a frontliner, scout or support."
"Not a problem, I just need someone with a good head on their shoulders," she brushes off my concerns. "Not like those bright-eyed fools who rushed in headlong."
Having already taken a two-day farm break, I don't have anything better to do. "I'm in. What sort of request are we taking on?"