Into the healing farming game

41st Day of Spring

Morning of the 39th Day of Spring.

The day began just like any other.
A morning journey to work, eating, and then fishing.
There was no news of a fishing surge, so I repeated the same schedule.
No rare fish were reported. I left my regret behind and ended the day.

Morning of the 40th Day of Spring.

I guess I lacked experience.
My fishing level remained stuck at Intermediate 9.

As expected, the day repeated itself.
I planted seeds, ate, and fished.

I went to the front of the mine to feel the satisfaction of a catch, but it seemed they had no intention of revealing themselves easily.
Again today, as usual, I left my regrets behind and headed home.
And so, the evening of the 40th day came to an end.

[You have qualified to advance to the advanced level!]
[Currently, your fishing is at advanced level 1 (scheduled), and you can achieve advanced level 1 if you meet the necessary conditions!]
[The conditions are as follows.]

Achievement: Have you tasted the owner’s water? Achieve.
Achievement: Delicious fishing! Achieve.
Achievement: There is no such thing as a noble fish! Achieve.
In the end, I finally gained the qualifications to become an advanced-level fisherman.
Happy with this, I checked each achievement one by one.

Have you tasted the water?
Achieve 1200 minutes of swimming time.

Delicious fishing!
Consume 100 fish you caught yourself.

There is nothing noble about fish!
Obtain a fish with an individual value of 700 gold or more.

I’ve felt this in previous farming experiences as well, but I don’t think achievements and jobs are directly related.
That was the case with getting the Sky Dew Fruit, and it’s the same with Suyeong now.

Of course, I am not denying that meeting the fairies was helpful.
They opened the path to magic and were cute, cuddly friends.
I plan to pack a bunch of presents to repay the favor later.

That’s a separate story because the Sky Dew Fruit was not helpful for farming.

Is it dangerous to fall in while fishing, so you should develop your swimming skills in advance?
I’m not sure.
It’s a situation where you can’t help but wonder, but you have no choice but to follow.

Swimming.
I have to do it because I am told to.
Well, 20 hours, about 1200 minutes, is not difficult.
In the past, I would have been rolling on the floor, out of breath and physically exhausted, but it’s not like that anymore.

Above all, it’s convenient to be able to complete the task within the village without having to go far away.
Wouldn’t it be nice to splash around in the nearby lake?

There is nothing noble about fish!
This achievement was accomplished with the salmon.
I can’t help but feel grateful for the salmon once again. It was a very fortunate catch.

Aside from swimming, all that’s left is eating the fish I caught myself.
I’ve already eaten 90 out of the 100 required, so only about 10 remain.
This was largely due to recently eating raw and grilled fish frequently after fishing.
I think that’s why the needed number decreased so quickly.

It’s a good thing for me.
Similarly, I can go fishing in the mine once more, eat raw fish and grilled food regularly, and swim during my spare time.
The conditions were easier than expected, so much so that I could achieve it within two days if I wanted.

I made a short plan and prepared for the morning of the 41st day.
It was finally time to advance.
The sense of accomplishment from reaching a difficult goal always brings me joyful motivation.

Morning of the 41st Day of Spring.

The sky was dark.
It hadn’t rained for a while, but today it rained non-stop.

The irregular rhythm knocked on the house.
The dampness filled with moisture welcomed the morning.

Although it’s not always welcome, rain is welcome because it means no need to water the crops.

Gwareung-!

Let me correct that.
It is always welcome as long as lightning doesn’t strike the crops.

When lightning strikes, I think of Anne.
She used to roll on my back in her sleep, saying, “I hate thunderstorms.”
She told me that on days like this, she would stay home and tremble with fear.

Heavy rain accompanied by thunderstorms.
It was the first weather like this since I fell into Starwind Valley.
It may be considered harsh weather, but work shouldn’t stop even on days like this.
Which office worker ignores the weather while working?

As I stepped outside, the raindrops quickly soaked my clothes.
My clothes, once brown, gradually turned dark brown, thanks to the water they absorbed.
Water droplets soon formed on my head and flowed down one by one.
There was no choice but to work without an umbrella.
I began my tasks, covered in rain.

I turned over the moistened soil, planted the seeds nicely, and covered them with soil again.
I turned my soil-filled hands over and over again, planting the seeds at regular intervals.
Turning over dry land and turning over waterlogged land felt very different.
Moist and crunchy.
Is this what the texture feels like with your hands?

After completing the work, I set out with my body dripping with rain.
Since I had to fish and eat the catch, and also swim, there was no need to wash up at home or bring an umbrella.

The rain made everything slippery.
The forest became muddy, staining my shoes.
Water splashed with each step.

Were the water droplets derived from my footsteps, or did they fall from the sky?
There was no way to tell.

Only the chaotic raindrops greeted me with the sound of rain.
It was difficult to see clearly.
Naturally, I walked with my head slightly lowered.

20 hours of swimming.
And catching and eating fish.

These weren’t difficult tasks for me, especially the latter.
There were so many fish I’d caught that I just needed to eat, and all that remained was swimming.

When I arrived at the lakeside, I stretched lightly and threw myself into the water.
The rain fell in the gurgling water and scattered coldly.
I knew swimming in the rain was dangerous, but my angler instincts told me it was safe.
A strange confidence that I wouldn’t drown filled me, so I surrendered myself to the flow of water without hesitation.

This experience so far… I’ve always trusted my senses.
Confident that they wouldn’t betray me, I followed them while swimming.

Battle, fishing…
This experience seemed to give me vague knowledge and understanding related to swimming.
The movements of my hands through the water felt familiar.
A flow of water with a subtle sense of resistance.
It was familiar and enjoyable.

I glanced at my achievements and saw that 5 minutes had already passed.
It wasn’t physically difficult at all, probably because it had only been 5 minutes.
Trusting in my strengthened body, I crossed the rainy lake.

“Huh!”

Took a deep breath.

“Whoa…”

Exhaled and moved routinely.
I felt it while swimming.
The sweat from the slowly rising heat melted into the water.

I often found myself unable to tell whether I was wet from sweat or cold water.

The spring rain cooled my hot body.
I continued swimming, watching the rain hit my head and droplets bouncing off the lake’s surface.
1200 minutes.
It was true that it was a bit overwhelming to do in one day, so I decided to split it into at least two days.
Today’s goal was 600 minutes.
Swimming for about 10 hours was now something I could do.

So, I continued swimming in the lake for a while, eating fish for energy.

“Uh…”

Right.
Why did I forget that swimming is a challenging sport?
I slowly realized that I shouldn’t overestimate my body.

It was tough.
Swimming for 10 hours without stopping was really hard.
After eating and resting intermittently, I ended up spending nearly 12 hours.

My arms and legs were numb, and my body was exhausted and worn out.
I lay sprawled on the wet, shiny stones, completely enjoying the rain without moving.
After soaking in the water for so long, my wrinkled skin was clearly visible.
My feet and hands were wrinkled and waterlogged. When I touched them, they felt strange.

Still, how did I manage to last 10 hours?
The sun had set and night was deep, but somehow I felt I had done it.
I wanted to sleep like this, but I somehow managed to get up despite my worn-out body.

It was a good thing I started early in the morning.
If I had begun later, I might have stayed out all night.

Gurgling-!!

The rain grew stronger.
The sky flashed and thunder rumbled everywhere.

It had been raining for so long.
I wondered if something long held back was now being released all at once.

“I’m afraid of thunder, so I stay home on days like this.”
Suddenly, I thought of Anne who had said those words again.
She said she couldn’t go outside when it rained because she was afraid of lightning.

Although my body was tired, my legs were already heading towards Anne’s house.
Just to ask how she was.
I wondered if she was alive and well.
At times like these, I felt better when I ate something sweet.
I was thinking of giving her some fruit.

I arrived at Anne’s house looking like slime half dissolved in water.

Quack!

A flashing white light instantly brightened up the dark night.
I couldn’t imagine Anne shivering, so I laughed to myself.
Anne, like a fox, was afraid of lightning.
Something didn’t match her, but everyone had their own circumstances.

“Are you in?”

Dripping-!

I knocked on her door and waited a bit.
There was no response from inside.

She didn’t feel welcome, so I knocked again.

“Anne! Are you there?”

Was she somewhere else?
Just as I was about to turn back because I couldn’t hear any sound, the door opened carefully with a squeak.
Her golden hair peeked out through a very small gap.

“Minho…?”

“Oh. You’re alive.”

“What happened?”

Anne’s voice was very weak.
Her shoulders were shrunken, and she had something like a strange blanket wrapped around her body.
It was funny because she looked like a frightened fox, but she never showed it.

“I heard you were afraid of this weather. I brought you something that would help.”

“Uh?”

“It was a bit awkward for me to go in because I was in such a bad state, but come on, take this.”

I handed over a gift box.
What? It was a box containing nothing else but sweet fruit.
Anne liked muskmelon, so I got a gift box with lots of it.

She usually felt better when she ate something delicious.
It was a gift given with such a simple purpose.
Anne hesitated to accept the gift, and then she carefully reached out her hand and grabbed the box.

Kkwareung-!

“Aaaaah!!”

Anne was startled by the sound and let out a scream, missing her gift box.
My reaction was quick, and I was able to catch the falling gift box.
Anne flopped down in her seat and was shivering.

This.
I didn’t think it was as easy as she thought.

She must have been so scared that she was wrapped in a blanket and could barely be seen.
Only small movements flowed through the blanket.

“Anne.”

There was no answer.

“Anne. Are you okay?”

“Yeah… I’m just a little scared of lightning. It’s okay. It’ll be okay tomorrow.”

She didn’t poke around playfully and seductively like a fox.
What was here now was a trembling rabbit.

“It’s really okay, right?”

“Huh.”

“I don’t think so. Let’s go in first. Can I go inside?”

“Huh.”

I supported her as she nodded like a machine and entered.
It was late, but I gave her a bite of the melon, and she took it like a baby bird.
Because my body was so wet, I couldn’t go deep into the house, so I hesitated at the front door and repeated the action several times.

Anne’s eyes seemed to come to life after something entered her mouth.

“Go to bed early.”
“Thank you.”

“I’ll go. Eat the rest tomorrow.”

“Wait for a sec…”

Anne grabbed my wet clothes with her fingers.
The water droplets on the tip of the dress, which she held weakly with her index finger and thumb, flowed down Anne’s fingers and made her sleeve wet.
How long had she stayed in that state?
As her sleeves were getting wetter, Anne opened her mouth in a very small and feeble voice.

“Would you like to sleep over at my house tonight?”