The Sweetness of Rewards
After crossing over with Hoya, the first thing to greet me was the seeds I'd planted.
"Whoa, they grew this fast?"
The seeds I'd brought from my parents' house were for scallions, onions, peppers, cabbage, radishes, and strawberries. But they were all fully grown already.
"Holy crap, these strawberries are insane."
I stared at the strawberries in awe.
Name: Island Strawberry
Strawberries grown on the island. A variety cultivated here from seeds brought from another world.
The flesh is soft and incredibly sweet. First consumption increases Intelligence by 1. Subsequent regular consumption increases Intelligence by 1 per set amount eaten.
I used Observation on the other crops too. Scallions boosted Strength, onions Stamina, peppers Agility, cabbage Stamina, and radishes Spirit—each by 1 initially, and more with regular consumption.
"What the hell? It's even better than I hoped..."
Originally, I'd just wanted to exploit the time difference between here and Earth for farming. Five hours here equaled one on Earth. And while I wasn't sure if seasons changed, the weather was summery. Winter crops might struggle, but most should thrive. So I'd planted a few seeds... and gotten this unexpected jackpot.
There was definitely a time dilation, but maybe the island—or this world—accelerated plant growth too. A single day on Earth, and everything was fully grown here.
Nyaang.
Hoya, being a cat through and through, ignored the crops entirely.
"Hoya, go catch some chickens or something. Yeah? Dad grew all this, so you can handle that much, right?"
Nyang?
Of course, I wasn't seriously expecting Hoya to hunt. It was just playful teasing. After watching her wander off for a stroll, I started harvesting—and realized I had no clue how to replant.
Dexterity increased by 1. Yeah, it seemed to rise from miscellaneous tasks like this.
"Time to check my status anyway."
Choi Si-woo (Level 8)
Companion: Hoya.
Remaining Points: 0.
Skills: Calmness (Passive) Lv. 2, Observation (Active) Lv. 1, Cooking (Active) Lv. 2, Fishing (Active) Lv. 1.
My stats were definitely higher than Seon-woo's, even though he was a level ahead. Still, hearing he tanked as a hunter was intriguing.
"Maybe gate owners get a buff? Makes sense—the gate needs to protect its owner."
Gates vanished if their owner died, so perhaps they boosted owners for self-preservation.
"Just a theory, though."
As I harvested, another alert popped up.
Farming (Active) Lv. 1 skill created.
"Whoa, time to go full farmer?"
With a gate like this, actual farming elsewhere was pointless. The air here was pristine—why abandon my house?
"Maybe help Dad with his crops on the side."
Dad didn't farm big-scale; he'd retired to the countryside, not started as a farmer.
Then something amazing happened. Suddenly, I knew how to replant them perfectly—despite never having farmed before.
"Even better, I know this spot's better if I till the soil like this."
Previous skills hadn't felt transformative, but Farming was different. It flooded me with knowledge.
"Skills really are skills."
I hadn't felt it with Fishing or Cooking, but this was mind-blowing. I replanted according to the new instincts—tilling deeper, adjusting just so.
After a couple hours of farming, Hoya returned.
"Whoa."
I couldn't help but gape. She'd actually hunted—dragging back six live, fresh chickens.
Cluck, cluck.
They looked familiar—the ones from the lab I'd commissioned via the National Science Institute. But smaller.
"Chicks?"
Examining the six triggered an alert.
Name: Island Chicken (Lv. 1)
Wild chickens native to the island. Tender, chewy meat that's delicious. First consumption increases Agility by 2. Subsequent regular consumption increases Agility by 1 per set amount eaten.
"Different from Brann chickens."
Those restored stamina; these boosted stats.
"Everything local raises stats? Outsiders don't seem to."
This might be the gate's unique trait—and something to keep secret, like Seon-woo said.
"Hoya, you hunted these?"
Nyaang.
Hoya meowed proudly, nudging them toward me with a paw. The chickens, terrified, crept closer—fearing a Lv. 48 cat less than a Lv. 8 human.
"C'mere, you guys."
Better to raise them than eat them now. Needed to check breeding too.
"Gotta build a fence first. Trees it is."
I grabbed an axe and headed for the island forest.
"Hoya, let's go."
Nyaang.
Had to bring her—could be dangerous. I was just a frail office worker.
"Think I can even chop properly, Hoya?"
No axe experience in the army—just endless shoveling.
"If Dad's in danger, you step up, okay?"
Nyaang.
She hopped onto my shoulder like a falcon. Felt like a hunter with his bird of prey—not bad. Surprisingly, she weighed nothing.
"Dad's strength makes you feel like a feather, huh?"
Nyaang.
She rubbed her head against my face, all tsundere affection. Cute was definitely her passive.
Wanted to stroll like this forever, but needed wood for the fence fast.
Oddly, Hoya blocked the deep forest, so I felled outskirts trees.
Logging (Active) Lv. 1 skill created.
Processing (Active) Lv. 1 skill created.
Livestock (Active) Lv. 1 skill created.
Felling trees, building the fence, and herding the chickens in earned three new skills—and +3 Dexterity.
"Actions create skills and rewards. That's the fun part."
Getting tangible payoffs fueled motivation. This gate was perfect for that.
"This is fun."
Even without big adventures, it was enjoyable. Made the situation thrilling.
"Hoya, wanna live here?"
Nyaang!
She seemed to refuse—she'd been stuck here ages.
"Sorry. But as long as I'm with you, anywhere's fine."
Nyaang.
She burrowed into my arms, kneading my leg with her paws—kkuk-ppuk, the kitten habit to stimulate milk flow. A sign of total trust and love, but bittersweet, like seeing her regress to babyhood.
Hoya loved kneading me. She went at it hard...
"Ow."
Surprisingly refreshing. Her strength made it intense—could be lethal if she wanted.
As she kneaded, drowsiness hit. Stamina kept fatigue away, but sleep called.
After messing around in the gate and fishing up a big rainbow fish, I considered grabbing chickens but decided to observe longer. I took the fish to my parents'.
Seon-woo's words rang true—family safety first.
"No real method yet, though."
Best I could do: feed them stat-boosting gate goodies. Stats applied sans skills, so baseline survival boosts were feasible.
"Why you visiting so much?"
Dad grumbled affectionately—classic dad style, like in novels.
"Try this. Good for you."
"Where'd you get these weird things?"
"Just eat—they're healthy. When's Si-yeon coming?"
"Soon. Mom's inside—go on."
"Sure."
Waiting for Si-yeon, we had another feast-like dinner. Not fully safe yet, but consistent stat-ups would help.
"Si-woo."
Dad called post-meal.
"Yeah."
"That... gate?"
His question caught me off-guard for the first time in ages.