Turn End
Turn End
I specified the base.
Chunsik, no, the World Tree will be my home and the center of all directions.
Meaning the World Tree is at the center of the minimap, which is filled with darkness.
And I scattered the corn seeds on a spacious piece of land at a moderate distance from the World Tree, where creating a waterway from the oasis would ensure an uninterrupted water supply.
Is scattering them all it takes?
No.
I have to cover them with vinyl.
Even if the groundwater, which will be periodically supplied, lowers the temperature, being constantly exposed to the scorching sun reaching 80 degrees Celsius would be extremely troublesome.
Sure, they'd grow.
But their grade would be low.
They say you can't be full on the first bite, but I can't go making something too embarrassing to even throw in the scrap pile, right?
Therefore, I need a cover that can protect the seeds from this desert's murderous ground heat and the solar heat that would constantly dry up the water.
Mud?
Magic knows the answer.
[ SYSTEM: Leader-exclusive Farming Guide ]
[ Step 2: ]
Mana Mulching (Mana-Mulching)
[ Overview: ]
Protects the seeds from the desert's murderous ground heat (80°C).
[ Action Guidelines: ]
1) Project mana thinly and broadly over the corn planting area secured in your field of view.
2) The barrier of mana possesses a shading and moisturizing effect stronger than black plastic vinyl.
[ Caution: ]
In the process of synchronizing your nervous system with the ground surface, phantom pain that feels as if your whole body is being compressed will occur.
This is equivalent to experiencing the agonizing back pain of a farmer laying vinyl mulch compressed down into just 10 seconds.
Endure it.
"Right. Gotta do it."
Since I decided to cover the crops in a place without even plastic sheets, I can handle a little pain.
Seureureuk.
My body moves naturally.
After reaching my hand over the ground covering the seeds tucked neatly in the dirt, I stretch my arm out wide and let my mana flow.
3 minutes.
3 minutes.
And another 3 minutes.
"......."
After 3 minutes that felt like 30 passed, I took a moment to catch my breath over the invisible veil of mana spread above the seeds.
"Phew."
And then, very carefully and slowly, I raised my body up—
...!
"Kkeuheok...."
Even though I didn't mean to scream, a scream burst out on its own.
An intense agony that made me wonder if something had permanently broken ran down my spine.
"Feels like I'm gonna die. Damn it."
I didn't die, but my vision went dark for a moment at the thought of having to keep doing this work in the future.
"......Heh."
And a laugh burst out on its own.
'At least there's hope.'
If I had thought this pain was a one-time thing, I probably would have brushed off the suffering and rejoiced.
However, I felt a sense of helplessness.
Knowing that I would continue to feel this pain in the future.
'It means it's not time to die yet.'
The fact that the pain continues means that the life blooming from absorbing this pain will also continue.
Here, this single grain of corn I planted in front of me is hope.
The ones settled in other areas are called expectations, and the future.
If there was a reason why I didn't plant them close together and instead spaced them out wide....
'Corn drains soil fertility heavily.'
Even if I'm a novice farmer, I know full well that corn is a bastard that blindly sucks up soil fertility—the nutrients of the earth.
Even if you plant it in bare soil and manage to harvest adequately for that year, you can never plant corn in that same spot the following year.
Because the soil has been depleted.
The term fallow land doesn't exist for nothing.
To solve this problem, there are about two easiest solutions.
One. Plant beans.
Planting beans, which grow well even in land devastated by corn, allows the soil fertility to recover while harvesting the beans.
However, I don't have beans.
In the first place, all I was given was three grains of golden corn.
Two. Use fertilizer.
Since ancient times, humanity has used countless fertilizers, and whether it's organic or chemical, it would be enough to replenish the lacking nutrients.
However, I don't have fertilizer either.
If there were anything to use as fertilizer, it would probably be the bone dust of my corpse after dying cold in this desert.
So these two methods are impossible for now.
However, if these problems were obstacles to my Mana Corn cultivation, wouldn't the status window have given me something like Mana Beans instead of Mana Corn from the beginning?
Here lies a special feature unique to Mana Corn.
[ SYSTEM: Leader-exclusive Farming Guide ]
[ Step 3: ]
Colony Consciousness Networking
[ Overview: ]
Connects individual crops into a single massive living entity.
[ System Analysis: ]
If large-scale American plantations map out entire farmlands using GPS and artificial intelligence, the Leader-nim connects the corn roots with a mana neural network.
[ Effects: ]
1) Centralized Management: Just by touching Chunsik's stem, you can determine the moisture status of the corn. (Current maximum detectable range: 4 km)
2) Nutrient Redistribution: If an individual plant is planted in barren land, nutrients from the fertile side are forcibly transferred through the root network.
"I told you it's not Chunsik."
Using the World Tree.
Seureureuk.
I plunge my fingers into the earth where the World Tree stands.
Then, I slowly carve a path all the way to where the Mana Corn is.
Seuseuseu.
Water seeps through the mud and flows like a river, and I stop my fingers right in front of the Mana Corn before pulling my hand back.
Seureureu-
Mana begins to flow.
As if the stream of water were an electrical wire, the mana gathered around the World Tree began to spread along the water toward the seeds beneath the earth.
'Mana is the fertilizer.'
There's no need to burn haystacks or produce something like chemical fertilizer.
I even considered cutting my own body to spill blood if necessary, but that wasn't needed.
The fact that the status window reading my thoughts remains silent means I am doing the right thing.
If I had actually tried to spill blood, it would have popped up a warning window along the lines of 'The Leader-nim's self-harming action will contribute 0.01% to plant growth.'
And now, the rest is—
"Oh, God."
"I don't know who the god of this otherworldly land is, nor do I know if the gods of Earth remain here, but please grant that these crops may grow safely to completion."
Wishing, and wishing once more.
Doing something with the corn or thinking about what comes next is something for after the corn has significantly grown.
"Status window. How much has the corn grown now?"
Who on earth expects a 300% return right after putting money into stocks, but I couldn't help asking.
[ SYSTEM: Growth Schedule Report ]
[ Current Stage: ]
Development Stage (Mana Synchronization Complete)
[ Estimated Harvest Time: ]
Approximately 30 days (1 month) from this moment.
[ Notification: ]
Depending on the Leader-nim's mana injection efficiency, the margin of error is ±3 days.
"...One month."
My breath catches in my throat.
While it's surprising that the corn fully grows in just a month, that single month somehow feels dauntingly distant.
"It means I have to keep taking care of it for a whole month."
Scouting the surroundings?
Could I even leave?
Hwi-ing.
The sandstorm still whirls violently, attempting to swallow the oasis and blanket the barely connected stream of water in desert yellow.
Ggulleok, ggulleok.
The oasis keeps expanding its domain.
As if determined to continuously spout water from underground without stopping, the rising water looked ready to breach the hills, overflow, and gush out toward other places.
Not a single thing goes according to plan.
Meaning I have to continuously control this entire environment in real time.
I can do it.
I can do it, technically.
Just like I did back at the company, where I couldn't clock out for half a month straight and had to eat and sleep right at the office, I just need to do that.
It's fine.
I'm used to crunch time.
Will it be my body that collapses first, or my mind?
[ SYSTEM: Emergency Prescription Suggestion ]
[ Analysis: ]
The Leader-nim's mental wear-and-tear is predicted to reach a 'Dangerous' level.
Long-term waiting in an isolated environment causes breakdown of self-identity.
[ Suggestion: ]
Transition to 『Conscious Sleep & Automated Farming Mode』 is recommended.
....
"What is that?"
[ SYSTEM: Detailed Explanation ]
[ Function: ]
Puts the Leader-nim's consciousness into a state of suspended animation, with control of the physical body temporarily delegated to the System (C.V.8).
[ Execution: ]
Even during sleep, the System efficiently distributes the Leader-nim's mana to continue farming and base expansion.
[ Commitment: ]
We promise to awaken your consciousness immediately at the moment of harvest or upon detecting an external threat.
In the blink of an eye, you will face the results one month later.
I hesitated for a moment.
'What crazy things are you planning to do to me while I sleep!'
Though I didn't know the exact details, handing over control of my body to the status window essentially meant letting an AI dominate my body.
I wondered if it might be better to just hand over my personal seal, but....
"You're saying if I close my eyes and open them, it'll be one month later?"
[ SYSTEM: Affirmative ]
[ Notification: ]
Leader-nim simply needs to 'Log Out'.
When you 'Log In' again, you will be able to see green results rather than the desert.
Log out, log in, huh.
"There's a word that suits this much better."
Even if my consciousness leaves this world, where would I even go?
I'm just going to sleep for a little while.
So that I can respond to dangerous situations at any time.
Therefore, I shall declare it using a term other than log out and log in.
"Turn end."
Until the corn seeds germinate and glorious golden Mana Corn grows.
"I'll wait until meaningful results come out. If there's any unexpected variable, wake me up immediately."
[ SYSTEM: Mode Transition Initiated ]
[ Notification: ]
Initiating provisional conscious hibernation. 3, 2, 1...
[ Message: ]
Sweet dreams, Leader-nim.
We shall see you in the season of harvest.
The final sight I saw until the moment my consciousness sank into the abyss was the green leaves of the World Tree standing upright as if guarding me.
...
...
...
And then.
The morning call rang 100 years later.
...?