Chapter 3

“Ugh—ah! I’m done!”

Pulling weeds, picking out stones, turning the soil…

With my trash-tier stamina, it was brutal…

Still, thanks to all that effort, I managed to carve out a halfway decent field.

Since the plot was small, I dug shallow furrows about ten centimeters apart and went with two rows, spacing things out reasonably.

Then I planted each piece of seed potato and covered them with soil.

“Who knew all that useless trivia from farm games would actually come in handy like this?”

〈Healing Farm Life〉 had been a surprisingly educational game—it even taught you how to farm.

“Cultivation zone…?”

Does that mean the field?

What is this? Now it’s even using emoticons.

It’s almost like it has a mind of its own…

Anyway, I did as the system instructed, moving my finger to trace the border of the field in front of me.

The outline glowed blue for a moment, then settled down.

“Oh…?”

And then, in the very next instant—

“No way.”

From the field that had been nothing but dirt, pale green sprouts began popping up everywhere.

So that’s how it works.

I thrust my hand out toward the field, full of confidence.

“Sacred Touch!”

I only needed to think it, but my desire for potatoes was so overwhelming that I shouted it out loud.

The effect was immediate. The light pouring from my hand—unmistakably holy at a glance—was absorbed, and the sprouts began to dance as they grew.

They shot up—fast!

The stems stretched tall, lush green leaves unfurling in abundance.

‘They’re almost fully grown… just a little more…!’

But unfortunately, the crops’ growth came to a sudden halt right as the flowers were about to bloom.

“What?! Why—!”

Just as I was about to explode, a status window popped up in front of me.

“Ah.”

Come to think of it, I’d completely forgotten.

I didn’t even have drinking water right now…

Letting out a deep sigh, I looked around.

It said to find a nearby spring, right…?

“A spring, a spring…”

Wandering around like a zombie, I headed into the forest behind the cabin.

It’d be great if there were a spring somewhere around here… close to the cabin, too…

Oh?

I followed the system’s instructions and walked ten more steps.

And then…

From beyond the thick grass, I heard the trickle of a small stream.

‘A spring…! That’s definitely spring water!’

Is this how it feels to find an oasis in the desert?

I hurriedly pushed through the grass and went deeper in.

And there, immediately in view, was clear, pristine spring water…!

’…Or not?’

Instead of the transparent water one normally imagines, there was a pitch-black pool that looked seriously wrong.

‘So it’s not just the soil—the water’s contaminated too.’

And this forest, too… the trees, grass, and flowers were all a grotesque dark violet-black.

”…Will there come a day when I can purify all of this?”

For now, even just this one spring felt like too much. Because—

I’d already used up the Purification skill earlier.

“Hah… come on. Humanely speaking, shouldn’t I be able to use it at least three times a day?”

Is it because I’m such a lousy farmer that I only get one use…?

I slumped my shoulders as frustration washed over me.

Ding!

“Special support?”

I stared at the status window, eyes wide.

Oh…?

Is this that legendary system favoritism?

Ding!

“Wow.”

Is it really okay for survival mode to be this easy?

System favoritism—this is insanely sweet!

I thrust out my hand without hesitation and cried out desperately in my mind.

‘Purification!’

Fwaaah—!

A radiant glow burst from my fingertips, enveloping the spring and its surroundings like a cloud.

When the light finally faded…

A pristine, untainted landscape spread out before me.

Fresh green vegetation and, nestled among it, clear and clean spring water.

“Wow…!”

The admiration escaped me naturally.

And then, all at once, my throat went painfully dry. I hadn’t even realized it before, but I must’ve been parched this whole time.

Drink. Now—!

I couldn’t hold back anymore.

I dropped to my knees, cupped my hands, and filled my palms with water.

Bringing it straight to my mouth, I gulped it down, relishing in the feel of the cool stream water sliding down my throat and into my stomach.

“Hah…”

I feel alive again.

I’m still starving to death, sure…

But after drinking my fill of what was clearly first-grade, crystal-clear water, I felt much better.

Now if I carried this spring water back and sprinkled it on the field, I could harvest potatoes, right?

There was something like a basin stuffed in the storage shed… I could use that.

I hurried to stand up and turn around—

Splash!

“…?!”

Out of nowhere, a jet of water shot up into the air.

It quickly gathered into a large mass, and then…

“…!”

…turned into a hamster-shaped water droplet rice cake!

‘W-what is that?’

Why a hamster?

“Ah! I’m saved!”

That wasn’t my voice.

The water rice cake was talking.

Moving its tiny hamster mouth…

“Good heavens! A purifier at last—after a thousand years! Please, make me your servant!”

“…?”

What… what is this insane water blob?

The unhinged aquatic rice cake started spinning rapidly around me. I’m getting dizzy!

“Master! From now on, you’re my master! My savior! I really thought I was going to rot away and die like that!”

Th-this thing talks way too much.

What is it, anyway? Start with an introduction!

“Oh! I just realized I forgot to introduce myself! I’m Ninabel, a water spirit! The owner of this spring!”

“A water spirit…?”

A spirit just pops out like that?

“Yes! I’m Ninabel! Please call me Nini, Master!”

“Why am I your master?!”

“Because you saved Nini’s life! Nini will devote herself to Master!”

Between the water blob hopping around at my side, I couldn’t think straight at all.

I only purified the spring because I needed drinking water, and I got a spirit for free…?

“Master, Master! What should Nini do? Just say the word!”

“Uh—hold on a second…”

With such a noisy creature nearby, my brain was running a beat slower than usual.

Right, this thing… Ninabel? A water spirit, she said.

Looks like she was dying because the spring was contaminated…

‘So I saved her.’

Hmm. A water spirit…

An idea came to mind.

‘If you’re volunteering to be a servant, well… I won’t turn you down.’

I grabbed the happily bobbing water blob with both hands and grinned.

“From now on, you’re our farm’s sprinkler.”

“Huh…?”

By the way, it really does feel like I’m touching actual water.

Anyway, with my captured spirit tucked under my arm, I headed back to the farm (pathetic as it was).

Then I tossed her straight onto the one-pyeong potato field and issued an order.

“Go! Ninabel! Water the field!”

“Ahh…! Master treating Nini so roughly makes Nini so happy I don’t know what to do with myself!”

She’s got an outstanding aptitude for service.

When the servant—no, the spirit—splashed water across the field, the soil immediately turned moist.

“Ohoho.”

The spirit I got for free was way more impressive than I expected.

Soon after, potato flowers bloomed in full. I was admiring the surprisingly pretty white blossoms when they quickly withered and fell away.

“Eh…?”

Before long, the leaves gradually turned yellow, and the stems sagged.

It was already time to harvest.

‘It’s like time’s been sped up several times over.’

Real farming could never be this simple, but…

With my overpowered skills, I could get potatoes with far less time and effort…!

“Waaaah! Potatoes!”

“Potatoes?!”

“Potatoes!!”

As I shouted in excitement, the water rice cake enthusiastically echoed me.

I quickly grabbed a tool—no, a hoe—and carefully began digging into the field.

‘Potatoes…!’

Grasping the stem and pulling with just the right amount of force, a whole cluster of plump potatoes came tumbling out.

My daily food supply…!

I was so moved that tears welled up in my eyes.

“M-Master…! Are you crying…?!”

“Nini…”

“Y-yes!”

“They say dreams come true, right…?”

“Oh…?”

“I’m going to purify this entire contaminated land and turn it into fields!”

“Ooh…!”

“Potatoes, carrots, sweet potatoes—everything! I’ll grow it all and eat it!”

“Wow~!!”

The potatoes we harvested were roasted over a campfire and eaten.

They were the best potatoes I’d ever had in my life.

As evening fell, I lit a fire in an old brazier I’d found in the storage shed.

‘Thank goodness there’s still some flint and firewood left.’

Warming myself by the fire and enjoying a moment of peace, I decided to check my status and plan ahead.

‘Come to think of it, I forgot to check my stats.’

I’d been too distracted by finding food…

When I tapped the click button with my fingertip, a new popup appeared, showing Muriel’s status.

Stamina being in the negatives wasn’t surprising.

Honestly, -12 felt like I’d gotten off easy. Muriel’s body is ridiculously frail…

‘The real problem is Luck…’

Negative 197…? What is this insane number?

At this point, it feels like it’s gone way too far.

‘With negative 197… just how unlucky is that? I can’t even wrap my head around it.’

The other stats were pretty average, and the surprising part was…

‘Muriel has divine power?’

That was never mentioned in the original story.

Did something change when I possessed this body?

“Next up, let’s take a look at…”

…This had been bothering me the whole time.

“Huh? Wait a second…”

There’s more written here…?