Ch.44. What Do I See When I Step Outside? Weeds. Stones. Trees.

This game uniquely doesn’t have a “Status Window” system.

“Farming Window”

When I first called it that, I cringed thinking I should just call it a status window… but now it’s just a command I use without thinking.

[Farming Window]

– Name: Kim Suhyun

– Map: Secret Farming Map (SSS+)

– Time: Day 1

– Stats: Strength (S) Stamina (S) Agility (S) Magic Power (D)

– Ability

1. Melee Weapons: SSS+

– Farm Points: 100

– Level: 1

– Farming Stats: 0

– Mana: 50

In the Farming World, status window = farming window.

Players who prefer “status window” just call it that, and even though I’ve been calling it a farming window for 10 years, status window is admittedly easier to say.

Looking at the open window, I let out a mix of amazement and sighs.

“Wow… shit…”

On one hand, I’m sighing because my status window showing level 999 is completely gone.

On the other hand, I’m amazed that I’m starting with an SSS+ grade map and SSS+ ability, plus S-grade strength, stamina, and agility—when most people start with all F stats in this Farming World—and even my magic power starts at D, not F or E, which is normally hard to raise.

This game is usually stingy, giving S- at most, so getting S and D shows that the SSS+ melee weapon is truly an incredible base.

“Melee weapon is the right choice.”

If I had chosen summons or magic, my magic power might have been S, but my physical stats might have been D. Thinking about it, even though it’s slightly disappointing, I remind myself that physical abilities are best in the early game.

My body already feels much lighter, even if just for a moment.

When I first woke up in this crappy hut, one of the most uncomfortable things was losing all my stats, making my body feel unbearably heavy. Though it’s not quite the SS+ from my first Farming World, having S-grade stats makes me feel somewhat recovered.

“Haah.”

I can’t help but sigh again when I look at my Farm Points and level.

Still, the sound of swinging my wooden sword is quite refreshing.

Plus, there’s a skill I never saw in my 10 years of playing.

[Master of Melee Weapons]

– Grade: SSS+

– Passive Skill (Melee Weapons)

– Attack power increases by 1,000% when using melee weapons.

– Melee weapon durability decreases 2,000% slower.

– Able to handle all melee weapons at master level.

“Wow, holy shit.”

Passive skills are incredibly hard to get in this game.

They give you active skill effects just by having them.

Even if you try to buy them with Farm Points, the game’s currency, they cost at least three times more than active skills, and SSS+ grade ones aren’t even for sale.

Naturally, this is the first time I’ve seen an SSS+ passive skill in this game.

I can’t help but swear at those shocking options.

“What the hell is 10x attack power?”

Actually, it’s 1,100%, so 11 times.

Starting with this ridiculous attack power and S-grade strength, I should be able to easily harvest up to D-grade resources, right?

Plus, the weapon durability decrease.

This is also a helpful option since hunting a lot means making many weapons, which can be a headache.

While melee weapons don’t consume resources with each use like ranged weapons do with arrows, they require more resources to make and deteriorate quickly due to the game’s “realism” if you don’t handle them properly.

And the most impressive is the last option.

‘Able to handle all melee weapons at master level.’

Honestly, I’ve never seen an option like this in Farming World before.

The game usually prefers putting numerical values in options.

Clear, interpretable numbers.

The game talks about realism and freedom, but surprisingly, everything is displayed numerically.

From plowing fields to how many seeds you have.

How many days are needed.

What percentage of nutrients are currently available.

How much water is being provided.

Even monsters’ health percentage.

How much damage was dealt to weak points.

What status effects are applied.

But now there’s this ambiguous option that can only be subjectively interpreted.

I can’t even judge if this is good or not.

Of course, it can’t be bad.

In this game, grade is law and god.

SSS+ grade is simply divine.

The “master level” must be beyond what I can imagine.

I wasn’t particularly worried.

As long as I’m supported by the game system, I’ll truly become a master of melee weapons within the Farming World, just as it says.

“No other skills… huh.”

If there’s anything disappointing, though it’s greedy to say, it’s that they only gave me one passive skill.

The reason for learning abilities and raising grades is largely to hunt monsters easily with a “click” rather than rolling around like a dog.

Magic is the prime example of this.

Rather than getting into a muddy brawl where you bite, tear, and risk broken bones from a single hit, it’s both efficient and romantic to just “click” a Fireball from a distance and cook some wolf meat.

Melee weapons can have that romance too.

As I mentioned with the Gear Sword, melee weapons can be cool and have plenty of “click” skills.

What I was hoping for, given the SSS+ grade, was at least one such skill.

“Disappointing, but… well…”

I should be grateful for what I got.

I can learn those click skills later by spending Farm Points.

I’ll be content with this SSS+ passive skill that can’t be bought anywhere.

And when I opened the door and went outside.

“Whoa.”

Seeing countless grasses taller than me, rocks scattered everywhere, and trees so thick it would take five people to wrap their arms around them, I realized:

“Shit. So this is what SSS+ grade means.”

I thought the Farming World had reformed and given me this map to enjoy the game in easy mode.

That would be the conscientious thing to do.

Honestly, after taking away the map I spent 10 years building, I thought they were giving me a map with high resource rarity so I could start anew, even if the difficulty was high.

But that wasn’t it.

“You bastards. So this is what you meant by ‘choose carefully’?”

The one SSS+ ability wasn’t a privilege or gift for me.

It was given just to maintain some semblance of balance in a difficulty so high that I couldn’t even start without it.

That makes sense because the tall weeds, trees, and rocks I see before me are basic resources that can’t even be harvested or cut with F-grade abilities and wooden equipment.

This is the typical scene when starting Farming World.

Overgrown weeds, trees, and stones around the house.

Newbies complain about the mess, but veterans appreciate it because the more abundant these resources are, the less they need to venture far to gather resources in the early game.

These are the most basic F-grade resources and the foundation for all crafting.

And a bit further out, when you go to farm E-grade resources, you encounter stone boulders, thick trees, and tough weeds.

What’s around our house are D-grade basic resources, a step above those.

“If I hadn’t chosen melee weapons, I’d have had to reset.”

If I had to sum up this game’s strengths and weaknesses in one word each, they would be realism and freedom.

That damn realism and freedom often causes frustrating situations, but conversely, they allow for flexible solutions to problems that other games in this genre can’t handle, like resource gathering.

In resource gathering games, the tool system is usually fixed—certain grade resources can only be harvested with tools of the same grade, or it’s so inefficient that it might as well be impossible.

But this game, thanks to its freedom and realism, allows me to harvest weeds, trees, and stones with the basic wooden pickaxe, axe, and sword I’m holding now, with the minimum requirement being stats.

With high strength and stamina, you can use lower-grade tools.

There’s a penalty of faster durability loss, but that’s better than not being able to harvest even the basic resources in front of your house and being unable to progress.

Plus, thanks to my “Master of Melee Weapons” effect, durability doesn’t wear down as quickly.

So in reality, choosing “melee weapons” wasn’t a preference but a necessity.

At least in this SSS+ Secret Farming Map.

Of course, if my magic power were S, there would surely be other development routes.

What couldn’t be done in this high-freedom game?

But it would have been much more roundabout and incredibly difficult.

“The direct approach is indeed the answer.”

I swing my wooden sword at the weeds right in front of the hut as if cutting them.

With no blade, it shouldn’t cut.

Swoosh!

The weeds collapse smoothly with the sound.

“This is pretty good.”

No matter if they’re D-grade resources, they’re no match for S-grade strength.

Even with a wooden sword, I should be able to handle up to C-grade resources without much trouble.

“Haah…”

I clearly cut down a large handful of weeds, but endless weeds still surrounded me everywhere.

The sun that had been high in the sky quickly grew dim.