Ch.66. I Swung My Sword and the Rat Died.

Even without active skills, I can easily take down tutorial fodder monsters like Rats, even if they’ve evolved into Big Rats. With a +5 wooden sword and Strength S, I can kill them much more efficiently than in the regular tutorial. The only concern is my lack of armor, but thanks to Health S, I won’t die instantly even if bitten by a Big Rat.

So as long as I don’t get knocked down and overwhelmed by five Rats surrounding me, I should be fine.

Chi-chi-chi-chi-

I charge toward the lead Big Rat making that unpleasant sound, stepping on its head and swinging my wooden sword.

Slash!

Right at the boundary between head and body.

Though slightly thick, my wooden sword cuts through the neck area. Despite being just a wooden sword, it slices through like tofu, defying my concerns about its effectiveness.

“Wow.”

The thick neck of the Big Rat drops to the ground with a thud.

I had planned to just inflict a critical wound and quickly retreat, but I had to revise my plan.

“So this is it.”

Master of Melee Weapons.

This is, obviously, an absurdly overpowered skill.

I felt it while swinging the sword. I had my suspicions since cutting weeds, but now that I’m actually hunting, I’m certain.

Though I’m the one swinging the sword, it feels like something is providing corrections to my movements.

Having chosen swordsmanship as my main ability across various maps for a long time, I’m fairly confident in my sword fighting abilities.

Of course, I can’t use precise swordsmanship like a master, but I’ve always been confident enough to hold my own when wielding a sword in the Farming World.

But this is different.

When I thrust at vital points, my body naturally moves along the most efficient path.

I can see it.

“Wow…”

Confidence surges through me instantly.

[Big Rat eliminated!]

[10 Experience gained]

My tension melts away.

Still, just in case… this is a secret map I know nothing about…

But once I discard that thought, the pathetic Big Rats before me look like nothing more than grateful quest monsters offering large meat and farm points.

Four rats charge at me simultaneously.

I thrust my sword into the mouth of an approaching Big Rat, piercing straight through its head.

Blood splatters, soaking my body, but I pull out the sword and leap behind the corpse.

Squelch-

Killing the remaining three was also one-shot, one-kill.

The hunt was so easy it left me feeling slightly empty.

I look down at the sword and handle covered in Big Rat blood.

If there’s one thing I’ve learned in my ten years of playing Farming World, it’s that skills like swordsmanship and other “talents” don’t improve just by doing them for a long time.

You simply learn through countless examples and combat experiences when to dodge and attack most efficiently, how to inflict maximum damage, and how to conserve energy and health through movement.

But now I feel like I’ve crossed that barrier.

Just with a single passive skill.

If I use this and master it…

Could I use it in reality?

The thought crossed my mind.

If I internalize this sensation and my body remembers it…

“That’s really stupid thinking.”

Even if by some chance I have this unknown genius talent to remember this sensation, it doesn’t matter much.

I’m not a hunter anyway, so what good is SSS+ level swordsmanship?

[Quest Complete!]

Tutorial Quest 2 is completed with the five Big Rat corpses.

I considered riding this momentum to find the sewer and check for a Boss Big Rat, but quickly abandoned the idea.

“First, the tutorial…”

Finding the sewer would be a task in itself.

Even in an SS-grade map size, if the sewer is within a 5KM radius of the house, it would take forever to search everywhere. In an unmeasurable map, I can’t even guess how far it might be.

Wandering through the overgrown land at night, I might lose my way back home, let alone find a sewer.

[100 Farm acquired!]

[Farming Stat +1 acquired!]

I dragged the Big Rat corpses to the cleared front yard and laid them out in a row.

[Tutorial Quest 3]

[Monster corpses are valuable food. Let’s butcher various resources and monsters.]

[Ability (Butchering F) activated!]

[Clear condition: Monster butchering (0/1)]

[Reward: 100 Farm, Farming Stat +1]

Butchering? I’ve done it thousands, no, hundreds of thousands of times.

I could handle it myself without the ability’s help.

As I skillfully separated the corpse into hide and meat, the entrails, blood, and other useless parts simply evaporated.

[Skillful butchering successful!]

That’s the charm of this game.

It balances both “realism” and “game” elements so that newbies don’t hit a wall with difficult systems.

With just a “knife” and “butchering” ability, your body automatically performs the butchering.

If you become more skilled and utilize the game’s “realism” well, you get greater rewards like this.

I got 13 pieces of Big Rat meat and 6 Big Rat hides.

“Graduating from bread on day one.”

Unlike regular Rat meat, one piece of Big Rat meat, when cooked, provides enough food for an entire day.

The night was dark, and I was exhausted from being thrown into this map without sleep. I desperately wanted to rest and continue tomorrow, but leaving Big Rat corpses in the front yard might attract other monsters to feast on them before dawn, so I invested about an hour to finish the work.

“Phew.”

[2:15 AM]

It’s late to sleep.

In Farming World, unlike typical farming genre games where “sleep time” is fixed at dawn, there’s a set amount of required sleep per day.

If you don’t sleep at least 6 hours, you get stat reductions and various debuffs, so you need to make sure you get enough sleep, even if it means taking naps.

Still, I need to finish what I started.

“At least the welfare is good.”

Even this harsh game provides some conveniences for things like bathrooms and bathing.

You don’t need to use the bathroom, and while there’s a cleanliness system, the cabin always has hot water available for a warm bath.

“Ah. That’s nice.”

Since the initial cabin doesn’t have a boiler, this is the only way to warm up right now.

I wash away the Big Rat blood from my clothes and body, melting away fatigue.

Even with just soap as a toiletry, it feels like heaven.

“Hmm…”

After putting on a clean towel and spare ragged clothes, I lie down on the bed and my eyes slowly close.

[Day 2]

And so my first day in this secret farming map comes to an end.

————–

[9:00 AM]

Ring-ring-ring-ring- Ring-ring-ring-ring-

The system alarm sounds throughout the cabin.

I went to bed around 3 AM after washing up, so I got exactly the minimum 6 hours of sleep.

“I’m tired.”

In established maps, once I set up some automation, I would maintain sleep time above 8 hours to get the refreshed buff, but in the early stages of a map, time is money, so there’s no luxury for such buffs.

Moreover, I’ve been connected to the game for almost two days now.

Even though I’m a hardcore gamer, I try not to exceed 48 hours in capsule connection time.

“I need to finish today.”

The tutorial shouldn’t take long.

Following the basic tutorial flow, there will be farming-related tutorials and a few supplementary basic ability tutorials before the basic tutorial quests are completed.

Humanely speaking, they should let me log out after finishing those…

[Tutorial Quest 4]

[To progress in Farming World, you need to create various items for your base.]

[Let’s create a workbench]

[Reward: 100 Farm, Farming Stat +1]

I proceed quickly.

“Simple Crafting”

When I say the command, the [Simple Crafting] system opens, and I craft the activated [Workbench].

Required materials: 30 F-grade or higher wood, 15 stones, 30 weeds.

This friendly game emphasizes “convenience” over “realism” in crafting, allowing you to use items in boxes within the [Cabin] range for workbench or simple crafting.

A [Workbench] appears before my eyes.

As its size is displayed in a 3D hologram, I go outside and install it in front of the cabin.

As expected, installing it at the most frequently used path in front of the door is convenient and easy.

[Quest Complete!]

In Farming World, tutorials are usually content people skip.

They’re so thorough that once you’ve done them in one map, there’s no need to do them again.

But right now I’m being force-fed this content, and the initial rewards from these tutorial quests are quite helpful for early growth.

That’s why even veteran players, when choosing to farm or play their main map again, tend to complete each tutorial quest.

– Farm Points: 400

– Farming Stats: 3

I’ve already accumulated 3 Farming Stats and 400 Farm Points.

Before the next tutorial quest appears, I take out my hoe and head down to the cleared land to start tilling the field.