Chapter 5 : SSS+ Swordsmanship’s Majesty

Rustle, whoosh!

Just like I usually do.

I just swung it as I had been doing for 10 years.

They say even a dog who’s been at a school for 3 years can recite poetry.

Even I, who’ve lived my life without ever touching a sickle or getting my hands dirty, have swung a sword in the farming world for 10 years.

Cutting weeds is nothing special.

There must be habits that have built up over time.

And the feeling of cutting through countless types of weeds must have gotten familiar to my hands.

But something was different.

“Hm…”

It felt natural.

The sword I was swinging wasn’t just being waved randomly, but it felt like it was following some kind of pattern.

I was definitely the one swinging it, and I was the one thinking about how to cut, but it felt like it wasn’t me cutting? I don’t know what this strange feeling is, but it was weird.

It was strange, but it worked well.

Of course, my strength is S-class, so it’s not surprising that it cuts well.

I even found out later that…

[Wooden Sword]

• Grade: D-
• A slightly dull sword that could be used for various purposes.

It’s made of quite sturdy wood, so its durability has improved. – Attack Power +5

The basic wooden sword originally has an attack power of F-grade, +1.

But this one is D-grade, probably because the resources in the front yard are D-grade, so even the basic wooden sword was D-.

The attack power is quite high for a wooden sword.

With +5 attack power, it’s about the same as a D-grade iron sword in the original map.

So with my S-class strength and a D-grade tool, it’s not strange at all to cut weeds smoothly.

The problem is, cutting the weeds is too easy?

It’s efficient?

It’s not really a problem, though.

It’s a good thing.

I’m cutting weeds with minimal effort, efficiently.

You might wonder why that matters, but it does.

In a way, the most common actions in the farming world are cutting weeds, chopping wood, and mining stones.

Since the game is about ‘realism,’ the efficiency of the process varies based on the method, posture, and the strength used.

“This is SSS+ grade?”

It might sound ridiculous to be in awe of the SSS+ grade for something like this, but I had to admit it.

I’ve been researching how to gather resources with maximum efficiency and minimum effort for 10 years. To think that just by getting system adjustments, it feels more comfortable and efficient than what I could do after 10 years of research.

I’m not one to reject new things, so I just admired it, but it was still quite shocking.

Thanks to that, I didn’t get tired of organizing the really large front yard, even though it was a strange and subtle feeling that made it feel like my body wasn’t mine to control.

“Hoo.”

Before I knew it, the day was setting, and I had finished enough of the cleanup so that I could see a bit of space to move around.

It took several hours just to clean the area that would be used as the front yard for 2-3 small huts.

If it was just cutting weeds, I would have finished it quickly, but there were rocks and trees scattered around, and it wasn’t something I could just vacuum clean.

How should I put it…

This secret farming map feels excessive compared to the normal maps.

Even the basic resources are abundant and of a higher grade.

Looking at the equipment it gives you, they’re all high grade, so I’m starting to feel like this map really matches the SSS+ difficulty.

But that also means I should stay alert.

The difficulty in the map mainly comes from the grade of monsters, not the resources.

I’ve only completed the tutorial, so it’s not something I should worry about yet.

I took a small wooden box from beside the hut’s door and set it outside.

Everyone arranges their storage in a certain way.

When I built a mansion, I made a separate storage room, but usually, in the early to mid-game stages, I prioritize efficiency, so I place storage boxes in the path I will take.

I liked to line up boxes right by the door as soon as I left the house.

Inside were 10 inventory slots, all filled with weeds, wood, and stone.

“I only gathered this much, and it’s over 100.”

Stack is a term used for the unit of resources.

I’m not sure of the exact details, but in the farming world, the number of items in a slot is called a stack.

This isn’t a fixed number, but for a ‘small box,’ one slot holds 99 items.

So, weeds, wood, and stone each go up to 99 per slot, and any extras go into a new slot.

The resources I gathered today were 123 weeds, 101 pieces of wood, and 88 stones.

That’s quite a lot.

Considering how many hours I spent on it, and that I didn’t even finish cleaning up the whole front yard, it’s impressive to have gathered this much.

“The amount of resources is just amazing.”

Should I call this easy mode?

Maybe the high difficulty is balanced to make up for it.

At least, in the tutorial, I don’t think it’s all that bad.

Unless the materials needed for crafting at the SSS+ difficulty level increase, it’s clear that getting more resources means the difficulty for base gameplay has decreased.

Looking at the solidly piled resources, I opened a water bottle and took a big gulp while munching on two F-grade breads.

The initial food is limited to what is provided, so it’s better to conserve it if possible, but since I’m just thinking of it as a tutorial and playing, and with my melee weapon being SSS+, I think I can manage to find enough food.

[Quest Complete!]

Tutorial Quest 1 is also complete.

[Farm (F) Activated!]

Looking at the SSS+ ability, F-rank doesn’t even make a difference.

It’s just one of the thousands of tutorials I’ve seen before.

[Tutorial Quest 2]

[Monsters more dangerous than usual roam at night. Let’s deal with the unwanted guests around the house to start farming.]

[Clear Condition: Defeat Big Rats (0 / 5)]

[Reward: 100 Farm, Farming Ability 1]

“Big Rats?”

The next tutorial quest also appeared.

This one didn’t differ much from the regular tutorial quests, but the content was a bit different.

While cleaning up around the house, the resources that had been growing were at a D-rank, unlike Quest 1.

For Tutorial Quest 2, the monsters to defeat were different.

Originally, you just had to deal with regular rats.

Between the overgrown weeds, you would clear the rats that settled near your house and start farming, but here, it asks you to defeat five Big Rats.

If regular rats are F-rank monsters, Big Rats are D-rank.

“I guess the boss from the original map is now just a regular rat here.”

With my melee weapon upgraded to SSS+, it wasn’t a big concern.

I just had to be a bit careful since I didn’t have any armor.

After finishing the last bit of bread and drinking all the water, I pulled out my wooden sword and went outside again.

Unlike the small hut with a little lantern, the outside was completely dark, relying only on a tiny crescent moon, so it wasn’t just dim, it was pure darkness.

Saaa-

Every time the wind blew, the tall weeds and trees made eerie sounds, causing most new players to just lie down in bed as soon as night fell in the farming world.

The atmosphere was unsettling, but the night in the farming world was also extremely dangerous.

Most monsters are active at night, and it’s difficult to dodge sudden attacks in the dark.

That’s why the tips for Tutorial Quest 2 always mention:

“Do it during the day.”

While rats are active at night, it’s actually best to hunt during the day as well, since there’s no reason not to catch hidden rats during the day.

But I don’t bother with that.

With my S-rank physical strength, if I can’t handle Big Rats at night, I’d have to say my ten years of experience were wasted.

Tsu-tsu-tsu-

Even though the wind isn’t blowing, the unharvested weeds shake unnaturally.

During the day, I have to go to the randomly respawning “sewer” area near the hut and search for a while, but at night, I can easily find rats looking for food around the hut.

And in the dark, rats are quite aggressive.

Tsu-tsu-tsu-

A pair of glowing eyes emerge through the weeds.

A large rat, about my size, with a plump body and fluffy gray fur, stood with its sharp front teeth visible, locking eyes with me.

Normally, rats would mostly steal crops you’ve planted.

So, until I clean the rats’ home in the sewers, it’s common to either stand guard at night, set traps, or just lose a portion of your crops.

Since there are no crops planted on the first day and the rats are hungry, they must have thought I was food, so they act on instinct now that it’s night.

I extended my wooden sword and aimed at the Big Rat.

In the regular map, seeing Big Rats spawn on the first day would make it better to just start a new map.

But now, I’m different.

“Bring it on.”

I was facing Big Rats with stats higher than them.

The broken balance was made up for with no armor, so I didn’t feel guilty.

Rather than tension, exhilaration filled my body.

Hunting.

The reason I love the farming world.

Tsu-tsu-tsu-

Alongside the one that appeared, four more gray furballs showed up.

“Great, finishing them off at once.”

I ran straight at the Big Rats first.