Funds Arrive

10:30 AM.

After eating his fill, Ser Jon refused the presumption of going to bed, instead spreading out the cabin's thick floor mats and sleeping by the fireplace, covered by his dried white robes.

"I have people I can use now."

Daeren felt strange, an indescribable sensation.

Seeing the nobles fawning around his father Aerys, he found them all ugly. Seeing the revered Rhaegar, he felt the man was too high and mighty.

GOOGLE SEARCH TWKAN

The novel experience of having followers for the first time.

It was the taste of power, and it was wonderful.

"Time cannot be wasted. Rainy days are a lucky day for old farmers."

A faint smile played on Daeren's lips as he donned his straw cloak and went out again.

Tomorrow, the chicks would mature and begin laying eggs.

This meant he could leave for a short while and return to King's Landing to further his plans.

With time still left today, he decided to try fishing at the Blackwater Rush.

12:00 PM.

Remarkably, Daeren's luck was quite good, even when going out in the rain.

On the way from Dragon Tongue Farm to the Blackwater Rush, he found three wild flowers and four wild plants. These were Yellow Daffodil, a flower unique to spring, along with a Leek, two Wild Wasabi, and a Dandelion.

Yellow Daffodil: "A traditional spring flower, suitable for gifting."

Leek: "A delicious relative of the onion."

Wild Wasabi: "A root spice that grows in spring."

Dandelion: "Though not particularly beautiful, its leaves are suitable for salads."

The Yellow Daffodil was pure and beautiful, emitting a delicate fragrance. Holding it in his arms, he felt a spring-like warmth, and a gentle sniff calmed his mind, involuntarily recalling pleasant memories.

Pop!

Daeren lightly plucked the third Yellow Daffodil. A familiar, faint warmth surged in his abdomen, and he quickly closed his eyes to savor it.

A small line of text appeared on his status panel:

[You have some matters you wish to consider by the end of today]

When Daeren opened his eyes, his proficiency panel had changed.

[Farmer: Daeren·Targaryen]

Farming: Level 1

Mining: Level 0

Foraging: Level 1

Fishing: Level 0

Combat: Level 0

Consecutive days of logging and foraging wild plants had leveled up his foraging skill.

"Just in time. From now on, cutting trees will have a chance to drop seeds."

Daeren smiled.

In Stardew Valley, trees were important resources, especially Oak.

Old farmers who enjoyed brewing knew the importance of saving Oak seeds in advance to prepare for future Oak liquor used in making barrels.

Having gathered enough collectibles, Daeren hurried to the Blackwater Rush and cast his fishing line from the stone arch bridge that had stood for a hundred years.

"River fish, prepare to be conquered!"

What a magnificent display of spirit.

6:40 PM.

Ser Jon, having woken up, was warming himself by the fire. He saw Prince Daeren return home with a blank expression, carrying a pitifully small Perch.

Dinner tonight would be fish... soup.

The night passed without incident.

Day 4 of Spring, Thursday, Clear Skies, 6:00 AM.

"Hah! Hah!"

Daeren opened his eyes on time and heard the sounds of sword practice coming from outside the cabin.

After a brief tidying up, he pushed open the door with a good mood.

A new day had begun, and Ser Jon seemed to have found new life. He had put back on his Silver Armor and White Robe and was wielding his longsword with vigor in the open space in front of the cabin.

"A diligent knight."

Daeren praised, and began his farm work.

He saw that eleven plots of tilled land had already been watered, and even the three horses had their reins loosened, as if they hadn't eaten grass before, they were now ravenously devouring the pasture on the farm.

Daeren understood and walked towards the chicken coop by the waterfall.

"Cluck cluck cluck!"

"Cluck... cluck..."

As soon as he pushed open the coop door, two plump hens, one brown and one white, strutted out with proud, eight-character steps. They saw Daeren and let out proud clucks.

Entering the chicken coop, two eggs lay on the worn floor.

One was brown, and the other was... white.

"Well done, you two."

Daeren picked up the eggs with a warm heart, holding Coconut and Grape, he rubbed them, wishing he could kiss them.

"Cluck!"

Grape, the white hen, held her head high, looking incredibly proud.

Exiting the chicken coop, Ser Jon had finished his sword practice and was about to oil and maintain the longsword that had been rained on yesterday.

"Look, two eggs."

Daeren strode over, shaking them in his hand.

"Eggs?"

Ser Jon took a closer look and said, "They contain abundant life force."

Daeren was about to praise his sharp eyes when he suddenly noticed a change in Ser Jon's aura. He exclaimed, "You've mastered life force?"

People who have mastered life force exude a completely different aura from ordinary people.

It was a kind of self-confidence radiating from within, like a free will that had recognized its own martial prowess, capable of crushing ordinary people just by facing them.

Ser Jon nodded solemnly, "Yes, Your Highness. Thanks to the special crops you gave me, I was fortunate enough to succeed."

"This is great news!"

Daeren's mood improved further.

As fellow members of the Kingsguard, the other knights had also successively mastered life force. Ser Jon had a solid foundation; he just lacked an opportunity.

It seemed his safety returning to King's Landing would no longer be a concern.

"Your Highness, when are we heading to King's Landing?"

Ser Jon began to grow impatient.

There was a gap between ordinary knights and first-rate knights, and the gap between first-rate knights who had mastered life force and ordinary knights was even wider.

With nearly 20 years of martial arts training since becoming a squire at age 8 and starting to wield a sword at age 10, the moment he mastered life force, he had formed a considerable combat power.

He was confident he could take on ten of his former selves.

Good news should be celebrated. Daeren laid out the two eggs. "Since it's come to this, let's eat first."

He had prepared a small iron pot in Ser Jon's tent. He could boil the eggs by hanging it over the fireplace with water.

The last silver-star quality potato was also contributed, placed under the pot to be roasted.

Ser Jon was not idle either. He went to the foot of the mountain to retrieve the hidden fruit basket and took out two silver-star quality red and green apples and corn.

This meal was quite lavish; it would have cost at least 400 gold dragons outside.

"A taste of heaven."

Ser Jon carefully tasted the boiled egg he had peeled, thinking to himself that the prince actually raised two hens that could lay special eggs.

It wasn't that he was surprised.

Special crops on the continent couldn't be cultivated specifically; one or two could only be obtained by accumulating a large amount of tilled land.

Hens that could produce eggs containing life force were simply priceless treasures.

After all, a stable source of protein was far more important than fruits and grains.

Daeren ate without speaking.

On a panel invisible to Ser Jon, he casually claimed the reward for completing the Novice Mission [Harvest an egg from a chicken].

A pleasant jingling sound announced the arrival of 100 gold.

By noon, the two men and three horses entered the gates of the Red Keep.

Daeren, without announcing himself, went straight to his old father, Aerys.

Aerys, who was in his chambers, was overjoyed. He praised his second son, employing a progressive, encouraging style of education.

He rambled on for a long time, finally saying, "Go find Owen Merryweather. I promised to have a proper castle built for you, and he will allocate the funds."