Night fell.
Inside the cottage at Dragon Tongue Farm.
Firelight from the fireplace flickered overhead. Daeren lay in bed with a Dragon Egg placed beside his pillow.
He had saved enough money to buy Strawberry Seeds tomorrow.
Thanks to the chance of Fishing Treasure Chests yielding various gemstones, he had far more money than planned.
"How can I get you to hatch?"
Daeren tossed and turned, holding the Dragon Egg against his chest.
Nearly a week had passed.
The Dragon Egg had shown no reaction at all, as though it simply could not hatch.
Dragon Egg:...
"You can definitely hatch. I'm just using the wrong method."
Daeren turned the egg over in his hands, talking to it.
Based on the scene of Daenerys hatching dragon eggs in the show, the necessary condition was Blood Sacrifice.
Daeren did not much approve of that method.
Setting aside whether the method was righteous or not, he mainly lacked a trustworthy blood mage and Pyromancer to assist him.
One wrong move, and he could easily follow in the footsteps of his great-grandfather, Aegon V.
"Blood Sacrifice uses bloody, cruel rituals to restore life to Dragon Eggs that have lost their vitality, making them crack open."
"Or it awakens the life that vanished from the Dragon Eggs. More or less the same thing."
Holding the Dragon Egg, Daeren's gaze grew vacant as his thoughts drifted away.
The System Panel should be able to help hatch the Dragon Egg!
In Stardew Valley, many quests and material sources were connected to "dragons."
He had not found them only because the farm was still in its infancy and he had yet to encounter such rare items.
"I definitely have to explore the mines. Metal bars are too important for early development."
"Once I make sprinklers, I won't be confined to the farm alone."
Daeren rubbed his brow and pulled his wandering thoughts back.
He laid out a long-term plan.
Hatching eggs—farming.
Two important goals.
The early difficulties of farming had mostly passed. All he lacked was sprinklers to replace manual labor.
As for hatching eggs...
"I must visit Dragonstone and the High Tower of Oldtown when I have the chance."
"The hatch rate for a single Dragon Egg is too low. I need to gather more Dragon Eggs and hatch them together."
Daeren leaned toward rationality and paid greater attention to data and details.
He had asked Lord Owen to keep an eye out for a ship capable of making long sea voyages.
It did not matter if it was damaged or old.
As long as it could cross Blackwater Bay, it would be better than Willy the fisherman's boat in the game.
To be clear, the Royal Family had ships.
They even had a royal fleet stationed at Dragonstone.
But command of that fleet was in his eldest brother Rhaegar's hands.
Even if Daeren asked the royal treasury for a ship, his father Aerys would never agree to let him sail out to sea.
"Planting strawberries, sprinklers..."
Filled with anticipation for life, Daeren fell asleep with a trace of drowsiness.
2:00 a.m.
Daeren's eyes were closed, and the soft crackling of the weakening fireplace flames was especially soothing.
A beam of moonlight shone through the glass window into the cottage, illuminating the Lucky Ring on his left index finger.
The golden crescent moon on the ring glowed with a faint halo.
The Dragon Egg lay beside his pillow. Bathed in the Lucky Ring's light, the red scales on its shell seemed to gain a little more luster.
The brilliant golden speckles shone brightly, while the black spiral grew deeper.
Some kind of change quietly arrived.
Daeren was still asleep as the System Panel settled automatically.
[Farming: 0g] [Foraging: 60g] [Fishing: 752g] [Mining: 1900g] [Other: 40g] [Total: 2552g]
Spring 13, Saturday, sunny, 6:00 a.m.
"Cluck cluck cluck~~"
Accompanied by a chicken's cry, Daeren opened his eyes and got out of bed full of fighting spirit.
Today was the long-awaited Spring 13, the important day to buy Strawberry Seeds and get rich.
"Buy Strawberry Seeds!"
Daeren checked the System Panel and found that his money had reached an astonishing 4,542g.
1,790g had been saved from the potato harvest, while 2,552g came from fishing profits.
Of that, selling lake fish had earned him only 725g.
The bulk came from the mineral category—the gemstones sold from Fishing Treasure Chests.
Diamond: sold for 750g.
Emerald: sold for 200g.
He had gotten two of each from Fishing Treasure Chests, earning a huge 1,900g.
"4,542g can buy 45 Strawberry Seeds."
Daeren grinned and rushed outside to the shipping bin.
Clatter!
With the sound of coins scattering, his money plummeted to 42g.
In exchange, he received 45 Strawberry Seeds.
"Today is Easter. There's an egg hunt, so I'll first clear out a patch for planting strawberries."
Daeren's thoughts were clear as he took his scythe and hoe outside.
Passing the Chest, he took out some stone and crafted twelve Stepping Stone Path floors.
He cleared weeds with the scythe and tilled the ground with the hoe.
The twelve smooth Stepping Stone Path floors were laid out in sequence, six across and two deep.
Around each Stepping Stone Path floor, he left an empty 3×3 space.
He tilled one piece of Farmland above, below, left, and right of each one, forming a cross.
"All done."
Daeren wiped away his sweat, satisfied as he looked at the spaces reserved for sprinklers.
Basic Sprinkler: Waters four tiles of Farmland every morning.
Placing one Basic Sprinkler on each Stepping Stone Path floor would irrigate the four Farmland tiles above, below, left, and right.
By reserving the positions now, he could put them to use immediately once he mined more Copper Ore and Iron Ore.
"At the annual Easter celebration, the egg hunt is indispensable."
Daeren checked the System Panel.
It was only 8:30 a.m. There was still plenty of time.
The egg hunt was Easter entertainment. Whoever won first place would receive a mysterious grand prize.
Daeren was determined to win.
The Mailbox had provided a hint in advance: the egg hunt could not be entered alone.
If there were not enough participants, it would be canceled automatically.
However, Daeren could invite people to participate.
The condition was that the contestants could not exceed the legal marriage age.
The legal age in modern society.
Twenty-two for men, twenty-one for women.
"Those two little brats are getting off easy."
Daeren smiled faintly.
Naturally, he would invite his older sister Shayani and his two foolish younger brothers.
10:10 a.m.
Daeren planted the strawberries, then petted the chicks and collected the eggs.
After a brief thought, he cleared away another portion of weeds.
Dragon Tongue Farm was still undeveloped, covered everywhere in weeds, loose stones, and logs, with trees blanketing more than half its area.
It was Sister Shayani and his two younger brothers' first time leaving home. They should not fail to find any eggs only to get themselves lost.
Not long after.
Ser Jon drove an elegant carriage to the entrance of the farm.
"They're here?"
Daeren went forward to greet them.
The carriage curtain lifted. A strand of soft silver-gold curls appeared first, followed by Shayani's lovely face.
"Oh, charge!"
"..."
Viserys let out a strange cry and jumped from the carriage with a Wooden Sword in hand.
Daeren's eyelid twitched.
"Second Brother."
Jaeherys also poked his head out and greeted him with a smile.
"I'll help you down."
Daeren reached out, grabbed his brother around the waist, and easily lifted him down from the carriage.
When it was Shayani's turn, she glanced at the height between the carriage and the ground, bent her knees slightly, and opened her arms.
Daeren carried her down and asked Ser Jon, "Was the journey smooth?"
Ever since their father Aerys's madness had worsened, his desire to control his children had reached its peak.
Even on Rhaegar's wedding day, he had forbidden his younger brothers and sister from going to the Great Sept of Baelor to attend the ceremony.
Ser Jon was just about to speak.
"It went very smoothly. Father happened to be in Mother's chambers."
Shayani spoke softly. "But we ran into Cersei Lannister on the way. She blocked us from leaving and insisted on coming along."
Daeren:...
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