Strawberry Bonanza~~

Night fell.

After finishing a day's work, Daeren lay back on his bed, ready to rest.

"Today was really busy."

Daeren stretched, his peripheral vision still catching the glow outside the window.

It was the light of the furnaces.

After bidding Lord Owen farewell, he had taken advantage of the free afternoon to head into the mines.

With the Neptune Greatsword's help, he had smoothly made it down to level 25.

He had obtained a huge pile of Copper Ore, coal, stone, and quartz.

Outside the house, four furnaces were smelting Iron Ore.

"I got a lot of Copper Ore. The Lucky Ring really lives up to its name."

Daeren raised his left hand. The golden crescent on the ring looked remarkably elegant.

That was not all he had gained.

A pair of Leather Boots and a Steel Light Sword lay on the table as well.

Leather Boots: +1 Defense, +1 Immunity

Steel Light Sword (Level 1): 4–8 Damage, 0.02 Critical Chance, +2 Speed

One was the Chest reward from level 10 of the mines, while the other was the Chest reward from level 20.

"Not bad."

Daeren had already decided how to use them.

After a tiring day, sleepiness came quickly.

"Time to sleep."

Daeren yawned, placed the Dragon Egg beside his pillow, and gently closed his eyes.

"..."

2:00 a.m.

The entire farm was silent. The four Copper Ingots had finished smelting, and the furnaces quietly went out.

Tap, tap, tap!

Accompanied by a faint fluttering sound, a flickering light flew over from afar.

"Hee hee."

A Sprite appeared once more. Looking down at the freshly planted Strawberry Seeds, it waved its little magic wand and scattered powder brimming with Life Force.

A patch of Strawberry Seeds absorbed the powder, their vitality rapidly surging.

"Hee hee."

The Sprite flew away.

The next day.

Spring 14, Sunday, windy, 6:30 a.m.

"Haah... I slept so well."

Daeren pushed open the door and froze at the sight before him.

"It... it triggered the Sprite event again?"

Daeren instinctively touched the Lucky Ring.

In the newly cleared field, crops had grown on 30% of the Farmland. Bright red, plump strawberries hung from green vines.

What was he waiting for?

Daeren put on his Straw Hat and bent down to pick the strawberries.

"Strawberry bonanza... strawberry bonanza... strawberry bonanza..."

He could not help singing a harvest tune.

As he picked the fist-sized fresh strawberries one by one, Daeren's mood soared as quickly as his farming experience.

Ding!

A pleasant chime rang out, and the System Panel displayed a prompt:

[You have something to think about at the end of the day]

His farming level had risen to level 4.

Daeren grinned happily. "I'm one step closer to becoming the richest man in the Seven Kingdoms."

The strawberries had all been picked.

There were sixteen strawberries in total: thirteen normal-quality ones and three Silver Star-quality ones.

The number of high-quality crops was rather low.

Still, harvesting a batch of strawberries a day early was already an unexpected delight.

According to the schedule, these strawberries should have matured and been harvested for the first time on Spring 21.

Four days later, on Spring 25, they would be harvested a second time.

After two rounds of harvests, the strawberries would not have time to mature a third time before the season changed and would turn into pickles.

A month in Stardew Valley had twenty-eight days.

There were three days between Spring 25 and Spring 28.

In other words, since this batch had matured and been harvested today, it could be harvested again every four days afterward.

That meant Spring 18, Spring 22, and Spring 26.

On each of those three days, they could be harvested once more.

16 × 4 = 64

He could harvest sixty-four strawberries in total.

The base price of one strawberry was 120 gold, so sixty-four strawberries would sell for around 8,000 gold.

Those sixteen strawberry plants alone could earn enough for a barn and a cow.

Basic Barn: 6,000 gold, 350 wood, 150 stone

Cow: 1,500 gold

"By the end of spring, the farm will be on track."

Daeren was overjoyed.

The remaining twenty-nine immature strawberry plants would yield fifty-eight strawberries on Spring 25.

At a base price of 120 gold per strawberry, fifty-eight strawberries would sell for 7,000 gold.

"That will be enough for me to upgrade my pickaxe twice."

Daeren made his plan.

Upgrade Pickaxe to Copper Pickaxe: 5 Copper Ingots, 2,000 gold.

Upgrade Copper Pickaxe to Iron Pickaxe: 2 Iron Ingots, 5,000 gold.

An ordinary pickaxe was only useful before level 40. The stones beyond level 40 were extremely hard, and the ore was even more difficult to mine, so upgrading his tools was essential.

An Iron Pickaxe would barely be enough to make it to level 120.

"The future is bright. I can't slack off now."

Daeren separated the sixteen strawberries.

He put the three Silver Star-quality strawberries into his inventory.

High-quality crops were naturally for him to eat himself or share with his family.

He stored the thirteen normal-quality strawberries in a Chest, in no hurry to sell them.

At farming level 5, he would have two profession choices.

[Rancher]: Animal product value increased by 20%

[Tiller]: Crop value increased by 10%

Since he would focus on farming in the early stages, he would naturally choose Tiller, which increased crop prices.

Once he had the Tiller profession, these strawberries would sell for even more.

King's Landing.

Silk Street, tavern.

Dressed in black, Elisha sat at a table, savoring a cup of Rye Wine.

"I heard you gave Lord Owen money. How did you end up in such a sorry state?"

A tall, thick-armed middle-aged man plopped down across from him, slamming a huge mug of ale onto the table.

The man had a square face, a thick head of black curls, and an arrogant expression.

"Jeremy, you have no idea what I've been through."

Elisha glanced at him and unceremoniously snatched away his mug of ale.

Jeremy Lake laughed. "Everyone knows Lord Owen is a laughingstock of a fool. You gave him a gift, so from now on, you'll only be able to ride nags."

He was not deliberately mocking him. He simply lacked tact.

That flaw had nearly earned him Lord Hand's resentment.

Elisha could not be bothered to get angry and simply savored the rich flavor of the ale.

"Why aren't you saying anything?"

Jeremy was suspicious. This was not like the other man's sharp-tongued personality. He asked, "What do you plan to do next? Leave King's Landing, or serve some lord?"

To give Lord Owen a gift, Elisha had sold his only warhorse and was now penniless.

If he did not start worrying about making a living, he would have to become a wandering knight.

"I have a master now," Elisha said casually.

Jeremy froze. "What did you say?"

Elisha put down his cup, displaying his lean, powerful physique as he said proudly, "I met Prince Daeren."

"The rumors are true. Lord Owen has close ties with Prince Daeren."

"I used his connections and successfully met the prince."

After a pause, under Jeremy's eager gaze, he reminisced, "The prince rewarded me with a precious fish. Every bite was filled with rich Life Force, leaving a lingering fragrance in my mouth. It was incredibly delicious."

Jeremy immediately rose to his feet and said urgently, "Elisha, recommend me to the prince."

The Lake Family came from Mugu Town.

After the Darklin Family of Mugu Town was destroyed, the Lake Family rebuilt Duskendale.

This was the period when the Lake Family was most loyal to the Royal Family.

As for whether serving Prince Daeren had a future?

The Mad King was insane, and Crown Prince Rhaegar was far away on Dragonstone.

Daeren was young and promising, generous with his rewards, already favored by the King, and was about to be promoted to Deputy Commander of the City Watch.

No one could say who would rule King's Landing in the future.

"I don't have any back door for you to use."

Elisha sneered, rose to his feet, and said, "If you want to serve Prince Daeren, you must first join the City Guard."

"And for those people like you and me, if you want a promising future, first join the City Guard."

"The capable rise, and the weak fall."

"Make those parasites in the City Guard who occupy their positions without doing anything all get lost and make room for us."

With that, he left carrying a brand-new Steel Light Sword.

Jeremy stood there dumbfounded and muttered to himself:

"The City Guard..."