Evening, 21:40.
Treading along the muddy path, Daeren hurried home and pushed open the cabin door.
Bang!
The door shut, sealing out the night and rain.
"Quite a haul!"
Daeren was brimming with excitement. He took off his battle-tested Straw Hat and pulled out two pieces of loot first.
Slingshot: Critical Strike Chance 0.02.
Tundra Boots: Defense +2, Immunity +1.
The former was an ordinary slingshot. Loaded with ammunition, it could deal damage from afar. It accepted any type of ammo, with a capacity of 999 rounds.
The latter was a Chest reward from the fortieth floor of the mines. Its quality was slightly better than Leather Boots, and it had the special effect of warding off cold and keeping its wearer warm.
"With these two, mining will be much more convenient."
Daeren especially liked the Tundra Boots. They could effectively reduce the chill of the frozen levels.
These two pieces of equipment were only appetizers.
"Let's see whether you're actually useful."
Daeren took out the golden Sun Essence.
The fireplace glowed faintly. The Dragon Egg lay amid the flames, its red scales dark and heavy.
As Daeren approached the fireplace, the burning wood suddenly burst with sparks.
As though it were some kind of omen.
Daeren's eyes gleamed as he crouched down and held out the Sun Essence.
Hum!
A sudden change occurred. The instant the two touched, the Sun Essence erupted with a blinding light.
Daeren shut his eyes in pain.
In the scene he could not see, the Sun Essence rapidly melted, turning into a gentle power that embodied the warmth of sunlight and pouring into the Dragon Egg all at once.
The Dragon Egg seemed to gain awareness and gave a slight shake.
Unfortunately, no one witnessed it.
By the time Daeren opened his eyes, everything had returned to normal.
The Sun Essence had vanished.
Looking back into the fireplace, the Dragon Egg was still silent, as though nothing had changed.
"It worked!"
Daeren was overjoyed and lifted the Dragon Egg in both hands.
Sizzle...
The Dragon Egg's shell was scorching hot, burning the lines of his palms and sending needle-like pain through them.
Daeren instantly sobered up and gently put the Dragon Egg back in its place.
Upon closer inspection, he noticed subtle differences.
A sheen now covered the Dragon Egg's bright red scales. It felt more alive than before, containing incredibly rich Life Force and Fire magic power.
It had not been like this before.
Daeren's brow relaxed, and the corners of his mouth rose despite himself. "I knew it. The System Panel definitely has something that can help the Dragon Egg hatch."
If it did not, that only meant his level was too low and he had not found it yet.
Sun Essence;
A special material dropped by ghost monsters found between floors 40 and 80 of the mines after they were killed.
In the desert mines, various monsters also had a chance of dropping it when killed.
Daeren was an old farmer and remembered the various uses of Sun Essence very clearly.
In "Mr. Qi's Quest," one had to complete a series of tasks to unlock the casino inside the Desert Oasis shop.
One of those tasks was [The Desert Dragon's Last Meal].
The task description;
Go to the Desert Oasis, find the dragon skeleton that still gazed at the sun even in death, and feed a piece of Sun Essence into its mouth.
After completing the task,
one could return to the farm and find a membership card granting access to the casino in the woodpile beside the cabin.
The facts proved that Sun Essence was connected to dragons!!
"The Dragon Egg can hatch with the help of Sun Essence."
Daeren was filled with excitement.
Hatching the Dragon Egg was his greatest wish.
Sun Essence had a low drop rate, but it was not difficult to collect.
"I need to kill more ghosts and get more Sun Essence."
Daeren examined the Dragon Egg again and again, saying expectantly, "I don't know whether one piece of Sun Essence is enough. Collecting more can only help."
It was too late.
Even little Doro, curled up beneath the table, was asleep and snoring.
Still full of excitement, Daeren climbed into bed.
2:00 in the morning.
The night was quiet. The fine rain had stopped, and Dragon Tongue Farm lay in silence.
Daeren lay in bed, sleeping soundly.
Suddenly, a streak of fire cut across the horizon, falling at fifteen kilometers per second and striking Dragon Tongue Farm in Bluegrass Hills without missing by an inch.
Boom—!!
The deafening crash was like an earthquake.
Strangely, despite the tremendous impact, the farm remained completely unharmed.
Daeren was jolted awake by the blast in his sleep. Before he could think about what had happened, overwhelming drowsiness pressed him back down.
You had to be asleep before 2:00 a.m.
I was not talking about the game, but the real world.
Daeren fell into a deep sleep.
A ray of moonlight shone through the window glass into the cabin, falling on the Lucky Ring on Daeren's left index finger and causing it to emit a faint, gentle glow.
The Dragon Egg lay beside the bed, absorbing the light once again.
Hum!
Perhaps it was an illusion, but the brilliant golden spots and black spirals on the Dragon Egg's shell seemed to be breathing.
In the blink of an eye, two days passed.
Spring, Day 28. Sunday. Clear skies. 8:30.
On the final day of spring, Daeren rose early and began another busy day.
Petting the chickens, collecting eggs, clearing weeds...
"Cluck cluck cluck~~"
"..."
Coconut and Grape clucked like chickens as they crowded around Daeren, affectionately rubbing their heads against him.
Daeren petted them to his heart's content and praised them, "Good girls. You can both produce high-quality large eggs now."
The longer animals were raised, the higher their happiness became, and the better the quality of their animal products.
Take chickens, for example.
A newly matured chicken produced one ordinary egg per day. As time passed, it gradually began producing high-quality eggs, large eggs, and high-quality large eggs.
Large Egg: 95g.
Silver Star Large Egg: 118g.
Gold Star Large Egg: 142g.
Iridium Star Large Egg: 190g.
After being raised for a month, the two chickens could now reliably produce Gold Star Large Eggs worth 142g each.
"Once I have more money, I'll buy you a few sisters to keep you company."
Daeren said it half-jokingly.
After leaving the Chicken Coop, he saw a red-brick silo standing within the wooden fence, towering there like a massive chimney.
For the previous two days, Spring 26 and Spring 27, the silo had only been a wooden platform.
Yet when he stepped outside today, this thing had suddenly appeared on the farm!?
Daeren took out his scythe and swiftly cleared the green grass inside the Chicken Coop fence.
The green grass was harvested into bundles of hay, which were automatically stored in the silo.
"Perfect!"
Once only Blue Grass remained near the Chicken Coop, Daeren straightened up, feeling quite accomplished.
His obsessive-compulsive tendencies rejoiced.
Leaving the Chicken Coop, Daeren returned to the front of the cabin.
The four furnaces had stopped working, each having smelted one Iron Bar.
He took out the Iron Bars, crafted the last four Basic Sprinklers, and placed them in their designated tilled spots.
They were still arranged in a 6×2 layout.
After casually picking the last Bean Pole of spring, Daeren gently stroked the harvested strawberry plants and walked toward the Mailbox beside the cabin.
The Mailbox was still the same Mailbox.
However, a round purple meteorite had suddenly smashed into the ground.
The meteorite was over one and a half meters in diameter. Its shell was incredibly hard, while sharp Amethyst crystals jutted out beneath its rocky surface.
That was right.
Daeren had triggered the "Meteorite Event," one of the many events, once again.
In the early hours of Spring 26, a meteorite from outer space had fallen and struck beside the cabin at Dragon Tongue Farm with pinpoint accuracy.
Daeren had nearly said goodbye to the world.
Clang clang!
Bold yet careful, Daeren struck the meteorite with his pickaxe and muttered, "There's definitely Iridium Ore inside a meteorite, and there's a chance it'll drop a Prismatic Shard."
"Unfortunately, I'll need at least a Gold Pickaxe to break it open."
Prismatic Shards were among Stardew Valley's most precious early-game materials.
By taking a Prismatic Shard to the Desert Oasis, one could exchange it at the center of the totem circle for Stardew Valley's strongest weapon, the Galaxy Sword.
"Does the Dorne desert count as the Desert Oasis?"
Daeren let his imagination run wild.
He would find out once he went to Dragonstone.
If Dragonstone was Ginger Island, then the Dorne desert might contain the Desert Oasis.
Before you continue