Harvest Watcher

Shawn almost cried.

Good heavens, if he went out in the future and introduced himself with pride, saying, "My name is Shawn the Pig Rider," how embarrassing would that be?

He was a Space Garrison commander; he couldn't afford to lose face like that!

Thick-skinned, he tied the Domesticated Wild Boar in the stable and headed upstairs to find Old Saldean.

"What? Rick didn't come back? That bastard, he must have just run off!" Upon hearing that Rick hadn't returned, Shawn jumped up in a fit of rage.

Old Saldean comforted him, "It's alright, as long as you're safe. By the way, how did you subdue that Domesticated Sow? I've never seen such a massive Domesticated Sow in my entire life!"

Shawn chuckled and said, "Rick and I went to visit Theocritus at the Tower of Azora. The master saw that I had exceptional talent and a strong affinity for magic, so he decided to teach me and even gave me a gift—an Enchanted Reins. I used those reins to subdue the Domesticated Sow."

Without blushing or missing a beat, Shawn deployed his "Great Bamboozle" skill and spun a story in the blink of an eye.

Old Saldean was astonished. "What? You're a mage apprentice now? Heavens, that's wonderful, simply wonderful! A noble mage—that's much more respectable than being an Engineering apprentice! By the way, are you going to follow Theocritus to study? Should I prepare some gold coins for you to take as a token of gratitude to your teacher? Also, you must get along well with the master; I've heard his temper isn't the best..."

Old Saldean rambled on and on. Although Shawn had a headache listening to it, a deep warmth welled up in his heart. Old Saldean truly cared about him!

In that case, Saldean Farm was his home now!

A satisfied smile tugged at the corners of Shawn's mouth.

After chatting with Old Saldean for a long time and confirming that Shawn didn't need to stay at the Tower of Azora but intended to return to Saldean Farm to study on his own, Old Saldean beamed with joy. He nagged a few more times before heading off to attend to his own business.

At this moment, Shawn rode his Domesticated Sow, "Princess," and arrived at the Argus Blacksmith Shop once again.

"What? You need a set of battle armor crafted for that Domesticated Sow? Shawn, are you sure your head wasn't gored by that pig?" Argus exclaimed upon hearing Shawn's request.

Shawn immediately retorted, "Your brain is the one that got gored! That pig is my mount, a mount, OK? What's the problem with me crafting armor for my mount? You don't want this business? If you don't, can I go find someone else?"

Shawn turned to leave.

Argus quickly grabbed him and apologized with a smile, "I'll do it, I'll do it, of course I'll take the business! But what kind of armor are you planning for your warhorse... er, war pig? Chainmail? Scale mail? Or plate armor? How about we use those fish scales you sold me to craft a set of scale armor?"

Shawn laughed and scolded, "Get out of here! Keep those fish scales for yourself; I don't want that junk. You're the master when it comes to crafting armor; build it however you think is best. But I have one requirement: it must be top-notch! You know, the quality of the mount's armor directly affects the safety of both the mount and myself!"

Argus nodded. "Of course, I am a master in this field! Alright, don't you worry about it. I'll design and craft it myself, using the best materials—refined steel mixed with Mithril—to ensure it's sturdy, durable, and has good flexibility. However, the price won't be cheap; after all, your pig is huge, and it will take a lot of material to craft the armor."

Shawn still had quite a few gold coins left, which he figured would be enough for a set of armor, so he said, "As long as it doesn't exceed 50 gold coins, it's fine. But it needs to be fast; we're leaving in two days, along with Grian and the others."

Argus laughed heartily, "Don't you worry, it's not like it requires any exceptionally rare materials; 50 gold coins is plenty. I'll craft it myself, and you can come pick it up in two days. I guarantee you'll be satisfied!"

Shawn left the Argus Blacksmith Shop and, having nothing to do, stayed at the Lion's Pride Inn to meditate and study spells. Two days later, he returned to the Argus Blacksmith Shop.

"Shawn, look at this! How exquisite, how beautiful, how magnificent this armor is! Come, come, let's put it on your Domesticated Sow!" Argus laughed heartily and called over his blacksmith apprentices to help put the armor on the Domesticated Sow.

The full set of armor weighed at least two hundred pounds, wrapping the Domesticated Sow tightly. Aside from its eyes, nose, and mouth, every other part was covered airtight.

Argus was right; it was an exquisite set of armor, green-tier quality, with extremely high defense. Although it had no additional attributes, Shawn was still very satisfied.

Argus said, "45 gold coins, that's not much at all! Are you satisfied, Shawn?"

Shawn nodded, tossed a coin purse to Argus, and then rode the Domesticated Sow to meet up with Old Saldean and the others, heading straight for Westfall.

The sky is vast, the wilds are boundless, the wind blows the grass low to reveal the pig-herder.

The pig-herder, that is the lad who tends the pigs.

Ever since returning to Saldean Farm, Shawn had begun his boring life of pig-herding.

Yes, the mount he had just subdued, the Domesticated Sow "Princess," although it had lived a life of luxury on a farm in Elwynn Forest for over a year, its nature was unrestrained, and its instinct was to love freedom. Tilling cabbage might have once been its favorite pastime, but even cabbage gets tiresome after a while.

The Domesticated Sow swore that it would dedicate its limited pig-life to the infinite cause of tilling all sorts of vegetation.

The goal was grand, the process was joyful, and the future was... not bright.

With the intention of "getting familiar with the mount," Shawn began his pig-herding life.

Although Westfall was not exactly peaceful, Shawn was, at the very least, a small expert with a challenge rating of 6. Coupled with the Domesticated Sow, which had a challenge rating of 10, it could be said that in this neck of the woods in Westfall, there weren't many people—or other creatures—who dared to provoke him.

Westfall was somewhat barren, filled with "You are the wind and I am the sand, lingering together to the ends of the earth." The land that was once covered in green vegetation was now basically a bare expanse, and the Domesticated Sow grew impatient as it tilled.

Shawn naturally wouldn't mistreat his first mount, so he rode the Domesticated Sow toward the winding river between Elwynn Forest and Westfall.

On both banks of that river, thanks to the nourishment of the water, the vegetation was lush—enough for the Domesticated Sow to till for quite some time.

Day after day, and then another.

The Domesticated Sow tilled cabbage for three whole days, and Shawn sat on its back, reading books and studying spells for three days.

Finally, he mastered Frostbolt.

At this moment, having learned three basic spells, Shawn finally left the ranks of level 1 mages and became a glorious level 2 mage.

Finally, the second puppet that the Golem Factory could produce, the Harvest Watcher, was successfully researched.

Shawn entered the Space Garrison immediately, intending to produce a Harvest Watcher to play with, only to be surprised to find that the materials required to produce the Harvest Watcher, which had a challenge rating of 7, were indeed quite substantial.

"So, does this mean I have to go scavenge for discarded Harvest Golem parts?" Shawn asked the heavens in silence.