Harvest Watcher

Shawn nearly cried.

Heavens, if he went out someday and proudly introduced himself as "Shawn Pig Rider," how embarrassing would that be?

He was the commander of the Space Garrison. He couldn't afford that kind of humiliation!

Swallowing his pride, he tied the Domesticated Wild Boar in the stable, then went upstairs to find Old Saldean.

"What? Rick hasn't come back? That bastard—he must've just taken off!" When Shawn heard that Rick hadn't returned, he jumped up in anger.

Old Saldean reassured him, "It's all right. You're safe, and that's what matters. By the way, how did you tame that Domesticated Sow? I've never seen one so huge in my entire life!"

Shawn chuckled. "Rick and I went to visit Lord Theocritus at the Tower of Azora. He saw that I had extraordinary talent and a strong aptitude for magic, so he decided to teach me. He even gave me a gift: a set of Enchanted Reins. I used them to tame the Domesticated Sow."

Shawn didn't even blink as he spun his tall tale, making it up in the blink of an eye.

Old Saldean was astonished. "What? You're a mage's apprentice now? Heavens, that's wonderful! A respectable mage—it's far more respectable than being an Engineering apprentice! Are you going to study under Lord Theocritus? Should I prepare some gold for you to take and offer your thanks to your teacher? And make sure you get along with him. I've heard he has a bit of a temper..."

Old Saldean rambled on and on. Shawn found it headache-inducing, but his heart was filled with warmth. Old Saldean really cared about him!

So Saldean Farm was his home now.

A satisfied smile appeared on Shawn's lips.

After talking with Old Saldean for quite a while, Shawn assured him that he didn't need to stay at the Tower of Azora and planned to return to Saldean Farm to study on his own. Old Saldean was overjoyed and fussed over him a little more before heading off to take care of his own business.

By then, Shawn was riding the Domesticated Wild Boar, "Princess," back to the Argus Blacksmith Shop.

"What? You want me to make a suit of armor for that Domesticated Sow? Shawn, are you sure it didn't ram you in the head?" Argus cried out when he heard what Shawn wanted.

Shawn immediately snapped, "You're the one who got rammed in the head! That pig is my mount, my mount, okay? What's wrong with me having armor made for it? You don't want the business? I can take it elsewhere!"

Shawn turned to leave.

Argus hurriedly grabbed him and said with a smile, "I'll do it, I'll do it! Of course I want the business! But what kind of armor do you want for your warhorse—er, war-boar? Chainmail? Scale armor? Plate armor? How about using those fish scales you sold me to make a suit of scale armor?"

Shawn laughed and scolded him, "Get out of here! Keep those fish scales for yourself. I don't want that junk. You're the expert when it comes to making armor, so use your judgment. But I have one requirement: it has to be top quality! A mount's armor directly affects both its safety and mine, you know!"

Argus nodded. "Of course. I'm an expert at this! Don't worry about it. I'll design and make it myself, using good materials—tempered steel mixed with Mithril. It'll be sturdy and durable, with plenty of flexibility. But it probably won't be cheap. Your pig is huge, after all, so it'll take a lot of material to make its armor."

Shawn still had quite a few gold coins left, so he figured he could afford a suit of armor. "As long as it costs no more than 50 gold. And make it quickly. We're leaving in two days, along with Lord Grian and the others."

Argus burst out laughing. "Don't worry. The materials aren't especially rare, so 50 gold will be enough. I'll make it myself. Come back in two days, and I promise you'll be satisfied!"

Shawn left the Argus Blacksmith Shop. With nothing else to do, he stayed at the Lion's Pride Inn, meditating and studying spells. Two days later, he returned to the Argus Blacksmith Shop.

"Shawn, take a look! Isn't this suit of armor exquisite, beautiful, and gorgeous? Come on, let's get it on your Domesticated Sow!" Argus laughed and called over some blacksmith apprentices to help armor the Domesticated Sow.

The full suit weighed at least two hundred pounds and covered the Domesticated Sow from head to toe. Apart from its eyes, nose, and mouth, it was completely sealed.

Argus hadn't exaggerated. It was a finely made suit of armor, green quality and highly protective. It had no additional attributes, but Shawn was still very satisfied.

"That'll be 45 gold coins. Not too much, right? Are you satisfied, Shawn?" Argus asked.

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

The sky stretched boundless over the vast plains; the wind blew the grass aside, revealing a swineherd.

A swineherd was a lad who tended pigs.

Ever since returning to Saldean Farm, Shawn had begun his dull life as a swineherd.

That's right. His newly tamed mount, the Domesticated Sow "Princess," had spent over a year living in comfort on a farm somewhere in Elwynn Forest, but its nature was untamed and it yearned for freedom. Cabbage Rooting might once have been its favorite pastime, but even the sow got sick of rooting cabbages after a while.

The Domesticated Sow swore to devote its limited life to the boundless pursuit of rooting up all kinds of plants.

The goal was noble, the process joyful, and the future bleak.

With the idea of getting to know his mount better, Shawn began his life as a swineherd.

Although Westfall wasn't peaceful, Shawn was now, at the very least, a minor expert at Challenge Level 6. Add a Domesticated Sow with a Challenge Level as high as 10, and there weren't many people—or other creatures—who dared provoke him in this little corner of Westfall.

Westfall was rather barren, after all. Everywhere you looked, it was "you're the wind and I'm the sand, entwined forevermore." The land, once covered in green vegetation, was now mostly bare. After rooting around for a while, the Domesticated Sow grew impatient.

Shawn wasn't about to neglect his very first mount, so he rode the Domesticated Sow toward the winding river between Elwynn Forest and Westfall.

The riverbanks were lush with vegetation, nourished by the water, and had enough for the Domesticated Sow to root around in for quite a while.

Day after day, then another day.

The Domesticated Sow spent three whole days rooting around in the cabbages, while Shawn sat on its back, reading for three days and studying spells for three days.

At last, he learned Frostbolt.

At that moment, having mastered three basic spells, Shawn finally left the ranks of level 1 mages and became an honorable level 2 mage.

At last, the second construct the Golem Factory could produce—the Harvest Watcher—was successfully researched.

Shawn immediately entered the Space Garrison, intending to make a Harvest Watcher for fun. That was when he was surprised to discover that the materials needed to produce a Harvest Watcher with a Challenge Level as high as 7 were indeed quite considerable.

"So I have to go find discarded Harvest Golems?" Shawn asked the heavens in exasperation.