I turned to look at her, watching as she hovered there with complete nonchalance, as if accelerated plant growth was the most natural thing in the world. She looked like she was awaiting her next instructions.
"Then what are you waiting for?" I said, shaking off my amazement and waving her forward with a gesture that was part invitation, part command. "Harvest them for me."
"If possible, please separate the corn cobs from the stems," I added, my mind already moving ahead to practical considerations. "Keep the stems and store them for now." I nodded to myself, a warm satisfaction spreading through my chest. The first harvest was already here, something that should have taken months had been accomplished in mere hours.
"Yes, I could do that," Green replied without missing a beat, her voice bright with understanding. "Master wants to use them for the fire, right? Then I can let them dry for a bit."
I felt a surge of pleased surprise at her intuition. She had anticipated my reasoning before I'd even had to explain it, the dried corn stalks would make excellent kindling and fuel for our fires.
This can help add on idle time for the night where we can have fuel to light up the home and aid with the cold. More importantly, having this ready supply of fuel would help lessen the burden on my mother's shoulders, sparing her from the exhausting trips to the near mountains where she would have to chop down whatever suitable wood she could find for cooking.
[You have received
>25 Apples
>50 corn ]
The system prompt flashed before my eyes like a pop-up window, its translucent blue text hovering in my field of vision with an almost cheerful efficiency.
I blinked, watching the numbers settle into focus, and felt a surge of satisfaction despite how surreal this whole situation remained. I already knew without having to check that the harvested goods had been transferred instantly to the barn.
[LEVEL 1 --- 15\50]
Another prompt materialized in my vision, floating just below the first one. The progress bar caught my attention immediately—fifteen out of fifty. I had known about this, but I didn't know that harvesting can also yield experience points.
"Green, give me a sample of the apple, please?"
Without a moment's delay, a crisp pop echoed , and there, hovering in the air like a prize from a fairy tale, was the most ridiculously perfect apple I had ever seen. It was large, glossy, and so red it almost looked artificial, the kind of fruit you see on a commercial and immediately assume must taste like disappointment.
But the moment I grabbed it and took a bite, all doubt vanished.
A wave of warmth exploded inside my mouth, and the sweetness practically danced on my tongue. As I swallowed, I felt an immediate surge — not the kind you get from sugar, but something deeper. A powerful, swirling current rushed into my core, coursing through my body like a river breaking through a dam. I could almost hear it crackling along my bones, smashing through blocked meridians like a battering ram in an old cultivation drama.
"Uhh... Green?" I managed between clenched teeth as my body tensed. Vision swimming, clutching the apple between my fingers involuntarily hard. I could not decipher between the feeling of refreshing and refreshingly painful.
"Yes, Master?" she asked innocently, floating upside-down now for some reason, as if gravity was optional.
"You forgot to mention that the apples are... explosive?" I gasped, as another surge of current washed over me.
The energy seemed to have a mind of its own, probing and examining as it flowed through me. I could feel it identifying impurities, weaknesses, the lingering effects of my chronically weak constitution that had plagued me for so long. It was working to fix everything it found, methodically addressing each flaw with surgical precision.
But the process was nothing pleasant.
She blinked. "Oh, did I? My apologies. The apples that are from this farm are high-grade spiritual variety. Fantastic for body reinforcement and internal cleansing. Mild side effect: temporary internal chaos."
"Temporary—!? Green, I think one of my meridians just backflipped." Slowly the energy inside be subsided. It was crazy to think that all of that came from just a single bite of an apple. An apple that I am currently clutching in my hands.
"Oh, that's just the spiritual energy stretching your limits. Totally normal. Think of it like... extreme yoga."
If I didn't know any better, I would've sworn the look on Green's face was guilt. The kind of guilt someone wore after pushing their friend into the deep end of the pool and realizing , maybe — they forgot to ask if that friend could swim.
"But hey!" she quickly added, clapping her hands together as if trying to distract me with enthusiasm. "At least it worked out well in the end."
She floated in closer, circling around me like an oddly peppy medical examiner. "Hmm... the energy seems spent already," she muttered while squinting at me. "You don't even have any access to form a foundation."
I raised a brow at her, standing a bit straighter. "That sounds bad."
Green hummed, tapping her chin with one finger. "It's not bad exactly. Just... unexpected. It must mean your body was more dire than one could've imagined. Like, 'barely holding together with spiritual duct tape' kind of dire."
I blinked. "So I ate a miracle apple and it was all just... damage control?"
"Pretty much," she chirped. "Like pouring sacred nectar into a cracked cup. Most of it leaks out fixing the cracks before you even get a sip."
"It would be best if you can finish that single apple right there, Master," Green said, pointing to the shiny, half-bitten fruit in my hand. "It should allow your body to patch up a bit," she added, floating casually above me like this was some normal household suggestion. "And maybe open your meridians while it's at it."
I squinted at the apple, holding it like it might grow teeth and bite me next. "You don't sound very sure of that, Green."