Roman's back was drenched in sweat and his arms were sore from tilling the land.
He had spent the past two hours setting out a plot of land beside the house in the open field where he would be planting the seeds he received from the system.
The system had prompted him after he left the barn to begin the planting process for his crops if he intended to have food ready for his beast when it finally hatched.
Roman got straight to work as he believed that preparation was imperative to any plan. Soon, he got to planting the seeds and watering them.
The bucket that came with the system provided a magical unlimited supply for fresh spring water that would never run out. He was previously concerned about finding an appropriate water source for his crops but after finding out that the bucket refilled itself, he was set at ease.
Roman stood back to admire his shoddy work at the fields. It looked passable.
He used to spend hours watching his father till the land and plant wheat seeds. He had assumed that such a simple process would be easily emulated but was decidedly incorrect in his judgement once he started to till his own land.
To be honest, Roman was already at his breaking point. He had never done a day's hard labor in his life but was thrown in the deep end and expected to swim.
As he observed his land, he found the rows he had planted to be slightly slanted and unaligned.
"Oh well, this is what you get for being cocky, I suppose." Roman concluded.
[Host is correct. Practice makes perfect. Keep it up and it'll look slightly less shitty the next time.] The system readily jested.
"Aren't you supposed to be on my side?" Roman questioned the system, slightly annoyed.
[Host is once again, mistaken. This is becoming all too often don't you think? I'm here to support you to becoming the best beast tamer there is, not to be on your side.]
The system firmly deflected Roman's insinuation. Looks like that system had become cheeky with all the cordial introductions out of the way.
"Fine, have it your way then." Roman grinned while stating.
In fact, Roman wasn't too angry at the system. The system had provided a way out for him from the village, and some witty banter was refreshing from the way his father talked with him.
Although Carl thought Roman was highly intelligent, he couldn't help but continue to treat Roman like a child. He was, after all, only five-years-old. There was no way for Carl to actually know that Roman had a good 25 years of age prior to his current self, nor did Roman desire to convey that to his father.
Roman moved toward the chairs on the patio to take a quick break before attempting to wake up. But upon settling into his chair, the system sounded.
[Host's body is being moved. Initiating forced wake up protocol.]
Soon, Roman's sights blurred.
---
"Rome, up and at 'em! The early bird gets the worm, or so they say. Don't really know who said that, to tell you the truth. But get up!" Carl gently shook Roman.
Roman grudgingly sat up from his bed, rubbing his eyes. But to his surprise, Roman's body was not nearly as sore as it was in the system domain. It was as if his body had gotten a full night's rest, nevertheless.
Roman shifted his attention to his father as he was reminded to wash up and get some breakfast.
Today was the big day. Roman was going to have to execute his plan for the Egg Hunt.
During the night, Roman had checked his status to ensure to familiarize himself with his capabilities.
---
Name: Roman
Tamer Cultivation Technique: Supreme Tamer's Cultivation (Level 1: 0/100)
Tamer Rank: None
Occupation: None
Beasts: None
Strength: 0.7
Defense: 1.1
Agility: 0.8
Vitality: 0.6
Skills:
[Supreme Taming] Level 1: (0/100)
The ability to tame beasts into submission through establishing higher rates of trust levels. Can be leveled up through taming beasts.
[Supreme Rearing] Level 1: (0/100)
The ability to intuitively understand the needs of beasts, while improving trust levels. Can be leveled up through rearing beasts.
[Supreme Farming]: (10/100)
A superior farming technique that allows the practitioner to wield relevant farming tools to produce farmed goods. Can be improved through farming.
---
Roman hadn't applied any of his skills but the farming skill and managed to gain 10 experience points from that. It seemed that 50 seeds planted equated to 1 experience point per 5 seeds. He made a mental note of this to calculate future planting projects.
Roman wasn't too concerned about his other two skills since he didn't even have a companion beast yet.
On the other hand, Roman paid greater attention to his stats. Other than his Defense stat that was developed through countless beatings from the children of the village, Roman's stats did not even exceed 1 point.
The system had explained that the average statistic for a non-cultivating adult human for each field was 1.0. This proved that Roman's defense was slightly higher than the average adult, but due to his age and body size, the rest of his stats still had some catching up to do.
Body stats could be increased through repetitive training and through cultivation, according to the system. Roman would have to structure a training plan once he returned from the Egg Hunt.
With that, Roman grabbed his backpack that contained a few supplies and prepared head out. The backpack was simply a decoy with most of his possessions located in his inventory space. The backpack functioned as a distraction just in case someone thought it out of the ordinary.
"Rome, remember what we spoke about yesterday. Be safe," Carl warned.
"I will, Dad. Don't worry, just be ready for when I bring my egg back," Roman replied.
"Always ready, son. Now off you go." Carl nudged Roman's back to send him off.
Although Carl looked confident and encouraging, he was actually more nervous about this hunt than Roman was. But alas, he couldn't do anything to help.
Aeon had a global mechanism that prevented parents from helping their children. As if the world knew if and when the child was aided. At which time, the eggs attained with the help of anyone over the age of five would never hatch and eventually be deemed a dead egg.
Carl could do nothing.
Roman looked back at his waving father one last time before walking in the direction of the forest.
He had planned to go past the forest on his way to the mountains. This way, it would appear that Roman was heeding his father's advice.
Roman smiled as he was in a good mood thinking about the plans he had made for the Egg Hunt while he made his way toward the forest. He passed by the houses of the other villagers along the way.
Some were already dressed and headed to the fields before sunrise, others like Carl were sending their children off on their Egg Hunt. It was a big day for the village.
"Hey Roman! Good luck out there, yeah?" Aunt Helen called from behind him as he passed her house.
Aunt Helen was a short, pudgy woman with long dark hair. She was also Grace's mother. After Roman's mom left them, Aunt Helen occasionally checked on Roman and his father to make sure they were doing alright. She felt bad that Roman would have to grow up without a mother, and this was the least she could do.
Roman turned around revealing a toothy smile and gave her a thumbs up to indicate that he was confident about how the hunt would turn out before continuing on his way.
Not before long, Roman approached the outer gates of the village.
All of a sudden, he heard someone else call out to him.
"Hey weakling, heading out to die today?" the voice called out.