I was examining a piece of grass. Einkorn an ancestor of wheat, and looking at the living wild grain still rooted in the ground, I decided I need more of this if I want a stable food supply. Einkorn has an extremely low yield, especially compared with modern wheat species. Luckily I could fix that with my modification magic.
Gripping the einkorn harder with the hope of better food, I channeled my modification magic into it. It would grow like weeds, at the speed of mushrooms, while producing ten times the yield for harvest. Its virility would be legendary growing in even the most infertile, rocky, dry, and dusty of soils. I watch as the plant grew to three times its size and the seeds at the top grew ten times more numerous. When It was done I took the stalks and beat them on my house's steps to remove the seeds. The ancients called this threshing and had a specialized floor just for this. Then gathering the seeds I took a tenth and stored them in a small steel thermos I made. I grabbed the rest with my psychokinesis and scatter them all over the hill my house was on.
After storing the thermos in my house I went back down the river two get more fish for lunch. When I was down there I saw a small herd of rams, well one ram followed by several ewes or female rams.
I struggled I little but I managed to lift them into the air and over the river toward me. I set them down and pinned them down with psychokinesis I then chained them to each other and a nearby tree. That's when I started to work my magic. I made them bigger, each about the size of a cow, and considering there were seven of them it took a good chunk of my mana. I waited for it to fill back up and then increased the female ability to produce milk while making them produce milk year-round regardless of pregnancy or offspring. Next, I made all the rams produce a set amount of wool, enough to get really thick but not so much that it encumbers them or restricts their movement. They're the size of cattle now after all. Next, I increased the rate at which they reproduce. Six in a litter, 1 month of pregnancy, mating season last 9 months of the year, spring, summer, and autumn. While I was at it I gave the ewes four more utters in addition to the two they already had. Then for all of them, I made them far more docile. Lastly, I knew inbreeding would be an issue for them so I got rid of the genes that caused defects in inbred offspring for them. I didn't know when I'd be able to find another herd of rams after all. Best to be prepared.
After that, I set up a large fenced-in area, for what I was now calling the Ramtle. The fence was made of stainless steel planks and a stainless steel gate. I spent the rest of the day attempting to cut down a massive skyscraper size tree. I finally got halfway with a combination of fire magic and psychokinetic slashes, when it started tipping and came crashing down. The ground shook and I was glad I made my house sturdy, otherwise, I might have cracks in the foundation or other parts of the structure.
Then Loki came down from a nearby tree and started shouting, "Tree, fall! Tree Fall! Why! Why! Why!"
I really need to teach him more words It's only been three days since I came here. Yesterday I spent most of the day teaching Loki words. I got started on chopping firewood for a while and replied, "Firewood. I read in a novel that firewood needs to be dried for a while to produce more heat and less smoke. We'll need it in winter."
Loki, "Firewood? Firewood! Fire! Wood! Firewood! Dry, dry dry!"
__________________________________________________________________________
A few weeks went by and I found an apple tree, small wild potatoes, carrots, and wild onion. I reworked them all with magic the same way I did for the wheat. This attracted an abundance of herbivores and omnivores to my lands, along with the subsequent carnivores.
One day I walked out of the house to see a pack of cave hyenas with black fur and brown spots running up on my herd of ramtle. They quickly took down the male ramtle and started eating. The ramtle just stood there, they didn't even try to run. The cave hyenas had no difficulty at all getting a meal. I might have made them too docile. I fired a steel spear at one of the impaling it, then proceeded to kill the others the same way when they tried running. One of them made it all the way to a bush before I shot her. When I moved the body to make use of it, I saw three cave hyena cubs all huddled together under her.
I picked up the cubs and took them back to my house before gathering the cave hyena corpses. There were seven of them. I gutted, skinned, and butchered the dead adult cave hyenas. I decided I really need a smoker. So made a steel charcoal grill, with an extended chamber like my dad used to use. The main grill was where the fuel and grill were, while the smoke flowed sideways into the extended chamber., I made it as big as I could manage, then cut some green wood to produce a lot of smoke. It took a few tries but I got it lit with magic, I had to light the tips and get it going with mundane means because my fire magic kept turning it to charcoal. Which while charcoal would produce smoke it wouldn't produce as much as green wood. After I put the hyena hams, shoulders, ribs, and backstrap in the extended chamber with salt on it to smoke. Then I went to the corpse of the dead male ramtle and the ewes who were eating grass placidly. I really made them way too docile. Looking at the ewes' placid expressions I was glad there were already pregnant otherwise I'd need to find a ram to alter into a new stud for the herd. A week or two more and I'd have more ramtle. I don't know how long it would take for the ramtle to mature, but It'd have to do. I got lucky this time. Speaking of which how'd they get through the fence?
I looked around a found a hole dug under the fence and after filling it back up I hardened the area around and under the fence for 4 feet of it into stone. Hopefully, that'd do it. You know what might as well make the fence thicker, I spread out my modification magic and made the steel fence 4 feet thick and 10 feet tall, then reenforced the fence foundation by fixing the cracks. After that, I made my way back into the fenced-in area used my magic to give them a flight instinct, and collected 12 pales of ramtle milk.
I had finally figured out how to make cheese about a week ago and have been making it since. I had also built a waterproof cellar about two weeks ago. This was my third week in the world and I was doing okay.
__________________________________________________________________________
Deciding I want more meat and to be able to eat eggs, I grabbed a few ducks and increased their size. I then doubled their reproduction rate and halved the age at which they mature. They now produce 24 eggs a clutch and mature at 8 1/2 weeks. I also got rid of the defect gene from inbreeding. I fenced in a large area for them that included a portion of the shallow part of the river. I started with 5 ducks, by the end I'd hopefully have more and be able to stop fishing and hunting to get food. All of this was an investment in food security. The more stable my food and less time spent hunting or fishing the more time spent experimenting with magic and my abilities.
Walking back to the house I grabbed a field mouse with my psychokinesis. I need more help around what was quickly becoming a farming homestead. So I decided to create my 2nd minion. Walking into my home I heard the sound of high-pitched beastial laughter and saw the excited three little cave hyena cubs run up to me laughing in that classic hyena way. Their eyes were glued to the mouse and Loki was perched on a little stand I made for him on the counter.
Loki, "Afternoon milord."
I had taught Loki enough English to be fluent now which was surprising, to be honest, the cat-sized mockingbird was a really fast learner.
Archaeus, "Afternoon Loki, I'll be running another experiment soon. You won't be my only minion anymore soon."
I grabbed a piece few pieces of deer jerky from the larder and fed the cubs, who laughed happily before they tore into them. Their strong cave hyena jaws made quick work of the jerky.
I went into my bedroom and put the mouse on my desk. Keeping him in place with my psychokinesis I worked my magic. I start by making him 4 feet long from head to butt, not including his tail. He had proportional width and girth. I then gave him strong back legs, and fully rotatable front legs with opposable thumbs like humans. Then I brought up his spine, gave him vocal cords, and bestowed him with sapience. Clarity sparked in his eyes as he looked around curiously then he fell down. Using my esp I noticed the issue his pelvic bone couldn't support walking upright so after a few tweaks he was up walking around. Albeit a bit hunched over and now 5 feet tall. Well good enough!
Archaeus, "I hereby name you, Cheddar of house Manchego."
Cheddar just stared at me, hopefully in wonder, and said, "Chetharrrr?"