Farmer Mage

Cal was tempted to revisit Mariner’s Rest—specifically, Seris’s house.

No. I need to prioritize my time. I spent far too much time yesterday chatting with Tavia and wasting the day away.

He felt the golem pull mana from his mana core as it cast [Rainfall]. It hadn’t stopped since he returned to the farm last night. His instruction was for it to cast the spell continuously in one-hour intervals.

Cal figured that was enough to prevent him from feeling exhausted as he focused on other matters. He could have planted more seeds since the pond was steadily becoming larger despite the constant draw from the crops, but he focused on delving deeper into understanding his spells.

Of course, he limited himself to reviewing the theoretical understanding with his elements—which only lasted less than an hour—and reserved the practical work for his mana residue sensing. It used such a small amount of mana that it didn’t interfere with what was required for the golem to cast [Rainfall].

Cal had been sitting on his meditation rock pile since he woke. For over half the day, he had single-mindedly focused on discovering ways to sense the slightest of details. The distance from the pond helped immensely.

He had started by separating Tavia’s dull tracks, which were days old, from the mana-rich field. The water flowing in the tunnels beneath made everything exponentially harder than when he relied on casting [Rainfall] to water the crops.

Cal made surprisingly quick progress, succeeding several hours into the attempt. He expected no significant breakthrough throughout the day, which was his mindset when he started. The success startled him; he knew it shouldn’t have been that easy.

He attributed his ease of learning spells to his high affinity with the elements. While that made sense with spells like [Rainfall] and [Earth Barrier], it did not hold up with raw mana used for sensing. The control he gained over his mana in his past life would be a slight help, but still not to this level.

There was a draw on his mana core. He glanced at the pond to see the golem watering it again.

Cal smirked at the pack leader’s annoyed expression as the wolf pack stared at the falling rain with unblinking eyes. They had been at it since before he woke up.

Their perseverance at something so simple was encouraging since it convinced him to put in the same focus. He had to repeat the same thing over and over, and if wolves could do it, so could he. He returned to exploring his nascent spell.

Cal pushed the tendrils of mana closer to the pond. They weren’t literal tendrils, but it was the best explanation for his actions. The brilliance of the mana concentration in the pond evaporated the tendrils when they got too close, but this was expected.

He persevered, pushing closer millimeter by millimeter as he tried to pick up faint residue that was days old. That was when he considered the attempt a success, and only then would he go further.

There was an easy way to solve the issue of the pond. Ever since Cal had connected to it to use the pond as a pseudo-hearthstone, he could use that connection to negate its ill effects on his nascent spell.

However, the goal wasn’t to just be able to use the spell at his farm. He wanted to be able to use it anywhere he pleased.

Cal lost time as he put all his effort into it. He hadn’t been able to get the tendrils within forty feet of the pond at the start, but the distance was becoming smaller with every attempt.

He had just broken the thirty-foot mark, and with how quickly he had shortened the distance, he expected to get within ten by the end of—

Cal stiffened as his eyes snapped open. He hadn’t even realized they were closed. The sun had somehow set, and only the moon illuminated his land. He had been immersed in his practice for several hours without even knowing.

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If the interface hadn’t brought him out of his focus, he might have gone on until he reached his goal.

Do you wish to use your essential mana reserves to supply your golem?

Cal declined the option and dismissed the interface. He looked inward and tried to see why his mana core was suddenly empty.

The most recent pulls from his mana core weren’t for his golem but for his nascent sensing spell. The dominance of the mana in the pond required him to exert more to separate the residue successfully.

He would need to test it again later, but he suspected that would only be required the first time he attempted it. The later tries would be much easier because he would know the most efficient way to go about it.

Cal hopped off his meditation hill and knew that was it for the day. Overexerting would leave him exhausted, which was unwise. Maelor didn’t say precisely when he would visit again, so he needed to be cautious for the next few days.

Do you wish to use your essential mana reserves to supply your golem?

He declined it again and dismissed the interface. “Golem! You no longer need to cast [Rainfall]. Stay motionless in your spot, and do nothing until I give you the next order.”

Cal was almost certain he commanded the golem to delay any casting if it sensed he was low on mana. This hinted that the golem couldn’t sense his current capacity so it ignored that order altogether.

The wolf pack ran away as he approached the pond. The pack leader himself gave him an appreciative glance before closing his eyes.

He sat on the ground beside the pack leader and gave him company. He had nothing to do as he waited deep into the night to see if Maelor might arrive.

“Let me know if you sense someone close by.”

The pack leader huffed in acknowledgment before silence fell over them.

***

Maelor hadn’t arrived last night. That was unfortunate. There were still a few more days before he would start to suspect something wasn’t right.

Cal stared at the golem as it filled the pond. It was getting larger with every cast. The crops that were drawing water from it could no longer pull more than what the single cast of [Rainfall] could replace.

He wasn’t sure why.

However, it now made sense to plant another half-acre. The more he thought about it, the more sense it made. The harvest wouldn’t align perfectly, so he would have a sort of order that would keep him busy but not overwhelmed all at once.

Cal didn’t intend to test his nascent spell today so the golem could continue its work without disruption. By the time he planted the extra seeds, the pond would be even more capable of handling the extra draw.

He entered the storage room and took out the plow and barrel of seeds. There was an issue. He no longer had a rake that could be used. The only one in his possession was the Rare Rake, and it was just a step away from being destroyed. It needed to be allowed to restore itself.

… I’ll just use my foot to cover the seeds.

The section opposite to the previously planted half acre would be the new one seeded. Cal placed the barrel beside the section and sank the plow’s blade into the soil.

This would be the first batch with the plow’s trait applied.

[Advanced Plow: Good Quality] Upgrade: 117/4000 Tasks

- Residue Reclamation: The plow absorbs residual nutrients from previous crop remains and redistributes them evenly, enhancing soil fertility and resulting in a 10% better yield.

Cal expected to get a yield of around eighty-five percent on this batch. He got to work.

Sometime later, the second was ready for the seeds. He returned the plow to the storage room and started the tedious work of placing a single Sunfire grains seed into perfectly spaced spots in the section. It was made worse by the need to use his foot to cover the planted seeds with soil.

This took nearly the whole day. No matter how fast Cal was, he couldn’t risk damaging the seeds and worsening his harvest just because he wanted to get it over with.

Cal could think of a few ways to use the earth element to help expedite the planting process so it wouldn’t take up so much of his time. But even if that was theoretically possible, creating such a spell would take far too long and halt his progress at a time when he couldn’t afford to.

Still, he considered the possibilities as he methodically dug a small hole, dropped a Sunfire Grain seed, and used his foot to push the soil over the hole.

The sun was setting by the time he had finished with the section. More than half of the seeds in the barrel had been used up.

Cal returned the barrel to the toward before heading to his usual spot for the past few days. His companion was already there. The wolf pack ran even though the golem was in the middle of casting [Rainfall].

Huh, the wolves don’t like me.

He sat and said, “Let me know if you sense someone.”

The pack leader rumbled as he closed his eyes. It was still hours away from the time Maelor might arrive, so he felt an urge to visit Mariner’s Rest, but he knew staying at the farm would be more productive.

It’s only a day or two more. Tavia would understand.

Cal closed his eyes and waited. He didn’t move except when he ordered the golem to stop after midnight. He wanted to be at full capacity in case Maelor arrived.

The pack leader's guttural snarls a couple hours later let him know that he had been wise to be cautious.

Maelor had arrived.