Chapter 22: Immense Production
“You're right, these are magical oats,” the Grimoire said with a voice tinged with awe. “I can tell from a single glance that their yield is incredible.”
“Something like this has been growing in the Ironcross Mountains all this time?” Joan said in wonder.
“I told you, Ironcross Mountains is filled with countless resources. We only need to find them and use it to our advantage.” Ryan smiled then turned to Tom. “Tom, can you hand me the book for a moment?”
Once he received the Grimoire, he quickly flipped the pages to make it seem like he was searching for something. In truth, he could randomly stop flipping anywhere since he would get the information he wanted all the same.
‘Can you analyze the oats in front of me, Builder? I want accurate details,’ Ryan asked.
'That’ll be 10 Grimoire Points.'
‘Alright.’
While it wasn’t visible to the eyes of Ryan’s companions, a bright sensor-like light emanated from the Grimoire book, casting itself upon the oats. A little while later, words suddenly wrote themselves on the book's pages.
— — — — — — —
Oats (Mana-Infused)
A special variety of oats with the remarkable ability to harness and absorb ambient mana in its environment. This mana infusion enables the oats to proliferate abundantly, taking advantage of the rich and beneficial energy of mana.
In addition, consuming these oats provides a minor boost to one's mana levels.
Approximate Yield Per Acre:
Low Mana Surroundings: 50 bushels
Normal Mana Surroundings: 100 bushels
High Mana Surroundings: 150 bushels
— — — — — — —
Ryan’s eyes widened and he immediately muttered calculations under his breath.
“We have 1600 acres of land, and Finis Kingdom, although not abundant in mana, is considered average in terms of mana. Assuming that the surroundings will yield about 100 bushels per acre, we'll get to harvest at least 160,000 bushels of oats. That’s more than enough to provide the entire village a year’s worth of food—50 years, even.”
That was a lot of oats!
Ryan glanced at Tom, Spike and Doran.
“Please collect the seeds of these oats. We will be changing our main crop from barley to these oats,” Ryan said, barely able to retain his composure.
“Are you alright, Master Ryan?” Tom and everyone noticed that he looked brimming with excitement.
“I aim to be a man of my words, Tom. Currently, there are at least sixty people who all contribute to farming, right?”
“Sometimes, everyone helps out, Master Ryan. Kids and even elderly would sometimes assist where they can to ensure that we can plow everything on time. They also help with the harvesting and milling.”
“Out of that number, how many do you think genuinely like farming?” Ryan asked.
“That’s a strange question, Master Ryan. I don’t think many others think about whether they want or do not want to do farming. They just do,” Doran said thoughtfully.
“Yeah. Even us. We might be called Hunters, but we still spend a greater chunk on Farming than anything else.” Spike added.
‘Right. These people have spent the majority of their lives farming and only doing tasks related to the survival of their village. If I were to ask such a question, not everyone would be able to give an answer.’ Ryan thought.
“Are you going to make the Kobolds do the farming work for us, Master Ryan?” Tom glanced at the five Kobolds in the corner.
One was picking his nose, one was scratching its butt, the other two were smacking each other, and only one was standing attentively and looking at Ryan.
“Haha, they’re a bit tiny for farming. I don’t think they’ll be able to do a great job… I remember that you guys have ten oxen, but the important thing is having at least a couple of people who really like farming.”
“Oh, then there’s Farmer Jonas!” Tom said. “Out of everyone in the village, he’s the only one who really enjoys farming. We wouldn’t be able to complete all the plowing of the acres without his strength.”
“His strength?” Ryan asked curiously.
“Most of us can only do an eighth of an acre to about a fourth of an acre during a day. On the other hand, Farmer Jonas, with his powerful skill, Great Plow, can match all the ten oxen’s output combined. He is one of the most esteemed people here in the Stonefall Village,” Tom said.
Ryan’s brows raised. “Great Plow?”
“I think that's his Level 30 Skill.” Tom said.
“You guys have someone who's Level 30 here?” Ryan was impressed.
“About three, I think.” Tom said. “We have our baker, Eda. She can bake fifty loaves of bread in a day.”
“Fifty loaves all by herself?” Ryan blinked.
“Yeah, when I don't have to help out with farming, my grandfather would send me to help her out in baking bread. Kneading is tough work. I can only reasonably knead enough dough for two loaves, but her Skill allows her to knead much more,” Tom said.
“I’ve helped her out before as well. I thought it would be easier than farming since I heard that you'd only need to wait for the dough to rise. Baker Eda also has a Skill that hastens the rising.” Doran added.
“That is incredible,” Ryan nodded. 'I suppose it's understandable that these people haven't discovered yeast separation yet, but it's still impressive how their special skills have evolved to help them survive.'
In this world filled with magic, there was also the concept of leveling up and acquiring greater power.
“The fact that there is a Level 30 Farmer and Baker here speaks about the potential of Stonefall Village. According to history and data, only about 30% of the world population can ever dream of reaching a level higher than 20, and most of them are gathered in more prosperous locations,” The Grimoire said.
‘So it seems like the Ironcross Mountains isn’t the only place with valuable resources.’ Ryan thought as he looked at Tom, Spike and Doran. ‘The Stonefall Village has excellent people too.’
“What do we need to do now, Master Ryan?” Tom asked.
Before Ryan could answer, Joan suddenly spoke sharply, “Ryan. Stay behind me.”
She took out her dagger and eyed their vicinity with a cautious look.