Chapter 3

003.

3 days later.

The promised three days had passed, and every member of the Northern Rock Tribe had gathered around my small vegetable patch on the outskirts of the village.

After my ancestral-god performance, almost none of the barbarians mocked or ridiculed me anymore, but that did not mean they completely believed me either.

They still watched me with curiosity and a hint of distrust.

“…….”

Chief Zakan stood in front of the vegetable patch with his arms crossed.

The enormous greatsword still rested ominously behind his back.

Gulp. If what I had said turned out to be false, that sword would probably take my head without hesitation.

Swallowing dryly, I looked down at the field.

As if by magic, green leaves had sprouted.

[Potato – Ready to Harvest]

The system message glowed blue.

Success.

For the past two days, I had clung to the prison bars and begged Zakan.

I told him that if the plants were not watered, the miracle would wither away.

In the end, I was allowed to water them exactly once a day under the supervision of a guard.

My painstaking devotion…… no, the power of the Growth Acceleration skill had not gone to waste.

But my tension did not disappear.

‘What if…… only the leaves grew?’

Fear suddenly seized me.

Just because the leaves were lush did not guarantee that the roots would be healthy too.

What if I dug them up only to find one or two potatoes the size of beans?

That would still be a miracle, but not enough of a miracle to save my life.

“The time has come.”

Zakan’s low voice broke the silence.

“Izak. Prove it. Show us whether this truly is the ancestral god’s blessing or a lie.”

I nodded without saying anything.

With trembling hands, I gripped the sharp stone fragment I had brought instead of a hoe.

The barbarians surrounding me watched my fingertips without even daring to breathe.

When I carefully grabbed the first potato stalk, I felt something heavy.

As I put strength into my fingertips, the resistance from the soil became even stronger.

‘Please…….’

- Snap.

I felt a faint vibration from roots breaking beneath the ground.

Holding my breath, I pulled harder on the stalk.

Crack-! Black soil overturned in a cloud of dust.

And from within it, yellowish lumps saw the light of day.

“……!”

I sucked in a breath without realizing it.

“Potatoes! Many potatoes!”

“Miracle! Really ancestral god!”

The shriveled pieces of seed potato had transformed into plump potatoes larger than my fist.

Potatoes dangled in clusters like bunches of grapes and rolled across the black soil.

One, two, three…… even with a rough glance, there were more than ten.

- Ding!

[You have harvested your first crop! Acquired 15 F-rank Potatoes.]

[Crop Understanding <​Potato> has increased.]

A cheerful notification rang inside my head as system messages appeared.

[Achievement Accomplished! First Barbarian! You are the first barbarian to harvest a crop. Experience acquired.]

[Title Acquired! ‘A Barbarian Farming?!’ Stat Point +1, Fame +1]

I did not even have time to read the system messages.

Because the barbarians who saw the potatoes in my hands went wild with excitement.

“Wizard! Izak is wizard barbarian!”

“Now our Rock Tribe is richest barbarian!”

Thud, tap.

A single potato eye had produced a whopping fifteen potatoes.

Without stopping, I dug up the remaining four holes as well.

The second stalk produced thirteen. The third produced seventeen.

By the time I finished digging, a small mountain of potatoes had piled up at my feet.

About 80 in total.

More than four times the 20 potatoes that had originally been our entire fortune.

“Waaaaaah! Potato rich!”

“Izak is potato god!”

Someone’s shout became the signal, and cheers bordering on madness erupted.

“One potato became ten!”

“Ancestral god watches over us. BARBARIAAAAN!”

The barbarians embraced one another and jumped up and down.

Life returned to the eyes of those exhausted by hunger.

……I wondered how they maintained those muscles while eating so little.

Anyway, pushing through the barbarians who were causing a commotion, Chief Zakan slowly approached me.

When his enormous shadow covered me, I looked up at him nervously.

Zakan stared down at the pile of potatoes on the ground for a long time before turning his gaze toward me.

Even his once-ferocious eyes seemed somewhat softer.

“Izak.”

“Yeah.”

“I was wrong.”

A short, blunt admission.

No excuses, no justifications. A simple barbarian way of doing things.

“Just as you said, the great ancestral god gave you wisdom. I am sorry.”

“It is fine.”

I accepted his apology coolly in the barbarian way as well.

“I permit you to farm.”

The chief’s official recognition.

Only then did the tension leave me, and I felt the strength drain from my legs.

Whew…… I nearly crossed into the afterlife just for planting one potato.

For now, I had survived. No, was this only the beginning?

That was when the barbarians reached toward the pile of potatoes.

“Potatoes! Eat!”

“I eat potatoes too!”

“Stop!”

Zakan’s roar rang out.

The barbarians reaching forward flinched and froze.

“These potatoes belong to Izak. Izak risked his life to make them.”

Zakan was firm.

Well, that was true.

I had nearly died because of these potatoes.

Dozens of desperate eyes turned toward me.

The sound of people swallowing saliva could be heard from all around.

Holding back laughter, I spoke.

“No. Did it for our tribe. Ancestral god gave me wisdom for that.”

“…….”

Was it my imagination, or did Zakan’s stiff expression soften slightly for a moment?

Zakan stood there staring at me for a while before speaking.

“Tell me anything you need for farming. Everyone, from now on, help Izak with whatever he tells you to do.”

“I make ten potatoes too! Exciting!”

“I learn magic from Izak too! Potato wizard!”

The barbarians excitedly chattered after hearing Zakan’s words.

I had not expected him to support me this fully.

Pleased by the unexpected gain, I nodded.

“Thank you, Chief.”

.

.

.

After everyone dispersed.

I remained alone at the vegetable patch for a while.

The sun was setting, painting the canyon with a red glow.

Amid that majestic scenery, I quietly reached my hand into the air.

“Status Window.”

==========

【Player Information】

• Name : Izak (Kang Jin-ho)

• Race : Barbarian (Northern Rock Tribe)

• Class : Novice Farmer

• Level : 2 (▲1) New!

【Basic Stats】

• Strength : 20 / Agility : 15 / Constitution : 22 / Intelligence : 20 / Mental Strength : 8

• Fame : 1 New!

• Remaining Stat Points : 2 New!

【Farming Journal】

• Potato New!

- Harvest Quantity 80/100

- Understanding 0%

【Owned Titles】

• A Barbarian Farming?! New!

==========

“Hmm…….”

I stroked my chin.

One point from leveling up, and one point from acquiring the title.

That gave me a total of 2 stat points.

In this game, raising a stat by even 1 point was incredibly difficult.

The average Strength of an ordinary adult man was 10, while a trained soldier had around 15.

Stats did not increase automatically even when you leveled up. You had to raise them solely with stat points.

‘My race really is barbarian.’

Barbarians were not originally a selectable race. In the world of L.O.C., Barbarian Zakan, one of the major characters who drove the story forward, was a heroic NPC who helped the protagonist save the world.

‘Barbarians have high Strength and Constitution. But I remember the setting book saying their Intelligence was low.’

It was probably because the soul of the barbarian called Izak belonged to Kang Jin-ho, a modern man.

Anyway, gaining 2 stat points just from harvesting potatoes once was completely broken.

I could not stop the corners of my mouth from rising.

Being able to gain levels, experience, and stats through farming was an absolute jackpot.

‘For now, dump everything into Mental Strength.’

Without hesitation, I invested both points into Mental Strength.

From Mental Strength 8 to 10.

My Mental Strength had been so low that I had bled from my nose until I nearly became anemic. Though thanks to that, my ancestral-god act had succeeded.

Still, remembering how I had nearly died because I could not properly explain farming sent chills down my spine.

For the time being, I would invest my stats into Mental Strength, if only to resist this damned Barbarian Spirit.

Once my Mental Strength reached 10, maybe it was just my imagination, but I felt like I could control this body better, which put me in a good mood.

‘And this Understanding.’

What exactly would happen if I understood potatoes 100%? Would I be able to talk to potatoes?

Or would I be able to obtain higher-rank crops?

I did not know. I remembered the game setting that higher-rank crops could come with special effects.

‘Well, I’ll find out if I keep planting them.’

I had to plant potatoes like my life depended on it anyway.

To survive the brutal Great Famine this winter, we would need an enormous amount of potatoes.

I planted 5 more seed potatoes into the now-empty cultivation slots and stood up.

‘Ah, right. Tonight’s dinner.’

I had promised the barbarians something.

It was time to show them the skills of Kang Jin-ho, former chef.

Just you wait.

_______________

A large bonfire blazed in the village square.

Hanging above it was the same cauldron usually used to cook the watery porridge that tasted like dirty rag water.

But today was different.

I poured just enough water into the cauldron, then laid a loosely woven arrangement of branches above it.

It was a makeshift steamer.

Then I neatly stacked all 80 thoroughly washed potatoes on top.

“Izak. Me hungry. Just put in water and boil!”

“I hate that! Tastes bad. Smells!”

The barbarians clamored from all directions.

Barbarian cooking methods were simple.

Either roast it—though it was closer to burning it—or put it in water and boil it.

The concept of steaming food would be unfamiliar to them.

“Wait! Ancestral god taught me this method!”

“I wait! I listen well to ancestral god!”

As expected, invoking the ancestral god shut them up.

Truly万能.

I used a wide wooden board as a lid and closed it, then waited for the potatoes to steam as the bonfire crackled.

White steam began rising through the gaps in the cauldron.

- Hisssss

“Sniff, sniff.”

The barbarians who smelled it flared their nostrils.

A savory, sweet aroma mixed with the scent of earth.

Compared to the sour-smelling watery porridge they usually ate, the aroma of carbohydrates was on an entirely different level, and drool quickly began dripping from their mouths.

“Done. It is ready.”

When I opened the lid, a burst of white steam billowed upward.

The potatoes revealed inside had split slightly along their skins, exposing the flesh within.

“Pretty. Potatoes are pretty!”

Hearing someone shout that, I poked one of the potatoes with a branch, and it sank in softly. Perfect.

After checking the potatoes, I bowed my head to Zakan.

I did not know exactly why, but it felt like I should.

The chief silently looked down at me before stepping in front of the cauldron.

Everyone received two potatoes equally.

“Hot! Be careful…….”

Before I could even finish speaking, the sound of barbarians ravenously biting into potatoes came from all around.

Barbarians did not use things like eating utensils.

Zakan bit directly into a hot potato with the skin on and closed his eyes.

Crack. The skin burst with a crisp sound, followed by the soft sound of the inside crumbling apart.

Hot warmth filled his mouth.

Then came the potato’s distinctive mild, savory flavor.

A subtle sweetness emerged the more he chewed.

And more than anything, that fullness that settled heavily in his stomach……!

If the thin porridge they had been drinking until now had merely tricked their hunger, this was real food.

“……Delicious.”

Zakan murmured quietly.

That single word became the signal, and cheers erupted from all around.

“Hot! Do not care if hot! Extremely delicious!”

“Does not taste like rag! First time in life eating something this delicious!”

The barbarians exclaimed from every direction.

Zakan watched them with a satisfied gaze before putting the rest of his potato into his mouth.

“Izak. Really delicious. First time eating something this good.”

Malko bowed his head to me, his eyes moist.

“Sorry for reporting you……! Thought you were hiding potatoes. I am bad barbarian! Punish me!”

Then he began slamming his head against the ground while apologizing.

Even his apologies were violent.

“No. Malko did not know ancestral god’s will then, so fine.”

“Izak…….”

Moved by my words, he suddenly sprang upright and lifted his head.

Seeing him up close made him look even uglier, so I was discreetly trying to step backward when.

- Grab!

“Ghk.”

It feels like my ribs are breaking!

Malko suddenly wrapped me in a crushing hug and sobbed as he spoke.

“Izak jealous of handsome me because you ugly! Did not know you were such kind barbarian!”

What the hell……? This guy?

He looks like a horse-faced ape.

“Malko will help Izak from now on! Izak do not worry. Malko smart!”

No…… you make me worry a lot.

You cannot even count past twelve.

Regardless, Malko grinned innocently, slapped my back hard enough to nearly break my shoulder, and disappeared.

‘Good grief.’

Even after he left, other barbarians came over and thanked me.

They were just steamed potatoes.

No salt, no sugar, no butter, just steamed potatoes.

Food that I would not even have looked twice at in my previous life.

But here in this barren wasteland, for people who brushed against death every day, it must have been an incredible feast.

- Munch munch, smack smack.

Along with the crackling bonfire, the sounds of around 40 barbarians happily eating filled the air.

The faces that had seemed nothing but savage and rough when I first saw them now somehow looked a little different.

Thinking that, I picked up my share of potato and took a bite.

A savory aroma spread through its fluffy texture.

My throat tightened, yet somehow it went down even without water.

A strange feeling swept through my entire body at the thought that my farming…… my knowledge had provided tonight’s meal for these people.

It was a heavy sense of responsibility different from the accomplishment I had felt as a chef.

‘Yeah. I can do this.’

I looked up at the night sky, where countless stars shone as though they might pour down.

The chief, who had been silently watching the same sight, opened his mouth.

“Izak.”

Yes?

Wh-why are you calling me? You’re scary.