Chapter 17: Farming Begins

Chapter 17: Farming Begins

"Where have you been? Why are you always coming back so late lately? You’re nothing but trouble. Don’t follow in your deadbeat father’s footsteps, running around with those good-for-nothings and dying who-knows-where..."

As soon as Pus returned home, his mother’s nagging echoed in his ears once more.

Pus listened obediently while shoveling down the dry bean paste rice with all his might. After finishing every last grain, he pulled out a dozen or so copper coins and placed them on the table. "Mom, this is what I earned today. I’m full—I’m going to sleep now."

With that, he hurriedly ducked into the shabby side room.

Once inside, he pressed himself against the door, watching as his mother cleared the dishes without coming over. Only then did he lean back against the door and begin chanting softly.

"Great existence from the Azure Star, You are the Master of Language and Script, the Founder of the Internet. Under Your protection, I shall connect with all living things!"

As the words left his lips, he felt his soul link with a certain magnificent presence.

The Internet God had answered his prayer. A Virtual Scroll unfurled before him, glowing faintly.

The shimmering light made his pupils contract, yet he couldn’t help but widen his eyes, as if trying to take in the entirety of the Internet.

At this moment, even though Pus had mentally prepared himself, his hands still trembled with excitement, his muscles tensed, and his breathing grew rapid.

Of course, compared to the first time, this was already much better.

No one knew just how earth-shattering it had been when he’d boldly chanted the prayer in the basement earlier and summoned the Internet!

It had been like a bolt of lightning, striking him from head to tailbone, leaving his entire body numb!

After all, even Raymond’s peddling of basic magical knowledge had left a group of dirt-poor boys weeping with gratitude!

How much more so this openly available, free magical knowledge?

He realized that his future, which had once seemed hopeless, was about to change starting today!

This was also one of the fundamental reasons he had been so eager to become a Believer of the Internet God back in the basement. Unfortunately...

Pus’s mind flashed back to that mysterious figure who had enslaved demons.

The man had said:

"God loves all people. My Lord is merciful. As long as you spread His radiance, you are His Believer!"

With those words, the young man had left.

But that single sentence had shaken Pus’s soul to its core.

In the Empire’s propaganda, they never denied the power of the gods. Yet, in all their descriptions of deities, they subtly implied that gods were nothing but swindlers, using their power to deceive Believers into offering up their wealth and souls.

So why should humans grovel and beg the gods for power?

Humans could cultivate magic on their own!

This would be power that belonged solely to them. If one reached the Saint Archmage realm—or even the God of Magic—they could wield strength comparable to that of the gods themselves!

But today, Pus’s convictions wavered. He felt that the Internet God was the only true deity.

He asked for nothing—no offerings, no Believers, no wealth, no souls. Yet He bestowed upon the world the most precious treasure of all: knowledge.

A seed of faith had quietly taken root in Pus’s heart.

Perhaps life would grind it into dust.

Perhaps it would sprout and grow.

Or perhaps it would ignite, becoming the spark that set the plains ablaze.

That night, Pus barely slept at all—he spent the entire night browsing the Internet!

Even though he was born in Willis City, the things he saw on the Internet dazzled his eyes and broadened his horizons!

Here, he saw the mercenaries' glamorous facades, but behind them lay a life of hardship and uncertainty between life and death.

He saw the lofty nobles, fretting over territorial beasts and bandits—though some also oppressed the common folk.

He saw the mysterious and powerful mages, arguing over profound knowledge he couldn’t comprehend, their debates piling up thousands of posts.

And he saw countless people from the same humble origins as himself, posting in search of a way out.

The pitch-black room gradually brightened.

Pus, who had stayed up all night, felt not the slightest bit of fatigue—nor did he experience the massive Soul Power drain that the Internet had warned would come from logging in with prayers.

He swiftly closed the Internet, pushed open the door, and stepped outside.

The sky was still dim, but to him, the world seemed extraordinarily beautiful!

Grabbing a wooden bucket, he dashed out of his home, rushing to the settlement well. He drew a bucket of water first, gulping it down until he was full, then filled bucket after bucket to top up the water vat at home. After a quick word to his mother, he bolted out again.

He already knew what he would do today.

First, he would tell his closest friends about the Internet and spread the glory of the Lord.

Second, he had learned from the Internet that a grand lord had purchased an old estate in the Western District, planning to build a mansion. They were urgently hiring laborers—rumor had it the pay was 20 copper coins a day!

He decided to give it a try.

……

……

Yu Sheng'an, enjoying his refined breakfast, froze when he saw through the Contract Godhood that the boy who had become his first Believer hadn’t even eaten breakfast before sweating profusely hauling bricks and rubble at the construction site.

To be honest, as his first little admirer in this world, Yu Sheng'an had observed Pus for a long time last night.

Watching Pus flip through basic magical knowledge with excitement had brought a knowing smile to Yu Sheng'an’s face.

Seeing him quickly master the Internet’s functions and skillfully use search techniques to hunt for work had genuinely pleased Yu Sheng'an—so much so that he actively expended Source Essence to support his browsing.

Otherwise, with his limited Soul Power, Pus would’ve grown exhausted after two or three hours, and the Internet would’ve forcibly disconnected him if he pushed further.

It was clear Pus’s family was poor, but Yu Sheng'an hadn’t expected it to be so dire that they couldn’t even afford breakfast.

Yu Sheng'an glanced out the stained-glass window. Pedestrians hurried along the streets, most with gaunt, malnourished faces.

Of course, there were also burly mercenaries with exaggerated weapons, riding unicorns as they roared past from time to time.

"It’s truly unimaginable—in the City of Magic, where power rivals that of gods, the common folk below can’t even fill their bellies!" Yu Sheng'an couldn’t help but exclaim.

Honestly, coming from Blue Star, he had long taken having enough to eat for granted.

Yet after arriving in this world, he realized that a full stomach was actually a rare luxury.

"Your mercy is commendable! Food scarcity has always been a persistent ailment of the Empire. Not only is arable land scarce compared to the population, but the practice of magic also demands vast resources. Fertile land naturally prioritizes magical crops. Of course, we do our best to ensure bountiful harvests—for instance, mages stationed in every city are assigned rain-making tasks each year to guarantee agricultural yields."

Sitting across from Yu Sheng'an and sharing breakfast, Dandell said politely.

Early this morning, Dandell had come over to invite Yu Sheng'an to breakfast.

Yu Sheng'an scoffed at his words. "That’s no excuse. Without fertile land, we can simply cultivate high-yield, drought-resistant, and salt-alkali-tolerant crops."

Dandell fell silent for a moment before replying, "Developing such specialized crops through magic requires unimaginable effort. Without sufficient incentives, no wood-elemental magician would be willing to dedicate their time and resources."

Yu Sheng'an didn’t ask why the empire didn’t allocate special funds to support such initiatives.

Ultimately, the Keville Empire lacked strong centralized authority, making it a society driven solely by profit!

Moreover, in a society where absolute power rested in the hands of magicians, the lower classes existed merely to sustain the magicians' livelihoods.

Of course, the occasional infusion of fresh blood also helped keep the magician community vibrant.

Thus, commoners were naturally treated as worthless as weeds!

At this thought, Yu Sheng'an felt a twinge of discomfort and frustration.

Everyone was chasing after profit. If just one Grand Magus lowered their gaze slightly, the lives of commoners could be entirely different.

What this place truly lacked was the spirit of nobility.

Yu Sheng'an’s eyes flashed as he suddenly said, "Sir, how about this? Lend me some of Felix’s wood-elemental magicians—I won’t take up too many resources, even apprentices will do. I’ll cultivate the crops myself! Of course, I’ll pay a hiring fee. What do you think?"

Dandell was stunned.

Weren’t we here to discuss the propagation of the Internet Divine Technique? How did we end up talking about crops?