Chapter 84
Hwayo’s body shone in dazzling colors.
The condition of Soul Fla ‘Hwayo’ is……!
Seeing those words brought back mories of my childhood.
It had been the sa back then.
Back when I got excited seeing those sa words in the web ga .
‘…Is it evolving?’
On a midsumr night beneath a tree.
I had watched with sweaty palms.
Soon, the light faded, and Hwayo’s form was revealed.
Pah!
The first thing I noticed was that its body was larger than when it was an infant.
Big eyes and scales like blue armor.
Congratulations!
Soul Fla ‘Hwayo’ has evolved from Infant to Adolescent!
After reading those words, I looked back at Hwayo.
A belated smile slipped out.
Even though it had evolved, its cute Hwayo-like charm still remained.
Its eyes were no longer sleepy, but bright and alert.
Its dragon-like appearance beca even more pronounced.
As I looked closely at Hwayo, a hologram appeared.
Soul Fla ‘Hwayo’
Level: 20
Mood: Very good, Stress 0%
Hwayo moved around curiously, as if amazed at its own change.
Its mood was marked as very good, so I probably didn’t need to worry anymore.
“It wasn’t a disease, but growing pains.”
No, maybe among spiritual creatures, it was called evolution pains.
Whatever it was.
“Hwayo, should we try a little test?”
Popong.
A reply aning it would play along since it was in a good mood.
Even after evolving, its personality seed the sa.
I gripped a card in midair.
Blue flas flowed out from it.
‘Even the card’s illustration has changed.’
The portrait now showed not the young Hwayo, but its current form adorned with armor-like scales.
The na had also changed from ‘Young Salamander’ to simply ‘Salamander.’
‘Now let’s see how its abilities have changed.’
I focused on the card and attempted a skill, breathing fire toward the sky.
Paaaaah!
Brilliant blue flas erupted explosively from Hwayo’s mouth.
It wasn’t much different from usual.
‘It doesn’t seem like the firepower itself got stronger…’
I watched Hwayo carefully.
‘…But it’s breathing for quite a while.’
As an infant, Hwayo had only been able to spit out flas in short bursts, and only in a straight line.
But now, it was different.
It felt like the duration of its breath had increased by about five more seconds.
‘Could it even change directions now?’
Second attempt.
Paaaah!
As it breathed fire, I gave it a ntal command to look another way.
Hwayo turned its head in the direction I wanted and breathed fire there as well.
‘It works.’
Until now, the fla-breathing skill attacked only in a straight line, always carrying the risk of missing.
‘Now that it can freely adjust direction, there will be more attack options.’
Rather than raw damage increasing from the evolution, it had taken a form that compensated for its weakness.
‘…Then how about this.’
I took out the Heart of Ilawne from my chest.
As I focused on the card, flas burst out of the wand.
The fire itself hadn’t gotten bigger.
‘But the purity of the fla…’
I swung the wand.
It shone brighter than before.
‘Even if I can’t confirm direct damage without a monster… just by looking, I can tell it’s different.’
By evolving, Hwayo had also boosted the skills I possessed.
‘…Is there no newly acquired skill?’
Thinking that, I dug through the hologram until I found what I was looking for.
Fla’s Dominator
Makes handling flas easier than before. Greatly reduces pain and damage from fire.
Fire Resistance 80%
‘What is this?’
I read the phrase once more.
‘…This is broken.’
For a mont, I thought I had misread it.
‘It’s not a ti-limited skill, but a passive skill that activates at all tis.’
A passive skill that greatly increased resistance to flas.
I looked again at the hand holding the wand.
‘No wonder, even when I used the Fla Sword just now, my hand didn’t hurt at all.’
Every ti I used Hwayo’s abilities, the problem had been that keeping fire close always burned my hand.
I had thought of it as a penalty, sothing I had gotten used to over ti.
‘Now I don’t feel any pain.’
I didn’t have to worry about it anymore.
I recalled my showdown with Verdi.
‘Back then, I really thought I was going to burn to death.’
When I used the combination skill in the tutorial, it had felt like I was inside the flas.
Of course, I hadn’t taken physical damage like burns, but the pain had been real enough.
‘With this skill, that pain could be alleviated.’
Not only Hwayo’s flas, but I’d also gain resistance against fla attacks from opponents.
I leaned against a tree and stroked Hwayo’s scales.
It was a day with quite a lot of gains.
‘My existing skills grew, and I was given a new skill…’
A hollow laugh escaped .
‘The benefits of evolution are enormous…’
Even though it wasn’t the final stage of evolution, just this one step had brought trendous growth.
A direction for growth.
It felt like I had found my goal.
‘Evolve all the spiritual creatures.’
If I could find animals of other attributes, bring them to the farm, and evolve them…
Maybe I could surpass not only the protagonist, but even top-tier figures like Keirin and Luga.
‘Of course, I won’t obsess over evolution alone.’
Forcing evolution was sothing I avoided.
I would pursue natural evolution, just like Hwayo’s.
‘If I evolve all the spiritual creatures I bring in, I’ll be ready for the Lunatic if it ever appears.’
It was the third month since I had fallen into this world.
That night, I had set a firm goal.
Evening, under the setting sun.
The bus stop near the Main Building.
Karin struggled with her bag, then climbed onto the bus.
“…See you next sester!”
Waving at Lapin and through the window, the bus drove away.
‘It really feels like vacation now.’
Even the few students who had stayed in the dorms to rest over the weekend had returned to their hotowns.
Grrrrowl.
On the way back to the livestock shed, a sound ca from Lapin’s stomach.
I looked at her and spoke.
“…Just asking, but did you not eat today?”
Lapin shook her head side to side and answered.
“I ate a piece of bread with Karin in the morning.”
So she had been holding out with only that.
No wonder she looked exhausted.
“…There wasn’t anyone at the dorm?”
Lapin nodded.
Since it was vacation, the staff must have been on leave.
With no one at the dorm, als and everything else had to be done solo.
‘…So now I’ll have to take care of Lapin’s breakfast, lunch, and dinner too.’
Not that I minded.
It wasn’t like I was struggling with money or short on ingredients.
‘Of course, it won’t be free.’
In exchange for food, she could do the dishes or cleaning.
That way, it was a win-win.
eeh~
When we reached the livestock shed, a lamb was nursing from its mother.
It was a newborn.
…As ti passed, the number of animals on the farm was increasing.
During the livestock shed chores, sothing had been bothering for a while.
‘The shed is too small.’
The more animals there were, the more cramped the farm beca.
The numbers of sheep, cows, chickens, and rabbits were steadily rising.
So females were even pregnant.
It couldn’t be left unattended any longer.
‘At this rate… the farm will be at full capacity within two months.’
It was a situation that required a solution, but the Academy seed completely uninterested.
‘What should I do? I can’t reduce the animals, and I can’t just expand the shed.’
While preparing dinner, I was lost in thought.
Ddan-dara-ddan-ddan!
The sound of the system rang out.
‘What’s this?’
I paused my cooking, opened ✿Animal✿Farm✿, and checked the notification.
Level up!
Farm Lv.1 → Lv.2
As you gained more Animal Friends, the farm’s level has increased!
I blinked at the words.
It seed that the more animals I had, the higher the farm’s level rose.
‘But what changes when the level goes up?’
As if answering my question, the next phrase followed.
Farm Expansion Unlocked!
You can now install a Pasture Farm!
However, it is only possible in the ‘Grassland’ where wild grass grows!
‘Pasture? Grassland?’
I turned my gaze outside the storage room.
‘…This is grassland.’
This place was surrounded on all sides by fields of green grass.
It perfectly matched the conditions the system required.
Reward for installing a Pasture Farm: Cost 1
Only after seeing the additional phrase did my eyes widen.
‘I needed to expand the farm anyway.’
If I was even given Cost as a reward, there was no need to hesitate.
I had to do it no matter what.
‘It’s late now… I’ll start work as soon as the sun rises tomorrow.’
I resud cooking while thinking.
Since it was my first ti expanding a farm, I had no idea how long it might take.
But since it was sumr vacation with plenty of free ti, I thought it wouldn’t be impossible.
I’d only know the details once I actually started work tomorrow.
Peek.
Maybe because of the sll of cooking, Lapin was looking at from outside the door.
“Don’t just stand there blankly, co inside.”
I dished food into two bowls and beckoned Lapin over.
As if it were already routine, Lapin scampered into the storage room and sat in front of a box.
I placed the two bowls on top of the box.
Inside the bowls was pasta made with crops from my own field.
Using the box as a table, we ate there.
“Yum.”
Lapin took a bite of pasta, then kept bringing the fork to her mouth as if she liked it.
‘Even though I made it, it really is delicious.’
Chewy yet soft, with a springy texture.
The tomato sauce clung well to the noodles, and the fresh scent of parsley could be felt.
I looked at Lapin and spoke.
“Since it’s vacation, there’s no one in the dorms to cook for you. Don’t starve anymore—co here when it’s alti.”
Hearing my words, Lapin turned her gaze to .
“It’s not free, though. Pay for your als by doing the dishes.”
When I said that, Lapin silently stared at .
That gave a rather strange feeling.
“What, do I have sothing on my face?”
“……”
When I asked, Lapin quietly opened her mouth.
“Villed, isn’t it uncomfortable for you that I co here?”
“Well. I’ve thought you were a bit of a bother a few tis, but I’ve never once felt uncomfortable.”
After answering Lapin, I questioned myself inside.
‘Why was that?’
From the very first eting, I had accepted Lapin naturally.
Was it because I pitied her as a character destined to die within a year?
…No. No matter how pitiful, that wasn’t reason enough to share my space with her.
‘I don’t even know why I did it myself.’
Lapin kept to herself quietly, and she also followed my words obediently.
Sotis, she even helped with farm work.
Because of that, I hadn’t felt any need to drive her away.
‘…Co to think of it, why does Lapin keep coming here?’
Thinking back, Lapin’s character settings had said she liked animals.
But nowhere had it said she often visited the livestock shed.
There were certainly no ntions of her keeping a lamb or sea otter with her.
I looked at Lapin and asked.
“Then let ask instead. Why did you start coming here?”
“……”
After hearing my question, Lapin stayed silent for a while, then finally put down her fork and spoke.
“…I ca to the farm because it felt comfortable.”
On a dark night filled with the cries of insects.
Inside the storage room lit by a golden lamp, Lapin’s soft voice lingered in my mind.
“I don’t feel people’s gazes here. When I’m here, I feel safe from everything.”
Hearing her answer, I shrugged and replied.
“You don’t feel watched? But I’m here.”
“Villed is different.”
Lapin shook her head firmly and spoke.
“You don’t look at with the eyes of prejudice like everyone else does.”
Her erald eyes were fixed on .
Not even the smallest movent suggested she was lying—it was the truth.
“That’s why, Villed feels as comfortable as the farm.”
“……”
Hearing Lapin’s answer, I gave a belated chuckle and replied.
“You really shouldn’t compare a person to a farm.”
As I said that, I noticed a change in Lapin’s face.
…Was it just my imagination?
For a brief mont, I thought I saw a faint smile on her lips.
It was the first ti I had ever seen Lapin smile.
I was wondering if what I saw had really been no illusion, when it happened.
An Animal Friend is within 1 ter ahead!
I read the phrase, then slowly looked at Lapin.
Animal Friend discovered!
When I looked at her, the words responded as if to confirm it.
Reading the next line, I was montarily dumbfounded.
Lapin’s trust has greatly increased!
This is your chance to bring her into the farm!
Grab her by the hand and shout ‘Animal Registration’!
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