Chapter Text
It was a rainy day in Pelican Town. For some, that might mean sadness, as they wouldn’t be able to go outside to play and do the outdoor activities they loved so much. Others might find it relaxing—a perfect excuse to read a good book and sip on some hot chocolate! Perhaps it could even be the ideal atmosphere for a stroll, to have deep thoughts, to get inspired. But for our farmer...
“Thank Yoba for this miracle!” she exclaimed, dropping to her knees as she opened the door and discovered the rain watering her enormous fields of strawberries and coffee beans.
Y/N had escaped the big city for the countryside to avoid being a slave to a greedy corporation, but now she was a slave to her own greed after planting an absurdly large field of coffee and strawberries. Her life had basically become seeing her animals in the morning and then spending the entire day watering that monstrosity.
Some of her friends became worried when they hadn’t seen her since the Egg Festival. Abigail, Emily, and Harvey went to visit the farm, hoping not to find the worst, but upon understanding the situation, they tried to help her. Unfortunately, it was a titanic task, impossible for any sane person, especially with only a regular watering can.
After confirming that the farmer was still alive, they informed the rest of the town about the situation. Thanks to Emily and Evelyn, they organized a collection and managed to gather the generous amount of seven basic sprinklers, which was a blessing since it helped her go to bed before midnight. After that, someone would occasionally check in on the farm to make sure she was okay.
Y/N was overjoyed—it was the first time in weeks that she had the chance to leave the farm. How would she take advantage of this day? She hadn’t seen her friends in a while, but there was something she had been missing—going to the mines. The last time she had gone was when she reached level 120 and obtained a strange key. After that, the Junimos repaired the path to the quarry, where she found a hole from which she unearthed a statue of the Grim Reaper and kept its golden scythe, which was quite useful. Of course! She would go to see Rasmodius to check if he knew anything about the key.
She tended to her animals, as usual, and headed to the forest, happy to finally see a landscape that wasn’t just an enormous field of strawberries and coffee plants. The feeling of entering the forest was wonderful—she had never enjoyed the rain falling on her body so much, inhaling the scent of wet plants and damp earth. It all felt like a true blessing. She almost regretted how quickly she arrived at Rasmodius's house, but soon enough, she opened the door as if it were her own home.
“Good morning!” Rasmodius was preparing a potion, and his indifferent reaction made it seem like he already knew this was going to happen.
“Long time no see, farmer,” he said while weighing some mysterious herbs.
“Didn’t you miss seeing me?” she asked, tossing him a void essence, which he caught, nearly dropping his herbs in the process.
“A little, yes. I did miss your gifts overflowing with arcane powers,” he said, glancing away from his book to see what she had brought. “What brings you out of your self-imposed retreat to visit me so early?”
“Oh, right,” said the farmer, pulling out the key with a skull to show the wizard. Rasmodius couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow slightly when he noticed the puddle of water she was leaving on his wooden floor, but he didn’t mention it.
The farmer handed him the mysterious white key, which had a skull engraved on it and appeared to be made of some sort of incredibly resistant bone. “I found this at the bottom of the mines. I was wondering if you knew what it might be for.”
“I have an idea of what it could be, yes, but I think it’s best for you to figure it out on your own,” he said, admiring the details before handing it back to her.
“How about a hint?” she insisted with a smile, moving closer to the wizard.
“You don’t need hints, farmer. You’ll know when the time comes. Now, if you’ll excuse me…”
Y/N realized that she wouldn’t get any information out of Rasmodius that easily, so she decided to change her approach. “Oh, fine. I just thought you might know more. Who would’ve thought? In the end, maybe there are things in the valley that slip past even you,” she said with a shrug, turning as if she were about to leave.
Rasmodius couldn’t contain his indignation at her comment and immediately refuted it.
“It’s the Skull Cavern Key!”
The farmer turned to Rasmodius with a smug, victorious smile, making him realize he’d fallen for her trick.
“You…!” The farmer let out a small laugh, and Rasmodius only showed his resignation with a growl. “Just promise me that when the time comes, you won’t let greed blind you, and you’ll know your limits. Even for me, it’s very difficult to perform a rescue down there. I’d need special permits to enter. You’ll be entirely at the mercy of whoever gave you the key.”
The farmer looked at the key in awe. Whatever it was protecting seemed to be something big. “Alright, I’ll follow your advice. Thanks,” she said as she headed toward the door.
“Before you go off to seduce the town’s bachelors, I have a deal you might be interested in,” the wizard said, making the farmer stop in her tracks as he summoned a piece of paper into his hand. “Would you like to learn how to make rain totems?”
“Of course I want to learn how to make rain totems!” she said, turning back and eagerly approaching the wizard.
“Good. I can trade you this recipe for all the void essences you have,” he said, extending the paper toward her.
“Deal!” It wasn’t like the monster-slaying addict would miss a few void essences, though as soon as she took the paper, she noticed something. “Oh… I don’t have any truffle oil…”
The wizard sighed and conjured a rain totem. “Alright, hand that over,” he said, snatching the paper back. “I’ll trade you this totem for 50 void essences.”
“10,” the farmer responded, crossing her arms. She rarely used them for anything, but the offer was still offensive.
“45.”
“15.”
“40 is my final offer.”
“10 void essences, 5 solar essences, a fire quartz, and a bottle of wine.”
“What’s the wine’s quality?”
“It’s a regular bottle.”
“Add 5 more solar essences, and we’ve got a deal.”
“Deal!” Y/N said, shaking the wizard’s hand.
Y/N rushed back to the farm to gather what she had promised the wizard when her pet crossed her path, almost knocking her over.
“What’s up, buddy? We can play in a bit,” she said as her pet flopped onto the ground, demanding belly rubs. The farmer couldn’t resist giving in. “I really want to play with you, but I’m in a hurry.”
Suddenly, the animal tossed a rabbit’s foot toward Y/N and then got up to go play with a chicken.
“Where did you get this?” she asked as she picked it up. “Poor rabbit… But thanks for the gift! Maybe it’ll bring me some luck,” she said, tucking it into her backpack.
Soon, she returned to Rasmodius to deliver what she had promised him. The wizard counted and inspected the goods, then handed her the rain totem.
“There’s something else I want to give you…”
Rasmodius took out a small green vial tied with a string and extended it toward the farmer, who tilted her head so he could put it on her like a necklace.
"Is it something like the drink you gave me to talk to the junimos?" the girl asked, examining the small vial.
"Not exactly," he said as he adjusted the strap around her neck. "It's something I created as a protection. If you were to enter the Skull Cavern, for example, and your life was in serious danger of imminent death, the vial will break and transport you here, safe and sound."
The farmer smiled, touched by his gesture, and threw herself at the wizard to give him a hug. "Thank you, Rasmodius!"
"You have nothing to thank me for, little one," he said, absorbing the affectionate gesture and patting her head.
After that, she began her journey to the mines. Surprisingly, she was having a lot of luck, collecting plenty of gold ore. She had missed the feeling of fighting monsters, although she hadn’t encountered too many so far. She guessed her good luck was scaring them off, until she descended some stairs and found herself on a completely dark floor, illuminated only by her ring.
The air felt heavy; she could sense the vibrations of the ground from what seemed to be several monsters approaching. She couldn’t determine how many there were, but it was definitely more than usual. Three slimes started to approach her with small hops, and behind them, in the darkness beyond her light’s reach, she could hear several skeletons walking slowly in her direction. The air was growing colder, to the point where she could see her breath; that could only mean ghosts were nearby. The farmer, who was already gripping her sword in her right hand and her pickaxe in the other, charged at the monsters without hesitation.
Indeed, luck was on her side. The monsters came at her in a group, allowing her to take down more than one with a single swing. She had noticed that if she kept a certain rhythm in her attacks and movements, the monsters couldn’t react quickly enough to strike, or she could sync with their movements to dodge. Many weren’t very smart, so their movement patterns were predictable.
Maybe it was luck, or how much the farmer missed visiting the mines, but soon it was just her left standing, with her face splattered with monster blood, a ghost, and an unusually large skeleton. The skeleton and the ghost charged at her simultaneously from opposite directions; it was impossible to hit both at the same time, at least not with the sword. This wasn’t a problem for the farmer, who, fueled by adrenaline and with the sole thought of getting out of there unscathed, managed to strike the ghost while simultaneously shattering the skeleton's head with her pickaxe.
It was a quick movement, but at the same time, it felt as if it happened in slow motion. The skeleton's skull shattered upon impact with the pickaxe, and the ghost was violently thrown back by the blow from her sword. With the skeleton out of the scene, it was just her and the ghost left. The poor monster seemed to want to escape from the farmer, who was in a state of absolute euphoria, but it was too late. She chased it down with her sword, gaining momentum and making it disappear with a single blow, leaving behind a small seed and a solar essence.
"That was awesome!" she shouted victoriously, looking around as if searching for someone to applaud her epic feat, but she was alone. No one had seen the fierce battle she had just fought on that monster-filled floor, and probably not even the adventurers' guild would believe she had taken down a skeleton with just her pickaxe.
She had defeated all the monsters on that floor and, in return, had obtained a great amount of loot. She victoriously collected ore, diamonds, some solar essences, surprisingly a ghost fish, the small strange round seed, a note dropped by a slime, and when she approached the remains of the giant skeleton whose skull she had smashed, she found another note among the bones. She decided to read both notes later at home and stored them in her backpack, discovering that it was now completely full.
"Oh, and it's only 7 p.m.," she said after checking her watch.
She decided she was done and set out on her way to the Stardrop Saloon to show the world that she was still alive. She left the mine and walked calmly towards the bar, deciding not to take the minecart since she wanted to enjoy the scenery and perhaps run into friends along the way.
The first to see her was Linus, who greeted her happily, and they chatted for a bit. He had been one of those who donated a sprinkler to her and had also sent her sashimi from time to time because he knew she would be so interested in her plants that she probably hadn’t been eating well.
"Food is essential for having a good day; don't forget that," Linus said before they said goodbye.
She arrived at the Stardrop Saloon, seeing the lights from outside, hearing the familiar voices chatting inside, accompanied by the usual music. She opened the door, and everyone fell silent upon seeing her, leaving only the background music playing. She hadn't cleaned off the blood, and with the rain, it had smeared even more, so she was covered in red from head to toe.
"I told you it wasn’t healthy to leave her alone for so long!" Harvey said with a look of horror.
"I just went for a stroll in the mines!" Y/N explained, raising her hands to show her innocence.
A collective “Oooh” echoed throughout the tavern from everyone present. Before Y/N could say anything else, Emily rushed over to hug her so tightly that it knocked the wind out of her. She then spent some time chatting with most of the people there (except for Clint, who didn’t seem interested in joining the conversation) about what had happened in town during her seclusion.
Once it got late and everyone had gone home, she decided to take the path that led by the bus stop and paused to look at it for a moment.
"Now that I think about it, I haven't left town in a year..." she thought, reconsidering how much it was worth getting rich at the cost of spending all day watering plants. "It’ll just be for one season. After this, I’ll be able to live more comfortably." After spending so much time alone on the farm, only talking to the animals, she had gotten into the habit of talking to herself for encouragement, seeing it as a way to keep from going crazy—or at least not too crazy.
Once home, she finished emptying her backpack and stored the items in their respective chests, leaving only the two notes she had picked up. "The perfect date for Leah, interesting..." she thought excitedly after reading the first note. Leah seemed like a pretty cool girl. She usually gave her seasonal flowers whenever she ran into her, and now she knew exactly what kind of things liked.
The second note looked just as old and worn as the first, but from the very first line, it sent a chill down her spine:
Greetings, Y/N... Have you found my "secret" in the dark tunnel?
I’m looking forward to meeting you!
- Qi
"But how...?!" she remembered the talking bear in the Secret Woods who had looked at her in a strangely suggestive way while explaining how to sell blackberries for a better price, and she accepted that more than one odd person in the valley probably knew about her. "Well, it doesn't matter," she concluded with a shrug.
In the end, she left the notes with the rest, took a good bath, and put on her pajamas. She fluffed her pillow and went to bed without giving the matter much thought, at least until 3 a.m.
"Of course! The dark tunnel is the one on the highway!" she said, suddenly sitting up in bed, startling her pet. "...On second thought, I’m already in my pajamas. I’ll check it out tomorrow," she concluded, lying back down.
Honestly, the farmer wasn't looking forward to the next day very much, knowing she’d have to return to the routine of watering her enormous field of crops. She could have used the totem Rasmodius had sold her, but she knew it was better to save it for an important occasion.
Her surprise was immense when she discovered that it was raining again the next day. "Rasmodius probably took pity on my soul," she thought with a smile. "I'll give him a bottle of strawberry wine when all this is over." This time, she went back inside to grab her raincoat and then went out again to fulfill her duties as a farmer.
After everything was in order on the farm, she took the mysterious note and headed to the dark tunnel by the bus stop. Indeed, it was quite dark, but fortunately, that wasn't a problem thanks to her glow ring. She simply walked in, extending her hand slightly, hoping to find something or someone. To her surprise, there was nothing interesting.
"The road is blocked," she thought, wondering if she was missing something when she saw what seemed to be a fuse box on the wall. "Could it be that?" She carefully approached the box to illuminate it and noticed that it was actually a lockbox that only needed a battery. She quickly returned home and grabbed a battery she had recently obtained after the previous day's storm. She returned to the tunnel and inserted it. Immediately, a bolt clicked, opening the box and revealing a note inside.
"Your first task: Bring a rainbow shell to the train platform.
Leave it in the box.
- Mr. Qi"
"Mr. Qi has very neat handwriting and spelling," she thought, before glancing around to see if there was anything else of interest. But noticing there was nothing else, she returned home to check if she hadn’t already given all her shells to Haley.
"Looks like today is Mr. Qi's lucky day," she said, pulling out a beautiful blue shell from one of her chests and hurrying to leave it at the train platform. The walk felt longer than usual, not only because she was technically climbing the mountain while running and trying not to slip in the mud, but because the more she thought about it, the more this strange treasure hunt felt increasingly intriguing. What kind of person would be capable of leaving a note in a skeleton's skull?
She arrived at the train platform, and once she was sheltered from the rain by the roof, she pulled back her hood to see better and searched for the box. She quickly spotted it. It was large and deep, so she had to lean part of her body inside to carefully place the shell at the bottom. As soon as the shell touched the bottom, something fell onto Y/N's head. She immediately looked up and grabbed what turned out to be a piece of paper caught between her neck and her raincoat.
"Good job. Your next task: Place 10 beets in the mayor’s fridge.
Mr. Qi"
After reading the note, she started looking around for any mechanism or person who might have dropped it, but there was nothing—she was completely alone. Considering the specific detail of delivering beets to Lewis's house, she began to wonder if this was just a prank by the villagers to get her to do some free chores. Well, it didn’t really matter; it was too early to tell if this mystery would be a waste of time or not.
After waving her hand in front of the box one last time, hoping to feel some thin string, and nearly falling inside while testing if there was any mechanism triggered by weight, she checked her watch—it was 10:34 AM. That meant Pierre’s store was open, and she could ask about the seeds she needed.
She descended the mountain with a bit more caution than when she had climbed up. Her boots were sturdy, but she still couldn’t avoid slipping a bit in the muddy, steeper areas. Once she reached town, she entered Pierre’s shop, which looked slightly different from the last time she visited.
“Farmer! Long time no see,” Pierre said from behind the counter.
“How’s it going, Pierre? I’m here to do some business,” Y/N replied, wiping her boots on the entrance mat.
“It’s always a pleasure doing business with you. Looking for something specific?”
“I’m looking for beet seeds,” she explained as she approached the counter.
“Oh, well, you’re looking for more seeds…” Pierre slid out from behind the counter, approaching the farmer and placing his hands on her shoulders. “Listen, your purchase of strawberry seeds was the best thing that’s happened to us in years—you saved my family’s finances. My marriage! We were even able to remodel some things in the house and the store.”
“You’re… welcome?” Y/N responded, not quite understanding where the conversation was going.
“But I can’t sell you any more seeds,” Pierre explained. “Don’t take it the wrong way; it’s just for this season. The residents of Pelican Town decided to intervene after seeing what happened with the strawberries—they’re afraid that the overload of work might wear you out.”
“Well, I get that I might have gone a little overboard with the strawberries and coffee plants. But I’m fine! I can handle about 30 more beets,” the farmer explained, lifting her raincoat slightly to show off her arm muscles.
“I’m sure you can... but it wasn’t my decision. They won by a majority vote! And, to be honest, I don’t have beet seeds—they’re really hard to come by, and I don’t think they’re even in season…”
“Oh… I see. In that case, I guess I’ll just take the monthly All About Your Farm magazine.”
With that, the farmer left Pierre’s store, feeling a bit disheartened. She looked again at the note she had found at the train platform and headed to the Community Center in search of other things to do.
“Well, it’s not like I was promised any money,” Y/N whispered, shrugging her shoulders as she tried to cheer herself up to avoid feeling too disappointed. “Sorry, Mr. Qi, looks like we won’t be meeting anytime soon,” she concluded, speaking into the air, not knowing that, in fact, she was being listened to...