Chapter 3: The Cheat Key from the Future

TL: A_Passing_Wanderer

ED: Chrissy

"Lord Spirit Chief. Did you sleep well, sir?"

"Yes, I have. Did you also have a good night, Upright Tree?"

"Of course. You must be hungry, so I'll quickly bring you your breakfast."

"Thank you. I'll be in your care today as well."

With that exchange, Upright Tree went outside the door and disappeared from the view.

'The temperature is finally climbing up,' Kim Gi-Wu thought.

It had been around eight months since he arrived in this place.

Autumn and Winter had already passed by, and now, Spring was here to let the new buds bloom.

In the meantime, Kim Gi-Wu made sure to learn the language used by the people of Creek, the village he now called home. Trying to master an unfamiliar language in a relatively short period ate up almost all of his free time.

'However, isn't that kinda weird?'

There were no 'regular' names in this tribe.

The villagers only earned their names after reaching a certain age. One's name was based on distinguishing features of said individual. Because of the high mortality rate among the young, people here didn't try to name their children.

To put it simply, having a name was akin to commemorating your survival.

Upright Tree was named because he possessed an upright character, just like a tree. Besides that name, Kim Gi-Wu also encountered Pristine Lake, Black Mud, and Wide Leaf. What a refreshing take in naming convention this was.

As for Kim Gi-Wu himself, the villagers called him either Wakantanga, which meant the Divine Spirit, or the more conventional Spirit Chief.

'I should get started for real now.'

Kim Gi-Wu got to learn quite a lot of new information during the past few months. He hadn't tried to do anything in particular with the info simply because mastering the language took precedence above all else. But now it was Spring, and the time to act had arrived, in other words.

The biggest achievement he managed to score until now was figuring out the exact location of where the hell this place was.

As it turned out, the village was located near the Chattahoochee River in Alabama.

The lowlands found near the center of North America, the famed Cotton Belt – in other words, this grassy plain was one of the production hubs for raw cotton.

As for how he found all these things out?

All thanks to the world map tucked safely away in his bag, of course.

Although he could only pack a single large map due to the volume restriction, he still made sure to cram it with as much varied information as possible.

The map contained a fairly detailed description of where vital natural resources like iron ore, coal, crude oil, and a few others could be found around the world. Plus, it even accurately detailed which river was connected to where.

By comparing the map and the actual terrain, he finally got to confirm his current location.

'This location isn't that bad, really.'

No, in all honesty, it was a very good location to end up in.

Alabama boasted one of the top steelwork-related industries in the USA back in the original timeline. That was all thanks to the massive deposits of ores, coals and limestone liberally found near Birmingham, a city near the south of the Appalachian mountain range.

'And all of them are necessary natural resources to advance the human civilization.'

Not only that, but grassy plains suitable for food crop production were all around this place, so there was no point in debating the pros and cons any further.

When one thought about it for a moment, North America seemed like a truly blessed land. Countless many rivers flowed through this land like blood vessels of a person, for instance. Which meant that water transportation using all those rivers could be developed rapidly.

This land had wide expanses of grassy plains which were perfect for food production. Meanwhile, there was an overabundance of minerals and ores waiting to be mined, too.

Indeed, it was not for nothing that the United States of America became the global superpower.

In a way, this turn of events seemed rather ironic. An untested, imperfect time machine could be developed thanks largely to America, allowing humanity to take a gamble for its future survival.

But here was Kim Gi-Wu, planning to change the history of that very America from the ground-up. If he succeeds in this task, then...

America would no longer be a melting pot of different races where Caucasians made up the majority of the population, but a nation belonging to the people indigenous to the American continent itself.

"Please enjoy your meal, Lord Spirit Chief."

While Kim Gi-Wu was thinking about this and that, Upright Tree brought his breakfast.

Food was acquired through hunting and gathering. As such... it tasted really bad.

Which wasn't all that surprising, really. Such basic food would never satisfy Kim Gi-Wu's palate when he'd been enjoying a variety of modern cuisine throughout his life.

However, he still made sure to eat all of the provided food without frowning once. Because he knew that this was already a considerable privilege.

Other villagers had to subsist on much worse food than this. Food shortage was a constant factor in this place, after all.

'But I can solve that within a few years.'

No, wait. It'd be more accurate to say that this problem was already resolved to some degree.

Within his bag were a handful of special objects that held quite a lot of significance.

'All the hatched chicks are growing up at a rapid rate, after all.'

He was carrying five fertilized eggs in his bag when traveling back to the past. The space was already at a premium, so five chicken eggs taking up so much of it seemed like a waste, but now that he looked back, they had made the right call.

Especially when North America in this time period basically had zero livestock. With the eggs he brought with him, he'd be able to raise chickens in this land now.

Five chicks hatched from the eggs quickly matured into adult birds to lay even more eggs. More chicks hatched from those eggs in turn, and as a result, the village now boasted quite a sizeable chicken population.

Not too long from now, the villagers would get to experience the wondrous taste of chicken meat for themselves.

'Not just any chickens, but ones improved through modern selective breeding methods, too!'

Right now, the villagers were dissatisfied with this matter regarding the chickens. Their discontent was being forcibly suppressed since the Divine Spirit AKA the Spirit Chief was involved. However, once the situation stabilized enough for the village's populace to eat chicken meat without a worry, their dissatisfied glares should experience a swift 180 degrees in attitude.

Even now, the tribesmen were having a hard time understanding the concept of the livestock system. They thought that it was too illogical to waste their precious food feeding some animals they could easily hunt instead.

Still, it seemed that they did look on reverentially when Kim Gi-Wu was 'giving life' to unknown creatures.

Since that's the case, it was only reasonable that he should do his utmost best to increase the number of the chicken, now wasn't it?!

Kim Gi-Wu finished the meal and slung the bag on his shoulder. As per his schedule, his steps led him to a patch of land currently being cultivated by the villagers in a rather primitive manner.

No matter where he went, Upright Tree would always accompany him, too. Today was no exception. However, there was still one difference this time, and that would be ten other villagers following along Upright Tree.

Womenfolk were normally tasked with farming in this village, but Kim Gi-Wu only brought men along. Men's physical strength was needed if Kim Gi-Wu's farming methods were to be implemented successfully.

Once this society becomes agriculture-centric, men would make up the majority of farmers, Kim Gi-Wu thought to himself.

"Everyone, do you know why I came here today?"

"Spirit Chief, wasn't it to start farming?"

Upright Tree's response and expression implied that Kim Gi-Wu asked about something too obvious just now.

Kim Gi-Wu ignored that for now and stared at the vast plain with the Chattahoochee River flowing through it.

He smirked deeply. "Yes, it is to farm. But what I'm about to do will change our lives forever."

"Our lives, you say?" Upright Tree replied, his eyes sparkling away.

This kid was considerably smart. So smart that, for a dude living in the Neolithic Age, his mind seemed to be ready to accept all possibilities.

Even when other villagers weren't too happy about the livestock, Upright Tree still managed to imagine to some extent the kind of impact the chickens might bring to his village in the near future.

For a man living in an age like this one, he should be commended for thinking that far ahead.

"Is it because of this thing called a hoe, Spirit Chief?"

"Ah, that. Yeah, that's a part of it, but what I'm talking about right now isn't that."

Ten or so hoes were manufactured with much hardship during the past winter. These alone should make farming so much easier, even though things like plows couldn't be utilized due to the lack of cows or horses.

And the lack of steel meant that the hoes had to be made solely out of wood, too. Whenever Kim Gi-Wu looked at the finished hoes, he kept telling himself that they needed to start refining iron as soon as possible.

"What are you talking about then, Spirit Chief?"

"It's this thing." Kim Gi-Wu replied while holding up a canister taken out of his bag.

"What is it?"

"I wonder if you've ever heard about it before. It's the seeds improved through the selective breeding process."

"Seeds...?"

This weighty feeling traveled up through Kim Gi-Wu's forearm. Anyone in his shoes would have felt the same sort of... deep affection towards this object right now.

"Heheheh..." Kim Gi-Wu's lips began producing a rather ominous-sounding cackle just then. "This... will change the world."

He muttered that quietly. Unsurprisingly, the sound waves dissipated within the air pretty quickly as if someone was erasing everything. But the aftertastes left behind lingered around in his mouth for a while.

*

A total of ten candidates were chosen to travel back to the past. And before they recklessly climbed into the time machine, each candidate was given a bag.

The weight of the contents and the types differed from person to person, depending on their body weight. This was due to the odds of the successful time travel decreasing precipitously with the gradual increase in weight.

One commonality they all shared, though, was the complete lack of any and all types of electronic devices, as they couldn't risk electromagnetic interference messing up the time travel.

Thanks to Kim Gi-Wu's weight being only around 62 kilograms, he was able to pack his bag with quite a lot of stuff.

Five of the candidates chose to pack a small handgun and a few dozen rounds. But the other five, including Kim Gi-Wu, decided not to include a single modern weapon in their bags.

Instead of weapons, they chose to bring miscellaneous items – items with mighty potential that could rapidly advance the human civilization. As long as they could reach the past safely, of course.

For instance, chicken eggs. Various grain and seeds of edible plants improved through modern selective breeding techniques. Modern maps. Even blueprints of several revolutionary items...

It was already difficult to bring them all with you, so why would anyone choose pistols and bullets in their stead?

And right at this moment, Kim Gi-Wu knew for sure that he made the correct choice back then.

"Hehehehe."

Cackles continued to leak out of his lips despite his best efforts. Kim Gi-Wu was fully aware of how insidious his cackles sounded, and that's why he tried so hard to suppress it but was failing miserably at the moment.

"A-are we finally going to start harvesting today, Spirit Chief?" Upright Tree asked that in a trembling voice. It was easy to figure out what his current thoughts were simply from his voice.

But that was understandable. Spring went past, followed by Summer, and now it was Autumn. And through all the changes in seasons, Upright Tree had to continuously stare at the crops tantalizingly ripening under the sun. Crops that were in another realm compared to what they had before.

"Correct. Today, we harvest the wheat."

That's right, wheat! Europeans hadn't even arrived in North America yet, but to think that wheat could be harvested already!

This new, refreshing emotion washed over Kim Gi-Wu while thinking that to himself.

But he knew that this was merely the beginning. From maize, cotton, rice, sweet potatoes, and even barley, etc, etc...

Besides those, various other crops would be harvested one by one. Not just any crops, but those improved by modern science to yield thicker, larger grains, too.

In the near future, various modern crops would spread throughout the North American continent. And the starting point would be Kim Gi-Wu's farmlands.

"However, temper your expectations, Upright Tree."

"I'm sorry?"

"I understand that you wish to taste those things. However, other than a portion reserved for feeding the chickens, the rest must be preserved for the time being. They will serve as the seeds for the next batch. Understand what I mean?"

"...I shall explain it during the next meeting, Spirit Chief."

"As I thought, Upright Tree knows what I'm thinking the best out of everyone."

"Ehehe, thank you, Spirit Chief."

As mentioned earlier, the food was always in short supply. It didn't take a genius to guess that the number of villagers wanting to consume the newly harvested wheat would be quite high. But the wheat had to be used as the seeds for the next batch of crops, so...

So, it was unfortunate but they had to be stopped no matter what.

Upright Tree scratched the back of his head while looking a bit bashful. But that caused a ton of dandruff to fall to the ground.

Kim Gi-Wu silently stared at that spectacle and thought briefly to himself.

'I better manufacture some soap ASAP.'

Of course, that would be quite sometime later in the future.

*

It was as predicted.

As soon as the wheat was harvested, the villagers rushed in like a bunch of hungry ghouls seeing meat for the first time.

But Kim Gi-Wu, Upright Tree, and the followers that had grown in number during the past seasons vehemently opposed it. Thanks to their combined efforts, most of the seeds were saved from entering the villagers' mouths.

In a few years, the agriculture of the village should have developed enough to become self-sufficient. Hardy crops like potatoes and sweet potatoes would play a major role in achieving that result. By then, the number of chickens should also have exploded exponentially, allowing the villagers to gorge themselves on boiled eggs if that's what they wanted.

The modern seeds Kim Gi-Wu brought from the future weren't all that many, resulting in a comparatively little crop to be harvested in the first year. But that made the harvesting that much easier. He felt this sense of fulfillment while staring at the harvested grain even though he couldn't eat them just yet.

However, he wasn't thinking only about the food supply at the moment. As a matter of fact, he was currently 'fondling' a certain something with one hand and this was something that he'd been paying the utmost attention to lately.

< 3. The Cheat Key from the Future > Fin.