20 Machinery Task

After spending many days eavesdropping on the two's conversations, Lian finally heard what he wanted. They wished to cause trouble for Francisco! This was exactly what he was aiming for. Soon enough, he'd finally be able to cure the man of his emotional stupidity…

From the conversation, Rafael may have seemed like the only perpetrator. However, Lian could see through the bullshit. He couldn't help but praise the girl for her manipulative abilities.

Isabel's personality reminded him a lot of a documentary he watched online regarding psychopathic tendencies. The girl put on an innocent expression and tried twisting the story to make it seem like she was being forced to marry Francisco. She even secretly chuckled when hearing of Rafael's plans.

In reality, Lian knew that Isabel was just too selfish. She wanted both Rafael and her parents' acceptance. This may seem like an innocent intention, however, dragging down, manipulating, and potentially harming another individual for her own gain still made her a vile human being.

"Oh well, at least I won't feel bad if I end up ruining their lives…"

Content with finally advancing in his side-task, Lian decided to head back to the farm. Tomorrow would be the last day of his week-long task, and there was still much to do. Thinking back to the two's conversation, he made a mental note to stay in the farm for the next five days.

The following day, close to sun-down, Lian was in the midst of watering plants in a small field for his final sub-task. Though this job may seem easy, knowledge is still needed to execute it properly. For example, before seeds emerge, low volumes of water should be supplied frequently, followed by a lesser volume and frequency post-emergence, and finally a greater volume and lesser frequency closer to maturity.

As Lian watered the plants, he couldn't help but notice that quite a few of them hide bite marks, or seemed to be on the verge of death. This was also a common trait for many of the fields currently on the farm.

From his knowledge, this was definitely not a common occurrence; even with a slightly larger pest or insect count than normal in the soil. But, he would have to look more into this problem once his farming skill became more advanced, or once he found a lead.

Covered in sweat, Lian finally received a notification as he finished spraying water onto the field.

System: *Task "Multi-tasking Farmer" has been completed.*

System: *User has been rewarded with 600k farming exp.*

*System: Current experience to reach lvl 7: 607k/1m.*

System: *New Task ready to take on.*

"Sigh…I should be feeling happy…but even with a week-long task, I still can't level up."

"Oh well… at least my character exp's been progressing nicely… I should be able to level up my character before I leave the farm…"

Walking back to the orphan house, Lian dropped by the kitchen and grabbed a piece of bread. He took a big bite and then stored the rest.

*System: User has received a temporary stat boost for 1 hour: +0.1 to STR.*

Recently, he'd been doing this for most of his meals at the farm. Usually, he did it to gain some energy and speed up his task progress. However, this time, he was just hungry.

Over the past week, he noticed that despite the fact that status effects from healthy foods were unstackable, he only needed a small bite to gain a single one for an hour. Therefore, he'd always store some of the food he received to use for future scenarios. The system storage prevented spoilage and Lian didn't know when he'd next be able to stumble upon such fresh food.

"Finally, the first week's over…"

Upstairs, Lian quickly used the system to prepare for bed, then crashed in his room…

*Beep Bop Beep Bop Beep*

The alarm rang in his mind; signifying the start of the day and a new task to complete. Concerning Lian's duties, he was given a week to gain the trust of his fellow workers by assisting with the use of all forms of machinery in the farm.

Unfortunately, he couldn't convince anyone to let him join; even if he casually dropped Senor Pablo's name. This time, Lian needed actual written approval.

"It looks like I need to show off a bit… let's see how it goes…"

After changing and eating breakfast, Lian began walking towards the old man's house.

*Knock Knock*

Frail voice: "Coming!"

Once the door was opened, Lian saw an old lady with curly white hair, round glasses, grey pants, and a blue-striped white cotton sweater. The presence she gave off was similar to that of caring grandmother.

Lian: "Hello Ma'am! I'm wondering if Senor Pablo is still home at this time. I need his assistance with a small issue."

The old lady stared at Lian for a few seconds in investigative manner before she invited him in. As they walked towards the living room, she introduced herself as Senora Romina.

Senora Romina: "Young man, would you like some coffee?"

Lian: "No thank you! I just ate."

Senora Romina: "Suit yourself…"

She still went to the kitchen and came back with a cup of coffee and crackers which she placed on the table for Lian.

Senora Romina: "You're lucky that you came at this time. Pablo should be coming down any minute now."

Senor Romina: "So... Diego, right? Would you mind telling me what brought you here from the city to stay with us for a month? You don't have to tell me if it bothers you…"

Although Lian was shameless, he kind of felt bad cheating this old lady. However, he already came prepared with an excuse and it would be obviously idiotic to let anyone other than himself in on the system.

Lian: "Oh, no… I'm not bothered at all! I'm actually an agricultural science graduate from the Andalusia University, and I've finally decided to practice my knowledge of theory so that I can be able to run my own farm in the near future."

They continued their short chatter session until the sound of footsteps could be heard from the stairway close to the kitchen.

Senor Pablo: "Who came by today to bless our humble abode?"