14 Potential Side-Task

As Catalina was a very diligent worker, she came back to the farm at 6am by car in order to continue taking inventory. She was in her early 30's and lived alone, so she didn't need to have any other commitments.

Walking past some fields, she noticed a lone worker pulling some weeds in a field of radishes. Once she focused her eyes a bit more, she managed to identify the man.

She happened to bump into him yesterday morning but although his looks were slightly above average, most likely, Catalina would have completely forgotten about him.

However, when she was working in the storage facility area, she managed to overhear a conversation that changed her opinion of him. The man's name was Diego and he came from the city to work here for a brief period of time.

For some bizarre reason, Catalina became more interested once she heard that he was from the city. Maybe it was her own bias, but she just couldn't find men who lived in farms attractive.

Instead, as she wasn't interested in relationships, once in a while, she would just casually mess with a handsome man from the city. Catalina had money and looks, therefore, it was more due to her adventurous personality than any other form of motives that she did so.

Being from the city, although there were still certain cultures and religions that dictated that one should technically be celibate before marriage, it was common in the current generation for women to be more open with men.

Seeing Diego working so meticulously with all forms of distractions aside, she happened to find him more attractive. Continuing to walk towards her destination, she couldn't help but consider maybe trying to hook up with him…

Lian was drenched with sweat. Besides short breaks, he was hard at work in order to make the deadline for the task. Sighing, he pulled another weed before deciding to take a short break.

*System: User has gained 1 exp point in: Farming.*

*System: Current experience to reach lvl 5: 14571/100k.*

"Two hours left, and only 453 crops to go…"

A few hours ago, Antonio asked him about what he was doing so late on his way back. Since Lian already prepared his excuse, he was able to get rid of most suspicion.

Similarly, at around 4am, he heard the footsteps of someone running and just barely managed to catch the shadow of a person carrying what looked to be a bag. It was definitely suspicious, but since it was too late to investigate, he kept it in the back of his mind and focused on finishing his task.

Lian also noticed Catalina walking by a few minutes ago and looking at him strangely before walking away. He may not be an expert with women but he knew what that gaze meant.

"Thankfully she's looking more lustful, which indicates that she's not looking for a relationship. Otherwise, my lack of empathy may have lead to an awkward situation if I were to approach her."

"Either way, I'll definitely make sure to briefly get in contact with her once all my tasks are over…"

Acknowledging his hopelessly shameless mentality towards women, he shook his head.

"I don't know why, but I've always been so wishy-washy with my morals…"

Most people would cultivate a certain character after their teens. By then, they would develop their morals and learn how to carry out their lives for the most part. Even psychopaths and manipulators tended to have some form of moral code; albeit it being incomprehensible.

However, despite Lian's efforts, except for having a bottom line in certain specific situations and being a very petty and shameless person for the most part, he had a malleable character and could change his viewpoints very easily.

Thankfully, even though he had this "curse", his ability to see through bullshit prevented him from being swayed or manipulated by others. Instead, other than a lack of identity, it provided him with the benefit of being self-aware and learning from his experiences more easily.

In the past, he'd made many wrong decisions. But, he learned from them. This is normal, as Lian wasn't some person with a cookie cutter personality like those found in novels.

With the system, his self-growth would be even more noticeable and he would be able to slowly but surely evolve as an individual through his experiences.

Focusing back on the task, he stretched then went back to work. After another hour, he finally received the long-awaited notification.

System: *Task "Solve the Weed Problem" has been completed.*

System: *User has been rewarded with 75k farming exp.*

*System: Current experience to reach lvl 6: 90024/100k.*

System: *New Task ready to take on.*

Pleased, Lian looked through his status window.

"Nice! Unfortunately, I couldn't level after this task…but I'm only a hair's breadth away."

Lian also noticed that his character exp increased by a larger margin than usual.

"It looks like I need to take on more tasks if I want to level my character. However, everything is advancing nicely…all in a day's work!"

He could finally take a short break. It was only 7am so he could nap, eat, or just lie down to recover from the stress put on his body over the past day.

On his way back, he looked through the new task. The requirements were basically to take part in regular farming tasks for a week. This includes helping with livestock, sowing seeds, and loading the trucks.

Although the time period was longer, it would also reward him with much more exp and with a more flexible schedule.

Finally arriving at the orphan house, he greeted one of his housemates then proceeded to walk towards the stairs.

Coincidentally, Francisco just came up from the basement and happened to walk by. He purposefully bumped into Lian shoulder's while continuing to walk towards to the kitchen.

Lian rolled his eyes.

"What the fuck? Are the heavens trying to start some shitty conflict like I predicted? This kid is much older than me but he acts like a child. I better cut this off before it becomes a pain in the ass."

"But…it could lead to a side-task so I'll make sure to teach him a lesson then investigate as soon as possible..."

Making this conclusion, Lian walked upstairs for a quick 1 hour power-nap in preparation for the task ahead. While setting the alarm, he also made sure to adjust the volume this time.