Farming Games are All About Grinding-Chapter 107: Preparing to Start the Combat Profession (2nd Update, Request for Subscription)

Chapter 107: Chapter 107: Preparing to Start the Combat Profession (2nd Update, Request for Subscription)

Until the fishing mini-game ended, Han Qiwu still hadn’t figured out its rhythm.

[Too bad, the ancient fish got away.]

There it is again, this "got away" nonsense!

Retracting his fishing rod, Han Qiwu baited the hook while pondering how to reel in this big fish.

Catching this big fish would be enough to feed the whole family.

Except for the Little Prince, who’s a vegetarian.

Little Prince: "So your ’whole family’ is just you and Little Shui?"

Given the current situation, Han Qiwu realized he’d need to expend a lot of bait to catch this type of fish, and figuring out its movement pattern was key.

Ideally, he’d encounter only this kind of fish for several turns, so other fish wouldn’t disrupt his attempts to observe its behavior.

"Splash—"

Beneath the seawater, the previously unnamed big fish swam lazily around four to five meters away from Han Qiwu, as if taunting him.

"Perfect timing!" Han Qiwu’s eyes lit up. He removed the bait and cast the empty hook near the big fish, preparing to "fake it till he made it."

The hook, as Han Qiwu intended, landed near the fish’s head. Just as he was about to adjust its position, the big fish flicked its tail, sending a wave of force that knocked the hook aside.

Confronted with an unbaited hook, the big fish reacted entirely differently—it showed no interest in biting at all.

Despite not taking the bait, the fish didn’t leave either. It just hovered lazily, meandering in place.

The fish could afford to loiter, but Han Qiwu certainly couldn’t—he still had a ton of tasks left to do today.

"Clearly, for a fish like this, it won’t bite without bait. What am I supposed to do, charm it into cooperation?" Han Qiwu muttered to himself as he baited the hook again and prepared for another round.

Half an hour later.

Han Qiwu packed up his fishing rod, turned on his heel with the eight pieces of bait left in his inventory, and walked off.

Game over.

Not even one big fish caught—and to make it worse, the fish’s evasion speed had kept increasing.

So this whole time, it had just been lulling him into complacency!

"Just wait till I have some free time—you’ll see if I won’t electrocute you!" Han Qiwu yelled bitterly at the water’s surface.

"Splash-splash!"

The fish taunted him again!

This had gone too far!

Forget it, no point getting mad at a future ingredient.

"Don’t underestimate a poor young man; fortunes can change, you fishy little punk!"

Leaving the redwood forest’s secret area, Han Qiwu calmly cast an empty hook near the shore to catch Little Shui’s food supply.

By 10:20 AM, Han Qiwu had caught 23 fish. With some experience under his belt, catching the regular fish outside was relatively easy now.

Once home, Han Qiwu quickly fed ten of the fish to Little Shui. While Little Shui ate, he headed to the kitchen to start cooking stir-fried leek and eggs following Shennong’s recipe.

Though he hadn’t consulted an almanac for good fortune, Han Qiwu decided to test the effects of a Level-5 combat route today—better to get a feel for it in advance to make an informed decision later.

The method for making stir-fried leek and eggs turned out to be quite simple, but Shennong’s recipe placed exceptional emphasis on the handling of the eggs. The dish had to strike a perfect balance—not too runny, not too firm—while the leeks had to be cooked thoroughly but still retain their original texture.

Currently, Han Qiwu had two large eggs at his disposal. According to the notes, each large egg could be used as the equivalent of two regular eggs, meaning he could prepare two portions of stir-fried leek and eggs.

Lacking experience, his first attempt only resulted in a dish of ordinary quality, with middling attributes:

[Stir-fried Leek with Large Eggs]

[Stamina: +0]

[HP: +80]

[Buff Effect: Combat level +3 for 6 hours]

[Note: Leeks can enhance a man’s combat prowess.]

"That’s a loss, considering I used wild leeks and large eggs at Silver Star quality," Han Qiwu muttered, setting the dish aside reluctantly as he dove into the kitchen for a second attempt.

From his star-gazing experience, he knew opportunities to preview profession abilities via dishes like these only came once a week, so it was important to use the best ingredients available.

Armed with that prior mistake, his second stir-fry finally reached Silver Star quality, with improved attributes to boot:

[Stir-fried Leek with Large Eggs (Silver Star Quality ☆)]

[Stamina: +0]

[HP: +100]

[Buff Effect: Combat level +4 for 3 hours]

[Note: Boldly tell me—three hours, is that enough?!]

Looking at the upgraded dish properties, Han Qiwu was pleasantly surprised.

Was the improved effect a tradeoff, reducing buff duration for a higher combat level increase?

Coincidence or intentional design?

Better jot it down and analyze it later.

Given today’s jam-packed schedule, the dish’s updated effects were just right. Since he didn’t have much time allocated for the mines, raising his combat level a bit more would be better.

Equipping a Silver Star torch and some grape grenades, Han Qiwu checked on Little Shui’s satiety level.

Alright, ten fish didn’t go to waste—its satiety had finally topped 80 points.

A well-fed Little Shui dozed off again, clutching its paws adorably to its face.

"Eat, sleep, repeat... Isn’t that supposed to be Second Brother Pig’s life mantra?" Han Qiwu chuckled helplessly.

"Go ahead and sleep more—grow fast so you can help out around the house."

Taking care of an otter wasn’t easy.

Han Qiwu estimated that until Little Shui grew up, he’d need to spend at least an hour of each day preparing its meals.

One step at a time.

Before leaving, Han Qiwu once again dabbed some clay onto the [Strange Egg] and placed it on the sycamore tree to bask in the sunlight.

Time to head out—to the mines.

Reaching the mine’s entrance, Han Qiwu decided first to check the bounty board at the Prospector Guild nearby.

He was already down at the 35th floor—surely there’d be new tasks by now.

Walking into the guild, he found it unusually empty—no sign of Egger, and the place was eerily quiet.

Han Qiwu didn’t mind, heading straight toward the wall on the side.

[Prospector Guild Bounty Board]: Rewards issued based on the number of monsters eliminated.

[Bounty: Disgusting Bugs]

[Stink Bugs, Blocker Bugs: 36/200]

[Task Rewards: One bottle of insecticide + crafting recipe]

―――――

[Bounty: Undying Slimes]

[Green Slimes: 24/500]

[??? Slimes: 0/500]

[...]

[Task Rewards: Slime Slayer’s Ring]

―――――

[Bounty: Enemy of Rats]

[Mine Rats: 18/100]

[Task Rewards 1: One dose of rat poison + crafting recipe]

[Task Rewards 2: Beginner’s Slingshot]

―――――

[Bounty: Teach the Spiders a Lesson]

[Mine Spiders: 1/10]

[Task Rewards: One nest of Bug-Catching Spiders]

"Accept this bounty?"

"Yes."

Han Qiwu first accepted the new spider bounty. The reward for catching a spider nest seemed intriguing to him.

[A nest of Bug-Catching Spiders]? What’s he supposed to do with that, bring it home to hunt mosquitoes?

As for the other tasks, there was still a ways to go before completing them—no use rushing.

After accepting the bounty, Han Qiwu took the cable car down to the 35th floor.

Time to get to work!

Combat profession, here I come!