Chapter 17: The Hidden Garden
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Geo’s Home Garden
- Level: 15 13/75
- Garden Area: 1,000/800,000
- Skills: Wall Creation | Barrier Generation | Guardian Summoning | Garden Concealment
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〈Level Up!〉
〈Derived from Wall Creation, learned Barrier Generation〉
〈Learned new skill: Garden Concealment〉
〈New crops can now be cultivated〉
With the ability to obtain healing potions cheaply, adventuring became far more efficient. Sena’s returns from expeditions now included much larger quantities and higher-quality magic stones. Thanks to this surge in resources, the garden had grown rapidly, reaching Level 15 in a short span of time and evolving to a new stage.
“Barrier Generation? So that’s an upgraded version of Wall Creation? But… how is it different from a regular wall?”
〈Do you want to generate a barrier?〉
I decided to try it out, just to see.
Zugogogogogo!
“Huh?”
The wall that had surrounded the garden, which had only reached about two meters in height before, suddenly erupted into a massive structure over five meters tall. Thick, imposing, it loomed over the property like a fortress.
“W-wait… is this a fortress?!”
It was no exaggeration—this was essentially a small stronghold. A modest home being encased in such a wall would strike anyone as absurd.
“R-revert it back to normal!”
Fortunately, the skill allowed for reversal. I hastily called it back, and the wall shrank to its original size.
“This skill… doesn’t seem particularly useful…”
I mused. Who would need a skill like this? The potential situations it was designed for seemed… improbable. Shrugging off the thought, I moved on to test the newly acquired skill: Garden Concealment.
〈Do you want to conceal the garden?〉
“Yes.”
“…Huh? Nothing’s changed?”
The garden looked exactly the same as before.
“Whaaaaat!?”
I tilted my head in confusion when a loud scream echoed from outside—Sena’s voice. She had apparently returned from an expedition.
“Where’s the house!? Where did it go!?”
“Welcome back, Sena. What’s wrong? Making a scene in front of the house might bother the neighbors.”
“Onii-chan!? Where did you come from!? Where’s the house!?”
“Eh? What are you talking about?”
Sena was pointing and yelling at the spot where our house stood. I glanced over.
“The house is right here, isn’t it?”
“What are you saying, Onii-chan!? It’s just an empty lot!”
“An empty lot? What are you talking about?”
And then it clicked. Of course—this was the effect of the skill I had just tested.
I could still see the house, but Sena couldn’t—because this was my personal gift. If I couldn’t see it either, it would be far too inconvenient.
“The house is still here. Look.”
I grabbed Sena’s arm and led her through the gate. Her eyes widened, and she gasped.
“Ah!? The house! How… how is this possible!?”
I explained that I had been testing a newly learned skill.
“Oh… you had me scared for a moment! I thought we’d have to sleep outside!”
Sena let out a relieved sigh.
“I even had something I wanted to ask you, but I got so startled I completely forgot. What was it again?”
“Don’t ask me.”
Still, it seemed like this skill would be difficult to use in practice. Making the house disappear suddenly would certainly alarm the neighbors.
“Deactivate concealment.”
〈Concealment deactivated〉
Between the barrier, the guardians, and now this concealment skill, the garden had become remarkably fortified.
Next, I checked the new crops I could now cultivate:
- Wheat — High Quality
- Barley — High Quality
- Rice — High Quality
- Potato — High Quality
- Carrot — High Quality
- Onion — High Quality
- Tomato — High Quality
- Eggplant — High Quality
- Pumpkin — High Quality
- Garlic — High Quality
- Chinese cabbage — High Quality
- Lettuce — High Quality
- Cucumber — High Quality
- Turnip — High Quality
- Bell pepper — High Quality
- Monster Egg — Small
“Wow… I can grow high-quality vegetables now!”
The first fifteen were the same as before—wait, that’s sixteen…?
“Monster Egg—?”
◇ ◇ ◇
“F-finally… done…”
Merlin exhaled heavily in front of the completed potion.
“Wow… I’ve never seen a potion of this color before!”
“Yes…”
Denis, her assistant, let out a tone of awe, and Merlin nodded in agreement.
The potion shimmered with a deep icy-blue hue. Unlike the familiar blue of healing potions, this color made it feel as if a chill was creeping into your body just by looking at it.
“An Icecold Potion made from Chillgrass… once ingested, it cools the body and grants strong resistance to fire and heat…”
“Chillgrass? That’s the one Geo brought, right?”
“Yes… it’s rare… said to only grow in extremely frigid regions…”
“Wh-why does Geo even have something like that?”
“I have no idea… there aren’t any dungeons like that nearby…”
Anyway, the potion was complete, but its effects needed to be tested. Merlin prepared to be the test subject, lifting the potion to his lips.
“W-wait, Merlin, you’re going to drink it?”
“Yes… I have to confirm it myself…”
“Isn’t that the assistant’s job?! It’s a cooling potion, right? What if you catch a cold?”
“It’s fine… if I get sick, Denis will take care of me… wipe my sweat, change my clothes, feed me… heheh…”
“Stop laughing like that, it’s disgusting!”
At that moment, the shop doorbell rang, signaling a visitor.
“W-welcome! Ah… Shifa-san.”
“Hello, Denis. I have some questions about the healing potions I bought the other day…”
It was Shifa, a valued adventurer customer.
“…Just in time…”
“Merlin?”
“…This potion… I’ll give it to you as a sample…”