4 First Harvest

It was just the beginning of the winter season. It was cold and harsh. And the worst has yet to come.

Hunting before the climate could turn for the worse was a survival mechanism for the hunters in the Stone-Head tribe.

In the extreme cold, below zero degrees Celsius, animals will become less active and hibernate. Before that happens, the hunters must gather enough food to survive the winter. And the best source of food they could procure was meat.

Grazing animals of all kinds eat and get fatter to survive the winter season, just like humans. And by hunting these animals, the Stone head tribe will have enough food to last the winter.

This was their way to survival. And the tribe was ready to hunt again.

Alex was also ready for the hunt too. He rested inside the camp, away from prying eyes like the loner he was. And it was almost dinner time now.

He is hungry enough to eat an elephant, yet he has to wait until the food is ready because the hunt is a ritual, and the hunters require hard work. The food would be lavish today. Or, at least, that is what the Mani said to him.

"Ding!" As informed, the bell rang from the centre of the camp.

It was dinner time. The sun has begun to set, shading the sky crimson red. It was a perfect view that he would have photographed if he had a smartphone. But how can Alex get a smartphone in this era?

He was a bit sad about it. Nonetheless, it might have been for the good. If he had a smartphone, he would have spent more time trying to photograph it instead of enjoying the view.

While enjoying the view, Alex walked towards the centre, expecting good food. But instead of food, he got a guy giving a long speech. The tribal chief of the Stone head tribe was standing near a large bonfire giving a lengthy address. He was wearing a crown made of wood and the teeth of fierce animals.

He talked about how great the tribe and hunters were and how noble it was to hunt for the people.

'Was he a politician?' Alex thought.

"...To provide for our tribe. Tomorrow, we show our strength in the face of this insufferable cold and prove the worthiness of our existence. We will beat the cold, we will triumph over our prey, and we will ensure the survival of our tribe…"

The chieftain said with certainty. The hunt can never be a failure, or the people depending on them back home would suffer the worst form of death.

Whatever it may be, a politician, a hero or mad man sending his people to death. You can look at the chieftain in any way you want. But Alex agreed with his conviction and his words. It was better to ensure survival, and it was better to contribute to ensuring survival.

Even though these people were uneducated by modern standards and had different core values than himself, Alex felt he could have a common ground with them.

After giving the long speech, the chief finally returned to his chair in the centre of the camp. Six people wearing different clothing rose from their seats just as the chieftain sat down. They walked towards the bonfire and stood in front of the tribe.

They were the six best hunters of the tribe. They each represented a team of hunters using different weapons.

Towards the left-most side, Mani could be seen holding a large sword made of thick bones. It looked more like a piercing than a cutting or a slicing weapon.

He was the leader of the swordsman of the stone head tribe. Near him were other people carrying spears, bows and arrows, hammers, axe, and shields. It was obvious from how they conducted that they were important people.

Seeing Mani among them made Alex reconsider how he treated him.

These towering figures stood in front of the bonfire for a moment without speaking a word. It quietened the atmosphere. Even the rowdy kids stopped talking. After gaining everyone's attention, they lifted their weapons in the air.

"FOR THE TRIBE…" They roared before smashing the weapons on the ground. It was a thunderous roar that awakened the primal instincts inside the audience. Even Alex felt his heart beating powerfully with each passing second.

"FOR THE TRIBE…" The audience roared with them. The passionate roars of young men filled the air even after everyone had left.

Alex, who was experienced in avoiding social situations, was eating barbecued meat seasoned with salt to satiate himself. After eating his fill, he left quietly to sleep.

Due to him eating bland meat. He added one more mission to his list. He needs to improve the cooking recipes in this world. He thought this meat was far too good to be eaten like this.

—--

'I have eaten enough. It is time to check on the interdimensional farm.' Alex entered the farm like a curious child with a twinkle in his eyes.

As he expected, the crops were ready to be harvested. He quickly pulled the sweet potato from the ground and sold them to the shop. It was essential to gain FP to buy more land and seeds rapidly. Only by doing so can he upgrade his farm, upgrade his inventory and even upgrade his stats. He may never come across tools in this world that he could buy from the shop.

His mission of making more FP was critical.

But Alex was saddened at the amount he got after the sale. He only had 150 FP left. 90 was the amount he spent on seeds, and he got a profit of 50, totalling 150 FP, considering the ten left over after buying the seeds.

'I have to manage my time more carefully. With this much profit, it would take years to buy more land. Without more land, I wouldn't yield enough, and it would take years to level up the farm. All my dreams of buying farm automation tools will be crushed.'

'I need better seeds to get better yield. This was a problem!' After saying that, Alex planted tomatoes which he bought for 15 FP each. Tomatoes can be harvested every half an hour once it was grown. This was a better plant for now. The investment of buying seeds every time to plant can be eliminated by this method.

Sixty game days make up a season, and four seasons a year. So, a year in the game is equivalent to 4 days in real life. This was good for Alex; he doesn't need to worry much about seasons.

After all, a day in real life is equal to a season. So, if he misses a season, he can plant after four days or sow seeds that can grow in overlapping seasons.

And tomatoes were like that. He could plant once and expect to harvest it from spring, summer and fall. Only in winter does he need to replace them and produce something else.

But if he can upgrade the farm, he will be able to grow crops in a greenhouse, and he will get more resistant tomato seeds.

So, after planting the tomato seeds, Alex exited the farm to take sleep. After 4 hours of sleep, the tomatoes will be ready for harvest.