You have entered a 'Folklore' Night Farm.]
The blue screen appeared before Zeth's eyes again, and he found himself in the same dread world. Pitch-black, starless skies and dry ground embraced by dense fog. A chilling temperature, and a gentle gust of wind that sent shivers through his skin.
A familiar set of rules appeared before Zeth once again, alongside a small holographic clock on the side. This time, he read each line carefully.
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You have been hired for the night shift to take care of the farm. The farm is spread across five acres of land. Your shift starts from 9:00 PM to 6:00 AM.
The farm owner has left some rules for you to follow:
1. Every 45 minutes, take a trip around the farm and make sure there are no animal attacks.
2. If rats attack, protect the crops and either kill them or scare them away.
3. Every 2 hours, turn on the motor and water the crops for exactly fifteen minutes.
4. Precisely at 1:00 AM, count the number of crops. It should match the number in the register. If any crop is missing, discard its name from the register. If you see more crops than listed, run away. Do not look back.
5. Between 2:00 AM and 4:00 AM, lock the cabin door and turn off the lantern. No matter what happens, do not open the cabin door. You are allowed to sleep during this time.
6. If you fail to follow any of these rules, you will face a penalty.
7. Zeth barely stopped his jaw from dropping after reading the long text on the screen that almost blocked his vision. A cold shiver ran from the back of his neck down his spine.
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'All I need is to satisfy these conditions, and I will clear the dominion.'
He looked back at the wooden cabin next to the giant dead tree, where a small lantern hung inside, emitting a warm yellow light. Zeth thought for a moment, checking the cabin and lantern against what he remembered from last time, not willing to make the same mistake again.
'Did everything reset again?'
He was alone. Though weak, this had its own set of advantages. Looking at the last remaining cloth on his body, the white pants were stained red with blood. He removed the pants and put them into his inventory alongside the goblin tooth necklace. As soon as he did, another familiar screen appeared before his eyes.
[Activation conditions met. Welcome to the job, Intern Necromancer.]
A surge of strength coursed through his muscles. Zeth felt his body suddenly become lighter and more flexible, and his senses sharpened. Still on guard, Zeth slowly opened the cabin. It was clean without a speck of dust or a single spiderweb, just like how Milo had cleaned it last time.
Zeth froze for a moment.
Why was the cabin clean?
If everything had reset, the cabin should have reset too. But if nothing had reset, then why was the lantern back inside the cabin? It should have been at the location of the last battle.
'Did Milo take the lantern back?'
There was no other explanation. Last time, Zeth didn't observe the cabin because Milo was cleaning, but now it was different. His eyes scanned every crack and nail of the wooden structure. There were barely any things of use.
A wooden bed built into the cabin, with white bedsheets that had turned yellow over time. A wooden chair with one of its legs slightly broken, causing it to tilt to the side. A table with an attached drawer, three sections in the drawer, and a brown register lying open on the desk.
After making sure there was no immediate danger, Zeth sat at the table and looked through the register.
Each page was divided into three columns, though there were no headings to identify them, so Zeth had to rely on the information alone.
On the left side were various names. A good number of them were struck through. The middle column was mostly empty, and the right column contained some sort of strange wording.
Growing. Ripe. Withered.
Zeth didn't understand exactly what it meant, but the words seemed related to crops. Perhaps something to do with the farm. The first few pages were barely legible due to faded writing on yellowish paper. The next few pages were filled with names that had been struck through, and the middle ones were the only pages that looked fresh.
He kept turning the pages, and even though he didn't recognize the names, he had a hunch they were villagers. He continued until he reached the last written page, almost in the middle of the register.
And what he read made his eyes widen.
'What the hell...'
At the top of the page was a familiar name.
Kane Lao.
He recognized it from the badge of the village secretary. The middle column was empty, and the right column contained a single word he had rarely seen before. Withered. While the whole row was cut by a single strike through.
But this was not what surprised Zeth.
What took him aback was the bottom of the list, where he read a very familiar name.
Zeth Astor.
It was his name.
In the middle column was written "Employee," and the third column read "witttered," with a single strikethrough across his name.
"What is that supposed to mean?" Zeth asked out loud.
He read it again, wondering if it was an entry for everyone who stepped into the dominion, but he couldn't find Milo. And why was his name the only one with something written in the middle column?
Looking at the clock, Zeth realized he didn't have much time left. It was already 9:30 PM.
The concept of time didn't make sense inside the dominion, and Zeth was not related to Einstein in the least, so he stopped trying to make sense of it.
Scanning the register again, Zeth found nothing useful. The only thing left was the drawers.
Zeth opened them one by one.
The first drawer was filled with multiple pictures. Zeth glanced through all of them... and every single one made him question the reality of the dominion.
Feeling the pressure of time, he quickly put the pictures back into the drawer and opened the second one.
The second drawer contained a lighter, a knife, and an ancient torch. Zeth's eyes lit up, and he quickly opened the third drawer.
Inside the last drawer was a simple yellowish letter.
"To whoever this may reach... You are..."
Zeth had only read the first two lines when another notification appeared on his screen.
[It's 9:45. Time to survey the farm.]