Ryo didn't want to open his eyes.
That was the first decision of the day.
A good one.
A consistent one.
A safe one.
Unfortunately—
THUMP—
The ground made the decision for him.
"…I was resting."
thmp… thmp…
The fragment echoed, slightly delayed.
The field reacted instantly.
rustle—shff—crrk—
Ryo opened one eye.
"…Still here."
He opened the other.
"…Still worse."
The sky was clear.
The air was calm.
The farm was not.
Nothing about the farm had been calm for a while.
Not since the anomaly.
Not since the fragment.
Not since everything started working too well.
He slowly sat up, stretching just enough to count as movement.
"…Minimal effort."
Behind him, the original zone continued operating at peak efficiency.
Perfect cycles.
Perfect growth.
Perfect harvesting.
plop… rustle… shuffle…
To his left, the expansion zone—newly linked—was stabilizing.
Less efficient.
But improving.
Learning.
Adapting.
Copying.
To his right—
The problem.
THUMP
"…Still aggressive."
Status Check
Name: Ryo
Level: 7
Farm State: Active Instability
Zones: 3 (Primary / Expansion / Containment)
Control Load: High
New Function: Pending Unlock
"…Three zones."
"…That's too many."
The system flickered faintly, as if reacting to his resistance.
System Prompt
Condition Met: Multi-Zone Interaction
Recommendation: Synchronize Control
"…No."
"…We don't synchronize."
"…We isolate."
THUMP—
The anomaly pulsed harder.
The fragment followed.
thmp—
The expansion zone reacted slower than the primary.
A delay.
Small.
But noticeable.
"…That's bad."
The adventurer approached quietly.
"…You feel it too."
"…I don't feel. I observe."
"…Then observe this—your zones aren't aligned."
"…They're working."
"…They're conflicting."
Silence.
crrk…
A section of soil near the boundary cracked slightly.
Ryo stared at it.
"…That's new."
Kiro arrived shortly after.
Of course he did.
"…Good morning."
"…No."
"…That sounds like instability."
"…That is instability."
Kiro looked pleased.
"…That means growth."
"…That means problem."
"…Same thing."
Ryo exhaled slowly.
"…System."
Skill Tree Updated
New Skill Unlocked: Field Link I
Effect:
Synchronizes multiple zones Reduces delay Increases overall load
"…Load again."
"…Everything increases load."
The anomaly pulsed again.
Stronger.
The fragment responded.
The expansion zone lagged.
Again.
This time longer.
"…Fine."
He stood.
Slowly.
Reluctantly.
"…We try it."
Skill Activated: Field Link I
The moment it triggered—
Everything changed.
The field didn't just react.
It aligned.
RUSTLE—
All zones moved together.
Simultaneously.
Perfectly.
The delay disappeared.
The response sharpened.
The anomaly pushed—
The field answered instantly.
THMP—CRRK—SHFF—
"…Oh."
"…That's efficient."
Kiro's eyes lit up.
"…That's scalable."
"…Stop saying that."
The adventurer frowned.
"…That's dangerous."
"…Also correct."
Ryo sat back down.
"…We maintain this."