Chapter 68: Ten Thousand Potatoes

With the daily quest done ahead of time, Rino now had other things to do while potatoes were getting dug up. The first thing on his checklist was to turn in five hundred spuds and claim his daily sleep before the timer reset. More sleep was better than less sleep, and sleep hours did not expire in his wallet.

Walking to the fields, Rino was greeted by the sight of Fronzo looking like a very imposing farm manager. The lad deserved a raise. He should think of a good time to officially recognise Fronzo and bestow him a title like the dark lord he became. His subordinates were able to become stronger and undergo evolution in proportion to the strength of their bond with him. Fronzo definitely proved that he deserved this, and Rino would rely on him heavily in the future.

That much, he knew for sure. After all, there was a kingdom to build, and Rino could not possibly live on the farm forever. It would not be too long before he looked for a new location and expanded on what he had. When that happened, Rino needed someone reliable to manage this territory on his behalf.

Presently, there was no better candidate than Fronzo. The lad was humble, reliable, resourceful and loyal. It was still a mystery why he was buried in that grave, but Rino refused to dig up the past. Now that they had a new life, it was better to adapt to the lifestyle changes.

It was just sad how some people couldn't get used to the fact that they were no longer at the top of the food chain. Rino did not know a better hunter for the job, but the candidate he had was annoying to no end. You could fix a person's fashion sense with clothes and status with power. But you would never be able to change their character, even after death.

"My lord!" Fronzo hurried over when he spotted Rino approaching them. It has been two hours since they started and everyone was giving it their best. However, those potatoes buried too deeply needed more time to excavate.

"At ease," the lich told Fronzo when the farmhand stumbled in his step and almost fell into a huge hole.

If Rino still had facial muscles, he would be frowning now. Was there a giant mole in the fields? These holes were big enough to bury someone in. The neat trenches were also ruined, and the landscape looked more like the aftermath of a battlefield during a war.

"What happened here?" he gestured to the mini craters in the soil.

The undead teen looked slightly squirmish, and Rino sighed inwardly. Despite having so many redeeming qualities, Fronzo needed a little more courage and a tougher spine to speak up and stop being so afraid of everything. It would be incredibly hard for many of those from the lower social classes to step out of that servant mentality. Rino only learned about this when he was at the magician's tower, and he had to relearn his etiquettes after becoming a noble.

Smacking Fronzo's back to make him straighten, Rino used his other hand to hold that skull upwards.

"Stand straight and look people in the eyes when talking."

Embarrassed and feeling shy at the attention he was getting from the monarch in person, Fronzo did his best but still appeared stiff as he explained the ground situation. Rino's eyes followed Fronzo's fingers as his unofficial farm manager pointed to the shadows heaping at the side of the fields.

"All those are potatoes?" he asked in disbelief.

Mini-mountains were reaching up to his shoulder level and spanning more than his height. Two potato mountains already reached their peak, and the third was on its way.

"What are these boulders?" he asked as they walked over for a closer look. He knew that the potatoes they harvested from that experimental plant were huge. However, to see so many of these unearthly tuber tumours was a whole new experience, and he had a whole field of it.

Fronzo didn't answer as Rino went around with a fireball in one hand to light the place. The number of potatoes was astonishing, and Rino did not think it would be this many. Fronzo estimated that the yield of potatoes for an acre of farm would be almost ten thousand spuds, but he did not believe it until he saw just how many there were.

"Careful!" the fairy cautioned the goblins carrying the newest spud. It was too big for the little goblins to carry alone, so four of them worked together with the tiny fairy acting as a navigator through the portholes where potatoes were previously dug up.

Depending on perspective, this would be extremely amazing or disastrous. The fields did not look like they could ever grow anything again from how destroyed the landscape was. However, the harvest meant that Rino could expand his fields to at least five times the current size.

"Fronzo, how many potatoes would it take to replant five acres?"

The diligent farm manager paused. "My lord, I don't know how to count. But I think potatoes from a fifth of that growing pile would be more than sufficient."

Humming, Rino told him to set aside what they needed for replanting. He would offer the rest to the system and hold onto his GF credits until there was something good to buy from it.

Fronzo got to work immediately and wasn't expecting to see the two mountains of potatoes disappear when he turned around. His jaw slackened, and Rino praised the shadow slaves nonchalantly, ignoring how gobsmacked Fronzo was feeling at the moment.

"Keep up the good work, farm manager Fronzo."

At those words, the teen felt a huge surge of mana injected into him, and Rino watched as those simple words of recognition triggered an evolution. Weren't appointing ranks meant to be some sort of sacred and fancy ceremony?

Fronzo grew taller as everyone nearby watched, and even Rino was impressed by how fast children grew up. Now a proper adult with all 206 bones, Fronzo quickly got onto one knee in the middle of the field to give his gratitude for the evolution.

"Don't disappoint me," the monarch of solitude left those final words and returned to his farmhouse.

Ping!

He quickly checked the new notification. With his side quest completed, eight hours of sleep in his wallet and ten GF credits, Rino could not wait to tackle the next task.