novelraw Chapter 13: The Mysterious Scroll
Chapter 13: The Mysterious Scroll
Leon returned to the Community Center, heading straight for the vine-covered little hut. Crouching down at the entrance, he peered inside with curiosity.
He had been wondering for a long time what it looked like in there. Unfortunately, all he could see with the naked eye was pitch darkness.
Light seemed unable to pierce the blackness within. Leon hesitated for a moment but ultimately decided against sticking his hand inside.
The unknown was always tinged with fear. Who knew—if he recklessly reached in, would he end up like Yang Guo?
Strangely enough, being so close to the hut and still seeing none of those little creatures emerge made him think they simply didn’t want to meet him right now.
So Leon began wandering around the old Community Center, purposefully searching for anything special. But most of what he found were broken pieces of furniture and trash. Hardly anything remained intact.
In the game, the Community Center had a special tile to interact with, but reality didn’t. That made things tricky—this place was big, and with the poor lighting, finding what he wanted quickly was no easy task.
Just then, the little apple-like creature reappeared before him, waving its sprout-like arms as if greeting him. Then it bounced off toward a dilapidated room.
Leon hurried after it, and under its guidance, he finally spotted a scroll sitting on a dusty shelf.
He quickly grabbed it and unrolled it. The strange symbols inside made no sense to him, but he still breathed a sigh of relief—this proved the old Community Center really did have offerings.The little creature saw Leon open the scroll, bounced twice in place, and then vanished without a trace.
Leon didn’t dwell on it. With the scroll in hand, he was ready to leave.
But just as he opened the door, he noticed a figure outside pushing it open. Startled, the other person jumped back when Leon pulled it open first.
In the sunlight, Leon recognized her—it was the blonde girl he had seen earlier at the small park.
“It’s you?!” she exclaimed. “How did you unlock the Community Center door? Don’t tell me you’re a thief?”
“This dump? What’s worth stealing here?” Leon replied, exasperated. Then he introduced himself.
“My name’s Leon, the new farmer. Mayor Lewis brought me here for a tour. He’s the one who unlocked the door.”
“Oh, so you’re the new farmer. I’m Haley.” Hearing that, Haley relaxed and politely greeted him.
Leon nodded, then stepped outside. “What, you want to take a look inside?”
“No way, it’s too dirty,” Haley quickly shook her head.
“Then I’ll close it up.”
He shut the Community Center’s door and was about to leave when Haley spoke again.
“Lewis brought you here—does he want you to fix it up?”
“No, he just wanted me to see it. And restoring such a big place isn’t exactly easy. Best not to come here—there are mice. Anyway, I need to get back to the farm.”
Leon shook his head, clearly uninterested in chatting further. He had plenty to do.
Haley picked up on his dismissive tone and felt a flash of irritation. She had only come out of curiosity to see why this stranger was hanging around here. Now that she knew he was a farmer, she hadn’t even minded his profession—so why was he the one looking down on her?
Still, she didn’t stop him. After all, they had only just met. She pursed her lips, unable to think of a retort, then turned on her heel and left, fuming silently.
Leon watched her go, baffled by her reaction. He wasn’t about to try to figure her out—Haley seemed like trouble, and at this stage, he had no intention of getting involved.
Red Star Farm was still in shambles. Who had time for romance?
With that thought, he headed straight back to the farm. He needed to study the scroll.
Half an hour later, Leon arrived, a little out of breath. After a quick sip of water in the cabin, he spread the scroll out on the table.
The symbols were chaotic, but thanks to his knowledge of the game’s storyline, he could more or less guess their meaning. This scroll was important—it was a way to connect with one of Stardew Valley’s big figures.
After staring at it until his head started spinning, Leon gave up. He put it away and set the matter aside for now.
He turned to sorting through the day’s purchases and the items Lewis had sent over.
The mini fridge was already running, holding a steady subzero temperature. Leon put the vegetables and meat he had bought at Joja Mart inside—basic supplies for daily life.
He then neatly arranged the seasonings, and set up a simple kitchen set: soup pot, frying pan, chef’s knife, ceramic bowls. For now, cooking would have to be done outside.
Next, he checked the rest of Lewis’s gifts. Alongside the mini fridge, there were seeds, fertilizer, and a set of rain boots and raincoat, plus rubber gloves and rubber shoes—protective work gear.
Strangely, the System had no reaction to the work gear. But when he picked up the seeds and fertilizer, a notification appeared.
“Parsnip Seeds (Seeds): Plant in spring. Takes twelve days to mature. (In the game, one year has four months; in reality, it’s stretched to twelve.)”
“Basic Fertilizer (Fertilizer): Slightly improves soil quality, increasing the chance of growing high-quality crops. Can only be applied to tilled soil.”
Since these had been identified by the System, they could go into his System Tools inventory. But with only twelve slots in the backpack, most already full, Leon had to leave the seeds and fertilizer outside.