novelraw Chapter 2: When the Game Becomes Reality
Chapter 2: When the Game Becomes Reality
“Sweet dreams. Oh, by the way, Pelican Town isn’t far from your farm. Just keep heading east along the road we came on, and you’ll reach the town. Pierre’s family runs a general store there. Since you’ve arrived, the folks in Pelican Town are quite curious about you. Make sure to head into town and meet some new friends.”
Lewis smiled as he reminded Leon.
Leon nodded in acknowledgment. Only then did Lewis pat him on the shoulder and leave the small cabin.
Once Lewis was gone, Leon didn’t rush outside to inspect the farm that was now his. Instead, he opened up his system panel.
Name: Leon
Farm: Red Star Farm (Activated)
Favorite Thing: CN
Farming: 0
Foraging: 0
Mining: 0Combat: 0
Fishing: 0
Special Skills: None
Inventory: Axe · Pickaxe · Watering Can · Scythe · Hoe (5/12 Upgradable)
It was a simple, straightforward interface, yet Leon felt an overwhelming sense of familiarity. This was the exact character panel from the game Stardew Valley.
Back when that dump truck had “delivered” him into this world, Leon had already noticed some oddities. His workplace was called the Joja Corporation. His city was named Zuzu City. His country was the Fanjier Republic, currently at war with the Gotro Empire. And most people here worshiped a deity called Yoba.
At first, Leon simply felt the world’s setup was oddly familiar. Then he found a letter from his “grandfather” on his work desk. When he saw the name of the farm he had once chosen himself, he finally realized why everything felt so familiar.
Because this was the world of Stardew Valley—a game advertised as a relaxing, free-form farming sim, but in truth one where you’d willingly work a grueling 6-2-7 schedule for your crops.
This system panel had also appeared when he found that envelope. Back then, it had been stuck in an “Inactive” state. Only after signing the transfer contract with Lewis, the mayor of Pelican Town, had it finally unlocked.
That was why Leon had come straight to Stardew Valley to inherit his “grandfather’s” farm. Partly for the system, partly for his own future.
After all, working a nine-to-five? Not a chance. With his own farm, he could produce and sell directly—why waste his life working for someone else?
And as a veteran player of Stardew Valley, Leon wasn’t worried about making money. He knew all the tricks. If he didn’t end up rich, it’d be an insult to the heavens.
Now that the system was fully functional, it was time to start his farming life.
First, he needed to find his newbie bonus: fifteen parsnip seeds. A plant related to celery, with umbrella-shaped roots—basically a cousin to the common carrot.
But after rummaging through the small cabin for quite a while, Leon realized in despair that there were no such seeds to be found. He searched again just to be sure, but still came up empty-handed.
That was when it hit him: the game was the game, reality was reality. When the game crossed into the real world, many of the “givens” he was used to had changed quietly, without warning.
Still, Leon’s enthusiasm wasn’t dampened. So what if he didn’t get free seeds? He could just buy them. Before leaving Joja, he’d collected his monthly salary—two thousand. Compared to the five hundred gold you started with in the game, this was more than enough as startup capital.
But what interested him more now was the set of tools the system had given him. How exactly did they work here?
After all, farming in the real world was both physically demanding and skill-intensive. Leon had grown up in the countryside, but his family had moved to the city when times improved, and he’d never really participated in farm work.
Stepping outside, Leon saw the farm choked with weeds, stones, and fallen branches. With a thought, a silver scythe materialized in his hands.
He gave it a test swing. It was surprisingly light. Then he swept it toward the weeds in front of him. Instantly, every blade of grass in the scythe’s arc vanished.
“This is amazing.”
Leon was thrilled. If he’d had a scythe like this as a kid, not a single canola flower within five miles would’ve been safe.
This discovery convinced him his farming life would be much easier. He decided to clear the land in front of the cabin first.
Each swing wiped the ground clean, leaving only rocks and scattered tree trunks. Soon, a large patch was cleared. Leon was breathing heavily—not because he had to physically cut the weeds, but because constant swinging still took effort.
It was the classic modern youth problem—unless you were in certain professions, most people’s health was only “subpar” at best.
As he paused to catch his breath, Leon noticed something interesting in the cleared area. Beneath the weeds, along with the bare soil and stones, there were three kinds of items.
Bundles of dry yellow hay. Tangled green plants. And a small handful of assorted seeds.
When he touched them, a description popped up before his eyes.
Fiber (Resource): Raw material derived from plants.
Hay (Resource): Dried grass feed for animals.
Mixed Seeds (Seeds): A little bit of everything. Plant them and see what grows.
The system also informed him that he could store these items directly in his inventory.
Now Leon was really fired up. Reality was reality, sure—but he had a system. Which meant he could farm mixed seeds just by scything grass.
In the game, mixed seeds could grow into potatoes, parsnips, and cauliflower—all excellent early-game crops. Other than parsnips, the seeds for those weren’t cheap. He wasn’t sure how many seeds his two thousand gold could buy, but free was always better.
With a new way to get seeds, Leon’s motivation soared. Looking at the vast field of weeds covering his farm, all he saw now was an endless supply of mixed seeds.