Chapter 54: True Farming Begins

Raive stared ahead, scanning the nostalgic scenery.

The endlessly extending grassy plains. The flower beds scattered everywhere. The gentle wind brushing past his cheeks, and the warm sun lighting everything under it.

"It’s the same as always." Raive muttered under his breath.

"T-This is inside the dungeon?"

"There’s a sun up there..."

"Look, flowers!"

Soon enough, the rest entered and began to clamor. The youngest, Patricia, tried to dash toward the flower bed with a wide smile, but Raive was quick enough to scoop her up like a kitten, saving her from danger.

"Listen up, kid. That flower? It looks beautiful, but it’s actually a monster."

"H-Huh?"

As if unable to believe what he said, the little girl looked at him, afraid. Raive realized he’d messed up, so he quickly passed the trouble to her sister, Hazel, and continued.

"From here on out, just try to keep up with me. This place is a maze-like dungeon that..."

Right then, he began explaining how the dungeon worked—its dangers, how to handle them, and finally, the path to the exit.

After he was done, the faces of everyone present turned serious.

Monsters that lurked underground and could kill them at will. Puzzles that could leave them lost for days. And most of all, a powerful boss that could easily wipe them out if fought carelessly.

Such dangers were present in this dungeon.

"Alright, let’s begin."

But they had no choice but to fight.

At Raive’s command, Hazel moved. She lifted the earth where the flower bed had been, forcing the monster to appear.

While it was still confused midair, Shymine waved her hand, freezing it.

To deliver the finishing blow, Raive jumped to the same height as the monster and slashed with the knife in his hand. He cut it dozens of times in one breath before falling back down.

"Phew..."

It was a perfect execution, and one where teamwork mattered. Raive, seeing the camaraderie build between them, felt satisfied.

This was the whole point of bringing them, after all.

"Let’s go to the next one!"

And just like that, they continued deeper.

Having already memorized the pattern, they didn’t get lost even once. The monsters were cleaned up perfectly without letting them fight back.

At the fifth tile, the enemies got a power-up: elite monsters.

But with Kenny helping out with his barrier, everyone remained safe and sound. That continued until they reached the very end of the map.

"Then, as planned!"

They used the same strategy as before.

Everyone held a gas tank and moved fast. They doused the entire tree and the land around it, making sure everything was covered with gasoline.

When that was done, they gathered at a distance and hid behind Kenny’s barrier. Only Raive stayed outside, holding a torch that was already burning brightly.

"He’s coming!" Hazel shouted as the tree’s trunk split open.

From within, the sound of footsteps echoed loudly. A pair of armored hands gripped the edge, and the Tree Knight pulled itself out of the crevice.

And then...

"Good work. Now, goodbye."

Raive threw the torch to the ground, where the grass was already wet with gasoline.

The small flame spread fast, and within moments, it had already reached the main cherry tree, burning brightly like wildfire through summer grass.

"RAAAAGH!"

Stuck in the middle of the flames, the Tree Knight could only cry out in pain.

It didn’t leave the area of effect. Instead, it tried desperately to put out the flames eating at the cherry tree—an act as futile as cooling boiling water with a single ice cube.

In the end, after burning for five minutes, the Tree Knight fell.

"He lasted longer this time..." Raive muttered in surprise.

After the Tree Knight was confirmed dead, Shymine used her ability to extinguish the remaining flames. And just like that, they had access to the drops and everything.

Their clear time was 25 minutes and 22 seconds, so they still had some time before Reinhardt reset the dungeon.

With that, Raive smiled.

"Alright, first, Patricia. You get all the candies." He declared. "And in return, I want you to duplicate this sword and skill book."

"Huh?"

As luck would have it, both the Sword Flash skill book and the Tree Knight’s sword dropped this time. Although just one copy was enough for now, Raive still wanted to see Patricia’s skill at work.

Of course, nobody raised a complaint.

They knew that with Reinhardt and Raive together, they could get more of those loots as much as they wanted. And they, too, were curious about Patricia’s skill and its limits.

After consuming the candies and using a skill upgrade scroll to pull her skill to level 3, the test began.

Skills were something ingrained into the user. They could use them as easily as they breathed. The underlying concepts didn’t matter. As long as they wished to use their skill, their body moved accordingly and responded.

Patricia placed a hand over the Tree Knight’s sword first, then whispered.

"Duplicate!"

The next moment, powerful gold sparks erupted right next to the sword. It quickly formed into the same shape, size, color, texture—everything. Nobody could tell it apart from the original.

Raive, seeing it succeed, picked up the sword and saw that even the description ringing inside his head was identical.

"Good, it worked perfectly!" He cheered, happy that the test succeeded.

But that wasn’t the main event.

"Now, try duplicating this skill book!"

A weapon was just that, a weapon. Even if it was duplicated, the help it could provide was limited. But a skill book was different.

If they could infinitely copy a skill book, then they could get just one of each kind and let everyone register the skills that best matched their main skills. With that, their power should rise exponentially.

However...

"I... Can’t." Patricia shook her head, moving her hand away from the book. "I tried... but Mr. Book says he can’t be copied..."

"Is that so..."

Raive sighed, feeling a little disappointed.

Although he’d half-expected it, the hit wasn’t too hard.

Duplicating skill books was way too overpowered if allowed, after all. And given that in the previous loop, the Sine Gang hadn’t used her skill to their advantage, that meant she couldn’t duplicate upgrade scrolls or stat-up candies either.

Her skill was limited to equipment, not consumables.

Soon enough, the 30-minute time limit came. Reinhardt reset the dungeon as agreed, and was shocked to see that they’d actually brought back loot from the dungeon.

"To clear a Red Dungeon so fast... this must be a dream...!" He cried.

However, Raive was just starting.

"Alright, from now on, reset it every five minutes." He said while cracking his neck and swinging the Tree Knight’s sword in his hands. "This time... I’ll be going in alone."

At long last, the true farming began.