Debuffed Farmer

[TUTORIAL COMPLETE]

[Initiating HARD mode System]

[…}

Wait a moment. Surely this was already hard mode—I received so many debuffs, after all. I don’t like where this is going.

[You have unlocked: ZONE OF ABSOLUTE CONTROL]

[You have unlocked: OASIS]

…

[EXP Until Next Level: 14,893]

Well, that was a lot of experience. To be fair, I should’ve expected something like this at some point. EXP beans would need to be harvest at much bigger scales for me to get anywhere at this rate. I guess exponential growth was a thing.

“Why are you spacing out again? You really need to see a psychiatrist and get your brain checked out.”

“I am coming to terms with my current situation.”

Clara sighed with an expression of pure disappointment.

Anyway, I was quite interested in seeing what these new things that I’ve unlocked are. Still, there didn’t seem to be any information regarding how to use them or what they even were. I guess there was a small chance that Clara might know.

“Hey Clara, do you know what oasis, is?”

“It sounds like a weird way of hitting on me. But in whatever context you’re likely referring to it in, I definitely don’t know.”

“What about Zone of Absolute Control?”

She seemed shocked.

“How did you suddenly find out what that was?”

“Huh?”

“There’s no way you just conjured that thought out of nowhere. Where did you see it? How do you know about its existence?”

“It came to me in a dream.”

She strode toward me with a posture that suggested renewed suspicion toward me. I guess the Zone of Absolute Control was some esoteric art only by morally bankrupt individuals—well, I didn’t know if those two things were related but it’d certainly explain a lot. Still, I didn’t even know what it was.

She grabbed my by the collar—is this hot? I could feel her fingertips scraping against my skin.

Ow. Maybe not.

“Cut the crap. I can’t read you at all. This is weird. Tell me, where the hell are you getting all this information?”

“Please daddy, let go of m—”

“Don’t call me that.”

“Oh, I thought that that was the direction that this was going.”

She strengthened her grip. It was a bit misleading don’t you think?

What’s up these double standards? She was quite comfortably calling me doggy earlier; I thought she was expecting something like this in return. Maybe the mood has turned more serious—I guess I should read the room, shouldn’t I?

“Hey, can you at least tell me what it is?”

There was a moment of silence as she stared painfully into my soul. She suddenly held her head in pain—it looked like the play of a chuunibyou middle-schooler.

“Fuck. What is up with your recent past? None of this makes any sense.”

Ah, I guess she just read my past or some shit. Ain’t that interesting.

“Well, I did come from another world. I’m sure there are some scientific inaccuracies within that narrative anyways.”

“What… anyways, where did you learn of the Zone of Absolute Control.”

“Can’t you tell from reading my past?”

“It doesn’t work like that.”

It doesn’t? What were the awkward restrictions on this power? Granted, it’d be a bit weird just just be able to replay the entire life of someone on a blu-ray dvd; maybe her visions were less specific.

“It just popped into my mind.”

“I swear. Say something truthful for once, Rin.”

“It’s not even a lie.”

“I don’t know what to do with you.”

“Can you at least tell me what it is? I only know of the concept by name.”

It seemed that she was quite hesitant to enlighten me. Maybe it was because this was some super-cool superpower that would give me infinite strength and a brilliant personality and charisma that would top even the most omni-benevolent creatures.

She sighed and looked away.

Well, what was I supposed to do now? I guess I should just plant my EXP beans since there wasn’t exactly much el—

[Travel to Oasis]

Huh? Cool, I’d like to travel to the oasis as much as you, but sadly, you did not inform me of the method to do so.

“Take me to the oasis!”

Nothing.

Well, nothing except Clara looking at me with a look that suggested that her disappointment and horror at my existence had reached an all time peak. She didn’t even bother to say something in response.

[Travel to Oasis]

Okay. I get it. I need to travel there. Are you going to draw a red line in the dirt or something so that I can actually do so?

[Travel to Oasis]

Bro, what do you want from me. How am I supposed to travel? Do want me to summon a portal? Perform a blood-letting ritual? Sacrifice a goat?

I looked over at Clara who seemed to have found a somewhat-comfortable position by the side of our hut, reading a book which appeared to have come out of absolutely nowhere—Object Manifestation and Optimal EM-wave Emission.

“Hey, Clara. Can I have a look at that book?”

“No.”

“Why not?”

“Because, I don’t like you. And also because I’m currently studying.”

“Aren’t we on a date?”

She didn’t even bat an eye at me. Instead, it looked as if she was both reading and talking to me at the same time—which hurt my fragile ego a little.

Just from a glance, it looked like the book was explaining the power system of this world. It would be quite important for me to learn about it, especially if it related to the Zone of Absolute Control to some extent.

Maybe I could sneakily take the book off her and make use of my eidetic memory which has done nothing for me in this new world.

Probably a bad idea though, she might actually kill me if I read it without her permission. Especially since she was on edge about me knowing about the Zone of Absolute Control.

[Travel to Oasis]

…