CHAPTER 500: FIRST SNOW OF THE YEAR

It must’ve hit him hard enough that he thought things were actually in his favor and all he needed to do was slander, but Elaina was a few steps ahead of him, and he didn’t even get to retaliate. Whether he felt the sense of defeat or just had no idea what to do next, he decided to back off and leave the office bearing the shame of what he was doing.

Mei and the others came to check on Elaina after the man left.

"Boss, did something happen? That man just now left like he was slapped multiple times in the face," Mei was a bit worried about what trouble that man left behind.

"No worries, everyone, I got it under control," Elaina said.

Octavia speaks up regarding the man, "Isn’t that man the one who is making seeds and selling them by crate? I remembered him since I wanted to buy seeds from him when I saw his place, but he just denied me purchase because I was a dryad and he never sells in small batches and only accepts bulk orders."

"You are not wrong with that, Octavia. The guy is indeed the seed seller and the one who supplies the market with seeds until his contract with them ended after our grand opening yesterday. He came here to try and grab a chance at shifting his goods from the market to us. But considering how he likes to scam those who buy from him with seeds that are defective and then makes an excuse that perhaps they just got rotten on the way, I decided that he is not worth listening to."

"But didn’t you already produce your own seeds? Did you reject his offer?" Randolph asked.

"Indeed. Considering how I don’t need any supplier for seeds, my supply will not need any support from outside sources like his, unless I run out of crops to turn into seeds. Until then, I won’t need his help at all."

Mei sighed in relief. "Good to know, Boss, just seeing him for the first time today, I already know he is bad news. Good to know we don’t need to deal with him."

Rakkunzansa shook his head. "Doubt that is the last time we will see him. Perhaps right now, he might have retreated in defeat, but he might return to cause trouble. We should also be alert at all times, as there are other people who would rather destroy the business of others and even make a bad reputation for other businesses, dragging them down just for quick money. I know I like money, but just for a quick buck? I don’t think it is worth it when I can just keep my good reputation and keep the steady income."

"Indeed. But that is how most businessmen were. Even I had some thoughts like that, back when I was starting out my businesses. But slowly but surely, I learned things by the trade. Sure, those tricks work, but it is not good ones and they are something that would not last too long. Anyways, enough chatter, and let’s get back to work. But inform me if he decides to come back and make trouble, especially you, Octavia, considering you are the one handling the business that rivals his own."

Octavia nodded. "I will defend this business, even if my life depends on it!"

Elaina chuckled. "Don’t go too far. Still value your life."

...

...

...

When Elaina returns to her farm, by the time she enters the gates of her farm, a cold particle drops on her cheek. Raising her head, Elaina saw the snow start falling from the sky, showing the first snow of the year.

The beginning of the snowfall made the children come out to play, while their parents started to stop them from doing so.

"Looks like it is going to be the cold season soon.

The first snow of the year marks the beginning of Darcero Kingdom’s new winter season and the strings of new festivals in the next few months. One can say that after the events of the Endless Winter have concluded, the reception of winter begins to calm down and slowly accept the season’s arrival. Compared to before, when people would ready themselves to endure the harsh winter and brave the cold to ensure survival, nowadays, winter is just another season where the cold is much stronger, but not as distinct as the other seasons.

People learned to keep calm and keep the situation the same as before. Sure, many things are different during winter, but there are many things that winter brings, and that is what begins to change. As a way of showing that the fear of winter is over, the palace and the royal family decided that winter is something to be celebrated —a time when the bountiful year is acknowledged, and the time of preparation to welcome the new year.

Right now, Elaina is preparing to begin the next batch of winter crops to be planted on the field when the God of Farming calls Elaina.

"[Elaina, can I have a moment of your time?]"

"God of Farming? What is it?"

"[Thanks to your methods, it seems that I also indirectly received the praise and worship of the people, giving thanks to the business that arrived suddenly and gave them hope that they can survive the cold season with new vigor and a new fresh start for them to begin after they lost it from the plague. I wasn’t even expecting this, considering that I didn’t even attempt to spread my influence over something like this, nor have you decided to preach my name to the other people, like how preachers always do, and yet, it seems that despite that, the people have decided to thank me and as a result, I acquired the chance to become a higher power].

Elaina tilted her head and frowned. "Higher power...You mean..."

"[Yes, I have ascended further into godhood and became a High God, just below the Creator God and Elder Gods. However, despite being a High God now, I don’t think I was any different than before, more like I gained new power. Power that can aid you further in developing new land. And I got a task for you soon, Elaina, and this time, it seems that thanks to your latest exploits, the Creator God has been impressed by your actions that he wanted to award you with something that would be beneficial for you and your family.]"

"The Creator God was watching everything?"

"[Although the Creator God is someone who just remained as a neutral entity for the world and just watches as the situation unfolds, he is happy that even without his intervention, someone is doing their best to keep the stability of the world on their own. Even to the point where they would accept the task themselves instead of passing it to another. It made the Creator God happier that someone is willing to shoulder everything and stop chaos, and yet receive little to no recognition just for the sake of keeping the peace.]"

Hearing this from the God of Farming somehow made Elaina happy. Although she doesn’t always focus on farming, as most of the situation calls for her intervention, it all comes back to the peace of keeping the situation as it is. And although it resulted in peace, Elaina is just thinking of the end result, where her farm will remain unaffected, or if they are, it won’t last long. She just wanted the farm not to suffer any trouble, which resulted in Elaina’s various exploits, which would soon revolve around troubles that should have been the problem of heroes and adventurers, and yet Elaina decided to move and make the solution herself. Who would have thought that her selfish reason of keeping the peace would somehow impress the Creator God Himself?

"[So, as a small token of appreciation, he gave you the blessing of Teleportation and a surprise blessing that the Creator God added to the Almanac. When you were busy with the business of the seed market, the Creator God added a new function that even I don’t have any idea of. Considering that he didn’t mess with any sort of various things in the Almanac, all I can do is let you discover what he added, Elaina.]"

Elaina summoned the Almanac, hoping to learn what the new function was that had arrived, but, like what the God of Farming expected, the Almanac showed no signs of change.

"[He also heard how you are doing some things for the Gods in your own way and decided that he is bored and wanted to also join in the "fun". He added a new page of his power to the Almanac. It seems that he is now giving you a task to do, Elaina.]"

Hearing that, Elaina immediately flips through the locked pages of the Almanac. There are plenty of pages that have yet to be unlocked by Elaina, considering that many of the prerequisite tasks to unlock them are beyond Elaina’s skill, but this time, a new locked page appeared. It was a golden page, overshadowing the other locked pages in comparison. However, compared to the other pages, this page doesn’t have one prerequisite, but multiple, and there are a few lists of tasks given there for Elaina to fulfill. However, there is one thing that is more eye-catching, the first and most prominent task that is currently visible on the task list, which seems to shout that "I am important" to Elaina.

First Task: Own the Land of the Dead and purify it back to its former glory.

.....

End of Act 5