[Lloyd Driack: Farming Class][SSS Skill: Crops Grown Become Mythical Edibles]
Stats
Health: 105
Strength: 0
Precision: 0
Agility: 0
Dexterity: 0
Stamina: 0
Rank: G-
Woah!
The stats screen was straight out of a videogame.
Very cool.
Temptation whispered in his mind to eat every single one of these miraculous leaves. But, he had a family to take care of first.
Obviously, he couldn't feed them only using kale, so he went to the greenhouse. He grabbed his bag filled with his tools and then rushed out the door to find out what other effects the crops there had.
…
It was around 6 pm. Usually, Lloyd would be still hacking away at his tiny farm, away from others. But now, he was in the greenhouse, with 10 other people.
Great.
Lloyd didn't have any strong relationships with these strangers and his impression of them was below negative. In the center of the room was his crops fully bloomed and practically glistening in dew.
Hell yeah!
He confidently strode over and checked his plot. One section was Red Russian kale, the other section was spinach, and the last section was cabbage. Lloyd glossed over the kale as he already had it earlier. The spinach and cabbage were a sight to behold for a humble farmer.
The spinach had a nice, dark-green coat with long, thick, healthy leaves. The cabbage was a beast of it's own. It was bigger than all the cabbage he had grown before. Typically, the cabbages Lloyd grew would weight about 1-2 pounds but when he picked up this one, it felt way heavier.
This has to be at least 4 pounds!
The large, round sphere was tightly packed with light-green leaves. Lloyd nodded, satisfied with his harvest. What made him more satisfied was the stats it provided.
SSS-Rank Cabbage Head
+15 Dexterity
Next, he carefully plucked a leaf from one of the handful of spinach planted using his utility scissors.
SSS-Rank Spinach Leaf
+0.5 Strength
Counting the leaves of one, he should be able to cut 15-20ish leaves without overthrowing the entire plant. Decent source of power.
Lloyd happily harvested his crops, not noticing the countless stares from the people around him. While trimming, Lloyd felt a tap on his shoulder. Turning around, he noticed an older woman staring at him, presumingly middle-aged.
"Is there something wrong?" He questioned.
"Lloyd." Her brows drew together. "Don't you remember me?"
...His mind was drawing a blank. Ever since his parents death 3 years ago, he isolated himself from the rest of the villagers. Maybe from trauma, or maybe from pure neglect. Lloyd had no recollection of ANY of the people near him right now.
"I apologize, but I don't seem to recall who you are." His curved his lips slightly upwards and lowered his head.
The woman pressed her lips into a frown, her eyes dropping, envoking a pitiful aura. It was almost as if Lloyd was in the wrong.
Were those tears in her eyes???
Lloyd was bewildered. Was it really that serious?
Subsequently, she lifted her head and announced, loudly enough for the entire greenhouse to hear
"Oh Lloyd! How could you not recognize your own aunt? Your father's sister!" Her voice quivered as she clutched her chest.
What the fuck?
Analyzing her now, Lloyd did feel a hint of familiarity. Her eyes were a deep-blue, just as his. Her hair however, was a golden blonde that was tied up in a neat bun.
Finally, he remembered. This was the blood-sucking relative of his that his dad kept supporting under the law of "family supports family". This blood-sucking, shameless wrench who sucked his dad dry, even up to his last day.
He gritted his teeth and cursed in his head.
Fuck, why now?!
Her outburst already had heads turning.
"Lloyd, I care about you deeply. I can't understand why you cut off contact from your family" She emphasized.
"Aunt." He kept his voice measured. "I understand that I kept to myself after the unfortunate turn of events. But I have to ask." He tilted his head slightly. "Why didn't you reach out to me? When I was struggling?"
"I was so heartbroken after my BROTHER'S death, I couldn't bare to face you." Her voice cracked and a tear dripped down her face with a quiet plop on the ground. "You grew up so similar to him".
Lloyd was speechless and pissed off from the sheer audacity.
What did she want from him?!
"I'm so sorry for not visiting you but, can't you see I was suffering too?" She lowered her head, knees bent as she moaned.
Just as he was about to speak, a loud and gruff voice interrupted him.
"Hey! Why are you harassing her?!" A annoying fucking man spoke up.
"Yeah! You even made poor Luna cry! You unfilial boy." Another added.
Lloyd took a deep breath. 1 head, 2 head, 3 head…10 heads were staring right at him. He could feel his heart racing faster. The two men who had spoken positioned themselves in front of Luna, like they were protecting someone fragile.
"I didn't make her cry," Lloyd said. His voice came out flat and even. "I told her I didn't recognize her."
"After three years of silence!" Luna's voice cracked at the edges, wavering beautifully. "Three years, Lloyd. I lost my brother. My only brother. And then I lost you too."
Voices could be heard whispering throughout the room. The people already decided who the villain was. Just like before, no one was on his side. He clenched his face and bit the inside of his cheek to remain calm.
"Your father would have hated seeing us like this." Her voice softened.
Lloyd didn't respond.
"H-He was always a gentle and generous man. I would've never lasted this long without his help. But now, my only nephew doesn't even bat me an eye in the harsh winter" Luna's eyes swept across Lloyd's harvest as she talked. She wasn't even subtle about it.
Ah, there it is. Her real interest.
"Once a bloodsucker," he said quietly, "always a bloodsucker."
"Eh?" Luna's expression crumpled. "How dare you accuse me of such a thing! Your father was a kind man and recognized that I was in a difficult situation" She continued, hiding behind the two large men.
"Aren't we all in a difficult situation? I'm barely making it through the winter myself. All those years of kindness my father offered you, shouldn't you pay it back?" Lloyd scoffed.
"Oh dear aunt, Nora and I've suffered so greatly after our PARENTS passed away." He spoke slowly as grief struck in his words. "I-It was so difficult trying to survive in the cold winter while our aunt was too busy getting a new STD every week." He remarked, voice cold.
"W-What are you saying?!" She held the arm of one of the men tightly.
The other man stepped towards him, eyes glaring.
Lloyd didn't care.
He recalled an argument his dad had with his aunt when he was younger. Little Lloyd who was only 12 at the time, hid in his room while his aunt pressed his dad for money. She had cheated on her husband for what was probably the 10th time without any remorse and was finally caught. Her husband offered her another chance, she wanted a divorce and to take half his belongings.
Her dad had pleaded with her to take the second chance, to change and finally leave behind her player ways, she refused and demanded money to file the divorce.
Lloyd recognized what he said was wrong and might not even be true, but he was too caught up in his own rage to care.
"Even in his last days on this earth, all you cared about was money! Generous my ass, you took advantage of his kindness!" Lloyd shouted.
"H-He went inside the portal for you! Did you even care about what could've happened to him? His corpse couldn't be retrieved!" His voice fractured, but he continued.
There was no grave to visit. No one he could talk to about bad days. No one willing to read him a book to bed.
"He's gone, gone from this planet and all you care about is scamming his son. His flesh and blood. How much more can you take, you greedy bitch!" His eyes were red, tears brimming.
"So don't." His voice dropped lower. "Don't say his name to me. Don't tell me what he would have wanted. Don't slander his good name!"
With that, everyone shut up. His aunt mouth opened and closed, genuine tears streaming down her face. Then, she fled. Lloyd wiped his tears like nothing happened and finishing collecting his harvest. Even watering his crops before he left.