Magic Farm 154

Chapter 154: Bringing a Gift to Visit My Good Friend’s Home

The time on the survival panel showed it was four in the morning.

Qi Yu felt no trace of sleepiness. He swept his spiritual sense across the territory; all his people were resting.

He glanced once more at his spiritual world, where there was only a great tree with a treehouse atop it, and, below, a ring of grass encircling the trunk.

He instinctively shaped his spiritual world according to his own preferences, but this was as far as he could go—for now, his cultivation level only allowed him to do this much.

He recalled Teacher Egnor’s spiritual world, so vast it seemed endless—very well, he now had another motivation to cultivate harder.

He walked to the edge of his territory.

Sensing his approach, the demon vine, which had been marked as “resting,” stirred faintly—a small tendril reached out, swaying toward him in a childlike gesture.

Qi Yu spoke softly, “It’s alright, go back to sleep.”

Only then did the little tendril slowly retract.

Qi Yu gazed into the thick darkness beyond his territory. Perhaps it was because he’d advanced to four-star mage, but he felt a bit inflated.

He released a thread of spiritual power, tentatively extending it outward.

…And that was that.

He immediately lost all sense of that thread of spiritual power.

The moment it left, it seemed to be swallowed whole by the darkness.

Qi Yu was silent for a moment, then turned away.

Survival Game, you’re right—there really is danger in the darkness. Never approach it.

He took out the “Bow of Ideland” from his backpack.

By day, its silver body looked simple and elegant, but now, in the dim light, he could see the faint silver glow it emitted.

Like a crescent moon.

Qi Yu, whose first aesthetic preference was “shiny things,” liked it even more as he gazed at it.

He’d memorized the entire “Basic Archery” manual in his elven teacher’s spirit space.

He found an open space, built a “target” with wood magic, and began, just as the manual described—drawing the bow, nocking the arrow.

It was strange.

He’d learned many weapons, and many types, mostly skills honed by struggling through the apocalypse. But archery had never been among them.

After systematically learning martial arts from the butler, his close combat skills had improved, but the butler had never taught him archery.

This should have been a completely unfamiliar field for him.

Yet, the moment his palm gripped the longbow and his fingers set an arrow, he felt a strange fondness and joy.

It was as if his body instinctively knew how to use them with perfect form, and he could, without any teacher, attach his spiritual power to the arrow.

He released.

The arrow shot out like a meteor, trailing a brilliant streak through the night.

Bullseye.

The magical “target” couldn’t withstand the attack and shattered instantly, returning to its original magical form.

Qi Yu stared in awe at the arrow’s path, then looked down at his hand holding the bow.

I really am a genius, he thought with delight, nodding to himself. First time using a bow and already this accurate.

He couldn’t put down the Bow of Ideland, examining it with growing affection.

Archery was truly fun.

Though it was his first time, he already fully understood the weapon’s appeal.

Magic surged, and more targets rose from the ground.

From hitting them one by one, he began to increase the distance.

When dawn suddenly broke, the abrupt light made Qi Yu instinctively close his eyes.

His fingers loosened, and three star arrows shot forth.

Bang.

Three plant targets shattered in unison.

Qi Yu exhaled lightly, and without hesitation… picked up the communication orb and called God Has No Form.

It was morning—time to get up.

The orb connected in a second. To his surprise, God Has No Form sounded energetic, not at all like someone who’d just woken up.

Qi Yu asked, “You didn’t sleep either, God Has No Form?”

Dan Xingyu was silent for a moment, then earnestly said, “Promise me, Qi Yu. When we talk, please call me by my name, alright?”

When he’d chosen his ID, it hadn’t felt strange, but hearing someone solemnly call him “God Has No Form,” he really couldn’t handle it.

Especially when the little local called him so seriously—if it were anyone else, both of them would probably burst out laughing.

Qi Yu: “Oh, alright, Dan Xingyu.”

Dan Xingyu: “Mm, I couldn’t sleep last night… You didn’t sleep either?”

He realized Qi Yu had said “either.”

Qi Yu answered honestly, “After seeing that crowd… those people in Ophelia’s royal city yesterday, I couldn’t sleep.”

“Me too!” Dan Xingyu was both surprised and delighted. What could be better than having a friend who was always on the same wavelength?

Now he could say it without any burden: “I was so worked up by those people, I trained all night.”

“What a coincidence,” Qi Yu said. “So did I.”

A smile unconsciously appeared on Dan Xingyu’s face. “Let’s get back to the point. Why did you call me?”

“Call?”

Dan Xingyu smoothly explained, “Back where I’m from, there’s a device similar to a communication orb. I like to call it a phone.”

Qi Yu understood. In the apocalypse, there had been something similar, called a communicator.

But there had only been a few left, and only a handful of people in the base had them.

After the base was gone, he’d never seen one again.

He remembered he had good news to share with his friend: “Dan Xingyu, I advanced to four-star mage.”

“Really?” Dan Xingyu’s voice was full of amazement. “That’s incredible!”

“Now I’ll have to work even harder,” Dan Xingyu said with a hint of envy. “You’re always one step ahead of me.”

Qi Yu laughed smugly and shared his second piece of good news: “I learned basic archery.”

“Basic swordsmanship?” Dan Xingyu didn’t catch it at first, his mind wandering elsewhere. “You want to learn swordsmanship? I can teach you.”

He was, after all, a professional “Swordsman.”

“You misheard—not swordsmanship.”

Qi Yu found it hard to explain. “Come find me and I’ll show you… Actually, I’ll come to you.”

He hadn’t been to Dan Xingyu’s territory yet.

Dan Xingyu was taken aback. “You’re coming here?”

He instinctively glanced around, frantically recalling if there was anything in his territory that would be awkward for visitors to see.

After a quick check, all was well.

His palace was sparkling, grand and imposing—surely in line with the little local’s tastes.

And he lived alone, so it was neither messy nor dirty.

He hadn’t even slept last night, so there was no risk of an unmade bed!

Qi Yu: “Mm! Wait for me.”

He needed to prepare a gift for his visit.

Dan Xingyu: “Alright.”

He hung up, glanced through his backpack, then decisively opened the group chat.

[God Has No Form: Is everyone up? @all members.]

[Retreating: Second God, what’s up so early? Not going to District 01 to grind today?]

Everyone knew Second God had been visiting District 01 a lot lately.

[God Has No Form: Not going today. Your game pro is coming to my house as a guest.]

[God Has No Form: Hurry up, does anyone have good stuff for hosting a guest? Quick, offer it up to honor your game daddy.]

[Retreating: Whoa! Our dear godfather is coming? Let me see what I can find.]

No one else spoke in the group.

But God Has No Form soon received a flood of friend gifts.

He accepted them all, laughing in exasperation.

Things like “Elegant Fruit Platter” and “Snack Mystery Box” and “Large Artistic Sculpture” were fine.

But “Bizarre Sofa,” “Antique Oil Painting,” and—what was with the “Professional Maid Outfit”?

[Long Days Ahead: Hey, since our big daddy is coming, shouldn’t you make him super comfortable so we can cling to his thigh even better?]

[The Sun Rose in the West: Second God, the happiness of District 88 depends on you. Make sure game daddy feels our District 88 hospitality!]

[God Has No Form: Heh, with our relationship, do we really need all this nonsense?]

He knew this bunch of idiots couldn’t be relied on.

He hurried to shower, changed clothes, and carefully arranged the guest hall.

By the time he was done, Qi Yu’s request had arrived.

Qi Yu had also taken a shower—when visiting someone else’s home, it was only polite to be clean.

He even put on a mage robe set he’d never worn before—the style his elven teacher had approved, so it should be safe anywhere.

The gift he prepared for God Has No Form was a basket of chilled desserts.

Maybe they really were kindred spirits—he’d also gone to the 01 Survival Squad to ask what kind of gift was appropriate for visiting a friend’s house.

Knowing they had a portal, the whole world knew exactly which friend he was visiting.

[Tranquility Brings Distance: If I remember right, District 88 is in a desert?]

[I Love Survival Game: Yes.]

[Need Some Money to Save Me: Wow, boss, you two are so close and you still prepare a gift? That’s so ceremonial!]

[Tranquility Brings Distance: Haha, that’s childhood friendship for you. Visiting a good friend’s house doesn’t have to be formal—just bring something useful and not too expensive.]

So Qi Yu used plant magic to grow a beautiful basket.

He sculpted a lotus-shaped candle with ice magic at the bottom, and piled strawberries and cherries all around—he’d discovered last time that fruit tasted great when chilled.

Then, he carefully arranged the pretty little desserts he’d gotten from treasure chests, the ones he’d never been able to bring himself to eat.

He’d always wanted to save them for a special day.

Today was perfect.

[Author’s Note]

Why is the midnight snack chapter so late: I discovered that slacking off while writing is really comfortable [lying flat][lying flat][lying flat]

Debt repayment progress: 270,000/610,000 [plus one][plus one][plus one]