After a few days of constant planting to understand the drop rate, he had about four dozen of them in the jute sack beside him. Overall, his luck was trash.
In truth, he wanted to start a campfire in the Tower with his seething anger, but he feared that the smoke would attract some rather violent guests he wanted nothing to do with.
So, he sat on the mart’s terrace and watched the smouldering coals in the stove with a smile. The silent winds and crackling gave him a sense of peace that he had missed because of the reporters. Good thing they didn’t show up anymore.
Merilyn kept her word. Guess one needed that much power to enjoy silence.
With the cold wind brushing against his skin, Johan poked holes in the potatoes with a fork. They looked like russet potatoes; maybe he could make some fries with them.
“Won’t they give me more fat than they burn?” He mused, oiling the potato bigger than his palm. With the foil paper around it, he juggled the 300 g potato between his hands, feeling its weight before placing it over the coals.
He kept turning it with the steel pincers while wrapping a few more. The rabbits would enjoy this for sure. Cerbie liked to eat them raw. Imagining their hurried eating and flicking ears had him giggling.
Forty minutes later, the first potato was cooked, and the other 5 looked about done too. He took them off the coals and added new ones in their place, resting one in the plate.
With care, he removed the foil and ran a knife through the middle. Steam rose as the fluffy white inside parted. Johan could feel the creaminess from the way his knife glided through.
Wiping his drool, he added some butter. The way it melted against the hot insides made it hard to hold back. Johan’s spoon dove in, carrying the steaming flesh to his mouth.
Hot!
It burned his tongue a little, but the buttery, creamy potato was the perfect balance of sweet and salty. It tasted so good that Johan didn’t even mind his stinging tongue. He sprinkled in some cheese and mixed the fluffy flesh into a gooey, stringy spoonful.
“This is what heaven tastes like.” He stomped his feet, throwing his head back. The perfectly roasted potato heated him right up on the chilly evening.
“Is it that good?” Cara asked from beside him.
“Ack!” Johan almost choked on the potato. He would’ve spat it out, but it was too expensive to do. So, he swallowed a hot spoonful.
“What’s with you hunters and doors? Can you not knock?” If Johan had a penny for every time he got spooked by a Hunter popping up beside him, he’d have three pennies.
That wasn’t a lot, but it was surprising that it had happened three times already.
“Yes, yes, sorry.” However, Cara seemed to be in a world of her own. Drool almost dripped down from her lips as she watched the resting potatoes with the eyes of a focused predator.
“At least try to sound genuine,” Johan grumbled, picking up a roasted potato for her.
“Heh, thanks.” Cara ripped the foil off and bit into the potato; he had already sprinkled salt on it earlier, so that was fine.
And, why would someone who can squish rebar care about burning her tongue?
“Mmmh~! What is this taste?” Cara swooned, taking another bite, this time brushing it with butter. “This salty and sweet taste is so addicting.”
In a few moments, the potato vanished into her mouth. She seemed eager to take a few more, but stopped dead in her tracks. Her eyes squinted as she jumped once, then twice. The sharp eyes then turned to him as she rubbed her chin.
“Explain.” It scared Johan that she had already caught on to the weight loss effect.
How could she even tell the loss of 5 grams? That was almost nothing.
“This is my new acquisition, a potato that is not only tasty but also helps in losing 5 grams of weight with each one consumed.”
Johan would’ve continued his awesome sales pitch, talking about the low calorie count this potato had compared to the normal ones and its nutrients, but the red-eyed Cara had already lunged at the coal stove. Picking up the foil-wrapped potatoes like a greedy monkey.
“Hey, stop! That’s a coal, you’ll eat the coal too!” Johan struggled to get past her back. It was like a high school kid trying to take the ball from a pro NBA player; the difference in parameters was insane.
Still, Johan may lack in muscle, but he made up for it with his brain.
“If you eat more than 5 in an hour, you’ll gain 100 grams of fat.”
“Ah… you should’ve said that first!” Cara, with her mouth full of the steaming potato, glared at him. Good thing she only ate two more.
Johan swiped the remaining potatoes as fast as he could, but he had to leave two more since she refused to part with them. Generous as he was, he let it be.
As he continued to eat his first potato, Johan felt her sharp gaze. She had already finished the last two as well. What inhuman speed.
“I can give you more if you want.” He smirked.
“Don’t think you can trick me so easily.” The fool didn’t know she was already in the palm of his hand.
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“Still, these are crazy good. The taste alone is insane, but fat burning, too? It’s like a dream come true.” Cara wiped her drool, but there was a flicker of rationality in her eyes. “I can report about this, right?”
“To Adrian? Yes, go ahead.” He didn’t expect her to ask him about it first.
Johan enjoyed his potato while she started her phone, and by the time he rested his plate, Adrian sat on the stool across from him.
I know this is a big discovery, but why is he here so fast? Stumped, Johan shifted in his chair.
“I haven’t heard or seen anything like this before.” Adrian looked up after examining an uncooked potato. “Have you told anyone about these?”
Adrian seemed relieved when he shook his head. Johan was too busy optimizing his farming cycle to tell anyone.
“Would you like some?” Johan offered one of the roasted potatoes. This man’s gaze was too intense for him.
“I would like to purchase some uncooked ones if possible.” He said, twiddling his thumbs. Was he nervous?
There was no way Adrian needed these potatoes; this guy was a living Greek god statue. You could see his shoulder muscles and biceps even through the navy blazer. Johan's arms looked like noodles in comparison.
And he wanted to get more shredded? Tsk tsk.
As if sensing his thoughts, he gave a small chuckle.
“It’s for my wife. After the birth of our child, she has become rather obsessed with her weight.” He had a resigned look on his face as Cara narrowed her eyes from behind. “I’ve told her multiple times that she looks as beautiful as ever, but she has her own worries.”
“Weight is important for women, Team lead.” Cara nodded to herself like a sage.
“That is the case, so…” Adrian looked at him with hope-filled eyes.
Not only was he a dependable and capable man, but he was also a caring and attentive husband. Adrian was the full package.
“Since it is for that, I can’t give you the potatoes.” Johan shook his head.
The potatoes may help in weight loss, but they are potatoes at the end.
These, in particular, were too big and filling. Johan could barely finish one alone and his appetite has doubled lately. However, before Adrian misunderstood it as a refusal, he pulled out the dozen C-rank carrots he had in the sack.
He planned to make some soup with it, but that could wait.
“Please use these for now. If it suits your wife, I’ll get you some more.” Johan already had a plan in mind to mass-produce the weight-loss vegetables.
“Thank you.” Adrian accepted the carrots with a bow; above all, he already had his phone in hand. “How much should I pay?”
“No need to pay at all.” Johan waved his hand; this wasn’t plain kindness. Adrian had helped him a lot during the Night Bloom flower saga. Still, this had a big benefit for him. “If it works well, please help me with it later.”
For a moment, it felt like Adrian would insist on paying, but this smart man seemed to catch his drift. He pocketed his phone and gave him a stern nod.
“I’ll do my best. Thank you.” He bowed.
“No need to go that far.” Johan smiled, seeing the man off. Somehow, his steps seemed lighter.
Seemed like his wife’s fixation with weight had worried him a lot. Such a loving husband, his wife was lucky.
Johan ignored Cara and started to clean up, moving the chairs and the table. It didn’t matter how much she stared at him; he had no more carrots to give away.
In the end, he gave her five uncooked potatoes, and she left humming. This was also an investment.
Cara was a bright woman. And women had big social circles. He had no doubt she would spread the word of the weight-loss vegetables. And before long, it would be another potion hype situation.
However, Johan had prepared in advance this time.
Back in the Tower, the farm around his tent had doubled in size. Johan watched the rabbits work hard as Cerberious napped under the huge tree in the middle.
Thinking of taking a rest later, Johan picked one of the remaining potatoes in the sack and used his growth acceleration on it. Yes, he used the skill on the harvested vegetable.
The ones he had stored in his tent showed no signs of change yet; the potatoes in there didn’t even grow eyes. So, Johan wondered if his skill would work.
Growth acceleration sped up the process and corresponding reactions. So, if he used it on a harvested potato, would it help develop the eyes? That too was a natural process after all.
“It does work,” Johan muttered in mild surprise. The C-Rank potato in his hand grew ten eyes after two uses of Growth Acceleration.
With this, he had acquired a C-Rank seed potato!
Almost jumping ten feet in the air with every step, Johan sliced the potato into four equal parts. He dug four 15 cm holes and laid the cut pieces with the skin facing the sky. After burying them, he used his skill again.
Growth acceleration did its magic. Johan waited for the golden glow to subside with bated breath. His shaking hands went into the soil the moment the glow dispersed.
With a single breath, he pulled the thick vine his fingers wrapped around. A cluster of potatoes hung before his face, large and covered in dirt.
But only the blue screen reflected in Johan’s eyes.
Name: Magik Potato Pro
Grade: C
Effects:
- A starchy Magik crop packed with earth’s energy. Eating it will increase stamina recovery by 12% for 10 minutes.
- Upon consumption, it will burn 5g of fat and convert it into energy, stackable five times in an hour.
“Kuhahahaha! Wahahahahaha!” His maniacal laughter brought in the worried rabbits and annoyed Cerberious; at least Cerbie shared his joy.
With this, he could get hundreds of C-Rank potatoes with Eunally and Nunally. However, he had his eyes on the vegetable that fit the image of weight loss. The Carrot.
It was light on the stomach and easy to eat five of because of the smaller size.
Johan didn’t have a single C-Rank carrot now. He had placed carrot tops in a tray of water a day ago after feeding some to Cerbie. Right now, he could see tiny roots spreading into the water and green leaves growing from the top.
Placing the carrot top in a small hole, he covered the top with soil, leaving only the leaves out. Since the roots were already eaten, he could use the upper part to grow flowers and collect seeds.
“This is the power of watching random videos while eating!” Johan posed like he had discovered something Nobel prize worthy.
Eunally and Nunally cooed beside him, joining in on the fun. Only Cerberious seemed to scoff.
“I won’t give you any carrots when they grow.” Johan tried to poke the dog, only to get his hand swatted away by the paw.
This dog had an attitude problem. If he had fed any other dog like this guy, the dog would have built a whole temple for him by now.
Well, what could he expect from Cerberus’s long-lost brother? He was already grateful that it didn’t bite his head off.
Shaking his head to rid the terrible image in his mind, Johan pointed his hands at the newly planted carrot tops.
“Growth Acceleration!” He shouted for extra effect.
The root did not swell—it rose.
A tall, hollow stalk pushed upward, crowned with a lacework of white. The umberella shaped flowers opened at last, each tiny bloom perfect. He watched them all morning. Expecting a change, but nothing happened.
Hours stretched on. And the next day. The flowers aged, the white dimming to a tired cream. They closed in on themselves a few hours later.
In his overwhelming enthusiasm and business plans, Johan had forgotten an important aspect of the plant life cycle.
Now he understood why Cerberious looked at him as if he were an idiot.
“There are no pollinators here.” He muttered, lying on the ground.
Now that was a massive oversight.
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