Chapter 36. Potential rewards

"Master?" Zeldi asked noticing my distraction.

"Sorry." I said with a shake of my head. I had finished with one of her back teats and switched to the other. It had filled one bottle by itself so if I was counting Zeldi would produce eight liters of milk each day not including the half I'd given Tarakona to try. Not bad considering that ment eighty points. "Just got Tilty's offer and she doesn't want anything in return for...."

Offer from Cavern Farm has been revoked by the deed owner.

"Okay maybe Tilty changed her mind?"

Should have accepted it the moment it popped up but then again she didn't really have any legroom to argue if she wanted to ask for something in return. What would she even ask for anyway? Everything hers would become mine anyway.

[What happened?]

"Tilty just revoked her offer. Don't know why." I responded while rubbing my hand a little further back along Zeldi's underbelly. Zeldi kicked out at nothing behind her before realizing it was me and gave a mock glare in my direction.

[So she doesn't...]

The dragon let out a yawn that was followed by a low growl.

"You have been up for almost two days now Tarakona. You can sleep if you want." I offered.

[No I...]

Another yawn took hold and caused both Zeldi and myself to join her.

"Sleepy dragon." Zeldi giggled. "You are safe here Tarakona you can sleep if you want to."

That seemed to have the resounding effect as Tarakona's eyes drifted closed. We waited for a few minutes but when they didn't reopen we knew she was asleep.

"Shall we move back inside Master?" Zeldi whispered.

I nodded as I finished up with the last bottle.

Tarakona

Comfort too low. Production decreased as a result.

Production quality: F-

She was getting hungrier Everytime I looked. Her comfort hadn't changed so she might lay an egg soon but her food would be a problem I need to solve tomorrow at the latest.

"You have a plan right Clovek?" Zeldi asked as she spooned some of the mixture from one of the food barrels into two bowls. "About feeding Tarakona."

"I have three." I said back accepting the bowl. It wasn't bad, just a lot of grains and nuts with a few other items I didn't recognize. Still leagues better than the gruel Zeldi had been eating previously.

"If you have three then you're not confident that your first one will work." Zeldi countered.

"It's not that I'm not confident it will work but more that I can't implement it now."

Zeldi tilted her head in confusion so I continued.

"I can buy something called an automatic butcher that will produce meat for free. Hopefully it's enough to feed Tarakona."

"And the problem is?" She nudged.

"The problem is that it costs me one thousand points and for reference your milk sells for ten points per bottle."

"So you made eighty points just now and you need one thousand." Zeldi went silent for a second. "So you need just under twelve days worth of my milk to buy it?"

Oh Zeldi knows maths. That actually makes everything a little easier.

"Not quite. It's closer to fourteen days as I need to buy the bottles for your milk. Each one costs a single point."

"Ah." Zeldi hummed as we both stared to eat. "Then what's your second plan?"

"Buy some meat from traders."

"But wouldn't that cut into the points you need if you sell my milk that way?" Zeldi asked though she already knew the answer.

"Yip." I answered a little unhappily.

"Then please tell me your third plan doesn't include my milk." Zeldi said around a full mouth.

"My current quest will allow me to purchase any one item from the store for free." I answered with a sigh. "That's my third option."

Zeldi finished her mouthful before speaking. "Why is that your third opinion? Seems like it would be the best one no?"

"Because of the potential of literally anything else I could get. I could buy a house for us and we can ignore Tilty completely or I could buy a polymorphing potion so that I can do a romantic flight with Tarakona like she wants." I let out a sigh. "I could buy something we have no hope of ever getting otherwise with this quest reward. All I have to do is come up with a way to feed Tarakona for two weeks so that I can buy the butcher without using the quest reward."

"Like what?" Zeldi asked simply. "Apart from a house which we have already solved and the potion you mentioned, what could you buy that is worth potentially starving Tarakona?"

"Nothing." I answered instantly. "It's more that I'm trying to find a different way of feeding her so I can get something that will make our lives better."

"Like what?" Zeldi repeated.

I stumbled over my words before going silent. She was pushing me I knew that but she did have a point. I hadn't actually looked at what was on the more expensive side of my shop to see if it was worth it.

Deciding to rectify that I brought up my shop menu and set the search conditions to the most expensive and browsed. Immediately the houses I'd previously looked at for around one million Farm Points popped up so I wasn't too unhappy with the prices for everything.

After the houses the next expense items were the magical items based on their quality. I couldn't pinpoint a price range for them at all as they started from just under a million and went all the way down to one hundred, with what the item was being what made it expensive. Nothing surprising there.

The automatic items were also something I looked at which I'm glad I did because there was a better version of the automatic butcher called the Professional Butchery that I hadn't noticed before due to its high price.

Professional Butchery:

Creates one Kg of any cut of meat every hour with a personal inventory of fifty. Owner can move meat from the Professional Butchery to their own inventory from anywhere.

It did however cost one hundred thousand points and it's only difference to the automatic butcher was I could choose the cut of meat instead of just the animal and it had ten times the storage, oh and also the access it from anywhere but since we didn't leave the farm to much. Not worth the extra points in my opinion but if I was going to get it for free I was definitely picking the best one.

After some more browsing I came to the conclusion that the magical items were all useless to me for the most part. There was a water wand that was better than my ring but I couldn't justify getting that over the butcher. There was also a dimensional room that could be interesting as it would create a space that technically didn't exist that could be used as any room in a house with the price increasing with the size. It would be something that could shelter Tarakona in her dragon form if needed.

I was about to answer Zeldi and admit that I would be using the quest reward for solving Tarakona's food problem when something flashed purple in my vision.

Livestock upgrades:

It had been hidden in the very bottom of my vision to the point I was almost staring at my crotch when I noticed it.

But why was it purple? The rest of the system has been blue.

Because you have chosen to provide.

When given a free reward how many Deed owners pick something that benefits their livestock do you think?

How many are brought back when they die?

We are made to create a symbiotic relationship between Livestock and Owners. It's why we push you in that direction with quests. You have done exactly that, so enjoy a few extra options.

The words faded and with it all the purple text turned back to the same shade of blue as the rest of the system.

Okay what the ever loving crap was that? Some divine god giving me a pat on the back?

Well it felt more like the land itself was saying well done but still.

In the livestock upgrades there was only three options.

Livestock upgrades:

Neither of the first two options gave me a price until I selected Zeldi herself to upgrade. Apparently upgrading her quality was three hundred points and her productivity was one hundred.

I don't think she'd appreciate me making her chest any bigger just to get a few extra bottles... Maybe. Is there such a thing as too big?

Quality was definitely an option if it increases how much her milk could sell for otherwise I would need to figure out what quality actually does to her milk.

The last one was Free roam for only two hundred and it's description instantly caught my eye.

Free roam:

Pick a Livestock that may leave the property for one hour ever day but will be forcefully returned if not back before the duration ends. Livestock outside of the boundary may be harmed but death will result in the destruction of their bodies and it's rebuilding back within the lands boundary.

This seemed a little useless at first especially for Zeldi as I'd already discarded a reward for her to leave due to the potential dangers of kidnapping but for Tarakona it was perfect. She would be able to hunt and fly freely, for only an hour but it was still better than nothing.

Plus it would allow me to get something else with the free reward.

Zeldi was still waiting patiently as I searched through my options but must have seen something in me shift because she smiled. "Found your answer?"

"Yeah." I laughed feeling a little stupid. "I've got a fourth option now and it's definitely the best one."