Trapped! I Was Played In A Ruined Romance

Chapter 06

Ada Williams

Sweat.

Dirt.

A rancid smell.

And the weight.

God, there was so much of it.

Before I knew it, the entire day had been swallowed up by farm work.

The animals didn't help either. They kept watching me with those beady eyes, looking far too aware that I had no clue what I was doing.

By the time I wrapped up the first batch of chores, every inch of my body ached.

My gaze drifted upward.

The sky had already started turning orange.

"No way..."

I hadn't even noticed the hours slipping by. And the crops still needed attention.

I nearly teared up while forcing down a chunk of stale bread with a mouthful of water.

Still muttering to myself, I headed for the fields, dusting off my clothes along the way.

A breeze rolled through the crops, making the stalks sway back and forth. Thankfully—or maybe not—the field wasn't all that large.

Corn grew in neat rows, alongside some tiny grain I couldn't identify and several small vegetable patches enclosed by fences.

The place actually looked nice.

Unfortunately, I was far too tired to care.

I crouched beside the seedlings and inspected them as carefully as I could, relying mostly on whatever fragments of knowledge the fictional Ada's memories still held.

Because honestly? I didn't know jack s**t about farming.

And as I ripped out weeds with mounting rage, a horrible realization began to dawn on me.

"This is ridiculous..."

If I had to spend all day just keeping this farm running... then when exactly would I have time to figure out how to save White Hill?

Or worse... how to get out of this world?

I wanted to die.

That was the conclusion I came to as I yanked weeds from the soil with mud-caked hands.

My stomach was growling. My back was throbbing. And I was starting to hate this system with every fiber of my being.

"This is slave labor..."

The sun was already dipping below the horizon when I finally finished the last task. Instantly, several notifications popped up in front of me.

[Quest Completed: Tend to the crops — 1/1]

[Daily quests complete.]

I nearly cried with relief. I dragged my feet back to the house, feeling like an agricultural corpse.

The moment I stepped inside, the glowing windows started popping up again.

[CONGRATULATIONS]

[Daily quests successfully completed.]

[Keep it up to unlock more benefits.]

I dropped straight to the floor.

Exhausted.

Sweaty.

Smelling like chicken s**t.

"Benefits...?"

I frowned. Only then did I notice a small tab flashing below the main message.

[Rewards available]

Curious, I tapped it. New information quickly scrolled before my eyes.

[Available Skills]

— Thorough Inspection

— Elixir of Fortification

— Elixir of Quality

— Elixir of Fertility

I stared at it in silence.

"Fertility...?"

My face contorted instantly.

"No f*****g way."

I started reading the descriptions.

[Thorough Inspection – Passive]

Allows the analysis of general information regarding objects, people, locations, and resources.

[Elixir of Fortification – Active]

Temporarily increases physical endurance.

[Elixir of Quality – Active]

Improves production quality.

[Elixir of Fertility – Active]

Temporarily increases crop yields and animal reproduction rates.

Flashing slowly, I kept scrolling down the window. Then I found the catch.

[Cost to use active skills: 5 AP]

"..."

I let out a deep sigh.

Of course. Because apparently my life functioned like an RPG now. I had skills, but I had to pay to use them. Fantastic.

"What the hell is AP anyway...?"

That was way too much information for one brain.

I buried my face in my hands.

Okay.

Calm down.

Maybe the points came from quests. Or work. Or experience. Whatever it was.

Still curious, I decided to test the skill.

"Elixir of Fortification."

Nothing happened. Then a new message appeared.

[INSUFFICIENT POINTS]

"Oh, wonderful."

I rolled my eyes. So the skills were completely useless for now. Perfect. I closed the windows in annoyance.

However... When I looked around the kitchen, I noticed something that made me feel a tiny bit less miserable. Now I had more eggs. A few vegetables I'd gathered from the fields. And enough food to at least not starve to death immediately.

Small victories.

Very small.

After eating a makeshift meal, I went to try and take a bath. Or rather... clean myself up in a bizarre medieval tub using cold water.

The experience was humiliating. But at least I got the smell of the barnyard off my body.

After that, I changed into clean clothes and finally started to mentally prepare myself for bed.

My entire body was aching. Maybe I'd black out instantly in bed this time.

I slowly blew out the kitchen candles as the silence of the night wrapped around the small house.

That was when I heard it.

Knock. Knock. Knock.

I froze instantly. Someone was knocking on the door.

My heart hammered so hard I could hear the blood pulsing in my ears.

I slowly looked toward the front door.

Who... who would come here at this hour? The darkness outside felt... too heavy.

Another knock echoed. Louder this time.

Knock. Knock. Knock.

I swallowed hard. Instinctively, I took a step back. I didn't know this world. I didn't know these people. And I definitely didn't know if I was safe.

Then, a man's voice came from the other side of the door. Low and strangely cold.

"Ada."

Goosebumps broke out across my entire body. Because that voice... that voice carried a kind of presence that made my instincts scream immediately.

Danger.