I Grow Crops with a System

”Grilled fish first. Then we head out.”

If the fish really boosted his production skill, it would be a real help with the pottery.

Draugor arrived right on schedule.

”Are you really going to make pottery? I’ve already prepared the materials!” he said excitedly.

”Really?”

”Could you make some for us too?”

”It’s been a long time. I might be rusty.”

”Even if you fail, it’ll still beat anything we make.”

Fair enough. Minotaur pottery came out either crooked or covered in cracks. Even something thrown together casually would be an upgrade.

”Then let’s go!”

Draugor carried Ethan and Pearl back to the village. Today, Lombiat and many of the others were nowhere to be seen.

”Today is hunting day,” Draugor explained.

”Aren’t Minotaurs herbivores? Why do you hunt?”

”Hunting gets us lots of things! Materials — and it clears out monsters that covet our territory and pastures. So we hunt regularly.”

”Sounds like hard work.”

”The chief said to treat you well. Come on — to the pottery kiln!”

A massive pile of clay and firewood waited beside the kiln. It was going to be a busy day.

”Alright, let’s get started.”

Ethan picked up a lump of clay and began to knead. Draugor watched with open curiosity — and when Ethan shaped it into a bowl in moments, his eyes went wide.

”You finished it that fast?!”

”Yeah. What’s wrong?”

It wasn’t fired yet, but once it dried and went into the kiln, it would come out as proper pottery.

”That’s amazing! Back then it took me a whole day, and it still came out crooked!”

”Is this well water?” Ethan asked.

”Moo! That’s right! Drawn with the bucket you made yesterday!”

”Is that so...”

The quality of both clay and water here was excellent — especially the water, which had been Purified.

Recalling the instructions his old pottery teacher had drilled into him, Ethan settled into serious work. Time slipped past, and before he knew it the sun stood directly overhead. Five small bowls and one large basin went carefully into the kiln.

”Next, we fire them.”

”Moo! That’s all it takes?!”

”Yes.”

Though pottery was prone to cracking in the kiln — nothing was guaranteed yet.

Just as Ethan was about to stand, a group of young Minotaurs came running over and surrounded them.

”Moo! Moo! It’s a human! Moo!”

”So amazing! Moo~!”

’These must be the village children.’

”Why do they look a bit scrawny?” Ethan asked, puzzled.

”Moo... everyone in the village is worried about that too. Moo...” Draugor’s voice was heavy with concern.

So the children of the village really were in trouble.

”They’re not sick, are they?”

”Moo! No! The weather has just been too hot lately, and they’ve lost their appetites. Moo~”

The recent weather wasn’t exactly cool, but Ethan wouldn’t have called it hot either. Then again, Minotaurs and humans probably felt temperature very differently — their bodies were wrapped in thick fur, after all.

”Just have them eat more Sweet Beets and Honey Sweet Potatoes.”

”Moo~ those things aren’t easy to find. Moo~”

True. Both were hard to come by in the first place — let alone in quantities enough for this many children.

”The pottery should be done firing soon, meow!” Pearl reminded him.

”Let me check...”

Ethan opened the kiln and drew out the pottery. Of the six pieces, one had cracked clean through — a total loss. His heart ached a little at failing on his very first firing, but there was no helping it.

”Normally I’d apply a layer of glaze and fire them a second time, but we don’t have glaze...”

”Moo? What is glaze?”

”You grind limestone and feldspar into powder and mix it with water. Coat the pottery, fire it again, and its durability, water resistance, and strength all go up.”

”Meow? There’s limestone right over there, meow.”

”...”

They had limestone here too?

Ethan followed Pearl, half in disbelief, to a pile of white stones.

”What are these used for?”

”Moo~! We don’t use them. They’ve just always been here!”

”It’d be even better if we had feldspar and silica.”

”What’s that, meow?”

”It’s...”

Ethan explained — essentially granite and quartz. Pearl leapt up in excitement.

”I think I saw some on our way here, meow!”

Fantastic! Ethan scooped Pearl up and planted a big kiss on the cat.

”Let’s go find them!”

”O-okay! Right now?!”

”Of course!”

With Pearl on his shoulder and Draugor carrying them both, they sprinted into the forest — and returned before long with a full bag of quartz and granite.

”What do we do next?!” Draugor asked.

”We grind them into a very fine powder—”

”Leave that kind of physical labor to me! Waaaaahhh——!”

Draugor seized a chunk of granite and set to grinding with terrifying enthusiasm. Granite, limestone, quartz — all of it reduced to powder, mixed, and delivered into Ethan’s hands.

”Done! What’s next?!”

”Now we mix this with water to make the glaze, and then...”

Following the methods he’d learned all those years ago, Ethan mixed the powders with water into glaze and dipped each fired piece into it.

The glazed pottery went back into the kiln. He picked up a wooden board and began fanning the flames.

”What are you doing?” Draugor asked.

”Raising the kiln’s temperature. Fanning makes the fire burn hotter.”

”Leave that to me!”

Draugor snatched the board and fanned with all his might. Seeing the commotion, other Minotaurs wandered over to help.

”What are they doing?”

”I heard that human is making pottery!”

”All you have to do is fan the fire, and he’ll make you pottery? I’ll help too — then he can make one for me!”

His workload was clearly only going to grow. Still, extra hands were extra hands.

Time flew. By the time the sun slanted west, even the tireless Minotaurs were panting with exhaustion.

Ethan opened the kiln and lifted out the pottery.

[Well-crafted Detoxifying Clay Bowl]

[Pottery that has been fired twice. The surface is coated in glaze, increasing its water resistance and durability. Made using purified water, it can neutralize all toxins.]

[Well-crafted: Durability increased.]

[Well-crafted: Water resistance increased.]

[Crafting Difficulty: ★★★]

Not only did it carry two Well-crafted affixes.

It had an actual Detoxify effect!