Got a Gallery in the Wild

If we delve even deeper into the argument that human inequality originated from agriculture, we ultimately arrive at two fundamental concepts survival and food.

It may sound overly basic, but it could be said that humanity’s conflicts began with survival.

If your stomach is full, you have a roof over your head, and you live in abundance.

Why would you go looking for trouble with others?

When food becomes scarce, hunger appears.

And when there is hunger, people die.

If a famine occurs, even the people around you end up dying.

If the rulers are the problem, people rebel.

If the neighboring nation lives better than yours, war breaks out.

That is how conflicts continue to grow.

Human beings are creatures that eat, sleep, and relieve themselves.

As long as they cannot escape that cycle, the importance of food will always be immense.

To put it bluntly.

It could be said to be the origin of almost every problem.

If agriculture is the primary source of food, it is only natural that everyone tries to secure the best land.

And when a group of people grows into a nation.

What happens if that land is barren?

Most likely, a war will eventually break out.

A desperate struggle to avoid starving.

Or to live a better life.

No matter how advanced a civilization becomes, that will always remain an unavoidable problem.

Title) Something interesting about the elves

Their land is so fertile that even the World Tree grows there without any problems.

As a race, they are strong enough to rival the demons.

And they are united enough to drive out any other race if they truly wanted to.

So.

Why have they never tried to conquer the world?

ㄴIsn’t there something strange mixed into that list?

ㄴBut it’s true. No matter how much racial discrimination exists, it never goes that far.

ㄴRather than racial discrimination, that would be ethnic discrimination. Well, I guess now it’s racial discrimination. Haha.

ㄴMaybe it’s because their land is simply too good. They live in such abundance that they think, “Why bother?”

ㄴIt could also be that being too strong slowed their development. Just look at humans. They’ve progressed by doing all kinds of crazy things.

ㄴAnd the best part is that they became strong just to survive against the demons.

ㄴOn top of that, they’ve spent half their history fighting among themselves too. Hahaha.

Title) The reason the Messiah Empire is ridiculously overpowered

There’s a reason they’ve managed to maintain such an enormous territory.

To begin with, the Karen Plains are completely broken.

They’re not as fertile as the land where the World Tree grows, but they’re still exceptional.

And above all.

They’re absurdly vast.

They say that once you enter the farmland, it’s incredibly easy to get lost.

Because of that, it was inevitable that the Messiah Empire would have an enormous population capacity.

In fact, as far as I know, it already ranks first in population.

And the larger the population.

The more talented people emerge.

That’s why monsters like Ash appear.

ㄴThe beastmen used to have the population advantage. Are they losing it to humans now?

ㄴThese days, beastmen usually only have one child per family.

ㄴNot even then. With the mating seasons they have, the birthrate will still be high.

ㄴYeah. Let your guard down just once and you’ve already got a kid. Haha.

ㄴSuspiciously) Let’s not exaggerate. Their mating seasons have to coincide. Otherwise, both of them have a miserable time.

ㄴMore than the children, how do the beastmen even sustain such a large population? They supposedly consume an enormous amount of calories because of their much greater muscle mass.

ㄴWith (the beastmen’s country) also has excellent land. Otherwise, they never would have survived.

ㄴThose lands originally belonged to humans. The beastmen conquered them during a war.

ㄴThat’s insane.

This was what people often called the advantage of the land.

Or, to put it in Earth terms.

A completely broken map for the home team.

With that in mind, no one needed the importance of agriculture explained to them.

If agriculture fails.

The nation fails.

That was why people began asking.

How can we make farming easier?

What crops should we develop to improve production?

Thus, over a very long period of time, humanity improved wild varieties.

Transforming them into plants that could grow protected like greenhouse flowers instead of surviving in the wild.

Removing everything unnecessary.

And focusing solely on flavor and yield.

Title) Why improving crop varieties is so difficult

It has great survivability, but tastes bad → reduce its survivability → it tastes better → it gets overrun by pests → make it pest-resistant → it regains its survivability → it tastes bad again → Ugh.

And then repeat the cycle forever.

ㄴHahaha. It’s actually much more complicated than that, but you summed it up pretty well.

ㄴHow on earth did our ancestors manage to improve so many varieties?

ㄴBecause the ancestors who couldn’t died of starvation.

ㄴLol.

ㄴHahahahaha.

ㄴHahahahaha.

Improving wild crops involved making countless mistakes.

They made corn ears that had once barely been the size of a knuckle grow to enormous proportions.

They managed to eliminate all the seeds from bananas, which had originally been packed with them.

They filled the inside of watermelons with flesh, whereas they had once contained barely any edible portion.

After countless attempts, they produced an enormous variety of crops.

But the problems never completely disappeared.

After all.

Food was a challenge shared by all living beings, not just humanity.

In that sense, the Messiah Empire implemented a rather intelligent policy.

It promised rewards to anyone who successfully developed a new high-quality crop variety.

A measure that was as practical as it was effective.

It was also a policy introduced by Robert.

And thanks to it, many of the Academy’s talented minds were able to devote themselves entirely to agronomy.

“You should have enrolled in the Academy.”

“I swear, all I did was throw some dirt on it!”

“Son… Forgive me for not being able to give you more money.”

“No, Father. Seriously, all I did was throw some dirt on it.”

However, no matter how talented those people were, if they didn’t conduct experiments themselves, all that talent was useless.

Moreover, agriculture is a field measured in years, so it requires an enormous amount of time.

In other words, if crops could be grown instantly, improving varieties would become vastly easier.

‘What on earth is happening?’

Roy, an ordinary young farmer, couldn’t believe what he was seeing.

All he had done was sow the seeds and then cover them with soil.

The only difference was that Grills had given him that soil.

He had simply thought.

‘If it’s soil from the Forest of the Four Seasons, maybe the plants will grow better.’

Besides, Grills had taught him a few things about farming, so it had been a good exchange for both of them.

“Look at this. It’s full of grains.”

“Just this one ear looks like it yields three or four times more than a normal one.”

The farmers exclaimed in amazement as they examined the wheat that had suddenly grown.

At first glance, it was much larger than ordinary wheat.

But the outside wasn’t what mattered.

What mattered was the inside.

As the saying goes, an empty cart makes the most noise.

It could just be all appearance.

“But the taste is awful…”

“Ugh! Why is it so bitter? No one could sell this!”

And indeed, although the yield was excellent, the taste was a complete failure.

In the end, they decided to discard the entire first harvest.

“This one tastes good, but…”

“The yield is far too low. We’d lose money growing it.”

“This one’s no different from what we already grow.”

“Neither is this one.”

The remaining varieties didn’t produce significantly different results either.

Most were practically identical to the usual ones, and only a few stood out.

However, almost all of them had some interesting characteristic, but very few offered any real advantage.

Unfortunately, none of them managed to combine both high yield and high quality.

“Whatever this is, it looks like Roy discovered something incredible.”

“Yeah. Try spreading that soil again. Maybe something even better will grow.”

Being farmers through and through, they immediately surrounded Roy.

If one of those varieties turned out to combine both productivity and quality.

Not only would this year’s harvest be extraordinary, but they might even receive a reward from the nation.

Just as Roy was beginning to feel completely overwhelmed, the one who came to rescue him was his father.

“Everyone, listen. I don’t know exactly what my son did, but don’t you think you’re taking this a little too lightly?”

“What do you mean by that?”

“The fact that the wheat grew immediately is certainly good news. But you also need to consider the strength of the soil.”

The moment he mentioned the soil’s strength—in other words, its fertility—the other farmers finally reacted.

“That’s true…”

Farming isn’t simply about planting seeds.

You need sunlight, water, protection from diseases and pests, and you must endure or avoid natural disasters.

Only when all of those conditions are met can stable production be guaranteed.

And an abundant harvest also brings its own problems.

Among all those factors, the most important was the soil.

The nutrients in the soil are not infinite.

If they were, the word “desertification” wouldn’t even exist.

Why do you think so many countries criticize Alvenheim’s reforestation campaign?

Because the trees they plant absorb virtually all the nutrients from the surrounding land.

As a result, the native plants gradually wither away, slowly damaging the entire ecosystem.

After all, plants are also living beings that survive by absorbing nutrients.

That is why, unless the land is extraordinarily fertile, it is very difficult to grow the exact same crop year after year.

“Roy, you’re taking the day off today. Instead, find out everything you can about that strange soil. Understood?”

“Yes, understood.”

“Good. Everyone, back to work. There’s still plenty left to do.”

Thanks to his father’s experience handling situations like this, Roy managed to escape the commotion.

Even so, his mind was still in complete chaos.

He looked at the small bag he was holding.

Inside was the soil from the Forest of the Four Seasons that Grills had given him.

‘Is all of this really because of this?’

There were far too many things to verify.

Without wasting any time, he headed straight home.

Since agriculture was the Messiah Empire’s primary industry, nearly every family cultivated a small garden.

If he experimented there, he would probably be able to draw some conclusions.

“Huh? Roy. Why are you back so early?”

“I have something I need to do.”

“Big brother! Did you come back to play with me?”

“No! He came back to play with me!”

As soon as he stepped inside, the house erupted into commotion.

Roy gently pushed aside his two adorable, though extremely troublesome, younger siblings.

He had something far more important to do now.

His father had even given him time off for it, so he couldn’t afford to waste it.

‘If crops can grow instantly, wouldn’t selecting better varieties become much easier?’

There is a very common misconception.

That people who work only in agriculture are ignorant.

But.

How much do those people actually know about farming?

Roy came from a family of farmers that had spanned generations and possessed extensive knowledge of agronomy.

Although he never had the opportunity to enroll in the Academy, he never stopped studying on his own.

He had read countless books.

He knew how his ancestors had farmed and why they had adopted certain methods.

Inherited wisdom should never be underestimated.

If a piece of knowledge had survived generation after generation, there was always a reason for it.

And every time he put it into practice, he understood that reason a little better.

‘There must be a reason they improved wheat that way… No, wait. First I need to tell Mr. Grills the results.’

Roy set his reading aside for later and opened the Gallery.

Because of his work, he didn’t log in very often, though he checked it from time to time whenever he had free time.

Besides, with everything happening politically lately, it was practically impossible to stay informed without the Gallery.

After all, getting a newspaper meant walking an entire day to the city.

He had even learned about the change of emperor through the Gallery.

‘Now that I think about it… I forgot to take a picture. I’ll have to explain everything with words.’

Roy searched for Grills’ post.

The good morning message announcing the start of the day was still at the top.

‘It’s a little embarrassing to send him a private message…’

So instead, he decided to leave a comment.

Normally, something like this should have been kept secret.

But Roy was a farmer to the core.

That kind of thing simply wasn’t in his nature.

ㄴGrowGrow) Mr. Grills. The soil you gave me yesterday was incredible.

ㄴWildGrills) What was so incredible about it?

ㄴGrowGrow) As soon as I spread it, the wheat immediately started growing. It seems even the soil from the Forest of the Four Seasons is different.

ㄴWildGrills) It grew immediately? Just by planting the seeds?

ㄴGrowGrow) Yes. I don’t know what it’s like over there, but it’ll probably grow very well there too.

ㄴWildGrills) Ah, I wish I’d started using it sooner. I wasted so much.

ㄴGrills, didn’t the elves give you a sapling? How’s that doing?

ㄴWildGrills) It’s still growing perfectly. Since the last time, it’s grown about thirty centimeters.

ㄴThe wheat grows immediately, so what on earth is that tree?

ㄴCould it really be a World Tree sapling?

ㄴHahahaha. So another World Tree is going to be born?

After thanking him for the information, Roy closed the Gallery.

Right now, the Gallery wasn’t what mattered.

Crop improvement was.

No matter what.

He had to develop a high-quality wheat variety that would greatly benefit all the people.

‘Let’s see… I’ll start by reading this book.’

Roy slowly opened the journal that had been passed down through his family for generations.

What he was completely unaware of.

Was the impact that a single comment he had just posted on the Gallery would have on everyone.

Being a farmer at heart.

He hadn’t the slightest idea.

***

Meanwhile, Grills.

“Alright. Let’s go. We’ve got plenty of work to do today.”

“Understood.”

And together with Ludwig, he began another day’s work.