Seeing as there happened to be an empty journal in the Pekkle House, Therese, Emoji, and I decided to keep an exchange diary. We planned to stay for fifteen days, and we’d only be exchanging logs for that period.
Once Therese returned, we’d all take turns documenting whatever we found. The order was going to be me, then Emoji, then Therese.
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It looks like I’m in charge of documenting our first day of living by the Crystal Lake.
It’s my first time trying to write something like an exchange diary, so I’m a bit worried about whether I’m doing it right, but I think passing this sort of thing around could be fun in its own way.
So yeah, here I am. Jotting down my thoughts... But come to think of it, I was writing similar entries back on Cal Mira. That one turned into something like an elementary schooler’s summer homework journal, if I’m remembering right.
Well, anyway... I’ll just pretend I know what I’m doing. Let’s keep on writing for now.
Here’s a list of what you can catch here: carp, catfish, yellow perch, Nile perch, lungfish, Congo tetra, Crystal Fish, Vampyre Fish, and Ghost Fish. At least, that’s what I’ve caught so far.
That was just from a preliminary check with my Fever Lure Skill. There might be more, and the lord didn’t bite either. I don’t know anything about that one yet.
Anyway, when I showed Therese a yellow perch, she said it’d taste great if we fried it. We cooked it together, and it was nice, crisp, and delicious.
Most of the fish here seem to be freshwater, so we can’t eat them as sashimi, but at least we won’t have any issues securing food. It looks like we’re going to be cooking all sorts of things down here, but Therese has plenty of cooking skills, and fortunately, summoning Brave Pekkle is enough to trigger a Cooking Cooperation Combo.
Emoji, is there anything in particular you want to eat?
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’Tis my turn today.
I don’t really get it, but this seems rather fun. I never imagined that I would be keeping an exchange diary inside a game. Aye, I did exchange reports with the ones from the guild, but this feels different, somehow.
Now, as for your question, island lord—what are your thoughts on fish ball soup? Eating everything fried will get old sooner or later.
Incidentally, I have never heard about this “Fever Lure” skill before. Is it one of those rumored rare abilities accessible only to the island lord?
Oh, and I think we should make it a rule: Anything written here should be answered here. At the very least, I will stick to it and refrain from asking aloud.
I will be pleased if you could read through this and answer me later.
What a long preface this has been; getting to the meat and potatoes, I have made good progress in tilling the fields. Before, I did not quite understand soil acidity and just planted things as I pleased, but now I understand how important it is.
I always wanted to try farming, but it is deeper than I thought. There is much to learn.
By the way, Therese, the way you shout when you dig... Is it not a bit loud?
I heard quite a noisy “Take this, fricker!” the other day.
I thought it might be rude to bring it up directly, so I am mentioning it here.
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Oh noooo! Silly me! So you hear that, Lahal-ey? I was giving it my all, swinging my pickaxe at a nice vein, and it must have slipped out.
How embarrassing!
So anyway, it’s day three, and Kizzy’s Pekkle House is insane.
We’ve got a full working shower, and that fantastical Crystal Lake right outside, right? And with all these ore veins, it’s the perfect place to do a bit of Craftwork.
You have a cleaning machine, don’t you, Kizzy? I wanna do some crafting with L’Arc, so lend it to me later.
Back to you, Lahal—right on, I’ll make fish ball soup tomorrow.
Honestly, you just need some fish meat to mince up, and voila, you’ve got fish balls. It’s a lot easier than it looks. Maybe sautéing some Nile perch would get us something heartier.
Yes, it’s settled. Breakfast tomorrow will be fish ball soup, and dinner will be Nile perch sauté!
There is something that I’ve been wondering about, though. When can we expect the crops to be ready for harvest?
I get it’s a game, so they grow quickly, but having a rough idea would help me plan out the menu.
Also...Crystal Fish? You need to give me one sometime, Kizzy. I’ve got my eye on them—I just know they’ll be useful for Craftwork.
I’d be so, so upset if they all end up as Pekkle feed!
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That’s one full cycle, huh? I guess this is what an exchange diary is like. I can’t see what’s written until it’s my turn, and that means I’m always looking forward to what I’ll see.
I heard that “Fricker!” too, by the way. It’s nice and spacious here, but sound carries well in these underground dungeon floors.
So you’re part of the Pickaxe Faction, Therese? I like to do some good drilling myself. There’s just something satisfying about shouting the word “Drill!” as you bust through a rock face. You get me?
And for the cleaning machine, go right ahead. I use it sometimes, but everyone’s welcome.
That fish ball soup almost tasted like a completely different dish after that Cooperation Combo. It tasted more like meatballs than fish, so on the contrary, wouldn’t that be a failed dish? I’m not saying it was bad, but it’s like I got meat when I was looking to eat fish.
Let’s hope tonight’s fish sauté stays nice and fishy.
As for those Crystal Fish, sure thing. I don’t really think they’re edible in the first place, not even for Pekkles. I can’t even take them apart with dismantling weapons, you know... Maybe I have to crush them into ore with the cleaning machine?
It’s a little off from that rule Emoji set, but I’ll give you a Crystal Fish tomorrow.
A few more notes:
When I pulled up my crab traps, I mostly got an item called “Glass Shard,” though I was startled to find “Raw Amethyst” once too. Other than that, I pulled in yellow perch and snails.
I’ve been casting nets and diving to see what else the Crystal Lake has to offer, but... Though I did find one spot that looks like it leads somewhere, it’s blocked up by what looks like plant roots.
I tried breaking them, but they were set as indestructible. There’s probably some condition we need to hit to clear them.
On to crop harvest times. That really depends... The turnips and potatoes look like they’ll be ready soon. That growth speed is real gamelike, to say the least.
Once we pull up the turnips—going off my knowledge—some onions would be nice, but with the seasons here being fixed... I don’t know. After the onions, I’d recommend turnips again, or daikon. Cabbage could work too.
With potatoes, you usually follow them up with onions, corn, green beans, or maybe edamame.
Just avoid planting root veggies after other root veggies—keep it varied, and the rest comes with practice. Here, though, it really depends on the seeds we’ve got. We don’t have a huge selection to go with, and with a fixed season, I might bridge with strawberries after a one-day fallow... It’s a bit off from real farming, but if the seasons aren’t changing, we have to make do.
Blame my lack of knowledge on that other farming game. There, the seasons flew by way too fast.
Anyway, just keep an eye on how much water you give them and maintain the soil, and I’d say we’ll have turnips soon enough.
Our goal here is to get the Bunownies up and running, so we should stick to quick-harvest crops.
Ah, I almost forgot to bring it up. Fever Lure is a Secret Skill I got from Brave Pekkle after that Dimension Wave that broke out near the seas of Cal Mira. It causes a feeding frenzy for a fixed amount of time, and you can use it to pull monsters too.