The sun slowly dipped toward the western horizon, spilling a burning, bruised-orange glow across the sky above Suka Makmur Village. One by one, the farmhands trudged away from the fields, their shoulders slumped and their steps heavy with exhaustion. But for Danu, the agony of the day was far from over.

With Pak Darma having departed, leaving behind a terrifying ultimatum that threatened to rip away his family’s only shelter, Pak Slamet had chosen to head home early as his cough worsened. Shuffling along with a pale, ashen face, he left Danu alone in the village's most marginal patch of earth at the very edge of the settlement—a stony strip choked with sharp gravel and dead clay, grudgingly allotted to their family as part of a meager wage settlement.

Danu let his knees hit the hard-packed earth. His breath came in ragged gasps, and the muscles in his arms felt as though they might tear loose after a full day of swinging a blunt hoe into the barren ground.

"Damn it... damn it all!" Danu growled hoarsely, striking the stony soil with a clenched fist until his knuckles scraped and bled. "Dirt this dry? Even weeds die here! How the hell am I supposed to use this to pay off an eight-million-rupiah debt in a few months?!"

He tilted his head back toward the darkening twilight, staring blankly at the low-hanging gray clouds. Desperation sank its claws so deeply into his chest that his throat tightened painfully.

"Are our family's lives really meant to be crushed under the boots of loan sharks like Pak Darma, Dad?" Danu whispered to the empty wind, his eyes burning with frustrated tears he refused to let fall. "Why is life so relentlessly cruel to the poor?"

Suddenly, amid the creeping silence of night and bone-deep physical exhaustion, a faint, rhythmic hum vibrated deep inside his skull. It sounded like an old radio frequency suddenly locking onto a crystal-clear signal.

Zzzzt... Bzzzt...

Danu gasped.

He blinked hard, assuming his ears were ringing from sheer exhaustion and severe dehydration after working all day without a drop of cool water. He shook his head violently, pressing his palms against his temples.

"What is that sound?" Danu muttered in panic, looking around as the world suddenly grew deafeningly quiet, as though the chirping crickets and night wind had been mysteriously muted.

Before he could process what was happening, the empty air right in front of his face fractured violently. Bluish particles of light flickered to life, weaving thin lines that condensed into a translucent holographic screen floating gracefully in the gathering dusk. The display cast a soft, gentle glow across Danu’s sweat- and dust-streaked face.

Reflexively, Danu jerked backward, landing hard on the sharp stones while throwing his hands up in a defensive posture.

"W-what is this?! What kind of monster is that?!" Danu screamed hysterically, gasping for air.

He rubbed his eyes raw with the back of his bloody hand, then forced himself to look at the screen again, his eyes wide with disbelief. "I must have lost my mind! Starvation is making me hallucinate sci-fi holographic displays!"

The hologram didn't vanish. Instead, neat lines of blue-white digital text scrolled across it with rapid typing animations, appearing as though it were living and breathing right before him.

[SACRED FARMING SYSTEM DETECTED...]

Scanning Host consciousness... Complete. Identity: Danu (Age 20). Physical Status: Severe exhaustion, mild malnutrition, stress level 94%. Mental Status: On the verge of despair. Soul Validation: Meets absolute requirements as Primary Host.

Danu froze.

A cold yet remarkably clear mechanical voice echoed directly inside his mind, bypassing the physical vibration of vocal cords entirely.

(Good evening, Host Danu. You have been selected through a resonant wave of despair and fierce survival instinct among millions of souls on Earth.) The voice whispered inside his head, sounding so chillingly real that the hairs on the back of his arms stood on end.

Danu crawled forward slowly, his trembling fingers reaching out to touch the translucent light. Strangely, his fingers passed straight through the illumination as if hitting empty air, yet the text on the screen instantly shifted to display new information.

"T-talking inside my head? What are you?!" Danu stammered, his voice vibrating between raw terror and disbelief. "Am I possessed by a paddy spirit? Or did I literally work myself to death on this cursed dirt?"

(I am no ghost, Host. I am the Sacred Farming System—an apex biological evolutionary technology from another dimension designed to rescue and restore agricultural orders shattered by human greed,) the mechanical voice replied calmly inside Danu's mind. (My ultimate objective is to assist the Host in turning the tides, smashing oppressive monopolies, and seizing absolute food sovereignty.)

Danu let out a bitter, cracking laugh—a laugh born of tears that finally broke free down his cheeks. He shook his head slowly, staring into empty space.

"Smash monopolies? You've got to be kidding me!" Danu snapped quietly at the empty air, venting his pent-up frustration. "You don't understand anything! In this village, tyrants like Pak Darma hold all the cards! The local police bow to him, out-of-town brokers back him, and we—the poor—are left to be ground down by debt! What can a stupid transparent screen like you possibly do on this barren rock bed, huh?"

(Host Danu, your anger is the perfect fuel,) the system replied, entirely unfazed by Danu's outburst. (Before you doubt this system's capabilities, allow me to display the initial diagnostic scan of the quarter-hectare plot you are currently standing on.)

Instantly, the hologram flickered, generating a highly detailed 3-dimensional wireframe graphic of the rocky patch beneath him. Glowing red fault lines lit up at various points underground.

[LOCAL SOIL ANALYSIS]

Moisture Level: 12% (Severely Parched). Nutrient Content: Nitrogen and phosphate below normal thresholds. Hidden Threat: A dense bedrock layer at a depth of 40 cm restricts root water circulation. Economic Potential for Major Commodities (Melon/Chili): 0% (Guaranteed total failure within 3 weeks). Recommended Alternative Commodities by System: Super Hybrid Shallots / Extreme Weather-Resistant Super Sweet Corn.

Danu fell silent.

His eyes glued themselves to the scientific data streaming before him. As a farmhand’s son who had worked the land since childhood, he knew all too well that this strip at the village edge was dead earth, capable of growing nothing tougher than coarse weeds.

"This dirt... this dirt really is dead," Danu whispered weakly, his shoulders sinking again. "Even if I planted shallots like you claim, it would take months and millions of rupiah in expensive fertilizers just to get them to sprout. And I don't have a single red cent."

(The Host need not worry about financial capital or natural limitations,) the system's voice suddenly turned firmer, carrying an aura of quiet authority. (The Sacred Farming System possesses the [Regenerative Soil Clinic] and [Evolutionary Seed Catalog] features, capable of boosting productivity by up to 500% without relying on Pak Darma’s hazardous chemical fertilizers. All you require is one thing: the raw conviction to rise up and fight back.)

Danu clenched his fists tightly over his knees. His heart hammered furiously—no longer from fear, but from a wild, desperate spark of hope reigniting the chest that had long frozen over in despair.

Eight million rupiah... The threat of losing their home... Pak Darma's public humiliation... Every dark shadow of his reality flashed rapidly through his mind.

Danu looked up, locking eyes with the hologram still hovering before him. His once-dull eyes now burned with a sharp, dangerous resolve.

"If I turn down your offer, will I just keep living like a slave?" Danu asked, his voice trembling slightly with ironclad determination.

(No, Host. You and your family will be evicted from this village next month, forced to live as beggars under a city bridge, and your family name will be branded as lifetime losers,) the system answered ruthlessly, delivering a bitter, unvarnished truth.

Danu took a deep, shuddering breath, then exhaled slowly. The corners of his lips quirked upward into a cold, cynical smirk. He rose to his feet, brushed the dust from his trousers, and stared straight into the holographic display.

"Fine. If my life is already standing at the edge of the abyss, I've got nothing left to fear," Danu muttered fiercely into the night air. "Tell me what I need to do first!"

Instantly, the system interface flashed brilliantly with a blinding golden flare, then displayed a slow-pulsing interactive prompt:

[CONGRATULATIONS, HOST HAS MADE AN ABSOLUTE DECISION!]

Sacred Farming System permanently activated. Beginner Quest (Level 1) Triggered: "Marginal Soil Cleanup and Restoration within 24 Hours". Does the Host wish to initiate area scanning and activation now? [ YES ] / [ NO ]

Danu tightened his right fist until his knuckles turned stark white once more, then—without a single shred of hesitation—thrust his hand straight through the light of the hologram to press the option button.

"Activate!" Danu roared with unshakeable conviction.