Fight using the pigs? What kind of bullshit is this?
To be fair, when people think of pigs, they often imagine wild boars and assume the pigs raised on farms are ferocious beasts. But the reality is quite the opposite.
Farm pigs are raised by human hands from the moment they are born. Throughout their lives, they are subjected to injections, tail docking, teeth clipping, and castration for the males.
Just as a human might develop lifelong trauma from a single painful tooth extraction as a child, these beasts undergo a relentless series of even more brutal procedures from birth.
As a result, pigs accumulate enough trauma regarding humans that, later in life, they flee the moment a person even approaches. And if you manage to catch one, they do nothing but scream that squealing sound of a pig being gutted.
They don't resist. Not even a little.
They are creatures with massive bodies but zero power—utterly helpless.
Of course, they aren't completely stupid; there are exceptions where they gather when they smell slop. And aside from the uncastrated boars kept for breeding—which we don't have on this farm—my point stands.
Based on these facts, telling me to fight using these pigs when my own combat ability is garbage is basically telling me to stand there like an idiot and watch my farm burn to the ground.
"What, you want me to form a legion out of these things? If I tried to fight with this lot, we'd become the definition of a disorganized rabble. Even a 'ragtag militia' would be a compliment compared to me and a herd of terrified swine!"
At my words, the damn message window seemed to stay silent for a moment, as if contemplating, before continuing its speech in front of me.
[ You are truly a pathetic individual! Did you really think I would tell you this without having made preparations?! ]
"Ugh..."
Honestly, if someone suddenly told you to fight using pigs, who in their right mind would accept it? 'Ah, yes, the pigs are protecting me, so I can sleep soundly tonight with my legs stretched out.' Yeah, right.
[ Stop making excuses! It was you who cut me off in a sudden burst of rage before I even finished speaking! ]
I didn't have a retort for that. But still, me freaking out at the suggestion of fighting with pigs was due to a lack of explanation on their end, so let's just call it even. Hmph.
[ Ahem! Then I shall continue! ]
As soon as the message window finished speaking, a different window appeared before me. Unlike the transparent ones I had seen so far, this one had a deep, solid blue background.
[ First, for the Link between the Awakener and the Farm, please grab the handle in front of you. ]
It felt like reading a product manual.
But between this sudden window popping up and not having heard the reason properly yet, this felt...
[ Please... grab it. ]
The blue message window floated right up to my nose, approaching with a fierce momentum as if it were about to shove me if I hesitated. Naturally, I felt uneasy.
It appeared on its own ten years ago, didn't offer a single word of greeting let alone help while the world changed, and now it shows up saying, 'Your farm will burn down if things go on like this, so take my hand'?
And on the very first day I decided to stand on my own two feet?
However, suspicious or not, if the outcome was total incineration whether I grabbed it or not, I at least needed to know why it was going to burn. I had no choice. They called it a tutorial, but it was practically a forced quest.
The moment I followed the message's instructions and grabbed the door handle of the pigsty.
[ Starting Tutorial! ]
"Wait, suddenly?! No, hey, you should explain things properly befo—"
It didn't allow me to stammer out my confusion at the abrupt start. A brilliant light suddenly began to pour out from the door handle I was gripping.
[ Linking Awakener and Farm... Do not let go of your hand! ]
It felt like my hand was being sucked into a sticky mouse trap. I was terrified as the handle seemed to pull my hand deeper into it, but I didn't pull away.
Since I inherited this farm from my father, everything that happens here is my responsibility.
It wasn't because I was some unprecedented filial son of the century mourning for three years or anything like that. I simply wanted to leave behind the sentiment that I had at least worked hard for the father who trusted me enough to leave this farm in my care.
Above all, now that I knew some unknown entity was trying to lay its hands on my property, I couldn't just stand by and watch with my eyes wide open. I had no choice but to hold onto that door handle, enduring the ceaseless, unpleasant sensation.
[ Link... 27% Complete... 28% Complete... ]
The light that had been spewing from the handle began to spread, centering on me and the door. A transparent yet deep blue light, similar to the message window, began to cover everything.
Starting with the pigsty where I held the handle, it spread to the ground beneath my feet, the feed storage, the manure pit, and even the farm's guard dog, Ddongchi, and his doghouse.
Like a laminating process, the blue light enveloped every object, building, and even the beasts on the farm grounds. Finally, with a message window reading [ 100% Complete ], the light slowly began to fade.
[ Link between the Awakener and the Awakener's owned Farm is complete. ]
Then, suddenly, from beyond the door handle I was holding—from beyond the cracks of the door where the light had seeped through—a massive commotion erupted. The pigs began to scream in chaos.
"What?! What was that just now?! What did you do to the farm?!"
I didn't know what it was, but something had definitely happened inside the pigsty beyond this door. The pigs' screaming didn't stop; it was more than just a momentary panic.
[ It is part of the preparations I mentioned earlier. ]
Sure, when I was ranting alone about how it was impossible to fight with pigs, it did mention preparations...
"What kind of preparations?"
[ I scanned the Awakener's farm in its entirety. Furthermore, I scanned all pigs inhabiting this land and this dimension. The result confirmed that there are no pigs with enough martial power to protect the Awakener's farm. ]
"That's... true, right?"
There were plenty of cases where goblins emerging from unnoticed natural dungeons wandered out to feed, only to get road-killed by a sounder of wild boars and wiped out. So, simply in terms of combat power, a goblin is weaker than a wild boar.
But if it was saying that even including those wild boars wasn't enough, then the threat approaching this farm—whatever it was—was clearly not on the pathetic level of simple goblins.
"But what does that have to do with the commotion happening inside the pigsty right now?"
[ The answer is simple! If a suitable pig cannot be found in this dimension, simply summon one from another dimension! The cause of the chaos currently unfolding inside the pigsty is due to the pig summoned from another dimension! ]
"Hey, you fucker! You should have said that sooner!"
It wasn't just anything—it introduced a strange pig of unknown origin into the pen overnight?
Pigs are smarter creatures than people think.
Even though they live in groups, they don't just shit anywhere; they relieve themselves in designated areas. They have strong social structures and are surprisingly sensitive about their territory.
If a pig from another pen—one that isn't part of their herd, one they didn't grow up with—is introduced, they perceive it as a challenge. A territorial battle will break out in the pen immediately.
There are no exceptions. You can assume they will fight, unconditionally.
And they don't just bicker; frequently, they fight until one side is dead. That's why Father rarely mixed pigs from different groups.
And now it just released a random pig into the sty?!
I couldn't tell if its intention was to help me or not, but right now, I had to clean up the shit this troublemaking nuisance had stirred up. I was about to rush into the pigsty when...
"...No, wait a minute."
As I slightly opened the door, the screaming of the pigs hit me.
Squeeeaaaaal! Gweeeeeeeeh!
They were noisy as always, but this clamor... these cries were not the sounds of a territorial dispute.
They were terrified.
It was as if they had seen me approaching with a needle in hand.
They were screaming in unison, paralyzed by fear at the appearance of an existence they absolutely could not resist.
Still, judging by the absence of the death throes of pigs being slaughtered, it didn't seem to be a predator tearing them apart. But I couldn't drag this out any longer.
"I don't know what it is, but stress damages the meat quality. I need to go in and check."
[ ... ]
I threw open the door to the pigsty and ran toward the pen where the commotion was erupting. The tension filling my chest slowly turned to confusion, and that confusion soon morphed into pure shock.
"Hey! Wh-what is that?!"
"Mmmph!! Mmph!!"
Beyond the transparent blue screen, amidst the cowering pigs, was a woman with platinum blonde hair.
To be precise, judging by the armor wrapped around her body, she looked like a female knight.
"Is that... don't tell me..."
[ Tutorial First Task! Tame the sow in front of you! ]