100 Tier 1 Vitality Grain Seeds harvested. Mana +1000. Constitution +1000.
You have obtained 500 Tier 1 Vitality Grain Seeds.
These were the improved seeds.
The seed tree's maturation duration was the same as the vitality grains.
While Isaac could hasten it or slow it by manipulating the nutrient flow, it would be burdensome.
He would have to come and harvest the crops at different times, and he was already doing it four times a day, which meant, he would need to do it 8 or perhaps 10 times if the timings didn't match.
Since Isaac was no longer in hurry to make money, there was no reason to force the seed tree to give harvest quickly.
Besides, the main reason for getting stronger was to have a comfortable life. If he couldn't have that, what was the point of having a SSS rank Talent?
The new grains were stacked neatly into spatial storage, ready for use later.
He then harvested the Tier 2, Tier 1, Tier 0 Vitality grains and the vegetables.
225 Tier 2 Vitality Grain harvested.
45 droplets of Basic Life Energy (Peak Tier 1) harvested.
Mana +1,125. Constitution +1,125.
You have obtained 1,125 Tier 2 Vitality Grain Seeds.
You have obtained 225 droplets of Basic Life Energy (Peak Tier 1).
The notifications for Tier 1 and other grains followed.
There was a special message at the end.
Reaper's Bounty has reached Level 6 → 7
Isaac grinned, seeing the skill growing.
After arranging the harvest, he brushed the dust off his gloves, and pulled out his device and scrolled through the contacts.
He tapped Alice's name and waited. The call rang several times with no response. He frowned, wondering if she was in the middle of something.
Then the screen lit up.
Alice's hologram flickered to life in front of him. She looked different, like a goddess to be exact.
Golden flames curled around her body like a living aura. Her blonde hair flowed as if caught in a breeze, shining brightly like golden silk, and her red eyes gleamed like rubies.
She had clearly activated a skill. Whatever she was fighting, it was serious.
"Am I disturbing you?" Isaac asked. "I can call later if you're in the middle of something."
Alice looked away for a moment, her eyes following something out of view. Then she shook her head.
"Emily wants to fight this one alone," she said calmly. "So I've got a few minutes."
Isaac frowned. She looked anything but free. Still, the call had connected. Delaying would only waste time.
Unnoticed by him, Alice's gaze drifted to Celia. The pink-haired girl waved with a bright smile, but Alice didn't respond. She looked back at Isaac instead, leaving Celia a little puzzled.
"I wanted to ask about land," Isaac said, focusing back on the call. "How much land can I buy right now? I want to expand the farm."
Alice nodded. "You had ten billion credits total. I used one and a half billion for company permissions and to speed up the registration process."
Isaac didn't react. Bribery was expected. Getting anything done quickly often required greasing a few palms.
"Another three billion is marked as emergency funds," Alice continued. "We're not touching that unless something big goes wrong. One billion is set aside for employee salaries and related costs."
He nodded again. The salary pool was overkill for now, but it gave them room to scale up quickly if needed. And the emergency fund was a necessity given the volatility of their work.
After all, there was no knowing when the stronghold would be destroyed and he would lose his farm. Although the Sanctum was protecting them, Isaac was under no illusion that they were invincible.
"So you've got four and a half billion left," Alice said. "Right now, the going rate in the stronghold is seven hundred million per hectare. But with our ties to the administration, we can get it at four hundred million per hectare."
Isaac winced.
The prices were climbing fast. Land had become a premium commodity, especially for those trying to set up sustainable businesses or support combat efforts.
He could buy land further away for cheaper, but travelling to a faraway farm would take time, and it would be a waste of time and efforts.
"So I can buy eleven hectares?" he asked.
"Exactly," Alice replied. "I've already prepared the property documents. Sending them to you now."
Isaac blinked. "You had them ready?"
"I figured you'd make this decision soon," she said with a smug gaze.
A small smile tugged at his lips. "Thanks, Alice."
"Take care," she said, and the hologram flickered out.
"Woah," Celia said from beside him. "She looked strong."
Isaac nodded. "She is."
A new notification appeared on his device.
True to her word, Alice had sent the property documents.
The land was directly adjacent to his current fields, meaning he wouldn't have to waste time or resources on new layouts or travel.
After reviewing the forms, he filled them out and submitted them directly to the Sanctum of Masters' land management officials.
Technically, he could've forwarded the document back to Alice and let her handle the rest – she had told him to do that – but he didn't want to interrupt her.
Once the confirmation came through, Isaac pocketed his device and walked out toward the boundary of the new land.
The soil looked untouched but healthy. This was the blessing of land in Fortified Cities. They had mana purifiers and the dome shield protected them from Mana Poison Rain.
Isaac could tell that the land here was much better than Fortified City 50. He suspected it was because this place was Tier 2 City, and that one was a Tier 1 City.
He pulled out a mana potion and uncorked it. The faint blue liquid shimmered before he poured it slowly over the ground. The earth soaked it in like a sponge, and the surrounding air pulsed faintly in response.
He repeated the process several times, pouring endless mana potions over the eleven hectares.
Then he activated his Sovereign of Land skill.
A wave of controlled energy spread from his feet, flowing evenly across the entire eleven hectares, and the other twenty-four hectares.
Nutrients in the soil were redistributed. Mana particles stabilized. It wasn't flashy, but the change was immediate. The land was ready to grow crops.
Isaac quickly made some mental calculations.
'Twenty vitality grain seeds are planted per hectare.'
'Since I'm getting 500 Tier 1 Seeds that can be give Tier 2 Vitality in one harvest, I can plant them in almost all of my farms instead of Tier 0 Seeds.'
'It would bring maximum profit.'
'But there is still a huge demand for Tier 1 and Tier 0 Seeds, so I shouldn't neglect them.'
His thoughts churned to find the best profit-amount ration for the crops.
'I will grow Tier 2 Vitality Grains in 10 hectares, Tier 1 Vitality Grains ten hectares, Tier 0 Vitality Grains and vegetables five-five hectare each.'
It might look Isaac was not growing almost negligible Tier 0 Vitality Grains but that was wrong.
Tier 0 Vitality Grain stalk had twenty-two Tier 0 Vitality Grains on each stalk. On other hand, Tier 2 Vitality Grain stalk had only five grains on each stalk.
This difference in number was why he had decided on this crop area distribution.
'I will have a lot of Tier 1 Vitality Grain Seeds left.'
'Hmm, I should try to see if I can use them to trade with Florathi race.'
'Although only I can turn these seeds into Tier 2 Grains, these seeds should be still valuable for them.'
'I'll ask Professor Catherine when she returns and see if I can set a meeting with her.'
Isaac planted the seeds by using the roots.
With his current mastery, he could feel skill Sovereign of Land skill was on the verge of levelling up.
It would soon reach Level 9.
'A Level 9 skill. It's almost unheard of.'
Level 10 was the maximum level of a skill. Barely anyone could go beyond Level 5 in their skills, and even those who could, would stop at Level 7.
Isaac was already at Level 8.
After reaching Level 8, its levelling pace had slowed considerably.
However, thanks to Professor Catherine's training, which forced him to learn to grow roots from remote territories of his, he could feel his skill mastery going up rapidly again.
He could feel he was on the cusp of reaching Level 9.
'Just a bit more, and I will reach there.'
He turned towards Celia after he finished his work.
"We can go now."
She nodded, and created a portal.
…
Oran Fennel POV
Oran was pissed.
No, he was furious. The anger boiled under his skin, and it made his throat and hands shake.
He stood by the tall window of his office, fists clenched at his sides, jaw grinding.
The view overlooked Sector 3's commercial district, but his gaze wasn't on the streets or the traffic.
He could think of nothing but her face.
That friendly yet cold expression, the way she looked past him like he was just another bureaucrat. As if the name Oran Fennel didn't mean a damn thing.
His reflection glared back at him. Handsome, young, dressed in a fitted three-piece suit that practically screamed status.
But his expression was warped by rage.
"How dare that bitch ignore me," he muttered. "Who the hell does she think she is?"
Behind him, his secretary stood stiff and silent.
"I'm the reason the Awakener Faction supports her!" Oran shouted suddenly, spinning around. "If not for me, the Calloways would've already been wand-banging under that older sister of hers! That bitch would lose everything if not for me!"
The secretary flinched as a water glass flew across the room and shattered against his temple.
The sharp edge nicked his skin, and blood trickled down the side of his face.
But he didn't say a word. He merely bowed slightly, holding the clipboard tighter.