The trip to Fortified City 50 was short.
By the time they arrived, the night was in full swing, and the city lights shimmered like crystals in the distance.
The car rolled into the gates of a 5-star resort on the city’s east side.
The walls were lined with pale vines and glowing lanterns.
It was quiet and secluded, clearly meant for the wealthy or the influential.
"Althea is on the top floor," Professor Catherine said as the car stopped.
Isaac nodded.
He and Leora stepped out first.
The air here smelled clean, and floral.
Professor Catherine disappeared after waving him off with a teasing grin before the car door shut.
Inside, the staff guided them to the suite Althea was staying in.
The hallways were polished and silent.
Isaac stopped before the door and knocked twice.
The door opened a moment later, and Charlotta—Althea’s bodyguard—stood there.
Her sharp eyes softened slightly when she saw him.
"Mr. Isaac. Please, come in."
He gave a polite nod and stepped inside.
The suite was spacious, with soft couches and a low table in the middle.
The lighting was warm and calm.
Althea sat on one of the couches, her posture straight but relaxed.
She looked up when he entered, smiling faintly.
"Isaac," she greeted. "You came."
"Of course," he said, returning the smile. "How are the accommodations? Everything fine?"
"They’re more than fine. It’s been a long time since I could spend so much time in such peace," she said.
"I’m glad you’re enjoying it," he said, taking a seat opposite her.
Leora quietly stood behind him, her usual expression unreadable.
Althea’s eyes flicked toward her for a moment, showing a faint wariness, then she went back to Isaac.
Charlotta moved with quiet grace, setting down a tray with a teapot and two cups.
A faint herbal scent filled the air.
"This is a famous tea from our kingdom. It helps the mind relax and think clearly," Althea said, pouring some for him.
Isaac lifted the cup and took a sip.
It was light, with a strange cooling taste that lingered on his tongue.
"It’s good," he said simply.
"I’m glad you think that," Althea replied, smiling again.
For a while, they spoke about small things. The weather in the northern sectors, the trouble with the new trade routes, the way some Lords had been stopping their expansion.
It was a calm, and ordinary conversation.
But eventually, Isaac leaned back and said quietly, "What do you know about Sinkhole Worms?"
The room went still.
Althea looked at him for a moment, not speaking.
Then her eyes widened slightly, as if she had come to a realization.
"Was the letter... no. Don’t tell me. If the contents were meant only for you, I won’t ask."
She took a small breath and continued. "Yes, we know about them. They’re a problem across several regions. They destroy farmlands, break underground routes, even collapse entire cities if they grow large enough."
She reached into her spatial ring and brought out a small, round seed the size of her fist.
She placed it on the table between them.
The surface shimmered faintly, as if light were trapped inside.
"This is called the Verdant Baitseed.
" It’s an artificial plant created by our Biomancers.
"When a large number of these are planted, they release a special fluid through their roots. It spreads through the ground, and the Sinkhole Worms are drawn to it , " she said.
Isaac leaned forward slightly, listening.
"They come up to feed," Althea went on. "The flower that grows from this plant reaches around five meters tall, and it emits a scent that keeps the worms fixated on it.
"But if they sense a hostile presence nearby, they’ll retreat underground again. So it’s best to have a strong archer positioned far away.
"That way, the worms can be killed before they detect danger."
Isaac picked up the seed, turning it in his hand.
"That’s useful," he said. "I’ll—"
"Wait," Althea interrupted, raising a hand. "Let me finish first."
He stopped.
She looked serious now, her tone losing its warmth. "I know you can create and offer many kinds of crops and resources, Isaac. But that’s not what I want from you. What I want is a promise."
He stayed silent, waiting.
"When you come to our kingdom," she said, "I only ask that you consider the Seventh Queen’s faction first. You don’t need to side with us permanently.
"Just... look at us before you decide to support anyone else. If you still don’t like us, then you can choose another faction. In exchange, I’ll give you this seed."
Isaac’s eyes narrowed slightly.
"That’s a bit too generous," he said.
"It is," she admitted. "But there’s a reason."
She raised one finger.
"Your Talent is something that has never been seen before.
"The Seventh Queen sent me personally to congratulate you, because even the World Tree itself acknowledged your existence.
"If we ignored you when we could help, the World Tree might take it as an insult. We cannot allow that."
Then she raised another finger.
"This seed is only one. I have five more, but that’s still not enough if you plan to deal with multiple Sinkhole worms.
"Also, the plants grown from these seeds don’t produce new seeds. They were engineered that way, just like Vitality Grain. It keeps us in control of their production."
Isaac listened quietly.
"There’s another issue," she said, her voice dropping slightly. "A weakness our Biomancers designed on purpose."
Isaac frowned. "What kind of weakness?"
"These plants have almost no vitality. They need to be grown by mages who can handle Life Element magic, needing several of them to work together. And they’ll need vitality-boosting spells to even take root. Without that, they’ll die in the soil."
Isaac rubbed his chin, thinking. "So, even if I plant it, it won’t grow without help."
"Exactly," she said. "You’ll need our support. We’ll send Life Mages from our kingdom to assist. It will take one week for these seeds to grow to maturation."
"How long will that take to come?" he asked.
"Two weeks. But that is if they hurry," she said. "
Isaac pressed his lips into a thin line.
Two weeks was too long.
Weak vitality wasn’t really a problem for him.
He already had ways to deal with that.
With his class skills, he could merge the genes of vitality grain crops into these plants, giving them stronger life energy.
It was possible.
The one-week growth period wasn’t an issue either.
He had a skill rank improvement card.
If he used it on one of his wives and shared the effect, it would raise the rank of his Seed of Providence skill.
That skill alone could make plants mature instantly.
He wasn’t entirely sure how much the upgrade would change it, but he had a feeling.
His instincts told him — he suspected he could guess this growth path because he had a high rank Talent —— that once improved, Seed of Providence would let him grow an entire type of plant at once, instantly bringing them to full maturity.
That kind of ability would be overpowered, but for a transcendent skill, it sounded just right.
The real problem was the number of seeds.
He only had six.
"The number of seeds shouldn’t be a problem," Althea suddenly said.
Isaac looked up at her. "What do you mean?"
"Fortified City 22. They have a relic that allows them to clone seeds. They usually use it to grow their own vitality grains instead of buying them from us. We allowed it since it doesn’t affect our trade much, as long as they don’t sell the clones."
Isaac nodded slowly. "So you’re saying we can get that relic from them."
"Yes. But I’m not sure if they’ll let you use it," she said. "
"They will," Isaac said without hesitation. "They’re also in a dangerous position because of the Sinkhole Worms. If they want to survive, they’ll cooperate."
Althea smiled faintly. "Then I wish you luck with that."
"Thanks for the seed. I’ll remember this favor," Isaac said.
"It’s not a favor," Althea said, shaking her head. "I already told you what I want. But are you sure you can handle the low vitality and long growth time? How long do you have until the Sinkhole Worms become a real problem?"
"I can deal with both. And we have until tomorrow noon," Isaac said honestly.
"That soon?" she asked quietly.
He nodded. "You should be ready to leave for your kingdom if things go wrong here."
Althea’s smile faded a little, but she nodded. "I understand."
They talked for a few more minutes, going over small details about the plants and the Life Mages, then Isaac finally decided to leave.
Leora followed him out, quiet as always.
Once they reached the car, Isaac stretched his arms a little.
"Leora, can we get an appointment with the overlord of Fortified City 22 now? We should go there next."
Leora didn’t answer right away.
She adjusted the mirror, then started the car.
"It’s late. Let’s meet them tomorrow."
Before Isaac could respond, a familiar voice came from the back seat.
"I can get an appointment in the next hour," Professor Catherine said, appearing out of nowhere with her usual grin. "Should I?"
Leora glanced at her through the mirror. "Get one for the morning instead."
Isaac turned his head toward her. "The rain will start around eleven tomorrow. We don’t have that kind of time."
"We do. We’ve sorted out almost everything today. If we start early tomorrow morning, we can deal with the Sinkhole Worms," Leora said calmly.
Isaac frowned. "But—"
Leora cut him off, her tone firm. "The overlord of Fortified City 22 will definitely use this as an excuse to demand excessive resources from us. They’ve been annoyed ever since we started attracting their clients, and this is their chance to push back. If we go rushing to them tonight, they’ll think we’re desperate."
She glanced at Professor Catherine, then back at Isaac.
"But if we wait until morning," she continued, "they’ll assume we have some kind of backup plan. Don’t forget: they’re in danger from the worms too. That pressure will make them easier to deal with."
Isaac leaned back against the seat. "I admit that it sounds like a good plan."
"Yes, that’s because they don’t have a choice. They’re not strong enough to handle it on their own," Leora said.
Isaac looked out the window.
He used to think Sword Empress was someone who was upright.
Her choice of choking the rope around the Fortified City 22’s neck before meeting them surprised him.
It made him wonder if their Overlord’s action of helping the governor had pissed of Sword Empress more than he expected.
I guess she is hiding her anger. Makes sense. Given her personality, she must’ve been devasted to know hundreds of awakeners died because of Governor and the Fortified City 22’s Overlord schemes.
The city lights passed by in long, glowing lines.
"Fine. We’ll go in the morning," he said after a moment.
Leora nodded. "Good. You also need to rest tonight."
He gave her a look. "I’ll rest after this is done."
"No," Leora said firmly. "We still have to upgrade the city wall tomorrow. After that, we have to face the Sinkhole Worms.
"And then there’s the quest waiting after that. Tonight is the only time you can rest properly."
"If you keep pushing without sleep. it’ll cause more trouble later. And we can’t afford that now," Leora said.
Isaac didn’t argue.
He knew she was right.
He looked back in the rearview mirror and he could swear he saw Professor Catherine click her tongue in irritation.
However, when he blinked, her irritated expression was gone, replaced by her usual smile.
They reached the teleported, and returned to Fortified City 89.
From there, they took another jeep home.
Isaac handled the farm before entering the house.
I’m really starting to think I need a cloning skill. He sighed.
He had come to like farming.
However, when someone needed to do something twenty times a day, they could come to dislike it even if it was their favorite thing.