She tried to hide the shock in her voice, but Isaac could still hear it clearly.
"I wouldn’t call it easy. I needed an SSS+ rank Class to do this," Isaac replied calmly.
Lord Bella slowly looked away from the stalk and toward Isaac. At this point, she had completely forgotten about losing the competition earlier. Sure, failing to make Isaac her subordinate was disappointing. A City Lord with his talents would have strengthened the Mistborns tremendously. But now things were different.
If Isaac could truly remove the genetic flaw of the Mistborn race, then even having him as an ally would already be a blessing beyond measure. At the same time, another realization had begun forming inside her mind.
Maybe she and the other Lords had underestimated him from the very beginning.
Isaac had grown far too quickly. Not only did he possess terrifying farming abilities, but he also had countless hidden cards. Strange summons. High-ranking skills. Absurd stats. Knowledge he should not possess.
None of it made sense.
’There must be an Ascender supporting him from behind the scenes. Only an Ascender could explain growth like this. They must be secretly giving him resources and guidance,’ Lord Bella thought.
The more she thought about it, the more convinced she became. If an Ascender truly stood behind Isaac, then trying to conquer him would be suicide. An Ascender was not someone the Lords could provoke casually.
"How many types of genetic alterations can you perform?" Lord Bella asked.
"Many," Isaac answered. "I can show you a few more if you want. Give me more seeds."
Lord Bella immediately handed over several more Vitality Grain seeds. Isaac casually accepted them and started working again.
He altered one seed after another while Lord Bella watched from the side. Some grains became larger and denser. Some developed sharper roots capable of absorbing mana faster. One stalk became unusually flexible while another produced grains with much higher vitality.
As Lord Bella observed the process, her emotions gradually shifted. First came shock. Then disbelief. And finally awe.
One had to understand what Vitality Grain represented. This was not some ordinary crop.
Vitality Grain was one of the greatest achievements of Florathi’s biological engineering. Despite their resourcefulness, these grains were delicate. Even Florathi would struggle to modify their genes further without killing the plant entirely. Countless researchers, resources, and experiments would be needed to make even the smallest successful alteration.
Yet Isaac was changing the genes of the grains as casually as flipping his hand.
No.
Calling it casual almost felt insulting.
He was treating something Florathi considered a treasure like simple practice material.
’He might actually be capable of altering the genes of the Ten Thousand Year Ginseng,’ Lord Bella thought seriously.
That realization alone was enough to shake her deeply.
"This is enough. I trust your abilities now," Lord Bella finally said after watching several more demonstrations.
Isaac stopped what he was doing and looked toward her.
"However, I still need permission from Sir Cyclone before allowing you near the Ten Thousand Year Ginseng. Until then, we will form a Contract," she said.
Isaac nodded slightly, signaling her to continue.
"I will keep your abilities hidden and make sure news of this does not spread. In return, you will not leak the secret regarding the Mistborns. For signing the Contract, I will compensate you generously," Lord Bella said.
"How generously?" Isaac asked with a smile.
"1000 Gold Coins, one Random Dungeon Stone, and several rare seeds from our treasury. If Sir Cyclone agrees to let you alter the Ten Thousand Year Ginseng, we will pay you again for the attempt, and then once more if you succeed."
Isaac smiled.
The offer was honestly extremely generous. For most City Lords, it would already be enough to celebrate.
Unfortunately for Lord Bella, Isaac had no intention of letting her off easily.
"Only 1000 Gold Coins? I revealed dangerous information and placed myself at risk by telling you I knew the Mistborns’ secret. If I had failed to persuade you, your City or even Sir Cyclone himself might have attacked us," Isaac said.
He continued speaking without pause. "Not only that, but I also exposed hidden abilities that I normally keep secret. I went through all this trouble because I wanted to help the Mistborns. I couldn’t watch such a noble race live with limitations. So, I put my life on the line, and revealed so many things to Lord Bella, and yet, in exchange, I only receive 1000 Gold Coins?"
Lord Bella became speechless.
This shameless bastard.
She had already planned to pay him again later if he truly succeeded in helping the Ten Thousand Year Ginseng. The current payment was merely a gesture of goodwill for establishing friendly relations.
And on top of that, he had destroyed all five Steam Suits belonging to her team during the competition. Each Steam Suit cost around 100 Gold Coins and required weeks to manufacture. Moreover, a Steam Suits was a set piece that was made up of several artifacts. Losing one Steam Suit meant losing several powerful artifacts.
She had not even asked him to compensate her for those losses.
Yet now he was sitting here trying to rob her openly.
"1000 Gold Coins is not a small amount. And the real value lies in the Random Dungeon Stone and rare seeds. In your hands, those seeds could produce tremendous results," Lord Bella said while trying to maintain her composure.
Isaac laughed lightly.
"Lord Bella must be joking. A Random Dungeon Stone is random. It might give me something useless. And regarding the seeds, I don’t even know what they are yet." He shrugged slightly. "For all I know, they could be seeds like Vitality Grain that cannot reproduce naturally. In that case, I would only get a single harvest."
"Your Talent Rank is extremely high, Lord Isaac. Surely you know what that means. You possess divine blood in your veins. Only Demigods can possess Talents and skills at your level As a Demigod, your luck should naturally exceed ordinary people. For someone like you, a Random Dungeon Stone is actually more valuable than a fixed Dungeon Stone," Lord Bella countered.
"Luck is intangible. Trusting my future to Lady Luck does not sound very reliable to me," Isaac replied with a smile.
Lord Bella almost lost control of her words.
This man was impossible to negotiate with.
The two continued haggling for quite some time. Isaac refused to retreat even a single step. And honestly, he did not need to.
He was the stronger side in this negotiation. The Mistborns needed him far more than he needed them.
Eventually, Lord Bella let out a long sigh.
"Fine. I will add another 500 Gold Coins. And during today’s negotiations with the other Lords, I will support you. This is my final offer," she said.
She almost felt pain saying those words.
A total of 1500 Gold Coins. That amount alone could purchase fifteen Steam Suits, or 15 new Cities.
"Deal," Isaac replied immediately with a bright smile.
Lord Bella’s mist trembled slightly. Seeing how quickly he accepted only made her feel more robbed.
She took out a Contract and began filling in the details carefully. Isaac read through every line after she finished.
Neither side attempted to hide loopholes or traps. At their level, ruining trust over something small was foolish.
Once Isaac confirmed everything was correct, he signed the Contract.
Lord Bella did the same.
The Contract glowed briefly before disappearing.
"Take these," Lord Bella said.
Three spatial rings floated out from within her mist body.
"One contains the Random Dungeon Stone. Another contains the 1500 Gold Coins. The last one contains the seeds."
Isaac accepted the rings calmly. He was not surprised that she already had the seeds prepared. She had most likely intended to use them as bargaining chips during later negotiations anyway.
Isaac inspected the contents carefully.
A faint smile soon appeared on his face.
Several of the seeds inside were genuinely precious medicinal plants. If cultivated properly with his abilities, they could produce extremely valuable medicines and potions.
This alone made the deal worthwhile.
Isaac stored the rings away before looking back at Lord Bella.
"So, since you promised to help me during today’s negotiations, tell me something. How exactly were you planning to make me your subordinate?" he asked.
Lord Bella’s mist body became still.
Isaac smiled faintly and continued before she could answer.
"And if you know anything about the plans of the other Lords, I would appreciate hearing those as well."
Avery had started the competition and flipped the entire board upside down.
Originally, the Lords would have needed to slowly pressure Isaac through negotiations, benefits, and political influence. Or perhaps, they had a different plan.
But after the competition was announced, the situation changed completely. If one of the Lords won, they could openly make Isaac their subordinate without needing excuses or complicated schemes.
At the same time, the competition had also benefited Isaac.
If he won, he could freely take resources and treasures from the Lords without carrying political baggage afterward. The competition had created a legal and public excuse for both sides to seize advantages from the other.
Still, Isaac did not believe the Lords had entered this gathering unprepared.
Long before Avery announced the competition, they must have already discussed methods to pull Isaac toward their side.
Which meant they definitely had backup plans.
Lord Bella remained silent for a few moments before speaking.
"You are correct. Before the competition was announced, every Lord already had their own plans regarding you," she admitted.
Isaac folded his arms and listened quietly.
"The simplest method was benefits. Some Lords—like Lord Hass—planned to tempt you with resources, protection, and future support. Your growth speed is terrifying, but your City is still weak compared to older powers. Many believed you would eventually choose a faction to rely on."
Isaac nodded slightly. That much was expected.
A newly rising power naturally attracted attempts at recruitment.
"However, not everyone intended to recruit you peacefully," Lord Bella said.
"Like you?" Isaac asked.
She remained silent for several second before sighing.
"Yes, like me," she said. "I planned to—"