Selene sat straighter and spoke calmly.
“We’ll test the grain. Once we’ve confirmed the results, we’ll propose a price.”
The testers stepped forward and carefully collected the Tier 1 Vitality Grain. They ran a few scans, then one of them looked up.
“These are quite potent. Full testing will take some time.”
Selene didn’t seem bothered. She smiled slightly and turned to Isaac.
“That’s fine. In the meantime… do you have anything interesting to do?”
Isaac caught her meaning.
She was more than capable of carrying on conversation to pass the time, but it was clear by the way she phrased that question that she was of asking him if he could show her around.
Isaac nodded. “Would you like to see the fields? It’s nearly time to harvest anyway.”
“Sounds good,” Selene replied.
They made their way outside.
The sun had climbed high by now.
Alice followed a few steps behind.
As they reached the rows of crops, Alice finally spoke up. “How long do these crops take to grow?”
“Six hours,” Isaac replied.
Alice gave a quiet nod.
She didn’t say anything else, but Isaac could tell that surprised her. Not that she’d ever show it outright.
Selene, on the other hand, didn’t hold back. “Six hours? That kind of speed could shift the entire market dynamic. With volume like this, even low supply bottlenecks would vanish.”
Isaac smiled and stepped into the field.
He swung his hoe twice, letting mana spread through the ground in gentle waves.
The grains detached cleanly from the stalks, while the rest loosened for burning.
200 Tier 1 Vitality Grain Crops harvested. Mana +100. Constitution +100.
You have obtained 1000 Tier 1 Vitality Grains.
Constitution: 100 [325 → 425]
Mana: 100 [368 → 468]
Selene noticed the 200 Grains had turned into 1000 when they were harvested.
She was curious but she didn’t ask about it. It was considered impolite to probe into someone’s skill unless offered directly.
Once the harvesting was complete, Isaac moved to carry the grains inside. Alice and Selene exchanged a brief glance.
“We’ll help,” Selene offered.
“You don’t need to,” Isaac replied.
But Alice was already picking up a basket.
“Guess I don’t have a choice now.” Selene quipped and picked up another.
They brought the grains inside the crates, and put them next to the other crates inside the the house.
Isaac, already moving into habit, stepped back outside and began burning the leftover stalks.
He spread the ash across the soil and started replanting.
He was deep in the work and didn’t notice when Selene quietly excused herself and returned to the house, likely to escape the glaring heat.
But Alice remained.
When he straightened from finishing the last section, she was there.
She handed him a damp towel and a cold glass of juice without saying anything.
“Thanks,” he said, wiping his face.
“Thank Leora,” Alice replied. “She prepared them. I just delivered.”
Isaac gave her a long look.
She was always quiet, at least in front of others.
But today there was something missing.
Normally, her silence brought tension and a suffocating pressure for others, which was why most classmates avoided her.
But now… she looked distracted.
He tapped the cold glass to her cheek, and she flinched.
“Kyaa—!”
She jumped back, and eyes went wide as she glared at him.
Isaac chuckled. “There we go. That’s the Alice I remember.”
“If you try that again, I’ll beat you like I always did during training.”
“Wait, what?” Isaac spoke. “Don’t act like you were ever stronger. I’m still leading our duels. 533 wins to your 470.”
Alice raised an eyebrow. “Are you getting more shameless out here? It was 550 to 453. In my favor.”
“Calling me a liar with that balant lie and a deadpan face at that… You should’ve been called the ’Shameless Princess’, not the ’Mad Princess.’” Isaac smirked.
Alice blinked. “What nickname? No one called me that.”
“Well, not to your face. No one wanted to get their noses bashed in after the first few examples.”
They stared at each other, neither backing down, until Isaac broke the tension with a low laugh.
His smile faded when he noticed Alice… smiling too. Just a little. But it was there.
“Stop acting like you saw the sun rise from the west,” she said.
He shrugged, sipping from the juice.
A few quiet moments passed. Then he asked, “So what’ve you been doing lately?”
“Logistics,” she said, twirling her hair. “Since I did not awaken a Talent, I’ve been trying to prove myself through work. I could get a better position through nepotism, but that would be harmful in the long run.”
Isaac nodded. “That suits you.”
Her shoulders relaxed a little more.
Her complexion looked healthier now, color returning to her cheeks as they chatted.
The tension she’d been carrying when she arrived was slowly melting.
Alice had heard how people changed overnight after awakening a powerful Talent, and became arrogant.
She was glad that Isaac was not one of them.
A few minutes later, a courier carrying a sealed folder approached the field.
He handed it to Isaac.
“These are the result of the grain test. General Magnus ordered them to be delivered to you.”
Isaac took it with a nod and sat on the crate.
He opened the report and began reading.
Tier 1 Vitality Grain – Evaluation Summary:
– Passively restores 2 Mana per minute for 72 hours
– Detoxifies lowest-tier poisons
– Compatible with potion use; effects do not conflict
– Restores fatigue equivalent to deep rest
– Satiates hunger for 72 hours
Isaac whistled. “Two mana per minute for three days, and poison detoxification?”
That was no joke.
A typical Initiate would need two level-ups to gain that kind of Mana Regeneration. And these grains stacked with potions?
Even with high mana compatibility, stacking two recovery sources was rare.
Most people couldn’t even attempt it without risking a backlash.
But these grains didn’t interfere with potion intake at all.
They worked in parallel.
Alice peeked at the report.
“Selene will offer around 40,000 Obols per grain for these,” she said. “And if you count the ’trick’ you pulled with Selene earlier, you’ll walk away with 50,000 per grain after the conglomerate’s cut.”
Isaac looked up from the paper.
“Fifty thousand?”
He looked back toward the field.
He could harvest over a thousand grains every six hours. That was fifty million every harvest.
It was way more than hunting elite-ranked monsters for ’only’ three millions.
He laughed quietly. “Farming really is better than fighting.”
Then he looked at her.
“Is it alright for you to tell me this? You’re part of the Calloway side.”
“Keep your mouth shut, and no one will know. Besides, you probably figured this out already.”
Isaac headed back inside with Alice in tow.
She seemed to have recharged.
By the time they arrived, Selene was sitting at the main table, reviewing a similar report from her testers.
Her eyes were wide for a moment but then she regained her usual expression.
Leora stood in the corner. She had a subtle smile. Professor Catherine looked relaxed, one leg over the other with satisfaction.
Isaac sat quietly across from them, glancing at all their faces.
Was it him or did the two of them look proud due to the result of Tier 1 Vitality Grains?