Author’s Note: The price of Chapter is pre-determined by the word count. Authors don’t determine the price. Long Chapters are automatically expensive, and vice versa.
…
Kael grinned. “Of course—”
He was about to add something else when Thalia’s elbow jabbed into his side.
Nero grabbed Kael by the back of his collar and started pulling him toward the door. “We should head back.”
Thalia gave a polite nod to Isaac. “Thanks for the offer, but we need to leave now. Curfew’s close.”
Kael tried to resist once they were outside. “Why’d you stop me? We were about to get some good food!”
Nero replied without looking back. “Did you not see Isaac’s maid? Her hand was twitching toward her sword when you said that.”
Kael froze mid-step. “…I didn’t notice.”
He gave up and followed them silently, slightly pale.
As Isaac’s maid and bodyguard, she must be extremely strong, probably peak Master rank or maybe even Champion rank.
Kael would rather not anger someone as dangerous as her if he could avoid that.
…
Professor Catherine’s POV
Catherine crouched in the shadow of a half-collapsed wall. Ahead, almost three hundred meters away, two figures moved swiftly through the debris-lined path.
’Good thing I didn’t eliminate the assassin spies I found working inside the Stronghold,’ she thought. ’Now that Isaac’s shop is open, they’re rushing back to report it as quickly as possible.’
It was exactly what she’d hoped for.
They crossed the invisible Stronghold boundary, travelled through the relatively safe territory just outside the stronghold, and entered into the proper Akaza Ruins.
The air was denser here, packed with pungent mana. Dozens of Master and Champion rank monsters roamed the streets. One ruin guard loomed in the distance, patrolling like a silent giant. From how the monsters avoided it, the ruin guard was peak Champion rank, or maybe even higher.
The two assassins navigated the environment expertly, ducking behind broken walls, slipping past the monsters, weaving through danger.
Then they vanished.
Professor Catherine halted. Her eyes narrowed.
’Did they notice me, or is there a hidden entrance here?’
…
Isaac’s POV
Isaac returned home with Leora, Alice, and Tyr. The air had cooled, and the night had descended long ago. Isaac stretched his back and exhaled.
“Thanks for today, everyone,” he said.
They gathered in the kitchen.
Isaac unpacked the ingredients he bought from the market. Monster meat, fresh vegetables, high-grade seasonings.
The bill had been steep: 40,000 Obols. But he wanted to treat everyone, since today was the opening of his first shop.
It was a new beginning for him. That was why invited Nero and others, but they refused.
Leora offered to help in the kitchen, but he waved her off.
“I got it. You all can take a rest.”
By the time dinner was ready, Professor Catherine returned, brushing dust from her coat.
Isaac greeted her without looking up from the table. “Welcome back. Wash up, then come eat.”
She gave a cheeky smile. “Not going to ask why I’m staying again?”
“No,” Isaac replied. “You can stay as long as you want.”
’Not like you’d leave even if I asked,’ he added in his head.
“Oh? Is that you trying to flirt with me now?” she teased.
He shot her a glance, but before he could answer, she pressed on. “Since you’re being so accepting, how about a massage? I’ve been working all day, and my shoulders are stiff.”
“Okay.” He nodded. “It must’ve been rough chasing down those assassin spies.”
Her smile slipped. Just for a second.
She recovered quickly. “Assassins? What are you talking about? I just slipped away because I didn’t feel like working.”
Isaac didn’t press. But he felt he was right.
The way she started staying around after his crops reached Tier 1. The way she quietly kept watch without saying anything.
It was clear to him that she still blamed herself for what happened back at Radiant Crest Academy. The assassination incident had left its mark.
She might act easygoing, but she was always watching.
The reason she started staying behind was to make sure Isaac was protected.
“You want that massage or not?” Isaac asked finally.
“Now that I think about it, no.” She grinned again. “You don’t get to touch my body for free. If you want me in your harem, you’ll have to work harder.”
He rolled his eyes.
Dinner passed with quiet conversation.
Isaac noticed Alice barely spoke, but she cleaned her plate. Leora was, as she did during the lunch, helping Alice by initiating conversations. Emily helped with cleanup while humming softly.
After the meal, Isaac studied until 12, then he stepped outside to harvest the newly grown crops.
He saw the fields filled with Tier 1 Vitality Grains, and a smile appeared on his face.
800 Tier 1 Vitality Grain Crops harvested. Mana +400. Constitution +400.
You have obtained 1800 Tier 0 Vitality Grains.
Constitution: 100 [957 → 1000]
Mana: 100 [1000 → 1000]
Sovereign of Land has reached Level 4 → 5
Active and passive effects strengthened by 120%.
Cooldown: 20 hours → 16 hours
Isaac blinked when he saw the Constitution and Mana.
“The stats capped at 1000?”
A frown appeared on his face. He had lost hundreds of stats because of the cap.
“Is this a hard cap, or will the limit be lifted if my stat limit increases to 1000?”
He approached Professor Catherine to ask about it.
“Oh, you reached 1000 in the backlog? Congrats,” she said, then thought about his words. “I don’t know about it, but I would expect the apex-rank species to have a higher backlog limit, since their base limit is 1000.”
“Yes, Apex’s backlog limit is much higher.” Leora said from the side.
Isaac nodded.
Making Alice a wife and helping her awaken her bloodline just shot up in his priority list.
’The only relief is that while I’m losing tons of stats, the loss is actually not that much. I can recoup my loses with a single harvest. I just need to raise my stat limit.’
After he got his answers, he turned to Professor Catherine.
“Professor Catherine, I want to buy more land.”
“How much?” she asked, raising an eyebrow.
“Five hectares.”
“Are you sure? The total land you will have now will force you to recover mana multiple times to work on all of it.” She crossed her arms. “I know you want to win your bet against Chairman Lucius, but don’t push yourself too hard.”
“I’m fine,” he said. “I can recover Mana quickly with my high Spirit Power.”
“It’s not all about stats, Isaac. I’m talking about mental exhaustion.”
“As I said, it’s fine.”
She stared at him for a few moments, then went to her room to bring land contracts.
They were already filled out and signed, except for the land amount. She scribbled in the number and handed him the pen. He signed.
Then came the work.
He took out fifty mana potions and poured their contents into the soil.
These potions were the ones he’d created himself using the Silverbloom plants Professor Catherine left behind for him to train with as his homework.
He wasn’t allowed to sell them though.
Just as he was about to start evening out the land, Professor Catherine spoke again as she approached him.
“Alice asked me to tell you. Grow Tier 1 grains on three hectares, and the rest Tier 0.”
He paused. That made sense. Word about Tier 1 grains would spread soon, and when it did, they needed supply ready, but since Tier 0 were the most popular, they couldn’t skip it.
By the time he finished planting seeds across the now nine hectares, it was well beyond midnight.
His chest rose and fell heavily. This was the first time the exhaustion had really hit him. Working nine hectares was no joke.
Still, it was worth it.
He stared at the screen before his eyes with a grin.
Sovereign of Land has reached Level 5 → 6
Active and passive effects strengthened by 120%.
“Two level ups in a single day. This speed is honestly amazing.”
The students who awakened with him would be struggling to reach Level 5 Initiate and their highest leveled skills would be Level 3 at best.
Isaac, on other hand, was already Level 10 Initiate, had a Level 6 skill, unlocked three Titles, earned hundreds of millions, and had a cute wife.
“I can get this much and more, then all of this hardwork is worth it.”
Isaac stepped back into the house.
The quiet hum of a laptop reached his ears from the living room.
Alice was there, surrounded by papers. Notes filled every inch of the sheets, some scribbled hastily, others marked with arrows and corrections.
Her focus didn’t waver as her fingers danced over the keyboard. She was using the laptop she’d borrowed from Professor Catherine.
He didn’t speak. Just stood at the edge of the room, watching.
Alice clicked and scrolled, uploading pictures of the shop, the shelves, a few group shots with early customers, and the huge line outside the shop.
She tagged the students who had visited earlier, and they, clearly pleased to be part of something, were liking and resharing them.
Each like pushed the posts higher in the Fortified City 89 social feed algorithm.
Isaac smiled faintly.
This world’s communication systems were unique. Each city had its own centralized network, acting like an isolated internet. Only those registered within the same city could interact through messages or calls, and when you left the city, communication would become slow.
She sipped her coffee again, briefly rubbing her temple before resuming her work.
Isaac watched her quietly.
He had wanted to propose to her back in the academy. The idea was simple: awaken a high-level or useful Talent, earn a stable career, then confess.
But then the system came. That changed everything.
Plans got delayed. Priorities shifted.
But even now, watching Alice like this, working hard to help him without being asked, he knew his feelings hadn’t changed.
“I’ll talk to Emily first,” he muttered to himself. “Then I’ll ask Alice out.”