Walker Smithy, Sector 35, Fortified City 50
“Dad! Look at this!” Paul burst into the smithy, phone in hand, barely catching his breath.
His father, Darius, looked up from the forge, wiping sweat off his forehead.
“What is it this time?” he muttered, clearly not in the mood for one of Paul’s energetic rants.
Paul shoved the screen in front of him. “FC89_Forum. Check this out.”
Darius squinted at the screen, then gave Paul a flat look. “You better not be showing me cat videos again.”
The other smiths in the shop laughed.
They knew it must be some new ’genius’ idea of Paul to help their shop grow.
Just like every other idea, this was going to be a bust too.
“No, listen!” Paul ignored the jab. “We need to open a branch in the Akaza Ruin stronghold.”
Darius raised an eyebrow. “Have you lost your mind? Land there costs an arm and a leg. Even if we sold both, we’d be short.”
“It’s around 400 to 500 million,” Paul admitted, “but if we pull everything—personal savings, shop profits, unused accounts—we can cover it.”
Darius almost smacked the back of his head, but Paul’s determination made him pause.
“…Explain.”
Paul tapped the screen and pulled up a new profile. “This. Look. This guy, Isaac Hargraves, is an SSS-rank Farmer. He is the one whose rumors are going around that he awakened a week ago in some academy in Sector 15.”
“SSS rank Farmer? Haven’t those rumors yet to be confirmed.”
“That’s because it has been only one week since he awakened. Of course, they are still preparing for official announcement,” Paul said. “Anyway, look at this already!”
The account was named ’Family’.
Its bio simply read: We grow. We feed. We care.
Darius leaned in as Paul swiped through posts.
The photos showed a sharp-faced young man working in a lush field, crates overflowing with glowing grain.
There were candid pictures too of students lining up, buying, smiling, even tagging the shop on the local network.
“See that crowd? That’s not normal. And this,” Paul flipped to a clip, “is the line outside the shop. Those kids are buying five, ten grains each. Some bought even more.”
Darius rubbed his chin.
“And what does that mean for us?”
Paul grinned. “That means this guy sold over 20,000 grains in a single day. You know how long it takes to grow 20,000 grains the normal way? Months if you use 100 hectare. But he did it in one week and only on five hectares. Do you get what this means?”
Around the shop, the background laughter quieted down.
20,000 grains in a week?
That was a number that defied common sense.
Some of them thought the account was a troll, but for the moment, they listened to Paul.
Paul didn’t notice them.
He was already walking circles.
“Right now, people avoid the Akaza Ruins because of three things—no food, no weapon smiths, and strong monsters. No one wants to enter unless those three problems are solved. But this guy…”
He pointed at the screen.
“He’s solving the food issue alone.”
Darius frowned. “That still leaves weapons and monsters.”
“Exactly. Which is why most small explorers still won’t go. But big guilds? They already have top-tier gear. All they needed was steady support of food. Now that food’s handled, they’ll make the move.”
Someone from the back finally spoke up. “And when the big guilds go there, others will follow.”
Paul turned to him and grinned.
“Bingo. Once the guilds settle, traders will rush in. Shops, banks, logistics—all of it. Akaza Ruin Stronghold is about to bloom.
“The land price is 400 to 500 million. It’s cheap? No, it’s expensive for us. But once those businesses smell the money, that price will triple.
“So we need to go there now. We buy the land while it’s still cheap, and then we profit when the Stronghold community booms.”
Darius was quiet.
He leaned back against the workbench, deep in thought.
Paul didn’t wait.
He turned to the smiths and raised his voice.
“We’re expanding. I want applications from everyone by tonight. Whoever’s serious, submit your form. Top three get sent to Sanctum of Master Stronghold in Akaza Ruin.”
A murmur passed through the room.
They could tell that this time Paul’s genius idea was actually good one.
Paul looked back at his father.
“This is it, Dad. This is our chance. You always said we needed a chance to make it big. Isaac just gave it to us. So stop wasting time, and let’s start moving.”
…
Sanctum of Masters Stronghold, Akaza Ruin, Fortified City 89
“Go rest for now,” Isaac said softly when Emily was about to follow him to the hallway.
“I’m not sleepy,” she replied. “I’ll come with you.”
He reached out and patted her head gently. “We’ll go on a date later. Rest while you can.”
Her eyes lit up, and she finally agreed to his request.
+0.7 AP
AP Balance: 71.241 → 141.945
The number had doubled since the last time he checked it.
It made sense. He’d spent the day with Emily at the shop, which for some reason made her smile a lot.
He gave her a gift, and they’d slept together. All those small things added up.
’Almost 150 AP in a single day,’ he thought. ’At this rate, I can definitely buy the Genetic Catalyst. The Bloodline Upgrading Elixir is going to be hard though.’
The Elixir costed 2500 AP.
But Isaac wanted it. He could use it on Emily, upgrade her Bloodline, and share it to upgrade his human bloodline too.
’2500 for Bloodline Upgrading Elixir, and 1000 for Sun-type Genetic Catalyst.’
’Earning 3500 in a single week seems impossible.’
’But it will be possible if I can marry Alice. Two wives mean double the affection. Twice the AP.’
He shook the thought away for now and walked downstairs.
In the living room, Alice had fallen asleep at the table, face half-buried in papers and the soft glow of the laptop screen.
Isaac walked over quietly and placed a blanket on her shoulders.
He glanced at the screen.
It was the business account she had made ’Family’.
Some users had called it a troll page.
Alice had been replying to them with composed, professional responses. Her words were tactful and polite.
There were also positive comments from students who had already bought the grains. Many of them shared photos, tagging the shop. Alice had been organizing it all.
“The network she’s building…” Isaac muttered with a faint smile. “She’s amazing.”
He closed the lid gently, then stepped outside.
Leora appeared beside him right as he walked toward the field.
“Good morning.”
“Morning.”
Isaac swung his two times.
600 Tier 1 Vitality Grain Crops harvested. Mana +300. Constitution +300.
You have obtained 3000 Tier 1 Vitality Grains.
He took a rest to recover the mana and swung his hoe again.
2160 Tier 0 Vitality Grain Crops harvested. Mana +192. Constitution +192.
You have obtained 10,800 Tier 0 Vitality Grains.
Constitution: 100 [1000 → 1000]
Mana: 100 [1000 → 1000]
“Three thousand Tier 1 Grains, and Ten thousand Tier 0 Grain in just one harvest. The numbers are finally reaching a good point thanks to buying all that land.”
He stored the grains in the crates, then burned the stalk, spread it, and planted new seeds.
By the time he was done, the sun had risen a little higher and Alice had woken up. She came out with her device in hand.
“If you’re done, let’s go to the shop,” she said.
“Already?” Isaac asked, surprised.
She held out the device and showed him a photo Freya had sent.
A crowd lining up in front of their shop in the picture.
“In the mornings, students rush toward the ruin, and normal they wouldn’t come to the market.
“But if they’re waiting outside the shop, it means they really need the grains for either their taste or for their effect,” she explained. “I expected this rush to come by tomorrow or day after tomorrow, not today. But it’s a good thing. Let’s go.”
Isaac nodded. If they left now, they could return in two hours.
He, Alice, and Leora drove to the market. As they arrived, Isaac noticed new plots had been cleared. Construction was starting.
Leora followed his gaze. “Traders are coming in. It’s because of Alice.”
She explained what Alice had done behind the scenes. Isaac nodded slowly.
Alice had posted pictures of students buying grain, but cleverly avoided stating how many they had sold.
’She really is a genius.’ Isaac sucked in a sharp breathe.
Anyone with a sharp eye would estimate the numbers of the grain and realize how profitable the business already was.
But only the smart ones would catch that detail. And those were exactly the people Alice wanted.
“She’s strengthening the foundation,” Isaac realized. “By luring only the serious ones first, she’s making sure the stronghold grows properly.”
As the stronghold grew, more people would come. More people meant more customers.
More customers meant more profit for Isaac.
Alice was playing the long game.
She was subtly helping the Stronghold grow. So that Isaac could benefit from it.
When they reached the shop, a large crowd had already gathered. Students looked visibly relieved at the sight of them.
Freya jogged over.
“Thanks for coming. I know you didn’t have to open so early, but we really needed this.”
“It’s no problem,” Isaac said. “If it helps students, I’m glad to do it.”
Inwardly, he was thinking differently.
’With curfews limiting how many students can shop in the evening, morning rushes are perfect. This helps reduce the crowd and boosts our reputation.’