At first, there was nothing. Just the soft rustling of trees and the sound of Alice’s distant strikes against the dummy. But he filtered all that out.
He imagined the farmland.
He remembered digging the soil, planting the seeds, watching the first green shoots appear. He had touched the land, fed it his mana, and guided it to grow. That bond had been real. It had to count.
Minutes passed. Then an hour.
His breathing slowed. Sweat beaded down his forehead, not from exertion but from pure concentration.
A faint tug brushed against his mind. It was like a thread leading somewhere invisible.
"I think I can feel it," he murmured.
"Good. Now hold onto it."
He did. The connection was weak, like trying to feel something through layers of cloth. But it was there.
"Summon a root," Professor Catherine instructed. "Don’t force it. Just channel the skill like you normally would, except this time, don’t push it into the ground under your feet, and instead guide it through that connection you can feel."
Isaac inhaled slowly and raised his hand.
His mana stirred. It refused to move. Then, his Mana Resonance Title activated, and he felt the ambient mana move as if it was his.
The Soverign of Land skill activated through the connection, which was maintained by Mana Resonance.
He felt resistance.
His body wanted to send the energy into the ground near him, the way it always did. But he fought that instinct and pushed it along the thread.
There was a crackle of energy.
He felt flicker of strain behind his eyes for a short moment.
Then, silence.
He exhaled and opened his eyes.
"Did anything happen?" he asked.
Professor Catherine’s eyes narrowed as she focused on the farmland in the distance. Then, slowly, she smiled.
"A root appeared there," she said, her voice quiet but pleased.
They moved to the front to check the root. Isaac was a bit bummed out to see it was barely the size of a finger, and thin as a hair.
"It’s not bad. You summoned it on your first try. That’s a big achievement," Professor Catherine said, encouraging him. "Well, if you are still downcast, I can motivate you if you want to. I can only do it in your room though."
Isaac ignored the last part. "I’ll need to train a lot more to use this properly."
"That’s to be expected. You’ve never used the skill this way before. You didn’t just summon a root, you channeled it across the link of ownership. That’s high-level usage. Most awakeners can’t link their skills like this even after years."
Isaac nodded.
His shirt stuck to his skin from the sweat, but there was a sense of satisfaction underneath the exhaustion.
The training continued until evening.
The sun had begun to dip behind the buildings, casting long shadows across the backyard.
By the time Professor Catherine finally dismissed him, his clothes were thick with sweat, his arms were numb, and his mana felt like a dried-up stream.
Classes were over for the day.
Isaac washed up, made his way to the fields near the house and began harvesting the grains.
2,000 Tier 1 Vitality Grain Crops harvested. Mana +1000. Constitution +1000
You have obtained 10,000 Tier 1 Vitality Grains.
3,520 Tier 0 Vitality Grain Crops harvested. Mana +320. Constitution +320.
You have obtained 17,600 Tier 0 Vitality Grains.
1,000 Tier 1 Potato harvested. Mana +4. Constitution +4.
You have obtained 5,000 Tier 1 Potato.
500 Tier 1 Garlic harvested. Mana +5. Constitution +5.
You have obtained 2,500 Tier 1 Garlic.
833 Tier 1 Tomato harvested. Mana +2. Constitution +2.
You have obtained 4,165 Tier 1 Tomato.
833 Tier 1 Onion harvested. Mana +3. Constitution +3.
You have obtained 4,165 Tier 1 Onion.
417 Tier 1 Cabbage harvested. Mana +5. Constitution +5.
You have obtained 4,085 Tier 1 Cabbage.
750 Tier 1 Pea Pods harvested. Mana +6. Constitution +6.
You have obtained 3,750 Tier 1 Pea Pods.
8,000 Tier 1 Wheat Stalk harvested. Mana +11. Constitution +11.
You have obtained 40,000 Tier 1 Wheat Stalk.
Constitution: 1000 [8588] → 1000 [9944]
Mana: 1000 [8588] → 1000 [9944]
"Nine thousand nine hundred stats in the backlog. This makes me wonder when will I reach back log stat limit for this Apex-rank species."
As he filled the last crate with grains, he noticed a presence nearby.
He turned his head and saw Alice standing near the corner of the field, arms crossed. Her gaze was locked on him.
[Status 2: Sulking because she didn’t train with you and couldn’t see you sweat, and now that you are using a cheap way out of farming, seeing you sweat is impossible again.]
Isaac shook his head with a faint smile and carried the crate to the jeep.
There was no need to comment. Alice didn’t say anything either. She just looked at the crates, then turned and walked back inside.
A short while later, Isaac took the jeep to the market with Leora.
The grains were bound for the Family shop in the market. When they arrived, Freya was already there, organizing a set of packages near the counter. Tyr was beside her, standing on the counter.
"Ah, you’re here!" Freya said, brushing a bit of dust from her dress and walking up to greet them. "Welcome, boss."
"Thank you," Isaac replied, chuckling at her mention of the word boss. Vax had did the same in the morning.
They chatted a bit while storing the grains inside the shop.
When it was time for them to part, Tyr turned to look back at Freya for a moment before he followed Isaac.
The sun almost gone by the time they got home.
The house was quiet when Isaac stepped inside. He entered his room, and noticed Emily and Alice weren’t there.
He figured they were dressing for the banquet in one of the other rooms.
Since it was an official banquet organized by Chairman Lucius, it would include notable guests all over the cities. It was normal for them to take time to dress for the special occasion.
He opened his wardrobe.
He wasn’t one to fuss over clothing, but the set he picked was formal enough. A dark shirt with a high collar, fitted slacks, and a long black coat with a silver trim.
It was nothing flashy. Just neat and clean.
He waited in the living room afterward, sitting on the couch with Tyr rested on the armrest beside him in his miniature form.
It wasn’t long before he heard footsteps.
Emily came down first, and Alice followed close behind.
Isaac turned to look at them and his mind blanked for a second.
They looked...