Isaac exited the subdimension within the Soulbind Pendant and reappeared in the quiet living room of his house.
The lights were off, save for the faint glow from a corner crystal lamp.
It was still dark out, but Isaac didn’t feel tired.
He stepped outside.
The air was crisp, and cold.
The moment he reached the farm, he held the Terraheart Plow and dragged it forward.
As the blade cut into the soil, something shifted.
There was no bright light. No dramatic sound. But Isaac felt it.
The land breathed.
His grip tightened on the plow.
"What is this...?"
The land looked the same, but he could feel the difference.
His Sovereign of Land ability was reacting to the changes.
The soil hadn’t just become more fertile—it felt alive in a way it never had before. As if the land itself had awakened.
There was a pulsing under the surface.
A heartbeat.
He paused.
Was the land... calling to something?
He glanced around, half-expecting to see an elemental spirit pop up, or one of those so-called crop spirits.
Nothing happened.
"I guess it doesn’t happen immediately," Isaac muttered. "Maybe I need to wait a few days."
He stared down at the plow again.
"This thing... if it really can purify any land, even land ruined by mana poison rain (red rain)..."
He trailed off.
Then he blinked, a new thought forming.
"What if I use this on the land outside the city walls? The places ruined by red rain..."
The implications were huge.
The land outsides the Fortified Cities were polluted beyond recognition.
People avoided them because nothing could live on those lands.
Even the Champion rank awakeners could only spend a few weeks on a mana poisoned land.
But if Isaac could purify that land and make it fertile again...
"I won’t even need to use my city land for farming anymore," he said, lips curling into a smile.
He could use the land inside the city for better purposes—rental plots, commercial infrastructure, maybe even a proper district.
It would help him tremendously as a Lord.
But—
"There’s the issue of protecting the farm," he admitted. "If I set up fields outside the city, they’ll be exposed to monsters, looters, and everything that lives in the wilderness."
He exhaled.
"I should talk to Professor Catherine about this later. She might have an idea of what should be better for me."
Satisfied for now, he returned the plow to the pendant and made his way back to the house.
He entered quietly and climbed into bed, his thoughts still occupied by ideas and half-plans.
Sleep came slow but deep.
...
Professor Catherine POV
Catherine stood above two ’corpses.’
The first was Shen—the younger assassin—now lying face-down, unmoving.
The second, still breathing, was Rael.
He had tried to crawl away, dragging his broken leg behind him. He turned back when he felt her presence looming over him.
His bravado shattered after the ’interrogation’ Catherine did for the past one hour.
"W-wait," he stammered. His voice was hoarse. "I know your master. I am a friend hers—"
Catherine raised a brow, and then chuckled.
It was a short and cold laugh.
"Friend? An insect like you?"
She didn’t recognize the old man.
But it was clear he had some connection to her master.
Unfortunately for him, that didn’t change anything.
’He tried to kill Isaac. That’s all the reason I need to finish him.’
Rael tried to push himself back.
"I—I can help you. I found a method to reattempt the Conqueror Candidacy test. If you let me live, I’ll share it—"
"Is that so?"
A line of silver light flashed in the dark.
Rael screamed as his left arm hit the ground.
Catherine didn’t even blink.
She watched him writhe for a moment, then looked down at her blade.
She was smiling, but her eyes were unreadable.
’He talks big, but he’s nothing. Just another frog in a well.’
Rael had assumed Isaac was a reincarnator.
That alone told her everything she needed.
If he had truly encountered a reincarnator before, he would’ve known better than to even think about attacking one of them.
’Reincarnators are walking disasters.’
’Even the monster tribes fear them.’
And yet this man had tried to fight a person who he thought to be a reincarnator.
He was lucky that Isaac was not a reincarnator.
’I suppose it was not his fault for mistaking Isaac as one of them though. Even I was surprised when Isaac used Sword Aura so easily.’
Catherine had undeniable proof that Isaac was not a reincarnator.
However, she was surprised upon seeing his talent in sword.
’Master will be happy seeing his Talent.’
But....
’Is it really talent?’
It was suspicious how both Isaac and Emily awakened Sword Aura without awakening Aura. Around same time too.
Catherine smiled.
She had a feeling this ’coincidence’ was linked to the secret Isaac was hiding.
"A-are you going to spare me?" Rale asked, seeing Catherine’s smile.
Her smile lost its craftiness, and was replaced by a cold chill.
"Hmm, should I spare you?" she spoke out aloud.
"Y-yes. I’m sure your master would not be happy if you kill me."
’He is a fool pretending to understand things far beyond him.’
There was no way someone like him would know how to re-attempt the Conqueror Candidacy test.
Even if he did, Catherine didn’t want to know that.
Rael was a fool pretending to understand things far beyond him.
She ended his life without another word, then stepped out of her mirror world and let her presence fade into nothing.
...
Oran Fennel’s House
Oran was in his room, pacing in tight circles.
He looked terrible.
His shirt was wrinkled, and his eyes were bloodshot. He’d bitten his nails down to the skin.
"Why isn’t that idiot bringing news yet?" he muttered.
He slammed his fist into the desk.
Several papers scattered onto the floor.
Oran had spent nearly all of his remaining funds on this assassination attempt.
His secretary should’ve arranged for the best team he could afford.
They should’ve reported back hours ago.