Cal turned to lead them to where he dug up the ground. “I have a few questions about—”

“Where did you get that?”

He turned in surprise at the abrupt question. “What?”

Drex was staring over his shoulder. “Did the guild give you… never mind.” He shook his head, reconsidering his need to know. “I suppose I can see why you have such confidence.”

I didn’t expect a mortal to have knowledge of Advanced-rank items. Even if said mortal might have somewhat autonomous control over the crop seeds delivered to the guild.

“Hey, boss. Do I need to be here for this?” Seris already looked bored out of her mind. She hadn’t noticed the shovel Orrin made for him looked different. If she did, there would likely be more interest showing.

“It’s up to Drex,” Cal looked at him. “Are you fine if she leaves?”

“Go, you don’t have to be present.” Drex shooed Seris off. “I’ll find you in town and give you a list of the things you’ll need to buy for Initiate Cal.”

“Sure thing, Drex. Bye, boss!” Seris ran like she thought they would change their mind about her leaving.

“A list of things?” Cal asked as he watched Seris disappear past the tree line.

“Yes, and it’ll be a long one.” Drex sounded annoyed simply thinking about it. “You said you had questions. What are they?”

Cal raised an eyebrow at the attitude. He wasn’t forcing the man to help him. This was done entirely by choice, so he felt the tone was uncalled for.

The previous me would have smacked this mortal down for such disrespect. However, I have changed. I am slower to anger… this is a lie.

I still want to smack this mortal, but Seris will probably make that sad cat face again. I don’t want to deal with that.

“Can this dirt that I uncovered support any plant life?” Cal asked with a pleasant smile that didn’t show his inner thoughts.

“I suppose it might be able to,” Drex knelt near the edge and pinched some dirt between his fingers. “There was an attempt by the guild a few decades ago. They cleared a few acres of the Northern Wastes just like you did here. The hard surface layer grew back within a week.”

… I couldn’t have heard that right.

“I must have misheard. Could you repeat that again?”

Drex looked at him with no hint of a joke. “They did discover something in that failure, though. The surface layer is held back as long as an Initiate works on the field. I suspect it’s the mana that is expended with every action an Initiate does.”

Cal shook his head in confusion. “Then why would it have grown back?”

“There was one Initiate farmer and a little over a hundred regular farmers. Out of the acres dug up, only the one the Initiate worked on personally remained without the layer.”

… That makes sense.

“And the guild decided to give up after that?” Cal could guess why Drex mentioned only one Initiate was working.

“The Celestial Order isn’t short of farmland. However, they are short of Initiate farmers. Developing the Northern Wastes is not in their interests.”

Cal nodded, his guess confirmed by Drex’s reply. He still had one question. “I’m not doubting you, but how do you know this is true? Many things can be misremembered even if it's only decades ago.”

“I was one of the farmers that worked here. Unless my memory has completely failed me, you can trust what I say as fact.”

His mind blanked for a moment.

Ah, now I understand. Drex is like Oleg. Someone who failed at activating their interface but still had rudimentary training with mana. He looks far too young to have worked as a farmer decades ago.

He must have a relative in the core guild to have his current position. No wonder he talks to me in a blunt manner. There must be an artifact that protects him from attacks, just like the necklace I gave to Seris. Luckily, Drex seems decent enough in his position of power, even though he annoys me.

“That’s more than enough proof,” Cal accepted readily. “So, you said there was no soil here. This looks like soil to me.”

“Dirt and soil are two different things,” Drex put the pinch he grabbed into a small container he pulled from his pocket. “With how long this dirt has been covered by the surface layer, I suspect it has been stripped of anything that might have made it usable soil. I’ll have it tested to make sure. In the meantime, let's assume this is just dirt.”

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

Cal already expected that, so he nodded without hesitation.

“How long will it take to test the dirt?”

“You might have the results by tomorrow morning. If not, the end of the day for sure,” Drex brushed off his knees after standing up. “Like I said, I wouldn’t put too much hope into the result being favorable. With that in mind, what do you think about ordering the necessary items to make this farmable?”

Cal wanted to jump at the offer, but he kept in mind that the crop seeds he needed to buy were costly. “How much will this cost me?”

“Depends on how many rounds of treatments this will need to go through,” Drex paused. “I would guess anywhere from fifty to eighty silver.”

He raised a brow at the estimate. “For a patch of land this small? That would mean the whole field will cost over two guildmarks.”

“That sounds about right,” Drex agreed.

How is farming so expensive? I can’t keep spending with the assumption the guild will fund the shortfall.

“Let’s put that aside and assume that I can successfully grow the Sunfire Grains. How much profit can I see from the area I dug up?”

“Assuming ideal growing conditions?” Drex asked, getting a nod in reply. “Each matured Sunfire Grain can be sold for one silver, and you could squeeze in five hundred Sunfire Grains here. The cost to get the seeds would be negligible since it would be a fraction of a barrel.”

Ah, so that’s why farming is expensive. It could be insanely profitable. Five hundred square feet of my field could earn me five gold… the entire field would be fifteen guildmarks.

“Don’t forget about the cut the guild will take from you,” Drex pointed out when he saw the dreamy look appear on Cal’s face. “You won’t get to keep most of the money you see.”

The Overseer never mentioned anything about this. Then again, he didn’t expect me to actually be farming.

“Understood,” Cal said with a nod. “So, I’m assuming the Sunfire Grains are the most profitable crops?”

Drex laughed. “Not even close, but you don’t have the natural water supply here to support anything else, even with the best soil possible. Speaking of, you have an irrigation plan, right?”

I have some vague ideas of connecting to Mariner’s Rest if necessary. Still, it would be a disaster if that is necessary. I want to use water spells that my mana should be able to support after getting to the next [Tier] rank.

“I do. Leave that to me... unless you have something in mind.”

Drex shook his head. “An issue that major is out of my capabilities… I think that should be everything. There’s nothing else for me to advise until the fertilizers I order arrive.”

“What about the issue of the surface layer regrowing?” Cal mentioned with a frown. “You said an Initiate working on the field will hold it back, but there isn’t any work for me to do.”

“The fertilizers will arrive in a few days at most, so this isn’t something to worry about… probably.” Drex fell silent as if he was rethinking his words. His following sentence told that he was. “On second thought, maybe it’s best not to take any chances. I’m unsure if something might have changed in the decades since I’ve been here.”

“Would using my plow on the dirt be enough?”

Drex nodded slowly. “That should do it.”

“Thanks for the help,” Cal held out his hand. He was left hanging for a few seconds before Drex finally shook it.

“I’ll see myself off, Initiate Cal. I’ll return with Seris when everything arrives.”

Cal nodded and waved him off, watching until his figure disappeared in the distant treeline.

He looked surprised that I offered him my hand. Perhaps his standoffishness was due to bad experiences from other Initiates? Even still, he provided great help.

I may have been hasty in forming my opinion of him… or not. He’s still annoying. If he becomes less so, good.

He glanced at the sky and saw that only a few hours remained until sunset. The people the Overseer was supposed to send should be arriving soon.

Cal looked at the shed before switching to the dirt path. He did this a few times before making a decision and walking toward the shed.

I’ll get out of the sun and rest for a few minutes. I can’t afford to lose my stamina before nighttime.

He shut the door behind him. He took the tools off his back and placed them next to the plow and sledgehammer before falling on the cot.

Cal let out a groan at feeling the soft bedding underneath him. He hadn’t known he was this sore.

This is nice…

***

He sat up quickly, eyes wide, and hand around the sledgehammer’s handle. He could see the bright moon through the tattered roof.

It’s that little beast. I can hear its chitters.

Cal stood from the cot and stepped out of the shed quickly, wanting to get a good glimpse of what it was before it disappeared again.

He narrowed his eyes at the tiny figure sitting on top of the newly created pile of surface layer debris. It was nibbling at chunks of the stuff, eyes closed as if it was savoring the taste.

This is the thing that tried to steal from me?

The little beast was small, not even a foot tall. It looked as fluffy as it felt when he grazed his palm on its body last time, fur covering its body and a large bushy tail standing tall. It had two small ears with a furry antennae-like appendage upright in the center of its head.

It looks like a mutated rabbit… and it has already finished the clump of debris it was nibbling on.

It opened its eyes and searched for another chuck to eat when it noticed Cal. He thought this would be when it ran away, but the opposite happened.

The little beast snarled—or tried to. All it accomplished was to reveal its buckteeth and let out a pathetic squeak.

… What?

It looked satisfied at its efforts and picked up the next chunk to nibble on. It glared at Cal with its large, black eyes as it took small bites, warning him from making a move.

Does this beast have a strong defense to give it this confidence? I doubt it.

When it sneered at him, that was a little too far for Cal to take.

I would have let the little beast eat to its heart’s content, but it’s getting far too cocky.

Cal took large strides towards it, and the little beast’s demeanor changed completely.

It squeaked loudly in fear, and its fur puffed up before it jumped headfirst into the pile it was sitting on. The little beast disappeared.

… It was all show, as I guessed. Still, I couldn’t let it assume I was scared. It might have gotten too bold in its attempts in the future. At least, I now know what it looks like. I should be able to find out more about it.

He checked out the tunnel the little beast had created in its escape and found nothing worth noting, as expected.

Cal shook his head and walked back to the shed.

The people the Overseer supposedly sent didn’t arrive. The man is strict on timelines, so something must have changed drastically for a delay.

He shut the door behind him and put the sledgehammer down. He fell onto the comfortable cot and muttered, “I’ll deal with it tomorrow.”