Drex turned around and clapped his hands to get the attention of the people he had hired.

“There’s been a change of plans!” The hired hands froze, stopping their unloading of the carts. Drex hesitated to continue and looked at Cal as if to ask if he was sure.

Cal knew he wouldn’t change his mind on this. He answered with a confident nod.

Drex didn’t doubt him a second time. “After you finish unloading the carts, you can return to town. Initiate Cal will not require help with his field.” A low grumbling immediately started, making Drex hold up a hand. “Everyone will still be paid for the day as promised. Continue as you were!”

The grumbling didn’t disappear altogether, but Drex’s words were enough for them to return to unloading the carts.

“It seems that I took away the jobs they expected to have for the next week,” Cal pointed out, not with any regret, but indirectly saying it wasn’t his problem.

Drex understood. “They’ll be fine. I have other work that can be assigned to them. Now, let’s get the basics out of the way.” He motioned Cal to follow.

“The last step involves this,” Drex slapped his hands on a tightly woven cloth-covered sack. Multiple piles of them reached their shoulder. “This is mulch, but a very customized one based on the test results. It’s made from compost out of the Serenity Tree and mixed with rune-infused, crushed gemstone powder.”

Cal’s ever-present fear of the staggering cost of runes flared up. “You quoted me a price before. Has it changed drastically from that?”

“What?” Drex looked confused at the interruption. “Why would it change? I factored this into the cost, though it was previously at a higher concentration since I assumed the dirt here was completely dead.”

“Really?” Cal stood in the middle of a growing pile of mulch sacks. The carts were still not completely unloaded. “So this still cost me around fifty silver?”

“Less than that since I didn’t need to make the fertilizers as potent. Forty silver will cover all this.”

Cal had been thinking it would be well over a gold, so finding it was cheaper almost made it seem like he was getting it for free. “I see. Please carry on. I apologize for interrupting.

Drex nodded as he moved to the open tubs of black powder.

It gives off a soft glow I can only notice when close. Strange, when the powder itself is black.

“This is loam,” Drex dug his fingers into the fine black powder, letting his fall through his fingers after he lifted a handful. “Again, this is heavily customized for your specific need. The soft glow comes from a fungus that grows along with the Serenity Tree.”

“This is the second time I’ve heard about this Serenity Tree. What’s so special about it?”

“It lives a fast life and spreads like a weed. When it dies, it leaves behind rich nutrients that make perfect fertilizers. It’s not the cheapest you can get, nor is it the most expensive. However, when speaking of a project requiring this level of intense repair, it makes for the perfect material.”

That makes sense. If a five-hundred-square-foot dirt patch needs this much, I shudder to think of how much the entire field would need.

“I’m guessing this is also made from that tree,” Cal tilted his head at the closed buckets.

“If that were the case, your cost would be significantly less—by over ninety percent,” Drex said, carefully unlatching the top of the tub and removing it.

Are these purely crushed gems?

“These are powered elemental crystals. Most of the earth variation, but some water, fire, and wind are mixed in. Most of your money goes here since we have to import these. The Alchemists that bother to make this are rare outside the territory and nonexistent in the Celestial Order.”

I see why the guild doesn’t bother if its purpose is to revive dead land. They have surplus fertile land.

“… Do I have to worry about theft?” Cal thought about the skill he had dismissed after thinking it was unnecessary.

“Theft? No, but you’ll have to worry about the crystals attracting beasts. This is so rich in mana that it’ll act like a beacon of sorts,” Drex paused and looked around. “I suppose being in the Northern Wastes will finally be advantageous here.”

The little beast will likely beg me for a taste of this. I won’t allow it. But I’m more worried about the wolf I saw.

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“Let’s have the workers move all of this into my storage room,” Cal said. “I saw a beast on my first night here. If it comes down to it, I can protect it better if it isn’t left out in the open.”

“A beast here?” Drex was surprised, but that didn’t stop him from getting the workers' attention with a loud clap. “Move the crushed crystals into that building. Leave the rest out here.”

It looks like the mulch and loam aren’t attractive to beasts.

Cal saw the workers grumble more. They had just about completed their work, and now they had to reload the carts with the closed tubs.

Drex was already moving on to the next step. “Now that you know what you are working with, let me show you how to apply them to your field. Water is heavily involved here, so I hope you have a solution ready.” He stared at him with a question in his eyes.

Cal shifted uneasily. “How early in the process is it required?”

“It’s at every step,” Drex’s stare grew more doubtful.

Using a day to take a trip to Lumina might be necessary. Perhaps the Initiates in Mariner’s Rest might have a solution.

“Tell me what I need to do first,” Cal had already resigned himself to losing a precious day of boosted [Tier] growth.

“It’s a fairly simple process, but the trouble is that it is time-consuming. It takes time to mix each fertilizer with the field, and the gap between each step makes it excessive.”

Cal stared. He still hadn’t got the instructions. “I’m not going to change my mind about getting help with this, Drex.”

“… Apparently,” Drex said with a sigh. “At least you can’t say I warned you multiple times, Initiate Cal.” He immediately went into the steps needed. “Loam is the first needed to be used. Spread it evenly over the surface and use a rake with long tines to mix it into the dirt. Water and leave it for about half a day at a minimum.”

Cal winced. Yes, I’ll need to get the water speed as soon as possible.

“The powdered crystals are next. You will need to make a mix of two parts water and one part powdered crystal. Irrigate the field with this solution once a day even after the soil is repaired.”

I’ll need containers for the water… and a tool for irrigation.

“The last step is the mulch. Spread a thin layer—an inch or two at most—and water it lightly. When the process is complete, the mulch will have a stronger glow. If it doesn’t, repeat from the first step with the loam until it does.”

Cal noted the steps carefully in his mind. It wasn’t complicated, so it made him especially eager to not miss anything. He would be embarrassed for himself.

“It’s really this simple?” Cal asked with a raised brow.

“As I said, the time needed is the most difficult part. Might I suggest—”

“Boss!” Seris was her timely self and ran towards them. She interrupted what would have been yet another pointless suggestion of using help by Drex. “Why’s your place so empty? I thought it would be interesting, but even Orrin’s broken house is more interesting.”

Cal raised an eyebrow at the somehow-offended Seris and his house. “If it was so uninteresting, why did you spend so much time there?”

“I was looking for hidden doors after seeing how empty it was. I heard you people hide the really good stuff there.” Seris had no hesitation in revealing her skulking.

Cal pinched the bridge of his nose before shaking his head. “Who told you this?”

“Er, I’m not sure. I remember it from somewhere,” Seris tapped her chin. “Oh! Maybe—”

“Seris, you work for Initiate Cal. Why don’t you offer him help with applying fertilizer?”

She stiffened and looked like she was about to swipe at Drex for pulling her in. Cal didn't miss the timing of the interruption.

Drex must have told Seris some tall tales when she was younger. He didn’t expect her to be around an Initiate long enough for it to cause issues.

“Uh, boss, I still haven’t looked at the stables!” Seris looked ready to bolt. “I’ll go check it out!”

“No, wait,” Cal commanded before turning to Drex. “Is there anything else I need to know?”

Drex took a few seconds to think over his explanation before shaking his head. “No, that is all, Initiate Cal.”

The workers had finished moving the powdered crystals into the storage room and were preparing to leave the field.

“Perfect, then we are done for the day. I greatly appreciate your help, Drex.” Cal smiled as he handed him forty silver. “I’ll inform Seris when I’ll need more fertilizer.”

Drex pocketed the silver as he nodded. “That works. I’ll send the workers to deliver your order. My presence won’t be necessary unless I drastically change the composition of the fertilizer.”

“That’s fine,” Cal agreed. “Now, if you can excuse me, I need to speak to Seris about some orders.”

Drex didn’t look suspicious like he had been at the start when he first met Cal. He simply nodded. “Very well, I’ll take my leave. Good luck, Initiate Cal.”

The worker had already been filing out, and Drex soon joined them at the back of the makeshift line. Cal was content in waiting for them to leave his field before speaking. Seris wasn’t.

“Boss, please don’t make me help you farm.”

Her pleading tone raised Cal's brow. She looked like a sad cat again. “I never said I wanted you to do that.”

“Oh… great!” Seris bounced back to her usual self. “So, what did you need, boss?”

“I have new commissions for Orrin,” he was a little surprised to see Seris pull out a small notepad. “Tell him I want another of every tool he made for me so far. A rake with tines that are longer than normal—maybe six to eight inches long. Something that I can use to irrigate my field. And large, water-tight tubs. Three of them. I should be able to sit inside one comfortably.”

Seris had questions. He saw it clearly even as she wrote down everything he wanted, but she somehow held herself back from asking.

“Is that all, boss?”

“From Orrin, yes. Speak to Vaela or Liora and ask if any water spells are available without traveling to Lumina.”

Seris fidgeted. “Do I have to speak to them? Why can’t you do it, boss?”

Cal stared, telling her silently that she would have to do it.

I want to ease her into getting used to speaking with other Initiates. It will be helpful for both of us.

“… Fine,” Seris pursed her lips before jotting it down. “Anything else, boss?”

“That should be it.”

Seris nodded before glancing at Drex’s cart. It was still in the field but was nearing the tree line. “Then I’ll head back and get started right now. See you tomorrow, boss!”

Cal chuckled when she sprinted after Drex’s cart, waving frantically to get the man’s attention before eventually hopping on.

When the cart left his sight, he looked away and pulled the sledgehammer from his back.

I got my fertilizer delivered, but it’s pointless to start the process without water at hand. I’ll clear more stones in the meantime.