I will consume all the substance, and you won’t be able to derive any benefit from it or use it to produce pills. Is that acceptable to you?

Armad sighed heavily and said to himself. “Of course, this will prevent me from destroying my plants on the farm, but it also means I’ll lose the energy they contain, which could have been used to create pills.”

“Alright, instead of one hundred people, explain to me all the plants on this farm, including those that I can use to produce pills and those that I can not. Additionally, instead of one plant for every one hundred people, you will explain all the plants, but I will only provide one hundred people in total for all of them. Out of the one hundred people, I will choose ninety-five percent, and you will have the choice of the remaining five percent. However, even for the five people you choose, I reserve the right to approve them and the right to request replacements if necessary. If you agree, let’s begin. If not, let’s end this matter here and now.” Armad said to the system.

The system remained silent.

Armad was quite certain that this was the only price he was willing to pay because he would not consent to the system demanding the lives of those he lived with or innocent people. He would not sacrifice someone who has done him no harm. Given the large number of enemies Armad has, he could afford to offer even one thousand people to the system. He believed that the more power the system had would, in turn, empower him against his enemies, which could be advantageous. However, from the start, Armad always wanted to control the system, not be controlled by it. If the system did not agree to his terms, he would rather continue consuming the plant randomly, even if it meant the destruction of most of the plants. He would simply wait until the next year to execute it properly. Hence, he will still consume some substance from it.

Although he thought waiting until next year might present problems in the situation he found himself in, he was still certain the system would agree. After about ten minutes of silence, the system consented, and Armad sighed with relief.

At the next plant, Armand didn’t even have to ask before the system began explaining. The plant was entirely white, devoid of any color, and had just one leaf. It was taller than all the others, yet, as the system explained, Armad couldn’t use the substances within this plant to produce any pills. If Armad touched this plant, he would destroy it and derive no benefit from it. He believed that all the plants the system said he couldn’t use due to his current cultivation level must contain powerful substances for pills, which is why the system forbade their use until he increased his cultivation. With this in mind, Armad left this plant and moved on to another.

As he proceeded, Armad gained information about all the plants on the farm. Then he stopped to reflect that all the pills he could currently produce were the same as those he had been receiving since his arrival in this world: pills to increase Cultivation, strengthen skin, boost energy, insect repellent, enhance horse stamina, and pills to whitening pills. These were all the pills his Cultivation level allowed him to produce. Perhaps it shouldn’t have been surprising, considering only a few days had passed since his arrival in this world, even though his Cultivation had increased by two thousand years. He was still at the level of core formation. He speculated that only upon reaching the level of Deva might the system permit him to create new pills. Yet the encouraging aspect was that the system allowed him to produce pills that he currently needed the most. For now, increasing his Cultivation was his primary need, this enhancement would allow him to produce pills currently beyond his capability. Additionally, the pills for increasing energy would not only heal wounds but also strengthen his people and himself.

What surprised him most was one particular plant. When Armad touched it, it felt as though he were touching a human body. Yet at a mere glance, it looked no different from the rest of the plants, including those not used for pills, being simply green and short with some leaves. Astonishingly, this plant could produce over a thousand pills for him. This was the most bountiful pills he had obtained from any of the plants. It was surprising to learn that not only from certain animals could he obtain pills to strengthen his skin, but also from plants, which contradicted his previous belief that hunting stronger animals was necessary for this purpose. On this day, Armad obtained more than twenty thousand pills to increase his Cultivation, along with plenty of other types of pills.

It was only then that Armad remembered his initial reason for visiting the farm: to test an insect repellent. He believed that the substance could help the town’s crops yield more grains. However, Armad was reluctant to use the repellent on the medicinal plants at the farm, because he had only utilized two percent of the plant on the farm to produce pills, leaving the remaining plants untouched and returning home to have Cultivation enhancement meditation. By enhancing his Cultivation strength, he hoped to later assess if pills could be derived from the remaining plants. He deemed it too risky to expose these valuable crops to insect repellent.

Upon leaving the farm, Armad encountered Nusi, who had been waiting for him at the entrance. Realizing it was already evening, he reflected on the many hours spent at the farm. Despite the actual production of pills taking no more than five minutes, the extensive number of plants had demanded much of his time.

Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

Nusi bowed in greeting, but Armad merely nodded in acknowledgment as they set off toward the distant farms. There, Alhaji Saminu and the Judge were engaged in a discussion about town-related matters. Upon noticing Armad and Nusi approaching, they promptly walked over to greet Armad warmly.

“I’ve harvested the plants I needed. For the remainder, I’d like you to continue caring for them diligently. I don’t want any of them to be destroyed, so please tend to them yourself daily and ensure they’re safe from harm. I’ll return soon to collect them.” Armad said to Alhaji Saminu.

Alhaji Saminu nodded in agreement and accepted the order.

“I would like to ask you about the type of insect that is damaging your plants and how you deal with the issue,” Armad said.

Armad wanted to deepen his knowledge of insects and farming to understand how his insect-repellent pills could benefit the plants of the town.

Alhaji Saminu smiled before speaking, “Your Highness, insects are the most significant threat we face in farming. Since you enacted the law preventing animals from entering our farms, we have encountered no problems except for those caused by insects. I would also like to take this opportunity to thank you for allowing me to enclose my farm with walls. As you know, Your Highness, you permitted me to hire cultivators to protect the farm, and since employing fifteen benders, we no longer experience theft. However, insects are a catastrophe; they are uncontrollable, and some even originate from within the farm, drawn to the moisture. If it weren’t for these insects, we would harvest more grain. Our current strategy is to remove any plant affected by insects and send it to the insect repellent industry for analysis and to obtain repellents to protect the remaining crops.

Unfortunately, even the repellents from these industries can be problematic—they sometimes harm the plants or fail to eliminate the insects. Despite these challenges, with your assistance, Your Highness, we manage to make a profit.”

Armad smiled, feeling he understood the farming challenges within the town. He addressed issues such as animals destroying crops and theft by providing guards for protection. Now, the remaining issue was the insects. Being too small, insects couldn’t be targeted by cultivators without risking damage to the plants, so the need for effective insect repellent remained. This brought to mind a report he had read upon arriving in the town, which indicated that one of the most profitable industries in the town was engaged in producing insect repellent. At first glance, one might assume that an insect repelling company would also produce fertilizer, but in reality, the companies specializing in fertilizers were distinct from those producing insect repellents. Now, Armad understood why the industry was so profitable—they charged farmers high prices for their essential repellents.

“Do you face a plague of grasshoppers on this farm?” Armad asked.

“Yes, of course, we are facing a plague of grasshoppers on this farm. As you may recall, I have even reported it to you,” Alhaji Saminu replied.

“So, what do you think? If we solve this problem, do you think the price of food will reduce?”

Alhaji Saminu paused to think before replying to Armad. He said, “Your Highness if we solve this problem, I believe the price of food could drop by more than fifty-five to sixty percent.”

Armad, Nusi, and the judge opened their mouths in surprise, contemplating that if the price of food was reduced by that amount, they could solve the problem of people going hungry, and their town would develop further.

Armad sighed heavily before he opened his mouth and said in his mind, “If the price of food becomes that low, it means if a bag of beans or other crops is currently selling for one hundred Airids, it could go down to 40 Airids or forty-five Airids, and it might be even lower than that. Alhaji Saminu is predicting that if the plague stops while we are still buying insect repellent. But what if we calculated that the insect repellent could be given for free? That might result in an even lower price.” Armad paused, realizing that if he gave the insect repellent away for free, his kingdom would lose income, and he might deplete all the money he had brought from the capital city, potentially causing the town’s economy to collapse. Armad understood that this was why, for many things that could be given for free, he insisted people pay.

Ahmed stopped thinking and turned to Saminu, saying, “I have an insect repellent that I can give you to test, but before that, do you think that the insect repellent you’re using could harm the medicinal plants?”

“No, Your Highness, we don’t use insect repellent on medicinal plants. We buy seeds from the Association of Pills Producers. When we plant those seeds, their scent kills all the insects. However, those seeds are only planted around medicinal plants. If we plant them around food crops like rice, they will destroy the crops. That’s why we only use them around medicinal plants. However, those seeds have been helpful. In the past three years, we haven’t faced any plagues on medicinal plants, but we still surround them with walls to ensure that the scent doesn’t reach our other farms and damage crops like rice.”

Armad nodded in understanding and said in his mind that my insect repellent might not be very effective on medicinal plants. He then turned to Alhaji Saminu and inquired, “You mentioned that you purchased all those seeds from the Pills Producers’ Association?”

Alhaji Saminu nodded and replied, “Yes, Your Highness, we buy them from the Association, and they are quite expensive. That is the reason we are compelled to sell our medicinal plants to them, and in return, they compensate us with those seeds. Last year, for instance, more than twenty percent of our income from the plants was derived from the seeds they provided, which protect against insects.”

Armad nodded, reflecting inwardly, “Now I understand why the Pills Producers’ Association wields such influence. Despite their power and the techniques they employ to maintain control over people, I am determined to find my way to break free from their grip.”