NOVEL NEXT Chapter 20 – A fruitful year. Survival of the fittest.
Days became months, and soon, Spring arrived again.
Shiri had a smooth pregnancy and gave birth to a cute daughter with Regular Grade 5 talent.
Ewan's diligent farming also bore fruit, and Valli and Theli gave birth to a boy and a girl. They only had Peak Grade 4 Magic Talent, but their talent as Knights was superb. They were also the first of his children to have High Fire Affinity, proving that Ewan's bloodline also took positive characteristics from the mother's side.
During this time, Ewan tirelessly cultivated the first and second 300 acres, raising the soil to Grade 3 with a combination of his Blessing of the Land, Magic Water, Magic Fertilizer, and the original quality of the land, and planted and harvested the first and second fields at six-month intervals. He was now starting to work on the third 300-acre field, and from observation, the soil he cultivated would reach the Grade 4 standard!
Using the weather control on each 30-acre plot, Ewan micro-managed the plots to grow seasonal Magic Crops. On every 30-acre plot, he separated into ten 3-acre plots to better manage what the Leminaing Clan and the Academy wanted him to produce while growing 30 acres of whatever he wanted to have his family eat.
Yes, eat. Ewan used Grade 3 products to feed his family. It was extravagant. Very extravagant. Wasteful even. However, after tasting the benefits of eating Magical Food, Ewan didn't hesitate to do this. His growing children could use this food to improve their basic six stats, raising their early qualifications.
Grade 1 food can supplement stats up to the base 10, Grade 2 food can supplement to 15, and Grade 3 food can supplement to 20!
For instance, in his first and second lives, Ewan was born with five stat points in almost everything, save for six in Physique. He could have raised this to an overall 10 with continued nourishment, giving him 29 stat points. The benefits in this life would be far less since his base stats were much higher. Ewan's children were talented, and the benefits they gained from Grade 1 food were limited. However, things were different with Grade 2 and 3 food.
These foods could benefit even Ewan, potentially granting him an additional 68 stat points! It was not an insignificant gain. There was also an added benefit of improving Warrior and Magic talents, elemental affinity, and lifespan! Of course, even for Grade 3 food, the improvement was limited to up to Grade 3 talent, making it redundant for his children with Grade 4 and 5 talents.
Of course, few people would ever use Grade 3 ingredients as mere food! It was too wasteful! Usually, there was also the problem of not having a good enough chef to prepare high-end ingredients as food, lowering its quality. Luckily, Fladrinne volunteered to prepare the food(In exchange for also eating it). Two of her classes were Wizard and Warrior, and the other classes were Advanced Cook and Advanced Alchemist. It wasn't because she wanted to be a cook, but that the Alchemist Class required the Cook Class as a prerequisite, just like Archer and Knight needed the Warrior Class. As a result, she was a great cook by default.
Regardless, this food also improved practice speed in both Breathing Techniques and Meditation, shortening the time it took him to improve. He also constantly received batches of tonics and elixirs to enhance his practice and make up for the less steady foundation from his hasty breakthrough, nourishing his 2nd Great Rune. In his free time, he also studied under Efora, who guided him on Earth Magic whenever she wasn't holed up in her studies and making golems(In exchange for some Magical Soil and food).
Yes, while she and Fladrinne got stationed there, it wasn't as if they didn't do anything. They kept training, learning, and producing products they could sell to earn resources and improve their classes.
The only issue he had with either of them was their constant, subtle seduction. It was like dripping water on a rock to drill a hole in his defenses. Things got even more miserable for Ewan during times when all three of his wives were pregnant or recovering after giving birth and not in the mood. He regretted not doing a rotation farming on them. He planned to implement that next time.
The Leminaing Clan and the Academy also set up several Grade 5 and Grade 4 meditation circles for the Wizards. Specifically, there was a Grade 5 Earth-Element Meditation Circle that Ewan and Efora shared. With this Magic Circle, Ewan's progress as a Wizard quickly advanced along with the boost of Elixirs and Tonics. Ewan's sister, Ewan's eldest child, and some of his nephews also started Meditating after learning their magic talent, selecting their second or third class to be Apprentice Wizards. With the many tonics they received and high-end Magic Circles, even if their talent was a bit less, they were bound to become Pseudo Wizards and perhaps Wizards.
Ewan's ten additional Breathing Stances and the final eight lesser runes reached level 7, giving 50 and 40 stat points, respectively. His Apprentice Wizard class reached level 8, while his Earth Warrior and Earth Knight classes reached level 5, granting another wave of Skill Points and Stat Points. And through eating tonics for a year, Ewan's innate stats also improved, reaching the 13-point overall standard, giving him 26 stat points. And finally, after farming Magical Crops and land, his Earth-Blessed Farmer Class leveled up twice to level 3. Also, he nourished his 2nd Greater Rune with overly expensive elixirs, making up for its deficiency through wealth and raising it to lvl 8, giving another eight stat points.
Naturally, Ewan dumped everything into Intelligence, Blessing of the Land, and Spellcasting Proficiency.
And so, after a fruitful year-
Name: Ewan Knightledge
Sex: Male
Age: 31
Stats:
Strength: 110
Physique: 114
Agility: 103
Intelligence: 170
Spirit: 102
Charisma: 79
Willpower(Special): 3
Earth Warrior: Weapon Proficiency(lvl 5), Military Drills(lvl 5), Robust(lvl 10 (Max)), Earth Defense(lvl 7), Omitted(+)
Earth-Blessed Farmer: Farming Tool Proficiency(lvl 5), Farmer's Wisdom(lvl 5), Loved by the Earth(lvl 10(Max)), Blessing of the Land(lvl 10(Max)), Omitted(+)
3rd-level Wizard Apprentice: Meditation Affinity(lvl 10(max)), Magic Attunement(lvl 10(Max)), Spellcasting Proficiency(lvl 7), Omitted(+)
Earth Knight: Horse Affinity(lvl 5), Armor Specialization(lvl 5), Strong(lvl 10(Max)), Earth Aura(lvl 2), Omitted(+)
Ewan's stats were above 100, and Ewan was now decently strong among the Grand Knights. His Intelligence was now an astounding 170, making him have the Intelligence of an experienced Wizard. It made learning skills and gaining experience even faster. However, while his Spirit reached 102, it didn't mean he had the Spellpower of a Wizard. It wasn't a qualitative improvement but a quantitative one.
When he forms the 3rd Greater Rune, he will experience a qualitative improvement, an increase in spell potency, a significant reduction in mana for spellcasting, an increase in mana regeneration, higher control over mana, and an improvement in the speed of casting spells. And when he becomes a Wizard, combining the three Greater Runes, there would be a fundamental change in his ability to cast spells. Before this change, the Knights still hold an edge over Wizards, but after this change, Wizards become the dominant force.
He also already maxed out the Blessing of the Land, with the rest poured into Spellcasting Proficiency, making it reach lvl 7. Of course, this quick progress was slowing down. Ewan needed to continue his bitter cultivation until he turned 35 to obtain the best foundation, five years faster than Fladrinne's 10-year estimate. This goal would be impossible without Ewan's extravagant resource consumption that would bankrupt most Wizards, let alone 3rd-level Wizard Apprentices and Pseudo Wizards.
Of course, Ewan didn't care. He was swimming in money, after all. One harvest was enough to earn what most Wizards struggled to make in a decade, and two harvests meant two decades' worth of income to a hardworking Wizard with a rare Production Class who earned several million Magic Stones annually.
If Magical Crops were worth the same as their genuine price, it wouldn't be that exaggerated, but the starved market made Ewan filthy rich.
Young Wizards like Fladrinne and Efora, who had yet to have a Rare Production Class, found this unbearably mouthwatering. In their eyes, Ewan was the best kind of partner. He was young, pleasant-looking, strong, talented, a family man, and so rich he didn't know what to do with his money. Even all his children were gifted, proving he was a prime partner. It made them even more eager to seduce and please him, making Ewan have a headache.
Either way, since Valli and Theli had a child, Ewan was now technically a Core Family Member. As a new Core Member, he was to meet the Wizards of the five Clans and the Academy's Wizards in a banquet.
The Core Members of the Leminaing Clan were also eager to meet Ewan, this man who seemingly dropped from the sky and solved their Clan's crisis. This year, they received plentiful batches of Grade 3 resources, which they internally used to produce the Potions and Elixers they sold. They were waiting for Ewan to become a Wizard and produce Grade 4 crops, further improving their family situation.
The same went for the Gaxarths Wizard Academy. Many who lacked high-end Magical Ingredients could finally acquire them for potion-making and rituals at more reasonable prices, alleviating much of the pressure. Even the other four clans benefited from this. Even without being told, they all guessed that the Leminaing Clan likely acquired an Earth-Blessed Farmer and contributed a portion to the academy to gain their support, making anyone with funny ideas think thrice before making a move while simultaneously making everyone owe them a favor. Of course, they didn't hold it against them since they would likely do the same thing.
So everyone was happy! At least, almost everyone.
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.
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Toronad Clan-
The Core Members of the Toronad Clan held a meeting, their expressions ugly.
"The Leminaing Clan reversed the situation, and the Academy is recovering its vitality."
"The voices of discontent are dying. Gathering supporters would be difficult."
"Our backer has become displeased. We can't create a civil war like this."
"I hear this is all due to one Farmer. How the hell did this come about? It's just a damn Farmer!"
"An Earth-Blessed Farmer. Don't go underestimating this Rare Production Class. It isn't an exaggeration to say it is the basis of many Production Classes."
"He is right. Earth-Blessed Farmers are common in the Holy Lands, but it is almost a divine profession in these desolate parts."
"But how did they do it? How did they get one?"
"It's that bastard... It has to be." Prabahn clenched his teeth.
Over the last year, Fladrinne stayed in the Leminaing Clan's territory. Not only that, but the newly promoted female Wizard he had his eyes on, Efora, also went out on a long-term mission in the Leminaing Clan. It made Prabahn depressed! And it also aroused his suspicion. That man he saw a year ago seemingly vanished, but just half a year later, the Leminaing Clan was revitalized, and the academy was also receiving supplies. And this happened a second time just several weeks ago!
It was easy to deduce Ewan was the Earth-Blessed Farmer based on Fladrinne's behavior and the meeting between Urick and Endezahr. Judging from their actions, he wasn't some ordinary Earth-Blessed Farmer but a top-tier Earth-Blessed Farmer, likely with Wizard Potential!
Naturally, he wasn't the only one who deduced this.
At the head of the table, a man who resembled Prabahn but had a chilling air about him looked solemn, his ice-cold eyes like lanterns. He was Qevras, the head of the Toronad Clan and a 2nd-order Wizard, as well as Prabahn's father.
"If what Prabahn spoke of was true last year, then the Earth-Blessed Farmer is likely to have Wizard Talent," Qevras spoke, making the others go silent. "Mortal Kingdoms thrive or die in times of bountiful harvests and famines, and the same goes for Wizards. With such a top-notch Earth-Blessed Farmer, the Gaxarths Wizard Academy would have access to cheap and readily available high-end ingredients, ushering in an era of growth and prosperity. The various Clans under Gaxarths Wizard Academy show signs of further cohesion and cooperation."
Everyone in the room had unwilling looks. Merely a decade earlier, they would have been happy about this news. But now? Now was too late for all of them. They were already partially part of their backer's men. Their life and death hinged on their ability to weaken Gaxarths Academy from the inside, lest they become cannon fodder in the coming strife!
"Clan Head, did the force behind us give a deadline?" One of the Wizards warily asked.
"Yes... Tomorrow, at the celebration in the Leminaing Clan. And we are to join the vanguard." Qevras said, his cold face growing even more solemn.
It made the Wizards even more nervous, knowing that things turned for the worst. Their backer lost its patience and decided to forward the assault to tomorrow! Not only that but they were disappointed with them and decided to punish their Clan for their failure!
"Gather the Clan's liquid assets and evacuate the most talented children. Prabahn, you are to leave and guard the future of the Clan." Qevras spoke again, a hint of sorrow in his eyes.
"Father..." Prabahn clenched his fists, his blue eyes turning red with unwillingness.
"It's done. We gambled with our lives and became backstabbers to the force we attached ourselves to for centuries, and this is the result. We have damned ourselves in a bid for survival yet miserably failed. It is the law of the jungle, survival of the fittest, and it found us wanting." Qevras said and stood up, "Fellow members, steel yourselves! We fight and die to ensure our Clan's survival."