Chapter 100. A Field That Cannot Fail [BONUS]

Carlos did not let anyone plant the Clearwater Cucumber Seeds that night.

Tarin had already asked twice if the frames could be made in the dark. Sela had asked whether they should check again which seed might be a dud from the start.

Boro and Elias had both looked at the pouch like it was going to vanish if they stopped watching it.

Carlos put the seeds inside his inventory. He could feel it, they were feeling pressure just because it was their first big project.

"Nobody is touching them until morning," he said. "We have twenty. If one goes missing because somebody is tired, Rowan will blame me first."

"He will," Boro said honestly without even thinking.

Carlos nodded. The next morning, the four Farmers showed him the place they had chosen. It was a patch of empty ground north of the Farmer’s Lodge. The old wheat field was far enough away that nobody would step into the new bed by mistake, and it was not close to the Spirit Farmland either.

There was nothing there except plain soil and short grass.

Carlos liked that. Nothing could be damaged because nothing had been built there yet.

Cedric had sent another message from Rowan before sunrise.

--

[Cedric Vale] - A small bed is enough for twenty seeds. Do not pack them too close together just because you want more food quickly.

[Cedric Vale] - Build the frames first. Use clean water from the spring basin. Blue can guide it, but only after the bed is ready.

[Cedric Vale] - Keep one path open between the rows. People will need to walk there later.

--

Carlos had read the message three times. He did not understand why spacing was so important, but he understood the part where Rowan told him not to rush.

"This is the plan," Carlos said, looking at the Farmers. "You tell me what needs doing. I make sure it gets done."

Tarin’s ears lifted. "We clear the grass first. Then we loosen the soil."

"And the frames," Sela added. "If we plant before the frames are ready, we might hurt the vines while adding them later."

Carlos nodded. "How much wood?"

The four Farmers looked at one another.

"Not much," Boro said. "For a small bed, straight pieces are better."

Carlos checked the remaining material in his inventory. The Training Yard and the Militia Barrack had taken enough that he could feel the difference now.

He still had wood for this bed, but not enough to start spending without thinking.

"Use only what you need," he said. "The Gatehouse still needs its own materials."

They worked through the morning. Carlos helped pull out grass and carry stones away from the bed.

He did not try to tell the Farmers how deep to loosen the ground. When Tarin asked for the flat tool from the Farmer’s Lodge, Carlos brought it. When Sela asked for the wood, he took out only the straight pieces they had chosen.

The new plot slowly took shape.

It was not a huge field. Twenty seeds did not need one. Four neat rows sat inside a rectangle of loosened earth.

Tarin and Elias drove the wooden stakes into the ground while Boro tied the crosspieces between them. Sela walked along the open path between the rows, checking that there was enough room for people to move without stepping into the soil.

Mira came by with food near midday. She stopped at the edge of the new bed and looked at the frames.

"That is a lot of work for cucumbers."

"They are Uncommon cucumbers," Carlos said.

Carlos looked at the wooden frames. "They need clean water, climbing frames and their own space. That is already more difficult than wheat."

Mira put the food basket down. "If they need so much work, I can’t help but wonder what it will be like. It should be good."

Tarin looked pressured, "We will know soon, don’t worry"

Tarin went quiet again to work and nobody disturbed him.

Carlos almost laughed with how they were so pressured. He he picked up one of the wrapped meals instead.

Mira had made enough for everyone working there. She was not giving it away without counting it either. She handed each person one, then carried the empty basket back toward the kitchen.

By the time the sun was lower, the bed was ready. Carlos took the seed pouch out of his inventory and handed it to Sela.

She held it carefully. "Alright, here we go!"

"Count them first," Carlos said.

Sela did and then Tarin counted after her. Then Boro counted them one more time because Carlos could see he did not trust either of them completely yet.

"Twenty," Boro said.

"Good. Now plant them."

The Farmers moved into the rows slowly. Carlos stayed at the edge with Blue floating beside him. Each seed disappeared into the prepared soil one by one.

When the last one was covered, Carlos opened the message Rowan had sent through Cedric and looked at Blue.

"Slowly," he said. "Just like Rowan said."

Blue lifted both small hands.

Water rose from the spring basin near the Farmer’s Lodge. It did not rush across the ground. Blue guided it in a thin stream through the shallow path Tarin had made beside the bed. The soil darkened little by little.

Boro watched the water settle, then looked at Carlos.

"My lord, can we use a little Mana Water too? Head Farmer used it on the wheat before. It helps crops grow better."

Carlos looked at the small bed. The cucumber seeds were Uncommon, and none of them had grown this crop before. He did not want to drown the whole thing in Mana Water just because it gave a bonus.

"A little," he said. "If it starts acting strange, we stop."

Blue floated lower. This time, the water gathering between its hands had a faint blue glow. It released only a small amount into the shallow path, then watched it disappear into the soil.

The Farmers moved through the rows one last time. Tarin checked the loosened earth. Sela adjusted the soil around the planted seeds with both hands. Boro and Elias made sure the water had reached every row without pooling near the wooden frames.

Carlos did not understand all of what they were doing. But he could see that they were taking it seriously.

Carlos was not sure what he had expected. Maybe some big light. Maybe the vines jumping out of the ground immediately.

Nothing happened at first but soon, a panel appeared.

--

[Specialized cultivation bed established]

[Clearwater Cucumber Seeds planted: 20]

[Four Farmers have tended the cultivation bed]

[Combined Agricultural Expertise applied]

[Crop growth speed increased by 40%]

[Mana Water applied in a controlled amount]

[Crop growth speed increased by 20%]

[Crop quality increased by 10%]

[Trellis stability: sufficient]

[Protected growing space: sufficient]

[Estimated first growth stage: 1 day 21 hours]

[Crop quality will be influenced by water purity, care and trellis stability]

--

Tarin let out a breath. "It worked."

"It says sufficient, we haven’t had sufficient before, it was always good." Carlos said. "Do not celebrate like we already harvested them."

But he was smiling when he said it.

Then two more panels appeared.

--

[Farmer Tarin has reached Level 2]

[Farmer Sela has reached Level 2]

--

Carlos stopped smiling.

"What?"

Tarin looked at the panel over his own head and then at Sela. His tail began moving so fast that it hit the side of the nearest frame.

"I leveled up," he said.

Sela raised one hand toward the light in front of her. She looked just as shocked as Carlos did.

"I did too."

Carlos looked from the two new Farmers to Boro and Elias. Neither of them had a panel over their heads.

They had only planted a crop and made a small bed. It had been careful work, yes, but Carlos had not expected it to be enough for two people to level up on their first serious day inside Ironroot.

’Then why doesn’t Rowan level up? Strange...’

The small bed looked normal after the panel disappeared. Just dark soil, wooden frames and a thin wet path beside the rows.

Still, it was different from the wheat field. It had been built for one specific crop, with every person doing the part they knew best.

Carlos looked at the remaining wood in his inventory later that evening.

The cucumber bed had not taken much. But the Gatehouse would take far more, and Ironroot could not keep consuming materials without replacing them.

He looked toward the kitchen, where Mira’s cooking fire was still burning.

Food had helped him make a territory worth a lot. Now it needed to be the thing that paid for its next defense.