Chapter 65: Testing the Ideas!
Kaiden raised his head and looked at the sky, noticing that roughly twenty-eight hours remained until the end of the Beginner Protection period.
"There's still enough time."
He murmured quietly, then without wasting a single moment, drew threads of mana from within himself and pushed them toward the earth before him. He closed his eyes, calling to mind the changes the Land Improvement Voucher had produced previously, and attempted to replicate that process on his own.
But saying it was far easier than doing it.
Imitating it was no simple matter. True, after his advancement he now possessed a large quantity of mana — but it was nothing compared to the enormous amount the voucher had pumped in.
The solution that came to him was simple.
Rather than attempting to improve a large area, he decided to focus on an extremely small patch.
The previous voucher had improved one hundred square meters all at once. For now, he would try to improve just one square meter.
After pumping mana into the targeted space, he monitored the soil through his perception.
Unfortunately…
The soil remained completely still, without the faintest response — as though it had no interest in his mana whatsoever.
"First attempt… pumping raw mana… failed."
He murmured simply, with no note of irritation in his voice. He had understood from the beginning that it wouldn't be this straightforward.
He moved directly to the second attempt.
This time, rather than simply pumping mana, he began condensing it and confining it within the targeted patch. The mana consumption more than doubled — but he paid it no mind.
He kept a watchful eye on the soil.
And when the mana had been fully condensed, almost like a curtain drawn over that small patch, his perception caught an extremely faint response.
The soil trembled…
The movement was so slight it would have been nearly impossible to notice — but it couldn't escape his heightened earth element perception.
Although the result was far less than he had expected, it remained a promising start.
Kaiden thought for a few moments and quickly arrived at the most logical explanation.
The density has increased… but the purity is still far lacking.
He nodded to himself.
That made sense.
The mana contained within the Land Improvement Voucher hadn't merely been dense — it had also been of exceptional purity.
And with that, the picture became clearer in his mind.
That pure mana had stimulated the soil, causing it to respond and absorb it automatically — and that was how the improvement process had occurred.
As for himself…
After acquiring the Mana Control skill, and with his rank advancement and increased Earth affinity, he had become capable of purifying his mana to some extent — enough to simulate the voucher's effect.
But a new problem immediately surfaced when he tried.
The mana consumption was terrifying.
He failed to purify the entire condensed amount before his reserve ran out entirely.
So he had no choice but to reduce the targeted area once more.
From one square meter…
To a patch no larger than the palm of a hand.
He drank several Mana Recovery Potions, then began again.
This time, he sent only purified mana.
The consumption was staggering…
But the effect was immediate.
The small patch became aware, as he had intended, and began devouring the pure mana ferociously the moment it arrived — exactly as had happened with the improvement voucher.
And the soil changed swiftly.
From dry, yellow, lifeless ground — it transformed into red soil pulsing with vitality.
Thanks to his enhanced senses following the advancement, Kaiden could actually smell the rich, distinctive scent of fertile soil rising from that small patch.
When his mana was nearly exhausted, he cut off the flow of pure mana. At that moment, several system notifications appeared before him.
[System Alert: You have used magic to improve soil within your territory. Evaluating benefit… Evaluation complete: You have gained +6 Experience.]
[System Alert: Congratulations! You have learned the active skill "Mana Soil Nourishment" of Common rarity. You have gained 95 Experience.]
[System Alert: You have gained considerable insight into the earth element. Your Earth affinity has been increased by 1%… added to your current affinity.]
And it didn't stop there.
Another notification appeared immediately afterward.
[System Alert: You have brought life to dead land. Congratulations! You have achieved an accomplishment and acquired the special title: Anti-Desertification Pioneer. (Number of Lords who have received this title: 2). Please open the title's description for further details.]
Accompanying the system notifications, a stream of information rushed into his mind, completing his understanding of the skill he had just learned.
Kaiden felt a moment of enlightenment… followed swiftly by a sense of disappointment.
This skill was not what he had been aiming for — or rather, its effects were far weaker than he had hoped.
It was an extremely simple skill.
Upon activation, it allowed him to nourish dry soil with pure mana automatically to change its nature.
Mana consumption depended on the quality of the targeted land.
The drier the land, the greater the mana required — it was that straightforward.
And that was where the problem lay. His territory's soil fell squarely into the extremely arid category.
This made nourishing it with pure mana prohibitively expensive.
By his calculations, his mana reserve of roughly 1,600 points was only enough to improve a patch no larger than about two handspans.
He suppressed his disappointment, then turned his attention to the remaining notifications.
The moment he read them…
That disappointment vanished entirely.
He hadn't expected this experiment to grant him an increase in his Earth affinity. True, it was only 1% — but it had revealed something of immense importance.
He could increase his affinity by attempting to understand and deepen his connection with it.
That discovery alone made the time he had spent on the experiment well worth it.
And the gains didn't stop at acquiring a new skill and increasing his affinity — he had also achieved an accomplishment that awarded him his second title.
---
Title: Anti-Desertification Pioneer
Description: You have succeeded in bringing life to dead land, proving that with the will to change, nothing is impossible.
Effects:
+5% land fertility within your territory.
+5% attraction probability for special units with Earth or Plant element affinity.
---
"I didn't waste my time."
Kaiden murmured with a satisfied smile as he read the title's effects. A five percent increase in land fertility across his territory was an enormous reward.
Overall — and despite his disappointment with the skill he had learned — the rest of the gains more than made up for it.
And now that this was done, Kaiden took out the Epic skill from his inventory.
He looked at the violet orb floating above his palm, drew a deep breath, then chose to confirm the learning.
This time no rejection message appeared as it had before. Instead, the information flowed smoothly into his mind. Kaiden closed his eyes to absorb it as fully as possible.
The information flow for this skill was the longest by far. When it finally ended, Kaiden felt as though he were waking from a long dream.
"Haaah…"
He let out a long breath, then opened his eyes and looked ahead.
And in the blink of an eye… he vanished from his spot.
THUD!
He reappeared in a sudden flash ten meters away — but the moment he appeared, his balance failed badly, as though he were a racing car that had stopped dead at full speed, the inertial force propelling him forward and sending him crashing to the ground.
"Ouch!"
Kaiden groaned as he got up and rubbed his aching knee. His clothes were covered in dust and his hair was disheveled — but his eyes were gleaming with unmistakable excitement.
"This skill is incredible!"
He murmured with delight. True, it wasn't a genuine instantaneous spatial teleportation — but that did nothing to diminish its value. In the end, it granted him an ability very close to instant movement, which was extraordinary in and of itself.
Kaiden vanished again — but this time having learned his lesson. He limited the transition to just one meter, and when he reappeared he remained standing steadily without losing his balance.
A short transition… but a complete success by any measure.
---
Unfortunately, Epic skills still exceeded his current level even after the advancement. After only a few uses, his mana reserve had been reduced to just a hundred points, and he no longer dared to activate the skill again.
Even so, he felt no dissatisfaction.
He had finally obtained the capital he needed to face the challenges ahead.
Because he knew well — even the strongest fortifications, and the bravest soldiers, cannot protect a weak commander.
And he was no weak commander.
---
— End of Chapter Sixty-Five —
Author’s note: I’ll see you on Saturday