Novel Full Chapter 437: Farms - 1
Chapter 437: Farms – 1
“Hmm… 3 Million,” Leo muttered as he watched the figures update on his account screen.
Balance: 3.4 Million AC -> 6.4 Million AC
Another message popped up on his phone.
Ting!
>Agricultural trade recorded, maintain the trade value for at least three months to reflect it on your Prosperity Points.
The agricultural trade he had done was simple—just the berries that had been stored and the matured Verdant Ascension Fruits. He had refrained from selling the Mid-Purple tier Earthpulse Lifecore, valued at 5 million AC, instead storing it away in case he needed it for an emergency in the future. It was a life-saving fruit that could revive a being on the verge of death. Of course, it only worked on mid-4-star and lower-ranked beings, so it was useless to him and even Lily, since she would advance soon enough.
On that note, he quite liked Kaelion’s proposal of auctioning the fruit in a core city. The academy bought items at standard prices–a side effect of getting items at subsidised rates, with no fluctuation based on demand and supply. Selling it in the academy would essentially be a loss when he could easily double his profit in core or inner cities, where nobles bought such fruits at ridiculously high prices to extend their lifespans.
And according to Kaelion, the nobles there were filthy rich—they conducted business in platinum coins, something Leo had yet to even see.
He returned to the territory after buying decorative structural materials for the teleportation array, along with supplies for the shops the Elves had nearly finished constructing. That was right—he was about to open his business soon.
11 Feb, 501 AA
4 days had already passed since the bounty, and he needed to move quickly with preparations. In a few more days, he would do the training and wasn’t sure if Gunther would allow him to return until his preliminary training was over.
“Hmm, for defense, Naelith and Sylrael are more than enough. Miho is already handling the bisons, and soon we’ll be able to start acquiring milk. 3 Elves are constantly occupied with arrow-making. Aeila and 2 others are managing the magic plants. The 1-star Elves are busy constructing shops and houses, and the rest are patrolling the city,” Leo muttered, noting and listing things one by one to not forget any.
He gave a small nod. Everything was going well so far. The problem was—
“Damn, there is no rest for anybody…” he said under his breath.
Yes, they had to work nearly the entire day to keep things running because they were short-staffed. It had worked so far because the Elves felt obligated to push themselves, and Lily had been managing things efficiently, but the signs of burnout would soon appear—even with their superior strength.
He needed to fix that as soon as possible.
“Feels like I’m running a sweatshop with a toxic workplace environment… and the boss is me,” he said dryly.
Leo had plans to establish farms for staple crops—wheat, so they could produce fresh bread within the territory, along with simple crops like potatoes and a few fast-growing vegetables.
But the plan had to be put on hold. He needed more manpower. But he wouldn’t opt for students, as if he recruited other students, very few would be willing to spend an entire day working on farms, and there was even the risk of demon spies.
Leo had a fleeting thought that if demons sent their spies here, why not elves? But it wasn’t a topic to dwell on now.
—
He brought up the topic of short staff with Lily and Kaelion.
“Gnomes,” Kaelion said simply.
“We should get some gnomes to handle the farms and other menial work. They’re short—similar to dwarves—but not as strong. Their strongest individuals rarely reach Peak 2-star, and most are far weaker. Because of that, they require fewer resources to maintain.”
Leo and Lily both nodded at the suggestion. But Kaelion’s next words sealed the decision.
“You said you wanted to learn how to automate your golems, right? Gnomes are highly intelligent and curious—they can handle that easily. Plus, most of them are born with Earth element affinity, making them excellent farm workers. Though for that, you’ll need ones interested in those fields. Some lean toward tech, others toward nature… I suggest we get both types. At least 10 tech-oriented and 20 to 30 nature-oriented.”
“Alright, let’s do it right away then. How much would they even cost?” Leo asked. Since Kaelion could only estimate, he checked his phone instead.
“They are… cheap? What?” Leo said, surprised as he read the prices.
“7,000–8,000 AC for nature-oriented gnomes, 15,000–20,000 AC for tech-oriented… and there’s even a 3rd category. Smithing category is 10,000 AC.”
Lily leaned over and looked at the screen as well.
“And these are actually Peak 1-star to Low 2-star ranges. The normal and weaker ones even fall in the 10 AC range.”
Seeing their reactions, Kaelion chuckled.
“Just because you two are used to spending millions doesn’t mean it’s the same for others. Elven slaves aren’t the standard for comparison—especially 2-star and 3-star Elves,” Kaelion said, clearly certain they were comparing it to the 5 million price of a single Peak 2-star Elf.
The reason for their low cost was simple—they didn’t have much use beyond menial labour, which was exactly what Leo intended to use them for. Even then, they weren’t ideal, since their short bodies weren’t suited for physically demanding work. A normal human could outperform a Mid to High 1-star gnome in such tasks if earthen magic weren’t included.
And it was only due to Earthen magic that they were priced higher than normal humans.
The only field where they truly excelled or were expected to excel was technology. But even there, most people already had more skilled workers—both humans and dwarves. In a sense, gnomes were seen as an underdeveloped race. But some groups of gnomes were indeed advanced, and most of them were tech-oriented.
But Kaelion added another interesting detail.
“It’s said that the Gnomes’ original world was very primitive. But compared to that world, these Gnomes are far more advanced… like if humans were just discovering fire, they had already created their first artificial light source prototype. An overwhelming gap, making their rate of progress incredibly high. And that’s because they’re naturally curious, and the most important factor is the strong sense of unity among their kind. Unlike humans, conflicts are rare, which lets them collaborate, share knowledge, and progress together—much faster.”
Leo absorbed Kaelion’s words, his gaze turning thoughtful.
“So… what if I provide them with the knowledge available in this world?”
“You’d probably see a very rapid growth rate if the conditions are right.”
“Then why hasn’t any human tried it yet?”
Kaelion shrugged.
“I’m not sure. But I’ve heard their curiosity dies the moment they become slaves. They become like dolls… as if they know they won’t be the ones to benefit from any progress. In the end, they only use the skills they already have—sometimes even less.”