Chapter 1002: The Ancient Root Beneath Asgard

Strax left the underground laboratory without any particular destination in mind.

After a few hours in Tartarus, an entire morning spent solving problems, and now two researchers who would probably forget to eat until someone forced them to, walking for a while seemed like a surprisingly pleasant idea.

He used the Gauntlet of Darkness only to pass through the first levels of the mansion and emerged in the outer garden, deciding that this time he would travel the rest of the way normally.

He needed to see Asgard with his own eyes.

Monica gave him excellent reports, Rogue knew practically everything that happened among adventurers and merchants, but numbers could never fully show how a city was changing.

And Asgard had changed.

A lot.

The streets near the mansion were wide and organized, but now they were much more crowded than Strax remembered.

Carts traveled along designated roads without interrupting pedestrians, small magical vehicles used for transportation were beginning to appear among wealthier merchants, and the railway stations remained constantly busy.

There were foreigners everywhere.

Humans, elves, demi-humans, demons discreetly trying to look less suspicious, merchants wearing clothes from regions Strax did not even recognize, and adventurers carrying every type of weapon imaginable.

A city that had once survived through the strength of only a few people was slowly becoming a place where thousands wanted to build their lives.

"Monica is going to work herself to death," Strax murmured.

A nearby vendor heard him and started laughing without realizing who had spoken.

"Lady Monica must already have three souls."

Strax looked at him.

The man went pale.

Strax simply kept walking.

That was amusing.

The farther he moved from the administrative center, the more he noticed another problem.

The markets were still stocked, but some meat stalls had become smaller, grain prices had risen, and merchants were constantly arguing about delayed deliveries.

Nothing that suggested famine, exactly as Monica had explained, but Strax understood why she had acted so quickly.

Asgard had grown too fast.

A city capable of sustaining fifty thousand residents would not necessarily be able to feed one hundred thousand merely because it possessed enough gold to buy food.

That was when he heard an argument.

"I already told you we can’t sell that much!"

"I have a contract!"

"And I have four districts to supply!"

Strax turned his head and found two men arguing in front of a large warehouse.

One looked responsible for distribution, while the other bore the symbols of a merchant guild.

Workers rushed between them carrying sacks of grain and crates of vegetables.

Strax approached.

"What’s the problem?"

Both men looked at him.

The argument died instantly.

"L-Lord Strax."

"Continue."

The administrator swallowed.

"We’re receiving enough shipments, sir. The problem is that some companies are trying to buy large quantities in advance because they believe prices will increase."

Strax looked at the merchant.

He immediately raised his hands.

"It’s business."

"It’s speculation."

"That is also business."

Strax kept staring at him.

The man started sweating.

"But... I can cancel it."

"No need."

The merchant blinked.

Strax turned back to the administrator.

"Has Monica already placed purchase limits on basic food supplies?"

"This morning."

Naturally.

"Then follow the rule."

"Yes, sir."

Strax left before either of them could start another explanation.

That was not really his problem.

Monica was already dealing with the situation, and interfering with decisions she had only just implemented would probably create more work.

Even so, agriculture remained on his mind.

Asgard had space.

It had money.

It had magic.

It had people capable of constructing artificial draconic hearts, magical railways, and soldiers practically from scratch.

Planting wheat should not be impossible.

Strax looked west.

The experimental agricultural regions Monica had mentioned were in that direction, beyond most of the urban construction.

Some land had already been separated for greenhouses and cultivation, although the first results had been disappointing.

He disappeared into the shadows.

Moments later, he emerged in front of a completely different area.

The noise of the city was replaced by wind.

Enormous fields stretched before him, divided by fences and newly constructed irrigation channels.

Several magical greenhouses were already operating, protected by transparent barriers, while groups of workers examined small crops scattered across different sectors.

At first glance, it did not look bad.

Until Strax looked at the plants.

Many were small.

Others had yellowing leaves.

Some had simply died.

"Really looks like shit," he commented.

"That is quite the scientific evaluation."

Strax turned around.

Beatrice was standing a few meters behind him, carrying a small clipboard.

The dragoness wore simple clothes and boots covered in dirt, which immediately told him she had probably been working there for hours.

"You’re handling this?"

"Part of it."

She walked over and handed him some papers.

"Mother divided the project among alchemists, farmers, mages, and a few people who understand beasts. I was put in charge of evaluating the mana in the soil."

"And?"

"Bad."

"Excellent report."

Beatrice rolled her eyes at her dear husband.

"It isn’t a lack of nutrients. We can solve that easily. The problem is that the land here absorbs mana irregularly. Some regions accumulate too much energy, while others have practically nothing. Normal crops become unstable."

Strax walked to a small plantation and crouched.

He touched the soil with his fingers and immediately sensed something strange.

There was mana there, but it seemed to constantly escape in different directions, like water draining through multiple cracks.

"Where is it going?"

"That is the question."

Strax went still.

Beatrice continued talking about hypotheses involving mineral deposits and ancient underground channels, but he stopped paying attention.

His right hand began to vibrate.

The Gauntlet of Darkness.

Strax frowned.

The black chains wrapped around his arm moved slightly on their own, while a small amount of demonic energy escaped between the plates.

Beatrice noticed.

"Is that supposed to happen?"

"I don’t know."

"Reassuring."

Strax placed his palm against the ground.

The reaction was immediate.

A black wave traveled through the earth.

Not destructive.

It was more like perception.

The authority inherited from Hades spread through the underground, passing through stone, minerals, roots, and ancient layers that no ordinary perception could reach so easily.

Strax saw the world beneath his feet in a completely different way.

Natural tunnels.

Underground water.

Metal veins.

And then he found something.

Far below.

Buried deep.

Enormous.

Strax slowly raised his head.

"Ah."

Beatrice became concerned.

"Was that a good ’ah’ or a bad ’ah’?"

"I don’t know yet."

"You say that too much."

Strax ignored her and sent more energy through the gauntlet.

This time, it reached the thing directly.

Something answered.

BOOM.

The entire ground trembled.

Workers shouted in the distance as tools fell and small animals fled their pens.

Beatrice lost her balance for a moment, and Strax had to catch her by the arm.

"Strax!"

"That wasn’t me."

"YOU TOUCHED THE GROUND AND IT SHOOK!"

"Coincidence."

"Of course."

Another tremor.

Stronger.

Strax narrowed his eyes.

Then the ground in front of them cracked.

Beatrice immediately created a barrier, expecting some underground creature to emerge, but no monster appeared.

Instead, a small root pushed through the opening.

Green.

Glowing.

Roughly the thickness of a finger.

Strax kept staring at it.

So did Beatrice.

The root grew a few more centimeters.

Then a small leaf emerged.

"That was kilometers below us?" Beatrice asked.

"Yes."

"A plant."

"Looks like it."

"You found a plant buried kilometers beneath Asgard."

"That’s what it looks like."

Beatrice ran both hands over her face.

"I’m calling Frieren."

Strax immediately grabbed her shoulder.

"No."

"Why?"

"She met a witch today."

Beatrice did not understand.

"And?"

"If you put a mysterious plant together with those two right now, we lose the laboratory for a week."

Beatrice considered it.

"Fair."

Strax looked back at the small leaf.

The mana around them began to change.

The dry soil near the root darkened.

A small wheat plant that had been almost dead a few meters away slowly regained its color.

Then another.

And another.

Beatrice went completely still.

Strax raised an eyebrow.

In less than a minute, a circular area nearly ten meters around that small root had become completely different.

The soil gained moisture, the plants became greener, and the mana concentration stabilized almost perfectly.

Beatrice crouched and touched the earth.

"This..."

She picked up some soil between her fingers.

Then looked at Strax.

"This solved the problem."

Strax observed the root.

"One root shouldn’t be able to do that."

"Not a normal one."

The gauntlet vibrated again.

This time Strax understood more clearly what he was feeling.

That thing below was not a small plant.

That root was only one extremity.

The main body stretched deep beneath Asgard, crossing kilometers of territory.

Some parts seemed dead.

Others were merely dormant.

But it was enormous.

Ancient.

Very ancient.

Strax sighed.

"Of course."

Beatrice looked at him.

"What?"

"I just wanted to go for a walk."

She waited.

Strax pointed at the small root.

"Now we have an ancient tree buried beneath the kingdom."

Beatrice fell silent.

Then looked toward the city in the distance.

"Want me to call Monica?"

Strax thought of her surrounded by documents.

Thought of the food shortage.

Then looked at the root capable of turning poor soil into fertile land in seconds.

"Yes."

Beatrice started walking.

Strax added:

"But don’t tell her I found it by messing with the ground."

She stopped.

"Why?"

"Because she’ll ask why I was messing with the ground."

"Why were you messing with the ground?"

Strax fell silent.

Beatrice started smiling.

"I’m telling her exactly that."

"Beatrice."

She was already walking away.

"MONICA!"

Strax ran a hand over his face.

Maybe Tartarus really was more peaceful.