Chapter 156. A farmer’s want

Chapter 156: 156. A farmer’s want

Carlos looked at the message in front of Rowan first.

[Farmer Rowan has leveled up]

Rowan did not move for a few seconds, he too was looking at a panel.

Carlos could not see it at first. Rowan’s face had changed enough to tell him he was satisfied or happy about something.

"Level five, huh?" Carlos asked.

Rowan nodded slowly.

"Level five," he said.

The workers were still looking at the gate, but Carlos only looked at Rowan now.

"What did you get?"

Rowan turned the panel toward him.

--

[Farmer Rowan — Level 5]

[New Skill Unlocked: Irrigation Sense]

[The Farmer can inspect active water routes, soil saturation, hidden erosion, and pressure risks within cultivated land.]

[Farmer Promotion Scroll detected.]

[Standard Promotion: Nature Druid]

[Special Evolution Available: Verdant Dryad]

[Special conditions fulfilled: Spirit Farmland cultivation, Epic plant care, and successful land-restoration achievement.]

--

Carlos read the last two lines twice.

"We are finally here, the thing we were trying to achieve," he spoke.

"All because you got me here, my lord." For the first time, Carlos saw him smiling without restraint.

Rowan’s eyes were still holding the panel, not wanting it to go away.

"I have heard old stories about them," he said. "Farmers who reach far enough with land that the System stops treating them like normal people. I did not think I would ever see it."

Carlos did not ask him to accept it. He had wanted Rowan to become stronger, but becoming a different race was not a decision he could make for him.

"What does it say it will do?"

Rowan opened another part of the panel.

--

[Verdant Dryad]

[Rare Agricultural Evolution — Special Promotion]

[Benefits: Lifespan extended. Agricultural Expertise strengthened. Nature Affinity unlocked.]

[Sustenance: A Verdant Dryad requires no cooked meals. It is sustained by sunlight, water, mana, and living soil.]

[Verdant Renewal: A Verdant Dryad may remain away from its connected territory for seven days. After that, it must stand on healthy living soil or receive Mana Water to restore its Verdant Energy.]

[Passive Ability: Verdant Growth — All cultivated crops and plants within Ironroot mature 60% faster.]

[Active Ability: Life Bloom — Twice each day, expend Verdant Energy to bring one chosen plant to full maturity instantly.]

[Territory Ability: Root Network — Improve cultivated soil, water use, and crop health throughout Ironroot.]

[Territory Ability: Worldroot Expansion — Once each day, transform up to 300 square meters of ordinary claimed land into Rare Farmland.]

[Evolution must be completed within the Lord’s active territory.]

--

Carlos felt something in his chest loosen when he read the first line.

Rowan had been talking about his old body only yesterday. Now the System was giving him a path away from it.

But the Root Network part was even bigger.

Ironroot had Spirit Farmland, ordinary fields, rare crops, and more space than they knew how to use properly. Now Rowan could make their crops grow sixty percent faster, mature two plants every day with his own power, and turn three hundred square meters of ordinary land into Rare Farmland every single day.

He would not even need a cooked meal anymore. It was only one person from their food count, but Carlos knew Mira would still be happy when she heard it.

Carlos did not even know what Ironroot’s production would look like in a few months.

"You should do it," Carlos said. Then he stopped himself. "If you want to."

Rowan looked toward the southern wheat rows. Water was reaching them now. It was not fast, but it was reaching them.

"I do want to," he said. "I have spent my whole life working on land that did not belong to me. Now I have Ironroot, and people who will listen when I tell them not to destroy a channel with wood. I do not want to leave it yet."

Carlos smiled.

"Then when we get back, we do it."

Rowan nodded, and for once he looked less old. The repair did not end because the first release held.

Rowan stayed at Marcus’s territory for the rest of that day. He walked the lower channel twice more with the new Irrigation Sense active. He pointed out two soft patches that would become problems later and made Hester mark them before they could be forgotten.

Marcus listened to every instruction this time.

The next morning, the water was released again.

The stone footing did not move.

The clay stayed packed. The relief cut took the extra water and carried it away from the weak ground. The southern fields received water across the first rows, then the next ones.

Marcus stood beside Carlos with his arms folded, watching the channel like he did not trust it yet.

"It is good," Rowan finally said. "Do not widen anything again unless you rebuild the rest of this route for the new pressure. And check the two areas I marked before every season."

Marcus let out a long breath.

"I will."

Three days later, the company workers began harvesting the southern wheat.

Carlos and Rowan did not need to stay for all of it. Marcus had shown them enough of the recorded harvest process, and Hester had sent a message after the first grain was weighed.

The contract panel appeared in front of Carlos while he and Rowan were standing near the guest portal.

--

[Conditional Service Contract Completed]

[Service Requirement: Fulfilled]

[Payment transferred: Common Wheat x3,000]

--

Carlos opened his inventory right away.

Common Wheat x3,000 sat there in a clean stack.

It was not a special crop. It did not shine like the rare things they had grown in Ironroot. But Carlos had never been happier to see a normal resource in his life.

Marcus came toward them from the field path.

"The company confirmed the harvest," he said. "Your payment is yours now."

Carlos nodded.

"Thank you for keeping the contract."

Marcus gave a tired smile.

"You saved my share. I would have been a fool not to."

He looked at Rowan.

"If you ever need grain again, message me before you search blindly in the market. I cannot promise deals like this every time, but I can tell you what I have."

Rowan nodded once.

"Keep your water route checked. That will be more useful than another message."

Marcus actually laughed a little at that.

Carlos and Rowan stepped through the portal after saying goodbye.

Ironroot was noisy when they returned. Kaia was taking the Shield Militia through a formation near the Training Yard. The Bearkin were carrying food containers toward the kitchen. Blue floated above the northern field, while Tarin and Sela were working near the normal wheat rows.

Mira saw Carlos first.

"Did it work?" she asked, walking quickly toward them.

Carlos opened his inventory panel so she could see it.

For a moment, Mira did not speak.

"Three thousand?" she asked.

"Three thousand."

She looked at Rowan, then back at Carlos.

"Get it into storage before someone decides to stand there and stare at it all day. We need to count what can be cooked, what needs to stay whole, and what we can save for trade."

Carlos laughed once. Mira was already thinking about work.

"It does not solve everything," she added as the Hearthkeepers came closer. "But we are not counting tomorrow’s meals with empty hands anymore."

That was enough for Carlos.

He turned to Rowan after the wheat had been moved out of the inventory.

"Are you ready?"

Rowan looked toward the Spirit Farmland.

"Yes, my lord."

They went there together. Tarin and Sela stopped their work when they saw the panel beside Rowan.

Rowan stood in the center of the Spirit Farmland. The Tidal Silverwood moved above him, its leaves making a soft sound in the wind.

He looked at Carlos one last time.

"I will still be Rowan after this, right?"

Carlos did not know if the System could answer that. But he knew what he wanted.

"I have learned in school that when a troop upgrades to a new being, they retain their formal memories and personality with them. So don’t worry, Rowan." Carlos grinned to reassure him.

"You will still be you."

Rowan had no reason to believe him, for all he knew, Carlos could be manipulating him to become better even if it meant his personality dying in the process.

But the old Farmer smiled and accepted the evolution instead.

Green light rose from the soil around his feet.