Chapter 19: A Strange Field

Chapter 19: A Strange Field

Cal turned to lead them to where he dug up the ground. “I have a few questions about—”

“Where did you get that?”

He turned in surprise at the abrupt question. “What?”

Drex was staring over his shoulder. “Did the guild give you... never mind.” He shook his head, reconsidering his need to know. “I suppose I can see why you have such confidence.”

I didn’t expect a mortal to have knowledge of Advanced-rank items. Even if said mortal might have somewhat autonomous control over the crop seeds delivered to the guild.

“Hey, boss. Do I need to be here for this?” Seris already looked bored out of her mind. She hadn’t noticed the shovel Orrin made for him looked different. If she did, there would likely be more interest showing.

“It’s up to Drex,” Cal looked at him. “Are you fine if she leaves?”

“Go, you don’t have to be present.” Drex shooed Seris off. “I’ll find you in town and give you a list of the things you’ll need to buy for Initiate Cal.”

“Sure thing, Drex. Bye, boss!” Seris ran like she thought they would change their mind about her leaving.

“A list of things?” Cal asked as he watched Seris disappear past the tree line.

“Yes, and it’ll be a long one.” Drex sounded annoyed simply thinking about it. “You said you had questions. What are they?”

Cal raised an eyebrow at the attitude. He wasn’t forcing the man to help him. This was done entirely by choice, so he felt the tone was uncalled for.

The previous me would have smacked this mortal down for such disrespect. However, I have changed. I am slower to anger... this is a lie.

I still want to smack this mortal, but Seris will probably make that sad cat face again. I don’t want to deal with that.

“Can this dirt that I uncovered support any plant life?” Cal asked with a pleasant smile that didn’t show his inner thoughts.

“I suppose it might be able to,” Drex knelt near the edge and pinched some dirt between his fingers. “There was an attempt by the guild a few decades ago. They cleared a few acres of the Northern Wastes just like you did here. The hard surface layer grew back within a week.”

... I couldn’t have heard that right.

“I must have misheard. Could you repeat that again?”

Drex looked at him with no hint of a joke. “They did discover something in that failure, though. The surface layer is held back as long as an Initiate works on the field. I suspect it’s the mana that is expended with every action an Initiate does.”

Cal shook his head in confusion. “Then why would it have grown back?”

“There was one Initiate farmer and a little over a hundred regular farmers. Out of the acres dug up, only the one the Initiate worked on personally remained without the layer.”

... That makes sense.

“And the guild decided to give up after that?” Cal could guess why Drex mentioned only one Initiate was working.

“The Celestial Order isn’t short of farmland. However, they are short of Initiate farmers. Developing the Northern Wastes is not in their interests.”

Cal nodded, his guess confirmed by Drex’s reply. He still had one question. “I’m not doubting you, but how do you know this is true? Many things can be misremembered even if it's only decades ago.”

“I was one of the farmers that worked here. Unless my memory has completely failed me, you can trust what I say as fact.”

His mind blanked for a moment.

Ah, now I understand. Drex is like Oleg. Someone who failed at activating their interface but still had rudimentary training with mana. He looks far too young to have worked as a farmer decades ago.

He must have a relative in the core guild to have his current position. No wonder he talks to me in a blunt manner. There must be an artifact that protects him from attacks, just like the necklace I gave to Seris. Luckily, Drex seems decent enough in his position of power, even though he annoys me.

I may have been hasty in forming my opinion of him... or not. He’s still annoying. If he becomes less so, good.

He glanced at the sky and saw that only a few hours remained until sunset. The people the Overseer was supposed to send should be arriving soon.

Cal looked at the shed before switching to the dirt path. He did this a few times before making a decision and walking toward the shed.

I’ll get out of the sun and rest for a few minutes. I can’t afford to lose my stamina before nighttime.

He shut the door behind him. He took the tools off his back and placed them next to the plow and sledgehammer before falling on the cot.

Cal let out a groan at feeling the soft bedding underneath him. He hadn’t known he was this sore.

This is nice...

***

He sat up quickly, eyes wide, and hand around the sledgehammer’s handle. He could see the bright moon through the tattered roof.

It’s that little beast. I can hear its chitters.

Cal stood from the cot and stepped out of the shed quickly, wanting to get a good glimpse of what it was before it disappeared again.

He narrowed his eyes at the tiny figure sitting on top of the newly created pile of surface layer debris. It was nibbling at chunks of the stuff, eyes closed as if it was savoring the taste.

This is the thing that tried to steal from me?

The little beast was small, not even a foot tall. It looked as fluffy as it felt when he grazed his palm on its body last time, fur covering its body and a large bushy tail standing tall. It had two small ears with a furry antennae-like appendage upright in the center of its head.

It looks like a mutated rabbit... and it has already finished the clump of debris it was nibbling on.

It opened its eyes and searched for another chuck to eat when it noticed Cal. He thought this would be when it ran away, but the opposite happened.

The little beast snarled—or tried to. All it accomplished was to reveal its buckteeth and let out a pathetic squeak.

... What?

It looked satisfied at its efforts and picked up the next chunk to nibble on. It glared at Cal with its large, black eyes as it took small bites, warning him from making a move.

Does this beast have a strong defense to give it this confidence? I doubt it.

When it sneered at him, that was a little too far for Cal to take.

I would have let the little beast eat to its heart’s content, but it’s getting far too cocky.

Cal took large strides towards it, and the little beast’s demeanor changed completely.

It squeaked loudly in fear, and its fur puffed up before it jumped headfirst into the pile it was sitting on. The little beast disappeared.

... It was all show, as I guessed. Still, I couldn’t let it assume I was scared. It might have gotten too bold in its attempts in the future. At least, I now know what it looks like. I should be able to find out more about it.

He checked out the tunnel the little beast had created in its escape and found nothing worth noting, as expected.

Cal shook his head and walked back to the shed.

The people the Overseer supposedly sent didn’t arrive. The man is strict on timelines, so something must have changed drastically for a delay.

He shut the door behind him and put the sledgehammer down. He fell onto the comfortable cot and muttered, “I’ll deal with it tomorrow.”