Gardener of Eden

Chapter 115: Chapter 115: Bountiful Harvest

Rowan stepped out into the crisp morning air of the Citadel streets, the grand stone archway of the Adventurer’s Guild looming ahead beneath the titan’s massive ribs. Before heading back to check on the fields, he decided to stop by the guild hall to log an official interim status update on his active agricultural commission.

Inside, the grand hall was already buzzing with activity. Heavy-armored mercenaries were checking their gear, bounty boards were surrounded by shouting parties, and clerks were buried under stacks of monster hunt reports. Rowan made his way toward the municipal administrative counter, stepping up to the clerk handling local resource and farm contracts.

”I’m here to update my task progress on the farm revitalization,” Rowan said smoothly, resting his trusty hoe against his shoulder.

The clerk pulled up Rowan’s registry slate, adjusting her spectacles with a skeptical glance. ”The Floor 5 farmland? That land has been stagnant and calcified for months. Most farmers drop that commission after a single afternoon of fruitless digging.”

”The soil toxicity has been completely cleared, subterranean mana channels are restored, and all four sectors have been tilled, rotated, and seeded,” Rowan replied, tipping the brim of his Enchanted Straw Hat. ”I’m heading back out now for the first harvest inspection. You can mark Phase One as officially complete.” ℴℴ𝘮

The clerk froze, her quill lingering over the parchment as she blinked in sheer disbelief. Fully restoring miles of dead, overworked soil in under twenty-four hours was practically unheard of for a single adventurer. After a quick double-check of his credentials, she stamped his record slate, updating his guild profile with a substantial initial batch of provisional merit points.

”I’ll... I’ll log this immediately and notify the Citadel’s agricultural council,” she stammered, handing back his guild tag. ”They’ll likely send an official appraiser to verify the yield later today. If the crops are truly thriving, a massive completion bonus will be authorized.”

”Appreciated,” Rowan grinned, taking the tag back.

With his progress officially recorded at the guild, Rowan turned and walked out into the warm sunlight of the city gates. Stepping onto the dirt path leading up into the rolling golden fields, he headed back toward the farm, ready to see how his Breath of Eden (Level 3) had matured the crops overnight.

***

As Rowan crested the gentle rise of the dirt path, the sprawling expanse of the Floor 5 farmland came into full view. Where gray, calcified clay had lay choked and dormant just yesterday, four radiant quadrants now stretched out across the landscape beneath the perpetual sunset sky, radiating an aura of intense, living vitality.

The effect of his upgraded Breath of Eden (Level 3) combined with the ancient seeds was nothing short of miraculous.

In the first quadrant, towering stalks of corn stood like a disciplined green vanguard, their heavy husks already bursting with plump, sun-kissed golden kernels that hummed with a faint, sweet mana. Right beside it, the second sector rippled like a shimmering sea of amber wheat, the dense, heavy grain heads swaying in rhythm with the warm steppe wind.

Across the central path, the third sector was a lush maze of sturdy vines clinging to the earth, laden with deep crimson tomatoes whose skins gleamed like polished rubies. Finally, the fourth quadrant showed rich mahogany soil pushed into high, healthy mounds, where robust green foliage signaled a massive, dense harvest of hardy potatoes resting just beneath the surface.

Standing at the edge of the first field was the old farmer, leaning heavily on his wooden cane. Tears glistened in his weathered eyes as he stared at the vibrant crops, his frail shoulders shaking with quiet, overwhelmed emotion. Beside him stood three young farmhands from the nearby district, their mouths agape as they touched the glowing leaves in complete disbelief.

”I... I haven’t seen growth like this in thirty years,” the old man whispered, turning as Rowan approached. ”It’s not just alive... it’s divine.”

Rowan tipped the brim of his Enchanted Straw Hat, resting his trusty hoe over his shoulder with a calm smirk. ”Told you the earth just needed a little care.”

Before they could begin the harvest, the rhythmic clatter of heavy wheels echoed down the dirt road. A sleek, silver-trimmed carriage bearing the official sigil of the Crossroads Citadel Agricultural Council ground to a halt. Two high-ranking appraisers in formal guild robes stepped out, holding mana-measuring slates. The moment their boots touched the dirt, the gauges on their slates went wild, flashing brilliant emerald light.

The lead appraiser stared from his glowing slate to the towering fields, his quill slipping completely from his numb fingers. Rowan’s Gardener of Eden authority had turned a dying wasteland into the single most valuable food supply on the fifth floor in less than twenty-four hours.

***

Rowan didn’t wait around for the stunned appraisers to recover their breath. Stepping out into the central intersection of the four farm terraces, he adjusted his Enchanted Straw Hat and planted the haft of his trusty hoe firmly into the mahogany earth.

”Time for the harvest and the next cycle,” Rowan said with a calm smirk.

Channeling a steady stream of core energy, he activated Terra Tilling across the sprawling terraces. The earth hummed with a deep, resonant rumble as waves of emerald light rippled outward across all four quadrants. Rather than standard plowing, the skill acted with divine precision. The soil gently parted beneath the crops, lifting the mature harvests straight out of the earth without bruising a single skin or breaking a single stalk.

Massive golden ears of corn, heavy sheaves of amber wheat, plump ruby-red tomatoes, and dense mounds of hardy potatoes cleanly unseated themselves, settling into neat, organized piles along the main access roads. The old farmer and the Citadel appraisers gaped in total disbelief as weeks of grueling, back-breaking labor was accomplished in less than ten seconds.

Without breaking stride, Rowan immediately executed the next phase of his agricultural masterplan: the clockwise crop rotation.

With a fluid motion, his Gardener of Eden authority lifted new batches of dormant seeds from the burlap sacks stacked by the storehouse. Guided by his ambient mana, clouds of seeds glided through the warm steppe air before embedding themselves into their newly rotated quadrants:

Section One (Formerly Corn): Now freshly sown with dense, high-yield wheat grains.

Section Two (Formerly Wheat): Now receiving rows of vine-bound tomato seeds.

Section Three (Formerly Tomatoes): Now planted with hardy seed potatoes.

Section Four (Formerly Potatoes): Now seeded with tall, golden corn kernels.

Rowan tapped his hoe against the ground, pulsing his upgraded Breath of Eden (Level 3) deep into the subterranean root grid. The freshly tilled soil folded back over the seeds, locking in optimal moisture and vitality. Before the dust even settled, vibrant green sprouts once again broke through the mahogany surface across all four quadrants, initiating the next rapid growth cycle under Floor 5’s perpetual sunset.

Turning to the speechless appraisers, Rowan rested his hoe over his shoulder. ”Harvest is gathered, and the land is officially rotated. You’re going to need a lot more transport wagons.”