"Hahaha! You blockhead, serves you right. Wouldn't use my shop's services but went to use whoever else's shop. Can't laugh enough, really." Inside the retail-wholesale market in Erichester City, besides shops selling vegetables, fruits, and agricultural products, there were also shops selling agricultural equipment, seeds, and rare plants. In the deep part of that place, there was a shop that bought and sold raw materials.

  A young man in a red shirt wearing square-framed glasses, ash-colored hair tied in a ponytail, sat laughing cheerfully at his old friend's misfortune. Jinyo narrowed his eyes at the man enjoying himself on others' suffering.

  This man's name was William, heir to the agricultural equipment shop of the Wallen family. He was a man with a terrible personality, extremely stingy about money, every penny. A handsome face, oval eyes with an annoying, nerve-grating grin like he escaped from a cartoon villain.

  "Your shop's service fees are too brutal. Buying from another shop saves 6%."

  "But in the end, how did it turn out? You came back to me!"

  "..."

  "How about that? Can't argue back at all! Don't use a friend's services but take money to offer to whoever knows who. Serves you right, you person who doesn't think about friends."

  "That's why I came here. I got an earful of nagging too." As soon as Jinyo got home and told Rina the whole story, she called him an idiot. Then his younger sister punched him in the stomach. Made Jinyo vomit all over the floor. He only thought about saving expenses, so he didn't use his friend's shop services.

  William had a psychotic condition where he wouldn't give special prices even to relatives or friends. Price reductions didn't exist in his dictionary. Even though Jinyo counted William as a friend, someone who wouldn't reduce prices for a friend even by one percent, he didn't want to patronize. Especially when purchase value was in the tens of millions—the more saved, the better. Who would think he'd end up caught in a criminal operation? The purchase that should have been smooth and normal failed, delayed by a whole day.

  Jinyo sent the purchase order for William to price. William hummed in a good mood at getting a large lot order. He sent a quote back. Jinyo's face fell when the numbers were 8.5% higher than the previous shop. Seemed like just a little, but if the purchase value was tens of millions, 8.5% was nearly a hundred thousand in increased expenses.

  "Give me a discount, please."

  "Can't. Want good quality items, fast delivery, this is the price." William smiled cunningly, talking to the dejected Jinyo.

  "High pricing gets you quality worth the price. Because you can't trust anyone else, that's why you came to me, right? If it were someone else, don't know if they could get it on time. If another month, maybe possible."

  "I understand. I'll accept this price. But can you throw in some extras?"

  "Of course! Our shop just got new miraculous plant seeds. Their names are... Happy Carrot and Exploding Potato." William walked to the back of the shop, returning with two black boxes. When opened, they revealed bags packed with seeds and ugly-looking potatoes. They were miraculous plants—vegetables with special properties and nutrients higher than ordinary plants.

  As a botanist, Jinyo knew Happy Carrots and Exploding Potatoes well.

  Happy Carrots were vegetables that if eaten would help relax, beautify skin, nourish eyesight, and expel toxins. Exploding Potatoes had delicious flavor. Popular for cooking many things. Found only in certain dungeons. No one had successfully cultivated them yet. The main income of new hunters in Erichester was going to find Exploding Potatoes to sell to merchants or restaurants.

  "I can just take them, right?"

  "Go ahead. Choose whatever you like. Happy Carrots, choose five bags. Exploding Potatoes, take 10 kilograms. The freebies' value is about two hundred thousand. Look, I'm really a righteous, ethical merchant. Other shops don't throw in this many freebies for customers, let me tell you."

  "Don't mind if I do." Jinyo played deaf.

  "This guy... doesn't listen to others at all."

  Bloodline Deduction!

  [Exploding Potato, Variety: Mine] Grade: F Status: None Spirit required: 2 or more Habits: Likes moist soil, dislikes drought, hates sunlight Dominant genes: [Drought resistant 1 star] [Cold resistant 1 black star] Recessive genes: [Low yield 1 black star] Description: Potato originating from dungeons. If hit by heat, it will swell and explode! Soft, fluffy, delicious taste—don't tell anyone. Don't eat it raw because its skin has poison. Eat it and beware of diarrhea severe enough to cause death.

  [Happy Carrot, Variety: -] Grade: F Status: None Spirit required: 2 or more Habits: Likes moist soil, dislikes drought, likes rain Dominant genes: [Heavy weight 1 star] [Skin nourishment 1 star] [Eye nourishment 1 star] [Mood adjustment 2 stars] Recessive genes: [Slow growth 1 black star]

  Can definitely grow Exploding Potatoes! Jinyo saw the information displayed on the system. Exploding Potatoes that no one could grow—the system showed he had a way to grow them. If Jinyo successfully grew them, he wouldn't have to worry about financial status anymore.

  No medicinal properties or cultivation power boost. Only raw material for cooking, huh. Jinyo looked at every potato. Reached out to pick and weigh. The smallest Exploding Potato weighed 250 grams. Large ones about 450 grams. If hypothetically Jinyo wanted to plant a whole field of Exploding Potatoes, he'd need more than 40 kilograms. But he didn't have enough budget to do that.

  System, filter dominant genes. Desired genes, first priority... large size. Jinyo commanded mentally. Suddenly, over a hundred Exploding Potatoes were reduced to just a few dozen.

  Desired genes second priority: fast growth. Jinyo input the second command. The system filtered, leaving only ten to twenty potatoes. He reached out, picking them into the basket. Total weight was 9.5 kilograms.

  Next was Happy Carrots.

  [Happy Carrot, Variety: -] Grade: F Status: None Spirit required: 1 or more Habits: Likes moist soil, dislikes drought, likes rain Dominant genes: [Heavy weight 1 star] [Skin nourishment 1 star] [Eye nourishment 1 star] [Mood adjustment 2 stars] Recessive genes: [Slow growth 1 black star]

  Has medicinal properties. Usable. Take them to experiment with growing. Jinyo used Bloodline Deduction power to look for seeds with interesting dominant genes. He grabbed them into the basket for William to bag.

  "Took only the best stuff. You botanist has such good eyes. Never knew before."

  "I've always had good eyes." Jinyo didn't dare say it was the system's power. This was the first time he discovered Bloodline Deduction's function. From now on, as long as Jinyo had the right to choose vegetables and fruits to grow himself, he would get only the best seeds or varieties. The path of being a gardener seemed brighter than being a tutor.

  The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.

  "Jinyo, my younger sister is coming back from abroad. She'll be in our city for a while. Want to meet up?" William invited. Jinyo looked at his old friend and fully knew his intentions. William's family had good financial status but ordinary lineage. Jinyo's lineage was equivalent to old nobility but was impoverished nobility. Getting involved would benefit both sides. However...

  "Thank you, but I want to focus more on the work I'm doing now than on love. I'm not ready to open my heart to anyone."

  "You... after all this time, still haven't healed your heartbreak? Sigh, what a shame, really. If it were you, my father and I would be truly happy. Well, if you want anything else, just call. If releasing for sale, I'll give you a good price." William waved, shooing Jinyo out of the shop. Jinyo accomplished his goal—he hurried home to tend the Garden of the Nameless God as quickly as possible. Had to hurry to increase strength and find a way to cure Rina.

  [Peach Blossom Dance (Basic Stage) Level 10: Strike fiercely. Create illusion of peach blossoms attacking enemies. Damage depends on [Strength + Willpower + Quality] X [Skill Proficiency]. Chance to inflict [Infatuation] status on opponents. Create confusion for enemies. Status chance depends on [Charm + Intelligence + Willpower] X [Skill Proficiency]]

  [Sword Spirit level increased to Level 10. Damage bonus changed to 1.10 X Willpower + Quality]

  [God-Seizing Hands level increased to 11. Buff effectiveness increased]

  [Nature Synthesis Technique level increased to 12. Cultivation efficiency higher. When in territory, Garden of the Nameless God +200% cultivation speed bonus (+Skill Proficiency X 2%)]

  [You achieved stage: Common Stage 2. capacity increased to 2000]

  The result of diligence day and night. When Jinyo opened his eyes, he found the core between heart and lungs had successfully formed. Finally, he broke through the capacity limit that normal people needed several months for, within 3 days. Because of foundation and long-accumulated experience, advancing from Common Stage 1 to 2 was possible. If it were someone else, it would take months.

  Jinyo at age 15 had once reached Knight Stage 4 at maximum. capacity 40,000. He believed if he hadn't encountered that tragedy, by now he would have reached General stage. The same boundary as Rina or perhaps higher. Because when Rina was 15, she was only Knight Stage 1. Jinyo had more talent, so he went further.

  The higher capacity, the faster Jinyo could increase skill proficiency. Whether Peach Blossom Dance, the most basic movement of Song of a Hundred Flowers, God-Seizing Hands, or Sword Spirit—all required expenditure. His goal was to advance to Common Stage 3 within 7 days.

  Jinyo got up, stretched. Walked to the fertilizer mixing pond as large as a pool that Naho dug. Naho had a special body with superhuman strength and rapid power recovery. The image Ryse and Gretel saw was Naho in a crop top and long pants digging up soil by herself. A pond that would take dozens of male soldiers working together all day to finish—Naho took only one night.

  During this time, Jinyo did nothing except read manuals, cultivate, and go back to massage Rina in her room. For better or worse, she wouldn't let Jinyo massage anywhere else except her private room. Plus wouldn't let anyone approach the room for 30 minutes after massage finished. Which Jinyo didn't understand at all why it took her so long to come out.

  "Brother Yo, aren't you ashamed letting Sister Naho work alone?" The boy walked to stand beside, questioning morality and equality. Letting a woman alone do heavy labor while not helping at all. Should he take someone like this as an example or not?

  "I'm really not good at physical labor. Naho likes using strength but can't mix fertilizer. We each do what we're good at. It's called using personnel efficiently! Besides, if I get exhausted and faint, Naho will nag my ears off."

  "Not an excuse because you're lazy, right?"

  "Gretel... do you think I'm a pitiful man who watches his younger sister labor without feeling anything?"

  "Well, no." Gretel ran away to read books at the hut. Blankets, bed sheets, pillows—everything was moved to this hut already. No air conditioning or electrical outlets to charge mobile phones, but it seemed everyone wanted to sleep at the hut. The owner Jinyo had to sleep under a tree instead.

  William delivered raw materials in the evening. Just in time before the full moon night most suitable for performing rituals. Jinyo sat reading the ritual assembly manual, how to mix Earth-Dwelling Divine Fertilizer in the God of Agriculture manual all night. Amazingly, not drowsy once.

  Light from the moon had a lux value of 0.1 while sunlight at midday had a lux value of 100,000. According to science, plants photosynthesize from moonlight but incomparable to sunlight. However, for Jinyo's special body, moonlight didn't help him cultivate power, true, but helped reduce fatigue and made him more focused than during daytime.

  Late night when the sky showed a full moon, when the pond was finished digging, Rina held her son and daughter's hands to watch their father begin the ritual ceremony. Naho sat watching quietly under a large tree. Monster cores were ground finely through mortars. Added bone powder beaten until crushed, followed by pure soil not contaminated with any chemicals before. The two-meter deep empty hole was filled with dirty soil smelling of blood. Both foul and disgusting.

  Jinyo brought the old altar table hidden in the deep part of the mansion's storage to set under the tree. Brought raw materials from high-level monsters level 50 and above to cook food. Raw materials from miraculous plants, magic fruits, and herbs to make sweets. Drinks as offerings.

  Jinyo threw finely ground core powder down to mix. Opened the manual, chanted incantations.

  "I, sage of nature, beseech all the gods. Accept all the tributes I have prepared. Please grant a fragment of your soul to dwell in this sacred land. Transform this barren land into an abundant paradise."

  "I, sage of nature, beseech—" Jinyo chanted repeatedly. Magic rings drawn with magic power were created mid-air. Complex mathematical structural formulas glowed. Naho looked at the structure Jinyo spent all night creating while raising her hand to cover her mouth, almost vomiting. Highly detailed line drawings that had to be drawn by hand. Like something created by computer system. If not for seeing Jinyo focused on drawing it all night, she wouldn't believe her brother really drew it by hand.

  [Mother of Spirits accepts your request]

  Here it comes.

  [Mother of Spirits requests ritual dance worship of gods. Dance until Mother of Spirits is satisfied]

  "Until satisfied. What a terrifying demand, really." Jinyo wasn't afraid of sword dancing. Afraid of the words "until satisfied." Because it didn't say how much to do. Had to keep doing endlessly. Can't stop.

  Jinyo picked up the wooden sword, stood up. The fire was lit with ash-colored flames, raised the sword high, danced. Song of a Hundred Flowers was a sword song emphasizing rhythm and grace. Jinyo danced sword at least 1 to 2 hours daily without fail. He performed from the first movement to the last movement. No signal saying the dance was near ending.

  When the last movement finished, circled back to the first movement. Repeated endlessly without finish. Naho picked up a camera to video Jinyo performing Song of a Hundred Flowers movements. Graceful, beautiful movements required very high body flexibility. The difficulty of training SS rank sword didn't come by luck.

  "So beautiful. If I could dance as beautifully as Brother, that would be nice."

  "If you could use your brain half as much as Jinyo, you probably could." Rina teased. Naho turned to look sharply and went back to watching her brother dance sword immediately. She didn't want to miss this moment even for a second. Until stars in the sky began fading. The boy and girl went to sleep, but the two young women didn't trust leaving Jinyo alone. They watched him to the end—that was the only thing they could give him.

  "Too long now." Naho grumbled.

  "It's been 6 hours already. Just 4 hours should have been more than enough." Rina looked at the clock. Jinyo started sword dancing around 10 PM, now it was already 4 AM. She thought he would run out of strength and end the ritual. She really underestimated Jinyo's endurance.

  Movements started becoming stiff, not flowing after the 7th hour passed. He forced himself to continue until 6 AM. When the sun's first light burst over the horizon. Dawn cast golden light as if blessing Jinyo with good fortune.

  What Rina saw was Jinyo's complexion glowing when receiving light. He absorbed sunlight and movements became sharp again. Though not as much as before, physical strength was restored. It was something beyond the boundaries of science and magic. Until now, Jinyo still showed no sign of stopping dancing. Finally, time passed to 10 AM.

  Liquids and materials poured into the pond began mixing together and rapidly shrinking in size. What remained at the bottom of the fertilizer mixing pond were thousands of black beads the size of pearls.

  [Mother of Spirits is satisfied with your sword dance and devotion. Mother of Spirits grants Earth Spirit Chisato to incarnate on your land]

  [Ritual worship of gods complete. You danced sword a total of 12,784 movements. Duration 12 hours 42 minutes. Received: Quality +42, Strength +10, Willpower +10, Speed +10, Intelligence +10, Charm +10]

  [Earth Spirit Chisato has blessed Earth-Dwelling Divine Fertilizer. Earth-Dwelling Divine Fertilizer quality is Good]

  [Earth-Dwelling Divine Fertilizer (Good Grade): Increases growth rate of all flora 400%. Properties and nutrients of all plants increased 200%. Nourishes miraculous plants +100%. Produce has 10% chance to obtain magical produce. 1 kilogram per 1 rai. Duration 4 months per application]

  Finally...

  Finally got it.

  But in the blink of an eye when he completed the ritual, his consciousness faded away.