For three days, aside from eating, sleeping, and using the toilet, Kroya had kept staring out the window, watching the scenery go from bustling to ordinary, and finally to deserted wilderness.
It wasn't because he wanted to. Digesting all the information about his new surroundings and absorbing the original owner's memories as a mage had taken him three days, and even then, he'd barely sorted it all out. That was no small feat.
Sitting inside the spacious, comfortable carriage enchanted with spatial magic, he let out a deep sigh.
What do you do when you've just transmigrated and discover the original owner was exiled by the Mage Association? Waiting for answers online. Urgent!
He'd never imagined that simply going to sleep would somehow transport him into a world of swords and magic, complete with all kinds of magical beasts and Magic Plants.
Most importantly... the original owner had been doing perfectly well working for the Mage Association. Every day, he'd diligently studied spells and discussed Magic Plant cultivation with others.
But because he'd offended the apprentice of a fourth-level mage, the other man had set a trap for him: since he talked about farming all day, why not go out and become a lord to reclaim some land?
He'd even offered a fifth-level Magic Plant as the stake—Moonlight Dewgrass, which supposedly only the elves possessed.
Win, and he could take the Magic Plant back to the Royal Capital.
Lose, and he could never return to the Royal Capital.
And, unsurprisingly, the original owner had fallen for it...
Honestly, the stakes really were tempting.
With the Mage Association acting as witness, the two parties had signed a three-year contract. After three years, someone would come to inspect how the territory had developed.
So far, everything had gone fairly smoothly.
The problem was that the other man had used his teacher's influence to tamper with the arrangements, swapping the original owner's territory for a desolate stretch of coast.
A fourth-level mage already belonged to the upper-middle ranks of the kingdom's Mage Association. Unless a higher-ranking mage intervened, no one would raise objections for a lowly first-level mage.
Far from the Royal Capital, with barren, impoverished land, and reportedly plagued by merfolk, Sea Folk, and magical beasts...
Developing a territory impressive enough to draw the Mage Association's attention under those conditions would be harder still. Essentially, there was no chance of turning things around.
Most importantly, what counted as a "qualifying territory" was extremely vague. It was little different from letting the other party have the final say.
What good were enticing stakes under those circumstances?
To Kroya, being unable to return to the Royal Capital might be of little consequence. Staying out here as a lord seemed pretty good, too.
A free and easy life.
But to mages like them, who had grown up in the Royal Capital, it meant being cut off from the halls of truth. Combined with the humiliation of exile... it was something no mage could accept.
The original owner had lost his emotional balance, his magic had run wild, and then... someone else had taken over.
Recalling those memories, Kroya could only lean back listlessly and tally up the resources the original owner had brought out of the Royal Capital.
Things had already come to this. Perhaps leaving that hotbed of trouble behind and becoming a minor lord wasn't so bad.
Those mages were all terrifyingly perceptive. If they noticed the differences between him and the original owner, they might take an interest and slice him up for research.
Staying far from the Royal Capital was safest.
Besides, the original owner was still a first-level mage. Even the local minor nobles would have to treat him respectfully.
As for the three-year agreement, he would do his best-he was a transmigrator, after all. Surely he couldn't do worse than the original owner?
Once he'd built himself up, he would definitely "repay" that fellow properly.
Thinking that way, Kroya felt at peace.
Especially after tallying up the wealth the original owner had brought along, he instantly felt that things might actually be rather good-
"Two Blaze Horses, a chest of first-level magic crystals, two hundred gold coins, some crop seeds, a Mansion Spell scroll, plus four first-level knights and a steward..."
Two hundred gold coins. These coins, minted with magical metals mixed in, weren't merely currency; they were also valuable materials.
Their exchange rate with the lower denominations of silver and copper coins was 1:100:10,000.
Thanks to the oversight of the Mage Association and the Church, which spanned every nation on the continent, that ratio had always remained extremely stable.
Then again, gold coins were generally only owned and used by nobles, mages, and knights.
In ordinary people's daily lives, silver and copper coins were the most common currency-most supplies were purchased with those two denominations.
Magic crystals were essential for a mage's research and daily meditation. Although it was only a chest of first-level magic crystals, the original owner had spent a great deal of time stockpiling them.
Both Blaze Horses were second-level magical beasts capable of spitting fireballs and running as swiftly as raging flames. They weren't just mounts and draft animals; they were also formidable fighters.
The knights and steward outside had all signed contracts with him and could only serve him. The steward was also skilled at management and particularly loyal.
Perhaps Kroya wasn't good at managing a territory, but he only needed to find suitable people to do it-as a mage, all he needed to do was maintain a noble, aloof air.
When I think about it that way, I've got a pretty good starting position.
A faint smile appeared on his face as he took out the crop seeds the original owner had prepared. His memories contained little further information about them.
He only knew that a friend skilled in cultivating Magic Plants had given them to him before his departure.
The original owner and that man had been fairly good friends, but the friend happened to be away when the trap was sprung, leaving him unable to speak up on the original owner's behalf.
Only after the transfer order had arrived, just as the original owner was about to leave, had his friend finally hurried back and given him these seeds.
Farming was an instinct etched into the soul.
How could a lord not farm?
Besides, he was genuinely curious about what unusual crops another world might have.
The seeds were stored in an exquisite magical crystal box, which could preserve their vitality to the greatest extent possible. Even after several decades, they would still sprout and take root.
He opened the box.
Inside were three neatly arranged rows of test tubes containing distinct individual seeds. Labels had even been attached to make them easier to identify.
He only needed to send his magic into these magical labels to read the information.
The labels recorded not only the crops' names, but also how to plant them and when they would mature. They were very detailed.
"Test tubes inside a box. So this is what wealthy mages use."
"Let's see. Sea God Barley, sunflowers, and... olives?"
After reading the three crops' names aloud, he couldn't help marveling at how thoroughly the original owner's friend, who specialized in cultivating Magic Plants and crops, had considered everything.
Sea God Barley was a variety of barley that could grow in seawater, making it an indispensable staple crop in coastal regions. After all, bread was the primary staple food of this world.
Commoners and farm serfs were lucky to have barley bread to eat.
The difference between barley and wheat was enormous. White bread made from the latter was reserved for nobles.
Because of those class distinctions and differences in taste, Sea God Wheat seeds cost almost ten times as much as barley seeds...
Honestly, giving the original owner seeds for a crop like Sea God Barley, which could be grown season after season, was already very generous of his friend.
As for how it could actually grow in seawater, that was probably the power of magic. Truly amazing.
Olives could not only clear heat and detoxify the body, but also treat poisoning from fish and crabs. Most importantly, they could be pressed for oil!
Regardless of how much of their purported effectiveness was fact or exaggeration, the ability to produce oil alone was good enough.
Apparently, these had even been specially modified and cultivated for an exceptionally high oil yield.
Sunflowers were treasures as well, practically medicinal from top to bottom. Their seeds, flower heads, stems, leaves, stem pith, roots, and flowers could all be used to make medicine.
"How thoughtful. To think he had a friend like that... huh? Wait, why is there a star symbol?"
He suddenly noticed an extremely small star symbol on the label. Just as he narrowed his eyes to examine it, information appeared in his mind-
[Suitable Magic Plant for Astral Spirit Inscription detected: sunflower. Please activate the inscription technique to inspect the Magic Plant's astral spirit body and inscribe a spell.] [Astral Spirit Inscription]: Inscribe spells within the astral spirit bodies of Magic Plants/magical beasts. Successful inscription will grant the Magic Plant/magical beast the corresponding spell's abilities. Different Magic Plants/magical beasts require different spell inscriptions. Supporting cultivation materials may be needed. ... Inscription spell library data unavailable. Please experiment using your own spells.
After reading the information, Kroya barely managed to keep the corners of his mouth from rising-wasn't this a cheat ability? It might be incomplete, but it was still a cheat ability!
Modify Magic Plants? Inscribe spells?
A sunflower's astral spirit body... all I know is that it's something like a human's genes and soul. It's not surprising that magical beasts have one, but Magic Plants have them, too?
Wait, if I have this cheat ability... could I build a unique territory around it?
The friend who gave him these seeds seems to be an Archmage's apprentice, too. If I can build a connection that way, things should develop smoothly in the future.
Once I have strength and influence, taking revenge on the fellow who targeted the original owner and eliminating him for good should naturally be child's play.
Over the past few days, he had forced himself to calm down and adapt to this world's rules as much as possible.
At least until he gained power, he had to adapt. Otherwise, things would become troublesome.
"Let's give it a try."
The more he thought about it, the more feasible it seemed. He eagerly took out a sunflower seed and activated Astral Spirit Inscription, intending to see exactly how it worked.
As he felt magic being drawn from his body, the sunflower seed before him suddenly became enormous.
Casting this technique felt very strange. It was as though he had used it instinctively in a flash of inspiration, yet its runic structure and model remained hazy to him.
He had no way to understand it, expand upon it, or even modify it.
Strange...
Do I need to raise my magic level? Perhaps once my magic level and mental power increase, I'll be able to see the technique's structure clearly.
He shook his head and set that aside for now.
Through his eyes-
He saw through the seed coat to the sunflower embryo.
Unlike an ordinary seed's embryo, however, it seemed to contain countless interwoven crimson threads.
Those densely packed threads wound around a sunflower's astral spirit body at their center. It was asleep, but murmured unconsciously, as though saying...
"Flames? Sunlight?"
Sensing its thoughts, Kroya froze for a moment, then recalled the requirement for this inscription technique-spell inscription.
Spells required models. Every spell consisted of a unique model and combination of runes. Did that mean he needed to construct the model and runes inside this thing?
He searched the original owner's memories for fire-related spells and could only think of one called Sunflare Ray.
It was a second-level spell that gathered sunlight into a scorching ray to attack.
Although the original owner had mastered its entire spell model and all its runes, he hadn't possessed enough magic to cast it.
In that case...
Draw it inside the seed?
Following his memories, he tried to draw it. His mental power drained rapidly, and just as his head grew dizzy, he finally succeeded in constructing the spell model.
The model slowly entered the web of threads, moved toward the sunflower's astral spirit body, then merged into it.
At the same time, information arrived-
[Inscription successful: sunflower (Sunflare Ray)] [As the sunflower grows, it will absorb sunlight and continuously accumulate sunflame power. When necessary, you may command the sunflower to fire. Its power will depend on the amount of sunflame power accumulated.] [Unfired sunflame power will gather and be stored within the seeds.] [As the Magic Plant grows, it will gradually refine the spell model.]
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