I Died and Became a Noble's Heir

Chapter 277: 35 Seeds

Jack stepped through the doorway, and the air changed immediately.

Not temperature, though that shifted too.

The atmosphere itself felt different here, charged with magic that made his skin prickle and Oscar hum faintly.

Malakai’s Garden spread before him.

The space was large. Easily the size of a first-floor family home, maybe larger.

The ceiling rose perhaps twenty feet overhead, and set into it was a massive skylight that let in the eternal sunset from Floor 25’s impossible sky.

Golden and orange light streamed through, casting everything in warm light that should have made the space feel welcoming.

But there was something else here. Something that went beyond simple gardening.

’This is incredible,’ Jack thought, his eyes tracking across the layout.

The garden was divided into sections, each one clearly marked for different elements. Earth to the left, water flowing through channels that fed into various plots.

Fire further back where the temperature visibly shimmered. Wind in an open area where air currents seemed to move in deliberate patterns despite no obvious loop or device to guide them.

Lightning crackling faintly in another section, small arcs jumping between what looked like metal rods planted in soil.

Light blazing from one corner where the skylight focused most intensely. And darkness pooling in another area where shadows gathered despite the abundant illumination.

Seven sections, one for each element, all perfectly organized.

But they were also empty.

No plants grew in the prepared soil. No crops rose from the carefully tended plots. Just pristine earth waiting for seeds that had apparently never been planted.

’Centuries,’ Jack realized, as he began walking slowly. ’This garden sat here, maintained by magic but never used. Why? Did Malakai die before he could plant? Or did something stop him?’

His boots clicked against stone pathways that wound between the sections. Everything was perfect. Too perfect. As if time itself had frozen the moment Malakai left and only now resumed because Jack had entered.

Magical roots grew along the pathways, glowing faintly blue as they pulsed with whatever power kept this place functioning.

Water flowed from them in thin streams, feeding into channels that would irrigate the planted sections.

The garden was self-sustaining.

Jack’s gaze swept across the space, taking in details. Temperature varied as he moved between sections, the fire area radiating heat that made sweat bead on his forehead, the water section cool and humid, the earth zone neutral and stable.

No walls separated the sections. Just open space divided by elemental affinity, each one bleeding slightly into its neighbors at the boundaries.

S had followed him in.

The demon said nothing, just watched Jack explore with that same calculating gaze he always wore. Pho stood near the entrance, his blank white eyes tracking Jack’s movements but offering no commentary.

Kyren wandered in last, his single arm hanging at his side, his simple mind apparently trying to process what he was seeing. ”Boss... this place pretty. Why no flowers?”

”The seeds haven’t been planted yet,” Jack replied, still moving through the space. His attention had caught on something along the far wall.

Containers. Multiple containers, each one made of what looked like crystal, arranged in careful rows.

He approached them, his hand reaching out to touch the nearest container. Cool to the touch despite being near the fire section. Inside, he could see pods. Small, roughly the size of his thumb, all the same brown color.

But magic leaked from them. It was faint, but unmistakable.

Jack activated Flawed Sight, his enhanced perception focusing on the pods.

[Lightning Seed Pod - Boltweave Spire]

[Quantity: 5]

[Description: Rare magical seed that produces Boltweave Spire crystals when properly cultivated. Plant in lightning-aligned soil. Growth time: 1 year. Each mature plant produces 2 seeds and 2 Boltweave Spire crystals upon harvest.]

[Crystal Function: Binds lightning element into living creature’s body. Success rate: 20% base, scales with creature compatibility.]

[Warning: Do not disturb during the growth cycle. Any interference may corrupt the crystallization process.]

Jack’s eyebrows rose. Lightning element binding. That’s what these crystals did. They could give creatures elemental affinities they didn’t naturally possess.

He moved to the next container, his fingers brushing against the crystal surface.

[Fire Seed Pod - Magmaheart Lattice]

[Quantity: 5]

[Description: Rare magical seed that produces Magmaheart Lattice crystals when properly cultivated. Plant in fire-aligned soil. Growth time: 1 year. Each mature plant produces 2 seeds and 2 Magmaheart Lattice crystals upon harvest.]

[Crystal Function: Binds fire element into living creature’s body. Success rate: 20% base, scales with creature compatibility.]

The pattern was clear. Jack moved methodically through the containers, checking each one, his mind cataloging information with the efficiency of someone who’d learned that knowledge meant survival.

[Water Seed Pod - Tideglass Crest]

[Earth Seed Pod - Earthshard Halo]

[Wind Seed Pod - Galeweave Heart]

[Light Seed Pod - Radiant Vein Prism]

[Dark Seed Pod - Nightglass Core]

Seven types. Five of each. All waiting to be planted in their respective sections.

’This is exactly what I need,’ Jack thought, his mind already working through possibilities. Corvin needed elemental transformation to complete his evolution. These crystals could do that.

”I remember the first time I watched Malakai use these,” S said from behind Jack, his voice carrying something that might have been nostalgia. ”An earth dragon. Massive thing, easily forty feet long. Malakai wanted to fuse a fire element into it.”

Jack turned slightly, his attention split between the seed pods and S’s story.

”The process was... beautiful,” S continued, his red eyes distant as if seeing something from centuries past.

”The dragon’s brown scales began glowing orange, then red, then white-hot. Its breath changed from crushing stone to molten flame. The transformation took hours, and the entire time Malakai stood there, completely focused, channeling power through the crystal into the creature’s core.”

S’s expression shifted to something approaching genuine emotion. ”When it was complete, the dragon was something entirely new. Earth’s stability combined with fire’s destruction. It could burrow through mountains and leave trails of magma in its wake. Impressive and beautiful in equal measure.”

Jack studied S’s face, looking for tells that might indicate deception. But the demon’s expression remained perfectly controlled, his story delivered with just enough detail to feel authentic.

’Is he lying?’ Jack wondered. ’Or did he actually witness this?’

It didn’t matter. The point was clear: these crystals worked. Malakai had used them successfully, and Jack could do the same.

Jack turned back to the seed pods, his mind already working through the timeline. One year growth time in the tower. With the time differential between Tartarus Spire and Erebon...

He did the math quickly. Twenty-four times faster here. Three hundred sixty-five days divided by twenty-four. Fifteen days and change back home.

’Fifteen days is all I need,’ Jack thought. ’Plant the seeds, go back to Erebon, kill two weeks dealing with whatever’s happening there, then come back and harvest.’

Completely manageable. The timeline worked perfectly with his other obligations.

But the system had mentioned something about success rates. Twenty percent base for element-specific crystals. That meant four out of five attempts would fail. Not great odds, especially if he needed specific elements for Corvin’s evolution path.

”S,” Jack said, his voice carrying across the garden’s space. ”These crystals. The twenty percent success rate. Is there any way to improve that?”