Gardener of Eden

Chapter 14: Chapter 14: First Harvest

Later that night, after his parents had retired to their room, Rowan waited until the house fell dead silent. He locked his door, pulled his curtains tight, and centered his focus.

[Domain: The Virgin Soil]

Space folded around him, and he stepped through the glowing marble archway into the realm of eternal twilight.

With the 10:1 time dilation running continuously, nearly fourteen hours had passed inside the domain while he was having dinner and resting. Rowan walked down the smooth stone pathway toward his trial plot, and the moment he cleared the central tree’s canopy, his breath hitched.

The small plot had transformed into a lush, dense paradise of radiant, high-tier foliage.

The transformed crops were pulsing with tangible, purified mana:

The Verdant Crown Tomatoes: Heavy, grape-sized clusters of deep crimson tomatoes hung from thick vines. They didn’t just shine—they glowed with a faint ruby warmth, their skin taut and fragrant with concentrated vitality.

The Amethyst Solar Squash: Four large, smooth gourds rested on the rich soil. Their outer rinds carried a striking dark-purple sheen, laced with faint gold veins that absorbed light from the central tree.

The Aether-Thread Wheat: Standing waist-high, the golden stalks waved in an unseen breeze, their heavy, grain-filled heads releasing a crisp, toasted aroma reminiscent of freshly baked bread mixed with pure elemental energy.

The Ignis-Bloom Sweet Peppers: Hiding under broad dark-red leaves were glossy, bright-scarlet bell peppers. A faint warmth radiated off their skin, warming Rowan’s fingertips as he drew near.

Rowan knelt beside the tomato vine, taking out a small iron harvesting hook. As he clipped the first stem, a soft golden chime rang in his mind.

[SYSTEM NOTICE]

First Harvest completed in [Domain: The Virgin Soil]!

Harvested: Verdant Crown Tomato (Peak Grade-E) x12 ➔ (+60 EXP)

Harvested: Amethyst Solar Squash (Peak Grade-E) x4 ➔ (+20 EXP)

Harvested: Aether-Thread Wheat (Peak Grade-E) x1 Sheaf ➔ (+5 EXP)

Harvested: Ignis-Bloom Sweet Pepper (Peak Grade-E) x8 ➔ (+40 EXP)

[TOTAL EXP GAINED: +125 EXP]

[LEVEL UP!]

Class [Gardener of Eden] Level Progress: Level 1 ➔ Level 2 (25/100 EXP)

[Stat Points Unlocked & Trait Enhanced!]

Free Stat Points Gained: +5

Passive Trait [Breath of Eden] radius increased from 5m ➔ 10m.

Rowan felt a warm wave of energy ripple through his chest and limbs as the System notification settled into his mind. The crisp level-up aura washed away all remaining fatigue from the day, sharpening his senses even further.

With 2 Free Stat Points ready to allocate and his [Breath of Eden] aura doubled in range, his domain foundation was growing stronger by the hour.

Rowan carried the heavy woven baskets across the soft emerald turf toward the central tree.

At the base of the trunk, built right into the colossal roots of the Great Tree, was a cool, stone-paved chamber that served as the domain’s central root cellar. Because it sat directly underneath the heartwood, time within this room remained in complete stasis—preventing harvested crops from decaying, losing their moisture, or dropping in mana purity.

Rowan set the baskets down onto the smooth wooden shelves lining the earthen walls:

12x Verdant Crown Tomatoes (Peak Grade-E)

4x Amethyst Solar Squash (Peak Grade-E)

1x Sheaf of Aether-Thread Wheat (Peak Grade-E)

8x Ignis-Bloom Sweet Peppers (Peak Grade-E)

The moment the baskets settled onto the shelves, a gentle, cool green mist brushed over the produce, locking their vibrant colors and rich aromas in place. They would remain as fresh as the second they were plucked, whether he retrieved them tomorrow or months from now.

Satisfied with his storage setup, Rowan stepped out of the root chamber, taking one last look at his freshly harvested trial plot.

Rowan paused just before stepping through the marble archway. Looking back at the golden sheaf of Aether-Thread Wheat sitting on the shelf in the root chamber, he shook his head with a faint smile. Leaving raw, unthreshed wheat sitting around wasn’t how a true Keeper—or even a sensible farmer—handled a harvest.

He pulled the heavy sheaf from the basket and carried it over to the smooth stone workbench near the wooden table.

Step 1: Threshing

Rowan took a light wooden flail hanging beside the bench and began to strike the golden heads of wheat with rhythmic, measured force. Under the firm blows, the brittle outer husks—the chaff—shattered away from the stalks.

Because the crop had evolved under the domain’s Edenic Strain, the grains didn’t split or bruise. Instead, each individual kernel popped free with a soft, metallic chime, gleaming like polished amber beads under the canopy’s light.

Step 2: Winnowing

Next, Rowan gathered the mixture of shattered husks and heavy golden grains into a flat woven bamboo tray. Stepping toward the edge of the central island where the gentle, ambient domain breeze blew strongest, he began to toss the mixture lightly into the air.

The Chaff: The paper-thin outer husks, weightless and pale, were swept away by the wind, drifting gracefully down toward the lush turf below to act as natural compost.

The Grain: The heavy, dense kernels of Aether-Thread Wheat fell straight back onto the tray with the satisfying, crisp sound of falling rain.

Within minutes, all that remained on his tray was a pile of pristine, golden-amber wheat grains—completely free of debris and glowing with a subtle, warm mana aura.

Rowan poured the clean, amber kernels into a sealed earthenware jar and placed it securely on the root cellar shelf beside his tomatoes, peppers, and squash. Not only did he now have pure grain ready for baking or alchemy, but he also had over a thousand purified, high-tier seeds ready for his next planting cycle.

Wiping a light bead of sweat from his forehead, Rowan felt a deep sense of accomplishment. He stepped back out of the root cellar, walked up to the glowing marble archway, and crossed the threshold—ready to leave his domain and get a good night’s rest before his big morning at the Sol-Aethel Awakener’s Academy.

[ STATUS WINDOW ]

Name: Rowan Vance

Age: 15

Class: [Tier 1] Gardener of Eden (Transcendent)

Title: Blessed by Polaris

Affiliation: Imperial Suburbs (Civilian)

Level : 2 (25/100 exp)

[ STAT POOLS ]

Mana Pool: 170 / 170 1

Stamina Pool: 130 / 1301

[ ATTRIBUTES ]

Vitality (VIT): 13

Strength (STR): 13

Agility (AGI): 13

Intelligence (INT): 17

Wisdom (WIS): 17

Unallocated Stat Points: 0

[ CLASS PERKS & PASSIVE TRAITS ]

[Passive Class Trait] Green Thumb (Grade I): Increases seed germination success rate by 15% and reduces minor environmental stress (moderate drought, slight soil acidity) on cultivated crops.

[Civilian Trait] Resilience: Slightly reduces fatigue accumulation during prolonged physical labor under poor conditions.

[Hidden Potential] Dormant Genius (Mind & Nature): Due to Legendary (L) growth affinity in Intelligence and Wisdom, skill learning speed for mental, ecological, and botanical concepts is exponentially heightened.

[Primordial Renovation]: Cleansed and rebuilt by cosmic life energy. All chronic infirmities are permanently cured.

[Breath of Eden - Lv. 2]: Passively accelerates growth, vitality, and evolutionary potential of surrounding life.

[Domain: The Virgin Soil]: Unlocks access to the Primordial Garden (10:1 Time Dilation).

[ EQUIPMENT & INVENTORY ]

Pouch of Heirloom Seeds: Empty

Standard Suburban Clothing

Identification & Awakening Registration Tag: Civilian Class