Gardener of Eden

Chapter 34: Chapter 34: Brand New Week

The Sol-Aethel Academy was quiet as night settled over the campus. Rowan unlocked his door, slipped inside, and drew the heavy blackout curtains across the window. After locking the deadbolt, he cleared the center floor and focused on his inner core.

The air distorted with a soft, ambient hum. In a flash of warm golden energy, the stone dorm room folded away, replacing itself with the vast, cool twilight of his personal domain.

Standing beneath the sweeping canopy of the primordial tree, Rowan took a deep breath of the dense, mana-saturated air. Thanks to his recent Level 5 expansion, the domain’s radius had grown an extra fifteen meters, and the newly stabilized Grade-E+ soil matrix pulsed with a steady, vibrant rhythm across all his active plots. The 12:1 time dilation gave him more than enough time to complete his work without losing a single hour of sleep.

Rowan walked over to his storage hollow and unhooked his Grade-C Harvester’s Hand-Pruner. He channeled a thread of mana into the runic engravings along the dark-iron blade, activating the Flow-Rune until it hummed with a quiet blue light.

He moved systematically through the rows, harvesting with practiced precision. The runic edge sliced through stems smoothly, sealing the sap instantly to preserve peak vitality.

Within a few hours of domain time, Rowan had collected and processed a massive delivery load:

45 kg of E-Grade High-Vitality Tomatoes, glowing with deep red luster.

35 kg of E-Grade Ignis-Sweet Corn, heavy and bursting with sweet, mana-infused kernels.

15 kg of D-Grade Luminous Mana-Soybeans, glowing softly in their pods.

10 kg of D-Grade Stimulant Coffee Cherries, packed with raw stamina-restoring energy.

Using five reinforced wooden crates lined with clean cotton cloth, Rowan packed the produce tightly to prevent any movement during transport. On the side of each crate, he used a burning brand to etch the neat, bold letters of their new enterprise: EDEN INTERNATIONAL.

Once the crates were safely stowed in his domain’s time-locked tree hollow chamber—ensuring they would remain at 100% peak freshness until the moment of transfer—Rowan wiped his brow and smiled.

He stepped back through the spatial rift into his quiet dorm room. The clock on his desk read just past 10:00 PM. Everything was set. At 6:30 AM sharp, the supply chain for Eden International would officially go live at the main gates of the Sol-Aethel Academy.

***

At 5:30 AM, the first pale light of morning barely touched the windows of the Sol-Aethel Academy dorms. Rowan rose from his bed, feeling completely refreshed. He grabbed two empty glass bottles from his desk satchel and focused his mind, stepping through the golden rift into his domain.

Inside Eden, the quiet ambient twilight was alive with a soft, resonant hum. Rowan made his way straight down into the cool root chamber in the basement of the primordial tree.

Thanks to the domain’s time dilation accelerating from 10× to 12×, the ambient mana condensation had dramatically increased. The underground stone basin—which had been drawn low during the last harvest cycle—was now completely full. The crystal-clear, high-purity mana water shimmered with a delicate, pale-blue light in the subterranean shadows.

Rowan dipped the two glass bottles into the basin, filling them to the brim and corking them tightly. Before heading back up, he cupped his hands directly into the glowing pool and took a deep, refreshing drink.

A wave of intense, crisp energy rushed through his chest, revitalizing his meridians instantly.

Feeling the surge of power settle into his core, Rowan climbed the winding root stairs back to the surface plots. He walked along the neatly tilled rows of his Grade-E+ matrix soil to inspect his crops.

The fields were thriving. Rowan checked the growth rates, root depth, and soil moisture levels, calculating the accelerated 12× time scaling to ensure every single plot would hit peak harvest readiness right on schedule for Tuesday morning’s market requirements. Satisfied that the next wave of E-Grade and D-Grade yield was growing under perfect conditions, Rowan carefully stepped back out into his dorm room, ready for the 6:30 AM gate transfer with Arthur.

[ STAT POOLS ]

Mana Pool: 190 / 190

Stamina Pool: 150 / 150

[ ATTRIBUTES ]

Vitality (VIT): 15

Strength (STR): 15

Agility (AGI): 15

Intelligence (INT): 19

Wisdom (WIS): 19

Unallocated Stat Points: 7

Rowan focused his mind on his stat pool, directing the newly gained energy along with his unallocated points. He channeled two points each into Strength, Agility, and Vitality, feeling a subtle surge of physical density, lighter footing, and steady stamina align across his body.

[ ATTRIBUTE ALLOCATION COMPLETE ]

STAT ADJUSTMENTS:

* Vitality (VIT): 15 ➔ 17 (+2)

* Strength (STR): 15 ➔ 17 (+2)

* Agility (AGI): 15 ➔ 17 (+2)

UPDATED STAT POOLS:

* Mana Pool: 190 / 190

* Stamina Pool: 170 / 170 (+20 Max Stamina)

[ CURRENT ATTRIBUTES ]

* Vitality (VIT): 17

* Strength (STR): 17

* Agility (AGI): 17

* Intelligence (INT): 19

* Wisdom (WIS): 19

UNALLOCATED STAT POINTS REMAINING: 1 Point

With his physical foundation strengthened and the remaining three stat points held in reserve, Rowan checked the time. It was almost 6:15 AM.

He gathered the two sealed glass bottles of high-purity water, placed them securely into his satchel, and retrieved the five cloth-lined crates marked EDEN INTERNATIONAL from his domain storage into his physical space. Carrying the delivery load with ease thanks to his newly increased Strength, Rowan made his way down the quiet dormitory halls and toward the main entrance gates of Sol-Aethel Academy.

The heavy wrought-iron gates of Sol-Aethel Academy were bathed in the soft rose light of the early morning sun as Rowan approached.

***

Arthur was already waiting outside the perimeter arch, leaning against the wooden handcart with a steaming mug of tea in his hand. He wore a crisp, clean tunic—a stark contrast to the worn work shirts from his old manual labor shifts—and looked noticeably rested.

”Morning, son,” Arthur called out, stepping forward with a bright grin as Rowan arrived.

”Morning, Dad,” Rowan replied. He gestured to the space beside the cart and smoothly summoned the five heavy, cloth-lined crates directly from his spatial domain into the physical world. Each crate bore the freshly branded stencil: EDEN INTERNATIONAL.

Arthur’s eyes gleamed with pride as he inspected the brand. ”That logo looks sharp. I stopped by the municipal clerk’s registry before coming over—our official business charter for Eden International is officially approved and filed.”

”Perfect timing,” Rowan said. He reached into his satchel, pulled out one of the two sealed glass bottles containing the high-purity primordial tree water, and handed it to Arthur. ”Take this, too. Drink half now and give the rest to Mom. It’ll flush out any lingering fatigue from your old shifts and keep your stamina topped off while you manage the store today.”

Arthur took the bottle, uncorked it, and took a deep draught. A subtle blue glow flared around his eyes as his expression shifted from curiosity to utter astonishment. The deep aches in his joints instantly dissolved, replaced by an invigorating warmth flowing through his veins.

”By the gods...” Arthur gasped, staring at the clear fluid in awe before quickly re-corking the bottle. ”That is better than a high-tier recovery potion. Your mother is going to love this.”

Together, they loaded the five crates securely onto the handcart, tying them down with reinforced hemp rope.

”I’ll head straight to the central marketplace plaza to finalize our lease on the corner property,” Arthur said, taking his position at the cart’s front handles with newfound vigor. ”We’ll be open for business before the morning crowds fill the avenues.”

”Good luck, Dad. I’ll have tomorrow’s batch ready at the same time,” Rowan nodded.

With a wave, Arthur wheeled the loaded cart down the cobblestone road toward the district square. Rowan watched him go for a moment, adjusted the satchel over his shoulder—which contained the second glass bottle of condensed fluid—and turned back toward the academy’s main academic wing.

The hallways of Sol-Aethel were starting to fill with sleepy students carrying parchment binders and brass measuring tools. Rowan navigated the corridors with smooth, effortless steps, feeling the crisp agility from his recent stat allocation in every movement.

He reached Lecture Hall 4B just as the heavy brass bell tolled 7:00 AM.

Senior Lecturer Vane was already standing at the front podium, resting his knuckles against the mahogany desk while reviewing a series of soil composition charts. As Rowan walked in and took his seat near the front, Professor Vane glanced up, his sharp eyes lingering on Rowan for a brief second with a subtle nod of acknowledgement—clearly aware that the young cultivator’s operations were moving far beyond standard classroom assignments.