The next morning, the trio woke up in the beds given to them by Gin, who had insisted — and even bickered with Chief Fujin, who couldn't find words sharp enough to win against her. Eventually, he just relented, grumbling something about "too many stubborn women in Davra" as he let Gin host the chosen ones.
The day after, Fang, Gaia, and Isgram made their way back to Fujin's mansion to talk about the state of the harvest agreement.
They sat in the main hall, sunlight pouring in through stained glass that made the floor shine with red and orange hues. Fang leaned forward, elbows on his knees, voice steady.
"We need four working men," he said. "For the garden."
Fujin sat back in his heavy chair, tapping his fingers on the armrest. He studied them a moment too long, then he nodded once.
"I'll send them with you. Just wait by the gate."
The trade deal they made was crucial for a small village like Davra.
The food trade was harsh enough in this world on its own.
Unlike Whitemoor, which housed several ice mages that were crucial for refrigerating meat and vegetables for long travels, Davra was desperate for food every winter and had to resort to using their chief for hunting with his magic.
When the chance of seeing a harvest so close by and so plentiful appeared, Fujin knew that just one deal could have netted him around 150 kilograms of food.
This could feed the entire village for a week.
After he sent the trio back home one month ago, he visited the haven more than once or twice, and Alona herself testified that their work ethic in the fields was exaggerated.
They expanded and planted as if they had opened a factory for food, and the result was that from a garden that could produce a sack or two of potatoes each month, they now had the ability to make 30 sacks.
The carrots they planted were the biggest surprise as they grew to the size of a whole arm, thick and long enough to make the rabbits drool.
Fujin thought about who to send for this trip, as it is a hard decision with enough critical outcomes.
Then, a band of boys came to his mind:
"I'll send them with you. Just wait by the gate."
They consented, thanked him with polite nods, and went to the mansion's front gate to wait.
An hour passed.
Then two.
By the third hour, Isgram's foot was tapping hard enough to rattle pebbles on the road. He crossed his arms, scowling toward the main building.
"Where is he?" Isgram asked, voice low but sharp enough to cut stone.
Gaia shrugged, leaning against the wall like a cat too lazy to care. Fang tilted his head back, watching a hawk circle in the bright blue sky.
Another ten minutes creaked by.
Finally, Fujin appeared, leading not grizzled farmers or seasoned workers, but a band of five boys, all looking barely fifteen or sixteen. They marched in a crooked line behind him, grinning like they had just been picked for some grand adventure.
Fujin stopped a few paces away and gestured toward them with a sweeping arm.
"Here they are," he said, voice booming. "Yohan, Ali, Yerevan, Figo... and Hugo."
He clapped a hand on Hugo's shoulder.
"This one will be responsible for the lot of them," Fujin said. "He's the clever one. Keep them fed, keep them busy, and they'll work hard for you. They're strong, faster than most grown men, and more importantly, they listen."
Ali, the tallest, kept squinting at the sun like it had insulted him. Yerevan picked at his nails. Figo couldn't stop sneaking glances at Gaia's horns, his face reddening every time she caught him. Hugo, though, stood still, his jaw set with an odd kind of stubbornness.
Isgram gave Fang a sideways glance, deadpan."This is gonna be a disaster," he muttered under his breath.
Fang just grinned.
"We'll make farmers out of them."
The group walked out of Davra's worn wooden gates, the boys trailing behind like ducklings.
Fang, Gaia, and Isgram walked ahead, setting a brutal pace. The five boys trudged behind, whispering to each other, casting glances at their strange new employers.
Hugo, leading the pack, finally called out.
"So, uh... what's the job exactly? We're gonna be building something?"
Fang didn't even turn his head. He just answered over his shoulder.
"Harvesting."
The boys exchanged glances. Hugo jogged up to Fang's side.
"Harvesting what?"
"You'll see," Isgram muttered, smirking to himself.
The next 3 hours went by with a single rest in between for water drinking, until they arrived at the famous clearing their chief told them about.
By the time they reached the haven's garden, the boys stopped dead. Rows upon rows of crops stretched farther than they thought possible. The plants were monstrous. Carrots as thick as a man's wrist. Potatoes bursting out of the ground like small boulders. The cabbages were practically the size of barrels.
Hugo swallowed. "All this?"
"All this," Fang confirmed.
Fang stepped into the field, the fluffy flow of life mana settling over him like a warm tide. For a moment, he closed his eyes, and Alona's voice came back, soft and brushing his ears lightly.
"What do you mean there isn't death mana here?"
Fang could almost see her, arms crossed, looking at him like he should already know the answer.
"Fang, I mean it exactly," she'd said, her voice steady. "There were several big deaths here recently, right? Those mercenaries you fought. You should feel it — the death mana."
Fang had furrowed his brow, trying to focus, reaching out with his senses. He'd expected something, anything — the usual cold, heavy pull of death mana. But all he felt was... himself.
"I don't sense anything," he'd said, opening his eyes and looking at her. "You're right. This is strange."
Alona had smiled, watching the pieces fall into place in his mind. "It's the garden, Fang. It's the reason everything's growing so fast."
He'd rubbed the back of his neck, frustrated. "I don't get it. This is all so new to me. In my old world, there wasn't magic. We had machines, not this… whatever this is."
Alona's eyes had widened slightly at that, surprised, but then she'd softened. "No magic? That must have been hard." She had paused for a moment, looking distant. "I can't imagine life without healing magic."
She'd looked out across the garden then, as if remembering something. "You know," she'd said after a long beat, "there's a theory in the books I read once. My teacher showed it to me."
Fang had raised an eyebrow, intrigued but skeptical. "A theory? What, like a magic theory?"
"No," she'd replied, shaking her head slightly. "It's about balance. It came from King Edward of House Mara, way back when. He theorized that when one force fades — like death — its opposite grows stronger. Life. It takes over."
Fang had stared at her, processing. "So, when death mana disappears, life mana takes its place?"
"Exactly," she'd said. "But no one's ever proven it. It's just a theory. A way of explaining the balance of forces."
Fang had thought on it for a while, feeling the pulse of the garden beneath his feet. Life was all around him now, thick and fertile. He hadn't thought about it that way before, but it made a strange kind of sense. He'd drained the death mana from that battlefield not long ago, but this was different.
A rustling sound broke through the calm. Hugo's voice called out again, pulling him from the depths of his mind.
"Hey, uh… Fang?" Hugo's hesitant tone cut through the stillness, and Fang blinked, shaking his head slightly.
"Yeah?" He turned to see Hugo standing a little too close, eyes wide as he took in the sprawling fields of crops. The boys had started moving again, slowly making their way toward the nearest row of crops, but Hugo lingered, still in awe of the sight before him.
"Is this real? How did it grow like this?"
Fang turned, seeing the boy's eyes wide with disbelief as he surveyed the sprawling field of crops. The garden was a feast for the eyes.
Fang smiled faintly, leaning against a nearby plant. "This," he said, sweeping a hand over the land, "is the blessing of the gods."
He paused, watching Hugo's awed expression. "It's more than just magic, though.
It's the balance here. Life grows where death once was, and the life magic that fills this forest... Well, I don't know where it comes from, but the forest responded."
He glanced over at the rows of crops, feeling the deep connection hum beneath the surface.
The boys remained quiet for a moment, taking in the vast garden before them, before Hugo slowly nodded. "I didn't think... something like this was even possible."
Fang gave him a small grin. "Neither did I. But here we are."
Isgram, ever the skeptic, finally broke the silence, his voice dry as always. "Well, now that we're here, let's get to work."
Fang gave him a look, but it was a good-natured one, acknowledging Isgram's impatience with a nod. He turned back to the boys, his tone soft but firm. "You're here to harvest.
Hugo, still wide-eyed, glanced at his friends, but it was clear he was trying to process the enormity of their task. "So… we just pick everything? How do we even begin?"
Fang smiled slightly, stepping forward into the row of carrots. He reached down, pulling one out of the ground with ease. It was heavy in his hands, its size intimidating, but the orange flesh was firm and perfect.
"Start with these," he said, handing it to Hugo. "There's no rush. Take your time, the soil here is forgiving, but it'll take more than muscle to finish this. Gaia, will you be their guide for today?"
Gaia raised her eyebrows, but soon gave her demonic cocky smile:
"Eh, why not? Let's go for it. You better keep up, boys."
But instead of any response, the boys whispered among themselves, which confused the trio.
Fang watched them with quiet amusement. It was Gaia who finally snapped the silence.
"What's the matter?" she said, her voice dripping with mock sympathy. "Afraid of a little dirt?"
Yerevan looked up, eyes exhausted before working. "This... this is way more than Chief Fujin said," he stammered. "He said a garden, not... not a kingdom of food!"
Ali grimaced and rubbed his shoulder like it had just started hurting. "I think I pulled something on the way here. Maybe I should—"
"You're fine," Isgram cut in, voice flat and dangerous. His arms were crossed, his shadow long in the afternoon sun. "You don't harvest, you don't eat. Simple."
Figo muttered something under his breath, and Gaia's sharp ears caught it. She grinned wickedly, her tail flicking lazily behind her.
"You could run back to Davra," she teased, stepping closer, towering over them just enough to make it clear she wasn't joking. "Of course, you'd have to tell Fujin why you bailed on your duty." She mock gasped. "Imagine the shame."
The boys paled.
Hugo, to his credit, stood firm, though his knuckles whitened as he gripped the massive carrot Fang had handed him. He cleared his throat, voice cracking just a little.
"We're not... cowards," he said, puffing out his chest. "We can handle it."
Fang smiled faintly.
"Good," he said. "Because this garden doesn't sleep. You'll be harvesting until the sun dies or your arms do."