The Astral Lotus shot up. The growth was visible to naked eye.
A small, radiant plant with petals that looked like starlight sprouted in full bloom. Its warm energy spread across the farm, sinking into the soil.
Leora’s eyes scanned the flower as she stepped closer.
“It’s fully mature already, and it will double the growth speed of crops. Right now, the area of effect of Astral Lotus is 0.5 Hectare, but it’ll increase as the plant grows.”
“That’s good to know,” Isaac said, standing up and brushing dirt off his knees.
He felt a wave of tiredness hit him.
His mana was down to 40, and a slight headache hit him due to using too much mana quickly.
But he kept his expression steady.
“The ration crops need three to nine months to grow. Their growth rate is mostly affected by the quality level of soil. Though the time should decrease with the Astral Lotus helping, and you have a passive skill that increases growth speed by another two times,” Leora explained.
She walked with him toward the house, adding, “I’ll make some tea and bread for you.”
Isaac nodded as they stepped into the cool interior.
“It will still take half a month to two months. Is there any way to speed it up more?”
“There might be something we can do,” Leora said, setting her notepad on a table.
She moved to the small kitchen area nearby.
“We’ll test some ideas tomorrow during class.”
She came back a few minutes later with a tray containing hot tea and thick slices of bread and handed it to him.
“Thanks,” Isaac said, taking the tea and sipping it.
The warmth helped ease the ache in his muscles.
Leora went to the kitchen and returned with tea, bread, and a small plate for herself. She sat across from him at a wooden table.
They made small talk and she told him the vegetables, meat, and other cooking essentials will arrive tomorrow. Then, they wouldn’t need to sleep on bread.
Isaac smiled.
Bread used to be his staple food, and sometimes he would sleep on an empty stomach.
He was able to leave that bleak life behind after receiving a system, and awakening a Talent.
After having his fill, he headed upstairs to his room with Leora following him.
He glanced back.
“Where are you going?”
“To the room next to yours. I’m sleeping on the first floor, same as you.”
“Next to me?” Isaac stopped, surprised.
“I’m your bodyguard. I need to be close in case of an emergency. It’s a risk being too far if something happens.”
Isaac nodded in understanding.
He moved towards his room while Leora’s footsteps came behind him.
Settling in his room, he pulled out his device and called Emily.
“Hey, you there?”
“Yep,” she said, cheerful. “How’d the farm go?”
A smile came on his face when he saw her bright expression.
“I planted some ration crops and got the Astral Lotus up. My house is done too. It’s surprising how fast it went up. What about your day?”
They talked until Emily’s words started to slur with sleep.
“Goodnight, Isaac,” she mumbled.
“Good night,” he replied, waiting until she was out before hanging up.
Only then did he let himself lie down, the day’s work pulling him into sleep.
…
Leora jolted awake in the dead of night.
Something was off. She could hear faint movements outside.
She sat up in her bed, and listened.
There it was again: soft footsteps, too systematic to be wind or animals.
Her hand slid under her pillow, closing around the hilt of her sword.
As Isaac’s bodyguard, she couldn’t afford to ignore this.
She slipped out of bed, wore her slippers, and moved to the window.
Peering through the gap in the curtains, she spotted five shadowy figures creeping through the darkness toward the house.
Assassins.
They were spreading out. Two headed for the trapdoor on the roof, three circled to the first-floor windows. They knew the layout too well.
Despite the danger, Leora’s gaze had remained impassive.
Leora grabbed her sword fully, and jumped out of her room through the window.
She struck fast.
The first assassin didn’t see her coming.
A quick slash cut across the throat, and he crumpled without a sound. The second turned just as her blade pierced his chest, and a muffled gasp escaped before he fell.
Leora darted to the side, catching the third as he climbed toward Isaac’s window.
She drove her sword through his back, pulling it free as he slumped to the ground.
The two on the roof dropped down, alerted now, but too late.
She lunged, cutting one’s legs out from under him, then finished him with a thrust.
The last swung a dagger at her, but she parried and countered. Her blade sunk into his gut.
Five down in under a minute.
Leora knelt by the bodies.
It wouldn’t be good to leave the corpses here as it would create unnecessary commotion.
She pulled a small vial of dark red seeds from a pouch at her waist: Death Blood Flowers.
She sprinkled them over the corpses, and within seconds, red crystal petals bloomed, spreading fast.
The flowers consumed the flesh and blood, dissolving the bodies into nothing but faint stains on the grass.
No trace left.
She sheathed her sword and pulled out her phone, dialing Professor Catherine.
It rang twice before the familiar voice answered,
“Something happened?”
“Five assassins just tried to kill Isaac. I’ve dealt with them. But they knew the house layout, and aimed straight for his room. Only me, you, Isaac, and Mara should have the blueprint right now. Imprison Mara. She’s the leak.”
“Alright, I’m on it,” Catherine replied. “I’ll handle Mara myself. What about the bodies? Should I send a cleanup crew?”
“No need. I dealt with the corpses already,” Leora said. “Tell me when you get any information from Mara.”
“Understood,” Catherine said, then hung up.
Leora scanned the night one last time. There were no more movements, or traces of the fight.
The Death Blood Flowers had done their job; the ground was clear.
She picked the new flowers into a bag, and slipped back inside, locking the door behind her, and returned to her room.
Her sword went back under the pillow.
She lay down and closed her eyes.
…
The next morning, Isaac woke to loud noises.
He became alert, ready to activate his skills at a moment’s notice.
‘Assassins? Or did the monsters break through the border?’
The stronghold’s edge wasn’t far. There was a possibility the border had been breached.
He peeked through the window to look at the scene outside, and his heart froze from the shock.