With the hoe’s ability to make his crops immune to disease, Isaac did not need to worry about the Vitality Grain Seed Tree dying.
“If you can do that,” she said, “then we can give you the material through which the Seed Tree is born. It’ll take time, but it’s possible.”
“Why time?”
“They come from another race in a far off city. Sending a message to them, getting a reply, preparing the item, negotiating payment—it all takes time.”
“How much will I need to pay?”
Catherine waved her hand. “Don’t worry about it. This is an investment from our side. You just need to grow crops, and give some of them to us.”
Isaac nodded.
Not long after, a few people arrived to collect samples of the Tier 1 Vitality Grains.
They packed them carefully, handling the grains with gloves and metal containers.
His morning class was short. Surprisingly short.
At the end of the lecture, Isaac looked up. “That’s it?”
“Your class ends early today.”
“Why?”
“You have an appointment. People from the Calloway Conglomerate will be arriving in half an hour.”
She added, “Take this meeting seriously.”
“I plan to,” Isaac replied. “These negotiations will decide how much I can earn from the crops.”
“I’m not talking about that.” She glanced at him. “Do you know about the Calloway Family’s bloodline and their Heritage Talent?”
“I’ve heard their Talent is special, but never really understood why.”
“That’s normal,” Catherine said, waving a hand. “Information about demihumans is usually restricted from non-Awakeners.”
She led the way toward the living room as she continued. “The rumors I told you before, about stat limits for apex species? Those came from the Calloway family. Their lineage traces back to dragons. Or so it’s said.”
Isaac raised a brow.
“But over generations, their blood’s thinned. Still, depending on the concentration, they can awaken as demi-humans with Wyvern, Drakeling, or even Drake bloodlines.
“All of those are lesser dragon species, but they are still mid-ranked species. That gives them a huge advantage in power.”
“And the Talent?” he questioned.
She smiled faintly. “Their Heritage Talent’s even rarer. The Calloways awaken holy-type paths—Cleric, Paladin, Priestess, Exorcist, Templar.”
“That sounds like they are set for life if they manage to awaken their Talent.”
“You are correct,” she said. “The first matriarch of the Calloway family was a true dragon with the Saintess Talent. She married a human, and their bloodline never recovered from that.”
They reached the living room.
“Today,” she added, “you’ll meet Selena Calloway. She’s the daughter of the current chairman. She has the Drake bloodline and the Priestess Talent. That combination makes her the strongest potential heir since the matriarch. Treat her with respect. This meeting could shape your future more than you think.”
Isaac nodded silently.
Seven visitors arrived soon. Five testers in uniform, and Alice and Selene Calloway.
Selene shook hands with Isaac, and Professor Catherine.
She wore a tailored dark coat with golden embroidery.
Her posture was elegant and firm. Silver hair fell down her shoulders in a long braid, and her crimson eyes smiled lightly.
While she was beautiful, Alice’s beauty dwarfed hers.
Alice wore tailored blazer hugging her toned physique, and slim trousers that accentuated her curves.
Her blonde hair cascaded like golden honey, and her cold red eyes stared around with icy detachment.
The iciness melted when her gaze met Isaac’s.
He noticed she was wearing make-up. Something she never did.
’Trying to hide the fatigue,’ he thought. ’She must’ve been working overtime.’
“Thank you for receiving us,” Selene said. Her voice was calm, businesslike but polite.
Isaac returned the gesture. “Thank you for coming.”
Leora brought in tea without a word, placing it on the table for everyone.
Professor Catherine took a seat beside Isaac, completely silent.
The people from the Calloway Conglomerate sat in front of them.
Selene began with polite small talk.
She asked how the Stronghold suited him, how his training was going, light comments about the land.
Isaac kept his answers short but courteous.
There was a steady presence to her. She spoke softly, but with confidence.
After a few minutes, Selene decided to touch the main topic.
“Can we check the grains? That would help us determine their price.”
“Okay.”
Isaac reached into his spatial ring and retrieved three Tier 0 Vitality Grains.
He placed them on a tray, and the testers took them without a word.
As they ran their evaluations, Selene continued to speak casually.
Isaac learned that she’d awakened just a few days ago. Previously, she’d studied at Yveria Academy in Sector 3, and was now attending Aeternum University, one of the top 3 universities.
In ten minutes, the tests were done.
One of the staff handed the results to Selene.
She read the paper, then gave Isaac a polite business smile.
“These grains are quite good. I believe 10,000 Obols per grain would be a fair price.”
Isaac raised an eyebrow. Her words had been quick. That meant she’d already had an internal estimate in mind before the test were done.
’She must have brought one of the grains I sold to Sanctum of Master.’
’That means she did a proper research before coming to meet me.’
Isaac kept a neutral expression, as his mind processed all information.
Selene realized she had told him the price too quickly.
She didn’t worry too much though.
A detail like that would only be noticed by someone who was well-experienced in this field, which Isaac was not.
“What will be the Calloway Conglomerate’s cut?” he asked.
“Thirty percent,” Selene replied.
Inside, she was watching his every move.
His blink rate, his posture, his tone. She wanted to gauge his reaction precisely.
She knew the price was low.
This was how business worked. It was a game of push and pull.
Both sides would try to pull and gain the maximum profit.
Pushing would allow you to let the other side have some profit. Most believed you should never push, but Selene begged otherwise.
If you pulled too hard, you strained the partnership. That was a no-no.
You needed to pull just until the other side’s limit, then push some profit their way to keep them happy.
This way, you gained the upper hand without losing long-term goodwill.
She expected Isaac to resist.
That was the plan. She’d start high, and he’d talk her down. Then she’d “concede,” giving him what he thought was a win.
But Isaac simply nodded.
“Alright.”
“I understand if you were expecting more. But the demand for Vitality Grain is tied to its affordability. Raise the price too high, and people will—”
She cut herself off.
“Wait. Did you just agree?”
Isaac nodded again. “Yes.”
Selene stared at him. His face was unreadable. All he had was a faint smile. It was the smile of a veteran businessman who knew he had won the game.
Selene’s thoughts churned.
Did she make a mistake somewhere?
Or was he just clueless about the potential of his Vitality Grains?
That was not possible. She had reviewed his entire background.
Isaac wasn’t an idiot.
He was a once in a century genius.
During his academy days, he had broken the previous records and created a new record for the top academic and combat scores.
He had received perfect grades in academic and combat exams. It was a record that could never be broken.
A brilliant mind like his should know the worth of his grains.
As she tried to analyze it, Isaac calmly reached into his spatial ring again and pulled out another Vitality Grain.
This one was smaller, and it was a deeper, richer shade of green. There was a faint sweet scent coming off it.
“This is a Tier 1 Vitality Grain,” he said. “The previous ones were Tier 0. I’d like to sell these too. What’s your offer?”
For a second, Selene’s expression broke.
Alice shook her head before picking up the teacup.
Selene’s mind clicked back into motion.
’He baited me.’
The realization gave her a shock.
Isaac accepted a bad deal on Tier 0s just to flip the table when it came to the Tier 1s.
She had pulled too hard at the start.
Now, to preserve balance, she would need to push now.
She had to offer him a better deal. That was the rule of business. A rule only the veterans were supposed to know.
’He gave up the battle to win the war.’
She looked at the grain in his hand. It was clearly superior.
He would gain massive profit from Tier 1 Vitality Grains, since he had decided to concede his profit on Tier 0 Vitality Grain.
Comparing both profit and loss, he had netted a major overall profit.