Chapter 105
Chapter 105: Want to Bet with Me? (5)
Gordon couldn’t contain his anger and shouted.
“No way, that’s nonsense! Why would a grain go in first instead of a person!”
“Does it make sense for you to go in first?”
Given that there were Gillian and Kaor, along with other senior mercenaries, there was no way Gordon could be the first to enter.
Having lost his words, Gordon awkwardly scratched his neck.
Ghislaine laughed at the bumbling mercenaries.
“I’ll give you a chance later, but for now, go back to your work.”
The bigger the expectation, the greater the disappointment. Gordon couldn’t let go of his hopes and started to argue.
“Ah, can I just go in once? I really want to try this.”
Even the kingdom’s top talent knight could only get a taste of the Mana Convergence Circle.
With something like that right in front of him, they wouldn’t let a human in because it was for seeds. It was driving him crazy.
“Later. If you enter the Mana Convergence Circle without a proper Mana Circulation Method, you’ll explode.”
“Ah, please. I know a thing or two. I learned a little before.”
In reality, the technique he acquired was so basic it couldn’t even produce mana, and the amount accumulated was minimal, providing only a slight health boost.
It wasn’t even certain he would survive inside the Convergence Circle.
But still, being presented with a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, it was human greed to want to try it whether it led to life or death.
Gillian frowned and grabbed the back of his neck, but Gordon kept whining.
It hadn’t been long since he returned after dropping Anna off, so his mind was still a bit hazy.
The other mercenaries clicked their tongues, thinking he would get scolded, but they also secretly hoped Ghislaine might allow Gordon in.
Ghislaine, who had been stroking her chin with a troubled expression, looked back at Gillian.
“Seems everyone has extra energy since we’ve been taking it easy lately. Gillian.”
“Yes.”
“Have everyone run 200 laps around the training ground and practice shock tactics until bedtime.”
“Understood.”
At those words, the mercenaries went pale and began to retreat.
But it was already too late.
Unless there was an urgent situation, Ghislaine never revoked a command once given.
Furthermore, Gillian was someone who would follow Ghislaine’s orders to the letter, even if it meant beating up disobedient subordinates.
The mercenaries regretted their decision with long faces.
They had forgotten since Ghislaine had been preoccupied with territory matters lately that she was originally this kind of person.
The mercenaries started to shove Gordon while quickly scanning the area.
“Wh-where did Kaor go?”
Training was unavoidable now, but they needed to find Kaor quickly.
Kaor could cause some distraction for them to lower the intensity of the training.
“What the—! Where did he go?”
Kaor had already vanished from sight.
He probably had some excuse about not hearing the training command since he wasn’t there.
Gillian gave the mercenaries a look of disdain and spoke softly.
“We’re starting training now. We’re going to run from here. Begin.”
After the mercenaries disappeared with forlorn expressions, Ghislaine chuckled and checked the magic circle again.
Alfoy, who had been watching dumbfounded, suddenly burst into laughter, clutching his stomach.
“Hahaha! So we were supposed to be raising mercenaries, not grains? What, did you think a grain could get stronger if it went in without a human? Wow, what a twist of thinking.”
If a person goes in, they accumulate mana and become stronger quickly; he must have thought grains could absorb mana and endure in barren lands.
That was truly a notion only an ignorant person who knew nothing about magic could entertain.
“How could a grain endure when a person will explode without having learned a Mana Circulation Method? Even if by some small chance it could survive… How would a grain utilize mana when it can’t even use the Mana Circulation Method? Hahaha!”
Alfoy grabbed Vanessa next to him and cackled.
“Oh dear, I’m about to pop! Vanessa, keep an eye on my belly, it might fall off! Hahaha!”
Vanessa was flustered and didn’t know how to respond, but Alfoy was too busy laughing to care.
How eager must he be to win a bet that he would waste such a precious runestone like that?
He’d have been better off selling it to the Mage Tower; that would have benefited the territory more!
‘Oh, what a waste. The fool can’t handle his treasure.’
While outwardly laughing madly, Alfoy was inwardly clicking his tongue at the loss of the runestone.
To think it ended up in the hands of such a madman!
The thought of his blood-like runestones vanishing over a petty bet was infuriating.
As if reading Alfoy’s thoughts, Ghislaine smiled knowingly.
“Want to bet?”
“What did you say?”
“If I win, you’ll also work hard for ten years without pay and keep your mouth shut. If I lose, I’ll give you 5,000 gold and let you return to the Mage Tower.”
‘This is my chance!’
Alfoy, hoping Ghislaine wouldn’t back down, nodded vigorously with flared nostrils.
“Ah, I’m in!”
At that, other wizards nearby raised their hands.
“We’re in too!”
Ghislaine happily nodded in agreement. The wizards cheered as they tossed their heads back.
“We are free!”
Vanessa, fidgeting anxiously, stomped her feet and said urgently.
“Y-Your Lordship! No, you can’t! We need wizards to carry out large-scale constructions.”
If the Mage Tower established a branch, there would need to be others to manage it, but it wouldn’t matter if the wizards there left right now.
“It’s fine. Don’t you trust me?”
“No, that’s not it…”
This isn’t a matter of trust, but of common sense!
Vanessa screamed inwardly but couldn’t dare argue with Ghislaine.
In the end, she quickly left to inform Belinda of the situation.
Once the surroundings quieted down, Ghislaine clicked her tongue.
“Finally, it’s a bit quieter. Everyone seems to have plenty of energy.”
Claude looked at Ghislaine with tired eyes and chuckled.
Having worked tirelessly day and night to ‘do as much as possible’ before leaving, he was looking worse for wear.
“Wait, were you prepping grains just to use here?”
“Yeah, I’m going to improve the seeds and make something amazing.”
“Haa…”
Claude sighed, looking at Ghislaine with pity.
Improving seeds involves selecting the best types, growing them over several generations.
Even if wizards devoted years of research, there’s no guarantee of success.
If it were that easy to improve seeds, the royal family would have supported creating new varieties long ago.
‘Vanessa looked flustered too.’
Seeing even the most knowledgeable wizard in the territory react like that made it seem like a ridiculous endeavor.
“Excuse me, Your Lordship. While trying new things is good, the deadline for the bet is approaching. We only have about a month and a half left; can you have results by then?”
It wasn’t a genuine concern. After all, he was confident he would win the bet.
But even so, Ghislaine’s actions felt a bit unsettling and suspicious.
“No problem. That time frame will be plenty.”
“How long do you need to grow the grains here?”
“About a month?”
Claude struggled to suppress laughter, his expression contorting.
If, by some miracle, the grains didn’t burst, it would be a relief.
By any chance, even if Ghislaine’s idea worked and the grains survived, that still left only about half a month.
What could possibly be accomplished in that time?
“Cough, wouldn’t it be better to just admit defeat? If word gets out about this waste of runestones, you’ll get flak greater than losing the bet. Ugh, can you believe how precious these runestones are?”
After all, Ghislaine was the one who saved Anna. Claude didn’t want to see her humiliated like that.
“Well, if you want, I could call it a draw now.”
Each word emphasizing a draw, Claude said this while Ghislaine looked at him with pity.
“What? Already scared? What’s this draw nonsense? Once started, we go until the end! We’re poised to have an influx of high-end slaves!”
“Hahaha, I see. I spoke out of concern for you, but if you put it that way, then so be it. I’ll just watch and see if the grains burst.”
“Give me a good show.”
Ghislaine grinned and began to gradually distribute the grains into the magic circle.
As she gradually infused mana into the runestone inscribed with operating spells, mana started to gather in the magic circle.
The magic circle glowed blue, and mana began to accumulate gradually.
Accordingly, the grains scattered inside the magic circle began to tremble slightly.
Contrary to Alfoy’s bravado, not a single grain burst.
Ghislaine examined all the magic circles closely and smiled.
“It’s a success.”
Now these grains would possess remarkable vitality.
In her past life, this method was widely unknown, but now it was known only to Ghislaine.
As the continent became desolate and people died off, numerous wizards and scholars gathered to find a solution.
A method to strengthen seeds using mana. It seemed simple knowing the future, but in fact, it was knowledge established after dozens, if not hundreds, of failures.
Seeing Ghislaine smile meaningfully, Claude spoke with a hint of unease.
“Well, thankfully they didn’t burst. Did you predict that?”
“Of course! Do you think I’d make something without knowing anything?”
Although a slight unease brushed over him, Claude soon shook his head.
‘It must be a coincidence. Or perhaps some magical circle has that effect. Maybe Vanessa secretly helped her.’
Even at the Academy where intellectuals gathered, no one knew how to inject mana into grains to increase yield.
It seemed that even the wizards from the Mage Tower were unaware.
‘Even if such a method existed, there’s no way the Lord would know it while nobody else does.’
Ghislaine couldn’t possibly be more informed than scholars or wizards, given she was raised in a rural village.
‘There’s no way a lord who knows nothing about magic could create this. This is 100% bluffing.’
Claude was convinced.
Such opponents often showed up in gambling too.
Holding a bad hand, they try to bluff their way into making the opponent fold first.
‘Hehe, you have to be pretty good at bluffing to deceive me. Even if those grains really absorb mana, how are they going to survive on unusable land?’
No matter how he thought about it, Ghislaine had no chance of winning the bet.
Having reached that conclusion, Claude’s expression relaxed, and he casually remarked.
“Well, I’ll be watching. Looking forward to the results.”
Claude made a hasty retreat.
Lingering around unnecessarily might lead Ghislaine to give him more work.
Once everyone left, Ghislaine was left alone, pondering, and casually clenched her fist.
She had handled all the immediate tasks.
Now that she had a moment to spare, it was time to resolve the issue that had been bothering her.
‘It’s about my own body; I can’t keep putting it off.’
Despite consistently training her body and diligently practicing her Mana Circulation, she still couldn’t understand the reason behind the change in mana properties.
Nor why her recovery ability had improved.
‘No matter how much I think about it, it seems related to that…’
After nearly dying fighting the Blood Python in the Forest of Monsters, the phenomenon must certainly be tied to the Blood Python’s venom.
“Why must you die in such a messy way, you brat.”
Ghislaine huffed an irritated sigh.
“I need to confirm this.”
Carrying uncertain power in her body didn’t suit her personality.
But there was only one way to confirm it, something she hadn’t dared try until now.
‘It would be troublesome if I faint while very busy…’
Up until now, she avoided confirming it by using being too busy as an excuse, but it was about to get busier.
With the cultivation work completed, once the seed modification was done, even more tasks would pile up.
Now that she had a moment to breathe, this was the perfect timing to try something out.
After mulling it over for a while, Ghislaine ultimately decided to conduct an experiment.
An experiment that might put her life in danger.
