Iron Harvest: When Farming Becomes Conquest
Chapter 137 - 9: Improvement

Chapter 137: Chapter 9: Improvement

Teachers were few, and students were many, a common problem throughout the ages in the field of education.

Roman did not undertake comprehensive education; he only needed to achieve basic literacy.

He crammed as many words into their heads as he could.

If that proved insufficient, he would resort to upgrading their brains.

Using resources to save time.

During this period, the mining of coal and iron had gone very smoothly.

Roman had acquired about twenty Sealed Crystal Balls—some large, some small, all quite random.

Among them, about ten crystal balls sealed Magic Ore, but after calcination, the total weight of the Magic Stones was only about twelve to thirteen jin, just enough to enchant a hundredfold steel.

The other nine crystal balls yielded barite, calcite, Peacock Stone, Ruby, Purple Crystal, two Blue Gemstones, and two pieces of jadeite.

Such was the unpredictability of the Sealed Crystal Balls.

The minerals of this land were too numerous, reaching hundreds if not thousands of varieties, and their understanding of natural science was so superficial that they could not effectively harness the power contained within the ores.

Of course, Roman couldn’t utilize it either.

This involved his area of ignorance.

But only the high-quality ores possessed unfathomable power.

The lower the quality, the worse the effect.

Peacock Stone was a green series gemstone capable of driving away epidemics and evil spirits. Many witches and wizards would use the protective power of Peacock Stone, grinding it into powder that could regenerate rotten flesh and eliminate inflammation, with very rapid effects.

There is not much to elaborate about Rubies—Roman also had one, only his birth gift was of higher quality while the newly acquired gemstones were of relatively lower quality.

Both Blue Gemstone and sapphire were blue series gemstones that could calm people, possessing the power of wisdom and reason, though the crystal’s effect was slightly inferior to that of sapphire.

Jadeite was suitable for giving to minors; it contained green vital force and could enhance immunity, promoting the growth of children’s bodies making them healthier.

As for barite and calcite, their mainstream use was as dyes.

The clothes dyed with them remained colorfast for years and also increased the durability of the clothing, making them extremely practical.

Now, Roman had time to allocate these extraordinary resources.

But how to use these extraordinary resources was a problem.

...

Each resource had a rather broad range of uses—Roman needed to use different resources in combination to enhance a certain attribute of a particular Angel Envoy.

Generally speaking—

[Magic Stone]enhanced energy, attack.

[Fine Gold]enhanced attack, energy.

[Mithril]enhanced speed, defense.

[Copper]enhanced defense, constitution.

[Steel]enhanced constitution, speed.

For example, Aaron’s attack panel was E+, to raise it to D, it would require [50 grams of Fine Gold]+[100 grams of Magic Stone]+[500 jin of Magic Steel].

This ratio was controllable.

By increasing the expenditure on one resource, the consumption of another could be reduced.

However, 50 grams of Fine Gold was the smallest possible ratio.

Normally, Aaron would need 100 grams of Fine Gold, 200 grams of Magic Stone, 10 jin of Magic Steel.

Roman halved the proportion of Fine Gold, halved the proportion of Magic Stone, and increased the proportion of Magic Steel fiftyfold, keeping the amount of Magic Stone the same, obtaining this resource ratio.

For him, the value of Fine Gold far exceeded that of Magic Steel.

Roman then used these resources to elevate Aaron’s Attack Attribute from Rank E to Rank D.

Then, he turned his gaze toward another Angel Envoy.

Dick!

During this time, he had received excellent nurturing conditions. Roman had regularly sent him deer horn soup and bear gallbladder powder to aid in his recovery. His constitution enhanced from E rank to D rank, but his defense hadn’t improved, possibly due to severe prior depletions.

Roman used "70 grams of Mithril" + "200 grams of mountain copper" + "400 pounds of Magic Steel" to boost Dick’s defense to D rank.

Perhaps it was because Dick’s foundation was still there, the resources he required were slightly less than Aaron’s.

Roman smelted over a dozen silver coins and twenty copper coins to obtain these resources, then enchanted them through magic stone smelting.

Elevating the capabilities of the two Angel Envoys had exhausted the extraordinary resources accumulated over these days.

Roman had no regrets, merely calling Aaron to his side.

"Roman, you called for me?"

"I heard from Green that you’ve been feeling down lately?"

Aaron silently shook his head.

Roman, accustomed to Aaron’s reticent personality, asked expectantly, "How has your training been going?"

Aaron honestly replied, "I’ve been sparring with Dick every day, and I’ve learned a great deal."

"No no, I mean your body. Have you noticed any special sensations lately? Like... advancements and breakthroughs in certain aspects?"

"That hasn’t happened. Sir Robert believes I might become a Second Rank Conquest Knight when I’m 22, but I’m still far from that..."

Aaron thought he was diligent enough, but growth wasn’t something that could be rushed.

Roman huffed, "He’s blind! Aaron, don’t mind his opinion. His strongest was just a Sixth Order Knight, a waste. He can’t predict your future. Your name will echo through this era in the future."

Aaron tightened his lips to suppress a laugh.

Robert was the knight instructor of the Duke Domain.

When he and Green had followed Roman to leave the Duke Domain, they had both received his evaluation.

That Knight believed he and Green had potential, possibly advancing to Fourth Rank Knights by age thirty, but if they weren’t diligent, they’d just stay around the First or Second Ranks for life.

It was harsh, but true.

Not everyone could make it to the end.

"I think you have the strength of a Second Rank Knight now, Aaron. Maybe you haven’t noticed it, but you really do. You should know it’s hard to evidence someone’s real strength in ordinary times."

Some people, when facing life-and-death battles, can’t perform even seventy percent of their martial skills, while others can perform exceptionally.

Roman believed Aaron was the latter, unassuming in normal times but astonishing everyone when it mattered most.

"Trust me, I will make you stronger than anyone else!"

Can I fulfill his expectations? Aaron wondered.

He and Green had grown up hearing Roman talk about primary and secondary developments, so they developed a habit of drinking milk and eating eggs.

He had grown robust, with a well-defined face.

Green was proportionate and agile.

But compared to those renowned Knight Orders, they still appeared young and inexperienced, not even formal Conquest Knights—because they hadn’t been on a real battlefield.

Roman spoke enthusiastically to Aaron, feeling that his knight had had Second Rank strength in the past. With Aaron’s weaknesses now enhanced, he should be eligible to touch the threshold of a Third Rank Conquest Knight.

But Seth’s arrival interrupted their conversation.

"Sir, I have urgent news," Seth said.

Aaron gave Seth a slight nod and prepared to leave.

"The Guardian Family has perished..."

Aaron paused mid-step.

Roman’s expression turned grave.