The Town Square, by noon, rumours had spread like wildfire.
The old village leader and Tomas, the cobbler, claimed his bad knee no longer hurt after sitting under the Divine Tree's shade.
Children chased glowing butterflies that now fluttered around the garden paths at dusk.
A tiny, glowing moss began creeping over the town's stone walls—not in a destructive way, but strengthening them, according to one of the new alchemists.
Even the road stones infused with mana seemed to pulse faintly, as if drawing life from the earth itself. My God, I didn't expect it to be so powerful. I could sense the magic in the air and felt the humming voice of the divine tree.
The Divine Tree's influence was awakening the land.
And it was only just beginning.
Miss Agnes, Ella and Elvie helped me host a small council meeting with Kael, Igor, Felix, Divina, Sylphy, and a few merchant leaders.
The air was thick with excitement—and worry.
"This blessing could make Robinson Territory a miracle," Divina said, eyes shining. "But it will also attract attention. Not all of it good."
Felix nodded grimly. "I agree. Once the wrong kind of people hear about it, they'll come running—with coins, swords, or worse, even the king himself."
I tapped the table thoughtfully.
"We must prepare. Carefully. Quietly."
Then I received another ding as the men closed the door behind them. I tapped it to read.
System Notification:
🌳 Fruit of Eternity's First Influence Achieved! 🌳
Effects:
Agricultural Growth +200%
Mana Density +150%
Healing Rate +50%
Natural Defence Fortification (Passive)
Hidden Effects: [Undiscovered]
New Sub-Quest:
"Guardians of Bloom"
Select a team to protect the Divine Tree
Establish training and rituals for Divine Garden keepers
Reward: Unlock secret abilities of the Fruit of Eternity
The town was blossoming into something the world had never seen. And it was my job to protect it. At the edge of the Divine Garden, under the soft starlight, Divina's boy Finn whispered to me one evening:
"My Lord," he said with wide, serious eyes. "The tree... it dreams of more."
"What do you mean, Finn?" I asked quietly.
He just smiled in that strange, wise way only children seem able to manage.
"You'll see. Soon."
It started two days after the Fruit of Eternity's first bloom.
Felix and I were overseeing the mana stabilisation near the Divine Garden when Igor, still barefoot and covered in dirt, came running toward us, waving wildly. "My Lord! Felix! You need to see this!" he shouted, excitement making his usual deep voice crack a little.
I exchanged a glance with Felix, who grunted and followed me without a word.
Igor led us to a small alcove behind the largest Divine Tree statue. The soil there had recently shifted, almost as if something underground had breathed. Sure enough, a narrow opening had appeared at the base of the stone platform—a spiral staircase winding deep into the earth, lit by a faint, unnatural glow.
Felix eyed it with suspicion.
"A trap?"
"Or a test," I muttered, feeling the faint pull of magic from below. "We didn't see this when we built the manor, though."
But without hesitation, the three of us descended. Inside the hidden chamber, the air was thick, damp, and buzzing with mana as we moved downward, torches in hand. Felix kept his Earth Rifle drawn, while Igor had a broadsword strapped across his back while I activated my own body shield, or it felt like it. After all, I don't know how to do just that, but I couldn't help but smirk at the idea of activating it with my mind. You know, for effect.
The stairs opened into a vast underground hall—smooth black stone walls, ancient runes pulsing faintly along the floor and ceiling. Fuck, this was scary. But of course I didn't let my companion see that I was too nervous.
At the centre of the hall, a second tunnel branched deeper still, and from there...
"Goblins!" Igor murmured.
...the unmistakable, ugly chatter of goblins.
Felix cursed under his breath. "Shit, there are too many of them, my lord."
"Of course. Rotten little pests."
He was right. But these weren't normal goblins.
As the first one charged into the light, snarling, we immediately noticed the difference: Their chests—specifically over their hearts—were embedded with glowing stones, pulsing with mana.
Magical Heartstones.
And these goblins... they weren't the mindless, bumbling pests that the old tales described. They were faster—darting across the cavern floor with unnatural speed. They were stronger—one had torn through a wooden shield with its bare claws.
And they were smarter—coordinated in formation, as if led by something more cunning. Their skin was a deeper shade of green, almost grey, and their eyes glowed faintly red beneath the faint cavern light, reflecting hunger and calculation.
Still, I stood my ground. "Do not fret," I said, smirking as I drew my short sword. "We can defeat them."
The blade hummed faintly in my hand, its weight perfectly balanced, its edge still gleaming from my last sharpening. As the first goblin lunged, I twisted my wrist and caught a glimpse of something glowing along the hilt—my name, inscribed in ancient script, suddenly flared with light.
Purple light.
A flickering radiance, soft but powerful, tracing each etched letter as if awakening something dormant. By now, I had learnt enough from the Guardian Screen and my growing knowledge of this realm to recognise what that meant.
Magic here wasn't vague or hidden. It lived in colours.
From the common yellow to the potent red, then the elite blue... and finally, purple—the most powerful, the rarest, the legendary.
I exhaled slowly, my grin sharpening. The goblins hissed as they surrounded me, three on one side, two circling behind. My magic pulsed—not from a spell, but from presence. From the blade. From me. A faint surge ran up my arm as I stepped forward and slashed through the first goblin. The moment my blade made contact, the purple light arced like lightning across the creature's torso, searing through its leather armour and knocking it back with a gurgled cry.
It didn't even have time to scream. Behind me, Kael called out, "Your blade—it's glowing!"
"I noticed," I called back, pivoting to meet the next attacker. I ducked beneath its wild swing and ran my blade across its midsection. The goblin dropped like a stone, eyes wide with shock. My heart pounded, but it wasn't fear—it was exhilaration. These weren't just goblins. They were elite, perhaps even scouts for something worse down below. But I had purple magic.
The very mana in the air responded to me now—crackling faintly as I moved, resonating with each strike of my blade. As Kael, Felix and the others fought beside me, I realised something deeper. This wasn't just magic gifted to me by the Guardian.
It was a legacy. Power. Recognition.
My weapon acknowledged me.
The world, this strange realm, was beginning to acknowledge me.
And I was far from done. Without hesitation, Felix opened fire with a sharp crack of his Earth Rifle—specially modified from Guardian Screen technology.
The bullet struck true, and the goblin shrieked as the magical stone in its heart cracked violently, releasing a burst of raw mana. I summoned my blade, a glimmering short sword blessed by the magical ballpoint pen itself, and moved in alongside Felix.
Igor, laughing like a madman, barrelled into a cluster of goblins, swinging wide, brutal arcs with his sword.
The goblins fought ferociously, but we were better. Each defeated goblin left behind a small, crystallised stone, humming with chaotic magical energy. Within an hour, we stood victorious, the hall littered with fallen monsters and dozens of Heartstones scattered across the ground.
After the battle, I called up through the comm device tied to our manor and told the butler to inform Karl, Kael's twin brother, the newly arrived member who came three days ago. "Karl—bring heavy collection teams. We have magical stones to gather."
Karl's excited voice crackled back immediately.
"On our way, My Lord!"
When they arrived, Karl led the workers with meticulous care, carefully lifting each Heartstone with enchanted gloves while scribes documented everything. Felix and Kael crouched beside me as we watched. "You realize," he said, low and serious, "these stones are worth a fortune. Not just in coin... in power."
I nodded. "From now on. We have to venture here more; maybe we can hire new adventurers and employ them with a non-disclosure agreement contract."
"Good idea, my lord. This is within your territory; you can hire them secretly," Igor said with a nod.
"And they were growing under our Divine Garden all this time, like a hidden treasure trove."
Igor wiped blood from his forehead, grinning.
"Maybe this land really is blessed."
I smiled grimly, feeling the weight of what we'd found as I opened my backpack, gave them a water bottle and told them that we should camp outside the dungeon entrance.