Chapter 22: First Deal

Chapter 22: Chapter 22: First Deal

As the two of them stepped out of the lecture hall into the warm sunlight of the central courtyard, Rowan turned to Barney with an easy smile.

"So, fourth-generation Ironforge?" Rowan asked as they strolled along the stone pathway. "That’s a heavy reputation to carry. Your family must have supplied gear for half the guilds in the city."

Barney scratched the back of his neck, beaming with pride despite his humble shrug. "Ah, well, you know how it is. Granddad built the forge from scratch, my dad expanded it to supply the city defense guards, and now I’m here at Sol-Aethel to learn high-tier runic heat-tempering. The pressure’s real, but there’s nothing quite like turning raw ore into something legendary." He paused, looking over at Rowan’s shoulder bag. "Speaking of raw materials... you really pulled a Peak Grade-E crop out on your first day?"

Rowan didn’t say a word. Instead, he pulled a compact, glass-fronted academy tablet from his coat pocket, tapped the screen a few times, and handed it over.

On the screen was a detailed catalog of high-resolution visual logs Rowan had taken before harvesting:

Barney took the tablet, his casual smile instantly freezing as his eyes scanned the scrolling data columns. His jaw slowly drifted open.

"Ninety-nine point eight percent... ninety-nine point five..." Barney muttered, his thumb frantically swiping through the crisp photos of glowing ruby tomatoes, radiant purple squashes, and fiery peppers. "Wait, this isn’t just clean—this is zero-impurity cultivation! Look at the mana density in these cellular structures! Rowan, how in the world did you get the elemental channels this balanced without a Tier-3 mana ley-line?"

"Careful soil management and precise mana control," Rowan replied smoothly, keeping to his story with a calm grin. "The standard tools I bought from the market are already struggling to handle the soil density I work with. My trowels dull too fast, and my pruning shears can barely snip high-mana stems without losing their edge."

Rowan stopped by a stone bench, leaning against the wooden backrest as he looked at the stunned blacksmith.

"Which brings me to my question, Barney," Rowan said softly. "If I provided you with a steady supply of these crops—materials your family’s forge could use for high-grade alchemical fluxes, or just for personal cultivation—would you be open to taking custom orders for my gardening gear?"

Barney looked up from the tablet, his eyes wide with excitement. "Are you kidding me? A blacksmith who eats or works with 99% pure mana crops gets passive elemental resistance just from the fumes! My granddad would personally hammer a set of mythril-coated shears for a batch of those Ignis-Bloom Peppers!"

He handed the tablet back to Rowan, slapping his own chest with a booming laugh. "Rowan, my friend... you’ve got yourself a deal. Tell me what kind of custom tools you need, and I’ll make sure they can cut through solid ironwood."

Rowan tapped the screen of his tablet, switching the view from the crop catalog to a blank blueprint draft.

"I don’t just need one or two pieces, Barney," Rowan said, his voice quiet but deliberate. "I need a complete, custom-forged equipment set. Trowel, spade, heavy soil cultivator, reinforced pruning shears, soil aeration probe, and a dual-edged harvesting sickle. Every single piece needs to be engineered to handle, process, and clean crops all the way up to Grade D and Grade C without dulling or leaking elemental mana."

Barney blinked, letting out a whistle. "A complete set rated for Grade C? Man, standard steel breaks down the second it touches Grade D mana-dense roots. I’d need to alloy refined silver-steel with heat-treated iron-core for the bases, and run double-tempered edge runes across every cutting blade."

"I know," Rowan replied smoothly. "And I don’t expect a friend discount. Whatever the market value of the raw alloys and labor turns out to be, I will pay you the full equivalent value in my Peak Grade-E produce—plus an additional 10% bonus on top for your custom craftsmanship."

Barney’s eyes widened. A 10% premium in zero-impurity, 99%+ pure mana crops was practically a golden ticket for an apprentice blacksmith. Consuming that level of purity would permanently refine his own mana channels while working the forge.

"Now, as for the payment inventory," Rowan continued, bringing up his current available production list on the tablet screen:

[CURRENT PRODUCTION INVENTORY]

[VERDANT CROWN TOMATO]

[AMETHYST SOLAR SQUASH]

[IGNIS-BLOOM PEPPER]

[EDENIC AMBER WHEAT]

"Right now, these four are my stable output," Rowan explained, turning the screen back toward Barney. "If you or your family’s workshop need specific high-tier or specialty crops—like rare fire-element roots for forge flux, or metallic-leaf herbs for alloy binding—you’ll have to provide the raw seeds yourself. Depending on the strain and mana complexity, I’ll need an extended cultivation period to soil-bind and grow them to peak quality."

Barney stared at the list, then looked up at Rowan with a grin split wide across his round face. He vigorously shook Rowan’s hand.

"Deal! A complete Grade C-rated farming suite in exchange for pure crops plus a ten percent bonus? You’ve got yourself a lifetime contract with Ironforge, Rowan!" Barney laughed, pulling out a charcoal stub and a notebook from his apron. "Give me until the end of the week to pull the silver-steel ingots and sketch the runic blueprints. My granddad is going to lose his mind when I bring home those Ignis-Bloom Peppers!"

Rowan and Barney walked together toward the non-combat sector’s central hall, the heavy oak doors opening to reveal a spacious auditorium where the rest of the auxiliary track had gathered.

Standing at the base of the podium were four distinct figures representing the pillars of support and production at Sol-Aethel:

[NON-COMBAT FACULTY LEADERSHIP]

[AGRONOMY DEPARTMENT]

* Prof. Vane

* Botanical Director

[CRAFTING & FORGE]

* Master Kaelen

* Head Runesmith

[ALCHEMY & PHARMACY]

* Prof. Sylphina

* Master Alchemist

[MEDICAL & RESTORATION]

* Dr. Oakes

* Chief Healer

1) Professor Vane (Agronomy): The familiar master gardener stood holding his dormant-bloom wooden staff, his sharp eyes evaluating every student with quiet expectation.

2) Master Kaelen (Crafting & Blacksmithing): A broad-shouldered dwarf with a braided steel-grey beard and leather coat marked by centuries of anvil sparks. Barney instantly straightened up, eyeing his department head with immense respect.

3) Professor Sylphina (Alchemy): A high-elf woman dressed in crisp silver-and-green robes, a array of crystal vials and miniature distillation apparatuses suspended magically at her belt.

4) Dr. Oakes (Medical & Restoration): A tall, gentle-faced human man wearing spotless white healer’s coats, a soft, green restorative glow faint around his hands.

Professor Vane stepped forward first, his voice echoing cleanly across the quiet hall.

"Now that you have taken your general ethics foundation, your practical training begins," Vane announced. "Standing before you are the heads of the four support disciplines. From this point forward, you will split into your dedicated tracks for hands-on facility training, safety protocols, and supply-chain integration."

He turned his gaze toward Rowan, Barney, and the rest of the freshman auxiliary candidates.

"Every blade forged by Kaelen, every potion brewed by Sylphina, and every wound mended by Dr. Oakes traces back to raw materials, solid infrastructure, and unyielding discipline," Vane continued. "Select your primary station doors at the rear of the hall and report to your respective department heads."