Chapter 48: Silver Cross Recipients

Chapter 48: Chapter 48: Silver Cross Recipients

The soft, sterile smell of medical-grade mana incense was the first thing Rowan noticed as his eyes fluttered open.

He found himself lying on a crisp white cot in the recovery wing of the Sol-Aethel Staging Complex Infirmary. Golden sunlight filtered through the grand arched windows, illuminating the four adjacent cots where Barney, Seraphina, Caelen, and Mirei were also waking up, rubbing their heads.

"Everyone alright?" Rowan asked, sitting up and testing his joints. His mana circuits felt entirely restored, courtesy of the infirmary’s high-efficiency restoration wards.

"Felt like getting hit by a runaway battering ram," Barney grunted, swinging his legs over the edge of his bed. "That wind pressure from the Head Dean’s breach was no joke."

"Standard kinetic shockwave recovery," Seraphina noted calmly, adjusting her collar as she stood up. "No lasting damage."

The heavy double doors of the infirmary swept open, and Head Dean Sterling walked in. She wore her full ceremonial faculty robes, accompanied by two senior representatives from the Tower Security Committee holding polished velvet cases.

Squad 07 immediately stood at attention by their cots.

"At ease, Squad 07," Head Dean Sterling instructed, stopping at the foot of Rowan’s bed. Her usual sharp demeanor was softened by a look of profound pride. "You’ve been unconscious for four hours. The medical staff has cleared all five of you."

"Head Dean," Rowan spoke up, "what happened to the Order of Humanity Branch Leader? Were you able to interrogate him?"

Sterling’s expression darkened slightly. "Unfortunately, no. I neutralized his mobility using twenty wind blades to pin his limbs, intending to capture him alive. However, before my medical containment field could be applied, he bit down on a concealed cyanide capsule in his molar and took his own life. The cult’s indoctrination runs deeper than we anticipated."

Caelen frowned. "So the lead went cold?"

"Not entirely," Sterling replied, gesturing to the security officials behind her. "Thanks to your quick thinking in preserving the soil sample and tracing the chemical signature straight to their main city hub, the garrison seized three tons of raw synthetic pollutants, four chemical distillation tanks, and encrypted ledgers detailing their supply routes on Layer 1. You effectively crippled the Order of Humanity’s operational capacity across the entire first floor."

She stepped forward as the two committee representatives opened the velvet cases, revealing five gleaming silver medals shaped like crossed swords over a mana crystal.

"Your courage, tactical discipline, and initiative prevented a major infrastructure catastrophe," Head Dean Sterling announced, her voice resonating through the infirmary. "By unanimous decision of the Tower Management Board and Sol-Aethel Academy, Squad 07 is hereby awarded the Silver Cross of Merit."

One by one, Sterling pinned the shimmering silver cross to the left lapel of each student’s academy uniform.

"Furthermore," Sterling added, tapping her console to approve a high-level transfer, "each member of Squad 07 has been credited with 150 Academy Honor Points."

Barney’s eyes widened. "One hundred and fifty honor points? That’s enough to buy high-tier forge materials or specialized skill books from the academy vault!"

"You earned every single point," Head Dean Sterling said, giving Rowan a firm, approving nod. "Wear those crosses with pride. You’ve proven that Squad 07 is more than ready for whatever challenges the higher layers of the Tower throw at you."

***

With their medals pinned and their honor points secured, Squad 07 spent the remainder of the evening celebrating over a hearty dinner at the staging complex before retiring to their private quarters. The entire floor was buzzing with excitement—tomorrow, the academy transport gates would open to elevate the entire first-year class to the second layer of the Tower.

Reaching his room at the end of the dormitory hallway, Rowan stepped inside and locked the door behind him. He engaged the deadbolt, pulled the heavy curtains closed, and took a deep breath.

Sitting cross-legged on his bed, Rowan closed his eyes and channeled his mana inward, triggering his innate domain interface.

[Activating Domain: The Virgin Soil]

A soft, golden flash enveloped his body, and the quiet stone walls of the dormitory vanished.

In an instant, Rowan found himself standing in the center of his domain—a breathtaking, sun-drenched expanse of rolling green hills, crystal-clear streams, and rich, radiant soil unmarred by the Tower’s corruption. The air here was sweet and dense with pure, unrefined cosmic life force.

Spread out before him were pristine rows of glowing flora that he had carefully nurtured over his past visits. Dense clusters of Lunar-Glow Berries, stalks of Sun-Grain, and rare alchemical herbs shimmered in the golden light, all having reached peak maturity in the accelerated time flow of his domain.

"Time to harvest," Rowan murmured with a smile.

Rowan rolled up his sleeves and pulled his harvesting tools from his inventory. Moving through the fields with practiced, rhythmic efficiency, he gathered the ripe crops batch by batch. The domain’s soil yielded incredible quality—each berry plump with mana, every herb boasting near-perfect purity levels that would make even Seraphina envious.

He carefully packed the harvested goods into wooden crates lined with stasis runes, stacking them neatly near the edge of his domain’s rustic storefront pavilion. With the team heading to the second floor tomorrow, reopening Eden’s Shop on the new layer’s market grid would bring in a massive surge of high-tier gold and rare trade tokens from second-floor adventurers and academy students alike.

After two hours of continuous work, the fields were cleared and replanted with a fresh rotation of rare seeds. Rowan leaned against a crate of glowing berries, looking over his stocked inventory with deep satisfaction.

A translucent notification window expanded across Rowan’s vision as he finished tending to the fields inside

[Domain: The Virgin Soil]:

[DOMAIN HARVEST COMPLETED]

Experience Gained: +3,000 EXP (Accumulated)

Rowan wiped the sweat from his brow, satisfied with the surge of experience flowing through his mana circuit. With the fields cleared and replanted, he closed his domain interface and returned to his dormitory room, fully rested and prepared to ascend to the second floor of the Tower with Squad 07 the following morning.