After the three adventurers left, the Evergreen Shop remained quiet for the rest of the afternoon.
Although a few people glanced through the front window as they passed by, none of them entered.
As evening approached, Rowen decided to close the shop for the day.
Before heading home, he stopped by the farming supply shop once again and purchased another batch of seed potatoes. Since seed potatoes were inexpensive, the entire batch only cost him five Federation Credits.
Returning to the Evergreen Shop, Rowen prepared a simple dinner before opening the spatial rift.
Together with Fern, he entered the personal dimensional space.
Without wasting any time, Rowen planted every seed potato he had just purchased. Thanks to yesterday's experience, the entire process was much smoother than before.
After watering the field, he left the Personal Dimensional Space and returned to his room.
With nothing else to do, Rowen sat cross-legged on the bed and began practicing the mysterious mana breathing technique his grandfather had left behind.
Streams of mana slowly flowed into his body before being refined and absorbed.
Watching from the side, Fern nodded in approval.
"This cultivation technique is quite remarkable."
Rowen slowly opened his eyes.
"You can tell?"
Fern nodded.
"Of course."
"It doesn't just increase the amount of mana your body can store. It also tempers your physique, strengthening your body so it can contain more mana over time."
Rowen thought for a moment before asking,
"So... does that mean this technique is mainly for strengthening the body?"
"Then how do I increase my rank? I'm only an apprentice right now."
Fern smiled.
"Cultivation is much simpler than you think."
"As long as you continuously absorb mana and store it within your body, your mana vessel will gradually fill."
"The more mana you can store, the stronger you become."
He pointed toward Rowen.
"However, your body is the vessel."
"If the vessel isn't strong enough, it won't be able to contain more mana."
"That's why this cultivation technique is so valuable."
"It strengthens both your body and your mana vessel at the same time."
Rowen nodded thoughtfully.
"So the stronger my body becomes, the more mana I can contain."
"Exactly."
Fern smiled.
"Keep cultivating. Everything else will come naturally."
Rowen remained silent for a moment before another question came to mind.
"Fern, then what determines a person's potential?"
"If everyone stores mana inside their body, why are some people born with higher potential than others?"
Fern thought for a moment before answering.
"Potential is closely related to the limits of your mana vessel."
"Everyone can cultivate, but each person's mana vessel has its own limit."
"Some people are born with stronger vessels, allowing them to store and circulate more mana from the very beginning. Others reach their limits much sooner."
Hearing that, Rowen suddenly froze.
"The vessel..."
A realization struck him.
"So that's why..."
"My grandfather created a cultivation technique that tempers the body."
"If the body becomes stronger, then the mana vessel should become stronger as well."
Fern nodded.
"That's correct."
Rowen's expression became complicated.
"If that's true... then why didn't Grandfather make this technique public?"
"Grandfather once said I was the first person to cultivate using this method."
Fern shook his head.
"I don't know."
"There may have been reasons he couldn't reveal it, or perhaps the technique wasn't complete."
He paused for a moment before continuing.
"However, I do believe there was another reason he left it to you."
Rowen looked at him.
"What reason?"
Fern met his gaze.
"Your curse."
"It constantly consumed your mana. Ordinary cultivation methods would have been useless."
"But this technique continuously draws mana into the body."
"I think your grandfather hoped that one day it would help you survive long enough to overcome the curse."
Rowen lowered his head.
His fingers unconsciously tightened into a fist.
Even until the very end...
Grandfather had been searching for a way to save him.