Pioneer Lord: I Have Conquering System

Sam had always insisted this Stone Egg was related to the Natural Goddess, and Levi himself had speculated it might be something strange, like a Divine Son.

But now that all those possibilities had vanished, the chances of it being a dead egg were high. Yet if it did start showing signs of life, that would be a terrifying prospect.

Inside Sam’s house, Baisitina stared at the Stone Egg, which was placed reverently on the center table. Her expression showed she still couldn’t believe this ordinary-looking stone could have any connection to the Natural Goddess.

Levi had no time to explain to her right now. He turned to Sam with a serious expression. "Tell me exactly what happened."

"My Lord, do you remember that depleted Magic Scroll you gave me a while ago?" Sam began, bringing up another matter.

Levi nodded.

He’d secretly "borrowed" that Magic Scroll from Miriel, intending for Sam, High Cliff Castle’s only Caster, to study it and see if he could learn to create his own scrolls for recording Magic.

"I should have realized it sooner!" Sam exclaimed, a look of frustration on his face. "Magic Power! It was the Magic Power! The residual Magic Power from the Magic Scroll was absorbed by the Stone Egg, and that’s what caused the change!"

Sam’s expression turned grim. He couldn’t believe he’d had the very thing that could change the Stone Egg in his possession all along.

What was that saying? The answer he’d been desperately searching for had been right under his nose the whole time.

’If I’d hatched the Stone Egg back then,’ he thought, ’I might have been able to restore the glory of the Mountain Kingdom instead of becoming someone else’s Vassal.’

"Heh. Thinking about grabbing the egg and making a run for it?"

Levi suddenly threw out the question, noticing Sam’s conflicted expression.

"My Lord, my loyalty to you is as endless and constant as the Bengyong River!" Sam jolted, the terror inspired by the man beside him—the man nicknamed the "Blood-colored Waist-slicing Hand"—flooding back in an instant.

This was a truly ruthless man, one who had cut down hundreds of people by himself and walked away without a scratch, as lively as ever.

Levi stared at the Stone Egg, his expression deeply conflicted. He felt like an old farmer striking a deal with a Demon for a mountain of gold.

He wanted the gold, but he feared the hidden traps. Yet, to walk away from the deal and watch the treasure vanish before his very eyes was unbearable.

Levi had an excellent memory. The Stone Egg had originally looked just like a normal rock, but now, a rice-grain-sized patch on its surface was different. The stone-like rind had peeled away, revealing its true form underneath. This was clearly some unknown transformation, brought about by absorbing Magic Power.

It had a chance to live now.

"If you nurtured it with your Magic Power, how long would it take to hatch?"

The egg reacted to Magic Power, so it most likely needed Magic Power to hatch. That’s why the Lord asked the question.

"My Lord, if I exhausted my Magic Power completely every single day, it would still take a full fifty summers for the Stone Egg to shed its stone rind," Sam gave a reasonable estimate.

This was also why he hadn’t acted on the idea Levi had accused him of, even though the thought had crossed his mind.

Shamans were long-lived, it was true, but he was already in his forties. Fifty years was such a long time that he wasn’t even sure he would live to see the end of it.

"And what if we used Magic Items containing Magic Power to nurture it?"

"As long as you have enough of them, it could be done in a day," Sam said, stating the obvious.

The Lord clutched his chest, his face twisting in anguish.

"Levi, are you alright?" This gave Baisitina a scare.

"No, I’m not. My heart... it hurts terribly."

"Ah? Are you injured?"

Baisitina rushed forward, anxious to check on him.

’Did Levi suffer an internal injury during the last battle? And it’s only flaring up now?’ Baisitina guessed wildly, her anxiety mounting.

"No." Levi reached out and placed a hand on Baisitina’s little head, stopping her from rushing over. He wore the tormented expression of an old farmer about to have his life savings plundered. "It’s a heartache!"

In an age where Magic was scarce, one had to understand that Magic Items were worth more than gold.

And as luck would have it, this Stone Egg just had to require Magic Power to hatch.

You either had to throw money at it by buying Magic Items, or you had to grind it out with time.

This reminded the Lord of the online games from his past life. "Just 8,888 to take home a supreme divine pet!" If you didn’t have the cash, you had to grind daily quests. Then, after a year of painstakingly grinding, you finally got it... only to find it was already obsolete.

’In the real world,’ he thought, ’this isn’t just fucking pay-to-win, it’s fucking pay-with-your-life!’

Even if he sold his own life, the life of the Lord of High Cliff Castle, he still wouldn’t be able to afford more than a few Magic Items.

And so, after weighing the thickness of his wallet, Levi heaved a long, defeated sigh.

’This thing... I can’t afford to hatch it!’

Currently, the most cost-effective item on the market that contained Magic Power was Magic Crystal Ore.

It was a naturally occurring ore imbued with Magic Power, a Magic Material required for all Magic Items.

However, a fist-sized Magic Crystal Stone cost upwards of a hundred Gold Coins, and more importantly, they were priceless but unbuyable. The ore was a strategic resource, controlled by every nation even more strictly than weapons and armor.

Staring at the Stone Egg, Levi was overcome with a sense of powerlessness. It was a classic white elephant: useless to keep, yet a pity to discard.

"Just... you keep holding onto the Stone Egg," the Lord finally said, waving his hand listlessly.

This caught Sam completely off guard. He stared blankly at the Lord’s retreating figure.

To be honest, the only reason he hadn’t run off with the egg was because he’d been counting on the Lord buying Magic Items to hatch it. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝙬𝙚𝓫𝒏𝓸𝓿𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝙤𝓶

But from the looks of it, the Lord had actually given up.

This was a Stone Egg connected to the Natural Goddess! It might be gestating one of the Gods, or at the very least, a powerful Magical Creature.

And he was giving up just because of a little difficulty?!

Sam felt a pang of frustrated disappointment. At the same time, he couldn’t help but think that his Lord was a bit too cheap.

If he were the Lord of High Cliff Castle, he would hatch this egg even if it meant selling everything he owned.

"Levi, is that thing really related to the Natural Goddess?"

"My dear steward, you’ve asked that for the tenth time now."

Levi stopped in his tracks with a resigned sigh. Caught by surprise, Baisitina walked right into his side.

"I’m just... surprised, that’s all!" Baisitina said, awkwardly fidgeting with her fingers.

"First of all, whether or not that old man Sam is telling the truth about its connection to the Natural Goddess, the fact remains that this Stone Egg is anything but simple. That much is certain."

"Can you imagine an egg that has survived for millennia and is still alive? Even if it has nothing to do with the Natural Goddess, that alone makes it extraordinary."

Levi explained patiently.

"Back in that underground chamber, the signs of age on this egg were undeniable. Yet now, because of Magic Power, it’s showing signs of reviving."

"In fact, there’s another reason for my hesitation." At that, Levi’s expression grew serious. "I had the Secret Silver Merchant Team bring me back some books on the Natural Goddess. Guess what I found when I studied them?"

"What?" Levi’s mysterious air made Baisitina nervous in spite of herself.

"A single sentence..."