Rowen pulled out his pouch and poured the cool stones into his palm. The faint glow of mana shimmered across his skin as he began counting them one by one.
"…Fifteen left," he muttered, frowning.
The wooden shed, the neatly organized rows of ripening vegetables, and the faint hum of energy in the soil reminded him just how much the space had changed overnight. The portal farm was no longer the small patch of dirt he had started with. It was bigger.
Fern, floating nearby, gave a lazy twirl. "Don't look so down. An upgraded farm needs upgraded care. Before, it was six low-grade mana stones to keep the land running. Now you'll need about twelve each cycle."
Rowen glanced at the sprite, brows lifting. "Twelve? That's… double."
"Yes," Fern said matter-of-factly. "But don't forget—the land itself is now twice as fast. Crops will mature faster, the yield will be stronger, and the effects of the plants will be even sharper. It's an investment, not a loss."
