Chapter 40 – Mana Meltdowns and Magical Farmers
Location: Dominion Vault – Agricultural Sector
Date: December 9, 2008
Time: 10:07 AM
If someone had told Jessica Jones two weeks ago she'd be standing on the edge of a glowing blue mana sea, watching a group of awkward farmers from four different continents argue about how to plant enchanted turnips, she'd have laughed. Or punched them. Or laughed and punched them.
Now?
She sipped a floating coffee orb and sighed. "This is my life now. Magic vegetables and bros with swords."
Next to her, Frank Castle yelled at a Brazilian man holding a pitchfork upside down.
"No, the sharp side goes into the dirt!"
The farmer scratched his head. "But what if the dirt fights back?"
Frank blinked. "Then you stab harder."
Luke Cage walked past shirtless (again), carrying two ten-foot-tall saplings like oversized walking sticks. "Don't mind him. He hasn't smiled since 1983."
Jessica smirked. "I can relate."
Earlier That Morning – Central Tower Library
Adam stood atop a three-story shelf, books stacked around him like a collapsing fortress of forgotten truths. He'd discovered something strange in the "Arcane Ecology" section.
A line in a dust-covered tome read:
"In worlds nourished by raw mana, plants may adopt sentience. Beware the Fruit of Knowing."
Naturally, Adam immediately found that fruit and took a bite.
His pupils dilated. His mind expanded. For five seconds, he understood everything.
Then his stomach made a noise like a drum solo, and he barely made it to the bathroom.
Five hours later, the fruit tree had grown to the size of a cathedral and was throwing mangoes at passersby.
Jessica took a bite of a low-hanging, radiant fruit because "why not?"
Ten Minutes Later
Jessica blinked. "I can see everyone's skeletons."
Adam, startled, looked up from his crystal-tablet.
"Wait, what?"
Jessica turned toward him. "Also, I think Luke had a burrito for breakfast, and Frank's back molar is chipped."
Frank spat. "What the hell did she eat?"
Adam stared. "An accidental x-ray mango."
"Oh great," Jessica muttered. "Now I've got x-ray vision and no filter."
Luke shrugged. "You didn't have a filter before."
"Now I've got evidence."
Dominion Greenhouse – Midday
The agricultural expansion was in full swing.
Farmers from Japan, Tunisia, Mexico, Kenya, and the UK had arrived, selected through Adam's world-spanning recruitment spell: "Find me people who hate politics but love tomatoes."
Each was promised a fully warded house, monthly mana supplements, and immunity from IRS-equivalent agencies.
"Raise mana-veggies," Adam had said, "and you'll be stronger just by existing."
Frank was less poetic: "You plant, you grow, you eat, you punch harder."
One farmer asked if they could grow whiskey grapes.
Frank nodded. "Only if I get first taste."
System Notification
[Mana Soil Enhancement Complete]
[Ambient Energy: +150%]
[New Effect Discovered: Passive Cultivation Boost]
[All Recruits in Dominion Region gain +0.5 Stamina per week]
[Magical Fruit Identified:
Eye-Pine (Grants temporary vision upgrades)
Boom-Plum (Explodes if overripe)
Whisper-Apple (Whispers secrets if eaten at midnight)]
[Emotion Spike Detected – Joy / Humor / Caffeine Euphoria]
[System Currency Gained: +3,000]
[Skill Fragment Gained: Nature Affinity (2%) → Doubled to 4%]
Later – Dominion Castle, Sublevel Vault
The enchanted elevator dinged as Adam and Jessica descended into the deepest floor of the central tower.
A sealed door stood before them. It shimmered with faded warnings:
"DO NOT OPEN UNLESS YOU'RE FEELING LUCKY, STUPID, OR UNBELIEVABLY PREPARED."
Naturally, Adam grinned.
"I've got all three."
Jessica stared. "Please don't get us cursed. Again."
"Relax. What's the worst that can happen?"
The door clicked open.
Inside: A pitch-dark room filled with floating crystals, each one pulsing in sync with a massive throne made of broken starlight.
And in the center… a sealed pod.
[SYSTEM NOTICE: LEGACY ENTITY DETECTED – ID: ?UNKNOWN?]
[WARNING: ENERGY READINGS UNSTABLE]
Jessica muttered, "You had to ask what's the worst that could happen."
Adam stepped forward. "Wanna help me poke it?"
"I hate you," she said.
"You love me."
"I tolerate your hair."
End of Chapter 40