Arknightcraft Modpack (Steve in Terra) (Minecraft x Arknight)

Steven had no patience to wait around for the people of Iberia to slowly cultivate the few dozen potatoes he had previously provided.

If he let them take their time, how long would it be before they actually started making him money?

What Steven really wanted was cash in hand.

And clearly, the people of Iberia needed time even more than he did.

Every month they could shave off meant less pressure, more room to maneuver, and more options on the table.

Since that was the case, why not cut the nonsense and directly supply them with as many seed potatoes as they needed?

For Steven, this wasn't difficult at all.

All he had to do was find a spot, let them sit overnight, and by morning, he'd have an exponential increase in potatoes.

If he wanted to be even faster, he could just exchange EMC points for them.

It wasn't like they were worth much.

"..."

Hearing this, Carmen fell silent.

Because Steven was absolutely right.

If things went as he claimed, then his cut was perfectly reasonable.

There was a massive difference between just introducing a crop and actually providing the seeds.

If Steven could truly supply an unlimited number, then even after factoring in the costs of distribution and transportation, a 60% cut was still worth it.

At that point, it was no different from hiring an entire nation to grow potatoes for him.

But honestly, who could refuse such an obvious money-maker?

Certainly not Iberia, a nation already on the brink of collapse.

"I need to discuss this with the others."

After a brief hesitation, Carmen's expression shifted, a hint of barely concealed joy flashing across his face.

More than profit, what Iberia lacked was time.

If Steven was willing to supply the initial seeds, then that meant Iberia's agriculture could recover immediately.

Compared to future earnings, this was far more valuable—

Because it was real, and it was happening right now.

"No problem. I've got plenty of time."

Steven snapped his fingers, grinning.

Time was never his issue.

His real problem had always been finding a way to sell these potatoes.

And now, Iberia was eager to become his perfect business partner.

"In fact—just to show my sincerity—"

"I can give you enough potatoes right now to supply this entire town."

"..."

Carmen's expression stiffened.

Instead of the instant acceptance Steven expected, a troubled look crossed the old man's face.

There was one issue he had been avoiding, something he had deliberately chosen not to mention.

But now, if this deal was truly going to happen, he had no choice but to bring it up.

Because if Steven went through with this, it meant he was aligning himself with Iberia.

Which also meant he needed to be aware of a major problem.

"Mr. Steve…"

Carmen's voice lowered slightly.

"Isn't there a crucial issue you should consider before making this deal?"

"Huh?"

Steven tilted his head, looking confused.

Casually finishing off the last of his baked potato, he wiped his hands and glanced at the old man.

"What issue?"

He still didn't know enough about this world.

And this old man from Iberia had definitely seen far more than he had.

"We have no way to keep this potato a complete secret."

Carmen's voice was calm but firm.

"Once these seed potatoes leak into other countries, our advantage will be completely lost. This crop's greatest strength—its ability to grow almost anywhere—would become its biggest weakness."

How do you make money?

More importantly—

How do you make big money?

Carmen knew the answer all too well.

Monopoly.

When a technology or a resource is controlled by only one country or one company, that's when the real profits start rolling in.

But Steven's potatoes?

They were too easy to grow.

If they fell into the hands of another nation, they'd spread like wildfire.

Sure, this would greatly improve the diets of everyone across Terra.

But it would also mean the complete collapse of Terra's agriculture market.

And, more importantly, it would erase Iberia's competitive edge entirely.

"In fact…"

Carmen hesitated before continuing.

There was an even worse problem.

"Even the small batch of potatoes you initially gave us…"

"Some of them have already been stolen by traitors hidden within the Inquisition—spies from the Church of the Deep."

A flicker of grief passed through his eyes, but he still forced himself to say it out loud.

"Oh—so that's why Irene was being targeted."

Steven simply raised an eyebrow, completely unbothered.

This was not surprising to him at all.

In fact, he had expected this outcome from the start.

The Church of the Deep had already infiltrated Iberia to the core.

The Inquisition was no exception.

It was probably the most compromised of them all.

So his potatoes getting stolen?

That was only a matter of time.

If he wanted to introduce a crop like this, there was no way people wouldn't try to take it for themselves.

"But then again—"

"If this nation weren't this rotten, I wouldn't have bothered coming to you guys in the first place."

Steven's words were enough to make someone's blood boil, but he still flashed a grin at Carmen and waved him over.

"Alright, hand over that map."

"Since it's my product, of course I can control how it spreads."

Steven had no intention of playing the role of a philanthropist.

Sure, the idea of ending world hunger sounded great, but he knew better than to actually make it happen.

Because the moment everyone had full bellies, there would be only one thing left to do.

War.

History had already taught Steven this lesson.

He wasn't interested in repeating it.

He knew exactly what people did when they had nothing to worry about, and he wasn't about to let that happen.

So, ensuring that potatoes could only be grown in Iberia was absolutely crucial.

At the very least, he had to keep the entire supply chain firmly in his own hands.

Carmen said nothing, he simply reached into his coat, took out a large map of Iberia, and placed it in Steven's hands.

He had no idea what this mysterious young man intended to do.

But at this point, he was willing to believe that Steven had a solution.

Because every time Steven showed up, he always brought something unexpected.

Something miraculous.

Even compared to the famed Feranmut, this boy's aura of mystery was even stronger, and the things he gave them could only be described as otherworldly.

"Huh."

Steven clicked his tongue, ignoring Carmen's curious gaze as he unfolded the map.

Then, he loaded it directly into his Minimap Mod.

In an instant, the entire region of Iberia appeared in his personal interface.

Every town, every landmark, every coordinate, all fully unlocked for his precise control.

"I haven't done this in a while... no idea how many points this will cost."

Steven quietly opened the chat bar in the lower-left corner and typed in two commands.

[/Claim_Land_Iberia]

[Ding! Claiming this land requires 1,000,000 World Acknowledgement Points. Once claimed, modifying mod-specific item configurations within the claimed area will no longer consume points.]

[/Modify_Potato_Config: Becomes inactive outside claimed area]

[Ding! Configuration modified successfully.]

Steven had used the land claim function before.

Unfortunately, this world's restrictions were pretty tight.

Even after claiming territory, the only thing he could control was the parameters of items he brought from Minecraft.

Which made sense.

If he could modify the core rules of Terra itself, it wouldn't make sense for an entire country to cost only a million points.

But now, with this one move, the entire potato industry was under his absolute control.

If he wanted to take it a step further, he could even consider making all of Iberia work for him on other tasks.

At the very least, as long as it involved Minecraft crops, inside Iberia, he now had complete power over life and death.

He could decide when potatoes grew.

He could make them stop growing entirely if they left Iberia's borders.

This was the key.

If a stolen potato couldn't grow, then no matter who took it, it would simply be a food—nothing more.

"Alright. Done."

Steven stretched lazily and handed the map back to Carmen.

But Carmen just looked at him with complete confusion.

"...That's it?"

From his perspective, Steven had done nothing.

He simply opened the map, glanced at it, and then suddenly looked completely at ease.

Not a single action that looked like it should have worked.

Did this kid even understand what they were talking about?

"Of course, wasn't the whole point to stop other people from stealing and growing these potatoes?"

"It's done, now, if they leave Iberia, they're just food."

"Isn't that exactly what you wanted?"

Steven nodded, looking completely casual.

This wasn't complicated.

Two commands and it was fixed.

What did Carmen expect?

A ritual? Some grand ceremony?

"...But you didn't even do anything."

Carmen pointed at Steven, his voice filled with doubt.

This was just too unnatural.

"Ugh—Fine."

Steven waved a hand impatiently.

"Then just think of it like this—"

"I modified the potato's breeding genetics, added a little 'extra ingredient,' and now the ones I gave you can only grow in Iberia."

"Does that make sense?"

Carmen frowned.

This still didn't make sense.

"...It's not about whether I understand it..."

He wanted to argue further,

But then he saw the serious expression on Steven's face.

That calm confidence, like there was no need to explain.

And then, Carmen hesitated.

Maybe... maybe it really was that simple?

After all, when Steven first told him about these potatoes, he didn't believe it either until the researchers showed him real evidence.

Potatoes thriving even in a Nethersea Brand.

Flourishing where nothing should survive.

At that moment, every Saint who witnessed it was stunned into silence.

Maybe...

Just maybe...

This young man stuff really was this miraculous.

<+>

If you want to see more chapter of this story and don't mind spending $5 monthly to see till the latest chapter, please go to my Patreon1

Latest Chapter in Patreon: Chapter 214: It Made Me Feel Like I Wasn't Alone1

Link to the latest chapter: https://www.patreon.com/posts/arknightcraft-1296914411

https://www.patreon.com/collection/55713?view=expanded1