Speaking of the shard, it was time to do some planning. I had seeds to plant and plants to identify. I focused on the dimensional shard and disappeared. I realized I forgot Thor and Loki outside. That wasn’t very nice of me, so I transferred back outside and called them to me. With that taken care of, I went back inside and began planning.

  I had all those seeds I scavenged from the grocery store. I needed to make areas for that. I went through my list. I had mangoes, apples, tomatoes, carrots, lettuce, bananas, potatoes, onions, strawberries, bell peppers, coffee, mushroom and rice.

  It was an eclectic mix of plants. But I was confident I could figure something out. I assessed the space within the dimensional shard, and envisioned the best way to allocate areas for different types of plants. I decided to divide the garden into sections based on the plants’ needs in terms of sunlight, water and soil type.

  The first area I created was the fruit tree area. The mangoes, apples and bananas went in here. I ensured they had enough space for their canopies to expand and roots to grow. Mango and apple trees were planted with ample space between them, while banana plants, which require more humidity, were placed in a slightly more sheltered spot.

  I created raised vegetable beds for the tomatoes, carrots, lettuce, potatoes, onions, and bell peppers. Tomatoes and bell peppers, which need more sun, were placed in a sunnier part of this section. Root vegetables like carrots and potatoes were planted in deeper beds, while onions and lettuce, which have shallower roots, were given less deep beds.

  For the strawberries, I created a special berry patch with soil rich in organic matter and slightly acidic, ensuring they had room to spread.

  I created a shaded and moist area for the coffee and mushrooms. I ensured the coffee plants had enough vertical space for growth while the mushrooms were placed in a small grotto that was damper and cooler.

  For the rice, I used the magic of the shard to create a small, controlled paddy field for rice cultivation.

  I used my magical abilities to enrich the soil, ensuring it had the right balance of nutrients for each plant type. I also set up a magical irrigation system that could provide the right amount of water to each section. This was when I ran into another problem. I couldn’t create minerals out of the thin air. I could do a lot of things with mana, but creating out of nothing seemed to be a barrier I couldn’t not breach at this time. I received a prompt that I would be required to provide the base minerals before my plans would work. If I continued with my plan, my mana would be used but I would receive sub-optimal results. I put this on my list of things to do. I would figure something out.

  As I went along, I created pathways using flat stones, allowing easy access to all areas of the garden for maintenance and harvesting. These pathways were lined with small, flowering plants to add beauty and attract pollinators. Which after I did it, I realized was another problem. I had no pollinators. Right, so bees and or beetles went onto the list.

  Lastly, I imbued the garden with a gentle, sustaining magic, ensure the plants would grow healthily and be protected from pests and diseases. I wanted to place magical wards but I didn’t know how to do that.

  As I was finishing up everything I realized a major problem. This was a magical place, where did the sunlight come from. Did I make it somehow with my mana? How exactly did it work? Did it use ambient mana? Would I give my position away by the constant drain of mana on the surrounding area?

  I didn’t know. All I knew was that at the moment, I needed to provide the mana myself. I needed a better option than being a giant mana battery.

  It occurred to me that this was probably why the goblins were living in a cave system. It was less technically complex to create a cave ecosystem than it was to create an open area.

  It also occurred to me that I haven’t been using the help function at all. Maybe I could find something there.

  I nodded my head as I read about the Luminar Core. This dimensional shard was amazing. The more I found out about it, I realized how much of a coup it was to find the goblins and defeat them. How did they have it? Why were they so easy to defeat? I can control who comes in and out of the shard, but the goblins couldn’t keep me out. I need to do more research about this. Not knowing felt threatening to me.

  I received a quest prompt. I could improve the dimensional shard. I pumped my hand in the air in an affirmative motion. I was so going to rock the apocalypse.

  Wait a second. I forgot the most important thing. My weed. I didn’t plant it anywhere in the shard. I needed to approach this the same way I approached the other plants and vegetables in the shard.

  I didn’t have much selection for what I was going to grow. It was whatever I found at the store and what was still viable.

  I designated a specific area for the special plants. I placed them off to the side and ensured they would receive plenty of sunlight. I was running low on nutrients for the shard. I checked on the source of the previous nutrients the shard how and discovered where the goblin bodies went. They were recycled into the shard.

  This is where I discovered another function of the shard. The recycletree was a magical plant. It was used to process and recycle various materials, transforming them into inputs for the Industree to use in its crafting process. I couldn’t believe I missed something this important. I wondered if the recycletree was a normal part of the shard or was the shard shifting to be more compatible with my magic. Did the goblins have similar functions? I would never know. I may have explored much of the shard when it was a goblin cave but I didn’t take note of recycling or production facility.

  I had much to do when I woke up tomorrow. Satisfied with my work, I fell asleep and slept deeply for what felt like ages.