◈ Episode 179. Everything Ripens (2)
Spirit medicine (靈藥).
A mystic herb that has ripened to the utmost is called a spirit medicine.
Naturally, the value of a spirit medicine is beyond imagination.
No, perhaps it would be more accurate to say it is immeasurable.
After all, spirit medicines had never once been put up for sale in Arcana, at any auction house whatsoever.
Since ancient times, those in high places have devoted all their zeal and effort to preserving their own bodies.
According to books related to mystic herbs, kings and nobles had been desperate to find spirit medicines since the era of the ancient kingdoms.『As far as is known, the human who consumed the greatest number of spirit medicines was “Urus of the Iron Arm.” Born frail by nature, he consumed spirit medicine in order to live, only to realize the true value of spirit medicine…….』Later, he traded an entire vast county for spirit medicines.
And in the end, he became a wandering fallen noble—a tale from long ago…….
All old tales carry a lesson.
When I read that passage, I had nodded along as well.
So this is why drug addiction is dangerous, I thought.
And yet, to think I would come to covet those very spirit medicines!
The reason I needed spirit medicine was simple.
I recalled the effects of mystic herbs.‘No matter how precious a mystic herb is, all it does is raise stats.’Even the four-colored mistletoe I had acquired in the [Predator’s Swamp]
where I had formed a contract with Hiel was like that. But the effect of a spirit medicine was not merely on that level.‘A change like that doesn’t happen just because a few stat points go up. Absolutely not.’I could say with certainty that it was impossible.
There was clear evidence, wasn’t there?
Whether my stats rose or not.
Every single day, I had my grueling physical training class quest.『Urus’s transformation was at a level that could not be explained then, nor can it be explained now as this book is being written. A man who had not even possessed the grip strength to properly hold a sword smashed the gates of the capital with his fists…….』Was that why?
At the end of the book, it was written as follows.『It is said that the majority of mystic herbs that had rooted and grown for such long periods as to be called spirit medicines had already disappeared from the Arcana Continent around the era of the ancient kingdoms…….』At any rate, when it comes to things that are good for the body.
It seems being weak to temptation is universal.
But who am I?[Pentagram of Pure Knowledge]
Its owner.
Was I not the one who possessed knowledge of every plant on the Arcana Continent? In other words, knowledge of the incomparably precious “spirit medicines” also existed inside my head……!
That was right.
Everything I was watering right now was mystic herbs with the potential to grow into spirit medicines.
Someone might ask.
Wait, weren’t mystic herbs already precious enough?
Where did you even obtain and plant such mystic herbs?
I shall answer confidently.
As expected, it was a good thing I was so miserly.[Map That Communes with All Things][Rank: Epic][Restriction: None][Effect: Allows you to know the location of something someone has secretly hidden, something someone has lost, or something concealed somewhere. Also allows you to teleport once to the location of something.
However, when the teleportation effect is activated, all effects are immediately lost.][Description: A magic tool with boundless potential depending on how it is used.]
A situation where I had no choice but to teleport to the Arcana Continent in order to save Marcelo’s life.
Unlike Granfell, who was upright and unblemished, never clinging to material things.
I, Lee Hoyeol, could not give up my greed for material goods.[Hexagram Brooch]
Just as with that, I had checked the locations of items that might be useful later ahead of time.
-“Spirit medicines, is it. They are meaningless to me.”
I remembered muttering that…….
But I endured Granfell’s nitpicking well, Hoyeol.
Because this pettiness might just save my life.[Pentagram of Pure Knowledge] allowed me to distinguish the spirit medicines that would become medicine or poison to me. The spirit medicines I narrowed it down to were two.
Ten-thousand-year snow flower.
Blazing sunflower.
The Circle was the realm of a mage.
Naturally, to activate the Circle, I had to raise my shabby magical ability.
There were many ways to do that. For now, I had simply chosen the easiest shortcut among them.‘The other paths are too much for me.’How could I accomplish something even Marcelo could not?
Even if I did accomplish it, the time invested would be considerable.
I would politely like to decline listening to this heartbeat until then.「The ten-thousand-year snow flower, which increases affinity with ice magic.
And possessing the exact opposite property.
The blazing sunflower, which increases affinity with fire magic.」I intended to consume not one, but two precious spirit medicines.
No, I had to.
Otherwise, I would depart this world from the side effects.
As could be seen from Urus’s anecdote.
A tremendous energy lay dormant within spirit medicines.
If one consumed such a spirit medicine recklessly?
Naturally, the body would be unable to accept it.『After consuming his first spirit medicine, Urus fainted on the spot. Only after a full month had passed did he open his eyes. Even that was thanks to the fact that his innately weak body did not clash with the medicinal effects of the spirit medicine.』Someone might have wondered.
If spirit medicines were so effective.
Shouldn’t every person who consumed them have made their name in history?
The reason they did not was simple.
Because the vast majority ate spirit medicine and died from the side effects!
“Neither cold nor heat can affect me.”
A padded jacket in the depths of winter.
Formality that would not even allow a short-sleeved shirt in midsummer.
But this was not merely at the level of cold or heat, Granfell.‘Even just consuming one would leave me suffering from side effects.’Clink—I even had the shackle called the Circle placed upon my heart.
So there was only one method.
Consume the ten-thousand-year snow flower and the blazing sunflower at the same time. Neutralizing their effects was the only way to raise my magical ability without side effects.
Swaaa—Although I had set the goal of consuming two incomparably precious spirit medicines.
What I was doing was merely watering a garden plot with a watering can.
If someone saw me, they might misunderstand and think I was growing lettuce.
But for your information, this is not just an ordinary garden plot.
-“Here is the research assignment you requested!”
A skilled mage, Cle.
As expected, considering he had received Granfell’s approval.
Cle’s 『Method for Cultivating Mystic Herbs』 had made quite a lot of progress in a short time.
-“Maintaining an optimal environment for mystic herbs to grow through healing magic……. An interesting idea. Leaving aside the efficiency of mana, it is worthy of praise.”
Mystic herbs grow in demanding environments.
To put it in terms of the Arcana system…….
Should I explain it as them suffering a debuff unless they are in a specific environment?
Cle’s cultivation method focused not on matching the environment, but on removing the debuff.‘Of course, it consumes an absurd amount of mana.’Healing magic already had an extreme mana consumption rate as it was.
To manifest that healing magic on mere plants?
That was the reason Cle’s research had not seen the light of day until now.
But I did not mind.
Because I had something to believe in…….
No, not quite something to believe in.‘Something to make use of.’I had one such thing.
So I planted the garden plot full of mystic herbs that could grow into ten-thousand-year snow flowers.
And blazing sunflowers.
If I sprinkled water containing Hiel’s blessing on top of that…….
Would it not be all right to have a little hope?
In that sense, even if only to meet Hiel.
I would have to enter a rift tomorrow.
I spoke leisurely.
“How refreshing.”
Water droplets gathered on the mystic herbs.
To the eyes of others, tending a garden plot would look supremely peaceful. However, for me, the person involved, it was the moment a vacation I could not enjoy in the slightest began…….
“Indeed, there is no work of art greater than nature.”……
Likewise, I cannot enjoy this damned soliloquy either.*What is the reason for this sudden rest?
“I’m telling you, it’s definitely because of a quest!”
Yoon Jongjin raised his voice for the first time in a while.
The [Ascura Count’s Fortress] rift, where Lee Hoyeol had first revealed his presence to the world.
Wasn’t Yoon Jongjin the one who had witnessed Hoyeol’s very first move?
“It’s that relentless Lee Hoyeol, you know! Lee Hoyeol, who went around the Siberian snowfields without even wearing a padded jacket! A man that tough suddenly stops all activity and rests? That makes no sense!”
Move aside.
My patience is at its limit.
That cold voice was still vivid in Yoon Jongjin’s ears.
Faced with Yoon Jongjin’s forceful insistence, Hyun Yongseok eventually raised the white flag.
“So, you’re saying you’re going to wait at the Magic Tower portal?”
“That’s right. If he’s going to carry out a quest, he has to enter a rift anyway. The players will catch sight of him, and I’ll take the portal and, bam!”
“Fine, do that. It’s nice to see you so motivated.”
Clearly, he must have had a lukewarm expression…….
Yoon Jongjin wanted to land a blow on Hyun Yongseok.
Today Arcana.
As the main camera director, he had a certain instinct.
Yoon Jongjin said to Writer Kim, who had come running with him.
“I’m pretty good at reading faces, you know. My aunt is a shaman, so maybe that’s why I have something a little like spiritual sight. Our Mr. Hoyeol’s face is absolutely not the face of someone who can rest.”……
Then just how fierce must my face look for me to have been dragged here?
Writer Kim had plenty he wanted to say, but he held it in.
And gave a halfhearted response.
Chatter, chatter.
“In that sense, PD Yong’s physiognomy is truly something else…….”
It was at the moment Yoon Jongjin was continuing his chatter.
Writer Kim, who had been looking at his smartphone, flinched.
Then he abruptly rose from his seat.
“Director, the camera! Grab the camera!”
“He’s, he’s appeared! I knew it!”
Yoon Jongjin hurriedly gathered the equipment.
He folded the tripod and diligently followed behind Writer Kim.
Anywhere was welcome as long as it was not Russia.
“So which rift is it?”
“Rift? It’s not a rift.”
“Huh? It’s not a rift?”
“It’s the Yusra Kingdom.”……
Ah, is that so!
A quest starting in the Yusra Kingdom, then.
It was entirely possible.
Wasn’t the Yusra Kingdom itself an ancient kingdom?
If it involved connected story threads, the quests would be endless.
However, Yoon Jongjin’s Introduction to Physiognomy.
“Wh-what is this? Isn’t this edited?!”
The moment Writer Kim shoved the smartphone in front of Yoon Jongjin’s face.
It was mercilessly shattered.
The photo displayed on the screen.
There, in his usual lofty posture.
Was Hoyeol tending some kind of flower garden.
Yoon Jongjin looked utterly dejected.
“……
No, that isn’t the kind of face he has?”
“Director, stop talking about physiognomy and the camera!”
“Camera? You want us to go film this?”
Slide—Writer Kim pushed up his glasses and his eyes gleamed.
Because Writer Kim had instincts of his own.
“Lee Hoyeol tending a flower garden. There’s definitely a viewer demographic for that too. For starters, it’s fresh! More than anything, if you don’t want to get scolded by PD Yong…….”……
Damn it.
There was no time to agonize.
Hadn’t he loudly and confidently declared as much?
Yoon Jongjin immediately picked up the tripod and began to run.
“It’s toward the Golden Palace annex, right? I’ll go ahead!”...
In hindsight, Writer Kim’s instincts had been correct.[Viewer rating: 21.7%]
The sight of Hoyeol leisurely tending a flower garden.
It was a scene no one had ever witnessed before.
At the same time, it created a small stir.
-How exhausted must he have been all this time to suddenly start growing flowers?-For real, stop bothering him already.
-But what kind of flowers are those???
-Stop being curious about that too!!
Lee Hoyeol.
Perhaps he really, simply, just wanted to rest.
As that opinion became the mainstream, Hoyeol’s actions up until now began to be reexamined.
-It was a murderous schedule, seriously;;;-And think about Lee Hoyeol’s level on top of that.
-I mean, he’s at least level 900.
-If he reached a level like that, it means he was constantly doing something even where we couldn’t see, right? I’m a player too, but I seriously respect him…….
Of course, the world was not inhabited only by those with pride.
As someone once said.
Where there is light, there are also shadows.
There were those who looked at the same thing and harbored different thoughts.
The Yusra Kingdom under the cover of darkness, the Golden Palace.
Two shadows were buried within the dark.
Skill, [Stealth], activated.
The two shadows whispered secretly to each other.
“Kinver, that bastard said he was out? Seriously?”
Supernova, Kinver.
They had coordinated with other players countless times, but there was no player as reliable and cruel as him. Above all, Kinver did not back out before a job.
“His face went pale.”
“……
Kinver’s face went pale? You explained it properly, right?”
“I’m not an idiot. You think I explained the job wrong? I explained it clearly. We’re not killing or attacking anyone. We’re just snatching something.”
It was not as if they were infiltrating the Golden Palace, where guards stood with their eyes wide open. They were merely going to pull up a few flowers from a garden plot.
Who would dare even imagine it?
Robbing the flower garden of the one and only Lee Hoyeol.
But if they pulled it off.
There would be no players in the underworld who would doubt their nerve.
“It’s a chance to raise our value.”
The two players had infiltrated the Golden Palace annex with that in mind.
“……
But why did that bastard back out?”
Considering Kinver’s proficiency with the [Stealth] skill, no one should be able to discover him in darkness like this.
But the moment Lee Hoyeol’s name came up, Kinver had left as if he had heard something he should not have.
“Well, enough about that cowardly bastard.”
In any case, it seemed even Lee Hoyeol had not imagined that there would be people trying to rob his flower garden.
Not a single guard was in sight.
As expected, it was worth searching for this place.
“By the way, he seemed to be taking precious care of them, didn’t he?”
“Could they be rare items?”
“……
Hm, how precious could some weeds be?”
Slide—It was the moment the two shadows approached the flower garden.
Shudder!
“!!”
In an instant, goosebumps rose all over their bodies.
Eyes gleaming fiercely within the darkness.
A message appeared before the two men’s eyes.[Fear occurs.][Skill, ‘Stealth,’ is released.]
The extreme terror did not merely forcibly cancel their stealth.
Ting!
It even made the weapons they were holding drop to the ground.
Soon, an enormous presence revealed itself from within the darkness.
The faces of the two men, who realized its identity, distorted mercilessly.……
Just why?
A legendary existence comparable to a dragon.
The monster who had crushed the Shadow Mercenary Corps member Rockid in a single exchange.
An elf was guarding Lee Hoyeol’s flower garden!!