They slowed travel the next day, foraging along the roadside. JP's Appraisal pinged constantly:
Glowcap Mushrooms – Luminescent. Rare ingredient for safe lamps.Ironleaf Herb – Strengthens healing potions. Bitter taste.Mana-Resin Sap – Flammable, mana-conductive. Dangerous if mishandled.
JP gathered them eagerly, scribbling into a battered notebook. His eyes lit up with each discovery. "Glowcaps could make safe night lights. Resin bombs for defense. Ironleaf tonics for adventurers on long hunts—oh, the possibilities."
Lyra perched on a rock, idly twirling a dagger as she watched him mutter and sketch. "You sound less like an adventurer and more like a tinkerer merchant."
"Hey," JP said, looking up with a grin, "if you've got the brain for it, why waste time just swinging a sword? Everyone can swing a sword. But imagine a whole village lit by these mushrooms, or resin that fuels lamps all winter."
Lyra tilted her head, considering. Her guarded expression softened just a little. "Most people just see coin in raw materials. You… see something else."
JP shrugged, pretending casual even though his heart raced with excitement. "Tools make life easier. If I can make tools that no one else has thought of yet, well… maybe that's my edge."
That night, their camp glowed softly from jars of glowcap mushrooms JP had rigged together with resin-coated lids. The light was gentle but steady, unlike fire that smoked and sputtered.
Lyra lay back on her cloak, eyes half-lidded as she stared at the glow. "Not bad. I've seen noble artificers make worse."
JP chuckled and leaned back against his pack. "Well, maybe I'm just full of surprises."
A faint smirk touched her lips. She said nothing more, but the firelight couldn't hide the curiosity in her eyes.
JP – Lv. 10 → Lv. 11Skill Acquired: Crafting Insight (I) – Minor chance to improve inventions with each attempt.
When the skill text flickered before his eyes, JP nearly jumped with joy. He clenched a fist under his cloak so Lyra wouldn't notice, whispering to himself, This is it. I'm really starting to get somewhere.
The night passed quietly, the gentle glow of mushrooms marking their small pocket of light in the vast wilderness.