The following day, my schedule hadn't changed.
After reading the alchemists' booklet in bed for a bit (I was nearly done), I went downstairs to get breakfast – scrambled eggs, with a few juicy sausages and tomatoes.
Then, I went to the guild's training grounds. Harold wasn't at the courtyard today. There were two adventurers I didn't know, but none of us called out to the others, not even in greeting. It was probably an unspoken rule to leave others to their training.
This time, by the end, I actually managed to maintain a bit of balance after [Charge (Work In Progress)], only awkwardly stumbling a few steps at the end.
Of course, it still wasn't usable in any situation I could imagine – the time it took to use the skill(?) and regaining my balance was longer than it'd take me to simply sprint through the same distance. Not to mention, I'd be giving the enemy more than a second, nearly two, to do the same and pierce my back.
Regardless, I could at least feel my progress. neutered
Afterwards, I went to the dining house for lunch (still no pie), but decided to head back to my room afterwards – I had to thoroughly prepare for the evening.
Over the next few hours, as the sun dove past the horizon, I had finished reading the Plant Guide, and even went over a few of the more confusing areas again.
Finally, I went down to get dinner, and made my way towards Julia's alchemy shop.
When I opened the door, the woman was peacefully sitting behind the counter, reading a thick tome by the flickering candlelight.
'Advanced Reagents For Combustion And Friction by Orvelius Serlion'
Just as I finished reading the title with my sharp sight, Julia closed the book, putting it down and turning her head to me.
"Oh. You actually came. Feeling confident, are you?"
"No, not really. Some of the stuff there was very confusing, and there were a few terms I've never heard before. Still, I'll try my best."
"Ho ho. That means you read everything, at least. That's already a good start. Now, sit down."
I sat on the chair, thoughtfully prepared near the counter.
"Can you tell me the general conditions in which Crimson Muchis grow?"
"Like most mushrooms, they like dark and moist places. Specifically, Crimson Muchis also require the dead bark of a Red Pine nearby. A whole trunk is best, but it's rare, so they can more often be found under a pile of dead branches."
"Ho ho… and how would you differentiate them from their poisonous doppelgangers?"
"Crimson Caps? Muchis have a small white dot, exactly at the top of their cup. I think there was something else, too…"
"Their stems tend to be slightly thinner. But it'd take experience to notice that in practice. Anyway, next question..."
The questions got progressively harder. At first, I could answer everything correctly, with the exception of a minor detail here and there. However, after a few dozen questions, I would be lucky to remember half the answer.
"Alright. Tell me, under what clues would you look for to find White Tear Caps?"
"Umm… I think it generally grows near running water, but requires some special kind of soil. Also, I remember some kind of animal likes it very much, so… claw marks?"
"You got half of that right. The special kind of soil is actually rotten fish washed ashore. Also, they need something to create some darkness for them to grow, or maybe the fish might wash over near some curved rock that can provide such shade. The animals are wolves - you'll see paw marks nearby, at least if the soil isn't too wet, and in some cases traces of wolves fur and claws on the deadwood."
"I see…"
"If the traces look older than a day or two, you're likely to find only disappointment. Wolves treat this mushroom as a delicacy, so the leader of the pack would often claim them, and leave enough mushrooms for a few sittings. However, sometimes, a pack or its leader may consume everything at once, or share them with the pack, leaving you with nothing."
"..."
"Anyway, that was my last question."
The lady silently looked at me, her face unreadable.
"I'm sorry. I really gave it all the time I could."
If this was a university test, I felt I'd probably get anywhere between 40 to 60 – depending on whether the question score was weighted (harder questions were worth more points) or not.
"No, what are you talking about? You did great."
Julia showed me a faint, yet warm, smile.
"In fact, almost nobody who took my offer before did as well as you. You are the best since a certain half-elf that took my test three years ago."
"Xin?"
"Oho... You know him?"
"I… was a temporary companion on one of his missions. Among some things he said, it sounded like he was really interested in herbs and alchemy."
"Ohoho. He is indeed quite interested. I told him that if he wanted to retire from adventuring, he'd make a fine apprentice. Unfortunately, he keeps making excuses, saying he needs to save up more money. More money! Sure, even the scrappiest alchemist's lab is expensive, but if he became my apprentice, he'd be making as much as those missions of his, maybe even more! Not to mention the practical experience…"
Julia was clearly very passionate about her offers to Xin, who apparently found a reason to refuse every time.
"Anyway… I think I could make you the same offer, if you'd like. What do you say?"
"Sorry. I must travel to Valor's End as soon as I can, and I'll probably be traveling a lot afterwards, too."
"A shame. It seems this town is destined to remain free of anyone with an actual head on their shoulder. At least those interested in alchemy."
The woman sighed.
"Well, if you ever change your mind, I'll probably remain here for at least a decade, ho ho."
"I'll keep that in mind"
'If I get to live for a decade, not to mention three years, I might actually consider it.'
"That's good enough. Now, I made a promise, didn't I? You passed the test, so I better keep it."
Over the next hour, Julia gave tips and advice, as she promised.
Moreover, not only had she corrected every answer, but used the questions to gauge my weaker areas, focusing her advice there.
"Thank you very much! I mean it."
This knowledge could net me a few extra silver coins per day, if I got lucky enough. Even without luck, the regular payout from common herbs were nearly guaranteed if I actually bothered to search for clues on the move.
"No problem at all, my dear. Just harvest a lot of plants, and bring them here. I'll give you a fair price, ho ho."
"I will. Thank you very much!"
"Take care, dear."
With those parting words, and new herbalism knowledge, I exited the shop.
…No.
I stopped by the door, turning around to meet Julia's raised brow.
"Sorry, I forgot. Could you tell me the grade of this potion?"
I took out the healing potion, handing it to Julia after her silent nod.
"Oho… this is…"
She looked at it for a little longer, giving it a shake and inspecting the tiny silver bubbles floating inside the tube, before returning it to me.
"This is… quite a high grade potion. If I were to sell this tube, half full as it is, I wouldn't go lower than 100 gold."
I opened my eyes in surprise – this was enough to cover my debt, and more!
"Are you-"
"Before you ask, I'm not interested in buying this. I doubt this peaceful town would have any buyers, and I wouldn't want to rip you off by offering a much lower price. Of course, if you are truly in a dire need, I could probably buy it for a few dozen gold."
I lowered my eyes. This was a bit disappointing. Still…
"If you intend to continue adventuring, you should keep it. It won't restore a missing limb, nor will it help when a sword pierces your heart, but it can still heal some very nasty injuries – a long deep cut, a stab that misses most organs, those sorts of wounds."
I nodded. This was more than enough for me.
"Thank you very much. You helped me a lot once again."
"Oh, don't mention it. I need my talented suppliers alive, after all. And if I ripped you off now, only for you to become a great alchemist in the future and recall my deceit, I could never forgive myself, ho ho ho."
"Then I shall thank you one last time. See you later."
"See you later, dear."
***
I still had quite a bit of time before sleep, so I did the only thing I could think of – going to the guild to train some more.
By the time Jane came to shoo me off, my whole body ached, muscles and bones both, but…
'I can feel it. I'm nearly there.'
When using [Charge (work in progress)], I nearly found the right muscles to use, the right amount of force to apply, the right angle of my knees to bend…
I knew that a day, two at most, and I'd probably find the last pieces of this puzzle.
However, I have clearly strained my body beyond its normal limit – I could feel every step I took on my way to the Inn.
'Well, nothing a good hot bath can't fix. I just hope I actually recover by tomorrow, at least by the evening. Here goes to this body – it carried me this far, so let it continue a while longer.'
And with those thoughts, I took a quick bath, and went to bed.
I turned for a while, unable to close my eyes.
Tomorrow was a big day, after all – my first official mission as an adventurer in this world.
Finally, my fatigue won over my mix of nervousness and excitement, painting the world black.