The memory of the freezing area spell faded into the background of my mind as Elincia guided me into the lush valley. [Identify] bombarded me with a hundred names. Barrel Roots, Fairy King’s Brooch, Night Lilies, Dire Cress, Thorn Peppers. Mr. Lowell had struck metaphorical gold with this valley, a high level Alchemist could probably brew a whole catalog of potions with the ingredients in sight.
My hands were itching to start looting. My only regret was not bringing more hands to help carry the harvest. I looked around for the Changeling. If I managed to convince it to adopt a human form maybe I could smuggle it into Farcrest. I whistled but the creature didn’t come. It must have caught wind of my plan to enlist its help, because it was nowhere to be found.
Other than Elincia, I didn’t know many people in Farcrest. The idea of inviting Ginz next time crossed my mind but I knew the craftsman would decline my invitation. Forcing him to craft the leather cups had already been too much to drag him into the Farlands on top of that.
I made a mental note to pay him for his service after we sold the potions. Maybe I should add a small gift as compensation. I still felt bad for intimidating him, even if I confirmed my initial suspicions that Ginz had promised to look after the orphanage just to bail out afterwards.
Elincia hadn’t told me the full story about the orphanage’s decline, but I had a good idea of what happened. After the death of Mr. Lowell, four orphans had sworn to look after the orphanage. Elincia, Elincia’s mysterious best friend, Ginz, and another girl. I didn’t know exactly what had transpired between, but in the end, Elincia was the only person left in charge of the orphanage.
A small spark of anger lit inside my chest, even if those events had transpired nearly a decade ago. Elincia was so collected and mature that I usually forgot she was just twenty five years old. I sighed. I couldn’t really blame Elincia’s companions when my own reasons to stay at the orphanage weren’t totally selfless.
I was so deep in thought, I didn’t realize I had been collecting high magic concentration Barrel Root.
“You are not a really good bee, you know?” Elincia told me from the other side of the animal trail. We were supposed to be looking for a small creek to set camp before starting with any harvesting.
“My people rule over nature with an iron fist, we don’t acknowledge nature’s wisdom.” I jokingly replied.
“Barbaric.” Elincia sighed as she signaled to follow her.
We hiked the animal trail down to the valley. The forest itself seemed more welcoming than the rest of the Farlands, with less brambles and thorny plants. Even the environmental mana felt different, less oppressive. It almost seemed like someone had been maintaining the forest as a garden, but considering the amount of ingredients, I knew nobody had touched the place for a long time.
Elincia was more relaxed so I joined in the good mood.
“It’s been quite a while since I came here.” She laughed but I detected a hint of nostalgia in her voice. Maybe a bit of bitterness. “Soon after Mr. Lowell died, I came here with Risha and Ginz. We ransacked the place believing we would become rich. The only problem was me being only a Lv. 5 Alchemist who could barely put together a low quality Health Potion, so we ended up selling the ingredients to the Guild. We felt rich, though.”
I waited for Elincia to continue talking, but the next sentence didn’t come.
“Risha was your friend?”
“Yeah.”
I understood she preferred to avoid that matter.
“With your cheating Scholar skills, we will get rich this time, though.” Elincia looked over her shoulder to give me a mischievous smile. I didn't mind cheating the System if that meant helping the orphanage, but we had to find our way back to Farcrest before that could happen.
“What do you want to buy?” I changed the subject. Thinking about Elincia’s struggle really put a weight on my chest. Not a second elapsed before she answered.
“Well-marbled beef, pork chops, maybe a dozen good sausages. Venison is great but after a decade it gets boring.” Elincia said with a dreamy smile on her face. “What about you?”
I couldn’t think of anything I wanted for myself. Shu could use a nice dress, Zaon clothes his size for once, and Wolf bigger shoes soon if he continued growing at such a fast rate. On a smaller scale I would kill for a steady supply of salt and other seasonings to cook with. And if we really made out, then the western wing of the orphanage could use some renovations as well, so that it could be rendered usable again.
I didn’t get to answer Elincia’s question because the animal trail finally led us to the creek. There was a dying trickle of water running at the center of the bare riverbed.
“This is weird. At this time of the year it should be full.”
Elincia slipped down the riverbed and crouched next to the stream. I did the same.
Water (Creek). [Identify] It’s wet. Magic concentration: Low.
“Let’s check upstream, I don’t want to drink if there is a huge rotting monster corpse blocking the creek.” Elincia said.
We walked upstream until a stone wall stopped us. It wasn’t actually a wall but a series of natural terraces with steps as tall as myself. Between the rocks, a plentiful clump of red foxtails poked out.
Spirit Fox’s Tail. [Identify] Alchemy ingredient. Brewing ingredient. Magic concentration: Low.
“Help me climb, it will be faster than taking a detour.” Elincia said as she took off her backpack and threw it upwards.
Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
I crouched so she could step on my shoulders but she didn’t hop on.
“I’m a light footed half-elf, Rob, just grab me by the waist and lift me. I don’t want to smear you with mud and animal waste.” Elincia laughed.
I stood up and placed my hands on Elincia’s slender waist. Then, on the count of three, she jumped and I lifted her. The physics of this world weren’t the same for everybody, because I managed to throw Elincia a meter over my head and she landed safely on top of the terrace.
Oddly enough, Elincia had no problems withstanding the violent gust of wind during our earlier ascension up the mountains.
I passed Elincia my backpack before trying to climb.
“You are heavy.” Elincia said as she helped me.
Luckily, the first stone wall was the tallest one, the next one barely reached my waist.
“I have been putting up some muscle lately. You can thank the beans for that.” I replied. It wasn’t much, but the double training sessions with the kids had helped me improve both my cardio and strength.
We climbed the stone walls, always following the small thread of water. There were great pools of stone, now completely dry, where no Spirit Fox’s Tail grew. The original stream wasn’t bigger than an irrigation ditch but now was reduced to almost nothing.
“We should set camp when we reach the top.” Elincia said as I helped her to climb the next terrace. “The harvest will have to wait until tomorrow.”
The climb was fairly easy compared to the morning’s odyssey, however, the sun was already reaching the western mountains and the valley was covered in a dying reddish light. Despite the valley being a pocket of spring, I didn’t want to risk a cold night without a good campfire.
We reached the top of the terraces. There was no sign of whatever was blocking the creek but I noticed rogue streams of water flowing around the trees.
“It must be nearby, let’s check it out.” Elincia said, putting her backpack on her shoulders and resuming the march.
We left the rocky surface and entered the forest again. Suddenly, a dense and cold fog rose from the forest bed. It was filled with mana. I put my hand to the hilt of my sword just in case and Elincia did the same with her bow.
“Careful.” She whispered.
Not a minute passed when we found the cause of the blockage. Elincia noticed it first, grabbed my sleeve and pulled me down behind a dense clump of bushes. In the middle of the sea of mist, a giant blue slime the size of a bus blocked the riverbed.
The slime remained still and my [Awareness] didn’t catch any scions preying on us. There was something wrong with the big slime, its surface was too opaque and its insides were too solid. More than a blob, it looked like a stone.
I identified it.
Carcass of a Greater Slime. [Identified] A deceased high level slime with multiple cores. It’s frozen.
“It’s dead.” Elincia whispered.
A sudden drop in temperature made my hair stand on end.
“Something is nearby.” I whispered.
Two cloaked figures emerged from the fog, their outlines were ethereal as if they weren’t completely solid. Elincia and I hurdled behind the bushes as the figures glided over the forest bed. My heart raced, there was something extremely creepy in the way they moved but I restrained my need to identify them.
The wraiths carried something.
“An orc.” Elincia muttered as her grip around my arm tightened.
One of the wraiths grabbed the limp orc by the armpits while the other carried the legs. The body was covered with a dirty blanket but the muscular green arms and legs protruding from the sides were unmistakable. I couldn’t distinguish if it was dead or alive.
Elincia clenched her jaw. I didn’t know if the orcs in this world were hostile or friendly, but Elincia’s gesture made me think that it was the latter. My palms were sweaty. Whatever the wraiths were plotting to do with the body, it didn’t seem any good. However, Elincia remained still.
The orc suddenly woke up. It violently contorted and kicked one of its captors in the head, freeing its legs. The orc elbowed the remaining wraith, gaining enough room to raise its hands in a defensive stance. Only then I understood the real physical span of the orc. She was a tall, muscular woman with arms like trees, yellow tusks, and curly hair black as night. Her leather armor was adorned with tasteful feather ornaments and her head was crowned with a silver tiara.
The wraith let out a high pitch screech that chilled my blood and revealed its icy claws from beneath its cloak. Elincia and I jumped on our feet but it was too late. The wraith turned into mist just as the orc threw a powerful hook. A moment later, the wraith reappeared behind the orc and violently buried its icy claws in the orc's abdomen.
I let my mana blaze and identified the creature in an attempt to catch its attention.
Ice Wraith Lv.15. Corrupted Spirit. [Identify] An elemental spirit corrupted by a powerful magician. Weakness: Fire.
The wraith screeched and conjured a dozen floating icicles. With my mana pool partially depleted, I wasn’t going to be able to withstand a full barrage. I needed a diversion.
I shaped two copies of myself and sent them forward. The Wraith moved its hand and a barrage of icicles cleanly cut through the blue clones just to bury on the ground. The creature couldn’t tell the real thing from the copies.
I created more clones and sent them running in every direction.
The Wraith looked around, confused by the sudden amount of enemies, and for a moment stopped casting the icicle spell. I took advantage of the creature’s lapse of concentration, and lunged forward.
My blade went through the Wraith, vanquishing it in a single strike and leaving behind a ragged cloak.
Ice Wraith slain.
Level up!
Conditions fulfilled. You have obtained a new skill.
[Minor Illusion] acquired.
It had been a while since the last time the System kneaded my brain like dough. It felt like someone had literally introduced its hand inside my skull and groped my brain. For a moment I thought I was going to puke but, as suddenly as the sensation appeared, it vanished without a trace.
“Rob! Bandages!” Elincia yelled from the orc’s side.
I snapped out of my stupor and crossed the distance that separated us with a single step. My first aid training triggered without needing a skill. No matter how fast my heart raced, my hands remained steady as I pulled out medical supplies from my backpack. Kneeling beside the orc, I assessed the extent of the injuries. Blood seeped through Elincia’s fingers as she clutched the wounded abdomen. The breaths of the orc were labored and ragged.
I pressed the bandages against the wound, giving Elincia enough time to pull her potion pouch. The wound felt like a block of ice and the blood froze around my fingers. I identify the wound.
Dassyra. Orc. [Identify] A female adult orc. Wounded. Frost Hex.
The orc woman winced in pain and tried to swat my hands from the wound. No matter how weak or wounded the orc was, I had to push back with all my strength to barely hold the ground.
Elincia pulled out the cork of a small vial.
“Clear the area.” Elincia said as I removed loose threads of the torn clothes.
The liquid hissed against the wound while a cloud of fetid vapors raised. I had seen Elincia applying a similar potion on her own wound before, and this time was ten times more gruesome. The orc whined in pain and I couldn’t help but grab her hand.
“Hey! Do not fall asleep.”
The orc’s face softened as it blinked in a vain attempt to clear her sight.
“Byrne? Is that you?” She replied in perfect English just as she fell unconscious.