Chapter 26: Killing Two Birds With One Stone

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Part 1

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“What are you doing, Ghost?”

“Some work,” I answered Sonia while concentrating on my task. “Identify!”

Even though I was using Plant Identification, the skill could actually be used on the type of soils and other stuff related to growing one. Pretty nifty as I did not need to learn other skills needlessly just to accommodate this quest.

You had obtained Blood Wrym Soil, 65% Purity.

Sigh.

Yet again I have to purify. Using the tools Mimi had given me, I began to mix the soil with various ingredients inside a vial. The Purification skill would then come into the fore as the vial glowed a little.

You had obtained Blood Wrym Soil, 75% Purity.

A 10% increase. I had to give Rose the best that I could find. I could just be happy with this level of purity, but being a tad perfectionist and completionist too, I wanted to reach 100% purity. I tried 8 more times purifying the soil to 100%. The percentage of purification success was quite low, about 45% rate of success at 50% purity but the increment was alright. The higher the percentage, the lower the chances for it to succeed. I was lucky to succeed three times in a row. Some other times, I would fail and I had to start all over again. Many, many times.

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After I had obtained the Frigga’s Warmth; the first key from the Old God’s statue just by touching it, I started to look around for Blood Wrym Soil. The party had cleared the Saha’agins with such ease and speed that it was not even passed an hour yet. We took a rest on the highest platforms of the old ruins before the next respawn.

“Something to do with your quest?” Sonia was interested in what I had to do. She kind of annoyed me with all her pestering but I had to entertain her somehow. I just nodded at her and said, “For my child here.” I patted Rose’s leaves.

“Ohh… you must be a good father. Can’t say I see that in most men I’d met.”

I looked at her from the corner of my eyes and just shook my head silently. Could she stop trying to flirt with me? I was not interested and besides, I had lousy relationships with women before. Sonia sat next to me, her hip touched mine much to Kast and Brom’s displeasure.

However, I just went on with my task and continued to identify the many piles of dirt Elly and Rose had gathered for me. Once I found Blood Wrym Soil, I then needed to purify it to 100%. So far, I just had 3 100% Blood Wyrm Soil after spending nearly an hour to do so.

It wasn’t long before the next group of Saha’agins respawn for the umpteenth time. During the day, it was the Saha’agins Sentry and Warrior. Both were around level 70s. The night time was way tougher. Saha’agin’s Shaman, Warlock and also the dreaded Saha’agin Chief appeared. All of them were above level 80 with the Saha’agin Chief being the highest, ranging from level 97 onwards.

“Come lads. We have another round of farming now.” Like me, the rest of them preferred to fight at night. With my EXP buff, we could earn more EXPs during the night. A good situation to be in, provided that one came prepared.

“Whirlwind Axe!” Brom exploded into his attack skills immediately. All the Saha’agins that were trapped in his attack were slashed, smashed or sliced in various ways.

Kast followed soon. “Murderous Intention!” A red flaming aura engulfed him as he buffed his damage further as he struck the nearest Saha’agin Shaman with his fist. And to top it off, Sonia released her deadly magic from where I stood.

“Cosmic Strike!”

A hail of light descended from the sky and hit all the Saha’agins that were coming at us. Looking at the spectacle, I wondered what could my party ever do. Well, I did get the feeling that they were just showing off. Just as a reminder to us that we were not supposed to mess with them.

I gave out a bittersweet smile as Sonia finished off the whole group that spawn on the platform. The Saha’agin Shaman and Warlock worked well together but their HP and physical defence rating were too low to stand against Brom and Kast’s onslaught. As Sonia slowed their casting time down, the other two had all the time in the world to unleashed their pent-up frustrations. I could bet my fingers that they were not too happy that their Big Sis, Sonia was flirting with me earlier. Only the Saha’agin Chief posed some threats. And that was when my party could finally make the much-needed appearance.

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