"Ethervine, ethervine, ethervine…" Kenki mutters to himself as eyes scan the surroundings. The forest floor is dark and clear of any grass, only tiny bits of light reaching through the dense carpet of leaves above.
Almost the perfect conditions for a cart to move through. He briefly thinks before putting the matter to the back of his mind.
Ethervine
That is the reincarnator's reason to once more cross the lands of the emerald forest. An alchemical ingredient of great importance.
It is one of the main ingredients for probably the single most important alchemical compound to exist.
Ether –the core ingredient for potions and pills both lowly and high.
'I still don't really get how it works but Naoe said that she'd teach me how to make it.' The boy recalls the conversation he'd had with the girl not even an hour ago. She explained to him the nature of the plant, where it is most common to find, its appearance and properties.
According to Naoe one only needs a pot, a knife, a lot of patience and an affinity to fire and wood Qi to create ether. And the ingredients of course, of which ethervine is the most crucial one.
There are substitutes to the material, similar to how one can obtain sugar from beets instead of sugarcane, but ethervine remains as the best and easiest to procure ingredient.
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"Every outer sect alchemist has a daily production quota of Ether that must be fulfilled. For a newbie like myself it's an amount barely enough to fill this." she'd told him while holding out the cup filled with tea. "But someone like my mentor must produce about five times the amount. I have no clue how much someone in the adept or foundation realm is required to make."
"However." She'd said, holding her finger up, smiling all the while "We get compensated for every single drop provided. Just enough to make a small profit when the price of the ingredients is accounted for. And it's not like anyone is stopping us from producing even more than the mandated amount."
"So you're asking for me to find this ethervine, and in return I get half the coin you get paid for the Ether." Kenki had questioned her.
"Not only that. After you learn how to make Ether I'll also sell whatever you produce and give you eight out of every ten coins in return. There are ingredients other than the ethervine itself that I must buy for the recipe after all." At that point Naoe had approached one of her bags, pulling something out of it
"Here, search for this" she'd said while presenting an oddly colored piece of wood…
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"...An easy to make but time-consuming substance that is also necessary for higher tiered potions?" Ken sighs as he looks at the yellowish-red ethervine in his hand.
'Improbable but possible' the object is returned to the large but empty backpack the boy is lugging around on his shoulders.
'I must say' He chuckles 'My fantasy of what a 'vine' is has been utterly destroyed. I expected something from Tarzan –flexible green stuff that allows you to swing from tree to tree. This is more similar to grapevine, it’s hard and woody.'
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So… Kenki searches. Intent suppressed and eyes wide open. The ethervine can be found crawling on a species of trees native to the forest. It is a parasite that burrows into the bark of the tree –sucking out the precious nutrients found inside to feed itself. Any tree that is afflicted will appear to have a thick set of woody 'veins' wrapping around its trunk. Almost like a net.
Kenki is certain that he saw at least one of the aforementioned trees the previous day, during the examination, it had almost escaped his mind.
However, not too intent on venturing deeper without a companion that will dig him out of unfortunate circumstances, even with the life-saving talisman clipped on his hair, he stays close to the edge of the forest where the Qi is thinnest. Not to mention that he's got a different job in mind also.
Surprisingly though, it isn't too long until the reincarnator finds what he's looking for.
One of the infested trees stands in front of him barely half an hour into his search. Although, with a small problem attached to it.
'...Five, six, seven beasts.' The boy does a quick count as he analyzes the situation 'There is no dragon vein here and this far out the beasts should not be very powerful. Fifth realm, the fourth at most.'
It had been the young cultivator's expectations that he wouldn't find any of the vine this far out, the precious resource having already been harvested by other disciples. What he'd been doing was scouting the area for a good entrance point into the forest, one where the cart would not have much trouble being dragged through.
If he got lucky in finding one of the trees? Well, he wouldn't complain.
'Although, it's not very difficult to figure out why this tree may have been left out' The boy smiles.
A pack of spiritual beasts he's very familiar with is loitering around the base of the tree. Horned hares, the creatures that had been his examiner the previous day.
'Even if they're weak there's still a lot of them. From what I've seen most of the disciples in the sect prefer close quarters combat. Even if all these guys are in the fifth realm they'd still pose a danger as a group. Someone like me on the other hand has no such limitations.'
Making sure that he is unnoticed, Kenki scales one of the nearby trees, a big smile is present on his face. Up in the branches the beasts would not be able to reach him.
The boy conjures two arrows in between his fingers. The projectiles are filled with as much explosive power as he can manage.
'I should really think about utilizing the earth element in order to add some shrapnel to these.' The boy idly thinks as he nocks an arrow and takes aim. 'Or better yet, the element of metal.'
The string is released, a projectile is shot, the first one swiftly followed by the second. Two orange trails form in the air at the passing of the arrows.
*Bang* *Bang*
Naturally, the arrows explode when they find their mark. Such are the results of mixing fire and light. Two out of the seven targets are instantly killed.
Before the beasts even have the time to be shocked at the sudden attack a third arrow flies in. And then fourth, and then a fifth. It is only then that the two surviving hares notice where they're being targeted from.
But it is too late by that point. They're picked off before they even make it to the base of the tree.
'Damn' Ken lays the bow down 'I'm good! My ears feel like they’re two radiators cranked to max heat though.' He winces. Blood floods the surface of the boy's skin –a natural reaction to overheating.
Nevertheless, he drops down. It is an easy action to perform, even when the height equates to the second floor of a building.
An idle hand takes Naoe's sample of ethervine out of the backpack.
"This is it alright" Kenki remarks as he places it up against the tree for comparison. It is a perfect match.
"This dagger's about to see its first real use since I bought it. Its only role until now has been that of a kitchen knife." A small chuckle escapes his lips as he gets to work.
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And so the reincarnator hacks and slashes away at his prize. The ethervine is as soft as woody materials go, it compresses under Ken’s grip as he works. The task would have been easily achievable even if he weren’t a cultivator.
Steadily the sack fills up. Kenki takes extra care to stack the vine in an orderly manner, cutting the material at the exact length that he needs it to be to properly fit inside the backpack. Ten, twenty, thirty percent… the number steadily increases until the container is bursting at the seams.
"Hmm…" The boy judges how much of the valuable alchemical ingredient is still left on the tree.
'I might need to make three or four return trips to gather all of it' He thinks to himself 'One trip if I buy two more of these backpacks and carry them with my arms' Some time is spent contemplating on what to do next.
'Or I can just leave this tree here, see if the vines that I've harvested can regrow. But there's always a chance that a disciple can come and nab it' Inspiration strikes him. Perhaps channeling the wood element to the vine could help it flourish?
'Too bad that I don't even know what wood Qi feels like.' A wry smile forms on the young cultivator's features, fire and light are all he knows as of this exact moment.
The rustling of silk and leather is heard as Kenki hauls the backpack over his shoulders. In the end he decides that research is more important than resources, he'll come check on the tree tomorrow.
Marks are made on the trees Ken passes as he heads out –a trail by which he can find his way back.
Time to head home.