The players began to fall into an unofficial routine. The first six hours of their gaming session were devoted to completing the academy’s tasks and missions. After that, they took a one-hour lunch break and indulged in some free time. Following the break, they dedicated yet another two hours to continue their assigned tasks and missions. Only at the end of these three cycles did they return to the Headmaster's Building for their two-day compulsory class — a schedule that lasted only two days, naturally.
Victor made no attempt to enforce stringent work hours on the players; even if they worked for only half the designated time, he would gladly let them. After all, all their efforts were ultimately beneficial, and players, by nature, were not the type to slack off in their games. Usually, at least.
With the new batch of players having received the usual introductory speech and their elemental affinities and mana aptitudes tested, Victor wasted no time and set forth to the village. His first stop was the blacksmith’s workshop, where he had agreed to meet Eleanor and provide the materials he promised her, which consisted of components salvaged from the Thornback Boar, including its thorns and bones.
When the girl met him at the rendezvous location, dressed in her unique attire, Victor declared, “Here are the materials I promised,” and conjured the items near him with a simple gesture.
Almost instantaneously, Eleanor’s eyes widened in awe. “Wow! This is awesome! Are these… from a Thornback Boar?! Hehehe!” She made an eerie laugh while pressing her cheek against one of the thorns the size of a pineapple. “I’ve never been this close to one before. Even the mighty knights and skilled hunters with extraordinary power steer clear of facing this creature.”
While Magi were revered for their power, they weren’t the only extraordinary beings that people sought after. Among the myriad mysteries and potentials that adorned the tapestry of existence, Magi were but one facet. Another prevalent class of exceptional individuals was known as “Ki-warriors” — martial artists who practiced breathing techniques in lieu of meditation techniques.
It was common for villages as large as Thornwood Village to have one or two Ki-Warriors, although their combat potential was lower than even acolytes of the same rank. Even so, they consumed fewer resources, and the requirements weren’t as stringent as walking the Magus path.
“Ahem. I’m entrusting you to craft weapons and tools according to our agreement. As for the quantity… I will leave it in your capable hands. Just make the most of these materials.”
“Of course, Sir Astralium! I guarantee you won’t be disappointed with the final products,” Eleanor declared with an impish grin.
“That better be the case,” Victor asserted with a firm tone. “Don’t disappoint me.”
With everything settled, Victor returned to the academy. His interspatial ring now held another cubic meter of seeds, this time consisting of potatoes. On his way back, the Master Shadowlink Mark on his left wrist lit up and projected a holographic screen in front of him. The visage of Lizbeth appeared within the frame.
“What’s the matter, Liz? You called?” Victor questioned.
“Master! The foraging group discovered some peculiar magical plants to the academy’s north.”
“Really?!” Excited, Victor leaned closer to the screen, attempting to grasp the immaterial projection but was obviously unable to do so. “Magical plants?!”
“Yup-yup! As for the type… I’m not sure, but it has a striking resemblance to ‘Thornwood Flowers.’ They’re just slightly beyond the academy’s barriers, though, so I can’t show you an image. Anywho, just get here as quickly as you can. Adieu!” She then terminated the call.
Huh? It hasn’t even been more than a few hours, and the foraging group has managed to find the last natural resource that I, a third-stage Initiate Attunement acolyte, had spent several days seeking? While he hadn’t focused solely on this search, the timing was almost too good to be true.
Either way, no notification had come in confirming the completion of the mission, which meant he had to verify it personally. After all, it was also possible that this wasn’t the exact resource the mission called for. Nonetheless, with a surge of determination, it was enough to make Victor cast {Zephyr Dash} to hasten his journey.
***
[Mission Accomplished!]
[Congratulations on passing the mission. You have discovered three exploitable natural resources around the academy.]
[The reward (150 academy points) has been issued.]
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Accompanied by the notification was the sight of a thorny flower field stretching almost endlessly. Amidst the dense and creeping stems, adorned with delicate, straight thorns, small pink flowers blossomed. These pale blossoms emitted a faint, soothing glow and exuded a subtle, enchanting fragrance that resonated with the forest’s mystical aura.
“Thornwood Flowers… and a lot of them!” Victor almost broke out into a hysterical laugh, but he managed to hold himself back; he still had an image to maintain.
Still, these flowers were highly coveted magical plants native to the Thornwood Forest. Their petals possessed unique properties essential for various magic rituals and potion concoctions — even elixirs that could enhance one’s mana aptitude!
Moreover, when crushed and mixed with other ingredients, they could also boost spell potency or imbue potions with enhanced magic properties. Due to their affinity with the forest’s energy, Thornwood Flowers were particularly useful in nature-based enchantments and spells.
However, harvesting these flowers was a challenging endeavor. They thrived deep within the heart of the Thornwood Forest, which was teeming with magical creatures and mystic phenomena. Harvesting them also required specialized techniques and care. Nevertheless, The oversight of missing such an extensive Thornwood Flower field close to the academy was a miscalculation on Victor’s part.
“The discovery itself is what truly matters,” Victor mused to himself. He had avoided this part of the forest due to its inherent dangers, but the potential benefits were now undeniable.
Victor turned his attention to the player standing behind him — Prominence — and said, “Provide me a detailed account of how you came across these magical plants.”
“Yes, Headmaster!” He began recounting the entire sequence of events. “Yesterday, when I was in the lumberjack group, I spotted some wild mushrooms…”
It turned out that after being appointed as the leader of the foraging group, Prominence set out to recruit members mainly from the former lumberjack group, as they were most familiar with the area around the previously cleared forest, then ventured northward from the academy. While foraging for wild mushrooms, berries, and vegetables, an intriguing sensation suddenly gripped them, guiding their path toward the newly discovered magical flower field.
“After about an hour or two of foraging, a strange sensation began to tingle at the back of our minds, as if something was beckoning us deeper into the woods…” This statement was what caught Victor’s attention the most, as Prominence’s expression grew distant as he recalled the moment.
“I see…”
A beckoning sensation, huh? That sounds familiar. Whatever the cause, a dangerous enchanted forest like the Thornwood Forest was known for harboring mysterious phenomena beyond explanation. Victor himself had encountered such occurrences before, and even as an acolyte he had not the slightest idea what caused these things.
“Hmm? Where did you acquire that stone spear?” Prominence wasn’t holding the iron tools from the village but instead an unfamiliar stone spear, and he also carried a sack in his hand.
“Oh, this?” His face lit up as he held up the stone spear. “One of the former members of the lumberjack group — ThunderLord999 — crafted it,” said Prominence amidst the difficulty of saying the player’s username. “He was the first to sense the strange feeling and advised us to not venture too deeply, suggesting that we retreat if any danger arose.”
“Sir.” ThunderLord999, or Thunder for short, stood proudly and offered a respectful salute to Victor. Obviously, Victor was rather familiar with him, but as an NPC, he had to play his part.
“Excellent work — both for your caution and commendable craftsmanship.” Victor gave him a nod. This player’s capabilities had exceeded his expectations, and now he had good justification to promote him as the leader of the construction group.
As pleased as Victor was with the discovery of the Thornwood Flowers, several issues had to be addressed. The difficulty of harvesting these magical plants aside, Victor had no way to sell them, and there was the absence of a suitable market for these precious magical plants. Transporting them to large cities could attract unwanted attention and might not yield the best profits.
Using them for alchemical products would likewise be impossible. Victor was no Alchemist; his knowledge pertaining to concocting potions and elixirs was absolutely nil. Even if the System sold alchemical recipes and knowledge to become one, the path to becoming a capable Alchemist required a huge amount of resources and ingredients, as it was extremely complex and complicated, and the slightest mistake would result in failure.
But…
There was a silver lining if he thought out of the box. The stems of these plants, notably, were good materials because they were not only sturdy but also durable and could be fashioned into tool grips. Meanwhile, the thorns were sharp and tough, not easily shattered, making them possible to serve as natural nails or even needles.
“Regardless, for you to find this place, be that through luck or chance, you shall be rewarded. For each member of the foraging group, I will reward you with fifty merit points,” Victor announced with a resolute tone. “But I want to make it clear that I discourage exploration beyond the academy’s barriers. If such a situation arises again, notify me immediately instead of venturing out on your own. Failure to comply with this will result in punishment.”
He would have rewarded them more merit points since discovering this was no small matter, but he didn’t want to incentivize the players to start going deeper into the forest on treasure hunts only to get themselves killed.
“Understood!” they chimed together. Despite the warning, they were more captivated by the word “reward” than anything else.
Victor then sent the promised merit points to the foraging group members via his Master Shadowlink Mark. Through this exchange, he tested the interface’s potential for concealment, discovering that it could indeed remain hidden from the players’ eyes. Additionally, he experimented with manipulating the interface through mental commands using infused mana and achieved some level of success.
With the merit points delivered, Victor proceeded to guide the players on how to harvest the Thornwood Flowers. He emphasized the importance of gathering only the sturdy stems and thorns while leaving the delicate blossoms untouched — those would require his personal attention. Furthermore, the merit points gained from foraging came from the total amount of vegetables they collected. As they worked, he observed that the group’s attention had been significantly drawn to the recent discovery, resulting in limited progress in gathering other resources.