Selling the Tempered Leather Chestplate was worth consideration. If he could earn more coins from selling the Artifact than he’d used on purchasing the armor and applying the Enchantment with his Ego, Percy could create an infinite amount of money.
Other than the massive haul of money he could earn, Percy would have an easy time increasing his Tier since he would have to use his Ego to apply the runic enchantments.
Using his Ego to enchant the Tempered Leather Chestplate, reinforce its mana conductivity, and enhance the material pushed Percy closer to the next rank.
I’m probably halfway to the next rank…or maybe a little bit further away from that rank. Amassing enough Prosperity and enchanting the forearm guards should be enough.
Percy nodded slowly, grinning like a little fool. A plan formed in his head as he put on his new armor. No matter how tired he was, Percy couldn’t help himself anymore. He had to test his new armor a little bit.
It was unknown how much time had passed, but the youth fell asleep late into the night, hugging his Artifact tightly.
**
The next morning, Percy jumped up from his bed. He was overflowing with vigor and smiled vibrantly when he saw his new equipment. The [Reinforce] enchantment was still engraved into the Tempered Leather Chestplate.
“I didn’t dream. Good.”
He didn’t waste any time and changed into his new clothes. His old boots were hurled into the corner after he wore his new pair on top of his hemp clothes. The smile never left his face as he fastened his forearm guards and the chestplate. If anything, more excitement filled him.
It didn’t take long before Percy emerged in the hallway. He ate a hearty – but hurried – breakfast at the inn and rushed to the Guildhall, where he encountered Olivia, Tom, and some other familiar faces. The dark bags beneath their eyes showed clearly how little they slept.
“Good morning,” Percy greeted with a smile, to which Tom responded in a whispering grumble, “How in the seven hells can you be so energetic? How much did you sleep?”
Percy shrugged dismissively. He didn’t sleep much either, but his entire being overflowed with energy and excitement. He had been testing [Reinforce] a few times and realized how valuable a simple runic enchantment can be. His joy of being able to engrave enchantment onto ordinary armaments intensified after that. Percy ended up spending more time experimenting with his Artifact. He infused more mana into the chestplate, which worked better than expected. The chestplate had a mana network, which could be used to infuse and strengthen the armor temporarily. This network, by the way, was something Percy had to access to activate Reinforce.
It wasn’t easy to study the mana network, but after spreading his mana through the chestplate multiple times, Percy had a rough understanding of the Artifact’s interior. He understood how much mana the armor drained for simple tasks and the amount required to activate [Reinforce].
It was important to note that activating and maintaining a runic enchantment were different functions. The initial trigger to activate the runic enchantment was usually the most expensive. That was also the case with [Reinforce]. It drained almost half of Percy’s mana reserves and forced him to provide it with mana at all times. Splitting his mind to supply the enchantment with mana while fighting was difficult. Therefore, Percy decided to test how straining it would be to maintain [Reinforce] at his current proficiency level or if it was enough to trigger activate [Reinforce] when he was in a dire situation. Maybe it was enough to activate his enchantment before he would be torn into shreds.
The way doesn’t matter. As long as I survive, everything will be fine!
“It was about time to upgrade your equipment.” Olivia smiled, suppressing a yawn. She stayed awake all night because she thought about the Archyeas whenever she was about to fall asleep. The Lesser Demon appeared before her, ripping the young woman into shreds. Only when she was lying in a puddle of blood – her blood – did she wake up from the nightmare.
“I don’t think we should consider linen clothes ‘equipment,” Percy chuckled lightly, “I got the equipment from Erdwin. It’s perfect!”
Erdwin was the only merchant with high-quality artifacts in his shop. Mentioning the merchant was enough to silence all unspoken questions. All that was left were curious gazes, but Percy ignored them. He inquired about today’s news of the rabbit plague and the Lesser Demon.
“We haven’t heard anything about the Archyeas, but Guildmaster Lexter is already out of town to hunt the Lesser Demon. You don’t have to worry about that. On the other hand, the Berserk Rabbit plague will be solved by today. The Guild-issued rewards will cease by the end of the day. I recommend you use today to the fullest to earn a quick buck.”
Olivia winked at Percy teasingly, who nodded slowly before turning to the wall of missions with a thoughtful expression.
I will probably not find any Berserk Rabbits on the outskirts of the forest if the rabbit plague is taken care of today, If I want to hunt Berserk Rabbits today, I’d have to enter the deeper parts of the forest. That…should be fine now. My Tier is decent, I trained a lot, and I have an Artifact. Even without enchantments, the Tempered Leather Chestplate would have protected me well from most Common Monsters. Reinforced and with runic enchantment, not even Gnolls will be able to harm me…probably. But then again…maybe I should avoid large groups of Gnolls until I’m a little stronger.
Percy’s eyes landed on a few missions, and his eyes lit up. He retrieved the missions from the wall of missions and walked back to Olivia. She raised an eyebrow but registered the missions nonetheless.
“Collecting herbs might not be as profitable as hunting monsters, but that doesn’t mean it will be easy. Be careful and pay attention to your surroundings at all times. The forest is dangerous!”
“Don’t worry, I will be fine,” Percy responded, leaving the Guildhall once the missions were registered.
Finally, Percy could collect some herbs and other plants for Leonhard!
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**
Entering the forest near Raewood’s gate was a simple matter. Many Adventurers had entered the forest through the same paths even earlier than Percy, clearing the outskirts from potential enemies. The aftermath of some battles was still visible – mostly blood and body parts of Berserk Rabbits – but Percy ignored most of them.
Instead of letting the bloody details around him distract Percy, he focused on channeling mana through his nose, eyes, and ears in a smooth cycle, enhancing his senses partially.
Since Percy couldn’t enhance each sense individually while staying focused on the surroundings, he had to create a small mana cycle. It was far from perfect and required some refinement once he learned how to control mana better, but it would do its designated task satisfactorily.
There won’t be many monsters other than Berserk Rabbits near Raewood for another day or two. A Gnoll might be powerful, but hundreds of Berserk Rabbits are more than enough to kill one of them.
Most monsters would stay away from the Berserk Rabbit dens until the plague had been taken care of. Only monsters like Gnolls, which Berserk Rabbits tended to avoid under normal circumstances, or the Archyeas would stay in the region. Percy shuddered, recalling the Archyeas’ appearance, and sent a silent prayer, hoping his first encounter with the Lesser Demon yesterday would be the last time he would see it.
The Guildmaster will hunt the Demon, and everything will return to normal!
Reassured by his train of thought, Percy skulked deeper into the forest.
Hours of searching for herbs and hunting Berserk Rabbits passed, and it was already noon when his stomach complained to him. He ate enough before leaving the town, but his stomach had developed into an endless pit after gaining access to mana. Percy was fortunate enough to carry a care packet from the baker.
Leonhard had been a little harsh with Percy for a while, especially after hearing about his dilemma with the injured Gnoll, but the baker realized how stubborn his young friend was when he got up to train merely a few days after escaping certain death. Understanding how stubborn Percy was didn’t mean Leonhard approved of his behavior. But even his approval didn’t matter too much. It wasn’t Leonhard’s business to judge Percy for his behavior or force him to do something – or not to do something. It was Percy’s life, and he was old enough to decide what he wanted to do.
Thus, after a few difficult days, baker Leonhard returned to behaving normally around Percy. Percy had been overjoyed and purchased a basket of highly nutritious snacks. They were small and filling, perfect to eat in a forest full of dangerous monsters. Percy nibbled on the snacks while checking his bags.
[Crescent Ruby Grass – Low Quality – 0 Prosperity]
[Crescent Ruby Grass – Average Quality – 2 Prosperity]
[Crescent Ruby Grass – Trash Quality – 0 Prosperity]
Until now, Percy had only found some Crescent Ruby Grass. Each grass blade was given an interface, which was not further surprising. The blades were thicker than his thumb and between ten to twenty centimeters long. The longer blades were more valuable, but the determining factor of the Crescent Ruby Grass’ quality was its color. The more vibrant the ruby gleam, the higher its quality.
“I can give Leonhard the Average Quality grass and complete the missions with the inferior Crescent Ruby Grass.”
There were probably more than 50 Crescent Ruby Grass blades in his bag. According to his Ego, they weren’t particularly valuable, but the quantity really mattered here. A single patch of Crescent Ruby Grass contained more than a hundred blades if you’re lucky enough to find a decent-sized one.
Percy wasn’t that lucky. He found two tiny patches through sheer luck. The books revolving around the dangers and treasures born in the wilderness greatly helped Percy. They showed him how to pluck the Crescent Ruby Grass and what to look out for. It was owed to the books and his high theoretical understanding that he found the small patches of Crescent Ruby Grass.
Applying his knowledge in practice was different than expected, but Percy was satisfied. He knew what the grass blades felt like and how they smelled and sensed the subtle changes in the environment around the grass patches. It wasn’t much, but now he knew that the mana near the Crescent Ruby Grass patches was not only slightly denser but that their properties were different as well.
The properties weren’t distinct in the air, however, upon absorbing some of it, Percy felt his used-up mana replenish faster.
On his hunt for Crescent Ruby Grass and other herbs, Percy encountered several groups of Berserk Rabbits. He considered returning to Raewood to sell their carcasses, but it was a hassle to run back and forth. Percy was unwilling to waste his time for a few copper coins. However, storing them in his bags for half a day would deteriorate the carcass’ quality. It would rot quickly in this weather. That was how Percy used [Consume] on the slain Berserk Rabbits.
His heart was in pain, but it was soothing to know that he didn’t waste a single carcass. They transformed into Prosperity and pushed him closer to the next rank.
『Percy 』
[Ego – Coin of Prosperity]
[Tier] – [Mortal-5]
—
[Empty]
『Coin of Prosperity』
Prosperity: 435
➛Consume
Percy had a few plans with his Prosperity, but upgrading his Tier didn’t belong to them. He’d much rather invest his Prosperity into his armaments to create Artifacts, while his Ego would accumulate enough energy to increase his rank nonetheless.
It would be weird to disappear into the forest with ordinary forearm guards and return with one or two enchanted forearm guards…right?
He chuckled lightly, thinking about his next move, when his senses picked up an anomaly. Multiple anomalies, to be precise.
So much mana!
There was at least twice or thrice as much mana around him than normally. The slight increase in mana density around the Crescent Ruby Grass wasn’t this intense. That could have multiple reasons, but Percy’s mind pushed to a particular reason.
Natural treasures! There has to be something more valuable than the Crescent Ruby Grass nearby!
Percy was ready to push through the thicket when he heard a pained yelp. He froze in his tracks and held his breath subconsciously.
The Archyeas?! No. There is no giggling.
There was only one sound. It was somewhat familiar but not imprinted into his mind like the Lesser Demon’s giggling. The yelping returned, but it was even quieter than before. Percy took a deep breath of air and slid stealthily around the taller bushes to find a small gap between two small thorn bushes.
His eyes narrowed to tiny slits as he infused mana into them, revealing a chaotic scene behind the bushes.
A batch of flowers with ocean-blue petals attracted his attention, but the Gnoll writhing on the ground before a single plucked flower was certainly more interesting.
The Gnoll was dying, and the culprit was a…flower…
**
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