CHAPTER 140 - STAG-ERINGLY AWESOME DEER-STINED QUEST
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Since I had been away for so long, I was sure to get a larger amount of exp than normal from the [Mushroom Cave] and [Mini Hydroponic Farm]
I let Cutie bounce around wherever she wanted while I collected the crops and mushrooms. I couldn’t help but exclaim over and over, “Oh, yes! Twenty!” every time I got exp. I was only halfway done when the System’s colorful confetti exploded around me.
[Congratulations, you just advanced a Farming level!]
[Your Farming level is now 21.]
“Yes!” I did a little jumping dance before harvesting the rest of the crops. The [Naughty Mushrooms] I collected reminded me that I had a quest I should finish before the spring harvest.
[Naughty Mushroom:
When dried and ground into a powder, this can be mixed into hot water and drunk to increase men’s stamina during XXX. Slightly increases fertility.]
I checked the [Quest] tab and saw that I had all the required items except for [Black Soil].
[Curing Infertility Part 2:
Plant the Crimson Pearl Peony seed.
Requirements: Black Soil, Spirit Water, and Mysterious Goo.
Reward: Farming Exp]
I was creating [Black Soil] on my farm, but that would take several seasons. Since I only needed a very small amount of soil for the quest, just enough to fill a plant pot, it should be fine to take some from an existing source.
The most convenient place I could think of was the Dancing Deer Summit. I’d encountered the Deer clan before when I alerted them to the presence of [Lunar Goats] near their village. They would probably be inclined to return the favor.
Once I finished harvesting the mushrooms, I returned to my house and dashed off a quick letter to the clan asking for permission to visit their territory to get some soil. I gave the letter to Fengying who would give it to Shuye’s messenger who would then pass it on to the Deer clan.
***
Three days later, I was pleasantly surprised to see that I wouldn’t need to make a trip to the mountain after all. The clan had sent me the item I needed.
“So this is [Black Soil].” Mo moved the open paper bag closer to her face and sniffed it. “It smells the same as regular soil.”
Lari poked the contents of the bag. “It really is black.”
“Teacher, I’ll pour it into the pot.” Kharli waited for my nod before filling a plant pot with the soil.
Next, it was my turn. “I’ll add the [Mysterious Goo].”
The others watched as I covered the top of the soil with the glowing goo. It was quickly absorbed.
Mo beamed when I handed her the seed. “I get to plant it!”
[Crimson Pearl Peony Seed:
A legendary seed that has been passed on for generations since time immemorial. The long-extinct Crimson Pearl Peony was said to be the main ingredient of the Paramount Serendipitous Celestial Pill, the ultimate fertility drug.]
All Mo had to do was to use a finger to make a hole up to the first knuckle and then place the seed in it.
Lastly, I gave Lari a glass of soda water from the Mines.
The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.
He held the glass up to the light and admired the liquid. “This bubbly water is [Spirit Water]? It looks very mystical.”
After he watered the seed, I got the expected System message.
[Curing Infertility Part 2: Quest Complete
Reward: Farming Exp]
To my surprise, I got quite a lot of exp, almost enough to push me over to level 22. I also got another quest.
[Forming the Paramount Serendipitous Celestial Pill:
Visit the Venerable Immortal Sage. Learn the secret of alchemy and form your first elixir.
Requirements: Crimson Pearl Peony seed, Harmony Whisper Moss, Revitalizing Essence Fern, Twilight Green Orchid, and Blooming Milkthistle.
Reward: Herblaw Exp and access to the Alchemy sub skill]
Of course, I immediately clicked on the [Accept Quest] button.
Now we’re talking! Herblaw was the art of making potions, but it had an Alchemy sub-skill. Players could use an alchemy cauldron to create immortal elixirs and upgrade items. As to why there were two such similar skills, it was because Adventure Incarnate was originally a social farming simulation game where Herblaw was a part of farming. When the game was sold to a Chinese video game company that had an RPG that they were developing, they decided to merge the two games together to take advantage of the existing player base. That’s why the in-game world was an interesting mix of fantasy medieval-Europe-meets-magitech-Asia.
In short, the devs had simply grafted Alchemy into the Herblaw skill. It worked quite nicely. Potions and pills were very similar, and many complained about the two skills being redundant, but I had always been of the opinion that when it came to money-making stuff, more items were always better.
The Alchemy cauldrons could also be used to enchant items, which was their main use.
I was jolted out of my reverie when Lari cleared his throat.
He lifted the plant pot and said, “Teacher, shouldn’t we put this under the sun?”
“Ah! Yes, we should.” I led them outside to the courtyard, and we debated where to place it.
“We can't put it there, someone will trip over it,” said Kharli when Mo wanted to put it in the center.
“Hang it from this central pillar?” Lari pointed at the spot he liked.
“Not enough sun,” said Mo.
“How about the roof?” asked Lari.
“That would be too hard to water,” said Mo.
In the end, we placed it in the sunniest corner of a plant stand along with some other pots.
“I hope a beautiful fairy girl appears when this flower blossoms,” said Mo.
“Me, too,” said Lari.
“I hope it's a male fairy,” said Kharli.
“That’s just a fairy tale. Don’t get too excited, everyone. These immortal plants normally take a very long time to grow,” I said. “It might flower by autumn.”
But I was wrong. Not even an hour later, my apprentices ran up to me as I was playing with Cutie at her [Slime House].
“Teacher, look!” In her excitement, Mo thrust the pot right up to my face. “It sprouted.’
“What? That was fast.” I was confused.
Mo lifted the pot high in the air and twirled it around like it was a child. “This must be the flower from the fairy tale. Teacher, can I please watch it? I want to see the fairy!”
Kharli tried to take the pot from her, but Mo refused to let go.
“Let me have a turn with it. I wanna be the first one the fairy sees when it’s born,” said Kharli.
I shook my head at their antics. “Put the plant back in the stand and stop fighting over it. You may both watch. Where’s Lari?”
“He’s at the tea field,” said Kharli.
The tea field, with its canopy that blocked out most of the sunlight, had quickly become our favorite outdoor resting and picnic spot.
I was sure that Lari would also like to watch the peony grow. “Don’t leave him out of this.”
“Yes, Teacher,” the two of them chorused.
It was only midmorning and I had some more chores to do. The sky overhead was a dull grayish blue with lots of dark clouds. I hoped the reinforced tea canopy was strong enough to withstand the upcoming storm. I went all around the farm placing lightning rods and put Cutie back in her house before going to check on the [Crimson Pearl Peony].
Lari, Kharli, and Mo were watching the post very closely when I arrived at the courtyard. They all jumped up and screamed, “It’s gonna bloom! It’s gonna bloom!”
“Let me see.” I went to the plant stand and saw that, amazingly, the peony was already three inches tall. “This is incredible. It’s only been like 2 hours.”
We all watched over the plant’s amazingly fast growth. By the third hour, it was six inches tall. By the fifth hour, it was a foot tall. By the sixth hour, it began to bud. Eight hours later, the bud blossomed into a flower with large, deep red petals with a pearly luster. Ten hours later, the flower began to wilt. Twelve hours later, the flower died and I gathered twelve seeds from the seedpods. At midnight the plant withered to ashes.
“No fairy?” Mo was extremely disappointed.
“No fairy.” I patted her on the head. “Do you want to plant another seed?”
“Yes!” Mo cheered up, probably because she wanted more exp.
“I wish we had more [Black Soil] so we could plant more seeds,” said Kharli.
“Maybe Teacher can ask the Deer clan for more?” Lari suggested.
“Nah, this is fine.” I didn’t want to look greedy by asking for more.
Lari spread the goo while Mo planted the seed and Kharli watered it.
“Let’s leave it here and go to bed. With luck it will have grown a lot by the time we wake up,” I said.
Before going to bed, I wrote a letter to Lady Hoshi informing her that I had successfully grown the Crimson Pearl Peony and another letter to Shuye asking for an escort to Cloud Terrace Peak where the Venerable Immortal Sage lives.