The landscape of the lake was covered in different kinds of herbs and plants, each growing with various colors and looks. I was overwhelmed with the choices of plants I needed to harvest, seeing that all of them would provide a great benefit for me if used or consumed.

"Where should I get started, to be honest...."

I quickly stood up from the tree trunk I slept on, wiping off all the debris and leaves stuck to my clothes and doing a little warm-up before harvesting the plants near me.

*"This should be a great start!"* I thought while staring at a herb just directly beside my foot.

Before I could crouch down to start harvesting, in a quick moment the window popped up next to the plant, showing its description and effects.

"Lime herb... use to negate weak to mild poison of other plants."

*"Oh hey, I remember this; it's the one I used to remove the poison from Thorne!"*

I laughed and smiled at the sudden recall of the memory; it was the only thing that gave me the courage to continue with my journey here.

However, the wave of emotions passed quickly; the obvious reality that I was stranded in a dangerous forest forced me to concentrate on my current goal, which was to survive and complete the side quest.

"Alright. Let's just start with this one." I crouched down, leaning forward to reach the small lime herb.

Gently placing my hand on the middle part of the herb, before I could think of my next action, I had already uprooted the herb without any problem. The process of removing the herb from the ground felt smooth, like I had done it a million times.

*"That's one...."* I placed the herb inside the pouch I borrowed from Thorne, the window popping out to notify I had 1/10 herbs harvested, before taking a small breather. I was in disbelief that the uprooting process was smoother than I expected, but It was not a complete shock for me because I had already noticed I had a Harvest skill.

"This should be easier than I expected!"* I was suddenly hyped at the thought of what skill I could obtain from the side quest; I had already imagined that it was a powerful skill I could finally use outside of gardening.

I quickly searched my surroundings; my eyes were fixated on a patch of herbs just beside the one I uprooted, each with different colors and anatomy.

*"That's blue, red, and another lime."* I quickly reached out for the patch of herbs, uprooting it one by one gently to avoid any damage.

"Red herb... used as a component for healing items, can be used directly to heal a small injury."

I was in the zone of uprooting herbs; before I could read each description, I had already placed 7 herbs inside my pouch.

This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

"Blue herb... edible but may cause diarrhea... used to increase the efficiency of healing items..."

*"Maybe I should eat one. Just kidding...."* I stared at the herb, taking a small break before continuing to uproot everything near me.

As time passed by, I was enjoying myself as I uprooted different kinds of herbs, with each one having a different use, I was confident in myself that I could utilize every effect to its fullest potential.

// QUEST: A Small Start: Herbs Harvested, 9/10 //

*"That's it! The Final one and I can finally obtain the skill rune!"*

The accomplishment of harvesting herbs had gotten to me; my hands were filled with dirt and debris from the ground, and my body was already sweating like a pig before I could sit down and rest my body for a moment.

I opened my pouch to see what I had collected in what felt like half an hour of harvesting.

*"3 red... 4 lime... and finally 2 blue...*"

The herbs were carefully placed in the pouch to preserve their condition; any wrong pressure against it could reduce its effectiveness or, worse, completely negate its effects.

"So this is why there are no more botanists around. A single wrong move could completely ruin their job."

My body was gathering up fatigue faster than usual, my hand grip was starting to loosen up and my legs were wiggly from all the crouching.

I laid back down on the trunk I slept on, relaxing all of my muscles as I spread my arms and legs on the ground, taking a deep breath before closing my eyes.

My mind wandered around; the thoughts of existing in a world where you know nothing were clouding my brain. My body was starting to fall asleep as I lost the strength in my arms and legs, but the burst of motivation suddenly burned throughout my body, waking up all of my muscles and making my body stand up on its own.

"Maybe I should finish the quest before napping again!"* I clenched my fist; the sudden burst of emotion made my body active again.

"The last patch should be around here... somewhere," I muttered to myself, scanning the ground as I stretched and warmed up my arms.

"Here it is!" I exclaimed, spotting the vibrant herb.

As I crouched down, I noticed something strange; the patch seemed to be moving, almost as if it had a life of its own. “Maybe it’s just my imagination,” I thought, though a creeping doubt began to fill up inside my head.

I approached cautiously the last herb, reaching for its stem, Before I could uproot it, the ground was shaking tremendously, and dirt suddenly erupted from the ground, revealing a golem-like creature formed with stones, The herb I was trying to harvest was on its head.

As the creature rose, I flinched backward and crawled back with fear; my body was trembling in fear, I could not comprehend what was happening in front of me, but all I could see was a stone golem with its eyes glowing a yellow light.

*"What is this??? Why did that thing suddenly rise!!"*

My body was shaking in fear, But my survival instinct kicked in. I unsheathed my dagger; the weight of the dagger made my arm tired immediately but I could not care less. I took a defensive stance, ready to confront the golem before me.

"Let's do this, you big pile of rocks!" The blood rush I felt was different; my body was trembling, but all I could do was smile in front of something that could crush me within seconds.

The golem swung its massive right arm, and instinct kicked in. I dashed to the left, convinced it was my safest bet. But I was dead wrong.

The moment I sprinted to the left side of the golem's body, its right arm did a right swing, instantly destroying the tree I was sleeping on, My grin suddenly disappeared as its arm slammed into my side; all I could feel was the weight of a boulder on the side of my body.

The impact sent me tumbling down the trunk of a tree, the rough bark acting as a cushion for the impact, but the feeling did not go away; pain erupted throughout my body.

"ARGH!" I shouted in extreme pain. My left arm throbbed, blood coming out from a gash, but at least it wasn’t broken. The left side of my body felt numb; all I could do for now was breathe and think of what I could do.