CH 8

Episode 8 – Collection and Appraisal

While supporting the two at the vanguard from the rear, we walked for several hours until we reached an open clearing on the mountainside. Because the mountain path so far was steep and unpaved, my feet were killing me.

“Alright! We made it! You said you wanted to go halfway up the mountain earlier, but is here alright?” (Ahmed)

“Yep, let’s stop here for the time being. Thanks for the escort so far!” (Lewin)

I voiced my thanks to Smash and Dion, who were battered and exhausted from the continuous series of fights we faced as we climbed the mountain, and to Ahmed who seemed to be totally fine.

“So… should we wait here?” (Ahmed)

“That’d be good. I’m thinking about looking around the area, so if a monster shows up I’d like you guys to take care of it.” (Lewin)

“Got it. If any monsters appear, have these two deal with it. I’ll be taking a nap for now. Don’t wake me up unless shit hits the fan and a strong one shows up, alright?” (Ahmed)

When Ahmed said that, she proceeded to sprawl out in the middle of the open field and immediately fell asleep.

Seeing this, the three of them reflexively gave a wry smile.

“…Anyway… Lewin-kun, just call for us if a monster shows up. We’ll be able to notice quickly if there’s a monster about, since the visibility in this plateau is pretty good.” (Smash)

“Got it. I’ll be relying on you if that time comes. Here are some medicinal herbs. If you want, you can apply it to your head.” (Lewin)

“Oooh, thanks for this! I’ll use it with care.” (Smash)

“Don’t worry about it. It’s a thank you for the escort so far. Then, I’ll be off!” (Lewin)

Just like that, I handed over the medicinal herbs to Smash and then went off on my own to start collecting medicinal herbs. Most of the plants that I had appraised in my time at the Healer’s Guild were already in a harvested state, so it had been a really long time since I’d appraised any plants that were still alive and growing. Although I wasn’t really used to it, I immediately started to appraise the plants growing in the area.

Appraising things was simple. If the plant had been identified before, all I needed to do was hold my hand over it. And if I had never appraised it before, all I needed to do was ingest it to gain information about it. For some reason, for the first time I ingest any plant, it doesn’t have any effect whatsoever and only the appraisal occurs. Therefore, even if it was some kind of dangerous, highly poisonous plant, it could be safely identified. However, if I’d already appraised it before and hadn’t properly checked before I ate it, the effects would hit me in full force.

As I was surveying the area for any medicinal herbs, I spotted one, so I approached it and held my hand over it.

[Name: Medical Herb]

[Level: 21]

[Effect: Healing (Low)]

[Fertility: Medium]

[Origin: Mount Cornello]

Whenever I performed an appraisal, the relevant information would appear in my head at once. Upon appraisal, if the plant grew in a place that I recognized, the name that I’d be familiar with would appear next to the [Origin] category. If I didn’t know the name of the place, then it would show “???”, and then I’d somehow acquire a basic understanding of the approximate location that it grew in.

I still didn’t entirely understand what the concept of level was all about, and I didn’t have any clue about how plants raised their level. But what was certain was that the higher the level, the greater the effect of the plant. Also, the levels of wild plants were almost always higher than the levels of cultivated plants.

Anyway, that’s enough with the information on appraisals for now. Time to start collecting the herbs in the area.

★　　　　★　　　　★

Phew. I think it’s been about two hours since I started collecting herbs.

The appraisal and collection of the Medical Herbs and Magical Grasses in the area had been completed. I had found 57 Medical Herbs and 13 Magical Grasses so far, and, if I were to have calculated the monetary value of the plants I picked in the last two hours, it would be equivalent to about 4 silver coins and 5 copper coins. I started to feel like this could somehow end up working out.

To be honest, there were far more plants than I imagined there would be, and I’d already collected this much Medical Herb and Magical Grass. Of course, there were all kinds of useless weeds growing all over the place, but, with the ability to appraise each plant quickly, I was able to instantly distinguish the valuable plants from the rest of the riffraff.

Aside from Medical Herb and Magical Grass, I also found some plants that I had never appraised before. Well, let’s appraise them now and see what they are.

I immediately went over to one of the places I marked out earlier where there was an unidentified plant, and, after collecting it, I tossed a piece of it into my mouth. Although there would be no effects, the point was to try to swallow it all at once without chewing.

[Name: Bomb Grass]

[Level: 17]

[Effect: Explosion (Low)]

[Fertility: Low]

[Origin] Mount Cornello

Whoa! This is Bomb Grass? Since it was a kind of plant that wouldn’t have a use in the Healer’s Guild, I’d never appraised it before. Still, I had heard rumors that this plant had uses for certain combat items. The fact that it at least had a use meant that it could probably be sold for profit. After collecting the two other Bomb Grasses near the one I initially appraised, I moved onto the next plant appraisal.