《Growing Strong》 Ch.1 Planting Seeds The fire crackled in the fireplace, acting as both a source of heat and light for the family of seven huddled around it. Winter nights were both cold and long, and with no work in the fields to be done until spring, every unit of heat was guiltily appreciated. Sat around the fire clockwise were Grandma and Grandpa, hands wizened with age, and then Ma, Pops, eldest son Byren, middle child Irene, and finally the youngest, Ian. Grandpa¡¯s voice could be heard, rising above the smoke. ¡°And then the dragon Izael unleashed a plume of dragon fire so wide that it could have engulfed our whole village. Izael¡¯s fire burned as brightly as fire, but as cold as ice, turning the land into a frozen wasteland. But the hero -¡± ¡°How can fire be cold?¡± A voice curiously interjected. ¡°Because Izael¡¯s class was Ice Dragon, young one¡±, Grandpa explained. ¡°Now as I was saying, the hero -¡± ¡°But I thought you said that only humans could have classes? Because Lenessa gave them to us to fight the evil monsters, and to let humans fly, and use magic, and -¡± Ian¡¯s voice was cut abrupt by Byren¡¯s hand covering his younger brother¡¯s mouth, probably fed up with his interruptions. Ian¡¯s indignant protests were ignored by the rest of the family. Grandpa smiled. ¡°Now as I was saying, the hero Ezra survived Izael¡¯s breath simply by the magic of his swords alone. As a magic swordsman, Ezra had the ability to not only pierce the greatest of foes, but to use magic none weaker than that of any mage. Taking advantage of Izael¡¯s gap between attacks, Ezra called upon all of his powers and used his strongest technique, whose name has been lost to time, and slew Izael in one breath. Izael¡¯s body collapsed, but his energy escaped and dispersed in a large area around him. That¡¯s why the winters of Briodelar are so cold, even to this day.¡± ¡°Grandpa, I thought that Briodelar had cold winters because of the lowered air pressure due to the sea in the south, and the northern drafts that therefore come in from the northern mountains create zones with high concentrations of ice mana?¡±This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it. Grandma saw this as a good opportunity to put in her two cents. ¡°Irene, learn to take a damn story. This is why nobody will want to marry you, not unless they want their left ear nagged off.¡± Irene simply harrumphed and looked away. Someday there would be somebody outside this family of hicks that would appreciate her intelligence. ¡°Grandpa, I want to be like Ezra when I grow up! I¡¯ll learn magic, slay monsters to protect the kingdom, get us a bigger house to live in in the city, and marry a princess!¡± Ian had somehow escaped from Byren¡¯s grasp. ¡°Just wait until I turn eighteen! I¡¯ll get the best class; maybe Magic Swordsman, just like Ezra, or Great Sage, like that Archmage Sartonius you talked about two days ago!¡± At Ian¡¯s words, the rest of his family seemed to flinch in unison, and the festive mood slightly dimmed. Nobody knew how to, or wanted to be the one to, break the truth of the world to Ian. The reality that the elders of the family knew all too well was that while the minstrels sang songs of those of common birth, those who received miraculous classes and accomplished great feats, one¡¯s chances of receiving higher tier classes were greatly influenced by one¡¯s heritage. Merchant children grew up to receive Merchant or Salesman classes, those born from Mage families obtained classes like Summoner and Elementalist, and Nobles almost always received the best classes due to their carefully selected breeding. Ian¡¯s family was no exception; their family line of farmers could be traced as far back as any of them could remember. Sure, there were a few special cases, such as Ian¡¯s Great Great Uncle who had a tier two agriculturist class, but nothing that defied the norm. Unless a Lenessa-sent miracle occurred, Ian would obtain a tier one class just like his father: farmer. Thinking deeply, Ian¡¯s mother thought of saying something, ripping the bandage off quickly to lessen the pain. Someday, Ian would have to accept the truth of reality, no matter how harsh it was, and try to live the life he was given as best as he could. But looking at Ian enthusiastically swinging an imaginary sword, making strange noises that seemed to represent magic, she didn¡¯t have the heart to destroy his dream. Not today, she told herself, and anyways, Ian will probably learn the truth by himself as he grows up, right? Right? Ch.2 Tilling fields Ian woke up at dawn¡¯s first light, as he did every day. It was beginning of Spring, which meant that the farm currently required a large amount of work to prepare for seed planting. Ian quickly shrugged on an unassuming, brown outfit (not much sense in wearing other colors with the amount of dirt he¡¯d soon be in contact with) and headed downstairs. In the kitchen, his mother and Irene were cooking a simple breakfast. Grandma used to help out too, but she had passed away six years ago. Father and Byren were already sitting at the table, scarfing down the food. Grandfather was, not surprisingly, still in bed. He didn¡¯t do much else these days. ¡°G¡¯morning son, ready for another day on the fields? We¡¯ve got to finish tilling the wheat fields by the end of this week.¡± Ian grunted in affirmation with a slight hint of annoyance, grabbed his bowl of porridge from his mother with a quick peck on her cheek, and proceeded to the table to enjoy his meal. Ian was slightly miffed at his father¡¯s statement: his Selection was in two days. Ian''s18th birthday had already passed two months ago, but smaller towns did not have the resources to hold Selection ceremonies for every new adult. Thus, his Selection was moved to a group ceremony with all the others from the town and its surrounding farmlands. He would go into the town, use their Selection Stone to receive a class, and with that he¡¯d be off of the farm and into the city making a name for himself. Clearly his father thought that his selected class would be farmer and that Ian would end up back home to help finish the week¡¯s work. Byren had left for his Day of Selection in the morning and come back in the afternoon, the only difference being his new class and some skills that made his farm work more efficient. Ian desperately hoped that his Day of Selection would be different. Well, Ian thought, all I have to do is make it for two more days. Two more days until the start of my life as an adventurer. And with that, the three men simultaneously stood up and left the house for another day of tilling the fields.
¡°Well I¡¯m off! If they end up recruiting me to the city then I¡¯ll send a letter back home.¡± Two days had passed, and Ian was about to make the 3 hour trip to the nearest town, Miradon. His parents were seeing him off, but they weren¡¯t making the trip with him; there was too much work to be done on the farm to go. His mother smiled bitterly.Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work! ¡°Ian, no matter what happens, you are always welcome back on our farm, okay? If you don¡¯t get the class you want, don¡¯t be too disappointed. We still love you.¡± ¡°Love you too, but I just know that I¡¯ll get at least a tier three class! If it¡¯s a tier four class than they¡¯ll even give us all a house in the city!¡± With those words, Ian left the family farm with a spring in his step. If he had turned around, he would have seen his parent¡¯s faces. Faces that knew of the incoming disappointment Ian would face.
Ian¡¯s trip to Miradon was uneventful. While the roads were empty, there were no wild animals and nobody with enough money to attract bandits. Similarly, security at the town¡¯s gate was lax; the guards simply glanced at Ian and recognized his face from when he came in with his father to sell some of their produce. Ian had arrived a bit early, so had some time to look around. Miradon, while small, still had a lot more sights to see than the family farm. Ian took some time looking around the town blacksmith and market, but his feet unconsciously lead him to his desired location: the town square. Right in the center, flanked by two guards, was a pedestal embedded with a glowing ruby the size of Ian¡¯s fist. The Stone of Selection. Ian thought back to the lessons his Grandfather had taught him back before he went senile. Once one turned eighteen and with the help of a mage, touching the Stone of Selection would unlock one¡¯s class. This class would be impossible to change, and would help to decide the rest of your life. Classes came in five tiers. Tier one, the lowest tier, consisted of classes that pertained to manual labor. This included the Farmer class that everybody else in his family had obtained. Tier two similarly pertained to labor classes, but consisted of those that required more skill and intelligence; Smith, Tailor, and Merchant classes all belonged to the second tier. Tier three was when classes started to get interesting. Basic combat classes such as Mercenary, Archer, Swordsman, and single Elemental Mage classes such as fire and wind mages start to appear. Tier four was only obtained by those of good lineage or extremely good luck. Rare classes such as Dual Element Mages, High Element Mages of space or time, and physical combat classes such as Duelist and Knight would be available. Finally tier five, Ian simply knew that it was a tier of legend. The only class that Ian knew that was tier five was Magic Swordsman, the class of the hero Ezra that his grandfather had once told to him in a story. Ian snapped out of his thoughts when he heard horns blaring loudly. He had lost track of time whilst daydreaming about the class that he was about to receive. The ceremony started with little fanfare, as usual. The mayor welcomed the tier three mage that came to the town every year, and then immediately all the eighteen year olds formed a line. As Ian had arrived early, he was almost at the front of the line, with only three youth in front of him. The first youth stepped forwards and placed his hand on the stone. And thus, Ian''s Selection had started. Ch.3 Spreading Roots Next! The girl in front of Ian had just stepped forwards and placed her hand on the Stone of Selection. The stone glowed dimly, and she let out a small gasp as her status screen appeared for the first time. The mage hushed her away as soon as her class was confirmed. Tailor, it seemed, as she happily returned to her parents who ran the clothing shop in town. It was Ian¡¯s turn. Nervously gulping, Ian stepped forwards and placed his right hand on the stone. The tension made him want to throw up. This was his moment, the beginning of his journey to greater things. Ian shut his eyes in anticipation. He could feel the stone grow hot, slowly at first and then almost unbearably so. But Ian refused to take his hand off. This little pain was nothing to the future hero Ian. Please don''t be farmer, please don''t be farmer, please don''t be farmer... So focused was Ian, that he didn¡¯t hear the mage¡¯s first announcement. It took the mage snapping his fingers in front of Ian¡¯s face to break him out of his trance. ¡°Farmer. Tier one. Now move on, I haven¡¯t got all day!¡± Ian stared dumbly. ¡°Sorry?¡± ¡°Farmer. You heard me. Now move!¡± Ian quickly checked his status.
Status
Name Ian Age 18
Class Magical Botanist
HP 100 MP 123
STR 105 DEX 104
INT 122 WIS 116
Skills
Farming (PASSIVE) 1
Manual Labor (PASSIVE) 1
Magical Gardening (PASSIVE) 1
Magical Botany 1
Magical Crossbreeding 1
Magical Botanist? Ian had never heard about this class before. His stats were all off - farmers never started off with higher INT and WIS than STR. And not only were his skills unheard of as well, but having five skills to start with was impossible for a Tier 1 class. His siblings had both received two skills each, and were considered to be on the luckier side. Something was wrong. "Excuse me, I think something is wrong. My status says that my class is Magical Botanist, not farmer." The mage scoffed. "The Stone is never wrong kid. Stop holding up the line and get back to your farm, there''s no such thing as a Magical Botanist class." "But that''s what my status says! I also have five skills, and that''s impossible for a farmer!" At this, a murmur spread through the crowd of townspeople who had come to spectate. Could Ian be telling the truth? If he was, than his class would be at least be as strong as a Tier 3 class. There was no way for anybody to confirm - statuses could only be seen by the individual. Suddenly, a malicious voice rang out of the crowd.The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there. "Get ''im out! Kid¡¯s been trying to become a hero since he''s been a kid. He just can''t accept that he''ll be stuck with us common-folk for his whole life!" Ian looked at the voice. It came from Old Pete, an experienced farmer whose farm was on the other side of the town. Pete never seemed to like Ian''s family, still bitter over a dispute with Ian''s Grandfather many, many years ago. After his remark, the murmuring in the crowd intensified. People started yelling at Ian to get out of the way, immediately falling in line with the crowd''s general perception. "Sorry boy, but ya gotta let go of the stone. I''ve got places to be" the mage half apologized, half scowled. Ian let go of the stone and shuffled away. Seeing the dirty glares that everybody was giving him, he shamefully broke through the crowd and headed in the direction of his farm. Disappointment weighed heavily on his heart - why did he ever imagine that he''d be any different than the rest of his family? If Ian hadn''t turned around so quickly, he would''ve witnessed an interesting sight. As the next boy in line came up and touched the Stone, he let out a yelp of pain and quickly retracted his hand - it seemed like he had been burnt. The mage quickly inspected the Stone and found that it was overheating like he¡¯d never seen before. Why had this occurred? The Stone never overheated unless the user had at least a Tier 4 class, and even then it never got this hot. The mage concluded that something was malfunctioning with the Stone and quickly cast a basic water spell to cool it down. He never even considered that the class he interpreted for Ian was wrong, because Ian''s class was too much for the second-rate Stone to handle. That was just outrageous. Damn backwater town, the mage thought to himself. Can¡¯t even provide a functioning Stone. I¡¯ve got to get an apprentice who can come do this instead. Ian quickly left the town, and along it the mage and townspeople¡¯s minds. The Selection finished as quietly as it had started, and the mage gladly returned to his city eager to continue his research. Unfortunately for him (and Ian), he was blissfully unaware that he had just missed the discovery of a lifetime.
Ian walked home, still slightly in shock. All his fantasies of heroism and adventure were shattered - he''d be working on a farm for the rest of his life. Ian suddenly remembered that he still hadn''t checked his skills. The manual labor and farming skills he was already aware of, since they were the most common skills available to farmers. Manual labor made physical work less exhausting and more efficient, while farming helped to slightly increase crop yields. As for the other skills, Ian had no idea. Ian pulled up his status window and clicked on his skills.
Magical Botany (Lvl 1 0%) The trademark skill of a magical botanist. Regular and mystical plants fall within your understanding and thrive beneath your care. With enough understanding, your mana can be used to both create and enhance magical plants. Rare magical plants will grant you great rewards.
Ian was shocked speechless. Magical plants? Such plants had never existed before, at least to the extent of Ian''s knowledge. Ian quickly inspected his other two skills.
Magical Gardening (PASSIVE) (Lvl 1 0%) Gardening differs greatly from the mass crops of farming. Individually taking care of magical plants will increase their effectiveness and quicken growth. Increases chance of plant evolution and increased rarity.
Magical Crossbreeding (Lvl 1 0%) Rare strains of magical plants can be produced through crossbreeding plants with this skill. Increases chance of successful crossbreeding. Increases chance of obtaining additional attributes in resulting breeds.
Ian carefully double read, and then triple read the descriptions. Based on the skills, Ian was some sort of magical plant farmer class? No wonder his INT and WIS were so high. Ian wanted to go back to town and curse the mage out, but he knew that he had probably already left. The rest of the townspeople would be skeptical of his claims too. His anger was quickly replaced with excitement when he realized what his class meant. Magic! Sure, not the type of magic that he had dreamt of as a kid, but magic no less. Ian had no clue how strong his skills would be, no idea how to use his class, and no idea of how to start. Well, at least I''m not a farmer, Ian thought. Time to get back and try this stuff out. Ch.4 Fertilizing Crops "Mother, I''m back!" Ian''s mother was in the kitchen preparing the family dinner. She looked up from the dough she was kneading and smiled nervously. "How was your Selection, Ian?" She asked gently. "Something really weird happened! The mage said that I was a Farmer class like Father, but my status page says that I''m a Magical Botanist." His mother''s face contorted strangely. "Magical Botanist?" "Yes! And I have five skills too, Farming and Manual Labor just like Father and Byren, but then these three skills I''d never heard of before! Magical Gardening, Magical Botany, and Magical Crossbreeding, have you ever heard of them?" Ian''s mother sighed. "Ian, I know that you''ve always wanted to be an adventurer, but you''re at the age where it''s time to grow up. There''s nothing wrong with being a farmer, and after Byren inherits the farm you''ll have to start your own. You can''t keep pretending to be a hero. Besides, you know that mages are never wrong when it comes to the Selection." Ian''s heart dropped. He thought that his mother, the one who had always supported his ambitions, would believe him. Turns out she was just like the rest of the townspeople, thinking that he simply couldn''t accept his Farmer fate. Ian shouldn¡¯t have mentioned his number of skills; it was so high that his mother was right to be skeptical. Not for the first or last time, Ian desperately wished that he could show others his status screen. "What''s with all the long faces?" Ian''s father and brother walked in. "Ian, how''d it go." Seeing Ian about to talk, his mother cut him off. "He''s a Farmer, just like you." Her quick side glare at Ian left no room for argument. Neither Ian''s father nor Brian appeared very surprised, simply nodding. Ian''s heart dropped even further. He knew that his mother was the one that was the most likely to believe him. If she didn''t, nobody in his family would accept the truth. "Carson and his wife passed by the fields earlier today, they just got back from the capitol visiting their son. Remember? Their son''s been working on the Alchemy Guild farm. He seems to be doing well for himself." Brenas, the capitol of the Nitusha Empire, had the largest Alchemy Guilds in the three kingdoms. Their demands for special herbs and materials was simply so high that they supplemented buying with growing their own crops. At this, Ian opened his eyes in realization. Ifanyoneknew anything about magical plants, it had to be the Alchemy Guild in Brenas. "Do you know if the Alchemy Guild farms need any more helpers?" Ian hesitatingly asked. "Oh, you''re interested? Carson did mention that they were expanding and needed more help." Ian jumped at his father''s statement. "Do you think you could ask Carson if they''d take me? I know that I just got my class, but higher level farmers wouldn''t want to leave their own farms." His father hesitated. "Ian we still need you around to help with the farm. We¡¯ve got a lot of work to do, and we don¡¯t have enough time for you to go to the capitol and come back if you don¡¯t get accepted." Ian was surprised when his mother spoke up. ¡°Why don¡¯t we ask Carson to send a letter to his son asking if they¡¯ll take Ian in? In the meantime, Ian can keep working on the farm. If they¡¯re not hiring, then there¡¯ll have been no time lost.¡± ¡°Hmm, that could work. Ian, are you sure you want to do this? What¡¯s wrong with staying at our farm?¡± ¡°I¡¯m no longer a child, and I¡¯d need to go out and start my own farm after Byren comes of age anyways. This could be a good way for me to go out and earn some extra money for that to happen.¡± Ian looked at his mother who smiled lightly. His father ruffled Ian¡¯s head. ¡°I guess you are all grown up now. Well, you¡¯ve better work extra hard in the fields until we receive a letter back, you hear me?¡± Ian knew that this was his father¡¯s way of saying yes. His sister came down from her room at this moment, signalling the end of the conversation. The family sat down and ate dinner as usual, and the conversation gradually steered itself away from Ian and onto gossip Ian¡¯s mother had heard from the neighbors. Tomorrow, Ian told himself, tomorrow I¡¯ll figure out how my class works, and then I''ll go to Brenas and show the Alchemy Guild what I can do.
The next day, Ian woke up early, ate a quick breakfast and headed out to the fields. He had purposefully asked to work in the pea field while his father and brother continued to work in the wheat fields; Ian did not want them to see him experimenting with his abilities and have them question what he was doing. As peas sprouted early, the field was already tinged a light green even though it was still early spring. Baby green sprouts curled around the stakes in the field which Ian had previously set up. Ian was supposed to be here to apply fertilizer and ensure that the peas were properly growing upwards. But first, Ian checked his skills again.
Magical Botany (Lvl 1 0%) The trademark skill of a magical botanist. Regular and mystical plants fall within your understanding and thrive beneath your care. With enough understanding, your mana can be used to both create and enhance magical plants. Rare magical plants will grant you great rewards.
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Magical Gardening (PASSIVE) (Lvl 1 0%) Gardening differs greatly from the mass crops of farming. Individually taking care of magical plants will increase their effectiveness and quicken growth. Increases chance of plant evolution and increased rarity.
Magical Crossbreeding (Lvl 1 0%) Rare strains of magical plants can be produced through crossbreeding plants with this skill. Increases chance of successful crossbreeding. Increases chance of obtaining additional attributes in resulting breeds.
Ian had thought about these three skills all night, but he still had no idea how to use them. It was common knowledge that passive skills like Farming and Manual Labour would be slowly raised while doing regular work. Veteran farmers would have levels in Farming of at least level 5, whilst the highest Farming level Ian had ever seen was level 9. That¡¯d probably be how the Magical Gardening passive worked, Ian concluded. The other two skills were complete mysteries. Ian bent down and touched a pea sprout. ¡°Magical Botany!¡± Ian half shouted, hoping that something would happen. Ian thought he felt a small tingling through his body, but wasn''t sure if he was just imagining it. Five seconds passed, and the pea sprout still looked the exact same. Ian looked around, hoping that nobody saw him make a fool of himself. How did he make this work? Ian took a closer look at the pea sprout. Was it not working because the plant wasn¡¯t right? Did he have to do anything to it first? Suddenly a window popped up, half-scaring Ian to death.
Status
Species Pea Age 2 weeks
Essence 2 Evolution 0.1%
A young pea sprout. High in nutritious vitamins and minerals. (Raise Magical Botany to see more information)
Interesting! Ian had never heard of being able to view the statuses of plants before. He tried focusing in a neighboring pea plant to try to activate the ability again.
Status
Species Pea Age 2 weeks
Essence 0 Evolution 0%
A young pea sprout. High in nutritious vitamins and minerals. (Raise Magical Botany to see more information)
The information seemed mostly the same, but Essence and Evolution were both at zero. Ian suddenly had a curious thought. Ian grabbed the first pea sprout again and chanted Magical Botany over and over again. The tingling that he had felt before returned, and this time Ian knew that he wasn''t just imagining it. After five repetitions, Ian inspected the pea sprout again.
Status
Species Pea Age 2 weeks
Essence 12 Evolution 0.6%
A young pea sprout. High in nutritious vitamins and minerals. (Raise Magical Botany to see more information)
Ian''s theory was correct. When he had invoked the Magical Botany spell, the Essence and Evolution stats went up. What would happen once Evolution reached 100%? Would the pea evolve to a magical plant? Ian was excited to find out, and immediately proceeded torepeatMagical Botany. As Ian continued to cast Magical Botany, the pea sprout seemed to grow slightly under Ian''s hand. Something special seemed to increase about it as well; an indescribable property that raised Ian''s alertness towards it. This must be the effects of increasing the plants Essence! Suddenly, Ian felt a slight headache coming on and stopped casting Magical Botany. The headache was weird - it didn''t feel like a regular headache that one got from being sick or dehydrated. Ian checked his status.
Status
Name Ian Age 18
Class Magical Botanist
HP 100 MP 10/123
STR 105 DEX 104
INT 122 WIS 116
Skills
Farming (PASSIVE) 1
Manual Labor (PASSIVE) 1
Magical Gardening (PASSIVE) 1
Magical Botany 1 (6.34%)
Magical Crossbreeding 1
The headache must have been caused by his mana running low, Ian concluded. Ian regretted using his skills so rashly ¨C he should have kept better track of mana consumption and recovery rates for future reference. It seemed like his Magical Botany skill had increased a bit though, which was a win in Ian¡¯s eyes. Ian checked the position of the sun, estimating that it was around 9 o¡¯clock. Sighing, Ian went and got his wheelbarrow of manure. No matter how excited he was, he¡¯d have to wait for his mana to regenerate first to keep testing out his abilities. Hopefully it wouldn¡¯t take too long, since his WIS was higher than average. From what Ian knew, WIS increased mana regeneration and capacity, while INT increased the effectiveness of spells. Ian started to spread the manure around the crops, wrinkling his nose at the smell - he¡¯d never quite gotten used to the stench, and was once again reminded why he didn¡¯t want to stay a farmer. Filled with newfound determination, Ian shoveled the manure as quickly as he could. For the umpteenth time, Ian swore to himself ¨C there was no way, NO WAY that he would let himself stay a farmer. Ch.5 Blossoming Sprouts Ian was running out of excuses to stay in the pea field. It was three days after Ian first started casting Magical Botany on the pea sprout. For the past two days, Ian had used up all of his mana on the same pea sprout as soon as he got to the fields, did his farm work until his mana regenerated, and then rinsed and repeated. After all of his hard work, this was all he had to show for it.
Status
Species Pea Age 2 1/2 weeks
Essence 646 Evolution 96.3%
A young pea sprout. High in nutritious vitamins and minerals. (Raise Magical Botany to see more information)
The pea sprout Ian had been experimenting on had grown significantly larger compared to its neighbors. What really excited Ian was that according to his calculations, he''d be able to raise the plant''s evolution to 100% very soon. It was just in the nick of time - his family was starting to question what Ian was doing all day. Ian had had to promise them that he''d finish up and go help his brother with the other crops by the end of the day. Well, there¡¯s no time to waste, Ian thought. He grabbed the pea sprout and got to work.
Six cycles later, the pea sprout had reached 99.9% evolution. All Ian needed to do now was cast Magical Botany one more time to reach 100%. Barely able to contain his excitement, Ian touched one of its leaves and quietly murmured his skill name. For a second, nothing happened, causing butterflies to rupture in Ian''s stomach. Then, the pea plant started to glow, slightly at first, then gradually brighter and brighter. Its size grew rapidly too, rising upwards at an alarming rate until it grew higher than the stake it was wrapped around. By the time the plant stopped glowing, the pea sprout had risen to just above Ian''s height, defying gravity as it stood proudly on its own. Ian let go of the plant in shock - this was not what he had expected. Suddenly, a series of windows popped up in front of Ian''s eyes.
Congratulations! You are the first human to raise a Magical type plant. The Gods have started to pay attention to you. INT +5 WIS +5 STR +5 DEX +5
You have grown a magical plant of the INT attribute INT +2
Congratulations! You have taken the first step into becoming a true Magical Botanist. Farming has reached lvl 5 Magical Botany has reached lvl 2 New skill Magical Farm unlocked
Ian''s head was spinning. By Lenessa, what just happened was a miracle. Stat points were notoriously hard to increase - his Father had probably only grown 16 points in STR his whole life, and that was his highest and most used stat. Ian quickly forced himself to calm down, taking long, deep breaths. He still needed to inspect the pea plant more closely. Other than the plant''s height, nothing else had physically changed. The indescribable feeling Ian felt while using Magical Botany felt stronger though - it felt like there was a connection between Ian and the plant. Ian checked the plants status.
Status
Species Lesser Magical Pea Age 2 1/2 weeks
Essence 1327 Evolution 0%
A young pea sprout. High in nutritious vitamins and minerals. Contains magical essence imbued by an amateur Magical Botanist. Of the INT attribute, with enough essence it will gradually obtain self-intelligence. (Raise Magical Botany to see more information)
SKILLS
Vine Whip Lvl 1
The surprises just kept on coming. Ian managed to stay relatively calm this time and analyze the status. Lesser Magical Pea? Ian wondered if that meant that it was possible to further evolve the plant into a Greater Magical species. The plant''s essence had also risen significantly, and it had even gained a skill. What surprised Ian the most was the plant''s description. The idea of an army of plants with self-intelligence filled Ian''s mind, and he couldn''t help but smile widely. Well, the army would be pretty useless without being able to move, Ian chuckled. Ian wondered how he could get the plant to use its Vine Whip skill. First he tried saying it out loud, then he tried touching it while saying it, by Lenessa he even tried thinking "Vine Whip!" as loudly as possible. Nothing happened.This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source. Ian wished that he knew somebody else with the Magical Botanist class who could teach him how to use his skills. What had he not tried? His Magical Botany skill had worked by him simply willing it, so Ian must be missing some step or prerequisite. The only difference was that he was trying to get the plant to use the skill instead of him - how was he supposed to connect with and command the plant? Ian was struck with a sudden realization. He focused on the sense of connection that he felt between him and the plant and tried to convey the intent to use the skill through it. As soon as Ian finished formulizing his thought, a flash of green whipped out from the plant and onto the ground in front of Ian, almost too fast for Ian to see. Shocked, Ian stumbled backwards and lost his concentration, breaking the skill. Ian looked down to see a small gouge in the earth - that vine had been packing some power. He really needed to figure out how to control the skill better; that had been a bit too close for comfort. Finally, Ian checked his own status. He was excited to see his new stats and skill.
Status
Name Ian Age 18
Class Magical Botanist
HP 105 MP 131
STR 110 DEX 109
INT 129 WIS 121
Skills
Farming (PASSIVE) 5
Manual Labor (PASSIVE) 1
Magical Gardening (PASSIVE) 1
Magical Botany 2
Magical Crossbreeding 1
Magical Farm 1
Magical Farm (Lvl 1 0%) A skill available to Magical Botanists who have grown at least one magical plant. Use of skill allows user access to their magical farm. Only plants with magical nature can be grown in the magical farm. Magical plants in the farm will slowly increase in essence. The size of the magical farm increases with INT.
To Ian''s satisfaction, all of his stats had risen significantly. Not bad for three days work, Ian mused. His Farming skill had also skyrocketed. After reading carefully, Ian jumped right in and tried using his new Magical Farm skill. Suddenly, Ian had an out of body experience. He could see himself standing in the field with his eyes closed, but he was simultaneously standing on a small plot of land surrounded by darkness. The plot of land was small in size, only around 4 meters by 4 meters. This must be my Magical Farm, Ian concluded, and cancelled the skill. Suddenly, he was back in his body, a bit dizzy and disconcerted. Back in the field, Ian wondered how he would get plants into his Magical Garden. The skill clearly stated that plants with a magical nature could be grown, but how was he supposed to do so? Would he have to grow the plants from seeds? Ian hoped not. Curious, Ian reached forwards and touched the pea plant, once again casting the skill. Suddenly, the plant disappeared, leaving behind an empty stake. Ian quickly re-entered his Magical Garden and confirmed that there was now a large pea plant growing in it. That solves my problem of bringing plants around with me, Ian thought with relief. Mentally exhausted, Ian sat down on the ground and cleared his thoughts. So much had happened in such a short time span, and the realization came crashing down. Normal classes would not be able to do what he just did, nor would they be able to increase in stats so quickly. The notifications also said that Ian was the first human to ever grow a magical plant, which probably meant that his class was unique. Who knew how strong magical botanist could be? It had to be at least a Tier 3 class, or it might even be Tier 4. Small tears gathered around the edges of his eyes ¨C he had dreamed his whole life of becoming a hero, going on adventures and defending the kingdom from monsters. Though he was stubborn as a mule, even Ian sometimes felt his resolve waver knowing that most likely he¡¯d end up as a farmer like the rest of his family. Realizing that he still had a chance to fulfill his dreams made Ian uncharacteristically emotional. Ian¡¯s emotional outburst quickly ended, and he stood back up. It was time to see just strong he could become. Choosing the largest pea plant that he could find, he started casting Magical Botany on it. ¡°I¡¯ll try to evolve as many plants as possible before I go to the capital¡±, Ian resolved. No matter how strong his class really was, it couldn¡¯t replace hard work and determination. And if there was anything Ian was, he was determined.
The ceilings of the great hall rose as high as the eye could see. The hall was sparsely but finely decorated with gold and azurite, but the focus was completely on the round table situated in the middle of the room. Around it sat thirteen figures, each sitting in their own extravagantly decorated thrones. Each throne was designed differently - one was wreathed in fire, while another was wrapped with the leaves a thousand types of plants. There was even a throne that seemed to personify the waves of the ocean, colored with deep blues and frothy whites that seemed to constantly be in motion. Though each figure radiated power, their attention and reverence were focused on the fourteenth figure and the only figure standing up, a woman. The woman was both strikingly beautiful and homely, emanating the love of a mother while simultaneously maintaining an aura of strength and order. Her eyes were a mix of gold and blue, and she wore a simple white dress that accentuated her perfect figure. She was currently speaking to the thirteen other figures assembled in the hall. "I have called you all here today to discuss the plan we agreed on before. There is not much time before the invasion, and we need to make sure that our children stand a fighting chance. As we agreed, have you all chosen a champion yet?" Nods and replies of affirmation spread through the room. The woman focused her attention on the man sitting in the throne wreathed with leaves - he was absentmindedly twirling a flower and not paying attention, and was the only one who hadn''t responded. She coughed lightly to get his attention. "Yes, Mother, I''ve already chosen. And I daresay that my champion will do the most towards saving mankind." He replied, still focused on the flower he was playing with. The other twelve figures chuckled and snorted at this - it was clear that the man did not command much respect from the rest of the room. The woman sighed and closed her eyes. "Good. Now I must ask all of you to keep a close eye on your chosen and ensure that they are growing properly. That is all." "Yes, Mother," all of the figures replied and stood up, disappearing from the room quickly. Suddenly, the room was empty except for the standing woman. Her eyes still closed, she seemed to deflate and be overcome with sadness. ¡°I have done what I can - it is now up to our champions to prevent the destruction of mankind. I pray that they will succeed.¡± Lenessa opened her eyes and disappeared from the room as well. The die had been cast, and for the first time in eons, the fate of her children, and the world, was out of her control. Ch.6 Budding Vines A bit less than a week passed before the letter returned from Brenas. In that time, Ian had managed to evolve two more pea plants to the Lesser Magical Pea species, and his Magic Garden was starting to look a bit less empty. Currently, this was how Ian''s status looked.
Status
Name Ian Age 18
Class Magical Botanist
HP 105 MP 131
STR 110 DEX 109
INT 133 WIS 121
Skills
Farming (PASSIVE) 7 (35.3%)
Manual Labor (PASSIVE) 1 (67.4%)
Magical Gardening (PASSIVE) 1 (2.6%)
Magical Botany 2 (83.4%)
Magical Crossbreeding 1
Magical Farm 1 (3.3%)
The two new pea plants had both given Ian the same +2 INT when they had evolved. This was the main reason why Ian had decided to keep evolving pea plants instead of trying different species - INT would be his most important stat in raising his Magical Botany skill''s efficiency. WIS would also be useful in increasing his mana recovery, but Ian was unsure if any plants were of the WIS attribute and decided not to take that risk. He could experiment more when he reached the capitol. Other than Magical Botany, which had increased in experience slightly each time he cast it and jumped with each evolution, Ian''s Magical Gardening passive and Magical Farm skills had also grown slightly. Ian sawthat his Magical Farm skill gained experience whenever he planted new plants in his Magical Farm. His Magical Gardening skill, however, increased when he applied manure and watered the plants inside his Magical Farm. Ian had figured out that materials related to farming, including tools and supplies, could be brought into his Magical Farm with him, but that the skill was ineffective on unrelated objects. Ian sighed. Hopefully once Magical Farm levelled up he would be able to bring more types of objects in. Ian would need to wait a while to find out - at the rate that it and Magical Gardening were growing, it would be a long time before they levelled up.
It was dinner at Ian¡¯s family farm, and everybody was happily eating after a day of hard, physical labor. The meal was porridge, a staple at their dinner table, pickled vegetables from last season¡¯s harvest, and freshly grilled chicken that Ian¡¯s mother had killed just three hours ago. There was little conversation, mostly because everybody at the table was too focused on the food, yet an amiable atmosphere was present. Suddenly, Ian¡¯s Father stopped eating and spoke. ¡°Ian, Carson came by earlier while you were working in the other fields. He¡¯d heard back from his son, and he said that they¡¯d be willing to take you on. Now I just need to ask ¨C are you sure that this is what you want to do?¡± Ian nodded. He loved his family, but he had outgrown the farm. He wanted to go out into the world and see new things, live new experiences, and achieve his childhood dreams. In any case, he desperately needed to visit the Alchemy Guild to see if they knew anything more about his class or magical plants. His parents looked at each other, and then nodded. His mother grasped his hand. ¡°You can leave with the next merchant caravan in two days; I¡¯ve already mentioned it to them when I was in town this morning. I know that you can take care of yourself, but make sure to visit home once in a while, okay?¡± ¡°Bring back some new books while you¡¯re at it,¡± Irene said. ¡°I¡¯ve read all the ones at home already and the ones they sell in town suck.¡± Ian nodded, and the family went back to eating dinner. A bubble of excitement rose through Ian. After waiting his whole life, his adventure was finally starting in two days. Ian could not wait.
Ian was sitting in the back of a bumpy carriage with his eyes closed. When Ian had gotten to town, he had met up with a merchant who was expecting him and paid a silver for his passage. Ian''s heart ached when he passed over the money - a single silver coin was worth 100 bronze coins, and with around five bronze coins one could buy a high quality loaf of bread. Ian had just lost a lot of bread. Though Ian''s eyes were closed and he appeared to be sleeping, Ian was actually taking advantage of the travel time by working in his Magical Farm. As Ian didn''t have any access to regular plants, he decided that his next task would be to try to further evolve one of his Lesser Magical Peas. As this was the fourth and last day of the trip, Ian''s focus onhis firstpea plant had pushed it to just about 100% evolution. Ian checked its status once again.
Status
Species Lesser Magical Pea Age 3 1/2 weeks
EssenceThis tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. 2137 Evolution 99.9%
A young pea sprout. High in nutritious vitamins and minerals. Contains magical essence imbued by an amateur Magical Botanist. Of the INT attribute, with enough essence it will gradually obtain self-intelligence. (Raise Magical Botany to see more information)
SKILLS
Vine Whip Lvl 1
The plant''s essence had risen significantly compared to when it had first evolved. Most of the difference was the result of Ian infusing his mana into it with Magical Botany, but it had also grown slightly by simply being in Ian''s Magical Garden. Ian had experimented with the effects of essence - the plants with higher essence were more responsive to Ian''s commandsand could exert higher power while using Vine Whip. Confirming that everything was as he remembered, Ian cast the final Magical Botany required to reach 100% evolution. This time, Ian was expecting the strange changes that the pea plant would go through. Once again, its body started to glow, increasing in size until it was significantly taller than Ian. It''s shape started to change too - flowers and pea pods started to appear on its body, and the width of its vines also thickened. After around ten seconds, the glowing faded and Ian was left staring at a humongous pea plant. As with every evolution, a status window popped up.
You have evolved a magical plant of the INT attribute. INT +10
That was a pleasant surprise - Ian had gained 10 INT instead of the regular 2. Ian checked the pea plant''s new status.
Status
Species Magical Pea Age 3 1/2 weeks
Essence 3578 Evolution 0%
A magical pea plant. Its leaves contain magical essence imbued by an amateur Magical Botanist. Of the INT attribute, it has obtained enough essence to gain basic self-intelligence. (Raise Magical Botany to see more information)
SKILLS
Vine Whip Lvl 2
Pea Shot Lvl 1
Firstly, Ian noted that the plant''s essence had greatly increased. That would make its attack power a lot stronger, Ian inferred. He was still unsure about exactly how his plant''s attacks measured against those from normal warriors or mages, and resolved himself to conduct further experimentation once he reached the capitol. Secondly, he noticed that Vine Whip had increased to level 2, and that there was a new skill named Pea Shot. Ian was about to try the skills out when his concentration was broken by a green tendril curling against his hand. Surprised, Ian didn''t remember commanding the plant to make any actions. Ian cautiously touched the vine. Had the vine moved by itself? "Move the vine up and down if you can understand me" Ian spoke to the plant, feeling slightly stupid. A few seconds later, the vine started moving in a vertical direction. Ian remembered that in the plant¡¯s description, it had mentioned that it had gained enough essence to obtain self-intelligence. Ian wondered if it could understand other types of commands. ¡°Use Vine Whip on the ground,¡± Ian commanded, and the pea plant complied. A cloud of dirt flew into Ian¡¯s face as it whipped the ground with several green vines. Ian noted how deep the marks left on the ground were; they were over three times as deep as the first time he had tried using Vine Whip. ¡°Show me your Pea Shot skill,¡± Ian commanded next. The pea plant¡¯s vines started moving around, it until a formed a cluster of vines ending with seed pods. Suddenly, the pods burst and sent a scatter shot of peas at a high velocity towards the ground. Once again, the skill resulted in clouds of dirt and holes in the ground ¨C the shot was clearly much stronger than most projectiles. The pea plant had grown considerably stronger after it had evolved, Ian noted. What he really needed to check now was how smart it had grown. "What''s your name?" Ian asked the plant. Ian wanted to check if the plant was only capable of listening to his commands, or if it was truly capable of thinking for itself. The pea plant started waving its vines around in response, but Ian was unable to tell what it was trying to say. "Point your vines up for yes, and point your vines down for no. Do you have a name?" The plant''s vines stopped moving and gradually pointed downwards. ¡°I¡¯ll take that as a no. Do you want a name?¡± The vines quickly shot upwards. Ian chuckled to himself at the plant¡¯s enthusiasm. Now all Ian had to do was think of a name. ¡°How about Mr. Pea?¡± The pea plant didn¡¯t seem to like the name and shook its vines angrily. ¡°What about Luke, or Lucy, or Drake?¡± The pea plant still did not seem satisfied, and its vines remained pointed at the ground. Ian cursed internally ¨C this plant was a lot pickier than he expected. Suddenly, Ian had a thought. ¡°What about Ezra?¡± It was the name of the hero that inspired Ian¡¯s dream, the name Ian had heard many winters ago in his Grandpa¡¯s stories. The pea plant seemed to consider the name and then pointed its vines upwards in acceptance. Suddenly, Ian could feel somebody shaking his real body. Ian chuckled. ¡°Well Ezra, I look forwards to working with you. Goodbye for now.¡± He gave the plant one last cast of Magical Botany and exited his Magical Farm. He opened his eyes to the sight of the merchant shaking him. ¡°About time that you¡¯re up, we¡¯ve reached Brenas. You¡¯ll have to get off here and go through customs yourself.¡± Ian thanked the merchant and got off of the caravan. As soon as he got off, he was hit by a wall of sound and body odour. Looking around, he was surrounded by a sea of people waiting in line to be admitted through the gates of the city, and the combined noises of animals, people yelling, and wagons creaking increased to an almost intolerable level. Born and raised on a farm, Ian had never been surrounded by so many people, making being in a crowd of this size was disconcerting. The merchant told him that it''d probably take three hours for them to pass through security, and Ian desperately wished that he was allowed to stay in the caravan and escape to his Magical Farm. However, as Ian was not part of the merchant''s company, he had to go through a separate line for individuals that forced him to remain standing. Five hours later, Ian had finally made it into the city. When he finally reached the security gate, all he had to do was tell the guards his name, and they had let him in because the Alchemy Guild had notifiedthem of his arrival in advance. It was the lines that had taken longer than expected, and Ian was both physically and emotionally exhausted by having to stay in the crowd for so long. Looking around at the bustling streets of the city, Ian was excited by all the new things to see and learn, but Ian knew his purpose: find the Alchemy Guild and ask for help with his class. With determined steps, Ian walked towards the direction that the Alchemy Guild was marked on the map the merchant had given him. It was time to take the next step in his adventure. Ch.7 Trimming Branches The Alchemy Guild''s headquarters were situated in a large, three story building in the northern part of Brenas. The first floor was dedicated to a single shop, which sold every type of potion imaginable. This floor was the most crowded, with merchants and adventurers alike bustling in and out to peruse the wares. The crowdingwas unavoidable - potions were an essential item for combat and were always highly in demand. To access the second floor of the building, one had to pass through a reception desk before being allowed up the stairs. From what Ian knew, the second floor contained the offices and laboratories of the guild''s senior Alchemists, and one would only be allowed up if they needed to directly conduct business with them. As for the third floor, it was completely dedicated to the Guild Master, the famous Alchemist Doran Mingas. Even in Ian''s rural town, rumors of Guild Master Mingas'' prowess in the field of Alchemy could be heard - the man had singlehandedly raised Brenas'' Alchemy Guild to be the greatest in all of Briodelar. Ian weaved through the group of adventurers exiting the building and headed towards the reception desk. There were currently twenty receptionists working behind the desk, cooperating to quickly process the requests of the Guild''s customers. Ian quickly found a receptionist who had just finished with another customer and went up to the desk, pulling out the letter that Carson had given his father. "Hello, I''m here for my assignment with the Alchemy Guild farms." Ian passed the letter over to the receptionist, who quickly read it and shuffled through her desk¡¯s drawer, pulling out and handing a form to Ian. The receptionist gave Ian a practiced smile. "Fill out this form with your basic information, and then I''ll show you your assignment location and supervisor. He''ll take over your orientation from there." "Before I go to the farms, is it possible for me to see an Alchemist? I have some questions that I''d like to ask." Ian figured that the guild Alchemists would be more knowledgeable than the workers on the farms, and that this would be the best time to ask. "I''m sorry, but you''d have to be a bit more specific for me to let you see an Alchemist. What exactly are you wishing to inquire?" From her tone, Ian could tell that the receptionist thought that Ian was just some curious country kid. Ian was slightly irked; it seemed like everybody he met underestimated him. "I recently got my hands on some Magical Plants, but I''m not too sure what they are. I was wondering if an Alchemist could tell me more." Ian started with this amount of information as he didn''t want to disclose his Magical Botanist class just yet. He''d wait until there was a bit more trust between him and the Guild before doing so. The receptionist''s face froze. "You said you have Magical Plants? Ian noddedhis head. At this, the receptionist immediately stood up and opened the gate beside her desk. "Follow me, please. I will take you to an Alchemist who can answer your questions." The receptionist waited for Ian to walk through the gate before guiding him towards the staircase leading to the second floor. Ian followed the receptionist up the stairs, but was confused when they passed the second floor landing and kept climbing. Ian gave a questioning look towards the receptions, but she responded with a smile saying that she knew what she was doing. Something was up - if they were going to the third floor, then there was only one person that she could be bringing Ian to meet. They had now reached the third floor, which had its own waiting room and secretary. The receptionist from the first floor whispered something to the secretary, gave Ian a smile, and headed back down the stairs.The secretary spoke to Ian. ¡°Would you please wait here for a moment? You may sit and enjoy the refreshments while you wait.¡± She gestured to a comfortable looking couch behind a table filled with plates of delicious looking pastries and iced beverages before disappearing as well. Ian¡¯s stomach was now filled with butterflies, but he still had enough time to eat a few pastries before the secretary returned. He hadn¡¯t eaten anything all day, and the hunger was more than enough to overcome any nervousness as he quickly scarfed down some scones and cookies. ¡°The Guild Master is expecting you in his office. Please follow me.¡± The secretary had returned, seemingly not judging Ian for how quickly he had devoured the pastries. Ian blushed, stood up, brushed the crumbs off of his lap, and followed the secretary to the Guild Master¡¯s office. The secretary knocked on the door, opening it slowly and holding it open, gesturing for Ian to enter. Ian took one last deep breath, steeled himself and walked into the office. The secretary closed the door behind Ian, shutting it with a small click. She returned to her desk and sighed, feeling some pity for the clearly na?ve, young country boy. She was probably the person who knew the Guild Master the best, as she had worked for him for over ten years. She knew of all the things that he had done, and all the things that he would be willing to do. Ian had just jumped into the lion¡¯s den, and he didn¡¯t even know it.
The Guild Master¡¯s office was probably the nicest room Ian had ever been in. Every wall was covered by mahogany bookshelves filled to the brim with old books, and a fine fur rug lay on the floor. However, Ian did not have the luxury of enjoying the decorations ¨C he was here to meet the Guild Master.Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon. Sitting behind his desk was Doran Midas. At first glance he reminded Ian of his Grandpa; warm and inviting, always there to tell you a story before bed in front of the fireplace. He was clearly old, as evidenced by the wrinkles on his face, but Ian could not tell if he was sixty or if he was ninety. Seeing Ian walk in, the Guild Master cordially smiled and stood to greet him. ¡°Hello, it is my pleasure to be of your acquaintance. I am the Guild Master of Brenas¡¯ Alchemy Guild, Doran Midas, first of his name. May I ask you for your name young man?¡± Ian was surprised by how eloquent Midas¡¯ introduction had been. ¡°Ian, Guild Master Midas. Just Ian.¡± He grimaced internally ¨C his introduction had been much less elegant. The Guild Master smiled at Ian again, seeming to not be surprised at Ian¡¯s lack of a last name. He gestured at Ian to sit, to which he complied, and similarly sat down. ¡°So Ian, I have been informed that you have come into possession of Magical Plants, and were looking for an Alchemist to ask some questions.¡± Midas leaned forwards, still radiating the atmosphere of a harmless old man. ¡°I am actually Briodelar¡¯s top expert in Magical Plants, so you¡¯ve come to the right place. Would it be possible for you to show me one of your Magical Plants?¡± Ian found it hard to refuse Midas¡¯ request. He closed his eyes and entered his Magical Farm, pulling out one of his Magical Pea plants that he had pre-potted. At the sight of a huge plant appearing out of nowhere, the Guild Master raised his eyebrows but did not make any comments. Instead, he focused his attention on the plant, inspecting its leaves and vines. ¡°Have you seen anything like this plant before?¡± Ian cautiously inquired. Midas shook his head. ¡°I¡¯m sorry Ian, but in all my years I have never seen a plant like this. I can clearly feel the magical energy in it though, so it is definitely a Magical Plant. Now Ian, I will be upfront with you ¨C I am very interested in studying this plant for research purposes. Would you be willing to sell me this plant?¡± Ian considered Midas¡¯ proposition. On one hand, he wanted to maintain a good relationship with one of the most influential people in Briodelar. On the other, he wanted to keep all of his plants with him ¨C in an emergency, his plants would be his only fighting power available. Considering the pros and cons, Ian made his decision. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Guild Master Midas, but the plant is not for sale. However, I would be willing to come in and frequently let you see the plant.¡± At this, the Guild Master leaned back and once again smiled at Ian, seemingly unperturbed. ¡°I understand, and greatly appreciate your offer. My receptionist will arrange for your residence in one of Brenas¡¯ finest inns, and you can come back again tomorrow at this same time. Meanwhile, I will need to conduct some more research before I can properly answer any questions you have about your Magical Plants. I hope that you can understand my ignorance about this topic.¡± Ian nodded, and the Guild Master stood up, indicating that it was time for Ian to leave as well. Midas pressed a bell at his desk, and his secretary quickly showed up, opening the door to his office. Midas smiled at Ian again. ¡°It was a pleasure to make your acquaintance Ian. Please inform my secretary of what we just discussed, and I look forwards to your presence tomorrow.¡± ¡°It was nice to meet you too Guild Master Midas, and I will be back at the same time tomorrow. Have a good day.¡± Ian turned to follow the receptionist back to her desk, where she helped to arrange Ian¡¯s stay at one of the inns closest to the guild headquarters. Leaving the guild, Ian felt pretty satisfied with how the meeting went. Hopefully, by tomorrow the Guild Master would have some answers prepared and would be able to finally answer some of Ian¡¯s questions. Doran Midas was also a very pleasant person to meet, and was overall very different from what Ian had expected. Ian liked him ¨C he treated Ian well even after he had introduced himself with only his first name. Usually, only those with great accomplishments or of noble birth had a last name, and those who did tended to treat commoners poorly. The fact that Midas had not raised Ian¡¯s impression of him greatly. However much Ian liked Midas, there was once thing about him that bugged Ian as he walked towards his inn. Ian had never met a man who smiled as much as Midas did ¨C he would smile with almost every sentence he spoke. There was nothing wrong with the smile, as it was as warm and cheerful as a smile should be, but it was the frequency at which Midas¡¯ smile appeared that bugged Ian. Perhaps Midas is just an extremely cheerful person, Ian thought, andwas quickly distractedas he instead pondered about which restaurant he should try for dinner.
Back at Midas¡¯ office, Midas and his secretary were sitting at his desk. The door and blinds were closed, and the room was soundproofed to ensure that nobody would be able to hear their conversation. ¡°Vanessa, do you know if there is a organization backing Ian?¡± Even in private, Midas kept smiling while he talked. His secretary was used to it by now. ¡°From my impression of Ian, he seemed to be just a regular country boy. However, a normal person would not be able to get their hands on a Magical Plant, so there may be more to him than meets the eye.¡± Midas agreed with his secretary¡¯s evaluation. Ian¡¯s possession of a Magical Plant, along with a high class spacial object able to store living objects, indicated that he was somebody of significant backing and wealth. Conversely, Ian¡¯s character and lack of knowledgeabout the true value of his Magical Plant seemed to indicate that he really was just a regular boy. It was due to this uncertainty that Midas hadn¡¯t pounced on Ian as soon as he had left his office; he didn¡¯t want to risk offending an organization capable of procuring a Magical Plant. Earlier, Midas had only told part of the truth to Ian. He wasn''t lying when he said that he wasunaware of the origin of Ian¡¯s plant, but he did know how much value the plant could provide. As the most experienced Alchemist in Brenas, Midas could quickly tell that the plant contained high amounts of mana of the INT nature. Making potions with the plant¡¯s leaves would result in extremely powerful INT increasing potions, which could sell for hundreds of gold to eager mages. The plant was a veritable gold mine just waiting to be exploited. Midas made his decision. ¡°Vanessa, contact Robert and have him kidnap Ian tonight. We will meet him at the abandoned warehouses by the docks at midnight to make him extract his plants from his spatial object. Make sure to tell him to remove any tracking artifacts from Ian¡¯s body before bringing him, and make sure that nobody knows that it was us who sent him.¡± Vanessa nodded in agreement. This was not the first time that they had used unscrupulous methods to achieve their goals, and it would not be the last - how else would they have grown their Alchemy Guild so quickly? Once again, Vanessa felt a brief moment of pity for Ian. She knew what would happen to Ian after he gave over his Magical Plants, and it would not be pretty. Vanessa got over her guilt pretty quickly. She had worked for Midas for a many years already, and had grown used to his ways long ago. Many a political rival or business competitor had fallen before Midas, with the last thing they ever saw being Midas'' smiling face. Midas'' nickname was the Smiling Executioner for a reason, and Ian would found out why tonight. Ch.8 Bursting Pods Brenas was surprisingly quiet at night for such a large city. Curfew was at 11:30 pm, and it was regularly enforced by the city guards. Ian was currently lying in bed at the Jumping Hare inn, which was two blocks south of the Alchemy Guild Headquarters. Vanessa, Midas'' receptionist whose name Ian had finally learnt, had given him a tokenemblazoned with the Alchemy Guild''s symbol. All Ian had to do was hand the token over to the inn''s receptionist, and then she had booked Ian into one of the inn''s nicest rooms for the night. Clearly the influence of the Alchemy Guild was very strong around this area. According to the clock in Ian''s room, it was ten minutes until midnight. Though Ian was exhausted, he just couldn''t fall asleep - his mind was racing, trying to process everything that had happened in the past few days. Less than a week ago, Ian had never been to a real city before. To be honest, Brenas was extremely intimidating; every sound and smell was foreign to him, and he felt that everybody he walked past could tell that he was lost. However, Ian had never been the type to back off due to fear, and had spent his evening exploring the city. Ian had visited the Glass Streets, a series of streets hawking products made from the city''s Glassblowing Guild, and had been amazed by all the different shapes and colors the products came in. Ian''s family farm rarely had anything made from glass as the material was too fragile, and if they did it was of a murky brown color. Ian had once again been amazed by how much the world had to offer outside of just farming, and was planning on visiting Brenas'' cathedral tomorrow morning - one of the glass vendors had told him that the cathedral had some of the most beautiful stained glass windows in the world. Ian couldn''t wait to see them. Ian''s thought process was broken when he heard some noises coming from his window. For a few seconds, he thought that maybe it had been caused by the wind, as his windows at home would often rattle on windy days. Ian quickly ruled out this possibility when the rattling sounds intensified; it sounded like somebody was trying to open the window from the outside. Ian started getting out of bed to investigate. Perhaps if he had gotten out of bed a bit faster, Ian would''ve been able to prevent what was going to happen. As it was, the window opened before Ian could get to it and two figures dressed in all black climbed in. Ian opened his mouth, about to yell for help, when one of the figures rushed forwards and covered Ian''s mouth with his right hand. The man''s left hand held a curved knife which was currently pressed against Ian''s throat. Ian gulped - the feeling of the cold steel against his neck was not pleasant. Ian''s panic did not last long. The second figure rushed forwards and struck Ian on his temple with the butt of his dagger, causing Ian''s vision to descend into blackness. The two figures went through the room and collected Ian''s stuff, tied his unconscious body up and carried him out of the window back into the darkness of the night.
When Ian woke up, his head was pounding with pain. Looking around, he could see that he was bound to a chair in thecenter of what seemed to be an abandoned warehouse. The warehouse was very dimly lit with moonlight streaming in from its windows and a few torches places evenly across the walls. Suddenly, Ian noticed a group of four figures in front of him, but he was unable to see their faces due to the poor lighting. The group seemed to notice that Ian had awoken, and one of the figures began to speak. "Hello, we do apologize for such an inconvenience so late at night. First of all, let us just make sure that you were notbeing followed. Do you know if there was anybody following you when we brought you here, or if there is any way for anybody to tell where we are?" The figures voice sounded strange - it was clear that he or she was using some sort of method to disguise their voice. Ian''s mind raced. Clearly, this group didn''t have any good intentions in what they were about to do to him. Maybe if they thought that Ian had friends that would come looking for him, then they wouldn''t be as willing to hurt him. "Yes, I do. They should be here soon actually." Ian tried to convey as much confidence as possible, and was surprised at how calm he managed to make his voice sound. As soon as Ian finished speaking, a dagger flew out of the darkness, just barely grazing Ian''s right cheek. Ian could feel blood starting to drip from the cut, running down his face and onto his body. If the dagger had flown just a little bit more to the left, then Ian would have died. "Did I forget to mention? We have a Mind Magehere who is capable of discerning whether or not you are telling the truth. As you can see, there is no point in lying to us. I really dowishthat youwould not- I would like to keep this exchange as clean as possible." The same figure, who seemed to be the group''s leader, spoke again. Ian cursed. Mind Mages belonged to a Tier 4 class, and were able to manipulate the human mind at ease. Casting hallucinatory illusions was the Mind Mages'' staple ability, and some possessed other abilities related to the mind. It seemed that thisMind Magehad a skill that allowed him toknowif Ian was telling the truth. "Now that we have gotten that out of the way, let us get down to business. Where did you get your hands on a Magical Plant?" Ian knew that he had no choice but to tell the truth. "I didn''t find them. I grew them myself." How had this group known that Ian had Magical Plants? Ian had only mentioned this fact at the Alchemy Guild, and it was a reputable organization. If any of the figuresweresurprised at Ian''s statement, they didn''t show any visible reaction.However, unbeknownst to Ian, his statement had caused the group''s leader''s thoughts to fly into disarray. The Mind Mage hadn''t shown any reaction indicating that Ian was lying, but the idea that Ian had grown the Magical Plants by himself was preposterous. Magical Plants could only grow in areas with high concentrations of mana, and even then, they would have to mature for hundreds of years before reaching the levelofIan''s Magical Plant. There was no way that a boy of Ian''s age would have had the time or resources to grow a Magical Plant of that calibre. The only feasible explanation was that Ian had some sort ofmethodto fool the Mind Mage''s magic, and was trying to conceal the true source of the plant. In that case, they could not be sure if therewas actuallynobody coming for Ian.Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. The leader was hoping to find out from Ian a source of Magical Plants that they could continually harvest, but the risk level of their operation had just skyrocketed. They would need toaccepttheir losses and cut the meeting short. "Now Ian, if you would please hand over all your Magical Plants immediately, then we will let you go. Go untie Ian''s hands so that he can use his spacial object. Ian, you have five minutes before we will have to start using other methods of persuasion." Two of the figures stepped forwards and into the light, walking to Ian''s chair and untying his hands. Ian looked at their faces, but they were both unfamiliar to him. Faces filled with scars, it was obvious that these men had lived dangerous lives. After untying Ian''s hands, they returned to stand beside their leader. Once again, Ian knew that he had no choice but tocomply. Entering his Magic Garden, Ian grabbed the Magic Pea plant that he had potted before, and then started transferring the other two plants into pots. Luckily for Ian, he already had pots ready and the Magical Pea plants'' roots were easy tomove. He managed to finish transferring the plants within four minutes and brought them out of his Magical Garden, making his three Magical Pea plants appear before his real body. "There, these are all the Magical Plants that I own. Could you please let me go now?" Ian''s heart ached at the loss of his plants, but he could always use his skill to grow more.Keeping hislife was the most important thing right now, and losing a few plants was nothing compared to staying alive. The leader looked over the three Magical Plants, seemingly satisfied. "Thank you Ian for being so cooperative." Ian sighed in relief - it seemed like he would live to see the next day. "Now, I am afraid that I will not be able to keep my end of the bargain. Too many loose ends for my liking." The leader looked at his subordinates. "Kill him." Ian¡¯s heart plummeted. One of the two men who had untied Ian''s hands started walking back towards him with a knife in his hand. Ian started to shakewith fear- he was still so young, and had so many goals left to fulfill. Was this how it was going to end? The man had finally reached Ian, and raised his knife in preparation. Ian closed his eyes. I¡¯m sorry Father, he thought, I should have listened to you and stayed on the farm. Mother, Irene, Byren, I¡¯ll miss you all. A few moments passed, and Ian was still alive. Had the man missed? That would be almost impossible, since Ian was immobile and tied to a chair. Ian opened his eyes. What Ian saw shocked him. The man was struggling to move his knife as a green vine had wrapped itself around his hand. Ian looked at his plants. It had been Ezra who had saved Ian¡¯s life. ¡°What is taking so long? You, go check what is going on,¡± the leader commanded. The poor lighting in the warehouse affected both parties, and the rest of the group was unable to see that it was the Magical Plant that had prevented Ian¡¯s death. Ian snapped to his senses. That¡¯s right, Ian thought, I¡¯m not completely defenseless. He still had his Magical Plants and their abilities, and they were even all out of his Magical Garden already. He¡¯d definitely give Ezra some extra fertilizer if he survived, Ian promised to himself. ¡°Vine Whip,¡± Ian commanded his two Lesser Magical Peas, and a series of green vines whipped out at the man with the knife. He shouted in pain ¨C the force of the whips had left long, red lines all over his face. After his scream, the rest of the group was alerted that something was wrong. ¡°Go! Kill him!¡± The leader¡¯s voice carried a lot more urgency than before. The second man started running towards Ian, but Ian was prepared and was about to command his plants to Vine Whip him as well. Suddenly, Ian¡¯s concentration was broken as the world seemed to spin around him. Strange sounds and colors filled his head, and Ian¡¯s stomach heaved as he threw up his dinner. Ian couldn¡¯t focus at all as the world seemed to crumble around him. After what seemed like an eternity, Ian¡¯s world returned back to normal. Ian looked around. Both of the men were still struggling with the vines, but it seemed like the third figure in the back was now lying on the ground. The Mind Mage, Ian connected the dots. The Mind Mage had caused Ian to hallucinate, but now he was somehow down. Ian wasn¡¯t too sure how that had happened, but he wasn¡¯t going to question his blessings. Now, the leader really started to panic. ¡°You buffoons! Kill the boy! Kill the boy or I¡¯ll make sure that your families are all dead by sunrise!¡± At this, the two men¡¯s struggle intensified, and the second man managed to break free from the vines. Seeing his rapid approach, Ian panicked and made the first command he could think of. ¡°Ezra, pea shot!¡± Ezra¡¯s vines quickly bunched together to form a barrel of seed pods, and the plant fired a barrage of peas at the rapidly approaching thug. The shot hit the thug right on its head, resulting in a red mist as his face was obliterated. Some of the blood splattered onto Ian¡¯s face, and he thought that he was going to throw up for a second time. At least that helped to answer Ian¡¯s questions about just how strong his plant¡¯s abilities were. Now, there were only two enemies remaining. The last thug was still completely tangled by Ezra¡¯s vines, so the last remaining threat was the leader of the group. Ian looked up and saw the leader running away; it seemed like he didn¡¯t value the life of his remaining subordinate at all. Ian couldn¡¯t let the leader escape. Vine whip, he commanded his two Lesser Magical Peas, and they extended their vines with an impressing amount of reach, grasping the leader¡¯s ankles and causing him to trip. The vines dragged the figure back kicking and screaming, eventually holding the man upside down in the air as he continued to struggle. Now that the man was closer, Ian could clearly see his face. ¡°Guild Master Midas? How could it be you?¡± ¡°Let me go! Do you know who I am, let me go!¡± Midas was incoherent, spitting everywhere as he attempted to escape to no avail. The vines were able to entrap two young, strong thugs, so how was old man Midas supposed to escape? ¡°Oh Lenessa, I should have listened to Vanessa and not came. Why couldn¡¯t I have just trusted my subordinates to not betray me? ¡± ¡°Why would you do this, Midas?¡± Ian asked. Ian had heard many stories about the strength and benevolence of Midas, one of the greatest Alchemists Briodelar had ever seen. It simply did not match up with the man who had just attempted to murder Ian and cursing like a sailor. ¡°You don¡¯t even understand the value of what you own! You don¡¯t deserve your Magical Plants, only I deserve them and can bring out their full potential! You country hick! Let me go!¡± Ian tuned out Midas¡¯ screaming, and started to think about what he should do. If he let Midas leave, how would Ian know that Midas wouldn¡¯t come back for him again? Ian had survived this encounter since Midas hadn¡¯t expected his Magical Plants to be able to fight, but Midas definitely wouldn¡¯t make the same mistake twice. There could only one solution. ¡°Ezra, pea shot.¡± Next to Midas, the last thug¡¯s head was obliterated as well. Now that only Midas was left, his screaming intensified and he switched from insulting Ian to begging. ¡°Please Ian, if you let me go I swear to Lenessa that I won¡¯t come back after you again! I¡¯ll give you anything you want, gold, information, just let me go and it¡¯s all yours! If you kill me you won¡¯t be able to leave the city alive, Vanessa knows that I¡¯m here and will make sure that you will die along with me!¡± For a second, Ian almost considered Midas¡¯ proposal. But then Ian remembered what Midas was willing to do to him to get what he wanted, and knew that there was no way that he would keep his word. Ezra fired another round of pea projectiles, and then Brenas¡¯ greatest Alchemist was no more. Ian was now the only person left standing in the warehouse. Looking around at the four dead bodies and blood splatters all across the floor, Ian felt too numb to feel any regret. In fact, only one thought filled Ian¡¯s mind as he came down from his near death adrenaline high. There was absolutely no way that he¡¯d be able to see the church¡¯s stained glass windows tomorrow. Ch.9 Drifting Seedlings Adrenalin still coursing through his veins, Ian checked if the Mind Mage was really dead. Ian had seen the other three men''s heads be pulverized by Ezra''s Pea Shot, but being under the influence of the Mind Mage''s illusion had made him miss how the Mind Mage had ended up on the floor. A quick look at his neck quickly told Ian the whole story - it was bent at a weird angle, with a bright red mark wrapped around it. Ian had Ezra''s Vine Whip to thank for that. Taking long, deep breathes in an attempt to calm his nerves, Ian started to think about his next steps. If what Midas had said was true, then the whole city of Brenas would soon be in an uproar looking for him. The Alchemy Guild was extremely influential, and if Vanessa painted Ian as the murderer of the Guild''s greatest Alchemist, even the city guards would be looking to arrest him. Would anybody believe that Ian was innocent? Probably not, since Vanessa was the secretary of the Alchemy Guild''s Master, while he was just some poor country boy. Waiting until the morning to escape would be too late, but the city gates were closed at night and tightly guarded. Ian would need to find some other way to run. Right now, what Ian wanted was to get out of this warehouse as fast as possible. Before leaving, Ian went through the each of the dead bodies'' pockets, finding four coin purses of varying degrees of fullness. Ian quickly took a look at the contents of Midas'' purse, which was the fullest of the four, and was greeted with the sight of a small mountain of glimmering gold coins. Ian smiled ironically- he may be branded a wanted criminal by morning, but at least he would be rich. Ian put his two Lesser Magical Peas back into his Magical Farm, and was about to put Ezra back as well, when he realized that that was a foolish idea. If Ian was attacked again, he would need some way to quickly defend himself, and going into this Magical Farm to retrieve his plants would be too slow. Ian suddenly had an idea. Going into his Magical Farm, he retrieved an old wheelbarrow that he had "borrowed" before leaving his family farm. With a grunt, Ian hoisted Ezra''s pot into the wheelbarrow, and tried pushing it forwards. It worked, and Ian now had a mobile Magical Plant that would hopefully defend him from danger. Ian knew that the sight of him pushing the plant would be ridiculous, but he would rather be safe than sorry. Ian paused and looked at the first plant he had ever evolved. "Ezra, I''m going to have to ask you to protect me a bit longer. Thanks for your help." Ezra waved its vines in response, and Ian took that as the Magical Pea Plant version of "you''re welcome". Ian slowly wheeled Ezra to the nearest exit, where it opened the door for Ian by turning its handle with a vine. Ian couldn''t help but chuckle - Ezra had gotten a lot smarter than Ian had expected, and it was always amusing to see a plant act like a human. Ian appreciated Ezra''s unintended comic relief, as it helped Ian to push back the guilt he felt over having just killed four men in cold blood. He would have to wait until he was safe before dealing with the rest of his emotions. With that thought, Ian pushed Ezra through the door and out of the warehouse. No matter what was outside, Ian knew one thing. The next few hours before sunrise would determine whether he lived or died.
Edward had been standing guard outside the warehouse for hours now. Well, standing guard would be slightly inaccurate, as he was hanging from the rafters of a neighboring building in order to keep an eye on both of the warehouse''s entrances. Having received a Tier 3 Rogue class on his 18th birthday, Edward had quickly fallen in with the wrong crowd, eventually turning to a life of crime. His Rogue class gave him a myriad of skills suited for crime, and his high DEX made him a valued asset in his gang. His job here was simple: make sure nobody entered the warehouse, and to kill anybody that tried to escape. Not that anybody would be able to, Edward mused. He had seen Midas and his gang mates bring in Ian''s unconscious body, and knew that the boy''s chances of escaping were little to none.If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. Edward heard one of the doors opening, instantly heightening his attention. They had agreed on a signal of knocking twice on any door before opening it to announce that everything was safe, and Edward had not heard any knocks. The door swung open and a wheelbarrow carrying a potted plant came out first. That was surprising, Edward thought. He had not been informed about what they were doing in the warehouse, but none of them had brought a plant or wheelbarrow in. The wheelbarrow moved forwards, and the boy behind it became visible. It was the boy whom they had kidnapped, Edward recognized. What had happened in that warehouse? Where had Midas and the rest of his men gone? It didn''t matter. Edward had been given a job, and he was going to do it. As silent as a cat, Edward climbed onto the roof and tiptoed over to where Ian was heading. His lvl 4 skill, Silent Steps, had the ability to muffle any noises that would normally result from walking, so he was confident that the boy would not be able to realize his presence. He readied his knife. Edward could see the scenario already; he would drop from the roof, landing on Ian''s back and use his Cutthroat skill. It would be a clean, silent kill. The boy''s position was now almost right below him. As soon as he passed, Edward jumped off the building in a practiced motion. It was not Edward''s first time doing this, and he knew it would not be the last. Edward did not know that his final thoughts would be so wrong. His last sight was that of a cluster of green vines coming towards him, and then he never saw anything again.
Ian had walked for less than one hundred steps before he heard a sudden crack and thump behind him. When he turned around, he was greeted by yet another dead body with a neck broken like the Mind Mage''s had been. Ian looked at Ezra. Yet again, the plant had saved his life. Yet again, another man had died at Ian¡¯s hands. Ian had known that he needed to be vigilant, but getting attacked right outside of the warehouse showed that he was in more danger than he had realized. Once morning came and Midas¡¯ body was found, Ian was not sure if Ezra would be enough to deal with the people who would want him dead. Looking around, it seemed like the warehouse was by Brenas¡¯ docks, and it was probably used to store outgoing cargo. Ian ran through his options again. Escaping by land would be almost impossible with the security at the city gates, so there was really only one option available. Looking at the harbor, there were several ships docked, probably merchant ships that had either just arrived or were getting ready to leave. If escaping by land was impossible, then Ian would have to escape by sea. Ian started pushing the wheelbarrow towards the docks. His plan wouldn¡¯t work if there weren¡¯t any ships that were going to leave in the morning, Ian realized. Even if there were ships that were leaving, Ian had no way of telling them apart from the ships that weren¡¯t. This plan was flawed, but it was Ian¡¯s best bet. Ian arrived at the center of the docks and was now surrounded by six ships. Each of the ships were massive, and were definitely merchant ships where carrying capacity was more important than appearance. He tried to look for any signs that a ship was about to depart, but Ian had never even seen a ship before and had no idea what he was supposed to be looking for. There was no time to waste. Ian did not know how long he had been unconscious in the warehouse for, but there could only be maximum two hours before dawn. There was not enough time to go into each ship to look for clues. Ian would have to make his choice by chance. Ian reached into Midas¡¯ coin pocket and pulled out a gold coin. As with all government sanctioned currency, the coin had an image of the Mother Goddess Lenessa printed on both sides. In the image, Lenessa was wearing an off the shoulder robe and holding up her symbol, the torch. According to the church, Lenessa had guided her children out of the Darkness with her torch as their only source of light. Ian bent down and spun the coin on one of the planks of the dock. He would let Lenessa¡¯s torch guide his fate as well. Ian watch as the coin spun. After a few seconds, the coin began to wobble, making Ian hold his breathe in anticipation. The coin slowed down and Ian was sure that it would fall to the right, but it suddenly gave one last wobble and instead fell the other way. Ian looked at Lenessa¡¯s torch; it was pointing at the second boat on the left. Ian picked up the coin, and started pushing Ezra towards the ship¡¯s gangplank. Optimally, he could find an unused closet and hide out for the duration of the voyage. Ian didn¡¯t have any food with him, but he figured that he could survive off the peas from his Magic Garden. Now he just hoped that the ship would leave before he got caught. Ian¡¯s fate was no longer in his hands. All he could do now was wait and pray. Ch.10 Absorbing Nutrients The air was damp and the floors were grimy, but Ian had figured that this was the room where the ship''s crew were the least likely to find him. Located on the bottommost layer of the hull, the room''s uncleanliness and the eclectic collection of old furniture that it contained implied that nobody had gone inside it for years. It was a perfect place for a stowaway like Ian to hunker down until landing. Ian found a corner of the room concealed by two large objects covered with tarps and dust, and scooted into the gap between them and the wall. Ezra was still out, so he pulled him into the crack as well. "Bend over a bit Ezra," Ian whispered. Ezra had grown to be taller than an adult man, and the top of its stalk was poking over their cover. The Magical Plant complied, and now nobody would be able to see them from the entrance of the room. As Ian quieted down, the only sounds in the room became the gentle rocking of the waves against the ship''s hull. Ian tried to remain as alert as possible, but the rhythmic lullaby of the waves and his lack of sleep caused his eyes to slowly drift shut. A few minutes of shut eye wouldn''t hurt, would it?
When Ian woke up, the sound of the waves had gotten significantly louder. A stream of sunlight passed in through a porthole above Ian''s head, illuminating the motes of dust floating in the air. Had he slept until morning? Ian pulled himself up and peeked through the porthole, expecting to see Brenas'' docks. Instead, Ian was greeted by the sight of endless blue water, stretching as far as his eye could see. Ian sat back down. The ship had already made it out into open sea. He let out of a sigh of relief ¨C he had nonotion ofhow long the ship would be sailing for, no clue about where it was going, and no idea of whether or not he would be caught, but he had escaped. Ian¡¯s stomach rumbled. He wasn¡¯t sure how long it¡¯d been since he¡¯d last eaten, but killing five men and running for your life really worked up one¡¯s appetite. Sipping some water from a watering can that he pulled out of his Magical Farm, Ian took a look at Ezra. The plant was still in the same position Ian had left it in, bent over slightly to reduce its height. On its vines were hundreds of pea pods and his only source of food. Ian had never tried eating any of the peas grown from his plants after they had evolved and didn¡¯t know if they were even safe to eat. No better time to try than now, Ian surmised. He reached forwards to touch one of the pea pods, silently asking Ezra if it would be okay to pluck it off the vine. In response, Ezra shook the vine up and down, their agreed upon motion for yes. Ian gave the pea pod a small twist, breaking it off of the vine with a small crack. Ian took a good look at the peas inside the pod. There were four peas in total, and each one was half the size of Ian¡¯s fist. No wonder Ezra¡¯s Pea Shot was so effective, Ian thought. Getting hit by a barrage of peas of this size would definitely hurt. Well, here goes nothing. Ian took one of the peas and popped it into his mouth, chewing as its juices flowed into his mouth. The pea tasted a lot sweeter than the regular peas from his family farm, and its texture was slightly crisper like an apple. Overall, the peas were surprisingly tasty and Ian found himself enjoying his meal. With a gulp, Ian swallowed the pea, but its sweet aroma lingered on his tongue. Just as Ian was reaching for the second pea, his stomach was struck by a flash of pain like he¡¯d never felt before. The peas dropped to the floor as Ian clutched his stomach and curled up on the ground in agony. It felt like the pain from when Ian had gotten the stomach flu as a child, but a million times worse. Ian desperately wanted to scream in pain, but he fought as hard as he could to keep his voice down. Were the Magical Peas inedible? If Midas¡¯ ghost was watching this, he would be laughing his head off. Anybody who knew anything about Magical Plants knew that directly eating them was suicidal. Digesting such a high amount of foreign mana was beyond the capabilities of the human body, which was why Magical Plants needed to be processed into pills or potions before consumption. Ian had not known this fact, and he was currently paying the price for his ignorance. As Ian was writhing on the floor, he saw a notification popup through his pain.
You have ingested part of a Magical Plant. The foreign mana contained inside is difficult to digest, and may cause extreme pain or even death. However, as your mana contains many similarities to the Magical Plant you ingested, the side effects will be greatly reduced. Potential stat gains may be obtained through digestion. Time left until digestion finishes : 3 h 23 m
3 more hours untilthepain would stop. All Ian could do wasclenchhis teeth and keep his voice down to the whimpers he was letting out. After what felt like an eternity had passed, the pain gradually started to recede. Ian lay panting on the floor, drenched in sweat. Blood pooled in his mouth from when he had accidentally bit the insides of his cheeks, and his nails were raw from scratching the floor. He had survived. The pain in his stomach had now faded to a dull ache. A green vine reached down and poked Ian''s cheek, seeming tobe askingif he was okay.Smiling through the pain, Ian let out a small chuckle. Ezra always seemed to know just how to improve his mood. Ian pulled himself back up into a sitting position. Clearly, that had not gone as smoothly as he had hoped. Ian was screwed if he had to survive on eating these peas for the whole trip. Eventually, the pain would get to be too much and he would either go crazy or die. For now, Ian checked his stats.
Status
Name Ian Age 18
Class Magical Botanist
HP 105 MP 131
STR 110 DEX 109
INT 140 WIS 121
Skills
Farming (PASSIVE) 7 (35.3%)
Manual Labor (PASSIVE) 1 (71.5%)
Magical Gardening (PASSIVE) 1 (3.5%)
Magic Plant Digestion (PASSIVE) 1 (8.9%)
Magical Botany 2 (86.7%)
Magical Crossbreeding 1
Magical Farm 1 (4.7%)
Quickly doing the math in his head, Ian saw that he had gained +7 INT after consuming the Magical Pea. That sort of massive stat gain almost made all the pain he just went through worth it. By growing only the Magical Pea Plants so far, Ian had only increased his INT, making the rest of his stats fall behind in comparison. It was a similar distribution tothat of amagic based class, but Ian knew that unlike most mages, he wouldn''t have any warriorsto form a frontline for him. If anybody really came for his life, Ian would need to increase his STR and DEX stats to increase his survivability.Stolen novel; please report. Ian now looked at his skills list. Since he had last checked, Magical Botany had almost reached lvl 3, butdue to his travelling his skills had stopped growing as quickly as they had back at his family farm. Ian decided that he would make the most of his time on the ship grinding away and raising his skill levels as much as possible. Ian almostoverlookedit, but on closer inspection he realized that he had gained a new skill. When had that happened? He''d probably missed it when he was rolling on the floor in pain. Focusing on that skill, Ian opened up its description.
Magical Plant Digestion (PASSIVE) (Lvl 1 8.9%) As you have successfullydigestedpart of a Magical Plant, your body has learnt to absorb the mana from Magical Plants. Slightly increases rewards anddecreases side effects from consuming Magical Plants.
Ian sighed. It seemed like it was his fate to keep eating Magical Peas and enduring the resulting agony. Then again, the stat gains were amazing and he needed a source of food. Just not for a while, Ian decided. After what had just happened, he needed a break. Ian thought about how he should try to increase his fighting power. He currently had three Magical Plants with him: two Lesser Magical Peas and one Magical Pea. Ian did have some seeds that he brought with him in his Magical Farm, but they couldn¡¯t be germinated in the Magical Farm and the conditions in the room were sub-optimal for growing. Ian pulled the two Lesser Magical Peas out of his Magical Farm. Unlike Ezra, they just sat there and looked like oversized pea plants. In his fights against Midas and his men, all three plants had combined their powers to help achieve victory. However, Ian knew that Ezra¡¯s contribution had been much larger than the other two plants, and that it was mostly due to Ezra¡¯s intelligence. If it were not for Ezra, Ian would have probably died when the Mind Mage attacked and again when the rogue snuck behind him outside the warehouse. Ezra¡¯s ability to act by itself made up for Ian¡¯s personal weaknesses, and made it many times more valuable than the other two plants. Ian made up his mind. He would focus on evolving the two Lesser Magical Pea plants before trying to evolve Ezra again. After that, he would either try growing some other species of plants or try evolving Ezra even further. Ian planned out his routine. He would cast Magical Botany until he ran out of mana, then work in the Magical Farm until it recovered. Regularly, he would also consume Magical Peas to satisfy his hunger and increase his INT. Ian grabbed the first Lesser Magical Pea plant¡¯s leaves, and got to work. His mana rushed out of him and into the Magical Plant which greedily soaked up every drop. It was the start of a long trip of pain and grinding, but Ian could not wait to get started.
A glass shattered into the wall beside Vanessa. ¡°What do you mean you can¡¯t find him? How could you be so incompetent to let him escape?¡± Vanessa flinched. ¡°My apologies. Your father strictly told me to only check on him if he had not returned by sunrise, and by that time Ian had already disappeared.¡± The Alchemy Guild Master¡¯s office still looked the same as when Ian had last seen it, but the person behind the desk had changed. Elias Midas was the son of Doran Midas, and was the natural successor to the position after Doran¡¯s dead body had been found three days ago. Vanessa continued. ¡°Due to the fact that none of our men have been able to find Ian in Brenas, it is highly probable that he escaped by sea. I have investigated which ships left in the morning your father died, and there could only be two ships that Ian could have hid on. One is headed towards Kargas, and the other is headed towards Izen.¡± Elias calmed down a bit. ¡°Kargas is still within our influence, but Izen is beyond our reach. Send word to Kargas and place a high bounty on Ian, up to 500 gold. Bring him and his plants in alive.¡± ¡°Yes sir,¡± Vanessa replied. 500 gold was an extraordinary bounty, and bounty hunters would be crawling up and down Kargas looking for Ian. ¡°Is there anything else you require?¡± Elias raised his hand in a shooing manner, clearly indicating that he no longer required her presence. As Vanessa started to open the door to leave, he called out for her again. ¡°And Vanessa? For your sake, you better pray to Lenessa that Ian got on to the ship for Kargas. If not, I promise that this failure will be your responsibility.¡± Vanessa shivered and nodded. As soon as she closed the door behind her, she could no longer hold back her emotions and trembled with fear. Vanessa knew that whenever Elias promised something, he would always follow through. She had served his father for over a quarter of her life, and so she had watched him raise Elias into the man he was today. That is why she knew better than anyone that Elias Midas was one of the cruelest, bloodthirstiest people in all of Briodelar. Like father like son, Vanessa thought, as she picked herself up and got ready to draft the bounty notices. Ian did not know it, but he had just made an enemy that even the King of Briodelar would not wish to face. Ch.11 Resisting Pathogens As Ian''s older sister Irene had explained many, many years ago, Briodelar was a country with mountains in the north and the Goht Sea to the south. As a result of her geographical barriers, Briodelar relied heavily on naval trade to keep her economy strong. It was due to this that almost all of the country''s major cities, including its capitol Brenas, were located on its southern coastline. Briodelar was surrounded by three other countries. Beyond the mountain ranges of the north lay the Empire of Reyk, a land even colder than Briodelar''s chilly winters. Travel to Reyk almost completely shuts down at the beginning of fall, as their coastal waters freeze and the mountain passes become too treacherous to travel. In order to survive the frigid winds, the people of Reyk were much sturdier than those from other countries, making them natural born Warriors and Berserkers. All trade and diplomacy between Briodelar and Reyk was conducted during the summer months, and one would have no choice but to stay the whole winter if one waited too long to go home. To the northeast of Briodelar lay the Kingdom of Meltor. Meltor was unique as it was completely landlocked, and thus did not receive the same naval opportunities as Briodelar and Reyk. Meltor''s strength instead laid in their military prowess. Having withstood the political pressure of five adjacent countries surrounding its borders, one could tell that Meltor was not a nation to be messed with. The might of Meltor''s military was due to her extensive magical education and background. Children born in Meltor were over twice as likely to receive magic classes once they turned 18, and their government''s corresponding education system helped to produce some of the strongest mages in the world. Finally, the Kingdom of Lubiel lay to the southeast of Briodelar. Though the land border between Lubiel and Briodelar was short in length, they were the closest country to each other by sea and thus shared an amicable relationship. Many products such as exotic fruits were exported from Lubiel due to her warmer growing climate, and Lubiel had always imported resources like hardwood that were more difficult to grow in her looser soils. Although Lubiel was a land of great beauty, it also had the worst problems of all four countries with monster outbreaks and attacks. Thus, Lubiel had always relied heavily on adventurers and mercenaries to keep its people safe. Although Briodelar and its neighbors had enjoyed relative peace for the past century, that was not to say that conflicts of interest never occurred. Disputes between resources near borders occurred frequently, and none of the four countries slacked in the maintenance of a standing army. After such a long period of peace, there were warmongers in each country who clamored for conflict and the potential benefits that could be gained from it. What these advocates for bloodshed did not realize was the storm that was about to arrive in Lenessia. If they had known, they would have probably kept their mouths shut and scrambled to ensure their own survival in the upcoming years. Darkness was about to arrive to Lenessia, and everybody, no matter what country they were from, was going to have to work together to keep humanity from being destroyed.
Meanwhile in the middle of the Goht Sea, Ian was bored out of his mind. He had been stuck in the same room in the ship for two weeks now. The rhythmic sounds of the sea that he had initially found soothing quickly became monotonous, and Ian was about to lose it if he had to eat another Magical Pea. With nothing else to do all day, Ian had completely dedicated himself to raising his Magical Plants and increasing his skill levels. He checked his status to see the progress that he had made.
Status
Name Ian Age 18
Class Magical Botanist
HP 105 MP 131
STR 110 DEX 109
INT 188 WIS 121
Skills
Farming (PASSIVE) 8 (12.3%)
Manual Labor (PASSIVE) 1 (89.2%)
Magical Gardening (PASSIVE) 1 (11.3%)
Magic Plant Digestion (PASSIVE) 1 (35.9%)
Magical Botany 2 (95.6%)
Magical Crossbreeding 1
Magical Farm 1 (12.7%)
Ian had managed to evolve both of his Lesser Magical Peas to Magical Peas, and both had given him a nice boost of +10 INT. Eating two Magical Peas a day had also helped raise his INT to the value it was now, but recently each consumption was giving Ian less and less INT. That had been slightly disappointing - Ian had hoped that he could have simply eaten peas until he had higher INT than any mage alive. Still, he was quite satisfied with his progress. Ezra and the newly evolved Sartonius and Zen now formed a trio of self-intelligent pea plants that would be more than enough to deal with any upcoming threats.Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation. Ian suddenly heard a commotion from the floor above his head. So far, the trip had been uneventful with only one sailor entering his room last week to grab something. Other than the chatter of the sailor who lugged two pieces of furniture out the door, Ian hadn¡¯t heard a peep from another human being in two weeks. Something must have happened to cause such uproar. Ian pulled himself up to the level of the porthole and took a look around. He had been hoping to see that they¡¯d arrived at land; he desperately wanted to get off of the ship and eat some real food. Instead, he caught a glimpse of two ships with black sails rapidly approaching. Ian had heard stories of these ships from his grandfather. White sails signified government ships owned by a Kingdom and blue sails could signify either merchant or passenger ships, but the infamous black sails could only mean one thing. Pirates. Ian watched nervously as the ships approached. In his grandfather¡¯s stories, pirates were always ruthless criminals who would kill or enslave an entire ship¡¯s crew without remorse. Merchant ships always hired mercenaries to try to deter pirates from attacking, but Ian was unsure if they would be enough to deal with two ships worth of attackers. Ian wondered if he should help. Ian considered his options. Optimally, he could avoid fighting while the ship¡¯s mercenaries dealt with the attack by themselves. However, if the pirates won they would eventually find him and greatly outnumber him. If he helped the mercenaries fight the pirates on the deck, he might just be able to tip the scales of the fight. Ian was confident in his new strength; he knew that Midas wouldn¡¯t have hired any weak men when he had been kidnapped, and he had managed to defeat them 1 versus 4 with only Ezra having experienced a second evolution. He had made his decision. Ian balanced all three pots in his wheelbarrow and started heading out of the room. The hallways of the ship were lifeless and empty. From the commotion above, it seemed that all the entire crew had congregated on the deck. Ian grunted as he lifted his plants up the flights of stairs to the deck level. The deck was currently a frenzy of activity. Everywhere, there were people running around and shouting orders and mercenaries getting ready for combat. Ian was spotted pretty quickly. The sight of an unfamiliar man with a wheelbarrow filled with three massive pea plants was enough to send the already nervous crew into high alert. The sound of the mercenaries drawing their blades could be heard. "Who are you and what do you want?" A voice rose above the nervous crowd. Based on the man''s uniform, the ship''s captain had just spoken. Ian raised his hands in the air, the universal sign for non-aggression. "I mean no harm. I was on the ship and saw that there were pirate ships approaching and wanted to help you fight." The captain stared at Ian and his plants, assessing whether or not he was telling the truth. After a tense moment seconds, the captain conceded. "I''m not going to question why you were on my ship in the first place, but we can take all the help that we can get. Just don''t get in the way of the mercenaries, and you and I are going to have a talk after this." The crowd relaxed and returned to their earlier tasks. Ian also started getting ready for combat, finding a defensible corner and setting his three Magical Plants around him. In less than ten minutes, their ship had been surrounded. The speed of their merchant vessel which was designed with carrying capacity in mind could not compare with the sleeker, smaller pirate ships. ¡°Surrender your goods and your men and keep your lives! Fight and my men will show you pain and suffering!¡± An amplified voice rose from the first pirate ship. The captain drew his blade in response. ¡°As if we would believe your lies! If you wish to fight, then we will give you a fight!¡± ¡°All righty! You have ensured you and your crew¡¯s death.¡± The pirate signalled his men. ¡°Attack!¡± On that signal, boards and ropes flew between the two pirate ships and onto the deck. Archers attempted to shoot the crossing pirates down, but few connected as they were protected by their blades and shields. Rapidly, a number of pirates almost twice as many as the amount of mercenaries had made it onto the ship and surrounded the crew. A mercenary rushed forwards and attempted to strike a pirate with his sword, but the pirate nimbly dodged and plunged his longsword into the attacker¡¯s neck. The sight of blood broke the spell, and the deck quickly descended into chaos as pirates and sailors alike fought to the death. The battle had begun. Ch.12 Fighting Parasites "Vine Whip!" Another pirate bit the dust as he was struck by a multitude of green vines, cracking his bones and rupturing his internal organs. Ian''s corner had quickly become a safe haven for the sailors to regroup, as any pirate that stepped within the range of his vines learnt the true meaning of "eat your vegetables". Ian watched as the battle enfolded around him. A part of the pirate''s numbers advantage had been overcome thanks to his help, but they had quickly learnt to stay away from his corner. Ian tsked. His plants'' innate lack of mobility lowered their impact on the battle, but he would become surrounded if he tried to carry around the plants in the middle of the fight himself. Ian pushed his plants and walked forwards by a meter - that was the most he could go without opening himself to be flanked. Right as Ian was starting to feel confident that he would be able to tip the scales of the fight, his eyes widened as he felt a sudden warmth coming from his left. He instinctively dropped flat to the floor just as a ball of fire flew above his head and crashed into the wall behind him. Ian cried out in pain as the fireball exploded, sending scorching embers flying that landed on his back and caused his skin to scream with agony. Looking up, he could tell that he had been lucky - some of the sailors who had taken direct hits now laid charred and unmoving on the ground. Ian looked around for the source of the attack and quickly found the perpetrators. The two men were not even attempting to remain inconspicuous as they stepped down onto the deck. The first man was dressed in fiery red robes, laughing as sailors screamed and burned at his hand. Ian was unsure what sort of protection the robes possessed, but the Fire Mage seemed completely sure in his own safety as he continued to recklessly incinerate his opponents. The Fire Mage¡¯s confidence was probably due to the presence of the man in front of him. Covered from head to toe with armor and carrying a huge tower shield, the man was impervious to any attacks the mercenaries were throwing at him. His mouth was set in a hard line, and his eyes showed no reaction to the deaths around him. Ian could not tell what class this man possessed, but either way his presence made approaching the Fire Mage near impossible. This was not a good matchup for his plants, Ian realized. So far, all of his opponents were lightly armored and focused more on speed than defense, allowing him to surprise them with hard hitting blows that were guaranteed to be fatal. This would not be the case here ¨C Ian would bet anything that the armoured man had a significantly higher STR than DEX, increasing his health and making him nigh impossible to kill. The Fire Mage also posed a significant threat, much higher than the Mind Mage that he had faced before. While the Mind Mage would have proved fatal to normal opponents, Ian¡¯s skillset was a huge counter to the Mind Mage¡¯s illusions due to his fighting power resting in his plants and not himself. Meanwhile, the Fire Mage¡¯s elemental advantage over Ian would mean that he would be fighting an upwards battle from this point forth. These two were significantly stronger than the rest of the pirates, and Ian wondered why they had waited until the battle was half done to join in. As soon as the duo stepped onto the deck, they started towards Ian¡¯s setup. Stopping right outside the range of his vines, the Fire Mage spoke. ¡°Kekekeke, what is a Plant Mage doing so far out in the water? You should have known better than to leave your dirt.¡± The Fire Mage¡¯s tone was condescending as he looked at Ian¡¯s plants with disdain. ¡°What do you want?¡± Ian asked. ¡°We don¡¯t have to fight.¡± He desperately hoped that there was a way out of this mess ¨C if he had known that these two were coming then he would have probably stayed in his room. ¡°Yes, I agree that we don¡¯t.¡± Ian let out a sigh of relief. Maybe he could negotiate with the pirates and somehow escape back to land. ¡°But I want to anyways! Kekekeke!¡± The Fire Mage¡¯s insane laughter filled the air. There seemed to be no reasoning with the Fire Mage, who appeared to have gone off the deep end long ago. Ian started looking around for potential escape paths, noting the presence of a staircase to the upper deck ten meters to his right. ¡°Kekekeke here I come!¡± Fireballs simultaneously sprung up in both of the Fire Mage¡¯s hands. ¡°I can¡¯t wait to watch you burn!¡± Ian was not about to let this Fire Mage land the first strike. ¡°Ezra, Sartonius, Zen, Pea Shot!¡± So far in this battle Ian had been saving this ability in order to maintain the element of surprise in case a strong opponent appeared, and now was the time to use it. The vines of all three plants whirled into action, forming gun barrels of pea pods and simultaneously firing. A barrage of peas flew towards the Fire Mage, more than enough to reduce his body to a pulp if they had connected. Instead of what Ian had been hoping to see, the armored man quickly sidestepped in front of his companion and raised his tower shield. The noise of the barrage of peas striking the shield was thunderous, and it easily drowned out the cries of pain and blades clashing from the rest of the deck. Though this was probably the strongest attack Ian had ever put out, the shield remained firm with only several small dents appearing. The Fire Mage popped his head out from behind the shield once the attack was done, and he did not look happy.If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it. ¡°I guess I should¡¯ve eaten more Magical Peas,¡± Ian muttered to himself. He was in deeper trouble than he had imagined. ¡°Lenessa give me strength.¡± Two Fireballs blazed through the air towards Ian. Jumping to the side, Ian grunted as he landed on the ground with a thud, narrowly dodging a fiery death. His three Pea Plants kept attacking with a combination of Vine Whip and Pea Shot, but the armored man blocked all the attacks with his shield. ¡°Kekekeke your attacks are useless, Plant Mage! You should know better than anyone that your weak plants have no chance of damaging my Guardian!¡± Ian cursed. The Guardian class was one of the the strongest Tier 3 classes when it came to pure defense, and excelled in defending high priority targets such as mages. The duo had formed a textbook combination that would be almost impossible to beat. Ian ducked his head as another Fireball flew towards his face, scorching his hair but still missing its target. ¡°There¡¯s no use in running! You might be able to dodge, but what about your plants! Kekeke!¡± Ian watched in horror as the Fire Mage turned his attention towards his Magical Pea plants, engulfing each one with a barrage of Fireballs. As the flames persisted, Ian saw that his Magical Plants were burnt but still standing. ¡°Impossible! How can a mere plant withstand my flames?¡± The Fire Mage seemed even more enraged at this site. ¡°Fireball!¡± The Fire Mage was now in a frenzy, attacking the plants with abandon. How much mana did this mage have? No matter what, Ian¡¯s plants wouldn¡¯t be able to withstand the attacks much longer. Grabbing a vine from each plant, Ian quickly recalled his plants to his Magical Farm and made a run for it. Dashing towards the staircase on the right, Ian ran like he¡¯d never ran before, dodging and weaving to avoid the Fireballs flying above his shoulders. The assault did not last long; Ian turned his head and saw the Fire Mage and Guardian in pursuit. The Fire Mage must be trying to conserve his mana until he had a more certain shot, Ian concluded. Ian¡¯s only advantage was that the Guardian could not run very fast due to the high weight of his armor and shield and the Fire Mage was reluctant to leave the side of his protector. Thus, he had some time to catch his breath while he waited for them to climb the stairs. Ian pulled out his plants again and lamented at their sorry states. Ian quickly checked his status.
Status
Name Ian Age 18
Class Magical Botanist
HP 88/105 MP 131
STR 110 DEX 109
INT 188 WIS 121
Skills
Farming (PASSIVE) 8 (12.3%)
Manual Labor (PASSIVE) 1 (89.2%)
Magical Gardening (PASSIVE) 1 (11.3%)
Magic Plant Digestion (PASSIVE) 1 (35.9%)
Magical Botany 2 (95.6%)
Magical Crossbreeding 1
Magical Farm 1 (12.7%)
Ian had taken a bit of splash damage from the Fireballs, but his health was still at an acceptable level. Looking at his full mana, he realized that unlike the Fire Mage he hadn¡¯t used a single active skill during the fight. Ian took some time and spammed Magical Botany on all three of his plants. Some of the burnt vines recovered, and the plants seemed to recover some of their vitality. By the time Ian had used up half of his mana, the Fire Mage and Guardian had finished climbing the stairs and caught up. There was nowhere else to run ¨C the only staircase was blocked by the duo, and behind Ian was the helm of the ship. He¡¯d have to make his final stand here. ¡°Kekeke nowhere left to run now, huh? For all the running you made me do, I¡¯ll make sure to give you a slow death.¡± The Guardian slowly advanced, forcing Ian back while the Fire Mage stuck closely to his back. Ian desperately attacked with Vine Whip and Pea Shot to no avail, and was forced to continuously drag his pots back while casting Magical Botany to keep his plants alive. Although the Guardian had mostly acted in defense so far, Ian knew that if he got too close a shield bash to the face would be as equally deadly as any spell that the Fire Mage could throw. There was not much space left for Ian to back up, so it was time for some more desperate maneuvers. The Guardian¡¯s tower shield provided an absolute defense, but it could only defend in one direction. Grunting, Ian picked up Zen¡¯s pot and threw it forwards and to the right as far as possible. The pot flew in the air and shattered on impact sending dirt spilling everywhere, but Zen stood tall. Ian now had attackers on either side of the Guardian. Ian¡¯s gamble paid off, and the pressure was now placed on the Fire Mage and Guardian. However, the two clearly had years of experience fighting with each other and knew how to deal with two pronged attacks. The Guardian immediately swung himself and the Fire Mage to the left so that they were perpendicular to Ian¡¯s plants, raising his shield so that he could simultaneously block the attacks from both directions. Meanwhile, the Fire Mage got to work on the isolated plant. ¡°Dragon¡¯s Breath!¡± A giant plume of flame burst out of the Fire Mage¡¯s mouth towards Zen, engulfing the newly evolved Magical Pea plant in a constant stream of fire for over ten seconds. When the Fire Mage was done, Zen had been burnt to a crisp. Ian swore as the Fire Mage pulled a mana potion from beneath his robes and chugged it. Ian had just lost a third of his firepower, while the Fire Mage would regenerate his mana and the Guardian had barely received a scratch. Throwing Zen had seemed like a good plan in Ian¡¯s head, but now it was backfiring. Ian was now forced to keep retreating until his back hit the railings at the helm of the ship. Below him lay the waters of the Goht Sea, turbulent and frothy white as the waves crashed again the ship¡¯s hull. Ian gulped ¨C he had never learnt how to swim. ¡°Kekeke you put up a good fight for a Plant Mage, but it ends here. Die!¡± As the Guardian pushed forwards and Fireballs flew at Ian¡¯s face, he only had one place left to go. He pulled Sartonius back into his Magical Farm and grabbed Ezra¡¯s pot as tightly as humanly possible, taking a deep breath to steel his nerves. This was possibly one of the most reckless things Ian had ever done, but he didn¡¯t have any other options left to pursue. Ian jumped, and he and his Magical Plant disappeared from the deck of the ship. Ch.13 Defeating Opponents The two pirates left on the upper deck were silent and in shock. Had they just seen their Plant Mage opponent dive into the sea? "Tch, what a slippery bastard. I didn''t even get to properly burn him yet." After a long sigh, the Fire Mage turned to his Guardian. ¡°Ulfar, go and check if he''s down for sure." The Guardian nodded and slowly approached the helm of the ship with his shield up, still wary of being attacked. The Fire Mage also kept his guard up and followed closely behind, trusting his back to his partner while his eyes swept around for potential flanks. Despite their shock and the Fire Mage¡¯s potential insanity, it was clear that they were seasoned veterans when it came to combat. For them, the battle was only over when the opponent was confirmed dead. Ulfar peered over the edge and saw only the turbulent sea below. The waves below the helm were no longer coloured blue, but white as they crashed against the merchant ship¡¯s hull. If anybody without great physical strength or the powers of a Water Mage jumped into these waters, they would be battered by the waves against the ship''s helm until they drowned. The Guardian silently nodded his head towards the Fire Mage - Ulfar was never a man of many words, but he and Ragnor had been working together for so long that simple gestures could convey more meaning than a thousand words. "Kekeke that Plant Mage made the right choice. A watery death is better than the agony I was about to inflict upon him. Now let¡¯s go back and finish burning the rest of this ship''s crew, I want to try lighting this ship on fire after the battle.¡± All merchant ships had minor fire resistance enchantments imbued into their structure, but the challenge only excited Ragnor even more. It was at this moment that Ulfar''s instincts started screaming with danger. Part of it was due to his class¡¯s skill, Guardian''s Instinct, while the rest of it was obtained by having survived through years of dangerous encounters. The Guardian spun around as fast as possible, grabbing Ragnor¡¯s waist and attempting to shove him behind his shield. The Guardian''s instincts were sharp, but they were not at the level of precognition. The Fire Mage screamed as a Pea Shot slammed into his left shoulder, leaving his arm hanging by a fleshy mess. Ian cursed - if the Guardian hadn''t pulled the Fire Mage around, then the shot would have made a direct hit with the Fire Mage''s chest. Around twenty seconds earlier, Ian had just jumped off the helm of the ship while hugging Ezra. Fireballs flew above his head as he plummeted towards the water, his back burning with pain from the burns that he had sustained. ¡°Ezra, grab!¡± Ian¡¯s mental connection with his first Magical Plant quickly conveyed his intent, and Ezra hooked onto the bottom of the railing with several vines. Ian¡¯s shoulders screamed with pain as the rest of his body jerked to a stop, leaving his feet dangling a few inches away from the water. Ian panted and tried to catch his breath as he commanded Ezra to start moving sideways, attempting to swing as quickly as possible without too many jerky movements. He hadn¡¯t fully considered how Ezra would manage to not fall out of its pot when he jumped, but he wasn¡¯t prepared to find out. Vines swung across the railings until Ian reach the right side of the ship. It was at this moment that Ezra¡¯s pot started to shatter ¨C Ian saw that in order to keep itself anchored, some of Ezra¡¯s roots had pierced tiny holes in the sides of the pot, destroying its integrity. Ian had no choice but to command Ezra to raise them towards the deck before the pot broke and all the soil fell into the sea. Ian pulled himself and Ezra over the railing and made eye contact with the Fire Mage. As the Fire Mage started casting Fireball, Ezra had already fired a Pea Shot with superhuman reaction speed, hitting the Fire Mage in the shoulder as the Guardian pulled him away in the nick of time. The combatant¡¯s positions were now switched, with the pirate duo against the helm and Ian closer to the staircase to the lower deck. Ian gasped for breath as he thanked Lenessa that he was still alive ¨C that maneuver had been way too risky for his liking. The Fire Mage wouldn¡¯t be casting spells anytime soon as he desperately tried to cauterize his shoulder to stop the bleeding, but Ian still faced the same problem as before: the Guardian¡¯s defenses were nearly impossible to penetrate. Ian knew that only time and repetitive attacks could break through his armour, but wouldn¡¯t that be losing sight of the bigger picture? His goal wasn¡¯t to defeat the duo, but to protect the ship from the pirates. He picked Ezra up and ran back down the stairs as the Fire Mage cursed him for his cowardice. Back on the lower deck, the fight between the sailors and the pirates was going poorly. Blood was everywhere as the sailors desperately fought to stay alive. There were only around fifteen sailors left defending in a corner beneath the stairs while there were well more than twenty pirates surrounding them. Though the situation looked grim, Ian knew that he couldn¡¯t afford to drag the fight out or else he might give the Fire Mage enough time to recover.This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it. ¡°Protect my back!¡± Ian jumped in front of the sailors, pulled Sartonius out of his Magical Farm and entered the battle. Ian crouched behind his plants as Ezra and Sartonius¡¯s vines became a blur of motion. Now it was the pirates¡¯ turns to scream in fear as they dropped left and right with well-aimed Vine Whips and Pea Shots. Some pirates tried to attack Ian, the Plant Mage they thought was controlling the plants, but the sailors helped by stopping anybody who attempted to flank. Other pirates tried shooting arrows or throwing daggers, but the speed of Ian¡¯s Magical Plants prevented any weapons from hitting their owner. Although the pirates had higher attacking power and speed compared to the Guardian, their lack of defense made them easy targets that were knocked down by the Magical Plants before they had a chance to attack. These were the types of opponents that Ian would much prefer to face compared to the well-coordinated duo above. By the time the pirates assessed the situation and retreated out of Ian¡¯s range, around ten of them were lying on the floor either dead or unconscious. Seizing their advantage, the remaining sailors rallied with a war cry and charged the pirates. Throwing Sartonius¡¯ pot over at the pirates, Ian moved to go pick Ezra up and was about to go help finish the pirates off when a vine wrapped around his waist and pulled him to the side. The Guardian smashed into the spot Ian was just about to walk past, collapsing the deck and sending him and Ezra tumbling to the next floor. Although Ian had escaped a direct hit, splinters and cuts covered his body and his vision spun from when he knocked his head on his way down. Ulfar was now only a few feet away from Ian and rapidly approaching. His thudding footsteps shook Ian from his stupor, and he quickly tried to scramble away and create some distance. However, as soon as he stood up he felt a sharp pain coming from his right ankle; on closer inspection, his foot was twisted at a weird angle and could not support any pressure. No matter how slow the Guardian moved, there was no way Ian would be outpacing him in this condition. Ian had managed to keep his cool in this battle so far, but as his executioner approached him step by step his composure began to slip. His thoughts became panicked as he desperately tried to find a way out to no avail; he¡¯d already tried every trick in his arsenal and none had succeeded. Was there nothing else he could do? As he watched Ezra frantically Vine Whip the approaching Guardian, a thought suddenly occurred to himself. So far, Ian had only been commanding his plants to use their two skills, Vine Whip and Pea Shot. However, couldn¡¯t his plants do more than just what their skills described? Ian himself only had skills related to farming and taking care of Magical Plants, but that didn¡¯t mean that that was all he could do. In the same fashion, couldn¡¯t his Magical Plants accomplish other things through simply using their powerful vines? He had done something similar when he had used Ezra to save himself after jumping off the ship, but now he realized that this could also be applied in combat. Though his methods have worked so far against weaker opponents, his lack of imagination had made this battle a lot more difficult than it needed to be. Observing the approaching Guardian, Ian mentally conveyed his new plan to Ezra and the Magical Plant sprang into action. Instead of uselessly striking the Guardian¡¯s shield, Ezra¡¯s vines veered sideways and now wrapped around the Guardian, shield and all, binding him and tying his arms to his sides. The Guardian shook as he tried to break free from the plant¡¯s grip, and his high STR stat was proving to be effective as several vines began to snap. However, the Guardian did not know that he was already too late as vines began to sneak into every crook and cranny of his armor. Ian¡¯s final goal was not to trap the Guardian, but to take advantage of his only weakness. The Guardian¡¯s armor was effective against all types of attacks and completely covered almost every inch of his body except for one area ¨C the mouth. His helmet¡¯s mouth guard contained slits to allow the Guardian to breathe, and small green tendrils were currently forcing their way in. Ian couldn¡¯t see it, but the Guardian¡¯s eyes widened in panic as he desperately tried to raise his hands to claw at his mouth, but his arms were still bound to his sides. The vines continued on their intended path, forcing open the Guardian¡¯s mouth and tunneling into his throat, relentlessly attacking the Guardian¡¯s insides and choking him to death. Ian watched as the Guardian convulsed on the floor, losing all sense of strategy as he simply fought to breathe. His struggle did not last long. After about a minute, the Guardian¡¯s body went limp and stopped moving. Ian¡¯s entire body sagged with relief. With the death of the Guardian, Ian¡¯s kill count had just increased by one. How many did that make it now? Ian was unsure as he had already lost count of how many pirates he had defeated. Though Ian had had some time on the ship to process the deaths of Midas¡¯ gang, the Guardian¡¯s death was probably the most gruesome one so far. The image of the Guardian desperately writhing on the floor seemed to replay over and over in Ian¡¯s mind. This was not how Ian had imagined his life as a hero was supposed to be; he had dreamt of saving lives, not taking them in this fashion. As Ian lay on the rubble of the collapsed deck with his body hurting and consciousness slipping, for the first time in his life he wondered if he was truly meant to be the hero that he had always dreamed of becoming. Ch.14 New Beginnings "What should we... is it safe ... we don''t know where..." Voices drifted in and out of his consciousness. Ian cracked open his eyes, and was greeted with a world of blurry images spinning around him. There was the ship''s captain - the golden trim of his uniform could be recognized anywhere, several other sailors and a man in green sitting in the corner. The crew seemed to be talking about him, butwith his head poundinghe couldn''t make out what they were saying.Ian fought to keep his eyes open and listen to the conversation, but they unwillingly drifted shut. Once again, his visionfadedinto darkness.
The room was now quiet except for the sound of crashing waves. Ian¡¯s condition seemed to have improved; his vision was clearer, and the pain in his head had reduced to a dull throb. Trying to raise his upper body to get a better view of the room, he felt a hand on his right shoulder pushing him back down¡±. ¡°Please stay down, sir¡± reassured the sailor beside Ian. Turning towards the door, the man yelled for the captain A few moments later, the door swung open and in walked the captain, still wearing his uniform. Ian wondered if the man ever wore anything else. "Hello,SirMagus, it is good to see that you have awakened. May I ask for your name?"Sir Magus? That was a new one. "Ian."Speakingwas a lot harder than he had expected, and made him realize just how dry his lips had become. "Water..." "Go fetch our guest some water, quick!" The sailor who had initially been in Ian''s room ran out. The captain continued. "My name is Captain Roland. It is my pleasure to be of your acquaintance." Captain Roland¡¯s voice was surprisingly soft, unlike the brash tone of the rest of the crew. "So now, Magus Ian, I''d first like to thank you for your help in defeating those pirates. If it were not for you, we would have almost definitely lost. As for the loot from the dead and captured pirates, we will be giving you your share; you are entitled to the value of the Guardian''s armor and the Fire Mage''s cloak, as you were the primary contributor to their defeat. We will, however, be subtracting the costs of the healing potions used in your recovery." Ian nodded his head - he wasn''t too sure how much those items were worth, but he should at least be able to get a few gold for them even after his medical fees. Silently, he patted his waist and felt the reassuring bulge of his coin purse, still the same size as it had been before. It seemed the sailors were a lot more trustworthy than Ian had expected. "That issue aside, there is something else we must discuss. Can you explain to me how and why you are on my ship? Answer carefully, because I will know if you lie." Ian gulped.Roland had seemed amicable so far, but the expression on his face clearly showed that he was not to be messed with. "I was running away from a man that was going to hurt me. He doesn''t know that I''m on this ship, so there''s no way that he''ll coming looking for you. As soon as you land, I''ll leave and you''ll never see me again." Ian decided to tell as much of the truth as possible without giving too much away. He had no ideaif Roland and Midas knew each otherand didn''t want to expose himself if they did. Roland sighed. ¡°I know that you aren¡¯t telling me the whole story, but I will have to believe your word. To be honest, with all the sailors we lost in the attack we¡¯re going to need your help sailing the ship. You don¡¯t have any sailing experience, do you?¡± Ian shook his head. He hadn¡¯t even been on a boat before this, so there was no way for him to have any clue about how to sail one. ¡°That¡¯s okay, you can still help out with some of the labour. From what I saw, if you use your plants then you¡¯ll be able to make our crew¡¯s lives much easier. With your help, we should be able to reach land within two weeks, only putting us a week behind schedule.¡± Ian realized that even after spending weeks on the ship he still had no idea of the ship¡¯s destination. ¡°Captain Roland, what city is this ship headed for?¡± Roland smiled. It seemed like this young man was truly clueless about his situation. ¡°Sir Magus, we are headed to the capitol of the Kingdom of Lubiel, Izen. Now, I¡¯ll let you rest for the remainder of today but afterwards we will be requiring your assistance on deck.¡± Ian nodded and closed his eyes as the captain left his room. If he was going to get roped into physical labor after the fight he¡¯d just been in, he was going to get every possible second of sleep right now.
Ian was back on top of the pile of rubble with the Guardian choking on the ground before him. Ian could not stop his body as he slowly walked forwards, arriving at the armored body just as it stopped struggling. Horrified, he watched as his hand lowered to the Guardian¡¯s face, opening the visor to reveal his victim. Staring right up at him, eyes unmoving, was the face of his brother Byren. Ian woke up, gasping for air as he frantically looked around. It took a few seconds for him to realize that it had all just been a dream. Sighing, he tried to calm his breathing down as he laid back down in bed, trying to relax as he stared at the wooden ceiling and listened to the rhythmic sound of the waves. For the rest of the night, sleep refused to reclaim him. When the sun started shining through the window Ian was both simultaneously dismayed and relieved that it was time to work. Getting up, he stretched and started heading up to the deck. Maybe all he needed was some good, familiar physical labour to help him forget the screams of the men that he had killed.Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
¡°Land ho!¡± Just less than two weeks had since passed, and Ian was ecstatic to see land. Although his quality of life had improved significantly compared to when he had been hiding in the room, he missed the feeling of solid ground beneath his feet and the taste of fresh fruits and vegetables that wouldn¡¯t cause excruciating pain. Ian had been offered the same meals as the rest of the crew ever since he started helping out around the ship, but he still ate his Magical Peas thrice a day in order to increase his INT. Every time Ian rolled around the floor, grimacing with pain, all he had to do was remind himself of how close he¡¯d been to dying and he would gain the motivation to gulp down the next Magical Pea. Being on the ship had given Ian time to reflect. The images of the Guardian seizing on the ground still haunted Ian¡¯s dreams, punctuated by visions of the dead bodies of Midas, his men, and an assortment of nameless pirates. Ian knew that what he had done had been in self-defence, but the thought of how many lives he had taken still made his stomach sick. Shaking his head, Ian pushed his misgivings back. No matter how he felt about fighting, he would need to grow stronger into order to survive in this world. Ian considered his next steps. He would lay low for a while, since he didn¡¯t know if Brenas¡¯ Alchemy Guild was still looking for him. He would have to find a safe place to raise some more Magical Plants and increase his combat experience. From the fight with the Guardian, Ian had realized that his lack of creativity had greatly limited his fighting power and he was determined not to let that happen again. It was also time to try raising some different Magical Plants than just his current Magical Peas. While his Magical Peas were strong and had helped him survive until now, his lack of defense against the Fire Mage and insufficient physical damage against the Guardian made him realize that his current team was still incomplete. Individually, the Fire Mage and the Guardian would not have posed as much of a threat to Ian, but their combination of defense and offense greatly increased their combat power. Going forwards, Ian wanted to try to introduce that type of synergy to his team as well. Ian snapped back to reality as he caught a glimpse of Izen on the horizon. Unlike Brenas which boasted many tall structures, the buildings of Izen were relatively flat and were built with sandstone instead of clay bricks. There was a visible gap in the city skyline, which a sailor pointed out as the delta of the Dromas River. Nicknamed the ¡°Lifeblood of Lubiel¡±, the Dromas River ran through the country and provided fertile shorelines in the otherwise dry and hot climate. The deposits of silt and fertilizer that had accumulated at the delta made the farmland around Izen particularly prosperous, and helped to establish the city as a center of great wealth. Four hours later, their ship had reached the harbour and had successfully docked. Captain Roland denied Ian¡¯s offer to help unload the merchandise, seeming to want to get rid of Ian as fast as possible. Ian shrugged; he hadn¡¯t really wanted to help anyways, and only offered because his mother had raised him to always be polite. Venturing away from the docks, Ian headed towards the city hall. Earlier on the ship Ian had spoken to one of the sailors that had been to Izen and understood Lubiel¡¯s laws and had used the knowledge to formulate a plan. Ian reached down and patted his coin purse ¨C he¡¯d never had so much money before, and while it hurt money was meant to be spent. After a short wait, Ian met with a receptionist who guided him to the proper office for his transaction. Another hour later, Ian left the room with his coin purse significantly lighter and a piece of paper in his hand. Ian chuckled. He had tried so hard to leave his home to escape his fate as a farmer, survived through life or death battles, and now what was he doing? The irony was not lost on Ian as he walked away from city hall and followed the sailor¡¯s directions towards the market district to go buy some more supplies. It was time to start his own farm.
With her slim figure and round, blue eyes, Elise was one of the prettiest girls in all of Izen. As a Priestess of Izenia, the Goddess of motherhood and family as well as the patron of Izen, Elise¡¯s class by itself granted her a certain level of respect within her community. Add on the fact that her strong powers and bravery helped propel her to the position of a Rank C adventurer made her the ideal wife to men all across the city. None of that currently mattered as Elise and her party ran for their lives. ¡°Holy Barrier!¡± Piggybacking on their party¡¯s Swordsman Marco, Elise turned her body around and created a barrier of light. Holy Barrier was one of the strongest spells available to her as a Priestess, but all she could do was watch helplessly as it shattered within seconds. ¡°Run faster! They¡¯re catching up to us!¡± The other magic user in their party, a Wind Mage, raised his staff and created a tailwind to boost their speed. His help was not enough; the wolves were rapidly gaining on them. Their party had accepted a regular Rank D request two days ago to subjugate some local wildlife before they evolved into monsters. It was a repeated request that their party had completed many times in the past, so coming in they were expecting some easy money. There was no way for them to expect the situation that they were in right now. The pack of wolves was now biting at Marco¡¯s ankles. At first glance, the wolves seemed normal except for their abnormally large sizes, each one the size of an alpha of a regular pack. However, if one looked closer one would start to notice some more irregularities: their canines were sharper and tougher, they could run over twice the speed of regular wolves, and faint wisps of black smoke could be seen trailing from the tips of their fur. Elise had no idea what had happened to these wolves, but she didn¡¯t have the luxury to think about it as she continued to cast another Holy Barrier that was also quickly shattered. Although Elise was only a young girl, she had already accumulated years of adventuring experience and knew the situation they were in. Their party of five was slowing down. Marco was tiring out from running while carrying her and her twisted ankle while the rest of their party lacked the physical stamina to make it back to the city walls. Elise knew she had no choice. Tapping Marco on the shoulder, she loosened her arms from around his neck and jumped off. ¡°Go! I¡¯ll hold them back!¡± The rest of Elise¡¯s party faltered for a mere second before they continued to run away at full speed. They knew that it would be impossible for them to change Elise¡¯s mind, and any hesitation on their part would just be wasting her sacrifice. As Elise watched the pack of dark wolves approach her, she thought of all the fun she had had in the past three years adventuring with her party. She wasn¡¯t sure exactly when, but she had come to treat her friends as a second family. And as a Priestess of Izenia, it was her sacred duty to protect her family with her life. ¡°Mother¡¯s Sacrifice!¡± As Elise cast Izenia¡¯s forbidden spell, barriers of light several times thicker and brighter than the previous Holy Barriers sprung up and surrounded the wolves. As the wolves snarled and started breaking down the walls, Elise could start feeling her life force slipping away. The ultimate sacrifice, the skill bound her own vitality to the barriers and served as the greatest protection she could provide. As the barriers shattered and her consciousness faded, Elise prayed to Izenia to protect her family, to Lenessa to guide them to safety, and to Bryon to give them courage. With a smile, Elise closed her eyes and never opened them again. Ch.15 Regenerating Roots The Church of Lenessa taught that after death, your soul would be guided by Lenessa to its proper resting place. Those that lived righteous lives would enjoy an eternity of enjoyment and relaxation in heaven, while those who sinned would first need to be cleansed through the fires of purgatory. Of course, different branches of the faith believed in separate variations of the afterlife, but in none of them would one¡¯s soul remain on Lenessia. It was for this reason that Elise so confused as she watched the wolves devour her body limb by limb. After using Mother¡¯s Sacrifice ability, Elise had felt her soul start to tug away from her body. She had expected to be whisked away to the afterlife, but she had instead stopped and remained a few feet in the air. Inspecting her new form, she still looked the same with the only difference being that she was now slightly transparent. Willing her spirit to move, she watched as her spirit drifted closer to the wolves, waving her hands and shouting to see if they could notice her. From their lack of reaction, Elise guessed that they couldn¡¯t. As a Priestess of Izenia, Elise had dedicated her adult life to maintaining Izenia¡¯s values. Between her contributions towards local orphanages and her final sacrifice, Elise had taken solace in her final moments that she would be going to heaven. The fact that she hadn¡¯t threw her off ¨C had she done anything wrong? She couldn¡¯t remember if she had, but even then she should have been sent to purgatory. There had to be some other reason why her spirit was still here. Elise was tempted to drift back to Izen and see if the rest of her party had made it back safely. She wanted above all to reassure them that her death was not their fault. She knew that Marco, the man who had been carrying her, would feel especially responsible for her demise, but it was ultimately her decision and she didn¡¯t want them to be burdened with guilt. Realistically, she knew that they would probably be unable to see her as well ¨C there was a reason why ghosts were only heard of in folk tales and never seen in real life. However, as Elise watched the wolves finish eating and start heading back towards their den, she knew that there something important that only she could confirm, something that she could still do. Promising to herself that she¡¯d visit Izen afterwards, Elise started drifting behind the wolves, following the trail of black energy they left behind. She would find out what had caused the wolves to grow so strong, even if it cost her soul. Days blended together as Elise trailed the wolves for a bit less than a week, but the wolves still showed no signs of stopping. They had passed the wolves¡¯ lair days ago, but Elise could see that the density of the wolves¡¯ black energy gradually increased as they continued forwards. Clasping her hands together, Elise murmured another prayer to Izenia. She had always thought of herself as a strong woman, but even she was scared of approaching the source of the dark power. Twenty minutes later, the wolves started to slow down. Looking forwards, Elise could see a thick line of trees, but beyond that her view was blocked by a black fog. She watched as the wolves ambled through the wall, disappearing into the forest, and took a deep breath as she too plunged inside. The sight that greeted her would have scared her to death if she had still been alive. The pack of wolves was still there, but they weren¡¯t alone. Just beyond the initial line of trees was a large clearing brimming with all the monsters native to the Izenia region. Trolls and goblins polished their clubs next to each other, while minotaurs patrolled around the outskirts. Manticores and harpies, rare species that would usually only be found in mountains and caves, were idly resting in the open forest clearing. Elise couldn¡¯t help but gasp ¨C monsters usually never got along outside of their territory and species, and even then she had never heard of a group this large. If all of these monsters were as strong as the dark wolves that were capable of nearly wiping out her party, a horde of this size could easily destroy Izenia. Elise continued looking around the clearing, finally spotting a hooded man in the center of the clearing presiding over a pedestal with a black orb on top. Elise watched as he beckoned the wolves towards him, reaching his hands towards them as strands of black energy left the wolves and entered the orb. The orb grew even darker, and Elise could feel the ominous aura in the clearing grow even stronger. Suddenly, the man snapped his head up and looked directly at Elise, his crazed eyes sending a chill down her ethereal spine. ¡°Why have you come, Agent of the Betrayer? You will suffer!¡± The previously calm clearing burst into frenzy, with claws, clubs, and poisonous spikes flying towards Elise¡¯s location. Raising her arms in defense, Elise watched as the attacks passed through her body leaving no signs of visible damage. The robed man was enraged, shrieking and grasping the black orb. Black smoke rapidly exited the orb, and within ten seconds the smoke had congregated into three scythed reapers. Elise had a feeling that the attack of these reapers would be a lot more deadly, and immediately started floating away as quickly as possible, reaching an impressive velocity. Elise burst through the tree line and exited the black miasma with the trio of reapers hot on her tail, her mind was in a panic, impairing her sense of direction. She had intended to run back to the safety of Izenia¡¯s cathedral where she hoped the holy energy would be able to repel the reapers, but she was heading too far east to reach the city. Instead, she was heading away from the Dromas River towards a stretch of abandoned farmland that nobody had inhabited for years. However, Elise had no way of knowing this as she desperately ran for her life.
The plot of land Ian had bought had been vacant due to its poor location. Three days travel away from the city, the land was also too far from the Dromas River to benefit from its fertility. The soil quality was poor, and almost nobody frequented the adjacent roads. Due to its isolation, average farmers would fear monster attacks and struggle with transportation. All these factors that would make regular farmers think twice made this plot perfect for Ian.This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source. After gathering supplies and enough rations to last a few months, Ian had used up a majority of the money he had gathered. While Midas¡¯ purse had been full of gold and silver, Ian saw no point in saving it and had used it to purchase as many resources as possible. Not all of his purchases would fit inside his Magical Farm, so he had hired a caravan to help bring him and his stuff to his new land. The dried and preserved foodstuffs Ian purchased had filled a wagon by themselves. After spending a night in a mid-class inn, Ian was off to his new farm. The trip to the farm was uneventful. Like the trip to Brenas, Ian sat at the back of the wagon and made the best of his time by casting Magical Botany on Ezra and Sartonius, entrusting the wagon¡¯s safety to the two mercenaries walking alongside him. While hiring the mercenaries had resulted in another dip in Ian¡¯s resources, it was standard procedure in the Kingdom of Lubiel due to the presence of monsters meaning merchants would refuse to travel without them. Three days later, the caravan leader dropped Ian and his stuff off and quickly left. The leader had no idea why this young man would want to live in the middle of nowhere and it was none of his business, but he¡¯d be damned if he stayed there any longer than necessary. That would just be asking to be attacked. Inspecting his land, Ian saw the farmhouse that the land agent had mentioned. Smaller than the agent had described, its size made it more qualified to be called a shack instead of a house, but it was enough for Ian to live in by himself. Ian set aside the pile of supplies sitting by the side of the road and got to work. The first thing he did was pull Ezra and Sartonius out of his Magical Farm and place them by his side ¨C if there was one thing the past few weeks had taught him, it was to always be prepared for an attack. Next, he found a patch of relatively dark soil, pulled out a hoe and started preparing the land for seeds. Ian¡¯s objective in buying this farm was not to grow food to sell in the city like most farmers, but to raise his next generation of Magical Plants. After hoeing a small area he deemed it to be enough and put down his hoe. Ian checked his status.
Status
Name Ian Age 18
Class Magical Botanist
HP 105 MP 131
STR 110 DEX 109
INT 194 WIS 121
Skills
Farming (PASSIVE) 8 (56.3%)
Manual Labor (PASSIVE) 1 (93.2%)
Magical Gardening (PASSIVE) 1 (14.4%)
Magic Plant Digestion (PASSIVE) 1 (43.9%)
Magical Botany 2 (99.9%)
Magical Crossbreeding 1
Magical Farm 1 (14.7%)
Ian retrieved his seed bags from his Magical Farm and laid them out before him. Some of them he had brought from his family farm and others he had just purchased in Izen. There were a lot of different plant species for Ian to choose from, but his selection criteria wasn¡¯t based on normal factors such as nutritional value and growth speed, but which plant would be able to assist Ian in defense once it evolved into a Magical Plant. Ian spent a few minutes imagining the mature versions of each species and what sorts of abilities they could possess.His INT had continued to increase from consuming Magical Peas but the growth rate had significantly reduced. While disappointed, Ian was happy that he could now eat regular foods without feeling guilty for missing stat gains. His other stats had remained the same, but Ian knew that he especially needed to raise his STR as it would help increase his health and physical abilities. His skills had also continued to grow in level, but Magical Botany had been stuck at 99.9% for two days now, no matter how many times he continued to cast it. Ian wasn¡¯t too sure why exactly this had happened, but from his general knowledge he knew that this meant he had to fulfill some sort of condition before the skill would level up. Unfortunately, this condition was something that was normally taught from teacher to apprentice, a relationship Ian did not have the luxury of enjoying. He would just have to try a variety of things before meeting this unknown requirement. Ian had no clue which plants were of each attribute, but he assumed that if he was searching for a defensive plant he should choose one that possessed natural defense mechanisms. Putting the rest of the seed bags back, Ian was left with an assortment of squash and pumpkin varieties. Their hard fruits seemed indicative of a STR nature, so Ian would try his hand at growing these first. Grabbing a squash seed bag, Ian opened it and started planting. He had enough time to grow a few different plants to test his powers more thoroughly, Ian thought. There was no way that he¡¯d have to fight for his life again in this remote farm, right?