Chương 11: Herb Knowledge

I arrived back at our makeshift camp with my clay-covered body and a shirt stuffed full of it. A few of the Town residents shot me curious looks but otherwise ignored me. The knights, on the other hand, shot me looks of pity, probably guessing I fell into the clay bed or went crazy. Maybe both. They even went as far as asking the knight why he didn't do his job properly. I ignored all of them. I grabbed the same pot from before, tied the cloth around my face, and got to work.

I added another brick of weed that I had prepared yesterday and added water to that. I waited until the mixture began to simmer and then added clay into that. I knew that the clay was not the dangerous part. It was drinking too little water with the mixture that would kill you. I added around 10% of the total mass of the weed as clay, and continued to stir. It turned into a dough-like structure. I continued the process until it was slightly harder but not as hard as the brick from before. The idea was simple.

It would be much easier to eat the mixture as a kind of soup while leaving it soft enough for it to be similar to a cracker. The soup would somewhat automatically solve the water problem. I also realized how much less clay I had used than anticipated. The pot I was cooking in was maybe as large as my torso. Inside it, I had probably boiled dozens of pounds of weed, turning them into bricks. Maybe only one pound of clay had been used in the current mixture.

If the process worked, I could optimize it but decided against it. Theoretically, I wouldn't need to turn the weed into bricks first to kill a large amount of toxins, but I decided to keep the step. My thoughts were simple. The weeds weren't very calorie dense. Since that was the case, the people would need to eat a large quantity of it. If I ignored the brick-turning process, I would also need more clay and in turn more water. With the amount they were going to be eating, they might just live at the river then.

With that in mind, I ordered my knights to gather new mammals again. I would have two groups this way since the rats and other animals from before had survived. I knew they burned more calories than they consumed, however. Once they came back, I created my soup and let the mammals eat it again. I waited for a few hours and... it worked. Nothing happened. They lived. There was no grand reveal. It just worked. I sighed in relief and placed a little bowl of water next to their cages. Then I went to bed.

It was night again. I awoke to the murmurs of my knights.

"Has the Third Young Master gone crazy?"

"He always was that way. Ignore him. We will leave tomorrow morning. Just rest, don't get involved with him and do what he says. Let's get home without any incident. Tomorrow our job will be done." Then it was quiet again. I was just about to step out of the tent when I heard them. If I am being honest, their words stung. Not the crazy part. Genius always seemed crazy to people who couldn't understand it. It was the part that made me realize that they didn't want to have anything to do with me.

I half expected them to act arrogant around me and insult me with their words, but that had never been the case. Multiple times I tried to start small conversations, but I was mostly ignored or told that they were on duty right now and had to focus. It sucked. But at the end of the day, it didn't really matter. I hoped I could convince at least one of them to stay. I stepped out of the tent. Their heads turned to me. I nodded, they nodded back, and I went towards the cages. All mammals were still alive.

Now, I just needed to test it on a human. I grimaced. I knew it had to be—"What are you doing?" I heard Sebastian's voice and turned around. To my surprise, he and the Town Elder were together. I hadn't seen my butler in a day or two, but he still seemed the same as before. If a little more... relaxed? Did he take a warm bath without telling me there was one?

"I am solving the food problem," I said.

"You have solved the famine?!" Samuel, the Town Elder, blurted out.

"No," I answered.

"The food problem. Maybe. I don't know yet, I haven't tested it on a human yet. The famine is still there and so are the locusts, but I am sure the weed might be edible."

"How?" Samuel snorted a little, and looked at my pots.

"We already tried boiling it. It leads to vomit and dehydration and takes more energy than it gives." I nodded.

"The clay," I said.

"I saw a little hare eat the poisonous weed, before bolting towards the riverbed and chomping down on raw clay. So, I mixed both and voila, it worked. The rats and other mammals stopped throwing up. I just need to test it first before giving out food to the village." Samuel's eyes lit up in excitement.

"You are going to give out—" If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.

"Who did you want to test it on?" Sebastian interrupted.

"On myself."

"That's completely out of the question," Sebastian said sternly.

"You will not be testing it on yourself." I frowned.

"Then who do you want me to test it on? One of the knights? You? A starving villager? The last would die even if they just throw up. The knights need to leave tomorrow and you—""I will do it," Samuel said.

"I will test your mixture. If it kills me just say I starved. If it doesn't promise me that you will share the process with the Town." He looked me dead in the eye. I knew he wouldn't take no for an answer. I hesitated for a brief moment, then nodded slowly. Honestly, it hurt nodding. Because I knew I was cowering behind his offer. I was afraid it was going to kill me and so I accepted. I felt bad. I felt horrible for letting him do it and being a coward.

Eating something potentially poisonous was a different kind of courage to fighting I realized. I couldn't help but grow to respect the man.

"Before we start," Samuel sighed.

"There is a reason why I am here. Our head guard is back from his hunt and he would like to talk with you."

"He should be here himself," Sebastian said.

"Ivor is the Town Lord. You cannot just summon him at your will." To my surprise Samuel nodded.

"I agree, which is why I came in his stead. The man is injured, and he says the news is urgent. I will stay here, and eat your mix. If I die the knights can dispose of my body, but please meet him. I know he wouldn't just say those things without reason." I nodded, at his morbid words. Once we agreed the man shared with us the location of the man's house and we started walking. I wanted to go alone first but Sebastian insisted. He also made sure the kids would be fed while we're gone. The knights didn't complain.

I prayed Samuel would live.

The head guard's house was at the far back of the town, right at the edge of the Verdant Expanse. It was modest, but in good shape. We knocked on the door and a woman opened it. She scrutinized us. At first I thought she was the head guard but then I saw the old man covered in bandages behind her. He was missing an arm and eye, but these were old wounds. Instead it was his whole torso that was wounded.

"Who are you?" The woman asked.

"They are the new Town Lords," a rough voice called from behind.

"I called for them." The woman still didn't move, instead she looked at us deeply, as if analyzing our soul. It was only after a few seconds that she stepped away wordlessly.

"I apologize for my wife," the wounded man said.

"Most of the people here had a few run-ins with nobles and these weren't pleasant experiences. I had the pleasure of meeting multiple kind ones but nobody believes this old man. Name's Gerald." He stretched out his hand and I shook it. His grip was firm.

"You called for us and said it was urgent," I got straight to the point. A small smile filled his face.

"Yeah, I go out hunting into the Verdant Expanse as often as possible. I am a Stone Rank Combat Class, so it's relatively safe. So, despite the famine, nothing too bad happened, except me returning empty-handed. Now, however, I was attacked by—""Greens," Sebastian interrupted him, looking at the man's wounds.

"We have Greens in the forest." Gerald nodded.

"Yeah, Goblins. And that's the start of the problem. The Greens will multiply, and they will drive out all of the animals from the inner edges of the forest towards the outer edges and eventually towards our town."

"Isn't that a good thing?" I asked. I could see the benefit of having deer and rabbits near us.

"No," Gerald said as a matter of fact.

"Not just deer and hogs will be near us, but also bears and wolves. They aren't really a problem, even this close to us, as they don't hunt humans. However, this will change after the prey starts to dwindle. With so little space for the prey to move around, they will die out quickly. Predators will multiply and starve after a while. Next, you know our town is their next hunting ground." Gerald continued, "In addition, the Greens will hunt everything in sight. This includes bears and wolves. They will be hungry.

They will be afraid. And that is not a good combination for our little town. They aren't used to being hunted."

"And that turns them crazy," I said.

"Desperate," Sebastian corrected. Gerald nodded.

"Yeah, I suspect there will be a beast wave in maybe two months. I have known the Forest for years now. I am certain it will happen. It's just a matter of when." Sebastian and I took in the man's words and stayed silent. He was the expert here. And we would trust his word for now.

"How is the combat ability of our town?" Sebastian asked.

"Nonexistent," Gerald answered.

"Maybe if we weren't starving, it would be a little different. But most guards have already died. We focused on letting the 18-year-olds live. Not us." I looked at Sebastian, and it seemed that he understood what I was wondering.

"I am a Bronze Fire Mage," he said.

"But the Verdant Expanse is large. I will run out of Mana before I burn all of the animals."

"I already took into account your powerlessness," Gerald said.

"I suspected the Lord would have a guard, but yeah, you will run out of mana first. It's also very likely the beast wave will have multiple waves or last multiple days, if not weeks. This is just how large the Verdant Expanse is. There is a reason why it's practically unexplored." We stayed silent. The news wasn't good. They fucking sucked. A lot. It was a problem that couldn't be solved with simple prowess, and that pissed me off.

I could feel the next simulation coming close, but it seemed no matter how strong I would grow, it wouldn't be enough. We needed more people.

"Can we ask the knights to deliver a message to the city and ask for help?" I wondered. Gerald shook his head.

"They won't help us. They can't. Not for the beast wave, and I doubt for the Greens either." The headguard's wife scoffed.

"They can't? They won't! The Baron only cares about money! He will help us if we pay the right price. And even then, we can't afford it even if we sell the whole town to him, because of his high tolls, barely any merchants even come to this remote town, and those who come charge exorbitant prices. And we can't even call them greedy! It's the Baron who–""Honey," Gerald sighed.

"Please, calm down. You are right, however. The Baron won't help us." She harrumphed and disappeared from the room. We stayed silent for a brief moment.

"So we got a famine, collapsed mine, starving town, and a beast wave to deal with?" I asked.

"The Greens, too. They will eventually start looking towards our little town." Sebastian said, and Gerald nodded.

"They are pests for a reason. They will multiply and grow. Eventually, we will be their target."

"Great," I said.

"And here I thought about simply relaxing. How much time do we have?" This time, Gerald answered.

"It should take a while for the Greens to reach our town. Maybe a year or two if we are lucky."

"Luck, huh," I thought as I remembered the Calamity Points. I really didn't want to raise them. Still, the problem wasn't one to deal with right now. The beast wave was far more urgent, and so was the lack of food.

"Yeah, like I said, the Verdant Expanse is large. So, they will simply multiply in there. The best way would be to start hunting them down now, but..."

"Starving town," I ended Gerald's sentence for him, and he nodded. Me and Sebastian looked each other in the eyes. I just hoped at least one of the problems would be fixed today. Then, as if my words were heard by the gods above and below, a string of words surrounded by a blue box appeared in front of me. I grinned. You have earned the Skill [Herb Knowledge - Common]. The Skill will be placed into Limbo state unless you wish to learn the skill.