Chương 7: Magic Herbs

Ronald didn't like walking through the forest at night at all. As far as he was concerned, decent folk belonged indoors once it got dark. Unfortunately for him, his wife had gotten sick a few days ago, and since she was the only seamstress in the village, there were a lot of damaged clothes that piled up. Ronald felt especially bad for some of the boys who still had to wear pants with holes in them.

The village healer had once shown Ronald how to make a simple medicine using a few magical herbs that grew deeper in the forest, so getting those herbs was the plan. Buying some "real" medicine had never been an option. Ronald was a peasant, and he didn't have the kind of money needed for the fancy potions sold in town. If he wanted his wife to get better, then he'd have to make that healing potion himself. But, to be honest, Ronald was really not feeling this place.

There were rumors that this forest was home to evil spirits that come out at night. Old Mrs. Hilda insisted she'd watched a headless ghost wander these very woods when she was a girl. Granted, Old Mrs. Hilda also claimed she'd once arm-wrestled a bear and won, but Ronald wasn't about to dismiss all of her stories so easily. At least he'd come prepared for this late forest trip.

Ronald had his oil lamp in one hand, he wore his thickest clothes, sturdy boots, and a pair of gloves to guard against bites, while a machete rested at his hip for clearing bushes or fighting off some smaller animals, everything seemed to be going surprisingly well. Well... almost. A twig snapped somewhere behind him, causing Ronald to spin around so quickly he nearly dropped his lamp. It turned out to be absolutely nothing.

A little while later, an owl hooted from somewhere overhead, prompting him to mutter prayers before realizing birds were, in fact, allowed to exist at night. Then a bush rustled off to his right, making him freeze up, only for a rabbit to dart away moments later. Little by little, his breathing returned to something more normal. Maybe he'd let all those ghost stories get into his head. Ronald even managed to chuckle nervously at himself.

"Okay, nothin' to worry abou—" Suddenly, something crashed through the undergrowth. Ronald yelped so loudly he startled himself, nearly flinging the oil lamp into the bushes. His hands fumbled desperately for the machete before finally wrenching it free. He pointed the blade toward the noise with trembling arms, fearing the worst. A massive wild boar burst from the bushes, its shoulders plowing through the bushes as though they weren't even there. Ronald's soul almost left his body on the spot.

"Oh gods... oh gods... oh gods..." The boar looked absolutely furious. Its breathing was ragged, its body tensed, and for one horrifying instant Ronald became absolutely convinced it was about to charge straight through him. He squeezed his eyes shut, silently apologizing to his wife for not being stronger. But despite Ronald's worst fears… the charge never came. Instead, when he opened his eyes, he saw how the boar staggered.

It took one step, and suddenly, the enormous creature collapsed sideways onto the forest floor with a tremendous thud. Ronald stared at the boar lying motionless on the ground. He searched desperately for some explanation as to how the animal died, any explanation, but there wasn't a single wound on the beast, no bite marks, no blood, and it didn't look sick or old either.

As far as Ronald was concerned, there was only one thing that could kill a healthy boar without ever laying a finger on it, and that was an evil spirit. A terrified squeak escaped his lip as he stumbled backward from the carcass. His heart pounded so hard he was convinced whatever ghost had done this could hear it from halfway across the forest,"Please don't haunt me," he pleaded under his breath as he continued backing away.

"I ain't done nothin' wrong. I don't owe nobody money, and I even returned Old Man Greg's shovel... eventually. Please, if you're lookin' for somebody to curse, there's plenty o' people in the village more deserving than me." Ronald kept his eyes fixed on the dead boar as he slowly backed away, just in case one of those evil spirits got any ideas. By all the gods, once he found those herbs and got his wife back home safe, he swore he'd never, ever come into this forest after dark again.

[You have killed: Wild Boar (Level 13)] [Experience Awarded] [You have Leveled Up! 12 >> 13] [Vitality +1, Mana +1] It appeared that my latest victim had finally succumbed to my venom. A satisfying outcome, if I did say so myself. During my many experiments swinging between the trees, I had gradually become proficient enough to estimate where I would land based upon my momentum, the height of my swing, and the angle at which I released my silk.

At one point, I successfully landed upon a moving target, a wild boar, no less. The boar had, regrettably, managed to fling me away before collapsing to my poison, but I viewed that as little more than an inconvenience. After the boar's death, I made my way up another tree, preparing for yet another leap through the air, when something unusual caught my attention. Through the darkness, I noticed an artificial glow moving deeper into the forest. This story is posted elsewhere by the author.

Help them out by reading the authentic version. My guess was that the light came from a lamp, and It had grown considerably dimmer by the time I spotted it, suggesting whoever carried it had already traveled some distance away. People rarely wandered through forests in the dead of night for the sheer joy of it. Whoever this person was, they almost certainly had a purpose for venturing this deep into the woods.

Whether they sought herbs or some animals remains to be seen, but I found myself rather interested in discovering the answer. So, I climbed onto another branch and carefully positioned myself. After fastening a strand of silk securely above me with String Shot, I began to swing once more. Back and forth I went, each arc growing wider than the last as I timed the movements of my body to steadily build momentum.

Once the familiar sensation told me I had reached sufficient speed, I released the silk and launched myself through the air towards the next tree. The maneuver had become almost second nature by this point. Despite repeatedly hurling myself from considerable heights, I experienced surprisingly little discomfort whenever I landed on the ground or collided with a tree. Whether that resilience stemmed from my small body, my reinforced exoskeleton, or something else entirely, I neither knew nor particularly cared.

The important thing was that I wasn't hurt, which only emboldened me to attempt increasingly daring leaps. Although I occasionally paused to regain my bearings, I found that exhaustion arrived far more slowly than I had expected. I continued traversing the forest by swinging from tree to tree, firing strand after strand of silk, releasing at just the right moment before repeating the entire process again. Somewhere along the way I lost count of how many times I had launched myself through the trees.

It must have been quite a lot, because after one more landing, the System rewarded me. [A Skill has been Upgraded] [String Shot >> String Shot I] If my memory was correct, Skills progressed through several stages: the base Skill, followed by Stages I, II, and III, before finally reaching Master rank. That final stage represented a dramatic leap in power compared to everything that came before it, the ultimate reward for mastering a skill.

When I activated String Shot once more, the strand of silk traveled noticeably farther than before, launched with greater speed, and felt slightly sturdier as it left my mandibles. It was hardly a dramatic transformation, but I still found the enhancement quite respectable. Pleased with my progress, I resumed my journey deeper into the forest, swinging from branch to branch, or more accurately, from branch to the ground before clambering right back up a tree to attach my silk to a new branch.

Fortunately, every success and every embarrassing landing alike contributed toward refining both my String Shot and my increasingly sophisticated aerial movements. After many swings through the treetops, even the dizziness that had plagued my earliest attempts gradually became little more than a minor annoyance. My body had apparently grown accustomed to being launched through the air, allowing me to recover my bearings almost immediately after each landing.

I continued my unconventional mode of transportation well into the following morning, pausing only briefly to nibble on a few leaves before going back to swinging. It was during one of these swings that I detected something unusual. A faint sensation brushed against my senses, a familiar one, this was mana. Not merely scattered traces drifting through the forest, but a surprisingly dense concentration gathered somewhere ahead. Even with just my Basic Mana Sense, the presence was impossible to ignore.

Naturally, my curiosity asserted itself immediately, and I adjusted my course toward the source without a second thought. A few swings later, I landed amidst a patch of vibrant bluish. Among the blades of grass grew several striking yellow herbs whose leaves shimmered ever so faintly with magical energy. Even with the limited mana sensitivity granted by my Skill, I could tell these plants were infused with mana.

If these herbs contained such concentrated magical energy, then surely consuming them would strengthen my own mana as well. There was only one sensible course of action left before me, and that was to eat until I could eat no more. I began with the surrounding blue grass. Climbing each blade of grass, I steadily worked my way upward before settling near the tip and nibbling my way downward. Once a blade had been stripped to my satisfaction, I moved toward the next one and repeated the process.

It was hardly glamorous work, but I found a certain satisfaction in methodically harvesting every mouthful available to me. After clearing several patches of grass, I finally turned my attention toward the true prize. The golden herbs radiated noticeably denser mana than their blue neighbors, so I went after them next. The difference was immediately apparent. Every bite carried a richness that ordinary plants completely lacked.

Perhaps it would be best for me to just focus on these yellow herbs for the near future and ignore the blue grass. [Experience awarded] [Stat Increased] [Mana +1] Pleased with the improvement, I just kept on going. Hours blurred as I made my way from one enchanted plant to the next with unwavering determination. Occasionally I paused to rest, but never for long before my appetite, and admittedly, my greed, compelled me onward.

It was during one such pause that I watched a familiar sight emerge from between the trees. A human. He cautiously approached the clearing before kneeling beside one of the patches of golden herbs, carefully harvesting several of the plants and storing them inside a backpack. I could not help wondering whether he was the same unfortunate fellow whose lamplight I had noticed wandering through the forest the previous night.

Judging by his weary appearance, I rather suspected he had become hopelessly lost before stumbling upon this place. If that truly was the case, then I found the situation immensely amusing. Imagine spending an entire night wandering through a dangerous forest only to lose a portion of your precious harvest to a caterpillar quietly eating beside you. Amusing though the thought was, I had little interest in the man himself. He harvested a handful of herbs before eventually leaving.

Once he disappeared into the forest, I resumed my feast. While magical plants yielded no experience, watching my Mana steadily increase with every meal was reward enough to keep me feasting. Time slipped by unnoticed as one point became another, until my Mana Stat finally reached ten, prompting a new notification that looked poised to become the most significant upgrade I had received to date. [New Trait Acquired: Lesser Mana Core]