Chapter 202: Timber Procurement
After parting ways with Retze, who has been frequenting the forest due to a request from the Apothecary Guild, I set off toward the northern lands today.
The terrain here is desolate, littered with rocks and only a scant amount of grass peeking through. However, in the distant past, when the Great Tree Spirit was strong, this area was once covered in a lush forest.
According to the records in the Library, even in the biting cold with snow falling, the trees stretched their branches and flourished with vibrant green leaves. It seems that remnants of that forest still exist submerged in water, which is why I’ve come to gather timber.
When wood is submerged, the dust and dirt within it flow out along with the sap, replaced by water. This replacement allows the outer wood and heartwood to dry almost evenly. Strangely enough, it appears that wood can still dry while submerged.
Because it dries uniformly, the chances of cracking or warping are minimized. There’s no need for pre-splitting to prevent strange cracks from forming during shrinkage, and the impurities within the wood are eliminated, revealing its beautiful grain.
It’s like this: the drying process is expedited, resulting in a pile of exquisite timber—no, a lake of it.
This place is also characterized by low temperatures, a lack of food, and no grass suitable for fodder, making progress quite challenging.
“Whoa!”
And this is a land where Demon Beasts cast spells…!
I deflect a fiery stone, akin to a volcanic rock, with my Zanzenken. Wait, wait, I researched this! I looked it up in the Library! Defensive magic!!
“Fireball!”
Having momentarily forgotten, I decided to counter the incoming high-powered spell with an even stronger attack. Offensive magic comes to mind easily, but is defense considered an attribute?
…And I defeated it. I overpowered it, and it seems I hit its main body as well. At this moment, I recalled things like Earth Barriers and Steel Shields.
I could dodge, but if a Demon Beast uses a wide-area spell, I’d be in trouble if I don’t learn how to deal with it.
But I’ll save that for later. First, I need to get used to enemies casting spells and appearing suddenly.
A small figure with a round brown face, a long red nose reminiscent of Pinocchio, and a mouth that opens in a crescent shape like the Cheshire Cat, filled with jagged teeth. Dressed in a tattered robe and red shoes, it emerges from behind a rock, cackling as it casts spells.
If I observe calmly, the trajectory of the magic it uses is straightforward and easy to dodge. It’s slower than the claws of a Three-Horned wolf.
Moreover, without even needing to use Exploration, I can hear its laughter when it appears, so if I launch an attack spell in that direction, I can take it down before it does anything.
Listening to the sounds around me, I move forward. The rustling of the wind, the sound of my footsteps, the laughter of the Demon Beasts, and the sounds of destruction.
Hmm. While magic is convenient, I worry that if I get too lazy, I won’t be able to react quickly when it matters. Plus, I need to think about what spells to use to gather materials.
In this lifeless land, I wander in search of the lake while conducting experiments.
I used Teleportation to arrive here, and while it’s obvious, the actual world is far larger than the map, so there’s bound to be some discrepancies. But I enjoy this process of getting closer.
From my experiments, it seems that any type of magic can be thinned down to the size of a knitting needle or sharpened like a blade. Speed is key.
While flashy magic is fine for simply defeating foes, to reduce the effort of the Spirits and gather materials, it’s better to minimize the output. I should minimize it, but the Spirits…! Stop sending power just for fun!
This is incredibly difficult to adjust…
The red hats, yellow hats, and blue hats seem to have different attributes based on their colors. The Demon Beasts of the forest are transformed creatures that have possessed animals, but what about the ones here? Are there living small folk, or have they leaned more toward the original form of the Spirits? Which is it?
If there are small folk who haven’t been transformed into Demon Beasts, I’d like to meet them. But I’m sure these aren’t living small folk. Their limbs are made of wood, and when defeated, they clatter apart. No matter how careful I am, they break apart, so this must be how they are.
Can these be used as materials? When I used Appraisal, it turned out they are wood imbued with magic power, suitable for crafting short wands for magic or divination, or for making conductors. However, their small size limits their uses.
The path I walked was a gentle incline, so gradual that I hardly noticed it. Suddenly, it dropped sharply, revealing a vast lake before me.
In the murky, dark waters, I can see many trees with branches spread wide. Immense trunks, far thicker than I could stretch my arms, are submerged in the deep water.
Now, how should I retrieve them? I could cut them at the base and use Storage, but the bottom of the lake is obscured.
For now, I’ll name the Spirits in this lake and ask if they have any good methods.
So, I diligently start naming them. Lake One, Lake Two, Lake Atmosphere One, Lake Rock Two…
Even when I consult them, they absurdly suggest I just jump in!