Chapter 179: Hot Spot
“Well, well, it’s growing quite well here.”
Reidas’s first words upon reaching the Magic Essence Hotspot were filled with satisfaction. As the guide hired for this expedition, he seemed relieved that they were on track to achieve their objective.
“Salpha, look at this. The needle on the Magic Essence Meter should be swinging like this. I don’t know why, but the concentration of Magic Essence in this area is high. And when the Magic Essence concentration is high, medicinal herbs thrive.”
“…So, what causes the needle to swing?”
“Hmm? Well, I think it tends to stop after a while. It’s not like the needle will come to a complete halt, but that’s just how it is.”
“I see. Understood.”
The AI Assistant, RINGO, determined that acquiring this Magic Essence Meter was essential. Without delay, it instructed the terminals within North End City to commence the search.
“Chris, Atro, over here. This is Magwort. We’ll harvest the leaves for use. It’s a key ingredient for Wound Ointment.”
Graver pointed to the plant, and Chris—Beta Krisansamam of Cosmos—began to observe it with keen interest.
“Wound Ointment?”
“By applying it to external injuries, it reduces inflammation and prevents infection. It also speeds up the healing process. That’s the kind of magical medicine it is.”
Magwort. According to RINGO’s image analysis, it closely resembles mugwort.
“When harvesting the leaves, aim to take about half from each plant. That way, it can be harvested again in about three days. Overharvesting is strictly prohibited.”
“Does this only grow in Hot Spots?”
“No, it also grows in the plains. However, only the ones that grow in Hot Spots yield effective medicinal properties. You can find it in vacant lots in the city, and it’s a plant you can eat normally too.”
As he explained, Graver began to pluck the leaves, placing them into a woven basket.
“We’ll aim to fill this basket with Magwort for today. As for the roles in our Party, I’ll primarily handle the gathering. Reidas will keep watch for threats, and Nadira will act as my guard.”
“Role allocation, huh? That does seem efficient. But do you usually operate as a trio? Wouldn’t it be better to increase the number of gatherers?”
Having more hands on deck is generally advantageous. This perspective likely stems from the advanced mechanical civilization of The Tree.
“That’s something we’ve been considering too.”
The one to answer that question was Reidas, the Party leader.
“If we increase the number of gatherers, we’d also need to increase the number of guards to protect them. If we add more guards, the overall numbers rise. We’d have to increase our Equipment and Food supplies accordingly. More importantly, humans have a thing called compatibility. It’s impossible to spend days together in the Demon Forest with someone you don’t get along with. If we were to expand our Party, we’d need to find two new members at once…”
“Well, we’ve been working together since childhood. We know each other inside and out. I have no confidence that we could integrate a new member at this point.”
By the way, it seems that the customary size for an adventurer’s Party is between three to five members, with six being the absolute maximum. Three does seem a bit on the low side.
Even so, their trio possesses a remarkable stability, strong character, and exceptional skills. It’s no wonder they were chosen as the guides requested by Paraiso.
“I see. Indeed, human relationships can be quite complex.”
“This is enough Magwort. Next, we move on, but are you ready?”
It seemed the harvesting of Magwort leaves had concluded while they were talking. Graver swiftly cut down the surrounding grass and stood up.
“Besides these medicinal herbs, ordinary grass also grows here. It’s customary to clear away unnecessary grass like this, making future harvesting easier.”
“Is that the proper etiquette for hunting grounds?”
“That’s right.”
Graver nodded and walked toward the next location of medicinal herbs.
“This is Mini Onion. Judging by the smell, it’s likely a variety of the vegetable onion. The ones growing here don’t develop particularly large bulbs at the base. The ones sold in the city’s market are much bigger, but these are medicinal herbs.”
He began to dig around the slender leaves that sprouted densely from the ground, pulling out several plants from the edge. As described, the bulbs at the base were about 2 cm in diameter. Indeed, they resembled small onions.
“We’ll take half of these as well. However, we’ll dig them all up first and then replant half. When replanting, separate the bulbs and plant them a little distance apart. That way, they’ll grow back on their own for the next harvest. It takes a bit of time for them to grow back, about five days.”
Graver explained, but the idea of a plant that grows and reproduces in just five days is quite fantastical.
“The Mini Onion uses the bulb at the base. The leaves are unnecessary. The bulb serves as an ingredient for drinking potions. Its effect is to activate the body and promote Magic Power recovery. It’s effective even when eaten raw.”
“How about the preservation of the medicinal herbs, like the Magwort we just harvested?”
“Magwort can be dried and will last for several months. Mini Onions can last a few weeks if kept out of sunlight.”
While explaining, Graver continued his work, removing the leaves and roots, brushing off the dirt, and placing them into a new woven basket. He then replanted about half of them back into the soil as instructed.
“There’s one more type of medicinal herb growing here. Ah, it’s right at Chris’s feet. That’s Taraxacum.”
RINGO identified it as dandelion. The green, jagged leaves spread radially, with a yellow flower blooming at the end of a stem that rose from the center.
“We’re aiming for the larger plants. We’ll be using the roots. The leaves can be eaten, but they’re not particularly tasty and have no medicinal properties.”
Graver glanced around and sat down beside a relatively large plant. Using a slender digging tool, he began to uproot the Taraxacum.
“Taraxacum grows abundantly around here, so just take the larger ones. Even if we harvest them all, seeds will blow in from somewhere. Well, the smaller ones aren’t useful for medicine, so it’s unlikely we’ll ever completely deplete them.”
The roots of the Taraxacum were quite thick and robust. After removing the upper leaves, he brushed off the dirt and placed it into the new woven basket.
“The medicinal properties of Taraxacum include speeding up wound healing and providing relief from fever and pain. It can be used as an ingredient for drinking potions. If dried, it can be used without issue for about six months.”
Graver continued to dig, harvesting Mini Onions and Taraxacum one after another. Chris and Atro observed intently, while Salpha slowly scanned the surroundings.
“Normally, we only bring back what we can carry ourselves. So the quantity is limited. However, if we can load it onto a Backpacker behind us, this kind of gathering activity will become much more efficient.”
“…I see. By the way, do you think the Backpacker would become a target for monster attacks?”
“Who knows? It’s hard to say why monsters attack. If it’s because we’ve entered their territory, then they’d probably attack. But if it’s for hunting, that Backpacker wouldn’t resemble an animal. So it likely wouldn’t be targeted actively.”
The ecology of monsters remains largely unknown. Even these three, who are experienced, only know surface-level details. They are adventurers, not researchers. Thus, while they may understand the behavior patterns of monsters, they don’t contemplate what those patterns signify. There’s no need to.
“Monsters usually have an original animal they’re based on. Some can be completely unrecognizable, though… In any case, even as monsters, their behavior resembles that of their original animal. They’re similar, but not identical. We adventurers either try to avoid them or set traps to fight.”
Despite being adventurers, these three are cautious by nature. They’re perfect as guides, but perhaps lacking in excitement. In terms of Paraiso’s goal of researching monsters and, by extension, magic, they might be somewhat lacking in curiosity.
However, that aspect can be handled by the Paraiso side. In fact, it might be worthwhile to hire them as local researchers.
Regardless, this trio is exceptionally skilled, even in the eyes of Paraiso.