A New World, An Immersive Game Experience

Erik did not keep this knowledge to himself simply out of greed. He understood that it would also be of great use to the kingdom. However, he had paid for his own shop, bought a house for himself and Akarui, and was even funding his experiments out of his own pocket.

Reinvesting most of his profits into his experiments, for now, he was making enough from potions alone. But he was prevented from attempting to make higher Tiered potions. Luckily, Erik was not in such a great rush as his friends. He didn't mind learning all he could before climbing the Tier ladder.

Sadly, as a result he didn't have much saved for rainy days. And form past experiences Erik understood that having capital saved for such days was pretty important.

Thus he wasn't planning to monopolize the knowledge and techniques. He simply wanted proper compensation and knowing the situation of Kynigo, Erik understood that he couldn't expect that from Pelaros. He also didn't want to place even more pressure on Pelaros, he was already dealing with so much.

Sadly, meeting with those who he could actually talk with regarding proper compensation weren't so easy to meet. In Taurtania he was but an above-average alchemist in the city, his name not well known outside of the local area where his shop was. Contacting a guild master wasn't something he could do at will.

Erik had already tried, but for now, they had only placed him on a list and asked him to wait. He didn't mind too much since he wasn't in desperate need of gold and understood that these people must be extremely busy organizing things in the aftermath of the orc invasion and the hopeful recovery of the lost cities and their people.

Knowing this, he wasn't bothered that he had to wait. Not realizing that in all likelihood the guild didn't understand how beneficial his information was.

As for Erik and Eldrian's conversation, it had been quite simple. Erik's first reply informed Eldrian that their discovery was not nearly as rare as they thought.

[[Erik] - Common plants exhibiting magical properties? It's not all that strange, Akarui tends to bring me plants like that all the time. I am already cultivating them as part of my standard harvest.]

Naturally, the reply had stunned Eldrian and was why he was pleased that he had decided to not fumble around in the dark. Asking for help from someone more knowledgeable seemed to truly be the best course of action.

[[Eldrian] - Do these plants all have some sort of cultural belief behind them?]

[[Erik] - Yeah, but I assume that is because they are effective at what they are believed to be effective in. I mean, that is the natural assumption, isn't it? If something works, people start to believe in it. That's just how things work.]

[[Eldrian] - Maybe, or maybe their little healing powers were amplified as they were used more and more and as belief in their powers grew?]

[[Erik] - Isn't that a bit of a stretch? I mean, why would you even think like that?]

[[Eldrian] - Maybe it is like a placebo effect, or maybe it is an actual subconscious altering of reality? When do you have time to meet?]

Erik's reply had taken some time, during which he had messaged his head at the insanity of Eldrian's message. Luckily, he understood he wouldn't be able to understand what was going on unless he met Eldrian in person and got a detailed explanation.

[[Erik] - I have a few large orders due for some adventurer guilds in a few days. I'll finish them, mind sorting out the situation for me to gain access to the duke's castle? I don't want a repeat of last time, it was a pain needing to explain everything at every gate.]

[[Eldrian] - Alright, and bring all the other plants that are strange. I want to see if Vivian can see anything unique about them. Perhaps she and Akarui have a similar sight or ability? Maybe we can figure something out about the two of them.]

[[Erik] - That would be nice. What about Miracle?]

[[Eldrian] - We'll talk when you are here.] Eldrian replied shortly, not wishing to say much on the topic since he knew that their messages could be read. He had already said a bit too much.

Having sorted things with Erik, Eldrian wanted to get back to reading. But after learning that there were far more plants that exhibited these strange magical abilities while being non-magical, he became curious. Too curious to focus on something else.

Realizing that he wouldn't be able to focus until he satisfied his curiosity, Eldrian started searching for a book on basic botany. Finding one about the non-magical plants was quite the struggle, and while he searched he also thought that perhaps he should ask for proper guidance in smithing.

Sadly, there were a few problems with his mentor still technically being Boran. Even though the two hadn't seen one another in over a year.

'I can have them teach me the basics as a basic apprentice smith, but we can't form an official mentor-mentee relationship due to this previous oath. Should I ask them to teach me what they can teach common apprentices, or should I go and visit Boran? Agh, first I need to get some knowledge on the local fauna so I can think clearly.'

While Eldrian was distracted and didn't feel certain, he could tell that part of him had already made the decision. He would confirm the basics that he could learn through the books and then go visit Boran. Else, he would be continuing to stumble around in the dark, which was obviously the worse choice he could make.

Whether Boran would be willing to continue teaching him was uncertain, but at worst he should be able to dissolve their oath. After all, Eldrian hadn't learned any secrets during his time under Boran.

And if it was dissolved he would be able to find himself a true teacher. 'That elf... Can't recall his name, said he was willing to teach me, didn't he? Whatever happened with that?'

Naturally, getting a legend to teach him would be far better than anything else. But Eldrian doubted that would actually happen. As suddenly as they had appeared, they had disappeared. There was no question that they must be extremely busy.

Wandering through the library, he finally found a book on basic botany after an extensive search. This search reminded him why he had so easily jumped to more advanced topics.

Books covering the basics were rare. Truly rare.

Especially for topics where magic wasn't even involved, such as this book he had finally found in an abandoned corner of the massive library. Luckily, based on its girth, Eldrian felt confident it contained information on most of the plants that could be found in the area, possibly in the kingdom.

Taking a seat, Eldrian opened the dust-covered book and started reading with much interest. While it appeared to have been in neglect for years, the content inside was well preserved. The writing was clear and there were even colorized drawings of the plants outlining the parts of interest or danger.

As Eldrian paged through the book he took pictures of particularly interesting entries, adding notes to them in his interface. Certainly, a handy option that he hadn't made much use of. Sadly, Two couldn't use this method, though he was able to replicate a similar method in their mental room. It just took a bit more effort on his side.