The plant resembled aloe vera but had a thin shape of leaves and the most amazing thing that I noticed was it had a green light surrounding it as if that plant itself was producing the light and soft humming music. The plant was probably fifteen inches or so but sure enough, it caught my attention.
"what the heck is this?" I knelt beside that plant. That plant breathed on the snow surface, isn't it incredible... I know there are a lot of plants that accomplish such a feat but this one seemed special to me. I pulled out, before taking a small bite of the leaf.
[ Ding! New plant discovered.... ]
[ Plant name- Dragon root
Effect- Magical healing ( 70 ℅) ]
Magical healing! Wait what does that mean?... again much more efficient and magnificent energy rushed through my entire body and almost helped me to wipe out the pain that lingered inside the body.
I greedily took another bite, This time nothing happened... Eh?
Did I fully recover from the injuries? That's why this isn't working.
"Oh my dear lord Amenar!" an old man stood behind me with wide-open eyes.
Who the heck was lord Amenar?
"You found a treasure... Boy" He rushed to my side
"What are you doing? You will damage the plant with that strong grip, put it inside a storage ring quickly!"
"Good! You know that plan is worth... 300 gold coins " He wiped the sweat from his forehead and patted my back "Don't forget to pray, lord Amenar"
" Who is Amenar?"
"Lord Amenar... show respect to God of treasure or he will punish you"
- puff!
"Hahaha..." I started laughing causing him to roll his eyes.
"I think you need a good beating, Now hurry up we must go home before darkness"
After a long and tiring journey, we reached home, sweet home.
I gaped at the night sky, full of stars and northern lights similar to Earth. Two big moons shone brightly upon my face.
The old man said it was worth 300 gold coins but maybe the price would drop if I damaged the goods.
"Here take this... it's a blend of green sprout and yellow flowers" The Old man sits beside me, following my gaze to the sky "Drink it"
I took a bowl from his hand and proceeded to drink the liquid form of medicine. Faint energy covered me with a sensation of heat.
"How did you mix the herbs"
[ Healing potion ( 23 %) ]
23 percent healing from a mixture of those two plants, and the healing rate went up to 3 percent. It should sell at a higher if I were to sell it in the market, no? A great way to earn money... Just mix up some herbs and sell them on the streets.
"M-my son had Alchemy mixture... He was an alchemist"
"Oh... Where is he now?"
"Look up there, he is there with the rest of my family"
Countless stars shone in the sky as his tearful eyes continued to watch them. I tightly shut my mouth.
"He learned alchemy from, a renowned academy...he loved to do experiments with herbs that I brought from the wildlands..."
"I- I'm sorry... I shouldn't have-"
"No no, it's fine... I wanted to talk to you about this, I guess this is the right moment."
He told his lifelong story of tragedy... from his wife to his son to grandson, how they died at the hands of a bear, and why he decided to help me. This old man was a great guy... unlike me who lied to him for shelter.
"Anyway, young man you better sleep early coz we are going to sell our stuff tomorrow" He left me outside to ponder.
Next morning...
"Today you are looking more energetic," the Old man said.
"Of course, today is a special day... I mean different than last day" I walked ahead of an old man on the stony pathway towards a certain village.
After all, I will see more NPCs other than this old man!
"Are you excited to see the girls?"
"..."
This old guy surely had his days huh? "No!... It's not ah..."
"Hahaha, I knew it... don't worry your grandpa will introduce you to his friend's granddaughter... brace yourself"
One day's journey finished when we arrived at the inn in the small village, the village of Stormfront. What a weird name!
Ten gold coins per night for each person, meals included. The old man paid twenty and the inn owner led us to two different rooms.
My room had one small bed and a small closet by the end of the room. The first thing I did after arriving in the room was to check the mattress. Damn! I can slumber here for two days...
"Rest for the night, we will sell our stuff tomorrow" The Old man left and I Jumped inside the thick and warm quilt. Man, this is awesome.
The village was located near a big frozen river which they used for fishing in spring. I was amazed by the beauty here. The girls around my age giggled and laughed but showed no interest in me...
I had to let the truth sink in sooner or later, I was not the main character heck even I had no idea who I was so I just bit my lip and followed the old man.
We sold our other stuff to his shopkeeper friend who also looked old but the smile he showed when he saw the old man was precious, ear to ear.
"Who is this fella?" asked the shopkeeper.
"I adopted him, he's my grandson now" the Old man replied then chided. "are you going to keep asking me questions or are we going to sit and drink something?"
"Oho ho... Sorry bout that" The shopkeeper shook his head and then smiled. "Finally Lord Amenar listened to my prayers and sent someone to take care of you in your old age"
"Seems so" Both of them laughed.
In response, I gave a smile, it's not that bad to stick with the old man after all. He genuinely looks after me.
"Anyway I wanted to show you what this young man found. This Dragon root" the Old man took out the Dragon root from his storage ring and gently placed it on the counter.
"You fool, don't place that treasure there!" The shopkeeper's eyes widened, then he hastily laid an expansive-looking piece of cloth on the counter and then placed the Dragon root on it. "Sh... It's in good condition"
I watched them both.
"Young man you're truly fortunate to discover this treasure" Shopkeeper laughed. "If we find the right person he could purchase at least 500 gold coins"
I was dumbstruck by his words. How was that possible? 500 hundred gold coins, that's a good leap...
The shopkeeper sighed noticing my honest reaction. "I see so this old fool did not tell you its real value. This is Dragon Roots, it's not only used for healing potions but also for prayers and rituals. Many people believe that if we use this divine plant as an offer to the Lord of the worlds the chances of blessing increase by folds"
I was speechless again.
Divine plant? How was that divine plant and why didn't the system tell me about it?
"How is it a divine plant?" I asked curiously.
"Because this is the only plant that evokes divine melody when it ripes" this time the Old man answered. "Didn't we listen to that melody already?"
"Yes we did," I Said still being skeptical about it.
The system did not even mention that once, I pondered for quite a while as the old men chatted. I ended up with one conclusion and that it was all superstition... Yes, it must be and that was why the system did not mention that in the plant's information.
"Udan where is Jamia? I wanted to introduce my grandson to her" the Old man blurted out. "She will guide him around the village"
I felt a sudden wave of embarrassment rushing over, all over my body. How can this old man say something like that without hesitating?
The shopkeeper stayed silent for a while but my heart was beating faster than he was talking, out of a sudden he laughed out loud.
"That's a good idea, my friend, wait I will call her"
"Wait, sir... I-" I tried to speak but the old shopkeeper ran outside of the shop like an energetic horse.
The old man winked at me and then said "This is all I can do for you, now it's up to you"
I was left speechless yet again.