..
"Is this the power of the Heart of Nature?"
Matthew was overjoyed.
A short lifespan had always been the greatest pain for humans in their search for the truth.
Many wizards would do anything to extend their lifespan.
Liches were one of the products of human's pursuit of immortality.
However, if he could extend his lifespan naturally…
Who would be willing to turn themselves into a cold lich?
Matthew had a premonition.
As he continued to explore the domain of the Oak Tree.
There was still a lot of room for him to extend his lifespan!
Compared to the one-time buff of 'longevity,' the effect of 'no pain, no gain' stimulated the fire of labor in Matthew's heart.
"If I plant ten trees, I can strengthen them by +1. If I plant 1000 trees in one go, I can strengthen the skeleton soldiers by +100?"
He was completely excited.
Although it was a bit of a fantasy to plant 1000 trees in 30 days.
However, as long as they were properly planned, 200 to 300 trees were still possible.
It was currently spring.
It was the most suitable season for planting trees.
In order to speed up the planting process to the greatest extent, Matthew decided to do both.
Tonight, he would write a report to the City Hall to apply for planting trees on the land of the Suki Family Lord.
The next morning, he would officially start to plant trees in the direction of the Scar of the Dead!
..
..
[You planted a sapling. You used Rapid Growth on the sapling!]
..
[Planting successful. Your affinity with nature has increased slightly!]
..
[You have received one strengthening experience point (10 points accumulated)]
..
[You have gained 10 XP.]
(Your level cannot be increased, the remaining XP has been accumulated, please level up your profession as soon as possible)
..
The next afternoon.
Matthew was resting behind a huge rock.
The oak tree that had just been planted was about 40 to 50 meters away.
But Matthew couldn't sense any vitality from it.
The root cause of this phenomenon was the pitch-black scar on the other side of the rock.
" The marker stones near the Scar of the Dead are said to have been set up by the Suki Family Lord with his men. They are all in the territory of Rolling Stone Town. They can indeed prevent ordinary people from entering dangerous places by mistake, provided that the Scar of the Dead does not spread."
Matthew wiped his sweat, his eyes very serious.
He had been in Rolling Stone Town for less than three years, and the Scar of the Dead had spread visibly.
Three years ago.
The edge of the Scar of the Dead was more than ten meters away from the marker stone.
And now, the two were almost touching.
It was not hard to imagine what the situation would be like in a few years.
This was also the reason why he planted the new oak tree further away.
He had to leave enough buffer for the Scar of the Dead to spread in the next few years.
"How tiring…"
Today's tree planting goal had been achieved.
However, it was not easy to reclaim land near the Scar of the Dead. The terrain here was complex, and the land was barren. There were many factors he had to consider.
The only consolation was that the Gold Digger Basin had a rich underground water system. As long as the oak tree took root, it would not die of thirst.
"The trees planted today are a little too sparse. They can't form a group effect, and their ability to resist disasters will also decrease…"
He inspected the areas that he might be able to set foot in tomorrow.
Matthew pondered as he walked back.
As the oak forest continued to expand, he needed more and more time to go back and forth between his home and the forest.
Usually, it was fine.
However, right now, he was racing against time to earn as much buff as he could.
He was going to ask someone to build a small wooden house in the oak forest.
At least this month.
He was planning to hide in the forest and not come out!
..
In the evening.
It was almost time to get off work, and the City Hall was deserted.
Only Ms. Liz's unique loud voice came from one of the offices.
"You want to plant trees on His Lordship's private land?!"
"Yes."
Matthew politely handed over the application.
He was a particular person.
As for the various official rules and regulations, as long as they were not particularly annoying, he was happy to abide by them.
This application was written with reference to the model documents handled by the City Hall in previous years.
He was confident that no one could find any fault with the content and format.
As expected, after reading it, Liz raised her eyebrows.
"Beautiful writing."
"Thank you."
Matthew smiled.
" I'll help you submit the application. Theoretically, there shouldn't be any problems because this land has always been entrusted to our City Hall by the Lord.
"There was once a businessman who wanted to contract that place. He wanted to build a small mine there, but his proposal was ultimately rejected by us.
"At that time, there were already enough mines around Rolling Stone Town. You weren't here at the time. There was thick smoke everywhere…"
Liz continued, "But guess what? The mines were gone overnight! The bosses of the mines lost all their money, and the businessman even came to thank us. I remember he gave Mr. Ormond two boxes of cider but only one for me."
Matthew listened quietly.
He had heard a lot about the mines in Rolling Stone Town. In many versions of the legend, those mines disappeared overnight.
Some people said that the Lord of Rolling Stone Town had offended the ore elves, but Matthew knew that ore elves did not exist at all!
Some said that this was a curse from purgatory and that Rolling Stone Town, which had lost its mines, would become poor.
But in fact, Rolling Stone Town did not decline because of this.
The Suki Family Lord had established two trading posts at the border of his territory, one in the south and one in the north. They took over the trade routes from the southwest and northeast to the hinterland of the human kingdom and the Eversong Forest.
Business at the trading post boomed, and the economy of Rolling Stone Town also thrived.
In recent years, the handicraft industry in the town had developed rapidly, and various small workshops had emerged one after another. There was a faint hint of industrialization.
Perhaps it was the Suki Family Lord's credit, but in Matthew's opinion, the five-member Committee that had been handling various government affairs all year round had also contributed greatly.
Ms. Liz was one of them.
About Ms. Liz.
Matthew didn't know much.
In his impression, this woman was harsh and picky, loved gossip, and had a bad reputation in town.
However, she also loved her work and was diligent.
This could be seen from the fact that the other officials had already gotten off work, and she was still in the office dealing with documents.
The most important thing was…
She was Blake's mother, the distant cousin of the Suki Family's Lord, and Sif's aunt.
In a sense, Liz represented the will of the Suki Family Lord in the five-member committee.
This was also the reason why Matthew had specially find her to post his application.
..
An hour later.
It was completely dark outside.
"Alright, young man, thank you for listening to me. There aren't many young people as patient as you."
Liz lit the candle and continued to deal with the documents.
"You can return now. I will help you with your application as soon as possible. After the committee has approved it, I will inform you as soon as possible."
Matthew nodded and stood up. He loosened his muscles and bones, and his body made crackling sounds.
"By the way, Matthew, I remember that you are also a necromancer. What do you think of the rumors these days?" Liz suddenly called out to him, her eyes full of gossip.
Matthew pondered and said, "You mean the necromancer with the bone dragon? I heard that he almost fought with the town guards."
Liz shook her head.
"The version you heard is wrong. That Necromancer seems to be a friend and not an enemy. Not only did he save…Well, uh... In short, he did not seem to be a bad person."
She seemed to realize that some things could not be said casually.
Matthew smiled gently. "Necromancer is just a profession. Of course, he's not necessarily a bad person."
Liz looked at him with interest.
..
"For example, you? A necromancer who likes to plant trees?
"To be honest, I really think you've been delayed by your need to be an adventurer.
"Look at you, Matthew, what a handsome young man!
"Even compared to my Blake, your appearance is not inferior.
"As long as you agree, I'll be happy to introduce you to a few daughters from good families…"
..
Matthew immediately blushed.
"I-I think I'm far inferior to Blake."
Liz was delighted to hear this.
"Don't say that, Matthew. I think you're much more pleasing to the eye than my brat.
"That's it. Come to me tomorrow to get the approval. You can plant whatever you want on the land of the Lord!"
"You don't need to get the lord's approval?" Matthew was surprised.
Liz waved her hand." It's just an administrative process. The lord won't really interfere with political affairs. He's busy taking care of his daughter these days. I still have this amount of power.
"As long as you don't turn that piece of land into a mass grave, you can do anything!"
Matthew was overjoyed.
So he flattered Liz a few more times.
The middle-aged lady was laughing so hard that she bent forward and backward.
He waited until late at night.
After Matthew came out of City Hall, he sent Liz home.
Not only did he receive his approval in advance, he even applied for a forestry allowance.
This sum of money was about 200 gold coins.
It was taken from the Lord's own treasury.
This experience gave Matthew a lot of insight.
Thousands of words converged into one sentence, "Blake's mother is awesome!"
..
..
It was another night.
In the basement.
"Peggy, a cup of coffee!"
Matthew shouted twice but did not get a response.
He could only get up and do it himself.
"She can't be eavesdropping under some window at this time again, right?"
The strong aroma of coffee washed away a little sleepiness.
Matthew mumbled.
His attention returned to the spellbook in front of him.
..
[Introduction to the Thunderblast Sword: How to stick it deep.]
..
However, he didn't wait long.
The copper bell with a thin thread hanging beside his hand buzzed.
Someone was ringing the bell outside the fence.
A late-night visitor for me?
Matthew frowned.
..