As I rode our horse-drawn carriage up the winding route to gather a fresh batch of herbs, my sister Luna, our house butler Hideo (a level 4 fire mage), two guards and as I watched the sun set over Soren Mountain, We climbed to the top twenty minutes later, where our gardener and a few intrepid travellers were waiting for us.
Something strange drew my attention as we examined the merchandise. There was a mound of golden grass all over the place. Curious, I kneeled down and examined it closely.
My heart skipped a beat because of the grass's distinct texture and colour, which turned out to be Eclipsia Herb. This was no common plant—rather, it was the special cure for the deadly Black Death, which had devastated our world for almost a decade, mostly affecting the beastfolk.
I was aware of this weed because, fifteen years later, I had stolen the drug's creator's recipe and could still recall it. It was hardly the most ethical method of obtaining priceless information, but it did the trick. Now that I had these plants, I had the essential component to create the remedy and make a fortune.
I questioned the gardener, "What do you know about this yellow grass?" turning to face him.
"Young lord, this grass is useless to us, so we use it to feed our bull horses."
Since they are herbivorous and don't require a lot of food to function well, level 1 bull horses are among the most common forms of ground transportation.
Each monster has five stages of evolution, therefore you could say that five creatures with similar appearances have been categorised by people based on stength throughout the time as most of the people as no one has actually seen a monster evolve.
That substantiated my assumption that its characteristics were unknown to everyone. "Gardener, deliver any more of this yellow grass to my house and bundle it in with the herbs. Butler Hideo will handle the expenses."
Despite his curiosity and hesitation, he agreed to my request. My sister turned to face me as we descended the hillside and said, "Why did you buy that grass?"
"I wish to learn alchemy from Mother, and I think I can use it."
A gloomy look covered her face. She whispered, "Then you won't have any time for me and will ignore me."
I hesitated, sensing my transformation from a bashful child to a confident adult. "I promise never to disregard you, Luna. Alchemy education is crucial, but I'll also make time for my adorable little sister. I swear."
She crossed her arms and pouted a little. "You better keep that promise, or I'll be really mad."
I gave her a little ruffle and grinned. "Luna, I am aware. I also swear that I will always find time for you."
Startled, she took a step back. Because I am older than you, you cannot ruffle my hair; only I can do that. Understood?"
Though I could still see the lingering doubt in her eyes, she seemed to find solace in my remarks. I thought to myself as the carriage descended further: "I will if the damn world doesn't bring me a calamity this time around."
For me, the discovery of the Eclipsia Herb was a major turning point. Not only would it help my sister pursue her second skill, which costs a lot of money to develop, but also allow me to gather enough funds for my academic courses and, this time, even for my sister.
We paused at Grandpa Kaewon's workshop as we started our descent from the mountain.
"Ah, you are here at last, kids," he remarked, advancing in our direction.
"Yes grandpa, and sorry for being a little late since we went to the mountain to see the scenery and pick up the bundle of herbs there as well as we asked for a new herb, so that's why it took us longer to return back" I said to him.
"It's okay sometimes things happen that delay you, so luna why don't you try the ring on and see if it fits you properly and if it requires any adjustments." grandpa said as he handed us the ring.
I had a gut feeling that the ring he gave Luna wasn't just any Level 3 ring. We barely had 50 gold coins, but this Rank 6 mana enhancement ring was probably worth 400 gold coins.