Chapter 5
Leon showed the token to the guard at the entrance of the mountain and stepped inside.
He compared the drawings on the paper in his hand as he searched for the herbs.
There were three types of herbs he needed to find:
Planettia Dewgrass, Moonlight Moss, and Puan Sandgrass.
Sure enough, they seed to be quite common, as he quickly found one.
For sothing that would be used to make an elixir, the difficulty in finding these herbs seed low.
“Moonlight Moss...”
The problem was that these couldn’t be the only herbs needed to make an elixir.
Even if all the herbs were necessary, it was unlikely that the old man would list everything.
“That suspicious old man...”
Leon recalled the old man’s unsettling expression.
But he didn’t show it.
Even if sothing felt off, he didn’t have the strength to confirm it yet, and there was no one to ask for help at the mont.
After three hours of gathering herbs, Leon left the mountain as it began to get dark.
He thought he could finish today since there were only a few roots left to collect, but since he damaged the roots of so herbs due to inexperience, he decided to co back the next day.
After returning to the dormitory, washing up, and hastily eating so bread, Leon continued training until noon to earn his quest reward.
▶ You have acquired Null Essence (F-).
Null Essence?
Just from the na, he couldn’t easily deduce its use, but the grade in parentheses gave him a rough idea of its value.
A small yellow orb fell into his hand.
He didn’t plan to consu it imdiately.
He intended to save it for after he had awakened his mana.
The next day, after completing his daily tasks, Leon collected the full amount of herbs the old man had requested.
And, as usual, he ended the day by drawing a reward.
▶ You have acquired the F-rank Elixir Recipe (E).
“Wow!”
Leon felt a thrill when he received the reward he had hoped for.
Unlike the elental affinities, high-grade rewards appeared relatively quickly.
Well, that was just luck, though.
“I was right to change the rewards.”
The importance of the elental affinity was undeniably high.
But if he got too fixated on getting a higher affinity, who knew how long it would take?
Moreover, even if he got a low-grade elixir, it wasn’t sothing he would have to discard.
And who knew?
He might even get an elixir recipe one day.
“Should I really try growing herbs inside the orb’s space?”
He entered the orb’s space with the extra herbs he had gathered.
He had already noticed that the clothes he wore remained the sa when he entered the orb, indicating that he could bring items with him.
In this space, 1 hour was equivalent to 1 minute in reality.
In other words, only 1 minute would pass in reality for every hour spent here...
If things worked out as he hoped, it would be convenient for growing herbs.
The ti passing quickly while growing herbs would be the best condition.
On top of that, the overwhelming mana concentration within the orb’s space was a huge advantage.
It was only natural that herbs used in elixir-making would grow better in mana-rich environnts.
Even if it took ti to set up initially, once things stabilized, he could potentially produce elixirs in abundance.
“I’ll experint later to see if ti flows even when I’m outside the orb.”
Leon couldn’t plant the herbs imdiately.
To make space for planting herbs in this dense forest, he needed to clear so trees and prepare the ground.
He left the herbs wrapped in cloth where they were and exited the orb.
He then unrolled the F-rank Elixir Recipe he had just received.
‘Planettia Dewgrass...’
This was one of the herbs the old man had asked for.
But that was it; none of the other herbs matched.
“Is the old man trying to make sothing different?”
The herbs needed to make the F-rank Elixir weren’t many.
‘Planettia Dewgrass, Tear Mushroom, Petals of the Rainflower, Mist Dew.’
He reviewed the detailed illustrations, exact quantities, and the preparation process.
Most of the ingredients were related to water.
“Water is a common elent everywhere, so that makes sense.”
The problem was the preparation process.
Boiling the roots, steeping the petals, and mixing the dew at the right timing—these weren’t skills that could be learned from reading alone, but sothing that practice could overco.
‘Elixir Preparation Magic.’
He needed magic related to that.
It was said that any preparation magic could be used for the lowest-grade elixirs, but the problem was that acquiring that magic itself was difficult.
Then, an idea struck him.
‘The Magic Library!’
There was no way that vast magic library didn’t have preparation magic.
No matter how outdated, magic was still magic.
And it was said that any preparation magic could work for the lowest-grade elixirs.
Leon decided that after delivering the herbs the next day, he would imdiately search the magic library, and with that, he returned to the dormitory and closed his eyes.
“You really gathered everything in just two days. Was it hard to dig them up?”
“I failed a few tis, but I got the hang of it quickly.”
“Well done. Now, feel free to read what you want. But rember, if you want to copy or borrow, you’ll have to pay.”
The old man kept a warm smile on his face, but Leon no longer trusted that smile.
The old man returned to his room, and Leon, now alone, imdiately began wandering around the first floor of the magic library.
‘Elixir Preparation Magic... Elixir Preparation...’
Since he hadn’t yet awakened mana, he didn’t need any other magic.
He didn’t use the book search artifact at the library entrance.
It would leave a record.
Leon was cautious, considering the possibility that the old man might check.
After about 30 minutes of searching, his efforts paid off.
Leon stopped in front of a bookshelf.
‘Brem-class Elixir Preparation Magic (Lower).’
He didn’t know how outdated Brem-class magic was.
But what mattered was that he found sothing.
Leon morized the location of this book.
He planned to learn it as soon as he awakened mana.
Then, Leon returned to his seat and resud his mana perception training.
It was ti to awaken mana for real.
Leon targeted his one day off per week for intense training.
During the five workdays, he didn’t use the orb’s space, saving up ti.
Over those five days, all the elixir rewards he received were one-star elixirs.
Null Essence (F-) x 2
Orc Essence (F-) x 1
Goblin Essence (F-) x 2
At first, he wondered if these essences dropped from monsters when they died, but he soon realized that the nas were just that—nas.
Since they were lowest-grade elixirs, they simply had the nas of lowest-grade monsters.
He would have to consu them to figure out the differences.
Anyway, he had accumulated 101 hours in the orb.
Leon planned to use all this ti in one day.
If he got too sleepy and his concentration wavered, he would co out, rest, and then go back into the orb.
It didn’t matter how long he spent inside the orb.
Even after spending 101 hours in there, only 101 minutes would have passed in reality.
The key was to allocate the right amount of ti for resting to alleviate his body’s fatigue.
As soon as he woke up, Leon declined his roommates’ offers to hang out and imdiately headed to a secluded place where he entered the orb.
In the densely packed forest, Leon sat down in a small space between the trees.
He closed his eyes and began to breathe.
Inhale. A breath to calm the mind.
Exhale. A breath to empty the old.
Inhale again. A breath to fill with the new.
Exhale again. A breath to circulate the newness.
One hour... Two hours... The sense of ti started to blur.
The consciousness that had been chasing faint mana in reality now eagerly absorbed the mana that filled the space, as if it had been waiting for it.
The process of expelling and absorbing reached a state of ecstasy.
Before he knew it, the intangible energy was whirling through his body at a speed so fast that he couldn’t tell what was entering and what was leaving.
This was not just air; it was mana.
The fullness that swelled his body was the source of wisdom.
The mysterious order of nature.
The wave of energy resonating with our will.
Leon then felt as if sothing was whispering to him.
It was trying to communicate.
Was this the ssage of wisdom from mana?
Or was it a connection to the source?
Before he knew it, he felt a fullness swirling through his body.
It was different from the fullness he had felt before.
He felt the fullness of mana.
His solar plexus tingled, and for a mont, he thought he heard a crackling sound.
Leon’s eyes flew open.
A pea-sized core squird in his solar plexus.
“Haa...”
Mana flowed from his mouth like a breath.
He saw the flow.
“Haha... Haha... HAHAHA!”
He had awakened mana.
Leon’s face was filled with ecstasy as he beheld the brilliant particles that filled the world.
Only now did he fully appreciate just how dense the mana concentration was in this space.
A regular kid who lived without knowing what mana was could now see its flow.
Without the guidance or teaching of any magician.
Self-taught!
Of course, it would be ungrateful not to acknowledge the help of the growth assistant.
—--------------------------------------------------- [Growth Assistant]
- Information
▶ Na: Leon
▶ Rank: Apprentice 1st Rank
▶ Mana Quality: E-
▶ Elental Affinity: Tri-elent Affinity (Water, Wind, Earth)
- General Quest
▶ Mana Perception Training (Complete)
- Breakthrough Quest
▶ Awaken Mana (Complete)
—---------------------------------------------------
The general quest was marked as complete even though he hadn’t completed it in reality.
Did completing the breakthrough quest also complete the general quest?
What caught his eye next was his rank and mana quality.
Apprentice 1st Rank was the lowest rank for a magician.
It was expected since he had just awakened mana.
The only slight disappointnt was his mana quality.
It was the talent that determined the strength and efficiency of magic, and an E- rank was a bit disappointing.
But it was still mana quality.
Unlike elental affinity, which was a fixed attribute, mana quality could be improved by consuming elixirs, so it wasn’t much of a concern for Leon, who was already planning to produce elixirs in large quantities.
Leon happily received his general quest reward.
▶ You have acquired Null Essence (F-).
The reward felt expected by now.
Then he received the breakthrough quest completion reward.
“Hmm...?”
▶ Reward chances increased due to rank advancent.
▶ 100 hours of Space-Ti Orb have been granted.
“Chance increase? Space-Ti Orb?”
Leon imdiately exited the orb to check it.
The number displayed on the orb was 179.
Leon originally had 101 hours.
Including the ti received for completing the general and breakthrough quests, he should have 211 hours.
“Was I inside for about a day?”
He had continued practicing the breathing technique for 32 hours.
He hadn’t even taken a break and had been in a state of ecstasy.
Although he had expected to use up most of the ti he had saved, he hadn’t anticipated awakening all at once.
The change in his elental affinity seed to have had an effect.
“So they call this orb a Space-Ti Orb.”
Only then did Leon realize how heavy his eyelids were.
“Let’s sleep first.”
Leon returned to the dormitory and closed his eyes with a happy heart.
Soone visited the old magic library where Leon worked for the first ti in a long while.
It was soone Leon recognized.
“Leah!”
Overco with joy, Leon jumped up from his seat.
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