The Master of Gathering Grounds

It was already past 3 p.m. when I finally left the guild hall.

Blame the all-nighter I pulled. My body felt like a half-baked potato, and I was moving like one too. I didn't see Maelion or Aelira around. Lisa, of course, was at her post as usual—practically a fixture of the desk by now.

Thanks to her, I picked up another gathering job. Apparently, it was one of those quests everyone hates for some reason. Probably because it required finding a variety of herbs, and that kind of thing tends to test your patience more than your strength. But the payout?

A hundred cens and 150 XP.

That was not bad—especially compared to the mandrake job from last time. Lisa warned me, though: this one could take over a week to finish. Too much effort for most. But for me, it was the perfect way to test out my new skill set.

The request came from the Alchemists' Guild in Myrdale—oddly enough, we didn't have a local branch in Eastmere. They needed:

30 Mandrake Roots10 Sagegrass10 Bitter Roots

Lisa also told me that the latter two were a pain in the butt to find. That's why no one had bothered picking this job up yet, despite the decent payout.

But here's the kicker: if I managed to collect extra Sagegrass or Bitter Roots, the guild would still buy them for 2 cens apiece. Not a bad deal, especially if I could streamline the job using my mana detection and appraisal.

As I passed the city gates, the sun beat down like it was trying to cook the top of my head. A few adventurers trudged past me, most of them returning from the day's jobs. Only a few were heading out now—people like me who didn't mind working in the late hours, or were just plain desperate.

I stepped off the main path and into the overgrown outskirts, letting the bustle of Eastmere fade behind me.

Then I activated Mana Detection.

A ripple of sensation spread from my core like a pebble dropped in water. It swept out through the field around me—gentle, subtle, but vivid in my mind. It gave me a mental image of the area, each blip of life forming a soft pulse in my awareness.

No dangerous auras. No monsters nearby. Just plants, insects, and the lazy sway of grass in the summer air.

Good. I'm not in the mood for surprises.

Especially since Aelira wasn't with me today. I hadn't seen her all morning. Probably out on her own errand—or maybe just enjoying a rare day off.

Either way, this job was mine to handle alone.

While I could easily distinguish between herbs, trees, and even insects using Mana Detection, telling two herbs apart? Not so easy—at least, not yet.

But I had a solution.

After all, Mana Detection wasn't my only trick. If I used Appraisal at the same time, I could actually identify the mana signals I was picking up. Not just sense them—understand them. Pretty cool, right?

This was how I planned to make full use of my overly skewed skill set. While Appraisal combined with other skills didn't give me a deep analysis, even just getting the name of the herb was enough. And once I had that, I could open my eyes and pick the herbs up manually—and just toss them straight into my Inventory.

It made the whole process ridiculously easy.

Even the Sagegrass, which looked nearly identical to regular grass save for its faint reddish roots, was no match for my combo. Normally you'd have to pluck every blade by hand to find it—but with Mana Detection and Appraisal working together, I could pinpoint them hidden under thick overgrowth.

And the Bitter Roots? They were like uglier cousins of Mandrake—creepier, with twisted, muddy tendrils. Not hard to miss once you knew what you were looking for.

So just like that… job done. In literal minutes.

And since I didn't have to worry about filling up my satchel, I just kept chucking everything into my Inventory. As much as I could find. No sorting. No bags. Just grab and go.

When I finally paused to check my haul, the numbers lit up in my mind like a payday:

72 Mandrake Roots39 Sagegrass51 Bitter Roots

Hell yeah.

 I'm gonna break the bank this time.

***

"How the hell did you get that many in such a short time?" Lisa almost shouted as I unloaded the herbs like some overworked magician pulling scarves out of his sleeves. "And you can use Inventory, too?"

"Yup." I nodded casually, trying to look more clueless than competent. "Think I just got lucky. The herbs were all over the place—hard to miss, even for a newbie like me."

Yeah… best to play dumb. No need to let the world know I was stacking skills like cheat codes. Let them think I just have a spatial path and good fortune.

Lisa gave me a look—half impressed, half suspicious—but didn't press. "Well, not like it matters how you found them," she said, slipping back into her usual professional tone. "Let's see what we've got here."

She began sorting through the herbs I had turned in.

"Alright. So after accounting for the quest total, you've got 42 Mandrake roots, 29 Sagegrass, and 41 Bitter Roots leftover. Like I told you earlier, we buy Sagegrass and Bitter Roots at two cens apiece and one XP. Mandrakes go five for two cens and no XP." She glanced up. "Want me to cash them out now or save them for your next quest? Could boost your rewards later."

"Nah, just pay me now. I'll go find more when I need them," I said. Better to cash out while I could.

"Fair enough." Lisa scribbled on a piece of parchment, did some quick calculations, then looked up with a satisfied smile. "Alright. That's a total of 249 cens and 220 XP."

Now that's what I call a payday.

"Perfect. Here's my guild card." I slid it across the desk.

Lisa took it, pressed it against the glowing guild stone, and handed it back along with a heavy sack of coins. I didn't even try to count them—I just tossed them into my Inventory like a proper fantasy world capitalist.

"Thanks, Lisa," I said with a grin. "You're the best."

"You're welcome, Mr. Lucky." She winked. "Try not to make the other newbies cry."

***

The market lane of Eastmere felt a little brighter with 259 cens in hand—well, not literally—and 280 XP sitting nicely on my guild card. Burun's scroll shop still felt a bit out of reach, but that kind of money could still get me the basics I needed. First: clothes. Then, a decent sword. Preferably one I wouldn't break the moment I swung it.

Finding clothes was easy. I hit the first shop I saw and grabbed just enough for daily wear—some home clothes, some for heading out. Forty cens gone, but not a bad deal.

Next stop: a weapon shop.

Now that was a little trickier. I wasn't a weapon expert, and the last thing I wanted was for a cheap sword to snap mid-fight and leave me looking like a clown. So I decided to do what any smart consumer would—look for the shop with the most local traffic. Crowds meant quality, right?

While I was scanning the options, I spotted Maelion inside a quieter shop, sitting at a counter beside an old dwarf who was inspecting a sword like it owed him money. No other customers in sight, but I decided to step in anyway.

"Hey, Kaito. Where've you been today?" Maelion called out as I walked in.

The dwarf gave me a glance and promptly ignored me. No greeting. Just went back to his work. Odd for a shopkeeper.

Have I seen him somewhere before…? His face looked familiar.

"Just had a late night reading," I replied, scratching the back of my head. "Woke up late."

"Yeah, that's the age for learning from books," Maelion said with a sigh. "After that, you'll be too busy putting food on the table for your family." Then he smirked. "Anyway, what brings you to Elder Borik's shop?"

So this grumpy old dwarf was Borik. Must be a big shot if they call him Elder.

"I was just looking for a decent blade and saw you inside," I said. "So I thought I'd take a look."

Borik didn't even glance at me—still focused on his inspection.

"Then you're in the right place," Maelion said. "You won't find a better blacksmith in town than Elder Borik… right, old man?"

"Like I care about such titles," the dwarf muttered without looking up.

And then it clicked. That voice—I remembered it from a few days ago. He was the same dwarf who grumbled at me to move along at the town gate.

"If he's the best," I asked quietly, "why's there no one else here?"

Maelion chuckled. "I never said he's the best businessman."

Ah. That explains it. The shop walls were filled with all kinds of weapons, each one looking like a piece of craftsmanship made with care, not salesmanship. Definitely not someone who haggled or handed out smiles.

I stepped toward Borik anyway, trying to spot something I actually recognized.

"Elder Borik, may I have a moment of your time?"

"If you need a blade, look on the wall. Pick what you like and I'll tell you the price," he said without turning. "If you want something custom made, sit beside that fool there. I'll be with you."

Well… heard the man.

I turned to Maelion, who was grinning ear to ear at being called a fool, and started scanning the wall. The weapons all looked great—but I had no idea what I was looking at.

Thankfully, Maelion walked over, picked up a mid-sized blade, and held it out to me by the hilt.

"Try this one."

I grabbed it with one hand and—woah. It was light. Really light. Like a kitchen knife. I stepped into the open space at the center of the shop and gave it a few swings. It felt smooth, almost natural. Like it wanted to be held.

"You've got some skill with a blade, huh?" Maelion said, arms crossed.

It was thanks to the swordsmanship scroll I'd studied… but better not tell anyone that.

"I know a few moves," I said with a shrug. "Thanks for picking it out. I think I'll take it."

Assuming it was within budget, that is. I still had 219 cens, so anything under that would be fine.

Borik finally glanced up. "You two fools really like that one, huh? That sword's nowhere near perfect."

"Told you," Maelion said, grinning. "Best blacksmith… just not a great salesman."

I smirked but stayed focused. "Well, it feels perfect to me. If you'll give me a decent price, I'd like to buy it."

"Give me whatever you think it's worth. Just don't come back whining when you see something better later." He waved toward the rest of the wall.

I looked to Maelion for help, but he seemed just as clueless.

So I reached into my Inventory and pulled out 150 cens, placing them neatly on the counter. It felt like a fair price for a solid sword—not too high, not insulting.

Borik didn't say a word. He took the coins, set them aside, and went back to work.

Guess that's a deal.

"Thank you, Elder Borik. Hope to see you again soon," I said.

"You got a good deal, Kaito," Maelion added.

"Feels like it." I slid the sword into my Inventory—barely within the size limit.

"You use spatial magic?" Maelion asked.

"Yeah. Seems practical for someone like me…who prefer gathering jobs over hunting."

Maelion nodded, then raised a brow. "You're a man of many talents. Where's your new partner today, by the way? Haven't seen her around the guild."

That was… odd.

I was under the impression that Aelira probably stopped by the guild earlier today. But if Maelion didn't see her, maybe she never showed up at all.

 She's not the type to skip out on work. Was something wrong?

"Looks like you've got no clue either," Maelion said, rubbing his chin. "Maybe she just took the day off."

He tried to sound casual, but there was a faint edge of concern in his voice. I could tell I wasn't the only one wondering.

"I'll pay her a visit," I said. "She'll probably be glad to hear I finally got a sword too."

Maelion gave a short nod. "See you around, then. I'll be stuck here till that old man decides to return my blade."

I followed his gaze. Borik was still behind the counter, eyes glued to a chunk of metal like it held the secrets of the universe.

With that, I took my leave.

But my mind wasn't on the sword anymore. It was on Aelira. I hoped she was okay.

 She was the only person I could call a friend in this world.

And I had a gut feeling that something wasn't right.

So I picked up my pace and made my way toward her place.

*****