What's wrong with me, a mage, loving to farm?

Chapter 295. The Messenger of Withering, My Symphony

After the bonfire party, the mermaid in charge of developing this area found Kroya.

When no one else was around, she made no attempt to hide her respect for Kroya—the man before her was the godfather of the next king of the merfolk.

The current king and queen only had one son. The succession of power in this extraordinary race is actually better than in human kingdoms, since it is based solely on bloodline.

Treden possesses the blood of the King of Mermaids. Even if he spends his days in the sea as a salted fish, he will become a legend a thousand years later, a legend blessed by the gods.

When Kroya learned of this, he remained silent for a long, long time, and finally just sighed deeply.

That wicked bloodline!

"My lord," the mermaid asked cautiously, "would you like to arrange those drinks yourself? I've already sealed them away with magic."

"Huh?" Kroya asked in confusion, "Why are you sealing it away? I was planning to use it."

"..."

The mermaid was on the verge of tears.

If you don't make it clear, how will anyone know if you want to use it or take it back with other plans? She has served the royal family for so many years that she has long since developed a habit of being cautious and meticulous.

She really didn't dare to do anything without clear instructions; although she wouldn't achieve anything, at least she wouldn't make any mistakes.

However, Kroya also realized that she had not explained herself clearly.

"It's still my fault for not explaining clearly." He laughed, "Next, we'll use these drinks for land reclamation. I've already signed a contract with the Rock Ape Clan, and they will continue to provide the drinks."

By the way...

The Rock Apes are actually very good at farming. If possible, recruit them to help with farming.

They are, after all, natives of the western mountains and know this land quite well. I suspect there are some special beings within this long mountain range.

Call for support promptly if needed.

"OK!"

Miss Mermaid nodded repeatedly, wrote everything down, and then quietly left.

She noticed a figure approaching from not far away.

Now that Chloe wants to maintain her status as a working-class person, she certainly won't be foolish enough to expose it.

"She's quite smart."

After watching her leave, Kroya said something and looked to the side. Raising her voice, she asked, "Why weren't you at the bonfire party?"

The newcomer, the warrior Ropas, looked a bit strange at this moment. He seemed cautious, and there was a hint of fear on his face.

Kroa: "???"

He grew increasingly puzzled, and then he heard Lopas say, "Master Aroc, while I was working during the day, I heard people say there are ghosts here!"

As he said this, he looked around, his expression of terror becoming increasingly apparent.

"..."

ghost?

For a moment, Chloe felt confused and didn't know what to say.

You're a warrior, with plenty of blood and energy. You could easily kill a few ghosts, so why are you afraid?

But I don't know if fear is contagious.

Right after Ropas said that, Chloe suddenly felt that the darkness around her seemed to have become even deeper, and the plants growing in the mountains swayed in the wind, their branches and leaves like ghostly limbs.

The mountain mist grew increasingly hazy, and a chilling cold seemed to permeate the air.

"Um?"

He frowned and looked around.

In his magical perception, there was indeed a strange soul approaching, its strength even surprising him.

What kind of jinx are you? You actually said that and strange things actually appeared.

"Let's go quickly!" Ropas was already in a panic.

"It's too late." Kroya shook his head helplessly, looking at the shadow in the deep fog.

It was a slender figure.

It has three pairs of six strange, thin arms, a pair of withered wings made of fallen feathers behind it, wears a bizarre white dress, and has a blank face without any features.

It's really eerie; among the dead creatures, it's the kind that makes you feel uneasy.

Let alone encountering such a thing in this kind of environment, even in broad daylight, encountering such a strange creature would probably startle anyone.

"You you you you you!" Ropas suddenly drew his sword, an ordinary steel longsword.

He stood shakily in front of Kroya—it was quite normal for a warrior to stand in front of a "weak" bard and mage.

But against a real undead creature, the unenchanted longsword in his hand would probably be less painful than a tickle.

He lowered his voice: "Why don't you run first, and then get someone to rescue me!"

"fine."

Kroya wasn't nervous at all. He quickly identified the type of undead creature as a "Wither Merchant".

As the name suggests, they are here to do business.

Legend has it that it is a favorite of the god of the underworld, able to freely cross the barrier between the world of the living and the world of the dead, exchanging the specialties of the underworld for items from the world of the living.

In a sense, these "Withered Merchants" are even beneficial undead creatures. Many mages hope to encounter them, as they can obtain materials unique to the underworld.

However, I've heard that these things choose "suitable" partners for transactions, and no one has been able to explain their transaction logic to this day.

Why is it suddenly appearing here?

Are there any suitable trading partners here?

While Kroa hesitated, the withered merchant had already floated in front of Ropas, stretched out its arm, and held something in its fair palm.

"Humans".

"Please make a deal with me."

Oh? It was a deal with Ropas, huh?

This was something Kroya hadn't expected; it was rare that the protagonist wasn't him.

So he looked curiously at what the merchant was holding—a strange rib made of crystal, about the length of a hand.

Ropas was also stunned. He was somewhat at a loss, but instinctively felt that this matter was very important to him.

The Withered Merchant continued, "I heard your wish. You want to control that giant golem, you want to gain a higher status... This rib can fulfill your desire."

"All you need to do is insert the ribs into your body, and you can control the golem using the power of the ribs; the golem will act as if it were your own body."

Controlling the golem?

Kroya became increasingly puzzled. His golem control system used the Ark's magic rune structure and the Holy Spring Merchant Guild's encryption algorithm. How could this thing be connected to it?

Lopas looked at the crystal-like ribs and swallowed hard. He was genuinely looking forward to obtaining this treasure and becoming more skilled at piloting the golem.

But he wasn't stupid; since it was a transaction...

"What do I have to give up?" He was no longer afraid; his anticipation and longing for the future made him fearless.

A line, like a child's random scribbles, appeared on the blank face of the withered merchant, as if it were grinning.

"Give me your rib in exchange," it said.

"..." After a brief hesitation, Lopas actually took off his clothes, took the sword and plunged it into his chest. Blood splattered as he chopped off a section of his rib.

"!!!"

His speed and decisiveness were so great that even Kroa didn't have time to react and naturally couldn't stop him.

Moreover, Kroa could sense that there was no fluctuation of mental magic, which meant that it was Ropas's own choice, and even Kroa had no right to stop him.

"That's really ruthless, cutting off his own ribs?" Kroya couldn't help but click his tongue in amazement.

Lopas was in so much pain that his face was pale, his lips were trembling, and even in the cold wind, his forehead was covered in sweat. He handed the fresh rib to the withering merchant.

The latter held the rib in its hand, blood dripping from its fingers, and bowed slightly: "Thank you for the deal, then I'll help you with something in return."

I look forward to continuing our business.

It tore off a corner of its white dress, wrapped the crystal ribs around it, and threw it onto Ropas's wound.

In the glow of magic, the crystal rib instantly merged into the latter's body, and a white cloth covered the wound.

At first glance, it looks like a white cloth has grown out of the wound.

A magical rune flickered faintly on the white cloth—the rune made Kroya's pupils shrink slightly. He was all too familiar with this rune; wasn't it the same one he often used for splicing severed limbs?

This magic of the Holy See, the secret tradition of the Salt Mountain Knights, the divine art from the Goddess of Life... it doesn't seem like it could be related to the undead at all.

He was considering whether or not to force the guy to stay.

But I don't know if it sensed something.

Anyway, after the transaction was completed, the Wither Merchant's figure gradually disappeared, and the way he became ethereal was almost exactly the same as the way the Angel of the Harp left the main plane.

Kroya breathed a sigh of relief after missing the opportunity.

The main reason is that this thing is too special; even he doesn't want to have any connection with the land of the dead.

In particular... his Hall of Heroes actually violates the laws of the underworld by forcibly fixing the souls of the dead in the world of the living.

I still feel a little guilty when faced with these special beings who may be connected to the goddess of the underworld.

So Kroa watched it disappear completely before reaching out and playing her harp, then throwing a burst of green light, imbued with life force, toward Ropas.

It's perfectly normal for a bard to know some healing magic.

With his healing magic, Lopas's face quickly returned to a rosy hue, and the young warrior smiled, "Thank you, Mage Aroc. Could you please not tell anyone about what happened?"

Kroya sighed softly, "This is not a good choice, my friend."

"That thing is an unknown creation. If you just embed it into your body like that, won't there be any problems?"

His reply was Ropas's excited voice: "But without the help of this treasure, it will be a very long time before I can master the Engineering Golem."

I want to work hard to earn money, I want to get more magic crystals…

He looked at Chloe: "I know you're not as simple as you seem. What's casual to you is my future."

"I'm sorry, I lied to you... Actually, I not only wanted to hear your music, but also wanted to be your friend."

"..."

Kroya was stunned.

He certainly had many methods and arguments to use to persuade Ropas, but he remained silent.

The North does offer many job opportunities and provides a ladder for many to climb, but this ladder requires many people to crowd together to move forward.

Perhaps for Lopas, this really was a shortcut—as was befriending this seemingly unusual bard.

A shortcut for ordinary people.

Why bother saying all this?

He didn't bring up the matter again, but said, "If you feel unwell, you can come to me for a check-up. I have some knowledge of healing magic."

Oh, and I also heard that an expert in golem manipulation will be coming here tomorrow to give a live demonstration. You should go back and rest; you can't miss it.

"Don't overthink it, we're still friends."

Kroya appreciated his honesty and therefore didn't care about his actions, since he was genuinely sincere.

If you find something pleasing to the eye, you don't need to think too much about it.

Hearing Kroa's words, Lopas's eyes lit up: "Then I'll go back and rest now. Thank you, Mage Aroc!"

He waved and ran away. Although his posture was still somewhat unnatural, the smile on his face was very bright, which even suppressed the pain caused by the wound.

After watching him leave, Kroya instructed the Wood Demon King beside him, "Find an apprentice from the Engineering Golem tomorrow."

The verdant vines swayed gently, conveying the message to the tower spirit, who would then make immediate arrangements.

After giving the instructions, Kroya simply sat down on the ground, making the grass soft.

He pondered the events of the day, muttering to himself, "A wish? A wish is also a desire."

"Who exactly are these declining merchants...?"

"It can actually reassemble severed limbs, and judging from the fluctuations in its magical energy, it seems quite adept at it. Could it be that the Goddess of Life is related to the god of death?"

After thinking for a while, he shook his head helplessly, put his complicated thoughts aside, and picked up his harp to play casually.

The music unfolded gently, like a painting.

There are people waiting on the train in the early morning to go to work, people busy in the West, music mixed with nature and engineering, leisure and joy at the bonfire party, and then the shadow of the withering messenger and the determination of Ropas...

The entire piece consists of four major chapters: "Journey of the Morning Sunlight", "Engineering Music of the West", "Joy of Leisure Time", and "The Man Who Makes Deals with the Dead".

For Kroya now, composing a tune on a whim is an easy thing, let alone this one, which can't even be called musical magic, it's just a tune he played casually.

However, the power from Kroa did ultimately grant it special abilities—

The effect of this force is to instill determination.

Simply put, people who hear this piece of music are able to make decisions more quickly and move forward with unwavering determination.

It's a pretty useful musical magic, since making decisions is very difficult.

"But I always feel like something's missing."

Kroya gazed at the starry sky for a while, then suddenly had a flash of inspiration: "That's it! All I need to do is sleep!"

Even the most determined person needs sleep to soothe their fatigue.

Thinking of this, he immediately stood up, left the bonfire party without hesitation, and returned to the front-line base through the still-open portal, back to his dormitory.

Time to sleep! I'll go to sleep right away!

As soon as he entered the room, he saw the adorable yellow duck fast asleep on the sofa, its belly exposed and its downy feathers smooth and soft.

"Huh?"

The Mermaid King sensed someone entering and was about to get up to greet Kroya when he felt himself being picked up.

Then I was taken to the bed and used as a body pillow.

Fishtail Sea Duck King: "???"

It didn't react in time.

The powerful mage who was holding it had already withdrawn all his power, tossed the harp aside, and quickly drifted off to sleep.

The sound of the wind outside the window, the green plants on the table, and his soft breathing mingled together, plucking the strings of the harp and adding the final, gentle note to the melody—

"The Stars and the Rest"

Thank you all for your monthly tickets and recommendation votes! It's almost the end of the month, so I'm posting this early. Wishing everyone a happy November in advance!

(End of this chapter)