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

Chapter 296. Finger Bone Rice, the Witch's Crystal Skeleton

After a rare good night's sleep, when Kroya woke up, it was just getting light, but the outside was already starting to get lively.

With his extraordinary hearing, he could hear the sounds of getting up and dressing, washing up, rushing out the door... and most obviously, the sound of a car horn—

"All members of the golem construction team, please assemble in Sector B-15 as soon as possible."

"Repeating, all members of the golem construction team, please assemble in Sector B-15 immediately!"

The various voices and the fact that he was about to go to work gave Chloe the illusion that he had traveled back in time. Logically speaking, he shouldn't be tired, but he felt inexplicably sleepy.

It's like trying to stay in bed longer on weekdays, silently telling yourself you'll only need five more minutes of sleep, but then waking up refreshed at six or seven in the morning during holidays.

This was a completely different experience from his mage tower.

Inside the mage tower, no sound could disturb his sleep; the only sounds were the waves, the breeze, the crackling of firewood, and the falling snow—white noise specially prepared for him by the tower spirit.

He lay quietly for a while, unwilling to get up, his mind strongly resisting the fact that he had to get out of bed.

So... he followed his heart and stayed in bed.

Before staying in bed, he instructed the Woody Vine King, who had somehow entered the room and was disguised as a green plant, as follows:

"Make arrangements to postpone things over there in a reasonable way, and continue after I wake up."

After all, if the golem construction team starts working, the work on the other side will also have to start. He doesn't want to work overtime, especially since he's the one who caused the overtime.

After saying that, he adjusted his posture, continued to hug the soft yellow duck, and drifted off to sleep again.

Fishtail Sea Duck King: "..."

"OK."

The Woody Vine King immediately made arrangements. It also felt that Kroya might have woken up too early, as sufficient sleep is very important for mages.

After all, a mage's entire combat power lies in their mental strength and intellect.

……

the other side.

The apprentice, who had finally won a fight against his classmates and was planning to show off his skills in front of Kroya, felt a sudden tightness in his chest when he heard this news.

He looked up at the lingering morning mist and wondered to himself: Had I arrived too early?

Yeah! It's only a little past six! I must have been too hasty!

Thinking about how he almost dragged the lord into trouble by getting up at six o'clock, he felt that his future was bleak. If he went back, he would definitely be beaten up by his companions.

Fortunately, it can still be salvaged.

He felt relieved, looked at the people below the stage, thought of a plan, and said loudly, "It's still early, I'll open the third restaurant for you. You can have something to eat and take a look at the information on golem piloting."

Upon hearing this, the migrant workers, who were already a bit hungry but couldn't miss the class, immediately cheered.

The Third Restaurant!

It is said that all the ingredients used there are magical, and the chefs from the Rat Chefs of Han Reef Island are personally invited to cook them. The quality of each dish is no less than that of royal chefs from various countries.

However, the prices were ridiculously high. They would have to grit their teeth to save up enough money to eat there, but now they could eat there for free.

This is such a pleasant surprise!

The crowd cheered.

"Very good!"

"The monks on Hanjiao Island are so generous!"

"We'll definitely work hard!"

Apprentice Harvey didn't feel anything, as this was already within his authority, not to mention that it involved Lord Kroya. In his delight, he simply broadened the scope to the entire pioneering base.

However, to his surprise, after he made this announcement, Ropas, who had gotten up early, immediately rushed back excitedly and knocked on Kroa's door.

The news was only learned when someone opened the door with a helpless expression.

"Master Aroc! The teacher from Reef Island just said we can eat for free at the Third Restaurant. Let's hurry over there; it's full of magical ingredients!"

Ropas was clearly well-intentioned; such a situation of eating and drinking for free was rare for them.

But Chloe looked helpless.

I finally wanted to stay in bed!

"Okay, I understand."

There was nothing he could do; since he was no longer sleepy, he could only quickly wash up and follow Ropas, along with the Merlion King, towards the bustling Third Restaurant as the sun rose.

Walking on the road paved with a cement-like material, people came and went on both sides, including not only superhumans but also ordinary people from other places.

It was quite a lively scene.

These ordinary people may not have any special abilities, but they have lived in the Western Regions for a long time and have a deep understanding of the local geography, making them excellent guides.

And another very important function is to interpret legends.

In such a magical world, it's fair to say that legends and stories are everywhere. While their credibility may not be very high, there must be a reason why they become legends.

Kroya grabbed a bowl of rice and some vegetables, intending to make do with a simple meal, when she overheard a girl at the next table, who looked no more than seventeen or eighteen, discussing something with her companion—

Have you heard of the witch in the mountains?

"A witch?" a companion asked nervously. "Agatha, how dare you mention witches? Didn't the mages in the capital say we're not allowed to talk about them anymore?"

The little girl named Agatha said dismissively, "The Western Territory is now Duke Han Reef's territory. You don't know, even His Majesty the King personally came to ask the Duke for favors!"

She waved her hand and lowered her voice mysteriously, "I even saw a witch yesterday!"

Daring teenagers are always full of interest in the unknown, and her expression was particularly excited: "The witch sister has six arms, she's wearing a dress that only nobles can wear, and she even gave me a gift!"

The girl opened her palm, and what appeared in her palm was a finger bone.

Crystal finger bone.

It reflected a mysterious halo under the restaurant's bright lights.

Kroya, who had been paying attention to this area, naturally sensed the magical fluctuations emanating from her finger bones and frowned slightly.

Ropas, who was standing next to him, was also listening and naturally saw the finger bone in the girl's hand. It was exactly the same as the rib he had obtained, with a crystal-like texture.

Upon seeing the crystal finger bone, Ropas's expression became somewhat subtle. Why could such an ordinary mortal girl obtain such a treasure?

In fact, Kroya was also very curious. If you were to say that Ropas was able to obtain that rib, it might be because he was a superhuman and had violated some rule, which allowed him to trade with the Withering Messenger.

So how did this little girl get it?

As far as he knew, the Withering Messenger had no record of trading with ordinary people; without exception, all those who could trade with it were extraordinary individuals.

What worries him even more is why the Withering Messenger keeps appearing in his territory, and this crystal skeleton... could there really be a complete one?

Agatha, seeing that her companion seemed frightened, quickly explained:

"Hey, don't be afraid."

"It looks scary, but the witch said that if you plant it, it will grow rice! And it will grow into a very big rice tree!"

"???"

Upon hearing this, Kroya was immediately filled with question marks. That thing was a magical artifact made of crystal, so why would it grow into a rice tree when planted?

Even if it's magic, this is a bit far-fetched.

Furthermore, the witch, judging from the description, is the Withering Messenger. Is she still making deals with people? Just how many things does Kroa not know?

He was genuinely curious, so he seized the opportunity to join the conversation: "I just heard you guys talking about rice trees..."

At this moment, Kroa's near-perfect looks came in handy.

The young girls were stunned, having never seen such a handsome person before.

It turns out that being good-looking does have its advantages, not to mention that Kroya's temperament is completely unlike that of a mage, giving people the feeling of being bathed in spring sunshine.

Add to that the cute and goofy yellow duck next to him, and it's no wonder people can let their guard down.

Agatha stammered, "Master, you..."

She swallowed hard to calm herself down a bit.

"This was given to me by a witch... no, a sorceress! If you'd like to see it, I'll take you right now!"

Hmm... This was the first time Kroya had directly realized the power of her face and the almost solidified charm spell. Before, she had only seen apprentices and friends and hadn't paid much attention to it.

Kroya smiled and said, "Okay."

He stood up and gave Ropas a look—the latter was smart enough to nod immediately: "I'll help you ask for leave."

He was actually very concerned about the appearance of the crystal skeleton, and he was very grateful that Arok volunteered to go and investigate.

So Chloe left with the girl.

……

The girl was worried about being discovered, so she chose a place in her village, a small village deep in the mountains, where people usually relied on vines swaying on the rock walls to get in and out.

After Kroya took over the area, the civil engineering mages carved a tunnel through the mountain to create a passage into it.

To be honest, this isn't very cost-effective. After all, how much profit can such a small mountain village generate? It probably won't even cover the magic and labor costs incurred in opening up the mountain road.

However, Kroya felt this was quite important. In the magical world, special situations could arise anywhere, and he also had a bit of obsessive-compulsive disorder, hoping that all his territories could be connected.

It's fortunate that the connection was established, otherwise we would have missed such an interesting event.

It took some time for Kroya to arrive at the place the girl had mentioned.

Upon arriving at the location, the girl carefully buried the finger bone in the soil, and a tender sprout emerged from the soil the next second.

The color of the buds was just a little strange.

It's a pink color...like the color of a wound after it's been washed with water.

It only took a few seconds for it to grow from a tender sprout into a tree as tall as three or four people. After it stabilized, extremely slender grains of rice formed among its branches and leaves.

Each grain of rice is about four or five centimeters long and is sharp and curved, looking like the teeth of some kind of creature.

The girl stepped forward, picked a handful of rice, removed the husks, and showed it to Kroya. Each grain of rice was crystal clear and emitted a unique, fresh aroma of grain.

"..."

"It really is rice?"

This was the first time Kroya had ever seen such a peculiar magical plant. He tried to examine it using the Astral Imprint Technique, but what he saw was a magical pattern so complex it was hard to describe.

The tree is called the "Fang Rice Tree".

The internal magic runes were extremely complex. With his knowledge, he could only barely make out that these runes were related to summoning. To put it simply, this strange pink rice tree was summoned.

The node for the summoning is that piece of crystal finger bone.

"Is that right?" Agatha laughed happily. "That's what the witch told me."

"She said these things are delicious, and eating them regularly can make us stronger, and even teach us magic!"

"Then what price will you pay?" Kroa asked doubtfully. "Shouldn't this be a trade?"

Based on what happened to Ropas last night, it's estimated that what's needed for this finger bone is the corresponding girl's finger. Is this a kind of equivalent exchange?

But then Agatha shook her head: "The witch said she'd give this to me... Oh, and she also gave me this!"

Agatha took out a picture made of sheepskin from her inner pocket.

The outline of a tree is drawn with simple lines. There are three circles on the left side of the tree, three on the right side, and four in the center. Twenty-two magical runes connect the ten circles like tree branches.

The whole thing looks like an upside-down tree.

Despite the simple way it was drawn, it gave Kroa an indescribable sense of oppression, as if she were facing something powerful—the last time she felt this way was when she faced the Azure Tree of the Mermaid Clan.

Even the angel of the harp had not given him such a profound sense of oppression.

What is this?

He felt a vague excitement; it had been a long time since anything had been interesting to him.

This thing is right in front of you now.

"Did she say anything else when she gave you this?" Kroya asked after observing for a while.

Agatha shook her head: "The witch told me to keep this picture safe, because she was going to meet more people and draw on the ground."

"Drawing on the ground?"

Kroa noticed this keenly, and after a moment's thought, looked at the picture again, trying to find some answers in its complex lines and circles.

But the result was that nothing was gained.

This was a magical system he had never encountered before. Based on his knowledge, he could only deduce that it was closely related to alchemy, but he found nothing else.

An equivalent exchange... that can serve as an anchor for summoning? Able to summon this strange magical plant...

"Could you give me this map?" Kroya casually pulled out a handful of gold coins. "Consider this your exchange. I'm very interested in this."

"!!!"

The girl's eyes widened.

Gold coins are the most readily available currency. With enough gold coins, one can even buy some magical artifacts—she, and her ancestors, had never seen a single gold coin.

In the mountains of the western border, bartering is the primary mode of trade.

She really wanted it, but she still refused.

"Mr. Bard, I promised the witch I wouldn't give it to anyone else." She was actually quite nervous as she said this; if Chloe hadn't been so friendly, she wouldn't have dared to say it.

"Let me think about it."

"I also really want to meet Miss Witch."

"...Well, I can also agree to let your entire family leave this small village and officially move to the North to live."

Your abilities could become a special kind of magic that changes your life, and you might even be able to study at a magic academy.

Kroya casually promised a whole host of benefits, each one capable of changing the course of Agatha's life.

For him, it doesn't matter how much effort and resources he has to spend to get what he wants; as long as he can get it, it's worth it.

This is indeed a tremendous temptation.

But Agatha firmly shook her head: "I promised the witch, and I absolutely cannot break my promise... I'm sorry, Mr. Bard."

"..." Chloe looked at her with a slight surprise, then smiled and said, "Well then, Miss Agatha, your character is extremely noble."

Although you rejected my deal, I will still keep my promise. The North welcomes you.

It was only at this moment that Agatha suddenly remembered something, and her face instantly turned bright red—her fingers trembled with excitement.

"You...you are Duke of Hanjiao?" she asked cautiously.

Who could so calmly represent that there is anyone else in the North besides that lord? Who would dare to say that?

"That's right. But I hope you can study at a magic academy in the future. Then you can call me headmaster or mentor. That would make me even happier."

Kroya did not hide her identity.

Agatha's face turned even redder. She hadn't expected to actually meet this esteemed person. Her mind was spinning, and she was completely at a loss.

So she made a decision.

She solemnly handed the parchment to Chloe: "Your Grace, I am willing to give it to you."

"Hmm? Why?"

"You gave us hope to live on. I'm sure the witch will understand me, and I'm willing to be punished if she wants to!"

"Hehe." Chloe couldn't help but laugh.

You know what, it really feels good to be respected and admired.

So he promised again, "Don't worry, if Miss Witch really comes, I'll explain everything to her. Now..."

Just as he was about to say something more, a ring on the parchment he was holding was glittering.

"Whoosh—"

The light projected onto the sky formed a topographical map of the western border.

Above... the shadow of a crystal skeleton is faintly visible.

The light from the 206 bones was gradually increasing, seemingly covering half of the Western Territory, or rather, the entire frontline colony of the Northern Territory.

A strange, chilling voice faintly appeared behind him: "Mr. Sun, how will you face... the most primal sense of exchange in people's hearts?"

Thank you all for your monthly tickets and recommendations! Wishing you a happy new month!

(End of this chapter)