Brain bloom

"Hmm, healing magic! That's healing magic!" Dandelion's hands and feet were no longer still, moving around to express her joy, and the dandelion on her head swayed like she was dancing. "It can temporarily bring a dying person back to life, and can instantly heal injuries. This is a dream item, and no one but the rulers of various countries can enjoy it."

"Is that so? This... isn't it just a low-level healing spell?"

"Of course! Don't you know? Even the great nations only have one or two mages who have mastered healing spells. So even if it can only be used once, the healing scroll that we—no, Mori got—can still fetch a high price."

Sen Shi was not swayed by its value; he simply felt that he had found another place where he could be of help.

"Only those in power can enjoy this..." She smiled and said to Dandelion, "When you are crowned king, we won't need to find another magician like this."

"Could it be..." Dandelion grew increasingly astonished, until finally her surprise turned to delight, "You know this kind of magician?"

"You know him too."

……

The following is a brief, non-word-counting setting supplement that can be skipped and is solely for Moonraven's personal interest.

……

Amulet: [An's Knot]

There are no level restrictions; you can wear it freely.

Item description: This item was left behind by someone who had been on a difficult journey through countless years, searching for his beloved.

Along the way, for some reason, this knot was actually distributed to many people, so it wasn't particularly precious. But even though it was just a piece of red string, it conveyed a deep sense of longing. Because of this, it allowed the wearer to feel the emotions of the person on that arduous journey.

Effect: Willpower increases by 15, Luck decreases by 4

Volume 1 #012 - After all, it was made by a master

Dandelion wasn't stupid. The only magicians she and Mori knew, besides the deceased Tu Mi, were Mori himself. The thought surprised Dandelion—but she quickly accepted it.

She understood that Mori wasn't after the magic scroll; he simply thought it was worthless. Once she realized this, she immediately felt proud, because this was the hero she had summoned, and he had brought such a wonderful surprise…

This may be the happiest moment for dandelions in recent years, because such a reliable companion is standing right beside them.

At the same time, Mori slowly raised his fingers, which were wrapped in a strange pale blue light that brought a sense of peace to the mind.

That playful finger touched Dandelion's slender neck, hidden beneath her robes. If one wasn't paying attention, they wouldn't notice—there lay a tiny scratch, a scrape left when she was ambushed by wheat flour and fell. But as Sen Shi's fingers brushed over it, the pale blue sheen erased the scratch.

"This is a healing spell; it's effective against all wounds except fatal ones." Mori Shi put away the light of the healing spell and then said, "It's something I learned before, but unfortunately I was lazy and only learned this lower level... I never imagined that in this day and age, mages who know healing spells would be so rare."

After saying that, she patted her princess on the shoulder and pointed in the direction of Frozen Bear Town from her memory, indicating that the matter was settled and it was time to leave.

The two walked side by side on the way back, with seagulls occasionally swooping overhead.

Dandelion remained cheerful, glancing every now and then at the red string amulet tied with a bow on her wrist, and stealing glances at Mori's focused and calm face. But she reluctantly remembered that Mori hadn't sworn allegiance, nor promised to help restore the kingdom; he'd only said he'd take her home…

“Princess, my healing skills are quite proficient, but this is our advantage, and I don’t think we should expose it…” Mori said, getting down to business.

“I understand, that’s what I was thinking too. We can’t use your healing spells to make money because it’s monopolized by top mages from different countries. If a mage suddenly appears and starts healing people everywhere, it could cause a big problem…”

Sen Shi felt very happy because Dandelion understood this.

Dandelion then said thoughtfully, "If Sen Shi goes to the Holy Coffin Kingdom, this skill alone would be enough to make him the top court magician, and his treatment would be incredibly good..."

But Mori just smiled and changed the subject without paying any attention: "What about magic scrolls? If they can be traded, sell them to accumulate funds."

"Hmm, this thing could be sold."

As Dandelion responded, her thoughts were complicated. Mori's tone was completely that of one of her own, yet she hadn't sworn allegiance yet... In truth, she didn't want Mori to submit to her and follow her at all; she just wanted to fight side by side. But she hadn't even heard Mori explicitly say that promise.

Looking at the dandelion in a daze, Mori asked again, "If that's the case, what price can it be sold for? In fact, I still don't have a clear concept of the current prices of various commodities."

"There are three types of currency: gold, silver, and copper, all promoted by the Holy Coffin Kingdom. The latter two can be exchanged for one high-grade coin for every thousand of them. If you want to have a lavish meal at the night market in the permanently neutral city of Silvermoon, one silver coin is usually enough. As for the purchasing power of gold coins, one can buy ten high-quality combat slaves... that's about it."

Mori had no idea about these things at all, and just nodded perfunctorily, thinking that he would understand after he entered the city and investigated.

However, the thought that her inheritance was controlling the world's economy gave her a little secret pleasure, which intensified her desire to collect the debt as soon as possible.

Her next destination was Frozen Bear Town—a place she knew well, with numerous side quests and main missions to complete there. It was also a bustling port town, responsible for all sorts of maritime trade and transportation, so it was practically a medium-sized town.

It doesn't belong to any country, but is an independent neutral town, maintaining the entanglement of interests among various parties—at least that's how it's set up in the game.

“I’ve heard that healing spell scrolls have appeared on the market before, but since they were traded privately, the price is unverifiable,” Dandelion said, continuing their previous discussion. “So there’s no precise market price.”

Are there any other references?

"A certain noble duke is injured and has offered a high price to hire a court magician to perform healing magic, which is about seventy gold coins."

Both of them nodded, accepting this price as their expected price. Dandelion kept muttering "seventy pieces" to herself the whole way, chuckling to herself each time, which made Mori Shi unable to help but chuckle along with her.

……

After walking for a while, Dandelion gazed into the distance and spotted the landmark building whose outline became clearer—the "Bear Fat" lighthouse, a tall lighthouse that stood forever, dedicated to guiding merchant ships. Now that Frozen Bear Town was near, she called out to Mori.

“Although I’d ​​like to sell them in Silvermoon City, which is considered more impartial, they charge a transaction tax there.” She adopted a negotiating tone and continued, “But the free market in Frozen Bear Town has a very good reputation. Why don’t we just cash in here?”

"You can make the decision." After answering, Mori looked at her, thinking that his princess had probably counted to seventy by now.

"After all, you have that package... no matter how much money you bring, it won't attract attention."

"Yes, I'd be happy to carry money."

“There’s one more thing.” She paused, scanning the surrounding woods. “We Four Seasons People are quite conspicuous… You’re so beautiful, and you’re wearing such revealing clothes; it might cause you trouble… So I suggest you wait for me here?”

After speaking, Dandelion put on the hood of her robe, just as people sometimes hide their hands in their pockets, tucking the cute dandelion on her head into the hood. Clearly, she planned to go into town to buy some clothes and then return.

"There must be another way, wait for me."

She also possessed top-tier sewing skills, so Mori's pride wouldn't allow her to fail at even such a small task.

Upon hearing that the Kingdom of Flowers had been destroyed and that only Dandelion remained as the Four Seasons Man, Mori knew he should conceal his identity. Therefore, what he brought out of the wild boar's lair wasn't just a hunting knife and a few wild boar carcasses; he also brought out the clothes of the dead.

She walked into the woods, took out the carcass of a hare and a wild boar from her backpack, and laboriously threw them on the ground. Then, she took out her hunter's clothing, a mix of cloak and leather, and began to work herself.

Unlike corpses, the clothes a corpse wore don't decompose as quickly; the fabric is still intact—at least enough to make a cloak to cover the body. Then, her hunting knife cut off the boar and rabbit hides; the master tailor not only sewed clothes but also possessed the skill of weaving them.

The entire rabbit skin was cut into strips, mixed with long strips of wild boar skin, and woven into a fluffy hat like a bamboo basket.

"...Incredible skill! This leather was just taken off the tree and hasn't undergone any deep processing yet. It's not suitable for making clothes at all... How could it be woven like this?" Dandelion watched the whole thing, her mouth never closing.

Mori was startled. After activating his tailoring skill and entering a state of complete absorption, he even had dandelions drive away the insects that were biting the strawberry vines.

She looked at the little hat she had just finished knitting. The rabbit's grayish-white scraggly fur covered all the blemishes, and the wild smell it should have emitted was forcibly purified by wind magic. It was the perfect size, and every line of the hat was intertwined with the others. A unique technique made it very sturdy, and more importantly, the color matched the worn cloak, reducing any suspicion.

"Put it on quickly so I can see it."

"Hmm, I need to see how good my skills are first."

Because of the perfect completion of each step, Mori felt that it was truly a good hat, and he was also able to investigate its item information.

The item is called the "Wonderful Woven Leather Hat." The equipment description states that it is a unique design by a master craftsman and is a true masterpiece.

Although crafted with inferior materials and lacking any of the attributes expected of high-level equipment, it still boasts decent defensive capabilities. Aside from one major annoyance: perhaps due to its master craftsmanship, this thing requires a level of 90 to equip…

……

(This is the only update for today.)

Let me continue my leisurely stroll a little longer, and try my best to resist the urge to dig a huge hole... try my best to resist.

Volume 1 #013 - I Heard There Was Danger at Night

Like most independent towns, Frozen Bear Town has a rather high wall built around its perimeter to ensure safe trade even during wartime. Combined with its location by the sea, it is renowned for its impregnability.

Therefore, the only city gate became the face of Frozen Bear Town.

Every day, countless merchants come and go from here, along with people who come hoping to find work, beg, or speculate. Many freedom fighters also come here hoping to find a high-paying job to make a living.

So Dandelion, dressed in her magic robes, was just an ordinary member here. Magicians weren't many, but they weren't exactly rare either. She mingled among the caravans, dragging a cargo box with magic, and to anyone else, she looked like an adventurer earning extra money.

The large cargo box was quite dilapidated and covered in mud, which caught the attention of the capable and poised female businesswoman behind Dandelion.

"Excuse me for interrupting, magician, what's in that box of yours? Did you dig it up from somewhere?"

"Don't even think about it, it's what I hunted." Dandelion lowered the brim of her hat and answered calmly, "There's a pig inside."

Mori, who was inside the box, sounded very angry.

But it was true, because the cramped space inside the box was filled with her curled-up body and the head of the leader boar. She stared into the lifeless boar eyes and sighed softly.

In fact, they hadn't thought of a very good way to get into the city. Dandelion didn't even exchange clothes with her, because before they could even think of swapping clothes, they had already gone back and dug up the hidden treasure chest... the chest itself. Actually, this was a good method, since the checkpoint was quite lax anyway.

After hearing Dandelion's explanation, the businesswoman nodded and didn't ask any further questions.

Because wild boars are very common, and their presence in the surrounding forests poses a significant threat, powerful individuals passing by often hunt a few to sell. At least, wild boar meat is very popular; neither commoners nor nobles dislike this game—chewing on that rough meat feels as if the wild boar was hunted by their own hands.

At the noisy city gate, the guards maintained a minimum level of order, mechanically carrying out their tasks with numb expressions.

"What is this?" When it was Dandelion's turn, the guard just looked at the box.

"Wild boar."

"Open it and take a look, magician."

Dandelion did as she was told, revealing a wild boar hide with a particularly ferocious boar head on it. Mori was underneath the hide, slightly worried about being exposed, but she had a plan. She would simply say she was Dandelion's personal slave, and there wouldn't be any problems.

Fortunately, the guards didn't make things difficult. Seeing the fierce wounds on the wild boar's face, a slight smile finally appeared on the guards' numb faces, and they began chatting with their colleagues beside them—

"After all these years, someone has finally taken care of that bounty. We don't have to sign up to hunt wild boars this year..."

"Yes, but didn't the young master of the Black Wildcat family rush out this morning? I heard it was for this too. It seems they didn't succeed."

"May I go in now?" Dandelion closed the lid, her tone indifferent. "It's already noon. I want to collect the bounty as soon as possible and then choose an inn, otherwise it'll be nighttime..."

Upon hearing the word "night," the guards immediately stopped their chatter, their faces hardened, and they straightened their two curved spears to indicate that they should make way.

Dandelion made it into the city smoothly. Every corner was teeming with energetic people, the sounds of bargaining and hawking rising and falling. But a pungent smell wafted over, one that Dandelion never liked. It was the smell of goods, people from all over, and the saltiness of the sea.

She found a clothing store nearby, estimated her size according to her measurements, and bought a unisex travel outfit for a few silver coins. This was already considered high-end; even someone who experienced sandstorms every day could wear it for a year. She took the suitcase to a corner and finally released Mori Shi from inside.

Sen Shi's steps were unsteady, and he swayed his head for a long time while holding onto the wall.

"Damn, your magic was too overpowered... Damn it, this wild boar has bad breath." Her leaves were also curled up, looking listless, and looked like they needed watering.

"I'm sorry to trouble you, great hero. Here, take this: new clothes and new shoes."

"Oh...wait, I'm going to change here?"

"There's no one else here."

Dandelion checked again; this was a narrow gap in a residential building, so there was indeed no possibility of being spied on.