Chapter 116: The Silver Dragon—Invitation
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At daybreak, Veylin held the Druid’s Book and studied it intently, striving to comprehend its meaning while beginning his cultivation according to the breathing technique recorded within.
He had possessed the book for nearly a month, yet had only barely entered the profession. This alone demonstrated how difficult it was to become a druid.
After all this time, he had learned only one spell: Thorn Spell.
Watching the thorns emerge from the soil, Veylin deliberately extended an arm and allowed them to coil around it. Then, with a slight exertion of strength, he easily broke free of their restraint.
“Far too weak. According to the Druid’s Book, Thorn Spell can be developed to its ultimate form, creating thorns three meters in diameter that extend without limit, possess a hardness surpassing adamantine, and restrain even those in the Legendary Realm. I still have a very long road ahead of me.”
Judging from this alone, his fellow countryman was unquestionably a true powerhouse. Since arriving in this world, Veylin had never heard of any druid master or legendary being who had pushed such a low-level spell as Thorn Spell to its absolute limit.
“Take it slowly. There is still plenty of time. As long as I become a formal druid within a year, that will count as a victory.”
Silently comforting himself, Veylin eased the anxiety in his heart.
Afterward, he returned to his study and picked up the immersive gaming helmet he had exchanged for from the astral mage, Grey. While entertaining himself and relaxing, he also honed his command abilities, repeatedly learning through trial and error in the virtual world.
A low-grade magic crystal could power the immersive gaming helmet for twenty hours. A single Vitality Vine could produce ten Vitality Crystals in a year, equivalent to ten low-grade magic crystals.
He possessed three Vitality Vines, which could provide thirty low-grade magic crystals each year. Without using any additional crystals, he could therefore operate the immersive gaming helmet for six hundred hours annually.
An hour later, Veylin removed the immersive gaming helmet and placed it on the desk, then drew a deep breath.
Just moments ago, he had attacked the enemy with three times their numbers, only to be deceived and outmaneuvered. Through military stratagems, his opponent had annihilated all thirty thousand of his troops.
“Next time, I absolutely must be more cautious. But who could have imagined that this virtual character would use two-thirds of its own forces as bait? What an eye-opener.”
At that moment, someone knocked on the study door.
“Come in.”
Veylin placed the immersive gaming helmet on the bookshelf and turned toward the door.
Hearing his lord’s voice, Kyle pushed the door open and entered.
“My lord, Lord Randolph has sent word that the first batch of Blackhide Meat Pigs is ready for slaughter. This is the compiled report. Please review it.”
Veylin accepted the report on the Blackhide Meat Pig ranch from Kyle.
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Six months earlier, he had placed twenty pigs in the Blackhide Meat Pig ranch: three males and seventeen females.
According to Randolph’s report, each Blackhide Meat Pig gave birth to at least three piglets per litter. During these six months, the pigs had entered heat twice and produced one hundred and thirteen piglets. Sixty Blackhide Meat Pigs were expected to be ready for slaughter in February of the following year, while the rest would be retained for breeding in order to expand the ranch.
In addition, eight Blackhide Meat Pigs were ready for slaughter this time—two males and six females. Each was expected to weigh two hundred and fifty pounds and yield one hundred and seventy-five pounds of meat.
As for why there were two males among them, Randolph had also provided an explanation.
“Absolutely absurd. One pig actually developed a sense of possession and nearly bit the other two males to death.”
Veylin shook his head as he read the ridiculous record. The animals truly were as ill-tempered as they were reputed to be.
Randolph had already proposed a solution: install partitions throughout the Blackhide Meat Pig ranch, keep the males penned separately under normal circumstances, and release them only during the mating period every three months.
“Order Randolph to proceed according to his plan. Make proper arrangements for storing the Blackhide pork. Also, send two hundred pounds of it to my castle.”
After a moment’s thought, Veylin quickly issued his instructions.
“Yes, my lord.”
Once Kyle had left, Veylin immediately wrote an invitation and had someone deliver it to Baird, instructing him to present it in Veylin’s name to the owner of the Adventurers’ Tavern.
…
On the second floor of the Adventurers’ Tavern, the silver-haired young man carefully tasted the wine he had brewed with his new ingredients and nodded in satisfaction.
“Pine roots, combined with a certain amount of yam vines and supplemented by my own improved brewing technique… I actually managed to turn such common materials into a low-alcohol wine. The flavor is somewhat unpleasant, but at least it worked.”
Looking at the results of his experiment, the silver-haired young man wore a satisfied expression, as though he could already see an endless stream of gold coins waving to him.
“Master, Baird, the governor of Starprayer Town, has come to visit you.”
The voice from outside interrupted the silver-haired young man’s thoughts.
“Invite him in.”
With a wave of his hand, the silver-haired young man put away all the items. He went to the door, opened it, and issued the order to his servant.
On the first floor of the Adventurers’ Tavern, Baird followed the servant upstairs.
“How have you been lately, Boss Aljeta?” Baird greeted the silver-haired young man with a smile.
“Thank you for your concern, Governor Baird. I have been doing very well here.”
The silver-haired young man replied with a smile. There was no arrogance or contempt in his manner; he treated the human before him as an equal.
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After exchanging a few pleasantries, Baird took out the invitation Veylin had written by hand and presented it to the silver-haired young man, Aljeta.
“Boss Aljeta, my lord has heard that you are an outstanding adventurer and is very interested in your adventures. He has especially invited you to visit his castle as a guest five days from now.”
Aljeta accepted the invitation and replied gently, “I accept your invitation. I shall certainly pay him a visit on time.”
“Since that is settled, my task is complete. I shall take my leave.”
“Take care on your way out, Governor Baird.”
After Baird departed, Aljeta opened the invitation. The sincerity behind it was so evident that he would have felt guilty refusing.
“A mysterious human lord. I look forward to meeting you properly for the first time.”
After putting the invitation away, he immersed himself once more in his research into brewing.
Elsewhere, Veylin went to inspect the juice yield of Sweetgrass again, only to find that it fell far short of his expectations.
The knight responsible for the project, Cassius, could only smile bitterly.
“My lord, this is already the fourth generation of Sweetgrass we have cultivated, but the results are still unsatisfactory. The juice yield remains below expectations.”
Seeing Cassius’s helpless expression, Veylin knew they had done everything they could.
As far as he knew, only two noble families in Cardro Province had, through sheer coincidence, cultivated high-yield sugar-producing plants. Those two families occupied the entire market of Cardro Province, as well as a small portion of the market in Selop Province.
As for obtaining seeds of such plants from his family, Cardro Province was a low-magic region. The terrifyingly productive sugar plants cultivated by the families he knew could grow only in environments of moderate or low magical energy, such as West River Province.
Under these circumstances, he could only seek the assistance of a druid. Although he had now become a druid himself, he knew nothing about cultivating plants. That was a skill requiring time and experience to develop.
“Put this plan on hold.”
“Yes, my lord.”
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