“Are you listening?”
Heron waved his hand in front of me. After being lost in thought for a moment, I shook my head to focus and nodded.
“Yes, I’m listening.”
Heron began to explain about the herbs I had brought.
I was currently in Heron’s laboratory, getting herbs and poisonous plants examined and learning about their characteristics. Surprisingly, except for one of the many herbs I brought, all were medicinal herbs. I had randomly picked whatever I wanted, but it turned out that I had selected only medicinal herbs. When I asked if almost all the plants in the maze area were medicinal herbs, Heron just stared at me as if questioning what I was talking about.
“If you have gone to where the poisonous plants grow instead of the areas of the fairies and spirits, you would have gathered them quite well too.”
Heron praised me kindly.
“Have you ever worked as an herbalist before?”
As if. I was a noble among nobles, and in modern times, I only knew lettuce and perilla leaves as plants.
“Perhaps your unique mana resonates well with the vitality and wavelengths of plants.”
Heron mumbled to himself, then nodded. After tearing a piece of paper and scribbling something on it, he rolled it up, sealed it with wax, and waved his wand. The paper disappeared instantly.
“Go to the 75th floor. Look for a magician named Phlos.”
Heron said that and went to another room. Unaware that it was the end, I sat there dumbfounded. It took about five minutes for me to realize that Heron had no intention of coming out again. Magicians need social skills, they say. I got up quickly and left Heron’s laboratory.
While riding the elevator down to the 75th floor, I drifted into idle thoughts again. Mainly about Andrea. I had been avoiding Andrea since yesterday. It was just… it was a bit difficult to see him again. Somehow, my heart was pounding hard, and for some reason, tears seemed to well up for no apparent reason when facing him.
Why? Because he saved me? Because he was willing to sacrifice himself for me? Or maybe because I knew that the one he was trying so hard to save wasn’t really me?
“I really don’t know…”
Leaning my head against the wall and muttering to myself, the elevator door opened. The hallway on the 75th floor was quiet. It was no different from the hallways on the 98th and 99th floors. I stepped out of the elevator into the long hallway. The doors scattered along the walls were tightly closed, and each door had a nameplate.
The name ‘Phlos Prema’ was towards the end of the hallway. Carefully knocking, a faint voice from inside said, “Come in.” As soon as I opened the door, I couldn’t believe my eyes. The room was more like a greenhouse than the interior of a building. It was humid, warm, and filled with all sorts of plants.
“I received a letter from Heron. You’re interested in botany?”
A voice flowed from between the plant shelves. No one was in sight.
“He mentioned having the ability to communicate with plants.”
“…Me?”
I was dumbfounded, and then a small woman with messy silver hair suddenly popped out from somewhere. She was so small and thin that she gave off a childlike impression. Her face strangely resembled a hamster, making her seem even younger. She wore overalls with a tucked-in shirt, and boots with gardening gloves on her hands, holding a small shovel.
“Hello. I’m Del Narcissus.”
“Yeah yeah, I’m Phlos. Nice timing. Come here and help me with the Tumorica.”
I approached Phlos. She handed me gloves and scissors.
“Handling Tumorica is tricky. They don’t let people touch their root unless they are close to them.”
“I, um, I don’t even know what Thumormica is.”
“What? How can you not know that?”
Phlos widened her round eyes even further.
“It’s a plant used in medicine that cures diseases. It has a nasty temperament, and sometimes screams loudly.”
Screams? We’re talking about our plants right now?
I swallowed my saliva and firmly put on the gloves. Indeed, on the thick stem of Thumormica, there were faintly engraved features resembling a human face with closed eyes, as if it might open its eyes and scream if disturbed.
“How should I handle it?
“He really knows nothing? But why did Heron send such a clueless apprentice?”
“I’m an apprentice. I haven’t learned magic for long.”
Defending myself, Phlos sharpened her mouth.
“Even during my apprenticeship, I knew the basics. Well, okay. Just gently hold the root and cut the leaves with the scissors. Be careful not to touch the stem. If you disturb the growth point while cutting the leaves, it’ll open its eyes and make a fuss, so be cautious.”
After giving me tips as if I were a hairdresser, Phlos went back into the plants. Following her instructions, I started grabbing the roots of Thumormica and cutting the leaves. Even after cutting about five leaves, Thumormica remained silent.
“Do I really get along well with magical plants?”
“To hunt monsters, my heart is too weak, I lack talent for attack magic, and I’m still amazed by magic, like a regular person. I thought I was a talentless guy surviving with unique mana. However, I felt excited knowing that there was at least one thing I could do well. I was so absorbed in cutting leaves that I didn’t even think about Andrea.
Although there was a moment when Thumormica opened its eyes and I dropped the scissors in surprise, fortunately, it didn’t scream or create a commotion. Over the course of an hour, I successfully cut all six leaves of Thumormica. Phlos was delighted to see the abundant leaves I gathered.
“Wow, apprentice! You’re pretty good at it! Useful, huh?”
“Hehe.”
I smiled sheepishly and scratched my head. Phlos, as if discerning the quality of the leaves, rummaged through the leaves and let out an even more satisfied sigh. It seemed that I met her standards.
“Apprentice, try this now. Removing the root hairs of Kyrgos…”
Phlos was excited and gave me another task. It wasn’t particularly difficult, so I obediently completed what she told me to do.
***
And when I came to my senses, five days had passed
“Huh…?”
It wasn’t a joke, it was real. Phlos had kept me working non-stop for five days. No matter how much I did, there was no end to the plants that needed attention. When I felt hungry, Phlos poured a meal potion into my mouth, and when I felt sleepy, she directed me to a sofa in a corner of the greenhouse to take a nap.
Of course, I could have gone to my room or refused to work (probably), but I mindlessly repeated simple labor without the sense of time. The more I did that, the more my mind felt completely empty.
After completing all the tasks assigned for five days, Phlos told me to go to the 68th floor. On the 68th floor, there was an old woman magician named Herba, and upon seeing me, she immediately put me to work without saying much. She also mentioned receiving a letter from Phlos. Through the letters, it seemed like news of me being a good worker was spreading quietly.
Under Herba’s guidance, the work involved grinding grass, gathering and boiling chopped ingredients to powder, and making dumplings from an unknown dough. She assigned me such tasks while reading a book outdoors. Still, Herba told me to go to my room and sleep at night, allowing me to get a good night’s rest.
After completing the tasks assigned by Herba, I was sent back to Phlos, and after Phlos, I was sent to Heron. In Heron’s room, I spent several days making and categorizing potions, all made from the ingredients I had handled.
Only then did I realize that this seemingly simple and relentless loop was a kind of internship, teaching me the process of selecting, handling, and making potions from ingredients. This was what they referred to as ‘rolling the apprentice magician’ in the world of magic. Among the magicians, I was already considered a budding talent specializing in magical plants and potions.
After undergoing an intensive internship for about three weeks, Cain welcomed me.
“I heard you have a talent in botany?”
“If someone said that, then I guess so…”
Having grown accustomed to the way magicians speak, I weakly replied.
Cain’s favorability towards me had reached 68 after not seeing him for three weeks. Even though we didn’t meet in person, he seemed to have grown some favorability of me after hearing about me from among the magicians. Well, it’s nice to be considered talented in at least one area in the field of magic.
Come to think of it, the system window had been silent for the past three weeks. I had completely forgotten about the favorability aspect. It seemed like the game system was taken aback by my sudden academic enthusiasm for learning. It was more of an escape from reality than genuine passion for learning.
“Then you won’t go back to the Royal Palace?”
Approaching me step by step, Cain held my hand and asked. His eyes were filled with earnest hope.
“Suddenly, the Royal Palace?”
“The Crown prince has been sending letters insisting he’ll come to see you.”
“…yes?”
I mumbled with a pale face. Apparently, people from the Royal Palace couldn’t enter the Magic Tower due to some issues related to sovereignty or autonomy. I looked confused with a pale face, and Cain grumbled.
“You would meet in the village nearby. But you won’t go back to the Royal Palace, right? okay? You decided to be a magician with me, right?”
A red light flashed in my mind. It was an emergency.
“Are you listening?”
Heron waved his hand in front of me. After being lost in thought for a moment, I shook my head to focus and nodded.
“Yes, I’m listening.”
Heron began to explain about the herbs I had brought.
I was currently in Heron’s laboratory, getting herbs and poisonous plants examined and learning about their characteristics. Surprisingly, except for one of the many herbs I brought, all were medicinal herbs. I had randomly picked whatever I wanted, but it turned out that I had selected only medicinal herbs. When I asked if almost all the plants in the maze area were medicinal herbs, Heron just stared at me as if questioning what I was talking about.
“If you have gone to where the poisonous plants grow instead of the areas of the fairies and spirits, you would have gathered them quite well too.”
Heron praised me kindly.
“Have you ever worked as an herbalist before?”
As if. I was a noble among nobles, and in modern times, I only knew lettuce and perilla leaves as plants.
“Perhaps your unique mana resonates well with the vitality and wavelengths of plants.”
Heron mumbled to himself, then nodded. After tearing a piece of paper and scribbling something on it, he rolled it up, sealed it with wax, and waved his wand. The paper disappeared instantly.
“Go to the 75th floor. Look for a magician named Phlos.”
Heron said that and went to another room. Unaware that it was the end, I sat there dumbfounded. It took about five minutes for me to realize that Heron had no intention of coming out again. Magicians need social skills, they say. I got up quickly and left Heron’s laboratory.
While riding the elevator down to the 75th floor, I drifted into idle thoughts again. Mainly about Andrea. I had been avoiding Andrea since yesterday. It was just… it was a bit difficult to see him again. Somehow, my heart was pounding hard, and for some reason, tears seemed to well up for no apparent reason when facing him.
Why? Because he saved me? Because he was willing to sacrifice himself for me? Or maybe because I knew that the one he was trying so hard to save wasn’t really me?
“I really don’t know…”
Leaning my head against the wall and muttering to myself, the elevator door opened. The hallway on the 75th floor was quiet. It was no different from the hallways on the 98th and 99th floors. I stepped out of the elevator into the long hallway. The doors scattered along the walls were tightly closed, and each door had a nameplate.
The name ‘Phlos Prema’ was towards the end of the hallway. Carefully knocking, a faint voice from inside said, “Come in.” As soon as I opened the door, I couldn’t believe my eyes. The room was more like a greenhouse than the interior of a building. It was humid, warm, and filled with all sorts of plants.
“I received a letter from Heron. You’re interested in botany?”
A voice flowed from between the plant shelves. No one was in sight.
“He mentioned having the ability to communicate with plants.”
“…Me?”
I was dumbfounded, and then a small woman with messy silver hair suddenly popped out from somewhere. She was so small and thin that she gave off a childlike impression. Her face strangely resembled a hamster, making her seem even younger. She wore overalls with a tucked-in shirt, and boots with gardening gloves on her hands, holding a small shovel.
“Hello. I’m Del Narcissus.”
“Yeah yeah, I’m Phlos. Nice timing. Come here and help me with the Tumorica.”
I approached Phlos. She handed me gloves and scissors.
“Handling Tumorica is tricky. They don’t let people touch their root unless they are close to them.”
“I, um, I don’t even know what Thumormica is.”
“What? How can you not know that?”
Phlos widened her round eyes even further.
“It’s a plant used in medicine that cures diseases. It has a nasty temperament, and sometimes screams loudly.”
Screams? We’re talking about our plants right now?
I swallowed my saliva and firmly put on the gloves. Indeed, on the thick stem of Thumormica, there were faintly engraved features resembling a human face with closed eyes, as if it might open its eyes and scream if disturbed.
“How should I handle it?
“He really knows nothing? But why did Heron send such a clueless apprentice?”
“I’m an apprentice. I haven’t learned magic for long.”
Defending myself, Phlos sharpened her mouth.
“Even during my apprenticeship, I knew the basics. Well, okay. Just gently hold the root and cut the leaves with the scissors. Be careful not to touch the stem. If you disturb the growth point while cutting the leaves, it’ll open its eyes and make a fuss, so be cautious.”
After giving me tips as if I were a hairdresser, Phlos went back into the plants. Following her instructions, I started grabbing the roots of Thumormica and cutting the leaves. Even after cutting about five leaves, Thumormica remained silent.
“Do I really get along well with magical plants?”
“To hunt monsters, my heart is too weak, I lack talent for attack magic, and I’m still amazed by magic, like a regular person. I thought I was a talentless guy surviving with unique mana. However, I felt excited knowing that there was at least one thing I could do well. I was so absorbed in cutting leaves that I didn’t even think about Andrea.
Although there was a moment when Thumormica opened its eyes and I dropped the scissors in surprise, fortunately, it didn’t scream or create a commotion. Over the course of an hour, I successfully cut all six leaves of Thumormica. Phlos was delighted to see the abundant leaves I gathered.
“Wow, apprentice! You’re pretty good at it! Useful, huh?”
“Hehe.”
I smiled sheepishly and scratched my head. Phlos, as if discerning the quality of the leaves, rummaged through the leaves and let out an even more satisfied sigh. It seemed that I met her standards.
“Apprentice, try this now. Removing the root hairs of Kyrgos…”
Phlos was excited and gave me another task. It wasn’t particularly difficult, so I obediently completed what she told me to do.
***
And when I came to my senses, five days had passed
“Huh…?”
It wasn’t a joke, it was real. Phlos had kept me working non-stop for five days. No matter how much I did, there was no end to the plants that needed attention. When I felt hungry, Phlos poured a meal potion into my mouth, and when I felt sleepy, she directed me to a sofa in a corner of the greenhouse to take a nap.
Of course, I could have gone to my room or refused to work (probably), but I mindlessly repeated simple labor without the sense of time. The more I did that, the more my mind felt completely empty.
After completing all the tasks assigned for five days, Phlos told me to go to the 68th floor. On the 68th floor, there was an old woman magician named Herba, and upon seeing me, she immediately put me to work without saying much. She also mentioned receiving a letter from Phlos. Through the letters, it seemed like news of me being a good worker was spreading quietly.
Under Herba’s guidance, the work involved grinding grass, gathering and boiling chopped ingredients to powder, and making dumplings from an unknown dough. She assigned me such tasks while reading a book outdoors. Still, Herba told me to go to my room and sleep at night, allowing me to get a good night’s rest.
After completing the tasks assigned by Herba, I was sent back to Phlos, and after Phlos, I was sent to Heron. In Heron’s room, I spent several days making and categorizing potions, all made from the ingredients I had handled.
Only then did I realize that this seemingly simple and relentless loop was a kind of internship, teaching me the process of selecting, handling, and making potions from ingredients. This was what they referred to as ‘rolling the apprentice magician’ in the world of magic. Among the magicians, I was already considered a budding talent specializing in magical plants and potions.
After undergoing an intensive internship for about three weeks, Cain welcomed me.
“I heard you have a talent in botany?”
“If someone said that, then I guess so…”
Having grown accustomed to the way magicians speak, I weakly replied.
Cain’s favorability towards me had reached 68 after not seeing him for three weeks. Even though we didn’t meet in person, he seemed to have grown some favorability of me after hearing about me from among the magicians. Well, it’s nice to be considered talented in at least one area in the field of magic.
Come to think of it, the system window had been silent for the past three weeks. I had completely forgotten about the favorability aspect. It seemed like the game system was taken aback by my sudden academic enthusiasm for learning. It was more of an escape from reality than genuine passion for learning.
“Then you won’t go back to the Royal Palace?”
Approaching me step by step, Cain held my hand and asked. His eyes were filled with earnest hope.
“Suddenly, the Royal Palace?”
“The Crown prince has been sending letters insisting he’ll come to see you.”
“…yes?”
I mumbled with a pale face. Apparently, people from the Royal Palace couldn’t enter the Magic Tower due to some issues related to sovereignty or autonomy. I looked confused with a pale face, and Cain grumbled.
“You would meet in the village nearby. But you won’t go back to the Royal Palace, right? okay? You decided to be a magician with me, right?”
A red light flashed in my mind. It was an emergency.
