Animal Communication

After returning to the herb garden with the damaged "Beast Speech Ring," Gao De threw himself into his new "work."

Repairing the "Beast Speech Ring," brewing potions, practicing the Guiding Method and Meditation Art.

These were Gao De's top priorities at present.

Budding Month, Day Thirteen.

All five Green Spider Sacs had once again been used up, yielding five batches of well-colored Novice Spider Venom.

This shipment was barely sufficient, so Gao De directly took the five newly brewed batches of Novice Spider Venom to Phil's Herb Shop to sell.

The two sides had worked together for many years, and their trading arrangement had long since been set.

Thus, this transaction went off without a hitch and proceeded very smoothly.

The only difference was that Gao De exchanged the receipt he received on the spot for payment: ten glittering Sien Gold Coins.

What was worth complaining about was that the Green Spider Sacs, the main ingredient of Novice Spider Venom, had risen in price by twenty percent because sales of Novice Spider Venom had surged.

Yet Phil's Herb Shop's purchase price for Novice Spider Venom remained unchanged—two gold coins per batch.

But this had been the agreed-upon price from the start. If they were willing to raise it, that was a favor; if not, that was perfectly normal.

With a trace of resentment, Gao De no longer needed to take the long way around. He splurged directly at Phil's Herb Shop, spending nine gold coins to buy fifteen Green Spider Sacs in one go—enough for half a month.

He feared that if this continued, the price of Green Spider Sacs would rise again.

Budding Month, Day Sixteen.

It was also the eighth day since he had received the "Beast Speech Ring."

"Done!"

Looking at the "Beast Speech Ring" on the table, its green rust removed and its runes delicate and complete, Gao De smiled in satisfaction.

He focused his Mental Strength into the ring for one final inspection.

The next instant, a stream of information flowed from the ring into his mind:

Wearing the ring grants a slight clarity effect.

Once per day, you may cast the First Circle Spell *Animal Communication* without cost.

*Animal Communication* (Divination, First Circle)

You may ask animals questions and receive answers, but this spell cannot make animals friendlier or more cooperative.

Cunning and alert animals may give vague, brief answers, while animals of low intelligence may say foolish things.

If an animal is friendly toward you, it may offer help or even obey your commands.

The feedback from the information stream indicated that the "Beast Speech Ring" had regained its magic, which also meant Gao De had successfully repaired the damaged ring.

He had completed the task two days ahead of schedule.

In truth, Gao De was rather curious about how the "asking animals questions and receiving answers" described by the Animal Communication spell worked.

The animals couldn't suddenly start talking, could they?

Just thinking about it was somewhat unsettling. That probably was not possible...

Now that the "Beast Speech Ring" had been repaired, Gao De temporarily ended his "seclusion." After tidying himself up a little, he headed outside.

When he returned to the commercial district, he could clearly feel that the flow of people had increased considerably compared to before.

Evidently, the impact that the growing number of wild beasts and Leyline Creatures outside the city had brought to Hogan City was still fermenting.

At least for now, it seemed to be having a positive effect, promoting Hogan City's economic prosperity to a certain extent.

Gao De shook his head and stopped thinking about matters that had little to do with him, heading straight for Pierre's Odds and Ends.

"Not bad. You managed to repair a First Circle Magic Item in less than ten days." The little old man had always been shrewd. Seeing that Gao De had not come by for eight days but had visited today, he guessed that the "Beast Speech Ring" had surely been repaired.

"Take a look." Gao De grinned as he handed the "Beast Speech Ring" to Pierre.

Pierre first took a sip of tea, then set down his cup and accepted the "Beast Speech Ring."

Gao De's eyes burned with envy.

Even the most inferior tea cost two copper coins a pot, and judging by the color of the tea in Pierre's cup, it was clearly of rather good quality.

This little old man was truly rich!

By then, Pierre had finished his inspection. He nodded in satisfaction, stroking the place where the "Beast Speech Ring" had once been damaged and corroded, clicking his tongue in admiration. "Your craftsmanship is truly impressive. Damage of this degree, and you restored it to such perfection."

Gao De grinned. This had been repaired with magic—how could it not be perfect?

Putting away the "Beast Speech Ring," Pierre reached into his pocket, pulled out a money pouch, counted out eight gold coins, and pushed them toward Gao De.

Gao De froze slightly. "What's this?"

No client would pay the repair fee in advance before seeing whether the "Beast Speech Ring" had truly been repaired.

They were clients, not suckers.

"I'm closing the shop in the next few days and setting off for Bremen City. Before I leave, I'll deliver the 'Beast Speech Ring' to the client. I'm paying your repair fee in advance so you won't need to make another trip later," Pierre explained.

"How long will you be gone?" Gao De asked.

"It's nearly two hundred kilometers from here to Bremen City. The round trip alone will take around ten days. Adding the time needed to take care of business, it should be about half a month. Don't make a wasted trip during that time," Pierre reminded him.

Because mages existed and could use supernatural powers such as spells in the nation's "infrastructure" projects, the roads in the Sien Duchy were actually fairly decent.

Moreover, Pierre had money to spare. For such a long journey, he would certainly rent a horse.

So even though Pierre was quite old, he could cover the four-hundred-kilometer journey in around ten days.

"May you leave in safety and return in success," Gao De said.

After leaving the odds and ends shop, Gao De, carrying a "fortune," thought for a moment before heading to Pea and Lamb Market, where he spent two silver coins and two copper coins on four pounds of meat.

An extra meal today!

The days passed one after another, and Gao De lived a quiet yet fulfilling life: brewing potions, selling potions, and practicing.

Then, on the third day after repairing the "Beast Speech Ring"—Budding Month, Day Nineteen—

Gao De, who had only recently manifested the six-petaled lotus, unexpectedly made another small breakthrough in his Meditation Art, successfully manifesting the seventh petal.

Even Gao De himself was startled by such speed.

The Meditation Art was already more difficult to practice than the Guiding Method. Yet the Guiding Method had not even made a minor breakthrough, while the Meditation Art had broken through twice in a row.

He was only one step away from the eight-petaled lotus of a Second-Order Apprentice.

Gao De's magic power had long met the requirements of a Second-Order Apprentice: casting five cantrips in one breath.

It was only because the previous owner's Meditation Art progress had held him back that he had remained at the First-Order Apprentice level.

He was now working hard to fill the hole the previous owner had left behind.

Of course, this was not unique to Gao De. For ninety-nine percent of mages, it was common for their Guiding Method progress to exceed that of their Meditation Art.

Aside from the fact that the Meditation Art was harder to practice than the Guiding Method, there was also the scarcity of items capable of aiding Meditation Art practice.

Every five days, Gao De personally delivered five newly brewed batches of Novice Spider Venom to Phil's Herb Shop and collected ten gold coins.

As his funds gradually grew more abundant, there were more and more "extra meals" at the herb garden.

This was because Gao De had discovered that his body had been severely depleted by malnutrition and was exceptionally frail.

Furthermore, his mornings were already quite free.

Thus, Gao De drew up a strict physical training plan for himself, including both aerobic and anaerobic exercises, in order to strengthen his physique.

Although with Wind Spirit Moon Shadow at his side, barring any major mishaps, he would surely rise in the future and master powerful supernatural strength.

Gao De still did not look down on the small gains that training could bring him.

He understood one principle deeply: only what was in his hands could truly be considered his.

Those whose hearts were higher than the heavens often had lives thinner than paper.

Things in the future could wait until the future.

Even if he could someday rely on the power of spells to soar through the skies and vanish into the earth, that was still the future—far beyond his reach.

Strengthening his body through training now was what truly mattered.

Keeping his feet on the ground was the hard truth; reaching for the stars was no good.

There was a saying: three parts training, seven parts eating.

The importance of food went without saying. He had to replenish his protein.

Besides, he was at the age of development, the golden period for growing taller. How could he go without meat?

Gao De did not want to become a "third-rate cripple."

With training and "extra meals" combined, it was visibly clear that Gao De's body grew stronger by the day.

The price was that his previously budgeted minimum daily expense of four silver coins had risen with the tide to five silver coins a day.

And Gao De's appetite was still growing, as was his need for meat.

It was easy to imagine that the herb garden's daily expenses would rise again before long.