Botanist

The next morning, Linsey was once again awakened by the sun.

After breakfast, he followed his usual routine and studied writing with Red Moon.

This was his third day studying under Red Moon.

His progress in the other two languages was not particularly fast, but Common Language, which only required reading and writing, had once again filled its Experience Bar and advanced beyond Beginner to a new level—Proficient.

The instant the skill upgraded,

Linsey's command of Common Language had reached the point where he could handle any ordinary interaction. Listening, speaking, reading, and writing fluently posed no difficulty at all.

The skill name on the panel also officially changed from Common Language Writing to Common Language, proving its broad applicability.

After that, Linsey set out.

Just as Anrui had said yesterday, he would spend the second day at the home of Finn the botanist, studying plant-related knowledge under the elder. On the third day, he would visit Dan the hunter.

These three Awakened, along with Linsey's godmother Red Moon,

would each take turns teaching him for one day, providing Linsey with long-term guidance.

After saying goodbye to Red Moon, Linsey followed the gravel path into town.

He once again arrived at the square in the center of town and headed south from beneath the great adventurer's statue.

That was the direction where Finn the botanist lived.

Unlike Anrui's Lord's Manor, however, this Awakened Finn's residence looked like an utterly ordinary wooden house from the front, its sides covered in lush Vines.

But it was winter now. The leaves on the walls had withered away, leaving only a few dry vines clinging to them.

"This is..."

Linsey shifted slightly and looked past the wooden house toward the rear.

Finn's home was also at the edge of town.

Beyond his wooden house, large swaths of forest had been felled and turned into Farmland for cultivation. True to his title, the botanist was responsible for planting Crops in the remote borderlands.

Much like Master Bai Lin in Linsey's hometown, who was also responsible for growing food in Anville Village.

But winter had arrived there as well.

In the cold weather, Linsey could only see the leaves of some radishes and cabbages stubbornly pushing up through the soil.

Knock, knock, knock—

"Mr. Finn, are you home?"

"I'm Linsey. I came to study with you today as scheduled."

Linsey first heard slow footsteps. Only after several breaths did the door before him open.

A gray-haired old man appeared before him.

The elderly Awakened was somewhat stooped, with dark, rough skin, but his eyes were bright and spirited.

He wore a simple linen robe and a dirt-gray apron over his chest, speckled with countless spots of fallen soil.

"Child, you must be Linsey."

Finn smiled and led Linsey inside.

Only after entering the wooden house did Linsey realize there was more to it than met the eye.

Though it looked no different from the other homes in town from the outside, Finn's cottage contained only three rooms, divided into front, middle, and rear sections.

The foremost room was the smallest.

It was a front hall with a fireplace. A small pot set over the hearth served as the kitchen, and all of Finn's daily needs were met here.

Farther inside,

the second room was much larger than the front hall.

But nearly every wall was lined with bookshelves. Around an old desk in the center, baskets filled with rolled papers sat on the floor.

What particularly caught Linsey's attention was that there were only two chairs.

One was old and badly worn by time, while the other was completely new.

Finn, who lived here alone,

had probably bought the new chair specifically to receive a student like him.

Beyond that was the largest and rearmost room in the entire wooden house.

Calling it a room was not entirely accurate.

Because beyond the study door,

the final and largest space was half-open.

The end connected to the wooden house had wooden walls and a ceiling, but the end leading toward the distant Farmland was almost entirely covered in glass, divided into sections according to the different needs of the plants.

Linsey recognized it at once. It was a room much like the Glass Greenhouses found in eighteenth-century monasteries. All kinds of plants grew inside, including the radishes and cabbages he had seen outside.

"Child, wait for me a moment."

"I still have some work to finish."

When Linsey arrived, Finn had been tending the soil beneath a verdant seedling.

After receiving his student and returning inside, he continued working without delay. Patiently and meticulously, he finished transplanting the seedling and moved it into another greenhouse compartment.

"Phew—"

Once he finished, Finn let out a breath, removed his apron, and led Linsey to sit down in the study.

A slightly apologetic smile appeared on the elderly botanist's face.

"Child, I'm sorry to have kept you waiting."

Scholars devoted to cultivating plants, especially Crops, were worthy of respect in any world.

Linsey hurriedly shook his head.

"Your work is far more important than mine."

"I'd be happy to wait however long it takes!"

Linsey spoke from the heart, and Finn could see it.

The wrinkles at the corners of his eyes deepened into a smiling crease. He even joked with the young man before him. "While I was loosening the soil just now, I was thinking..."

"A young fellow who spent a day learning under that guy Anrui and then came here today would probably complain that I couldn't teach him any impressive combat techniques."

"Oh, right." Finn's teasing reminded Linsey of his task. He quickly said, "A small incident happened at Uncle Anrui's house yesterday. He hoped you could go over and deal with it today."

Finn frowned.

"What does Anrui need me for?"

After completing the cultivation of Crops, there was basically no work in the Hidden Borderlands that Finn needed to oversee. Ordinarily, he merely studied his craft and improved the varieties of the town's Crops.

The only thing he could think of that would require his attention

was if the carefully cultivated Crops had developed problems again due to mutations or something similar.

But if that were the case, Finn, who lived beside the Farmland, should absolutely have noticed the issue before Anrui of the War School did.

—That made no sense.

Unable to think of any problem related to his own work,

Finn could only let his thoughts wander in another direction. "Could something have happened in the forest?"

"No, no, no! It's a Beech Tree."

Seeing the old man before him headed in the wrong direction, Linsey quickly shook his head and explained in detail. "To demonstrate the War School's abilities to me, Uncle Anrui accidentally cut down a Beech Tree. It happened to be something his daughter cherished, so he hoped you could provide some help."

The seriousness on Finn's face instantly froze.

A few breaths later, the ice broke. The old man's body gave a sudden jerk, and he could no longer hold back his laughter.

"Ha ha ha!"

"That fellow is already quite old, yet he's still as impulsive and careless as he was in his youth. Offending the precious jewel in his palm this time serves him right."

The vigorous movement soon became too much for Finn.

He suddenly coughed a few times. The smile on his face turned into a helpless shake of his head as his age warned him not to overdo it.

"Teacher Finn, you..."

Linsey hurried forward, but Finn merely shook his head to show that there was no need to worry. "When you get old, that's just how it is. It can't be helped."

"Come on. Let's go to Anrui's place first and see what sort of trouble he's made for me."