Herbalism Apprentice

In the forest, a wild boar lay quietly beside a patch of grass.

"Why do you think it collapsed here?" asked the slender, middle-aged man in a white priest's robe as he looked down at the motionless boar.

"I think it's sleeping—"

The priest frowned. "I was asking Gagnor."

The one whose speech had been interrupted was a strong youth with various objects hanging from his waist and slung over his shoulder. He scratched his head at the question, then looked toward his companion, a brown-haired boy holding a short bow.

The brown-haired boy was of average build, but beside his tall companion, he seemed somewhat small and thin. He wore a coarse hemp tunic cinched at the waist, with a grass rope serving as a belt. He looked utterly ordinary, like some farmer's son from the countryside. Only the calmness and thoughtfulness in the depths of his eyes seemed at odds with his age.

Faced with the priest's question, he stepped forward and observed the scene for a while before giving his conclusion. "The wild boar accidentally ate the flowers of a Nightshade Nettle and fell into a coma."

The priest asked again, "Aside from that, what other uses does Nightshade Nettle have?"

Gagnor thought for a moment. "Nightshade Nettle leaves are commonly used to make pain-relieving potions, but they're highly addictive, so the Apothecary Guild classifies them as restricted herbs... Also, according to the Nordanlen Herbal Compendium, Nightshade Nettle leaves were once used as a tool for domesticating Goblins."

Hearing this answer, the priest was secretly somewhat astonished.

Last year, he had discovered the clever Gagnor among the altar boys and taken him on as an herbalism apprentice. At the time, he had not realized how astonishing the boy's learning ability was.

Yet in only a few months, the boy had gone from a novice who knew nothing about Herbalism to a qualified assistant capable of sharing his workload.

Now, after years of studying Herbalism himself, he could hardly find a question that stumped the boy.

In theory, a mentor ought to be proud of such an apprentice.

But for some reason, he never wanted to praise Gagnor.

Not in the slightest.

This time was no exception. Faced with the boy's flawless, airtight answer, the priest showed no reaction at all.

A moment later, he walked over to the Nightshade Nettle with his hands behind his back and silently bent down to examine it.

Without its flowers, the Nightshade Nettle looked much like the surrounding weeds. This seemed to cause a trace of imperceptible regret to flash through the priest's deep-set eyes.

"Take this Nightshade Nettle with us." He straightened and gave the order.

I've been waiting for you to say that.

"Yes, sir." Gagnor was somewhat expectant. He had already gripped his herb hoe, and as he spoke, he moved closer to the Nightshade Nettle and began carefully digging around it.

As he dug up the Nightshade Nettle, information resembling written words surged into his perception right on schedule.

Lv2 Herbalism: 198/200

Lv2 Herbalism: 199/200

The information was said to resemble written words because a careful examination revealed that it did not actually belong to any known language. In fact, it was not something seen with the eyes at all, but a subtle phenomenon existing beyond the five senses.

At the Baptism Ceremony several years ago, Gagnor had obtained his first Holy Name, along with a Blessing Ability called "Cognition."

For him, however, "status panel" was undoubtedly a more fitting term.

He was a transmigrator.

In his previous life, Gagnor had been a glorious successor to his motherland. He might have been only one civil service examination away from successfully taking over and making a great contribution.

Instead, an accidental encounter with a dump truck had sent him to be reborn on the Falaro Continent, where he became a farmer's son.

Because his family was poor, his parents sent him to the church in Driftwood Town to serve as an altar boy after only a few years. He had remained there ever since.

In theory, after a lucky Baptism Ceremony, Gagnor ought to have obtained a prestigious establishment position and become an apprentice priest of the Mosa Church. Then, after a few more years, he could have become a full priest and made great contributions to the church and the principality.

But even then, he had vaguely realized that this ability, which resembled an attribute panel, belonged to no saint and had nothing whatsoever to do with angels or prophets. If he revealed it rashly, what awaited him would probably not be a position in the church, but a prime seat in the Inquisition.

This was a world where religion reigned supreme, quite similar to the "Dark Middle Ages" he had heard about in his previous life.

In reality, however, the church was fairly tolerant. At least during this period, as long as a blessing did not originate from a demon or evil spirit, it usually would not bring any serious consequences. But the church's shelter would certainly end there, which would undoubtedly be disastrous for a poor country boy like him.

Therefore, Gagnor had no choice but to hide the Holy Name and Blessing Ability he had obtained, so that he could continue earning enough food to survive in the church—and, more importantly, receive a proper education.

For children from poor families who wanted to learn to read and study, serving as an altar boy in a church was practically the only path available.

Altar boys were essentially child laborers. They received food, lodging, and schooling, but the work was exhausting and unpaid.

Fortunately, thanks to his mature mind and the learning ability enhanced by his panel, Gagnor had become Priest Green's herbalism apprentice, and his circumstances had improved.

He still had a few troubles.

For example, he sometimes had to follow Priest Green into Driftwood Forest to gather herbs, as he was doing now. The process was not easy and was even somewhat dangerous. After all, not every beast would accidentally eat Poison Torch Flower blossoms.

Then there was the fact that Priest Green was not exactly easy to get along with.

Judging by Gagnor's experience from two lifetimes, Priest Green's mental state was extremely unhealthy. He kept a stern expression whether anything was happening or not. Aside from the church's head priest, few people could claim to have seen Priest Green smile.

As his apprentice, Gagnor had never received a single word of praise from Priest Green.

"Lord Green is like a bowstring that's always itching to shoot something." That was the marvelous metaphor Raymond had come up with half a month ago, and it had made Gagnor look at him in a new light.

Raymond was the tall youth accompanying them. His main job was to perform all sorts of hard labor for Priest Green.

For example, Priest Green was currently pointing at the wild boar on the ground. "Move it, Raymond."

"Yes, sir!" Raymond answered excitedly. He immediately took the short-handled war hammer from his waist, gripped it with both hands, and began brutally smashing the wild boar's head.

"Snort!" After a few spasms, the wild boar fell silent.

"Thanks be to the Lord for His gift." Raymond drew a triangular prayer sign on his chest. He might have been the most devout person in all of Driftwood Town.

Gagnor also finished digging up the Nightshade Nettle. Just as he had hoped, his Herbalism skill finally advanced from Lv2 to Lv3.

This brought him one point of Intelligence growth and fifteen points of character experience.

He checked his attributes.

Holy Name: Adakonyanus

Level: 1

Constitution: 9/20

Spirit: 17/20

Strength: 9/20

Intelligence: 16/20

Agility: 11/20

Experience: 63/100

"Adakonyanus" was the Holy Name he had received during the Baptism Ceremony, and it was also the source of his panel ability.

However, he currently knew nothing about the origin of this name. The only clue he had was that, at the same time as he obtained this Holy Name, a sentence had faintly drifted through his mind: Cognition is choice.

Priest Green said, "We're heading back."

At the priest's command, Gagnor carried the herbs while Raymond dragged the wild boar, and the three of them began their return journey.

They were not returning to Driftwood Town, but to a small cabin on the edge of the forest. The forest was quite far from Driftwood Town, and herb gathering usually lasted several days. During that time, they obviously needed somewhere to rest.

Over the following days, the three of them traveled back and forth between the forest and the cabin.

They continued until they had gathered enough herbs.

The next morning.

"You two go back to town first. I'll return in a few days." Priest Green woke the two boys.

Raymond seemed to remember something. "Sir, this year's Baptism Ceremony is coming up soon. You..."

"It won't delay the Baptism Ceremony," Priest Green added. "Don't forget to take that boar hide back to town and sell it."

"All right, sir." Gagnor and Raymond were already used to it. Every time, Priest Green returned several days later and never told them why.

They did not dare ask, nor did they care to.

After all, they slept on the ground every night here, and the smell of herbs inside the cabin was extremely strong. Neither of them wanted to stay even one day longer than necessary.

If traveling at night had not been so dangerous, they would have preferred to leave the previous evening.

Thus, as soon as Priest Green finished speaking, the two boys swiftly left the cabin.

The forest was particularly foggy today, and Gagnor could not help becoming more alert as he walked along the path.

The world of Falaro was very similar to medieval Europe on Earth, but there were also some fundamental differences—the world possessed supernatural powers.

Supernatural powers not only existed but were fairly common. Even a small-town church priest like Green could cast several holy light spells, healing minor injuries and illnesses or killing a beast instantly with a snap of his fingers.

Of course, mana was precious. Priest Green would never expend it on minor injuries and illnesses or on just any beast. To a large extent, his study of Herbalism was also meant to conserve mana. For a second-level priest, such motivation was perfectly normal.

Low-level magical beasts also occasionally appeared in Driftwood Forest.

According to the church's head priest, when he had been young, he had even witnessed a griffin passing through this place. The resulting shockwave had been powerful enough to send people on the ground flying!

Gagnor was skeptical, but that did not stop him from paying closer attention to his surroundings.

Hmm?

His gaze suddenly sharpened, and he stopped walking.

"What is it?" Raymond asked in confusion.

Gagnor did not answer. Instead, he signaled Raymond to ready his weapon, then nocked an arrow and cautiously approached a patch of grass ahead.

Soon, he could clearly see what lay within the grass.

A man with faint traces of blood on him was lying motionless on the ground, seemingly dead.

Just then, Raymond suddenly shouted beside him, "I understand!"

Gagnor jumped. "Understand what?"

Raymond pointed at the man on the ground and said with certainty, "He accidentally ate a Poison Torch Flower blossom!"

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