The Study Plan

After their outing and lessons in Luan Tree Village, the group climbed into the carriage again and headed back to Scorched Stone City.

The week hadn't been long, but when they returned to Scorched Stone City, they felt as if they'd been away for ages.

"So, going out to have fun is a necessity."

Talia sat at the dining table, sharing her thoughts with Sylutia.

"How has work been going for you lately, Talia?" Sylutia asked, eating her mushroom soup.

"I'm doing great. I've been all over Scorched Stone City lately, and now there's nobody who knows the local area better than I do." She introduced herself proudly.

"Really? Then do you know where I can sell herbs for a good price?" Sylutia asked playfully.

"Well, the most obvious place is the Alchemist Guild. But lots of people sell herbs there. People from nearby villages bring in a batch every so often."

"Next is the Adventurers Guild. Some alchemists and people in other professions need herbs they can't buy at the Alchemist Guild, so they post requests at the Adventurers Guild."

"Lastly, there are the merchant houses. They buy some herbs too, then transport them to other cities to resell."

"Generally speaking, the prices go Adventurers Guild > merchant houses > Alchemist Guild. But the first two only take specific herbs, unlike the Alchemist Guild, which buys many kinds."

"I see. Got it." Sylutia thought it over. It seemed she'd have to visit the Adventurers Guild and the merchant houses in town tomorrow.

After lunch, Sylutia went to the backyard to check on the Swan Orchid she had planted. After seven days of change, its condition had improved significantly.

[Swan Orchid] (Excellent-76): Growing. Humidity is not at the optimal level; an additional 21.24% is needed. The environment is slightly too cool; the temperature needs to rise by 5.8 degrees. Air circulation is optimal. Nutrients are sufficient, with only a small micronutrient deficiency...

Its quality had reached Excellent, and there was still room for improvement. Sylutia rested a hand lightly on the Swan Orchid's bulb and sensed its condition. A hint of green flashed across her eyes.

After a long while, she withdrew her hand, looking thoughtful.

The next day, she went to the Adventurers Guild to see if there were any bounties.

"Bounties for rare herbs?" Mailin considered this, then took out the latest bounty booklet and flipped through it.

"There don't seem to be any lately. But what herbs do you have? Did you pick them yourself, or grow them?" She was a little curious.

"I found them in the forest recently." Sylutia took a sheet of paper from her pocket. It listed in detail the herb plants she had gathered over the past few days.

"Wow, that's quite a lot. You must have worked hard for these," Mailin exclaimed.

"But girls shouldn't go too deep into the forest. Otherwise, the Ti Wolves might carry them off."

"That won't happen, Sister Mailin." The girl shook her adorable little head.

"Hehe, did you have companions with you? That's good, then. But safety really matters." She answered while looking over the list.

"Here it is. Viscount Xuefeng's steward asked about a bounty for Sickle-Thorn Vine here before. He said they always needed it and would buy as many as they could get. Fifty copper coins per vine."

"That's a pretty high price. Ordinary herbs fetch at most ten copper coins," Mailin told Sylutia.

"You've listed eight here. You can bring them all over, and after I check them, I'll give you four silver coins."

"Thank you, Sister Mailin."

After leaving the Adventurers Guild, Sylutia visited several merchant houses in town. After asking around at each one, she sold some of her herbs for nearly ten silver coins.

The rest could probably only be sold to the Alchemist Guild. She estimated they would fetch eight silver coins, she thought.

Unfortunately, the Alchemist Guild here didn't make mushroom-based medicines, so it didn't buy rare mushrooms either. Maybe she could ask Teacher Heide if he wanted any.

The next day, after the morning classes ended, Scholar Heide listened to Sylutia's question and nodded slightly.

"I rarely make potions, but I do have a few friends who need rare medicinal ingredients like those. Bring me the rest and let me have a look."

"Here are ten glass vials. Remember to put the precious mushrooms inside to preserve them. That way, they'll keep for longer." He opened a drawer and took out ten empty glass vials.

"Okay, Teacher." Sylutia accepted the ten small vials and thanked him.

That afternoon, they had their usual combat training again. But everyone seemed a little distracted today, probably because they hadn't quite shaken off the holiday mood.

"Baron and Mick are both recovering from their injuries, so they didn't come today."

"Miss Iona didn't come either. Life's so boring without that beautiful woman around." Several boys leaned against the railing, watching the handful of people training in the field and grumbling.

In the shaded rest area, Sylutia was looking through her newly written notes, reviewing what she had learned and considering how to organize the scattered material into a connected body of knowledge.

Scholar Heide was extremely knowledgeable, and he never stuck too rigidly to his lesson plan. He often went off on tangents, bringing up topics beyond the curriculum. In fact, if you understood those extra details, they really did help you grasp the material at hand.

But students varied in ability. For some, those extra details were like incomprehensible noise, disrupting the simple framework of knowledge they were trying to build.

Considering how much the students in her class differed in their foundational knowledge, and that Sylutia was supposed to help those with weaker foundations, she had to set aside the more obscure material for now and focus on giving everyone a solid grounding.

"This should be about right."

After spending the afternoon organizing everything, Sylutia had roughly mapped out the month's material. Satisfied, she closed her notes and book.

She could spend two hours each day tutoring the students with weaker foundations. But she'd start with Karen over the next couple of days. She suddenly thought of practicing with the classmate she knew best.

"Karen~" she called to the girl resting nearby after training.

"What is it?" Karen washed her face with clean water, dried it, and walked over.

"Starting tomorrow—and every afternoon after that—I'll tutor you in Secret History Class. How does that sound?"

"Well..." She hesitated, but seeing the earnest, hopeful look in the girl's eyes, Karen nodded.

"I might not be very smart, Tia, so don't expect too much." She had always struggled to understand complicated theories, and worried she'd disappoint the girl's kind intentions.

"That's okay. We'll start little by little." Sylutia hopped down from the bench and came over to Karen.

"I'll adjust things based on your progress and how you're doing."

"What are you two talking about?" Comia came over, curious about what they were discussing.

"We were talking about helping Karen study. Do you want to come listen tomorrow, Comia?"

"Ah, tutoring? That brings back bad memories." Comia's parents had hired tutors for her before too, but she'd been too busy playing around for them to help much. Eventually, they gave up.

"Come give it a try."

"Hmm, all right. But if I can't learn it, Tia, you can't call me stupid."

Their laughter spread beneath the bright blue sky.