The Catch-Up Plan

With the excursion and studies at Luan Tree Village concluded, the group boarded the carriage once more to return to Scorched Stone City.

Though the week had not been long, returning to Scorched Stone City gave everyone the strange illusion that a great deal of time had passed.

"That is why I say, going out for fun is a necessity."

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

"How has your work been during this time, Talia?" Sylutia asked, taking a spoonful of mushroom soup.

"I've been great! I've run all over Scorched Stone City during this time; there isn't a soul who knows the local situation better than I do now," she boasted proudly.

"Really? Then do you know where one can sell herbs for a high price?" Sylutia teased.

"Well, the most common place is, of course, the Alchemist Guild. But there are many people who go there to sell herbs; folks from the nearby villages bring in a batch every so often."

"Next would be the Adventurers Guild. Some alchemists or people of other professions often post bounties at the Adventurers Guild when they can't find the herbs they need at the Alchemist Guild."

"Finally, there are the merchant guilds. They also purchase certain herbs to transport and resell in other cities."

"Generally speaking, the prices go: Adventurers Guild > Merchant Guild > Alchemist Guild. However, the first two only accept specific herbs, unlike the Alchemist Guild, which buys many different varieties."

"I see. I understand now." Sylutia pondered this; it seemed she would have to visit the Adventurers Guild and the merchant guilds in the city tomorrow.

After finishing lunch, Sylutia went to the backyard to observe the "Swan Orchid" she had planted. After seven days of transformation, the situation had changed significantly.

[Swan Orchid](Excellent-76): Growing. Humidity is not at optimal levels; needs 21.24% more moisture. Ambient temperature is slightly low; needs to be raised by 5.8 degrees. Aeration is optimal. Nutrition is sufficient, with only minor trace nutrient gaps...

The quality had reached Excellent, and there was still room for improvement. Sylutia placed her hand gently on the bulb of the Swan Orchid to sense it, a faint emerald light flickering in her eyes.

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

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

"Bounties for rare herbs?" Mailin thought for a moment, then pulled out the latest bounty ledger to flip through.

"There don't seem to be any recently. But what kind of herbs do you have? Did you pick them yourself, or did you grow them?" she asked with curiosity.

"I found them in the forest recently." Sylutia took a piece of paper from her pocket, which listed in detail the herb specimens she had gathered over the past few days.

"Wow, that's quite a lot. You must have put in a lot of effort," Mailin said in surprise.

"But as a young girl, you shouldn't go too deep into the forest, or you'll get snatched up by the Ti Wolves in the woods."

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

"Hehe, are you accompanied by companions? That's good, but safety is indeed very important," she replied while scanning the list.

"Found it. Viscount Xuefeng's butler inquired about a bounty for this Sickle-Thorn Vine before. He said they always need it and will take as many as they can get. 50 copper coins per stalk."

"This price is already quite high; ordinary herbs go for at most 10 copper," Mailin told Sylutia.

"You have 8 stalks listed here. You can bring them all over; I'll give you 4 silver coins after I inspect them."

"Thank you, Sister Mailin."

Leaving the Adventurers Guild, Sylutia visited several merchant guilds in the city. After asking at each one, she sold off a portion of her herbs, earning nearly 10 silver coins.

The rest can probably only be sold to the Alchemist Guild; I estimate I can get 8 silver coins for them, she thought to herself.

It was a pity that the Alchemist Guild here didn't specialize in mushroom-related potions, so they didn't accept rare mushrooms. Perhaps she could ask Scholar Heide if he needed any.

A new day began. After the morning class, Scholar Heide nodded slightly upon hearing Sylutia's inquiry.

"I rarely brew potions myself, but I do have a few friends who are in genuine need of such rare medicinal materials. Bring the rest to me and let me have a look."

"Here are ten glass bottles. Remember to put the precious fungi inside to cultivate them; that will allow them to be preserved for a longer time." He pulled open a drawer and took out ten empty glass bottles.

"Understood, Teacher." Accepting the ten small glass bottles, Sylutia expressed her gratitude.

That afternoon was the usual combat training, but everyone seemed a bit distracted today, likely still unable to shake off their holiday mindset.

"Baron and Mick are both nursing injuries and didn't come today."

"Miss Iona isn't here either. Without seeing that beautiful lady, life has become boring," several boys complained, leaning against the railing while watching the few people training sporadically on the field.

In the shaded rest area, Sylutia was busy flipping through her new notes, organizing her knowledge and considering how to integrate these scattered pieces into a cohesive system.

Scholar Heide's knowledge was incredibly vast. He was never rigid during his lectures, often mentioning extracurricular content whenever a topic came up. In fact, if one truly understood these side notes, they were a great help in grasping the core material.

However, students had different aptitudes. For some, these extracurricular details were like incomprehensible noise that interfered with the simple knowledge framework they were trying to build.

Considering the significant gap in the class's foundation, and since Sylutia intended to assist those who were struggling, she had to set aside the overly obscure knowledge and focus on building a solid foundation for everyone first.

"That should be about right."

After a whole afternoon of organizing, Sylutia had roughly mapped out the knowledge system for the month and closed her notes and books with a sense of relief.

From now on, she just needed to spend two hours a day tutoring those with poor foundations. I'll start with Karen these next two days, she thought, suddenly deciding to use her most familiar classmate as a test subject.

"Karen~" she called out to the girl who had just finished training and was resting not far away.

"What is it?" Karen washed her face with clear water, wiped it dry, and walked over.

"Tomorrow, well, and every afternoon after that, I'll tutor you in Secret History Class. How does that sound?"

"This..." She hesitated for a moment, but seeing the earnest anticipation in the young girl's eyes, Karen nodded.

"I might not be very bright, so don't get your hopes up too high, Sylutia." She had always struggled to grasp complex theoretical knowledge and worried about failing to live up to the girl's good intentions.

"It's fine, we'll start with small steps." Sylutia hopped down from the bench and came over to Karen's side.

"I'll adjust everything according to your learning pace and progress."

"What are you two chatting about?" Comia walked over at that moment, curious about what they were discussing.

"We're talking about helping Karen with her studies. Do you want to come over and listen tomorrow, Comia?"

"Ah, tutoring? That brings back bad memories." Comia had been given private tutors by her parents in the past, but she had been too fond of playing, so the results were poor and it eventually fizzled out.

"Come and give it a try."

"Hmm, alright. But if I can't learn it, Sylutia, you aren't allowed to call me stupid."

The laughter of the three girls drifted away under the bright blue sky.