Chapter 74: The Old Woman’s Stall

  "Emilia, let me see the list again," Kael said. "Look, there's an option to buy a piece of land here."

  "Kael, leave your sister alone. She needs to invest in her future. Emilia, you must collect points for a minor title. That is the most important thing. Even as a minor noble, you will have protection! So many doors will open for you, and you'll be able to find a suitable husband," Mira said, and Emilia grimaced and scratched her nose.

  "I don't want to find husbands. I'm still little."

  "Yes, but you will grow up one day. You must think about these things now."

  "Yeah, and you'll have servants and guards to protect the gates of your manor." Kael pulled out his bow and began pretending to be a guard protecting the manor gates... It was quite ridiculous.

  "Not only a noble, but a manor too. I'll have to work hard to raise that high."

  "Yes, but you are special. We all believe in you," Ronan quickly joined in, then ruffled her hair.

  "Hey, everyone keeps putting their hand on my head and ruffling my hair! I won't be able to grow taller like this."

  "Hahaha, don't worry. You'll grow up healthy and tall, just like your mother. With beautiful eyes and a slender figure."

  "And you'll find a husband like your father. With strong hands and a deep smile," Mira blushed.

  "I shouldn't have bought that mead. It's too strong," Emilia thought and looked at the list. If they hadn't managed to find those Abyssal mushrooms, she would most likely have been tempted to take the earthly treasures to work on the foundations of her body. Now, however, her strength had become considerable, like that of an adult, and her mana was almost double what it was last year. She felt like one of the shorter races, who, despite their small stature, sometimes possessed the strength of several adults. Like the legendary Dwarf King Thorin from the books she read on Earth.

  "I started dealing with herbalism and talismans too early... maybe if I had started later... But... it was just so boring. I had to do SOMETHING, or I would have gone crazy from boredom. And how else would I have become special? If I had delayed, for example, just reading books in the library for the next ten years, I wouldn't have personal power, and someone would simply grab me and force me to work for them. Plus, I'd still be under 100 mana."

  Emilia thought, and time passed. She returned to her work with formations. She repeatedly worked on the complex problem of the magical formation for a protective wall. However, it turned out that she had to embed many silver threads into the structure of the armor and she consulted her mother Mira, who helped her a lot with her experience as a seamstress. The two chose where the threads should pass, and Emilia bought a set of special reinforced needles, with which she managed to pierce the animal hides.

  The main lines would be on the inner side of the armor to be protected from impacts, close to her body, and easy to control. In several places, Mira added special patches of fabric to cover and protect the eyes of the formation or the stronger energy lines. Finally, after a few days of work, the armor was finally ready.

  "Magic Shield!" Emilia dramatically called out, and the familiar magic shield formed in front of her. This time, however, she didn't use an entire talisman for it, nor did she consume her spiritual powers. If the shield failed or was instantly destroyed, it didn't have a direct spiritual connection to her. Instead, the damage would be absorbed by the formation and not by her. This could save her a lot of trouble.

  Emilia looked at the core and noticed how the magic within it had weakened. For now, one such core could sustain five to six shields before disintegrating. However, Emilia had embedded three cores in the formation's pathways, and when they were exhausted, she could swap them out quickly! If she relied on talismans made from monster blood-inscribed tree bark, it would still be cheap, but this armor saved her time. Also, talismans took up space. Now she could activate some other talisman while simultaneously being protected by her armor.

  ...

  Three days later, Emilia met with Cassian. He interrupted her after only the first few exercises.

  "Emilia, you've become significantly stronger. Perhaps you'll even be able to start unlocking combat skills soon. Usually, one has to wait until the age of 11 or 12, but your body is advancing quite quickly in that direction. I'm not a specialist, and I don't know when that time will come for you, but it's definitely approaching."

  Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  Cassian then began chasing Emilia through the lightly overgrown grassy labyrinth, constantly changing direction and reinforcing his movements with mana. Emilia had to stay alert, utilize the terrain to the maximum, and change directions and avoid strikes in a fraction of a second. This went on for a long time, and Cassian gained a better understanding of Emilia's new capabilities.

  He said he had to devise a completely new plan because she had progressed enough with simple evasions, and her strength was now like that of an adult.

  Afterward, they returned to the city, and Cassian constantly pressed her to memorize everything around her. He asked her questions about the people who had just passed by, how many there were, what they were wearing, and if they were carrying anything.

  He made her list the buildings and even their roofs. Emilia performed quite poorly, but she persisted nonetheless. Finally, they reached Cassian's retired home. He gave her a few new exercises for reinforcing her body with mana, and they arranged their next meeting. They would train a little less frequently until the situation in Karapelit stabilized.

  Emilia then decided to head to the Hunters' Market. She had only been there once before, and she had been in a hurry and hadn't managed to fully explore it.

  The market was located near the estate of Chief Nikos Vardas, and it consisted of an indoor market with many stalls that anyone could rent, as well as a street with permanent shops and artisan workshops.

  Emilia browsed the market, looking for someone selling stronger herbs, earthly treasures, or interesting mana-rich items—like bone marrow—to try and use them in her formations. There were quite a few strange things that the local alchemists apparently hadn't bought, or for which they offered excessively low prices.

  Emilia stopped at a huge mushroom, as big as half a stall. It was quite rich in mana, but her herbalism skill activated and warned her that the mushroom was toxic. The price wasn't small—a full 120 silver coins—but Emilia figured she could significantly negotiate the price down.

  Then she came across two strange eggs.

  "What kind of eggs are these?" Emilia asked.

  The vendor, a young man with a particularly thin mustache and a smooth face, looked at her dismissively and did not answer.

  Emilia pulled out her honorary hunter badge, smiled, and showed it. The young man looked at it, then suddenly became somewhat more serious and decided to answer slowly.

  "These are eggs from Level 3 monsters. One is from a Basilisk, the other from a Forest Troll."

  "Forest Troll? But didn't they reproduce..." Here, Emilia's face grew visibly flustered... She was small, and such things were not customary to talk about. "In the... the... standard way?"

  "There are different kinds of trolls. These specific ones lay eggs. Look, I'm not a specialist.

  I'm selling the goods of my grandfather, Mahilos. He's been a hunter for 50 years and often finds interesting things. The basilisk is 40 silver, the troll is 65. You can use them in alchemy, you can try to raise them, but only if you have a license. You could even eat them for their energy if you wanted."

  Emilia looked at the eggs again. The energy in them wasn't that strong... unless... She suddenly remembered her Soul Absorption skill but quickly dismissed the idea. Besides, the prices were quite high. She had managed to get 800 silver coins immediately after they sold the Giant Worm's parts and had even sold a few bark and paper talismans, so now she had almost 1000 silver coins.

  Soon, Emilia found a stall with a huge variety of herbs. In an old rocking chair sat an elderly woman with a hawk-like nose and enormous, owl-like eyes.

  "Good day," Emilia greeted, showing her honorary hunter badge beforehand. She didn't want to create unnecessary drama.

  The old woman looked at the badge, then at the small girl in front of her, and quietly murmured. "They keep getting younger and younger..."

  "Good day, girl. Which family are you from? Are you sure your family allows you to risk your life in the forest?"

  "My name is Emilia, and as for the rest—Chief Nikos wouldn't have issued me a badge if something wasn't right, would he?"

  "Of course, of course. Forgive my poor manners. Now tell me, how can I help you?"

  Emilia took out a few herbs from her backpack, and Sylvara's face visibly lost its former brilliance.

  "Ah, more useless herbs. Everyone brings me cheap, useless herbs, and the best ones they sell further into the city. And then I wonder what to do with them. Let me see... hmm... I can give you 4 copper coins for three of them. No? As you wish... Still, for these two... and for this one, this one... and this one, I can give you two silver coins. The mana in them is extremely strong."

  "And if I pay you, can you tell me their properties?"

  "I can only for two of them. One looks quite similar to the aura of human hair. Perhaps some alchemist could use it to make a potion for hair growth? And this one here... It's quite strange... I sense that it can somehow help you stay awake longer... and even refresh you. This is a very interesting herb. Alright, if you find me 10 of them, I can give you 7 silver coins!"

  Emilia quickly put the herb back in her backpack. "I think I'll keep it for now." She then sold the remaining four herbs and put the coins in her pouch.

  "May I look at the herbs carefully?" Emilia asked.

  "Of course, just be careful. If you damage any of them, you'll have to buy it."

  Emilia nodded and activated her skill.

  "Dispel Ignorance!"

  The mana of the herbs suddenly became much clearer, and their auras were revealed and contrasted with each other. Emilia had enough mana for about three minutes of skill maintenance, but she wanted to save her mana in case something else popped up. She frantically darted her gaze around, stopping several times to touch various herbs.

  After about two minutes, she deactivated her skill and continued to examine the herbs, but this time much slower and more carefully. Most of the herbs had a solid amount of mana in them. Clearly, the old woman did not select them by chance. Unfortunately, almost all of them had too high an impurity content and would be unsuitable for use. Maybe if someone had the desire to refine them beforehand and get rid of the impurities.

  Still, Emilia found a few types of herbs that glowed strongly in her Soul Sense skill. Emilia decided to take a risk and bought one piece of each. If things worked out, she would return for more.

  The old woman tried to tempt her with various potions and ointments, several "love elixirs," and even different poisons, but Emilia was quick to refuse.