Chapter 29: Exitra’s Forbidden Herb Technique

— [How?]

It was an herb so dry it looked like it would crumble at the slightest touch.

— [What on earth is he trying to do with that…]

— [J-just give up already!]

— [That herb’s life is already at zero! Stop torturing it!]

[DryHerb has donated 1,000 won.]

<I’m done for… Just let me go…>

[Previous chat settings: “Haha, I have no intention of letting go.”]

Exitra focused his mind and summoned the spirits of Tree and Water.

‘First, I’ll use the healing power of the Water Spirit on the herb…’

Splash!

A round droplet of water formed in midair.

It was filled with spirit power, and the healing energy radiating from it was strong.

“Now, I’ll put this in here…”

Exitra placed the herb into the water droplet.

Perhaps because of the healing energy, the once-withered herb began to show signs of revival.

— [Whoa?]

— [It’s turning green again!]

The viewers were watching the process closely.

Then, Exitra invoked the power of the Tree Spirit.

‘The Tree Spirit can influence even a herb in this condition. So if I inject its power into the herb already being healed by Undine’s water…’

Exitra carefully worked to revive the herb.

About three minutes later, the dried-up herb had been completely replaced by a vibrant, healthy one inside the water droplet.

He had successfully revived the herb.

— [Wow! He really brought that thing back?]

— [How the hell did he do that?]

[DryHerb has donated 5,000 won.]

<Wow, it’s like Botox these days. How did you revive it…?>

The viewers were stunned.

The herb had clearly been dried and unusable, yet now it was alive and fresh.

But the surprises didn’t stop there.

[Achievement Unlocked: ‘Developed a New Herb Variety.’]

[Achievement Unlocked: ‘I! Have! Been Reborn!’]

“Huh?”

— [Huh?]

— [What is this?]

— [Why are achievements popping up out of nowhere?]

Suddenly, unexpected achievements were unlocked.

Curious, Exitra checked the herb’s item options.

“Let’s see!”

[Herb of Rich Vitality]

[Description: A perfectly improved herb of an entirely new variety. Enhanced healing effect due to infused spirit energy. When used to make potions or medicine, its effects are amplified.]

[Option: Recovers 300 HP.]

“…Whoa.”

— [Wow…]

— [Seriously?]

— [Wait, you can improve herbs like that?]

— [I had no idea…]

Exitra was surprised as well.

He vaguely remembered hearing before his regression that a Spirit Mage could improve herbs.

He had decided to try it once—he never expected it to succeed like this.

Cough! Cough!

“Oh no.”

There was no time to be surprised.

The merchant was on the verge of death.

First, Exitra needed to heal him.

***

“Ray, grind this and apply it to the merchant’s wounds.”

“Understood!”

Ray, having received knight training, was used to handling herbs like this.

He skillfully ground the herb and applied it to the merchant’s wounds.

The merchant, who had been on the brink of death just moments ago, began breathing again.

If it had been a regular herb, it wouldn’t have worked.

But this was an improved herb.

“Now let’s help the healing with Undine’s water.”

Ssssss…

Strange steam rose from the wound as the healing began.

Undine’s power was enhancing the herb’s effect.

Even if the effect was minor, it was better than nothing.

And then, after about five minutes…

The merchant’s ragged breathing returned to normal.

[Quest ‘Merchant Facing Death’ has been completed.]

[Random Reward: You have acquired the ‘Healing’ skill.]

“Oh!”

— [What the heck.]

— [Why would the Healing skill drop here…?]

— [Dude, that reward is nuts… Never saw this coming lol.]

In Molgahub, the Healing skill was considered essential.

But other than through a temple, there were supposedly no other ways to acquire it.

Yet now, Exitra had received it as a random reward.

‘Wow, I actually got it this way?’

He had known the Healing skill could drop as a random reward.

But that was just it—it was random.

He hadn’t known whether he’d be able to get it or not.

But incredibly, he had gotten it early in the game.

— [Wow, this is how he gets it. So lucky.]

— [So it is possible to get it through random rewards…]

— [Damn, I guess we gotta do those random reward quests too…]

— [You never know what you’ll get…]

— [??? : All the misfortune until now was just momentum for this! Mwahaha!!]

“Haha, alright! I got the skill, so let’s take a look!”

Exitra immediately checked the skill.

[Healing] [Active]

[Description: Uses the power of the Water Spirit Undine to heal a target also cures minor status conditions.]

[Greater effects when Undine is summoned.]

[Effect: Heals 100 HP [400 HP with Undine summoned]

[Spirit Power Cost: 1,000 [2,000 with Undine summoned]

— [Wow, check out the effect.]

— [The description’s a bit different. So Spirit Mages use spirit power instead of mana, huh.]

— [Holy—four times the healing with the spirit summoned.]

— [That’s nuts!!!]

The skill was tailored to Spirit Mages.

While the spirit power cost was high, the value made it worth it.

“Alright, let’s go all in.”

Exitra summoned Undine and activated the Healing skill.

Vwoooom!

A stream of water flowed from Undine and seeped into the merchant’s body.

At an incredible rate, the merchant’s body was healed.

“Ugh!”

The merchant opened his eyes.

Until just moments ago, he had been under the status condition “Unconscious.”

But the Healing skill also cured minor status effects.

That was why he woke up instantly.

***

“You’re awake?”

“W-Where am I…? EEEK! W-What is this place?!”

“You’re in the Raider’s Territory.”

“Raider’s Territory? Then… I survived?”

“Yeah.”

“Th-thank goodness! I’m alive! I’m really alive! Hahaha! But… wait… I’m sure I was badly injured?”

The merchant tilted his head in confusion.

He seemed to remember getting hurt while escaping.

But now, there were no wounds, not even a scar.

He looked baffled as he patted his own body.

“Are you alright?”

“Ah, yes! I’m perfectly fine!”

“Good. Now can you explain what happened?”

At Exitra’s question, the merchant cleared his throat before speaking.

“Ahem… So here’s what happened…”

And then, he talked.

It was a long story, but to summarize:

“Bandits attacked. I fought bravely to stop them but was severely wounded. I had no choice but to flee and get help.”

‘Impressive.’

Something that could have been summed up in a few lines took him ten full minutes.

He clearly had a talent for storytelling.

At this rate, lock him in a room with a plate of dumplings, and he could probably churn out a decent novel or two.

“I see, that explains things. So… do you know where the bandits are?”

“Yes, I know!”

“Where is it?”

“Well…”

Exitra had just received the location of the bandit hideout from the merchant.

[You have acquired new information.]

[The emergency quest ‘Captured People’ has been removed.]

[New quest available.]

[Quest ‘People Captured by Bandits’ has been generated. Do you accept? (Y/N)]

[People Captured by Bandits]

[Description: A group of merchants and members of the Architect Guild heading toward your territory have been captured by bandits. Hurry and rescue them.]

[Success Conditions: Rescue the captives]

[Success Rewards: +10 Merchant Guild Favor, +10 Architect Guild Favor, 10 Points]

[Failure Penalty: -20 Merchant Guild Favor, -20 Architect Guild Favor]

[The quest has been updated.]

— [Ooooooh~ Those rewards are sweet!]

— [That’s generous af lol]

— [But if he fails, isn’t it game over?]

***

The hideout was quite a distance away.

It was a miracle the merchant had made it this far.

“Ray, take the knights and follow after us. We’re heading out first.”

“Understood. We’ll catch up as quickly as possible.”

Before long, Exitra and Alfredo reached the bandit hideout.

The two of them were perched on a tall tree, surveying the area.

The outside was surrounded by wooden fences, and six bandits stood on top of the palisade, keeping watch.

Inside, there were over twenty bandits, one of whom stood out due to his massive size.

It was obvious at a glance—he was the boss.

“There he is.”

In the center of the hideout, three wagons stood.

Next to them, merchants and members of the Architect Guild were locked in cages.

“How are we supposed to get through that?”

— [That’s way beyond your level lol]

— [Whoa, that’s a lot of bandits.]

— [No way you’re getting through that haha]

The viewers seemed to be wondering the same thing.

Rushing in headfirst would be suicide.

He needed a plan.

“Hmph. Let me just erase those punks real quick.”

Alfredo pulled out his dagger.

“Big bro, you can just sit back and watch me save them like an idiot.”

Tap!

Without waiting for Exitra to respond, Alfredo jumped down from the tree and charged toward the hideout.

“Haah…”

— [There he goes again…]

— [He just ran in, lmao]

— [Bro, that’s a death wish…]

“Yeah… that’s a bit reckless.”

Exitra kept his eyes on the hideout.

There were more bandits than expected.

A normal person would’ve waited for the knights to arrive.

But Exitra wasn’t normal.

‘It’s reckless, sure. But reckless just means a little hard. It doesn’t mean impossible.’

Several plans were already forming in Exitra’s mind.

It would take time, but it was doable.

“Alright, let’s give it a shot.”

[Chairman has donated ₩10,000.]

<Wait a moment, Exitra!>

Just as he was about to jump down, Exitra slammed on the mental brakes.

— [He’s here again!]

— [The Chairman has arrived.]

— [Not a sucker… but the Chairman himself!]

“Chairman, thank you for the ₩10,000 donation. But what’s up?”

[Chairman has donated ₩10,000.]

<If you rescue everyone without killing a single bandit, I’ll donate ₩500,000. Deal?>

— [WHAT?!]

— [Look at that mission difficulty…]

— [Man’s out for blood today.]

— [Well, the Chairman’s been treated like a sucker all this time. Guess it’s time to raise the stakes.]

“Hmm…”

That was a ₩500,000 challenge.

To complete it, Exitra had to rescue the merchants and guild members without killing any bandits.

Not easy.

“What about the boss? Can’t I at least kill him?”

— [Of course not!]

— [The boss is still a bandit! That’s the whole point!]

It was a brutal mission.

Exitra’s mind ran through every scenario he could think of.

No matter how he looked at it, saving everyone without spilling blood seemed impossible.

‘If I wait too long, Alfredo will kill them all.’

“What if my brother ends up killing them…?”

[Chairman has donated ₩10,000.]

<Then it’s an automatic failure. So, what’ll it be?>

“I’ll try.”

Exitra’s eyes grew sharp as he started sorting through his thoughts.

How could he pull this off?

His gaze scanned the hideout like a hawk.

‘Should I use Weak Point Detection to knock them out? No, that takes too long. And if I miss even slightly, they could die.’

‘What about…’

Then a thought struck him.

‘Herbs.’

‘The Healer had brought a bunch of herbs with her earlier.’

“Do I still have it…?”

Exitra rummaged through his bag.

He found it.

Exactly the herb he needed.

A sly smile formed on Exitra’s face.

“I think I found a way.”

— [Wait, is that a herb?]

— [What’s he gonna do with that?]

Nobody watching had any idea what Exitra was planning.

They couldn’t understand how herbs would help in a mission like this.

But he had a reason.

“Watch closely.”

Exitra summoned the Tree Spirit Wood and the Water Spirit Undine, then began restoring and enhancing the herb.

Woooong…

The herb shimmered inside a water bubble and slowly transformed into something new.

“Perfect.”

The enhancement was a success.

Exitra quickly confirmed its properties.

“Check!”

— [No way?!]

— [Is that what I think it is?!]

The system message popped up for the viewers as well.

And now, they knew what Exitra had in mind.

“You guys get it now, right? You know what I’m going to do.”

— [Wow.]

— [Never thought of using that herb…]

— [I’m legit shocked.]

— [Genius…]

Ding~

[So that was possible all along…]

“Alright, then…”

Exitra raised the enhanced herb and looked toward the hideout.

“Let’s take on the mission, shall we?”