novelraw Chapter 67
Chapter 67
Chapter 67
Beastmen were more mana-affinitive than humans.
Even with the same training, they could absorb more mana, and their ability to refine mana into aura was generally superior to humans.
In particular, Leisha had even seen through the fact that my foundation lay in the training method of the Bear Tribe.
‘Sure enough, she’s the real expert here.’
So, I called Leisha and Limond to discuss my problem, but the answer wasn’t all that impressive.
“That’s probably just a constitution issue, isn’t it? Of course, the Bear Tribe’s training method is designed to draw out extreme efficiency even with the smallest amount of aura. It also leans heavily toward physical strengthening. But not all of the territory’s knights were like Bear.”
“That’s true.”
In the end, all I got was the ridiculous answer that my aura impotence(?) was just a matter of constitution.
The only reason I had such poor aura circulation was because of my natural disposition combined with the Bear Tribe’s training method.
It was a discouraging answer, but I couldn’t just back down like this.
“Still, isn’t there at least something that could help, even a little?”
“Help… perhaps…”
“There is?”
“It’s not certain, but there is a method used by the Lion Tribe.”
“Really?”
“It’s something they use for their children.”
In the Lion Tribe, they supposedly fed their children something when they were very young, so they could grow up strong.
Those Lion Tribe children who ate this often grew up healthy and became brave warriors.
And considering most Lion Tribe warriors were overflowing with aura, it made me a bit hopeful.
“So, what is it?”
“Vitality Grass.”
“Vitality Grass? Where do you even get that?”
“Getting it is easy. Just walk a few steps outside the fortress and you’ll find it without much trouble.”
“There’s something like that?”
In the Monster Mountains, all sorts of plant life thrived.
Among them were plenty of medicinal herbs and useful plants, which we often harvested in the territory and put to various uses.
But Vitality Grass?
If it could be easily found near the fortress, then there was no way we wouldn’t know about it.
“…This is Vitality Grass?”
“That’s right. Vitality Grass.”
The herb that Leisha brought was one I already knew of.
Not as a medicinal plant, but just as an inedible weed.
It was a common weed in this region, notorious for giving you stomachaches if you ate it by mistake.
Could it be that the Lion Tribe had stomachs of steel, eating such weeds without issue?
“You mean you eat this? Doesn’t it cause stomachaches?”
“Ah, that’s true. If you eat it raw, it upsets your stomach.”
“And yet?”
“There’s a way to eat it.”
“There is?”
This herb called Vitality Grass apparently wasn’t meant to be eaten raw.
It had to be dried under sunlight for several days until all moisture was gone.
Only then could it be consumed.
The Lion Tribe’s method was to grind the dried Vitality Grass into powder and eat it that way.
“I didn’t know that.”
An herb with a specific preparation method for consumption.
It sounded like it had some merit.
“And you say they feed this to Lion Tribe children?”
“That’s right. At least a year of continuous intake is necessary to see results.”
“Does it really work?”
“Children who eat this usually grow into excellent warriors. Of course, there’s no definitive proof.”
“I see.”
To sum it up, the Lion Tribe’s secret Vitality Grass powder was fed to their children for over a year starting from a very young age.
It was easy to obtain since it grew everywhere in the region, and as long as it was dried properly, it could be eaten without stomach trouble, so preparation was also simple.
But of course, there was still one issue.
“It doesn’t taste good.”
“Taste?”
“It really tastes awful. Not many Lion Tribe children can endure eating it to the end.”
“It’s that bad?”
Weren’t warriors supposed to be figures of respect in the Lion Tribe?
Especially for children, warriors were objects of admiration.
Even the Black Lion children who had migrated to our territory couldn’t imagine dreaming of anything other than becoming warriors.
Of course, the Black Lions were a bit peculiar in their own way, but even the normal Lion Tribe children considered warriors to be the highest calling.
It was practically instinct for the Lion Tribe.
‘And yet, even those Lion Tribe children gave up on this herb?’
Just hearing the description already sounded dreadful.
“Let’s at least try it and see.”
It was an herb easy to obtain and prepare.
Whatever the case, there was no reason not to give it a try.
“Lord.”
“Yes, Limond. What is it?”
“There’s something Leisha left out. About Vitality Grass.”
“Really? What is it?”
Just as I had decided to give it a try, Limond, who had been quietly observing our conversation, came closer.
Leisha had already left, saying she had something to do with Irene.
Limond’s rather serious expression suggested he had something important to say.
“Vitality Grass. Eat it. A lot. At least a year.”
“Yes, I was planning to give it a try. But why?”
“Vitality Grass. Very good for males. Effects confirmed.”
“Really?”
“And…”
“Leisha knows too. About Vitality Grass.”
“…Huh?”
As expected. She’s a sly lioness, isn’t she.
Now what was that supposed to mean?
Sure, something being good for men was one thing, but Leisha knowing about it? What was that about?
I couldn’t figure out what was going on.
‘Well, whatever it is, if it’s good for me, why not? No reason not to eat it.’
Even if I had no immediate use for it, good things were still good things.
Now, I had one more reason to give Vitality Grass a try.
The image of Limond giving me a thumbs-up with a cool smile left a lasting impression that day.
And so, the experiment began immediately.
To hear the explanation, the key point of consuming Vitality Grass was to remove all moisture completely.
In this season, no matter how much you dried it under the sun, that wasn’t an easy task.
So, I instructed the Builders to make a special heat plate.
A stone slab that emitted heat created the perfect environment for drying Vitality Grass.
“If this proves effective, I’ll recommend it to the residents too. Having one of these devices won’t hurt.”
Drying Vitality Grass on the heat plate didn’t take much time.
Once fully dried, the Vitality Grass was immediately moved to the Alchemy Workshop for component analysis.
Most plants in this area were already materials under study at the Alchemy Workshop, so results came quickly.
Nothing particularly impressive was discovered, but the conclusion was that all the toxic substances contained in Vitality Grass had been removed.
In other words, whether or not it worked, eating it wouldn’t cause any harm.
“Good.”
Three days after deciding to dry and eat the Vitality Grass, today, in front of me, was the Vitality Grass drink.
It was dried, ground, and then mixed with the milk of the Three-Horned Mountain Goat.
They said it was more effective when taken with animal milk rather than water, so I made it this way.
Though there wasn’t much difference in effect compared to mixing it with water, this supposedly tasted slightly better.
Either way, it was complete, and now it was time to taste it.
“Bear, don’t be shocked.”
“Is it that bad?”
“Beyond imagination. You must not vomit.”
“Ugh.”
Leisha, who had recommended mixing Vitality Grass with Three-Horned Mountain Goat milk, warned me several times.
She said I mustn’t vomit from the shock after drinking it.
At first, I hadn’t thought much about it, but with her constantly saying this, I began to feel uneasy too.
Just how bad must it be to make her say that?
I already knew Vitality Grass was bitter, but dried Vitality Grass seemed far worse.
“…What is this? Why does it taste like this?”
Taking a sip of the Vitality Grass drink with tense anticipation, an overwhelming bitterness rushed from the tip of my tongue, making my stomach churn.
It was enough to make me doubt that such a taste could even exist.
But if I spat it out now, it would all be meaningless.
So, I forced myself and finished the Vitality Grass drink to the last drop.
“How is it? Can you stand it?”
“No, it’s awful. And you expect someone to take this for over a year?”
“All the children hate it. But they’re forced to drink it. Even so, not many manage to succeed until the end.”
“This is practically child abuse.”
“They don’t listen once they grow older, so they make them drink it when they’re young.”
“Well, I suppose I would too…”
After somehow finishing the Vitality Grass drink, I kept monitoring my body’s condition, but nothing in particular happened.
Well, this wasn’t an aura domain anyway, so it was unlikely to have immediate effects.
If it did, the Lion Tribe would already have confirmed its effectiveness.
“Do I really have to drink this?”
The fact that it required at least a year of intake before any effect made me hesitate.
The taste was shockingly awful, and I was starting to doubt whether it really worked at all.
But since I had already decided to try it, I resolved to see it through.
Of course, I wasn’t about to drink it alone. I planned to drag others into it too.
The analysis had confirmed it wasn’t harmful—just a healthy(?) drink.
‘I’ll make all the residents drink this. With more samples, something is bound to come up.’
Won’t there be backlash?
‘Backlash… yeah, there would be, if I forced them. But if I… ah, yes. This will work.’
The ingredients were simple, so mass production of the Vitality Grass drink wasn’t an issue.
With the heat plates laid out in the warehouse, we could dry batches of Vitality Grass in just a day or two.
The only problem was the milk of the Three-Horned Mountain Goat. But since mixing it with water didn’t make much difference, I planned to recommend water for the residents.
We hadn’t yet secured enough Three-Horned Mountain Goats to distribute milk widely anyway, so this was unavoidable.
“Did you say it’s good for stamina?”
“Yes, this Vitality Grass drink is a health tonic for stamina. For women, it improves skin, for children, it sharpens mana sensitivity, and it even makes them smarter.”
“…What is this, a complete gift set?”
Master, isn’t that a scam?
‘It’s not untrue, is it? If mana increases, of course stamina improves, skin gets better, and the mind sharpens.’
As expected of Master. Truly admirable shamelessness.
While the Rabbit grumbled, the first victim, Rudick, stepped into the trap of Vitality Grass.
He was in the middle of a romance, so the word “stamina” was bound to catch his attention.
Rudick had virtually no chance of escaping this trap.
“If it’s that good, I’ll try it.”
“Good, wise choice.”
Through Rudick, the news spread of a new health drink in the territory.
Stamina and beauty were cheat codes that worked in any era.
And since the drink was being distributed for free by the territory, people would at least try it first.
Of course, I wasn’t sure how they’d overcome the barrier of taste, but there would still be plenty who persisted for the long-term benefits.
After all, if it was good for stamina, how could they resist?
“Alright, let’s see what results come in a year. Of course, I’ll have to keep drinking it too…”
With blood-spitting determination, I resolved to continue drinking Vitality Grass, hoping it would bring good results.
The end of January, in the heart of winter.
It had been just over a month since I started regularly drinking Vitality Grass juice.
“Lord Iron, are you dining?”
“Ah, yes. Sir Irene, will you join me?”
“No, I’ve already eaten. But it seems you’ve been eating much more lately.”
“Indeed. Strangely, I’ve been feeling hungrier…”
Despite drinking Vitality Grass for a month, there had been no change in my aura.
The only difference was that my appetite was gradually increasing.
I had always been a hearty eater because of my size, but now I was eating almost as much as the Black Lion warriors.
This made me suspicious.
Could it be that the Vitality Grass drink had nothing to do with aura at all?
Instead, my stamina and strength felt slightly improved.
So it’s not completely without effect. Have another cup.
‘No, what I need is aura.’You’ll still keep drinking it, won’t you? Vitality Grass.
‘Of course.’
Whatever the case, the changes were still positive.
Even if it wasn’t aura, my physical abilities were improving.
So, I planned to keep drinking the Vitality Grass drink for the time being.
This choice led to a sudden increase in the number of healthy, muscular men in Johnson Territory.
In the aura of masculinity flooding Johnson Territory, the word “stamina” was practically magic.
Whether voluntarily or not, more people began regularly drinking Vitality Grass, and soon the entire population started reaping its benefits.
Of course, I could never have predicted this snowball effect at the time.