Chapter 105: Crazy Wizard Part 5

The flowers of the Snow Blossom Tree attracted living animals, and living animals attracted predators, namely monsters. So the Snow Blossom Tree could be a good lure if used correctly. If I were to plant the Snow Blossom Tree and dig traps all around it… The undead rarely had intelligence, so they would easily fall into simple traps.

"Let's improve this so that it blooms more flowers and its scent spreads farther."

I handed one of the Phews a new seed pouch and examined the next seed.

The Snow Lotus. Like the lotus in the marshes, it had a hard tough stem and roots. It was natural since it had to dig into the cold snow and take root on rocks.

If used properly, the Snow Lotus would make climbing much easier. You could wrap part of the stem around your body, grow the stem in that state, and climb using the stem's strength. It wouldn't be useful in extremely rugged places, but it would be quite helpful in conserving energy during the initial stages of a climb.

It would be especially useful for a wizard like Khalid.

Khalid left most of the heavy lifting to his golem. So his physical strength was bound to be poor. It was a characteristic of wizards.

The golem was strong but clumsy, so it was difficult to use for climbing. In the end, Khalid would have to climb with his own strength, and though I didn't know what magical tools he might use…. he would probably need someone else's help.

Anyway, if we could save our strength in the early stages, it would be a great help to us. So, it would be best to focus on strengthening the stem and roots of the snow lotus.

"Make this stronger. But not so strong that it crushes rocks."

-Phew~!

I handed another Phew the second seed pouch and moved on to the next one.

Finally, it was time for the main focus of this improvement, the Snow Field Pea.

I wanted to put special effort into improving the Snow Field Pea. If I succeeded in modifying the Snow Field Pea into a battle plant, it would greatly help in turning other plants into battle plants as well.

The original Snow Field Pea had only one pea. Unlike regular peas, which usually had three or four peas inside the pod, the Snow Field Pea which had to endure the harsh conditions of the snowfields had one pea inside the pod, or occasionally two.

"First, we need to increase the number of peas inside the pod. Five, that should be enough."

The Phews listened to me with serious expressions.

"And let's make the peas harder. They are already quite hard, but we need to make them even harder."

These peas weren't meant for eating or sprouting; they were literally for "shooting" so it was important to increase the intensity. They needed to be hard enough to penetrate at least a wooden plank to deliver a solid impact.

"Lastly, the speed at which the peas are shot is also important."

Simply throwing it by hand wouldn't be enough. That kind of speed wouldn't even pierce a zombie's flabby skin. Speed was just as crucial as hardness.

"It also needs to have enough speed to penetrate a wooden plank. We can achieve this by filling the shell with enough air and then bursting it."

By modifying the shell to swell well but not burst easily and allowing it to hold the gas produced during growth, we could shoot the peas with explosive force. This should create the effect I envisioned.

I think it might be good to modify them to be fully explosive in the future …

Explosive types would be immensely destructive, but using them now would be foolish. If an explosion triggered an avalanche in the Silver Mountains, it would sweep away not only the undead but us as well. Focusing on the first modification was good for now.

I handed a Phew a bag of snow pea seeds and another bag containing silver snow plant seeds.

"Try making the fluff smaller and denser. It would be great if it could create an effect like a real fog."

The Silver Snow Plant which released fluff would be perfect for escaping when an unexpected situation arises.

This should be enough. I gave the Phews half of the harvested fruits and reminded them once again.

"There's no need to overdo it. But I expect perfect results, guys."

-Phew!!

They responded energetically. After patting each of the Phews on the head, I left the dimensional garden.

-Knock, knock.

"Sir Khalid, are you there?"

The door of the mansion slid open, and two familiar golems greeted me. I followed the golem holding a candle upstairs. The golem stopped in front of the laboratory where green flames were spewing out, and the laboratory door opened silently.

Khalid was sitting in a chair and staring into space with a face preoccupied with something. He didn't seem to notice or care that I had entered. His indifferent attitude was no longer surprising, so I walked to an empty desk in the laboratory and spread out a thin but sturdy hemp cloth.

"I brought the Black Opium."

"..."

Khalid was still lost in thought. Ah, this is why I don't like wizards. I glanced at him briefly and then took out the well-sorted high-grade Black Opium from my space ring and placed it on the desk. The unprocessed Black Opium was glossy with its petals and stems gleaming.

"The yield was quite good. It looks like it will increase even more with the next harvest."

"…Good."

Khalid finally spoke. He seemed to have finished his thoughts as he got up from his seat and approached the desk. He plucked a petal from the Black Opium and brought the thin, soft petal to his nose to smell it. The pollen on the Black Opium petals was a dangerous substance that caused various hallucinations and delusions…. but Khalid didn't seem to care about that. Crazy bastard.

"I'll return the seeds to you."

I said as I took out the pouch containing the same amount of seeds that Khalid had entrusted to me. Khalid shook his head.

"No."

"...."

"Rather, I would like to continue this trade."

It was an expected response. Khalid was a wizard, not a druid. He didn't have the ability to cultivate Black Opium. So, continuing to trade with me was more beneficial to him than getting the Black Opium seeds back.

Of course, it was also beneficial to me.

Though Khalid was a mad wizard, his skills were undeniable. Moreover, he was wealthy. If I could continue trading Black Opium with him, I would secure a stable and continuous profit.

Besides that, I would also gain Khalid's favor and guarantee.

The latter was more important. Khalid was one of the top wizards in Solen. While he didn't involve himself in Solen's politics, few could match his strength. He was even offered the position of the head of the Magic Tower. Though everyone called him mad, they all acknowledged his abilities. Forming a relationship with someone like him was risky but surely beneficial.

After all, thanks to Khalid, I was able to go meet a dragon.

I pretended to be lost in thought for a moment, then nodded my head.

"Agreed."

"But you must have some conditions."

"..."

How did he know? He interrupted as if he already knew what I was about to say. This aspect of him was unsettling. I scratched the back of my head and awkwardly smiled.

"Yes, there are conditions."

"Let's hear them."

"The timing and quantity of Black Opium trades will remain consistent. They won't become more frequent, less frequent, increase, or decrease."

"Why? Wouldn't it be more beneficial for you to sell as much as possible?"

That's true. Selling more would certainly benefit me.

But who knows what Khalid might do with a large supply of Black Opium.

Although he was currently using Black Opium purely for magical curiosity in his experiments, I had to consider the "what if" scenarios. Khalid was a wizard nicknamed "the Madman", and Black Opium was one of the most dangerous substances in existence.

The game never mentioned what happened to Khalid in the end.

Envis focused on the magic tower masters of the west, south, east, and north. Of course, the north vanished into history along with the fall of Ansgar…

Anyway, in the game, Khalid was briefly mentioned as the teacher of Claude who was the tower master of the east, but no one knew what happened to him after that.

Someone of his caliber wouldn't have simply been forgotten. Something must have happened.

Probably something bad.

I did not want to take such a risk. Therefore, I made up an excuse about how difficult it was to cultivate Black Opium and then negotiated the price with Khalid. We agreed on 200 gold coins for supplying the same amount twice a year. Khalid added one more condition. That I would provide Black Opium exclusively to him. Since it would be better if fewer people knew I was growing Black Opium, I accepted the condition.

"Well then, I look forward to working with you."

I signed the magic parchment and shook hands with Khalid. A moment later, one of Khalid's golems brought a sack filled with gold coins.

-Thud!

Even the sound of it being put down was different. I put the sack full of gold coins into my space ring.

"By the way, are your preparations for the climb going well?"

"I was modifying the climbing golem."

"But the Silver Mountains have strong magical waves. Golems made by humans will be easily affected."

"The possibility of the body and core separating is high."

"Is there another way?"

At those words, Khalid who had been hunched over and touching the Black Opium looked at me with glowing eyes.

"Another way…"

A chill ran down my spine. Why is his gaze like that? It's so ominous!

"I just thought of a method; would you like to hear it?"

"…Well, my companions are waiting for me at the inn."

"Nothing will happen if you're a bit late for dinner."

"I'm terrible at magic. Would I even understand if I listened?"

"I'll explain it so simply that even a druid could understand."

It didn't seem like I could refuse. I looked at who was now Khalid standing in front of the blackboard.

"Listen carefully."