A New Backer? Training Day

The Guild Master continued to ponder. With William's story, he was no longer worried that he had interfered with the Cores of the Livingwood Forest. Although talented, only a Nascent Soul Realm Cultivator could absorb a lesser Element Vein. That being said, the benefits were too little to be of much difference to a Nascent Soul. The Guild Master assumed an old member of Briar's family had taken the Core to help his younger generation.

He thought back to William's talents and his eyes lit up. What if he issued William a Special Quest with high rewards? If William could kill a Wind Wolf, that meant he was qualified to be a Gold-Rank Adventurer. The Guild Master could use this to his advantage to help out William and secure more benefits for his Guild Hall.

"I've decided," the Guild Master started. "You will be issued a Special Quest after you have turned in your Wind Wolf Quest and earned Gold Rank. Jenny will provide the details when this happens."

William couldn't believe his ears. This was completely different from what he expected. It seemed..his achievements had earned him a backer? He couldn't be sure without knowing the details of the quest, but William assumed it wasn't a bad thing.

With these thoughts in mind, William shook his head at the Guild Master. "I would love to accept, but I need more time. I know better than to think killing a Wind Wolf will only bring benefits my way."

Hearing these words from William made the Guild Master like him even more. A smart and careful kid that is incredibly talented...I can't miss this opportunity!

"So you are worried about potential enemies, I understand. I will support your stance, but what do you plan to do about this?"

William had already thought of his response. "Another group invited me to join them in killing a Wind Wolf for my Quest. I will join them in a few days."

The Guild Master understood. He nodded his head in acknowledgment, "Go ahead then boy, but be wary of an Adventurer's greed." He motioned to the pair that their meeting was over.

"I will sir." William followed Jenny out of the room. He was relieved that the meeting went better than expected. With a new backer and an upcoming Special Quest, William was much more confident in his future. He felt these events would speed up his growth with the System.

The battles in the Livingwood Forest and his new titles put William at 194 Potential Points. With that, he was 56 points shy of upgrading his Fire Affinity, while a large number of the points would simultaneously help progress the System towards its next upgrade.

All thoughts aside, William realized he had quite a few items on his to-do list. It can't be helped, the novels I read in the past were too unrealistic. The main character always seems to only have one task at a time, must be nice. He sighed. Protagonists sure had it easy...

Jenny said a few words to William and reminded him of his punishment, then bade him farewell. It was getting pretty late, and Will needed to wake up early for tomorrow's lessons from Briar.

***

Another good rest at home brought William to a new morning. It has been around a week since I was put into this world, and I still haven't been able to leave this village. he sighed.

William threw his clothes on and jogged to the Alchemy Hall, where Briar was already waiting. The young man appeared refined, as if William was just a minor character not worth thinking about.

Briar started, "You're here on time, good. Master has asked me to teach you the basics of herb gathering, and so that's what we will do today. Don't underestimate the task, as it's much more difficult than you think." he pointed to a door near the back of the Alchemy Hall. "Go through that door and wait for me."

William did as instructed. The order seemed ordinary at first, but when he opened the door a suction force pulled William in without a chance to resist.

Briar was amused, as he knew this would happen. Ordinary people didn't usually come into contact with the Gravity Element, and William was no exception.

Briar picked up some light-green gloves and walked through the Gravity Door. William was lying on the ground on the other side, causing Briar to laugh out loud. "Haha, get up you idiot."

William was livid, This kid is so annoying!

Will stood up and dusted off his legs. His angry expression returned to normal, thinking about the possible consequences of angering yet another person at this time. If William caused too much trouble he would likely be hanged.

"So what are we doing?"

Briar waved dismissively, "Look around, we're gathering herbs." he put on the gloves in his hand and pointed in a certain direction to the left. "You'll be starting over there."

William finally took the chance to look around. They were in a garden loaded with different medicinal herbs, sorted based on age or rarity. William noticed the region Briar pointed to was the least valuable section of the garden, with plants of almost no spiritual quality and looked very young.

"Those are Goldilocks Leaves." he pointed to a plant with a short stalk and three ovular leaves. "You might have seen them in the Livingwood Forest but didn't think much because they don't give off any aura. This is what Master decided we would gather during the challenge. Watch carefully as I demonstrate how to properly gather them."

His gloves gave off a light glow. His right hand hovered under the leaf ready to catch, while the left hand gave off a similar green glow and pulled the vitality from the point where the leaf's [1] axil met the stem.

"Even bending the plant can damage its quality, which is why I didn't touch the leaf and instead allowed it to fall into my hand. If you treated a rare herb the same way you treat Lifeshrooms, your herbs would only have 20% of its effectiveness.

Also notice where I extracted the vitality. This doesn't affect the quality of the Goldilocks Leaves, but allows the plant to use less energy growing a new leaf." Briar was still arrogant, but wasn't as insufferable as before.

William noticed the process and felt it was simple. He spoke up, "I can try. Do I get gloves too?"

"You're joking right? These gloves imitate the Life Element. You already have the Life Element, do you not know how to use it?" Briar was amused.

"Uh..." William realized he didn't have much to say about that. He only used the Life Element to heal himself and detect the vitality of others. Besides that, William was a complete noob.

"The Life Element can also absorb the vitality of plants to conserve your own energy. The effects are minimal, but it doesn't cost any Mana. Did you seriously not know this?"

Briar couldn't hold back his laughter at the idiot. He was extremely jealous of William's luck and thought he would be a much better Manamatus if given the opportunities.

[1] Axil: the position along the shoot or stem where leaves develop.