CH42

Many people spend three to five days in Moonlight Forest without finding ten mushrooms, making it a time-consuming task.

Only first-class apprentices frequently take this task, as it's one of the few ways to earn magic stones and is relatively safe.

Helag continued reading about Sleeping Mushrooms, which typically grow 20-30 centimeters underground.

Experienced gatherers rely on their knowledge to observe the ground for suitable conditions before digging to check for mushrooms.

This method isn't highly successful, and even experienced gatherers need a lot of time.

"Maybe Deep Blue can help," Helag thought, deciding this task was suitable for him.

The task didn't require formal acceptance; he could simply exchange the mushrooms for magic stones at the administration hall.

Helag began preparing, needing to buy some supplies at the flea market.

Moonlight Forest was north of the Northern Forest District, an hour's walk or a twenty-minute carriage ride.

There was a station at the Northern Forest District entrance where he could catch a carriage to Moonlight Forest for two silver coins. Official wizards rode for free, though they rarely used carriages.

While waiting at the station, Helag noticed three other wizard apprentices also waiting.

"Are you all heading to Moonlight Forest?" a chubby wizard broke the silence.

"Yes, it's my first time," a nervous, skinny apprentice replied.

After brief introductions, they got to know each other a bit.

The chubby wizard was named Macken, the skinny one was Luca, and the third was Sunny.

Macken had been to Moonlight Forest three times, earning a magic stone and some gold coins. The other two, like Helag, were first-timers.

"Don't go too deep into the forest. Stay near the edges," Macken advised.

"Why? Isn't this task supposed to be low-risk?" Luca asked.

Macken explained, "The task itself isn't dangerous, but the deeper parts of Moonlight Forest have magical beasts and possibly people from Green Cottage."

"Green Cottage? That's quite far from Moonlight Forest. It's unlikely we'll encounter them," Luca said, recalling the terrain.

"True, but there's a chance. Someone once ventured too deep, encountered Green Cottage people, and was tortured to death. His body was hung at the forest entrance," Macken said, looking fearful.

Sunny added, "It's possible. Green Cottage people come to Moonlight Forest for resources too. We should keep our distance. We're all first-class apprentices and shouldn't go too deep."

Helag listened quietly, having heard similar information at the tavern.

After some more conversation, the carriage arrived.

The carriage was pulled by a Hellfoot, a magical beast hybrid with flaming hooves, known for its speed.

Moonlight Woodland's carriages had no drivers. The Hellfoot followed a fixed route and returned to the stable at night.

The carriage could hold six people.

The Hellfoot glanced back, ensuring everyone was on board before starting to run. Its flaming hooves left scorched marks on the road, which was covered in similar tracks.

It was early morning, and they needed to return before sunset.

Forests were especially dangerous at night.

Twenty minutes later, they arrived at the Moonlight Forest station.

The Hellfoot paused briefly at the station, waiting for everyone to disembark before continuing.

The trees in Moonlight Forest were massive and ancient, with dense undergrowth beneath them. Near the entrance, there were visible paths from frequent use.

Deeper in, the paths disappeared, making navigation difficult.

Helag drew his longsword and began clearing a path.

He chose a direction and started searching, while the others did the same.

"Deep Blue, start scanning underground for Sleeping Mushrooms," Helag instructed.

With his enhanced body, Deep Blue's scan range extended to 250 meters.

Sleeping Mushrooms grew 20-30 centimeters underground, well within range.

Their magic-blocking properties didn't affect Deep Blue.

[Sleeping Mushroom detected. Marked in red] Deep Blue reported after a few steps. 

In Helag's vision, a red-marked spindle-shaped mushroom appeared a few meters ahead.

He took out a shovel from his space ring and began digging carefully, knowing the mushroom was close to the surface and could easily be damaged.

After a few minutes, he saw the mushroom's head.

Sleeping Mushrooms lacked caps and were entirely purple.

Helag cleared the surrounding soil and gently extracted the mushroom.

First mushroom secured.

Helag continued, saving a lot of observation time with Deep Blue's help.

The dense ground cover made visual observation time-consuming, even for experts.

Five minutes later, Deep Blue detected another mushroom.

By noon, Helag had found sixteen Sleeping Mushrooms.

Seeing it was still early, he ate some dried food and continued searching.

As the forest darkened, Helag realized it was evening.

He counted his haul: fifty-five Sleeping Mushrooms.

Covered in dew and leaves, with muddy pants, Helag wiped the sweat from his forehead and headed out.

He had stayed near the forest edge and reached the entrance in about ten minutes.

Walking in the forest was exhausting, and Helag felt tired after a day's work.

He was the first to emerge. The others followed shortly after.

They looked more disheveled than Helag, especially Macken, who was drenched in sweat, his robe soaked.

"How many did you get?" Macken asked wearily.

"Two," Luca replied.

"Two," Sunny echoed.

Macken sighed, "I found three. Exhausting. Helag, how about you?"