#56 - Herbal Medicine Comparison Study
Studying herbs was something Muen had decided to do long ago, but he never had access to the resources.
The printing industry in this world was not very developed, and paper was not cheap, so books were expensive luxury items.
“Don't worry, as a ranger, I know no less than eighty to one hundred herbal merchants. They definitely have handwritten copies in this area.”
......
On the third day back in Xilin, Muen received three handwritten herbal books as he wished.
Two of them were very new, and the scribes were very careful. The content was clear, and they were also accompanied by illustrations.
The name "Canary Pharmacy" was written on the title page, and Muen knew that this was the largest herbal firm in Xilin.
As for the last one, it was a completely tattered manuscript. It didn't even have a cover, and many pages were moth-eaten.
“The first two were sent to me by the pharmacy, and the last one was bought from Raul.”
Seeing that Muen didn't care about the tattered book, Zalan continued to explain.
“Raul's family has made a living by collecting herbs in Black Iron Mountain for generations. They learned the news of the war too late, and the price of food was so high, so I helped them.”
After these few days of contact, Muen had completely figured out Zalan's personality.
Since he said he was helping, it was impossible for him to simply buy the herbalist's manuscript. He must have spent a lot of money.
“Actually, you can buy some paper back, so I can copy it down, and then let them pass the handwritten copy on to future generations.”
Muen actually liked Zalan's personality very much, so after hearing about the other party's difficulties, he also wanted to help.
“Oh, yeah! How come I didn’t think of that.”
Zalan said something and left the wooden house again.
Muen opened the handwritten copy and slowly read it.
He had completely memorized "A Thousand Kinds of Magical Herbs and Fungi".
Now, all that remained was to find the corresponding herbs in Xilin.
In this way, he could not only obtain more learning materials, but perhaps also find herbs for refining magic potions.
To confirm whether an herb meets the requirements, in addition to identifying it through drawings, it is also necessary to check the text description.
【Silver Flower, white flowers, shallow cup-shaped, flat ribbon-like leaves with toughness.】
“This is very similar to the description of daffodils.”
Muen marked this paragraph.
【Ant-repelling herb, opposite leaves, serrated edges, and blooms with both male and female flowers.】
“This seems like yarrow.”
......
Before Zalan came back, Muen discovered seven or eight herbs that he had learned at Hogwarts.
However, there was still a final step to confirm, which was to see it with his own eyes, and even taste it.
......
“You said these things can be used to make magic potions?”
Looking at Muen, who was exhausted again due to running out of magic power, Zalan grabbed a sweetgrass root and stuffed it into his mouth.
“That's right, that thing you're eating can be used to make potions to treat burns.”
Muen lay on the ground, panting heavily as he replied.
“This is really amazing. When I was in the army, I only regarded it as a snack. I never thought it could be used to refine magic potions.”
“It is indeed suitable as a snack. It has a sweet taste, and chewing it dry can also suppress internal heat.”
Muen sat up from the ground and looked at Zalan with a frown.
“But it's not possible to refine magic potions right now.”
“Why? Are magic potions difficult to refine?”
The sweetgrass that Zalan ate was called "Evening Primrose" in "A Thousand Kinds of Magical Herbs and Fungi".
This was a medicinal material in the burn potion that Muen had learned a month ago.
However, the main problem in refining this magic potion was not the difficulty, but the need for a drop of unicorn tears.
“One of the ingredients in this magic potion is very difficult to obtain.”
When Muen said this, he couldn't help but think of the magical white horse he encountered in Snow Eagle Mountain.
If he guessed correctly, that should be a unicorn.
“I think the Magician Association must have what you need.”
Seeing that Muen was a little worried, Zalan gave a suggestion.
“Magician Association? What is that?”
Muen, who had lived in Xilin since he was a child, had never heard of the name 'Magician Association'.
He had always thought that people who knew magic were called 'spellcasters' or 'court mages'.
“You don't really think that only the Federation has magicians, do you?”
“No, I don't think so.” Muen replied truthfully.
“It seems you are quite smart. Actually, I have only heard of the Magician Association.”
......
Zalan seemed to be born for war. He had a strong physique, ran fast, and was proficient in marksmanship, archery, and swordsmanship.
He joined the army at the age of sixteen, became the captain of a hundred-man team at the age of eighteen, and was promoted to the chief officer of a five-hundred-man team at the age of twenty.
His future should have been brighter. However, it was also in this year, at the age of twenty, that he encountered the ten-man 【Night Owl Guard】.
The result was conceivable. He was the only one in the five-hundred-man team who survived, and he also lost an eye.
It was also after the end of this battle that Muen's father pulled him out of the pile of dead people.
From then on, bitter training for revenge became Zalan's only thought.
Later, his strength became stronger and stronger, and he was favored by the high-level spellcasters of the Federation and became a spellcaster guardian.
It was not until the establishment of the Federation that Zalan realized that there was no hope of revenge, and finally chose to return to his hometown and become a ranger.
As for the Magician Association, he also heard about it when he was a spellcaster guardian.
“Actually, I have only seen the court mages of the Menila Empire. They will be incorporated into the army during wartime. If you encounter them, you must stay far away.”
Muen had also heard the name of the court mages. They often appeared in various legends in Xilin.
“As for the Magician Association, it is called 【Underground Rats】 by spellcasters and court mages. I think you should be able to guess their situation.”
“Magicians being called rats, isn't that a bit too ironic.”
Muen was very surprised. In his opinion, magicians who possessed powerful power should not be treated like this.
“What, do you think that possessing extraordinary power means you can't be treated like a rat?”
Zalan saw through Muen's thoughts at a glance.
“Do you know how many spellcasters there are in the Federation?”
Seeing that Muen was a little indignant, Zalan asked an irrelevant question.
“Shouldn't ~ there not be many?” Muen guessed.
“Of course not many!”
Zalan said, standing up a little excitedly.
“From the time you were born until now, Xilin, including the surrounding villages, has hundreds of children born every year, but only one child can enter the military academy to study magic.”
“Could it be the little girl who tested with me?”
Muen recalled the scene of his test at the age of seven.
That year, a little girl named Galona was taken away by the spellcasters of the military academy.
“That's right, but I didn't say that to make you recall that little girl.”
Zalan paused deliberately here, and seeing that Muen didn't have any reaction, he shook his head and continued.
“Haven't you noticed that there are too few people with magical talent?”
After Zalan reminded him, Muen reacted.
There were probably more than a thousand children born in eleven years, and only one had magical talent.
“One in a thousand?”
“That's right, maybe even less, and the number of people joining the army will be a hundred times that number.”
“But what does this have to do with it? Joining the army and becoming a magician are not in conflict. Just like the spellcasters, they are still studying at the military academy.”
“Whether there is a conflict has never been up to one person to decide. When the authorities think that magicians are evil, then a hundred soldiers will be ordered to kill a magician.”
100 : 1
Muen was very clear that ordinary magicians under this number had no chance of winning at all.
“Is this the reason why magicians are called rats?”
“Of course, sometimes everything is up to the authorities.”
