The medicinal herbs requested in the quest grew in the forest I always went to.
So today, I headed back to my usual woods.
According to the illustrated guide, the herbs supposedly grew in dark, slightly damp places.
"If I remember right, there's a river flowing a bit deeper in. Maybe I'll start looking around there."
I had a pretty good grasp of the terrain here.
Picturing the forest's layout in my head, I walked deeper into the woods.
"It really is pretty here, no matter how many times I see it."
Perhaps because there were only low-grade monsters around, the river was crystal clear.
The water flowed transparent and clean, and I had even seen different types of monsters drinking here together in the past.
Moving a little away from the riverbank, I began checking the areas shaded by the dense canopy.
"...Could this be it?"
Spotting a single blue flower, I compared it with the notes I had written down.
There were other plants that looked similar, so I checked it thoroughly.
"At times like this, having a skill like [Appraisal] would let me tell them apart in an instant..."
The famous skill crossed my mind.
Suddenly, I felt the urge to test it out again. I channeled magic power into my eyes and stared intently at the plant.
[Appraisal] was a skill that let you view information about a target by sending magic power into your eyes.
Remembering what Ryan-san had told me during a break in our training, I gave it a try.
Nothing changed immediately.
For a minute, then two, I carefully examined the plant from its roots to the finest details of its petals.
◇
Trained in [Appraisal].
Gained 1 EXP.
1/100 until skill acquisition.
◇
After staring at the flower for so long, my eyes were starting to tire.
The moment that thought crossed my mind, the screen at the edge of my field of vision updated.
At the very bottom, text appeared stating that I had trained in [Appraisal].
"...Haha."
Having actually pulled it off, I was so stunned that a dry laugh escaped my lips.
"I only wondered if I could do it. I never thought it would actually work."
That was how I truly felt.
Still, now that I knew it was possible, my desire to unlock it grew all the stronger.
"I'd better stop for now, though. If I keep this up, the sun will go down and I'll fail the quest."
Reining myself in, I went ahead and picked the flower before me.
After observing it for so long, my suspicion had turned to certainty—it matched the description perfectly.
I doubted anything else could look this identical. With that in mind, I set off through the woods to find more of the same.
For the next three hours, I wandered the forest.
I pushed through the undergrowth, focusing on dim, shaded areas, and took detours whenever monsters crossed my path.
"Finally, the fifth one. If this quest ever pops up again, I'm definitely not looking for them in this forest..."
Muttering under my breath, I harvested the fifth and final stalk, tucking it into my bag.
With the quest finished, I could finally turn my attention to what I had really wanted to do today.
"At least running into stray slimes over and over while searching helped me rack up a good amount of EXP."
Normally, I had to hunt for stray slimes, but today I had stumbled across them all over the place without even trying.
Since I had found them anyway, I had taken the time to defeat them as I searched.
As a result, my EXP had piled up considerably.
◇
Defeated a monster.
Gained 1 EXP.
26/100 until next level.
◇
◇
Trained in [Swordsmanship].
Gained 1 EXP.
99/100 until skill acquisition.
◇
[Swordsmanship] was right on the brink of completion.
"...I might as well head back to town and finish it with some training."
It was better to acquire the skill in a safe place.
Making up my mind, I decided to leave the forest immediately.
Usually, I stayed out until the evening bell rang, but today I made it back well before then.
"Welcome back, Erik-kun. Were you able to find the herbs?"
"Yes. I gathered flowers that match the description. Are these the right ones?"
Asking for confirmation, I took the five medicinal herbs from my bag.
Reina-san examined the flowers closely with a magic tool, checking several key details.
"Yes, these are definitely what the client asked for. Great work."
"Thank you. It was a bit exhausting this time. I searched in the usual forest, but if I'd needed any more than this, I probably would've failed my first quest."
After explaining that to Reina-san, I collected my reward money.
Next, I headed back to the inn and checked with Amanda-san to see if I could use the backyard.
"My, you're back early! Did you come home early just to train? Go right ahead. No one's out there right now, so feel free to use it until dinner."
With Amanda-san's permission, I stopped by my room to grab my wooden sword and headed out to the backyard.
"Phew..."
Maybe because I only needed one more point, I felt unusually fired up.
Gripping the hilt, I focused entirely on swinging the sword just as I had been taught.
Naturally, the screen remained open at the edge of my sight.
◇
Trained in [Swordsmanship].
Gained 1 EXP.
100/100 until skill acquisition.
◇
◇
Acquired [Swordsmanship].
0/100 until next level.
◇
At long last, I had acquired the skill.