Capítulo 221: We're Important VIP Guests
Chapter 221: We're Important VIP Guests
"Hey, hey, buddy. Haven't seen you for what, twenty years?"
Miles was standing awkwardly while receiving a bear hug from his long-time acquaintance, a muscular man in his late forties who was full of scars all over his body. He was laughing loudly while spraying saliva all over the place. Anyone who saw this wouldn't believe that such a rowdy man could actually be a certified botanist.
Miles could only persevere through. Georg was the only botanist who had in-depth knowledge of unusual mana-related mutant plants.
"You... are still the same as always, Georg." Miles, who was older by more than twenty years smiled slightly.
"Of course I do, Captain! Everyone on the team still talked about you, especially to the young 'uns."
"Don't bring that up anymore. I am but an old man already. Don't brag about something from the past. Just focus on bragging about yourself." Miles chided gently.
"Yeah, yeah. The Young Master's upbringing is the most important. Yada~ yada~" Georg rolled his eyes and he chuckled mirthlessly. "You know, Cap, you're fighting a losing battle. The boy... nevermind." He whispered under his breath and sighed.
"I know what I'm doing. This is Esme's child we're talking about. We still have a chance."
Miles could see how his friend's eyes turned sorrowful for a moment before they turned bright again.
"Let's not talk about tragic things. Come over and let me see the list. You do have the description and hopefully a sketch of each plant, right?"
Glad that his friend changed the subject, Miles readily returned to business, "I have gone through the plants listed in the database but couldn't find a single exact match; all twenty-one of them. Please have a look first."
Miles showed his friend a small faded notebook as they walked into a sophisticated building.
With the help of Elder Jaya, they worked together to sketch the shape of each herb Tok Silihan needed. He too, wasn't equipped with the necessary knowledge on 'herbs' specifically. All Specialists in Grade Three and above have been equipped with a scanning device with an up-to-date database to identify special mutated plants. The database was updated regularly, hence there was no need for them to have in-depth knowledge. Experts like Georg were the ones who updated the database through their continual efforts cataloging these mutant plants and researching their benefits.
Georg led him into a location that was filled with plant specimens on one side and many different kinds of unknown laboratory equipments on the other side. No one was around. They crossed over the area into a small room that looked like an office with a small single bed at the side.
After making sure Miles seated himself comfortably on a sofa nearby, Georg flipped through the pages while concentrating on the sketches, the scattering labels on specific parts of the vegetation, and the names of the plants. He took out a tablet and started to write using a stylus rapidly.
"Some of these mana-infused mutated plants are very rare and originated around the equatorial forest. You're in luck, Cap. We have quite a few of them of varying ages, mainly because we haven't found significant uses for such plants."
"For example, herb number five, the silver eight-petaled star anise can only tint one's mana and blood to silver for a short moment. An older herb, say, a hundred-year-old mutant one will show a twenty-minute effect. Of course, to civilians, this herb is extremely dangerous since it prevents blood from extracting oxygen from the air and absorbing carbon dioxide expelled by the system. One can die in just a matter of minutes upon ingestion."
Georg explained while feeling quite mystified by the current situation. It made him curious about the person who could actually utilize the mutated plants for something useful.
"If I may ask..."
"No, it's confidential." Miles immediately cut off his question cleanly. He knew what this crazed botanist wanted.
Information.
"Oh, alright. Let's get to it then." Georg visibly deflated.
...
..
.
"I have identified all plants within the list. However, these two are not in the warehouse as they ran out fast."
Georg tapped the picture of two herbs. A picture scanned from the old notebook was placed side-by-side with an original photo of a plant as a comparison.
"This one; the Fire Blood Orchid. If it's the normal Blood Orchid, we have quite the sum in our repository. But a Fire Blood Orchid is precious and is always in demand. One Fire Blood Orchid can be made into a minimum of fifty high-grade Blood Cleansing Serum by the Apothecary Department. There's simply no stock."
"This one is the elusive Amber Ginger. Usually, we used the rhizome to make the antidote for mana poisoning. However, after searching high and low, I finally found that what you need is the flower of the plant. We never collected the flowers before as we deemed they had no value besides the rhizomes. And, to find this particular herb is HARDDDD!" Georg emphasized passionately.
"If you really need this, you have to issue a special request for a mid to high-grade collection team to find the herb in these four zones. It could take a while." Georg input the coordinates into a built-in device on his workbench. A small 3D map appeared with four highlighted points hovering over it. The locations were all around the equator area, but deep in the jungle of different countries.
"You do it, cleanly. I will transfer the credit to your account."
Georg made the 'I knew it' look and sighed exasperatedly, "Who is this Apothecary Expert you manage to grab for yourself, Cap? He is a treasure trove! He must have more knowledge on mutant herbs than our very own department which is already the best in the world! We need him in our department! No need to pay me! Just give me something. I will find the rest myself." He tried again. They could just keep this to themselves. The organization wouldn't know a thing as long as both of them kept their mouth shut.
Miles scoffed, "No nonsense. Come, lead the way. Eat and drink to your heart's content."
...
11 days later.
A silent buzz signified the arrival of a message.
Butler Miles stepped away to check his smartphone.
Arash: Uncle Miles, I'm to head to the Bateq's Village first with my kids today. See you there with Boss Alan when you are ready. Help me tell him. I couldn't reach him at the moment.
Butler Miles brought a towel and a bottle of mineral water as he entered the Young Master's training room. Inside, Young Master Alan was meditating while sweating as if he had been doused with water over his head. Hot air sizzled over his head as his face turned red.
Young Master Alan coughed deeply.
Black blood stained the corner of his lips as he went limp.
Butler Miles immediately caught him before he fell and gently helped him towards a recliner a few steps away. He then passed the towel and the water bottle to the Young Master. The Young Master will attempt to awaken his Origin like this once a month for years. And it always ended up in a failure. But he never gave up and never skipped. Not even once.
Young Master Alan croaked weakly, "Is it time?"
"Not yet, Young Master. However, Mr. Arash will be on his way to the Bateq's village by today."
"Alright. Inform me when the rest of the herbs needed arrive before we depart. There is still time for me to push myself to try to stimulate my Origin."
"Certainly, Young Master."
Butler Miles sighed internally as he watched Young Master Alan wipe the blood away gingerly with the towel given. His action was so calm and collected as if he had done the same thing thousands of times. Esme would've shed tears if she saw her only son going through so much pain like this again and again.
...
"Girls, call this gramps, Tok!"
"TOKKKKK!"
Aira and Aina called cutely and made mini-hearts with their chubby little fingers.
"We are going to play in Tok's place. You guys can join the other kids to play and maybe learn a thing or two here. Like what Mama said, don't forget your sunblock!"
"Don't forget our sunblock!" The kids repeated Arash's words as they started to laugh and ran around happily in their camping garments. Both of them were so cute with mini cargo pants, and a matching long-sleeve cotton bright yellow shirt with one labeled 'Big Sis' while the other labeled 'Lil Sis'. Matching brown boots and hats adorned their feet and heads. They had a mini-binocular each, and a compass watch wrapped around their tiny little wrists. Aira in particular, carried a little backpack filled with toys, a sketchbook, some colors, and flashcards to 'study' during their 'vacation'. Arash had meticulously made sure the little gadgets were functional and even installed a few tracking tokens he custom-made online in a few personal belongings.
"Tok, this is Aira, and this is Aina. You need to love and care about them like your very own great-grandchildren. Help me out! Especially Aina, she really needs extra care since she's so young."
Arash began to make his famed puppy eye towards the old Elder. He could see that the capricious Elder looked thorned with complicated emotions as his turbid eyes traced after the kids' antics. They were absolutely loud, with bubbling laughter at all times.
Will he blow up?!
Arash immediately placed his hand over Tok Silihan's shoulder and quickly willed for extra SPE to usurp in. He could visibly see Tok's eyes became more gentle and breathed a sigh of relief.
It had been a very pleasant hike for this round. He didn't even have to arrange with Mat or Rob since he had discussed this thoroughly with Elder Jaya. The Bateq Elder promised a personal guide of their own and had been staying in contact with Arash via phone calls to anticipate their arrival.
When they finally arrived at the meeting point, he was flabbergasted by the massive entourage!
Although Tok Silihan was not around, nearly half of the villagers came over with smiles on their faces; grateful smiles, to be exact. Arash swore that he could see undisguised tears in the corner of their eyes, especially in the younger ones. They had been greeted with great fanfare as if they were important VIP guests coming over to attend an event. They prepared two homemade carriers made from rattan weaved together. Each carrier was carried by a brawny Bateq man as if they were wearing a backpack. Meanwhile, the ladies threw wildflower petals in the air to entertain the kids along the way, making them squeal with delight.
The hike was enjoyable, with many, many, pitstops along the way, where adhoc picnics just happened with multiple trackers bringing over unique unknown foraged fruits at intervals.
Seeing how everyone treated his kids, Arash just knew things would work out somewhat.
"Tok, I am ready to retry the Reawakening Ceremony again." He whispered in Tok Silihan's ear.
"Are you sure, Boy? You don't look so good last time. Your lifeforce didn't truly recover either. It's too soon."
"I felt that I might have a progress soon. Trust me!" Arash bowed sincerely to the Elder.
Tok Silihan sighed and he didn't continue talking about it. It showed that he had silently agreed to bring Arash to the underground cave again.
"What about the Foreigners? When will they come over?"
"I'm not so sure too. But, we've promised to meet up within the month. It could be anytime. Uncle Miles informed me that they need some time to procure some of the ingredients you ordered."
Tok Silihan nodded and walked away.
Arash couldn't see how shocked Tok Silihan was when he heard Arash's response. All the ingredients listed were very precious and hadn't appeared for more than a hundred years around the area.
Tok Silihan scrunched his brow.
This verified a lot of things.
One, the Foreigners were powerful people with easy access to cultivation materials. Not like him, who had to slough to obtain a single stem of spiritual herb.
Two, they might know other Hell Gate locations.
Should he inform the kid?
No, not yet. Until at least he can defend himself.
Although Tok Silihan knew Arash was reasonably calm and rational, he still worried that the boy could get himself killed if he offended these foreigners. It was only a matter of flicking their fingers.
He had his limitations and couldn't venture out of the forest since the Deity's grace only extends around the area with forest trees and soil. Tok Silihan planned to bring lots of food and camp out with Arash to show his support to the young man.
Maybe, just maybe, the boy's hard work would be rewarded.
...
REFLEXIONES DE LOS CREADORES 
mrandmrsmooncat
mrandmrsmooncat Who didn't love our Tok Silihan? TT____TT
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