บท 32: Senior Acolyte

Emery watched as the senior acolyte plucked four-leaf moon clover from its stalk without much concern. After searching for about half an hour, it was the only one they had found in this pile of yellow spotted plants. He couldn't but help notice how the senior acolyte simply watched look around as if some kind of guard.

They walked back the bridge made of wood when the senior acolyte in front stopped. Emery readied his stance when he had heard the acolyte said 'Entangled'.

The calm murky water became turbulent and a drake from beneath them shot up tied with roots. The senior acolyte touched the ring on his finger and a spear flashed from thin air before stabbing the drake right to where its heart should be. He waved off the blood before swiping his ring again, making the drake and spear disappear at the same time.

Emery wanted to come over and ask the senior acolyte about his ring and spell, however, the acolyte had some kind of aura that made you feel he wasn't an easy person to talk to. Still, this was the first time Emery had seen an acolyte or magus in action. He dreamed of the day when he'd be able to use such spells and items but first things first, he had to find a four-leaf moon clover.

After crossing the bridge, the senior acolyte turned to Emery and said, "You, kid. What's your name?"

"It's Emery," he said, his eyes slightly twitched.

"Okay, mine's Cole, kid. Would like to join us?" Cole asked with his arms crossed.

Emery bit his lips before sighing. He hated being called like a kid. Moreover, this acolyte named Cole didn't seem to be that older than him. Maybe around one to two years gap only. Anyway, he tried to place his emotions back in his head and focused on the mission's objective instead. He asked, "What's the catch?"

"I'll lead and watch your backs while you guys search and give all the plants to me," Cole said nonchalantly.

"Hey, then doesn't that defeat the purpose of why we're here in the first place?" Emery said, brows furrowed.

"I need to get as many four-leaf moon clovers as I can to secure my acceptance in the ranks of alchemists. I don't care about the potion since they're useless to me. Master Grom said for each acolyte exchanging a four-leaf moon clover, he would give only one potion, so I'll give one moon clover to each person part of the group. Another catch is that you'll have to stay with the group until we get back," Cole explained.

Emery thought for a moment and turned to Fatty. "Did you all agree to this?"

Fatty nodded. "I'm not interested in alchemy, but I can't pass up the opportunity to increase my spirit power."

"So, have you made up your mind?" Cole asked.

Emery thought this wasn't as bad as he had initially thought. At the very least, this would solve his own issue. He, too, was interested in joining the alchemists, however, after spending a couple of hours searching for the plant, he wasn't confident he'd be able to gather enough, especially if there were other groups like this also searching. Emery considered that making more friends like them would be beneficial for his future. No one would be able to do everything all alone, after all.

"Okay, I'll join you guys," Emery said.

"Good. Fatty, introduce the others to him," Cole said, walking away.

Fatty gave Emery a rundown of the other two people Emery hadn't talked to yet. The first one had a large, muscled, body and was named Topper. Fatty mentioned how he had seen Topper lift a drake with just one hand. He thought Topper was not a human at first, but fortunately, he was. Fatty couldn't tell if Topper had another element aside from plant since Topper had been using brute strength to deal with most things.

The second person he introduced was a female named Mags. She had a small frame and pinkish hair. Her elemental affinity was both fire and plant. Fatty mentioned Cole had asked her first because it would be difficult to stay the night in a moist, damp, swamp.

Lastly, Fatty presented himself having an earth and plant elemental affinity. He was a rank two acolyte, while Topper and Mags were rank three and Cole was rank five.

Wandering around the swamp, they eventually found a flat ground at the foot of an aged tree. Cole stopped and turned to face them and said, "Let's eat."

"Alright, it's dinner time!" Fatty exclaimed.

They still hadn't found another moon clover but when Cole mentioned eating, Emery's stomach rumbled. He took a seat at one of the large roots and opened the supply bag he received in Elder's Respite. Emery whipped out a bread-like food that felt hard like a rock to the touch.

Fatty said, "Hey, brother. Please put that away. It gives me shivers whenever I remember eating that. It tastes like an old tree bark. Let's wait for Mags to cook the drake meat."

Mags finished roasting the drake meat and the moment it touched Emery's tongue, the rich flavor of warm meat, complemented with the charred, smoked portions, made Emery salivate further as he devoured it right up to its bones.

After everyone had had their fill, Emery decided to strike up some conversation wherein he found out that Cole was a second year acolyte, he had gone through the same quest last year but failed to gain entry into the alchemist institute.

When they had finished resting, they got up and began searching under the guidance of the golden moon. Emery and the rest searched every nook and crannies where the little rare plants might be hiding. Wandering in a place filled with wondrous, glowing, small, large, various colors of plants made Emery feel like he was back home.

Two hours had passed and they had found three more four-leaf moon clovers. It wasn't Emery that had found them, but when he walked among the bushes near a glowing vine that had a bluish glow, he saw a similar plant.

"One, two, three, four leaves!" Emery tried to pick the plant but the moment he tugged it, it didn't budge. He pulled harder and the soil trembled, then the vines nearby started moving and from the ground, a plant sprang out that was as tall as three meters(9.8 Feet)!

[Angler Vine]

[Level 3 beast]

[Battle power 30]