Chapter 61

Yesterday, after cutting down the Zunana grass and turning it into a sea of fire, it had completely revived.

It wasn’t a mistake; the trees were still there, and so was the pond—it was clearly the same island as yesterday.

It seems that the vitality or regenerative power of the Zunana grass surpasses even the most invasive bio-weapon on Earth, the bamboo.

Moreover, even though Zunana grass is common in the realm of monsters, this regenerative ability seems questionable for a plant.

It’s hard to imagine that any seeds could have survived such complete destruction.

Could it be that the seeds are floating in the air, invisible to the naked eye?

If so, there would be no way to deal with it.

...Could it be that the Zunana grass is not a plant but a fungus of some kind?

If there are mycelia in the ground and the Zunana grass grows from them like mushrooms, it might explain this phenomenon.

If that’s the case, there’s only one way to test it.

I cut the Zunana grass with magic, collected it, and generated a massive explosive shell about 5 meters long.

The magic power used was 4000 for the shell itself and about 50,000 for the explosive part.

The magic power used would be enough to eradicate trees in a 300-meter square area, but to create a crater, this much is necessary.

I flew high into the sky to avoid the damage and slammed the shell into a suitable flat area.

The massive bunker-buster-like shell, thanks to its magic-derived sturdiness, embedded itself about 5 meters into the ground and exploded.

Like a giant boulder thrown into water, it sent the surrounding soil flying high into the air.

Then, the soil, lifted to a height of about 100 meters, rained down, turning the island into a brown wasteland (with a pond and a crater).

Surely, it won’t grow back after this.

If it does, there would be no way to deal with it. I’d have to either make Zunana grass my main business or hope it can coexist with sugarcane and plant it as is.

However, this island is already dominated by Zunana grass, leaving no room for sugarcane.

Originally, the island was a place where trees and Zunana grass coexisted, but who could have done this to the ecosystem?

...Well, there’s no point in looking for the culprit. If it comes to this, I’ll find a way to effectively utilize the Zunana grass.

If it grows back in unlimited quantities, sending a few people to cut it down would yield a large amount of Zunana grass, opening up new possibilities.

On the other hand, if I have to come here specifically to hunt Zunana grass, it would be more profitable to eliminate monsters.

In that case, my destination is Mercia, the conscience of the Maple Guild’s management.

"So, I think we can make a profit by harvesting a large amount of Zunana grass and selling it. What do you think?"

A few minutes later, I explained the situation to Mercia and asked for her opinion.

"Even if we can transport personnel with the contracted ships, there are two main issues I can think of right now."

"What are they?"

"First, even though Zunana grass is always in short supply, if we supply hundreds of kilograms, or even close to a ton, every day, the market will quickly saturate. Even if we lower the price, there’s a limit to the demand considering the time needed for reuse. Moreover, if the defense line is completed and Broken is reclaimed, a large supply of Zunana grass from the cleared forest between Desibator and Broken is expected. ...Unless the construction of the defense line takes a long time."

"Well, we can’t intentionally delay the reclamation of Broken..."

"The second issue is how long the Zunana grass will continue to grow. Generally, when a monster’s territory is cleared, the peak growth of Zunana grass lasts about three months after the clearing, after which the yield drops sharply. This is the biggest reason why no new territories are being cleared for Zunana grass."

"That’s not a problem. Clearing the land takes less than an hour, and we can burn it every three months. If the Zunana grass stops growing, we can turn it into a sugarcane field. What do you think?"

Environmental protection groups might be furious if they heard this, but there are no such groups in this world.

In fact, the guilds are leading the effort to burn down forests.

"Ah, that’s right... But the issue of consumption remains. If we limit the supply to fix the price, we can make a profit, but the scale will be smaller."

"If we can use a large quantity, can we concentrate it to enhance its effects?"

"That’s not possible. The effect limit of potions mainly depends on the amount of Zunana grass used. Except for a few exceptions, the effect doesn’t change no matter how much you use."

"What are the exceptions?"

"There’s a story that if you soak a large amount of Zunana grass in Desibator wine and mix it with other ingredients, it will restore more magic power than usual. Of course, you’ll be too drunk to cast spells."

"What is Desibator wine? Is it necessary?"

"It’s a strong version of regular wine, made by distillation. Regular wine has a weaker effect."

...Could it be an alcohol extraction?

Is the active ingredient different from the problematic component, and can it be extracted using alcohol?

"Where can I buy Desibator wine?"

"Basically, it’s made from regular wine when it’s taken to Desibator, so there’s no stock..."

"Alright, then I’ll make it."

If there’s none, I’ll make it.

I bought a large amount of high-proof wine from a nearby liquor store (I tried a little, and it was surprisingly light and tasty) and distilled it with magic.

One hour later.

After multiple distillations, the wine had become something like 10 liters of Desibator wine.

I threw in about 5 kilograms of Zunana grass, filtered it with a cloth, and distilled it again. In the end, I was left with about 300 milliliters of a thick, bluish liquid. Of course, I had separately recovered the alcohol.

"...Is this it?"

I asked Mercia, looking at the vividly blue, toxic-looking liquid.

"I don’t know... I’ve never heard of this method, and I’m at a loss when asked."

I’m at a loss too, as I don’t even know the color of potions.

What should I do...

Ah, I can use the appraisal skill.

Zunana Grass Extract

Description: Extracted from Zunana grass using alcohol.

Contains about 5% alcohol and 82% water.

It seems to be complete.

The distillation of alcohol wasn’t perfect, so there’s a lot of water.

"Alright, it should work. What other ingredients do we need?"

"It depends on the type of potion."

The most demanding would be a health potion.

After all, the effectiveness of the medicine directly affects life.

"For health."

"I’m not a professional alchemist, but I remember that mixing charred monster meat should work."

"Got it."

With that, the production of the new potion continued, and another hour later.

The ingredients were added and mixed, and a potion-like substance of about 100 milliliters was completed.

I used the appraisal skill.

Health Potion

Description: Restores 80 health points. After use, the effect of similar potions will not work for about 30 minutes. Contains the maximum dose of 2 servings.

80?

I have nearly 1000 HP, but a normal person has about 30 HP, and an adventurer has about 100 HP.

...Resurrection?

No, that’s probably impossible if you’re already dead.

"Wow, I’ve created something terrifying..."

"What’s wrong?"

"I can sort of tell the effect of the potion, and it seems to be able to revive a person on the brink of death."

"What is that incredible ability... No, I mean, what about the potion, not your ability, Kaede-san. Is it really that powerful?"

"Probably. If we had a test subject, it would be easier to confirm."

We can’t intentionally injure someone or make them a test subject, and there’s no way to prove it.

"We could go to the healing institute, where there might be a chance..."

"Are you going to say, 'I made a new drug, can you be a test subject?'"

"There are people who are going to die anyway. If there’s a chance, it would be a mutual benefit, even if it’s a gamble. Health potions also work to some extent for diseases."

It sounds like a clinical trial.

Well, the appraisal skill is unlikely to be wrong, and if it works, that would be great.

"Let’s try, even if it’s a long shot..."

I thought there wouldn’t be a suitable patient, but when I went to the healing institute, there was one.

"Are you sure? There’s a risk of immediate death."

"Yes, I won’t survive anyway. If I stay alive, I’ll only burden my family. This is a chance to either die or recover. It’s the best option."

When I told the story to the healing institute, a patient stepped forward.

He was a thin man in his 30s.

He was once a skilled adventurer but was unfortunately hit by a goblin’s arrow in the knee, which led to an illness.

He can no longer walk, and his family is struggling to make ends meet. His HP was 21/96, almost perfect.

"Understood. Here, take this."

Mercia handed the man half of the potion she had prepared.

"Alright, let’s do it."

The man drank the potion in one go.

"Ughhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh