Chapter 30

Hello from inside the tent. It's already night, isn't it? I'm Herman. By the way, I'm having dinner right now. The number of tents has temporarily decreased by about 40%, but I expect it to not only return to normal by tomorrow but also increase. ...It will probably exceed the limit and become dangerous in all directions. We can't help using fire to cook. It's already dangerous enough with zombie-like adventurers walking around such a hazardous area. Well, there will probably be a fire. I'll have to be careful not to become a crematorium.

So, it's night. I accidentally pulled an all-nighter, so I'm going to take my time gathering materials. ...There seem to be other gatherers in the tent area, and some are even entering the forest at night. ...Impressive. The Moonlight Mushrooms and Full Moon Mushrooms only grow at night, so they must be targeting these. ...There might be some who are just imitating other adventurers, but I've confirmed that a considerable number of adventurers enter during the day. Since the items that can be gathered during the day and at night are the same, or rather, can only be sold at the same price, the adventurers who gather during the day are probably doing so. Even if you gather Moonlight Mushrooms or Full Moon Mushrooms, the quality will decrease if they are not stored in a properly clean water-filled preservation bottle.

Even with a preservation bottle, some degradation can be prevented, but it's not perfect. I can't help but think that people in the past observed materials very carefully. It's thanks to the people who have studied for a long time that we have records. We should be grateful and make good use of them. ...By the way, it's a half-moon tonight. Since the full moon only comes once a month on the 30th, the adventurers who know the moon phases and live in Nera Town might find Full Moon Mushrooms immediately.

At least, I've decided to stay in this village for three years, except in winter. I'm thinking of aiming for a bottle full of 10 Full Moon Mushrooms. ...If I can gather a lot, that would be great, but I don't know if I can gather that much. The encyclopedia only says they can only be gathered on full moon nights, so I don't know how rare they are. As for their uses, the information is that they are ingredients for the "Supreme Potion" and that they have very strong light and dark attributes.

By the way, there are currently five levels of recovery potions. They are: Beginner Potion, Intermediate Potion, Advanced Potion, Supreme Potion, and Supreme Potion. Incidentally, the Supreme Potion is said to even heal missing limbs. It's a miraculous drug that will satisfy all five senses just by drinking it. Apparently, even the Supreme Potion can heal small missing parts like fingers. The naming of the Supreme Potion to create something above the Supreme Potion is quite impressive. I don't think there will be a potion with a higher effect, but what would be above the Supreme Potion?

While we're on the topic of potions, potions also recover magic power. However, there are also magic recovery potions. These only recover magic power without healing any wounds. The effects of recovery potions do not change depending on the maker, but the effects of magic recovery potions do. However, the amount of magic power recovered by recovery potions also varies. The amount of ingredients and the number of talent stars are related, so magic users often trade with reliable alchemists. You don't need a potion that recovers more magic power than you have. It's said that a potion that recovers about 80% of your magic power is the best, financially. Magic recovery potions are expensive. I don't know the exact recovery amount, but they start at two small gold coins. The cost is from five medium silver coins. Ten Magic Mushrooms are the basic ingredients. Well, I think it's expensive for magic users heading into the magic realm, but I think it's expensive. ...Well, it's probably absolutely necessary, but if you can't achieve more than two small gold coins' worth of results, it will be a loss, so the number of buyers will be limited.

While talking about such things, it's time for night gathering. Thanks to the all-night glasses, I have almost the same field of vision as during the day, so I can say I have a considerable advantage. I observed the people who go gathering at night, but none of them were wearing glasses. The forest at night is hard to see, so they are really at a disadvantage for not knowing about alchemy items. I don't think they can distinguish between Full Moon Mushrooms and Moonlight Mushrooms. They might even get confused with other mushrooms. If they accidentally soak Starlight Mushrooms in water, the value as a material will decrease. It's really a waste. But it doesn't seem like all-night glasses are widely used, which is strange. The Adventurer's Guild should provide such services. ...Maybe the receptionist at the Adventurer's Guild doesn't know about them. If they knew, they wouldn't keep quiet. Adventurers rarely visit the Alchemy Guild, only when they come to sell materials. It's strange that people who deliver materials don't know about alchemy items, but they probably do. I don't know why they are withholding the information.

It's still early in the night, so the Moonlight Mushrooms probably haven't started growing yet. I've only been searching for about 30 minutes, but I haven't found any Moonlight Mushrooms. There are plenty of Magic Mushrooms, Whirlwind Mushrooms, Skywind Mushrooms, and Starlight Mushrooms, so I'm gratefully gathering them, but I can't find the main target. I check the magic clock. ...It should be in the time considered night. It's the first day, so I'll go a bit deeper. This is also an advantage of having a Directional Magic Stone Necklace, and there's no loss in using it. I'll go deeper and deeper.

By the way, what kind of幻獣 (phantom beasts) are there here? I don't intend to become a phantom beast hunter, so I don't need to find them, but it would be nice if some information about a big catch like the Marmatelno Rof or Tartarandran just fell into my lap. Well, I didn't see any wild phantom beasts in the Campano Forest, and in the York Forest, I only saw the Marmatelno Rof that Judy keeps. Finding a wild Tartarandran was just lucky. If it were that easy to find, other phantom alchemists wouldn't be struggling.

I've gone quite deep, and I finally found the first Moonlight Mushroom. I'll make this area my base and gather around here. I don't know if it just started growing or if I just missed it, but since the environment is the same, it's good to search around here. I'll settle in and continue gathering, hoping to gather a lot.

It's time to greet the sunrise. I should head out of the forest soon. The Moonlight Mushrooms have retreated. Yes, I observed the Moonlight Mushrooms I found near dawn, timing it with the magic clock. I found a fair number of Moonlight Mushrooms. I thought they might only grow one per day, but there are more than I expected. I found 30 today. I'm glad I didn't have to gather them with bloodshot eyes. So, when I thought it was close to morning, I wondered what would happen if I left the Moonlight Mushrooms that can only be gathered at night. The result was that they retreated. They retreated as if the VTR of mushrooms growing was rewound. The magic clock was definitely pointing to the boundary between night and morning. The mushrooms that retreat at dawn are mysterious, but the magic clock is also quite mysterious. It's very helpful that the time doesn't go wrong, and now I know when the mushrooms retreat. The time they start growing might vary, but knowing when they can no longer be gathered is a big deal. It tells me when to stop.

So, that's it for today. I'll go back slowly and have breakfast. Then I'll sleep. I successfully reversed my day and night, but from now on, I'll be walking under the moon. ...Well, the moon is not visible because of the forest. But it's bad not to go to the toilet during the day. The adventurer's code of conduct doesn't mention lending toilets at night, but it's a complete breach of etiquette. I have to adjust to the daytime people even though I'm active at night. ...It's quite troublesome, but there's no choice. And this time, I can't pay in advance. With this number of adventurers, there's a limit to how many can be identified. I'll pay for the toilet each time. I'll head back to my tent, thinking it's troublesome.

Whether you found it interesting or not, I don't mind.

I would be grateful if you could include an evaluation.

If you could point out any issues in your comments,

I think I can reflect them in my writing.

...Probably.