Chapter 47

This is a story about Yūri, who is just a little bit doing some work, or rather, probably using something the wrong way as usual.

In the courtyard of the hideout of "The Crimson Lynx," Yūri was sorting the herbs in baskets. There were four baskets in total, and Yūri was dividing the herbs into two while standing in front of each basket. The four apprentices watched him with serious expressions.

"Alright, I'll announce the results!"

Yūri announced in a casual tone, and the four apprentices nodded. They all had serious looks on their faces. Yūri then slowly opened his mouth, solemnly declaring to the four who seemed to bear some burden.

"First place is Mag, second is Camille. Ulug and Yak are tied for last."

"..."

"Alright!"

"Damn it!"

"Lost again!"

Mag nodded silently and firmly, while Camille pumped his fist with determination. Ulug and Yak, on the other hand, hung their heads and pounded the ground in frustration. It was a truly amusing scene.

What they were doing was a training exercise to find medicinal herbs from a pile of randomly given plants. However, not all of them were medicinal herbs; there were also weeds and poisonous plants. In this case, all the plants used were either medicinal herbs or poisonous plants.

The reason they were doing this was for training in gathering requests. Therefore, there were no ordinary weeds, only common medicinal and poisonous plants. Jake, the instructor, had prepared this, but after setting it up, he retreated to his room, leaving the apprentices to figure it out on their own. He was a troublesome teacher.

However, they didn't start with such a game-like approach from the beginning.

Jake had prepared a large number of sample medicinal and poisonous plants and left a number of field guides for the apprentices to use. They were supposed to check and memorize them on their own. Jake was a bookworm, and with the actual plants and field guides, he was probably content. However, it was too much to ask of teenage boys in their growth years. As expected, they got bored after about half an hour. Despite knowing it was important, boredom was still boredom. Jake, being a bookworm, was probably happy with just the field guides and the plants. But it was too much to ask of the apprentices.

Eventually, they got tired of the boring study and tried to make it more interesting by turning it into a quiz. However, it was still boring.

That's when Yūri, who was passing by and had nothing to do, suggested this game. The idea was to simply distinguish between medicinal and poisonous plants, and to learn the basic differences without worrying about the specific types for now.

So, why was Yūri acting as the judge?

Well, it's obvious. Yūri was just using his ultimate cheat, the "Eye of God," which can identify lies and traps. While it takes time to determine the specific type of plant, it's easy to constantly activate it to detect poison. Yūri was also using this as a way to practice the crisis management abilities of the "Eye of God," which he rarely used. The "Eye of God" can detect lies and traps, and by focusing on the health status of the plants, it can also determine if they are diseased or injured without a detailed inspection. In extreme cases, anything that appears red in his vision is a dangerous situation.

Thus, Yūri, who had no intention of memorizing the types of medicinal or poisonous plants, was simply classifying the plants based on whether they were poisonous or not. The rankings were strictly determined based on this.

"Hey, this is just my personal opinion, but Ulug, isn't this bad?"

"Don't look at me with such a worried face!"

"Ulug is about to become a trainee, right? Gathering requests are the basics for newbies, right?"

"I know that even without you emphasizing it with a serious face!"

"And yet, you're tied with Yak, who has the least experience..."

"Don't look at me with those pitying eyes!"

Ulug shouted at Yūri, who was genuinely worried. Ulug knew it himself. Being tied with Yak, who had the least experience, was not a good sign. Ulug wasn't that stupid and had been learning properly. He had a good grasp of the basics.

For Ulug's honor, it should be noted that Mag, who was in first place, was just weird.

The difference between Camille, Ulug, and Yak was minimal, and their rankings often changed. However, no matter how many times they did it, Mag was always the clear winner. The reason was simple: he had never once chosen a poisonous plant. There was only one pile in front of Mag's basket, and it was all medicinal herbs. His accuracy was astonishing.

"Hey, Mag."

"..."

"If you have any tips, could you share them with everyone?"

"..."

"Tips?"

"Right."

While Ulug was loudly complaining, Camille was teasing him, and Yak was caught in the middle. In contrast, Mag, who had been quietly putting the used plants back into a large basket, tilted his head in response to Yūri's question. Yūri looked at Mag with concern, thinking he might not have any tips.

Mag paused for a moment, then muttered a very heartfelt statement.

"Poisonous plants, if you eat them, you die."

"..."

Everyone thought this was true but somehow off. Ulug couldn't help but say, "That's not what we wanted to know," but Mag just tilted his head, as if that was the only fact he knew. For Mag, it was a simple truth: poisonous plants are deadly, so he memorized them to avoid mistakes. However, this seemed to come from a different world.

Then they remembered that Mag's background was not that of a common farmer or townsman. Yūri and the other apprentices initially thought everyone was from a farming or town background, but Mag was different. He came from the slums of another city, which meant his upbringing and values were different from theirs.

"Poisonous plants, if you don't memorize them, you die."

"Right, that's true. Accidentally eating them is dangerous."

"So, I don't make mistakes."

"Got it... Ulug, what do we do? Mag's method isn't helpful at all."

"Don't ask me..."

They had hoped to find a good example, but Mag's method was not helpful at all. Yūri was disappointed, and Ulug wanted to cry. Mag was exceptional in strange ways. When they heard Mag suggest "memorize by eating," they ignored it, knowing it was a dangerous method. They didn't want to try it, as even a small bite could be fatal.

The others found Mag, who had survived in such a harsh environment, a bit scary. Even though they were aspiring adventurers, the idea of accidentally dying from eating poisonous plants or having to distinguish them at a young age was unimaginable. Compared to Mag, the others had grown up in relatively normal environments. Yack, who came from a rural area, realized that there were always people who had it worse.

"Alright, let's try again and get back on track."

"..."

"I think you can memorize this by doing it repeatedly. Mag is an exception, so we'll leave him alone."

"..."

"Yūri, be honest, Mag can already distinguish poisonous plants, right? Shouldn't he focus on learning the types of medicinal herbs?"

"..."

"I don't know the types of poisonous plants."

"Then, why don't you learn them?"

"..."

"Alone."

Yūri thought Mag, who could already perfectly distinguish between poisonous and medicinal plants, didn't need to participate in the game, but when Mag muttered "alone," everyone stopped. His red eyes, which usually looked confident, now had a lost, puppy-like expression.

"Um, Mag, wouldn't it be better to do it with everyone?"

"..."

"Okay, let's do it together?"

Mag nodded, and Ulug groaned, looking up at the sky. Camille looked away, and Yack blinked repeatedly, as if he had seen something he shouldn't. Yūri, on the other hand, cheerfully said, "Let's do it again," but the others were still recovering.

Mag, who was usually very cautious, seemed to have let his guard down with Yūri. Yūri, who never seemed to be wary of anyone, might have influenced Mag, but Camille stopped thinking about it, finding it too complicated. Ulug found Mag's behavior unsettling, and Yack was trying to focus on the training.

"Yūri, you're really something."

"What? What's wrong, Ulug?"

"Nothing, never mind..."

There were many ways to describe Yūri: his skill in household chores, his calm and cheerful personality, his powerful identification skill, and his collection of magical items. However, none of these seemed to fit the current situation.

"Yūri, maybe you could become a monster tamer?"

"Camille, what's that about?"

"Well, I just thought Yūri could tame even wild beasts."

"I don't think I can make animals like me."

Yūri tilted his head in confusion, and Camille didn't say anything more, but he was thinking, "No, you definitely can tame wild beasts and monsters!" Mag, who was usually very cautious, had let his guard down with Yūri. If Yūri could tame Mag, he could probably tame a monster with a little effort.

"Alright, let's start the game!"

With Yūri's call, the four apprentices grabbed their baskets and dove into the pile of plants. They were searching for medicinal herbs, and the game's scoring was based on whether they picked poisonous plants, not the number of medicinal herbs. It was a deduction system, with one point deducted for each poisonous plant.

Despite the playful atmosphere, the apprentices were determined to do their best. In the end, Mag remained in first place and earned an extra snack as a reward.

This is a story about how making studies into a game can make them more enjoyable. It's also a heartwarming story about Yūri and the apprentices. I just noticed that Mag is a bit strange. I look forward to your comments and feedback.