The mother in law gifts me a mountain for a new beginning - Chapter 21

Chapter 21 Three Potions a Day! The Secret of Magic is to Burn Money!

Lucy thought about it for a while, and commented on the issue.

“I will send someone to inquire how many people will be participating in the evaluation this winter. We have to prepare in advance.”

Lynn cupped his chin and recalled what he read in a book.

“Usually, the winter segment was expected to have the most participation. This was because there was nothing to do in their respective territories, so nobles would try it out. There would be as many as  thousands.”

“So many people?!” Lucy exclaimed in surprise. Lynn was also surprised, but for a different reason.

“You have been studying at the academy in Kyle city for such a long time, and yet you did not even know this?”

Lucy coughed and looked elsewhere. The cute girl got past the inquiry.

“I am going to investigate the amount of people. Do I need to buy you some magic test stones? I also need to prepare a good carriage for you. There are a lot of things, so I am busy.’ Once she finished speaking, she turned and left.

Lynn smiled as she went. Lucy probably used all of her talents on her personality and appearance. Even though her results were not the worst, when compared to Lynn who was the best in the year, the gap was not insignificant. Unlike Lynn, she had trouble remembering specific details but that was rather normal.

Lynn went downstairs with Lucy and looked at the civilians in the territory who had fallen on their knees. He shared the news that he had become a magician and let them get to work. To become a magician was a dream for countless people, but for Lynn it was only the first step. It was not worthy of joy. Lynn did not rely on the System as he continued to pursue his own power.  Buno walked over to Lynn and reported something to him.

“The gathering of the wild grapes has been completed. The fourteen barrels are now full. Also, the cellar has been dug and the bricks have been laid. We are ready to brew.”

Lynn took Lucy to see the new cellar. It was about three meters deep with a large hollowed out area. There was enough room to store the wine and more supplies. The cellar should be moisture proof and have a solid support as Lynn had used all of the stone bricks he had collected.

It seemed unwise to postpone the construction of the village’s wall to use the stone for the cellar. However, a cellar that was built with stone was very effective. It would ensure that the wine would not deteriorate as the room would not be too humid. More importantly, the stone cellar was safer for usage over a longer duration. In the long run, it would cost less than to use clay.

There were two vents in the cellar which were generally closed, but were opened in advance if someone was visiting. Before a person went down, they had to make sure a torch could be lit in the cellar in order to make sure there was enough oxygen to breathe.

Lynn checked the condition of the cellar and felt very satisfied. It was strong, sturdy, and decent. It was already the most magnificent part of the village. Once Lynn exited the cellar, he asked his entourage to start cleaning up the wild grapes.

“If the grapes are not very dirty, then wipe them. They do not need to be completely clear, and do not remove the hoarfrost¹.”

The completely matured wild grapes would be used for winemaking as they could produce a higher quality of pure wine. The higher quality would be more suitable for nobles. After looking at the cellar, Lynn looked at the wheat field once more.

He stared at a circle in the green field, and noticed that there were already seeds of wheat growing. They grew faster than he had imagined as the harvest was expected to be in about a month. There was no need to rush things for winter as the plant could grow normally in that season. Although, the temperature may affect the final yield. The wheat gave Lynn a lot of confidence, nonetheless. After all, the increased harvest would easily support the village’s population.

The expansion of Fenglin Village was also underway, but the progress was moving relatively slowly. There were only a hundred villagers and though the elderly and children were also working, they were taking care of the farmland, collecting grapes, feeding livestock, and building cellars and houses. Having to participate in so many different activities, they were nearing their limits.

Lynn was not in a hurry. After he patrolled the territory, Lynn rewarded his followers with a catty of monster meat, and gave his half-beast army jerky too. Lucy and Lynn then had a relaxing dinner. Afterwards, Lynn took a flame mushroom and went to the study again to meditate. His magic power was not strong enough right now. He had absolute confidence that he could win first place at the assessment. The confidence came from the knowledge that he was better than the nobles who played and learned magic. He instead worked hard to amass his strength.

The flame mushrooms began to mature, and after they did so it would take a month for the magic power to be lost. Lynn planned to eat all of the ninety seven mushrooms this month, meaning that he would have to consume an average of three potions a day. That was about one hundred and fifty silver coins a day, or one and a half gold coins.

In order for a magician to grow, they would have to burn through money. Lynn ate the second flame mushroom, and felt the rapid increase in magical power. Once he had mastered his magic, he felt that his growth had become much faster.

The absorption and digestion of potions improved the rate a lot. The growth of a magician was simple: they measured it by the amount of magical power they consumed. The greater the power, the more lethal the magic would become.

The magic test stone that Lucy wanted to buy Lynn was an equipment used for testing the amount of power a magician had. Mages who had mastered magic generally had up to one hundred points. Lynn would be less because he had many years where he did not accumulate his strength. It was only at fifty points.

Due to this it was difficult for Lynn to master magic. The less power one had, the harder it was to master it. The increase of difficulty compared to Linze was four or five times greater, yet Lynn achieved it. Once he mastered his magic, his mana grew at an increasing rate.

A flame mushroom had the ability to increase his mana by more than ten points. Even though Lynn started late he had a large stock of potions, so he could catch up posthaste.  After he finished the second potion, he ate a third one in the middle of the night. Lynn actually did not want to eat another that day, as the mushrooms were larger than normal ones. They also had to be eaten raw for better results.

Eating too much was really nauseating, but there was no other option. There were over ninety potions left sitting in the warehouse, causing Lynn to eat them when he could.