Chapter 23: Magic Fruit

“I also don’t want to use this, Master Lucas, but you also know that if those Magic beasts have decided to attack us. They would first send their lowest minions to tire us all out before their leader made its move and I hope that I won’t have the need for it either. But those roars are very close to us. It also means that danger is near. Something like this could greatly help me to buy more time if people need to leave the city.” Michael seriously said as he showed me the bottle of potion containing the golden liquid.

“You do really fit the description of a classic knight. A person who is willing to sacrifice himself for the sake of other people. Though I admire your courage, I also think you’re a fool. Even if you did all of that, how much time can you give them before those people managed to live the city on foot? The nearest human settlement would take them a week to reach by that time. I don’t think anyone could make it out alive in this area. We are surrounded at all places and only have one way to go and that place is also alongside that dreaded forest.” I said seriously.

“If worse comes to worst, I’m willing to risk it all and activate the magic formation in the basement of the mansion even if other people know about it. Our chances for survival are much higher than depending all our safety to the soldiers and walls.” I said as I weakly followed him outside the room.

Upon exiting my room, I found out that most of our staff and servants had fallen on the floor except for one person, Gaspar. Although he looks weaker than normal, he can still walk around the place as if nothing has happened.

And for the old butler James, although he is already past his prime, he can still sit weakly on the chair.

“Young Master, it’s terrible. Those roars have affected everyone living in the city and all our staff is now weakly lying on the floor. I’m afraid that with their current condition, they can’t assist you at all.” Gaspar said excitedly while helping out the others by placing them in a comfortable position.

“I already know about that but what I want to know is how were you able to resist the influence of a powerful magic beast?” I intriguingly ask him.

“I don’t know young master, I just didn’t feel that much pressure at all. I just saw all of them lying weakly on the floor. That’s how I found out that everyone around except me can feel it.” Gaspar said timidly.

“That’s impossible! Everyone feels the heavy pressure pressing on their body and soul, but not you?”

“Maybe it’s because I have a stronger stomach and heart than them. In the past month alone I have visited the doctor several times for consuming wild things in the enchanted forest.” He said defensively.

“Wait, you’ve come to the enchanted forest alone just to eat?” I said in surprise.

“Yes, yes but I didn’t do anything at all, I just picked up several weird plants and fruits that I could see to include them in my recipe.” He said quickly.

“But father have strictly forbidden to go there after the earthquake hit. All the creatures inside that forest are agitated. We don’t want to make them madder for a reason.” I said angrily, he dared break the rules that father have set to keep everyone safe, and yet he was willing to risk it for his desire to find new ingredients.

“But the Magic beasts inside the forest haven’t paid attention to me at all us long as I gave them an offering. I often shared some of my new dish to them and it was always emptied by one of the Magic Beasts. They always followed him as a leader.”

“You’ve been feeding them. Are you out of your mind? Gaspar, those are magic beasts. They can gnaw you to the bones in a matter of seconds.” I said while staring at him unbelievably.

“But Master Lucas, that Magic beast likes what I made. It always comes to me to eat all my food and, at the same time, it allows me to pick up anything I want and even guarded me the entire time I am inside.” he reasoned out.

“You have gone nuts, Gaspar, just for new ingredients you are willing to risk your life. We already have a lot of it here in the city. We have plenty of variety of edible plants. We no longer need to venture outside to look out for more. I already stopped it, didn’t I.” I said to him since the expansion of our farmland, I ordered the knights to bring us some samples of plants from the edge of the enchanted forest. At that time, the situation wasn’t that serious at all and those ventures were proven to be successful.

Although we have discovered a lot of edible plants in the enchanted forest, we also found out how dangerous that place is. Every time they brought something back from that place, we always made sure to try it out all in the animals first and it was proven to be the right decision. As more than half of what they gather from that place can’t be used for human consumption at all.

Most of the plants and fruits they brought back, although they looked normal on the surface once it was eaten, might result in certain death and hundreds of experimental animals that looked like a cat-sized squirrel were sacrificed in order to hunt for the perfect plant that was safe to consume.

Those cat-size squirrels are called as Gamster. They are considered as pests here in the Florentine city. They always eat and destroy the crops that farmers work for at the same time. They also don’t have fur on their bodies and only their tail have fur.

“But we don’t have anything like this.” I was brought back to reality when Gaspar suddenly handed me a type of fruit that had a certain familiar aura to me.

“A magic fruit it allows you to pick up a magic fruit?” I asked in shock.

“That’s right and it also brings me other magic fruit as well. In fact, I have eaten a lot of it?” He boasted.

“YOU WHAT?” I loudly asked in shock.

Magic fruits are one of the known rare resources here on the continent of Vreachland a lot of people are clamoring to buy just one of this but it was always in a short supply.

Although it was known that the enchanted forest has plenty of magical resources. Only a small number of people have tried to venture inside of it. Since a quarter of the entire continent is occupied by the enchanted forest itself, it is understandable why this place is thriving in wealth without the presence of humans to plunder all of these magical plants have grown in this forest freely without any intervention.

But beware, as all magical plants have their own guardian, usually the lord of magic beasts in that area guarding the plant for the magical fruit.

Magic fruit are known for its role as a tonic for everyone it can greatly help someone who is stuck at his level to breakthrough to the next rank even, magic beasts themselves love eating it.

That’s why it is very popular for anyone, whether a wizard or knight. It is also known that magic fruits are capable of prolonging the life of a mortal, so they are also highly sought by kings and queens of every kingdom.

“Is there a problem with this fruit, Master Lucas?” asked by Gaspar in a confused voice.

Although magic fruit is highly sought after by people, it was not popular for ordinary civilians as something that can rarely be seen on the market. Much more, this kind of product is often sold in places for the nobility or special market that ordinary people can’t enter.

“Yes there is. How are you still alive?” I ask in a bewildered voice.

Man, this cook sure does have a lot of surprises. At first he managed to make the most horrible food culture I have ever seen in my life and now he’s telling me that he befriended a magic beast.

“What do you mean Master Lucas, do you want me to die?” he asked with a voice filled with fear.

“NO!” I can’t help but shout.

“God damn, Gaspar, no ordinary human should be able to survive consuming a magical fruit without processing it first. Even the king and queen must find a good potion master before they can eat this.” I said as I angrily held the magic fruit in front of his face.

“But Master Lucas, I did feel something when I first ate this fruit. My entire body felt so warm and comfortable so I ate more. Even that magic beast gave me a strange look when he saw me eat it and he also brought me a lot more of this and this also this.” He said as he presented to me 3 more different magic fruits with different shapes and colors.

“How did you even manage to take this out from that place? And how many do you have?”

“Not a lot. I’ve already eaten most of it. Currently, I only have a small bag of it.” He said as he pointed at the small bag in the corner.

“Wait……what………what?”

“A-All o-of this is m-ma-magic fru-fruit.?” I said while stammering.

You must know that a piece of magic fruit alone would cost thousands of gold coins to acquire, but here we have our cook with an entire bag of it.

“How … when did you even brought that here?” I said as I slowly walked towards it and opened it slowly with my shaking hands.

This is the first time I have got excited about anything here in this world. You should know that it takes us years before we even got one of these from that forest, but here in front of me is an entire bag of it.

“This is incredible. Such a huge amount of magic fruit is enough for us to make another army of junior-rank knights. If we can process all of this I’m sure father would be glad.” I said this because, as a city of soldiers, a lot of people actually qualify to be a knight, but due to limited resources, their chance for breakthrough is small and limited.

“MAGIC FRUIT. ALL OF THESE ARE MAGIC FRUIT,” said by the shocked Michael, as he quickly walked towards me and violently pulled the bag.

I almost forgot that Michael was standing there when Gaspar pull out a magic fruit on his pocket and, since the time he has seen it his eyes, had never let it go. He watched everything happening in front of his eyes with a slack jaw.

For a junior rank knight, magic fruit is a huge temptation for us. One piece of this fruit can be made into several vials of potion depending on how talented the potion master is, but it is also a huge fact that potions made from magic fruit have fewer side effects compared to others. At the same time, potions made from this can greatly speed up our progress in increasing our powers.

“Never mind that, Michael, we have more important things to do, and Gaspar, we have a lot of things to talk about after this I’m sure father would also like to know how did this happened, but for now, let’s not waste any more time here. A lot of people are still in shock due to the effect of those powerful roars. Michael, you should go out and check the situation outside while I stay here and help out the other servant.” I said seriously to both of them.

“I can also help you master Lucas, aside from giving me fright I don’t seem to be affected by it terrifying roars.” Gaspar said as he immediately went back to James and assist him to stand up.

“Then I’m going Master Lucas, but please keep this safe for me.” Michael said hurriedly as he handed me the bag of Magic fruit.

I immediately went to my father’s room and hid it in his private drawer. Only two of us have keys to it. We use it to hide some gold coins or important documents. The material for this drawer is made from an unknown metal that, even with the full power of my father, he can only make a narrow gush on its surface using his sword. This is also one of the relics of the first founder of the Beaufort house and, since then, has been passed down to us.