Chapter 237: Zen Halvar!
The walk to the old lumber warehouse didn’t took long, just a couple of minutes, but the transformation of the building was already incredibly apparent.
I pushed open the heavy wooden double doors, stepping out of the bright sunlight and into the cool, cavernous interior.
The sharp scent of fresh-cut pine had been completely overpowered by the pungent, earthy aroma of simmering medicinal herbs and crushed roots.
The vast, open floor plan had been completely repurposed for the mass production of the potions.
Long, sturdy wooden tables were lined up in neat rows, covered in newly purchased glass beakers, brass scales, and heavy stone mortars.
About a dozen villagers of various ages, though mostly female, were standing at the stations, carefully measuring out powdered herbs and stirring small cauldrons with deep, intense concentration.
At the very front of the room, standing behind a large demonstration table, was Tessa.
She had her sleeves rolled up and her brown hair tied back, expertly guiding a younger villager through the stabilization process of what it looked like to be a minor health potion.
And standing right next to her, clumsily but enthusiastically grinding a bowl of dried roots with a pestle, was Zen.
The village chief looked entirely different.
The weary, underlying grayness of old age and the sickness, that had clung to his skin for years was completely gone.
His posture was perfectly straight, his chest broad, and a vibrant, roaring vitality seemed to practically radiate from his skin.
Tessa looked up from her cauldron, her eyes immediately locking onto me. The strict focus of a teacher instantly melted away.
"Jin!" she called out, quickly wiping her hands on a cloth as she hurried around the table. She just stopped a few feet away, her eyes scanning me from head to toe.
"Are you okay? You shouldn’t be out of bed yet."
I nodded, offering her an easy smile.
"I’m fine, really. Though it looks like you have everything completely under control here without me."
She giggled, a faint dusting of pink crossing her cheeks.
"Of course, you think I couldn’t do it?"
And then reached out, lightly grabbing my sleeve.
"Though come and help me, idiot. They have a lot of questions about the mana-infusion stage, and my knowledge isn’t quite as good as yours yet."
I let her pull me toward the front table. Scarlet let out a loud, dramatic sigh behind us, wandering off to find an empty crate to sit on. And watch the process with barely concealed curious eyes.
We stopped next to the village Chief, and I looked at him, picking up a spare stirring rod.
"You’re looking good, Chief Zen."
Zen dropped his pestle and turned to me. A massive, roaring grin split his weathered face.
"Good? I feel like I’m twenty years old again!"
He raised his massive hand and clapped me on the shoulder.
WHACK!
"Gah—!" I violently winced, my knees actually buckling for a fraction of a second.
The sheer kinetic force behind his casual pat felt like being hit by a runaway carriage. My freshly healed ribs screamed in protest.
Zen laughed, a deep, booming sound that rattled the empty glass beakers on the tables.
"I still don’t know what kind of impossible miracle you pulled in that study, boy. But I can feel my mana again. It’s perfectly whole. Not even the highest priests in the capital could fix what you did in five minutes!"
The booming declaration echoed through the warehouse.
Every single villager at the workstations stopped what they were doing.
They all turned to look at me, their eyes completely wide with absolute, unfiltered awe and admiration.
The kid who had fought the beast wave was now the miracle worker who had cured their legendary Chief.
I instantly felt the heat rush to my face. I grabbed a handful of herbs and aggressively shoved them into a mortar, keeping my eyes glued to the table.
Gods, this is so incredibly embarrassing, I thought, my internal self was groaning.
Just do your damn work. Please stop looking at me like I’m the second coming of the Founder.
Tessa leaned over the table, bumping her shoulder gently against mine. Her expression suddenly shifted, her brow furrowing into a fierce, highly protective scowl.
"You know," Tessa hissed, keeping her voice low so the others wouldn’t hear. "Grandpa said yesterday, while you were unconscious, some bitch came around the village with a squad of heavily armed guards. She was looking for you, claiming she was a close ’acquaintance’."
I paused my grinding, blinking in absolute confusion.
"What? An acquaintance?"
My mind raced.
Who would be looking for me out here?
The Duke’s men were bounty hunters, not women claiming to know me. The Raith family wouldn’t send a woman to fetch me. I didn’t have any acquaintances in this world who fit that description.
Tessa waved her hand dismissively, her nose scrunching up in distaste.
"I know. Grandpa caught her in a lie almost immediately. Though you know, he scared the absolute shit out of her and her little guards, and told them to never set foot near Oakmere again."
Zen puffed his massive chest out, casually flexing a bicep that looked like it belonged on a professional heavyweight brawler, not an elderly village chief while flashing a terrifying, deeply predatory grin.
"Let’s just say they realized this border village isn’t a place for soft capital dwellers to go throwing their tantrum around."
I stared at Zen’s flexing arm, my curiosity suddenly spiking.
If he had scared off a squad of elite guards that easily, just how strong was his restored mana core?
I hadn’t checked his baseline stats before I passed out.
I narrowed my eyes slightly, focusing my intent.
Debug Vision.
A translucent blue panel flickered to life in my retinas, hovering directly over the village chief. I waited for the text to populate, expecting to see his class and level.
Instead, the panel violently violently glitched, flashing bright red.
[Error: Host rank too low!]