Chapter 107: Hot Spring Mountain Tea
[Strength]: 15.4
[Spirit]: 3.2
These were Duane’s Attribute distributions after he allocated all his points.
The 0.2 increase to his Spirit Attribute was from his breakthrough, double the amount from the previous two times.
After breaking through to become an Advanced Warrior, Duane felt he could cover his entire body with Fighting Qi in the span of a single breath.
The amount of Fighting Qi lost in the process could now be controlled to just twenty or thirty percent.
’My Strength has been enhanced too!’
A newly-minted Middle Level Warrior could swing a hundred-jin object at will; now, the weight he could swing had increased by at least three to four times.
’With my current Strength, I should be able to wield the Storm Greatsword and the Profound Iron Shield now.’
These were the weapons and equipment he had brought from Lakefront Manor, which he had been unable to use before due to his insufficient power and Strength.
Now that Duane could equip them, combined with the refined control over his Fighting Qi from his Level breakthrough, his combat prowess would be greatly enhanced.
Under his command, he currently had three Advanced Warriors: Raymond, Simone, and Gaius, all of whom were at their peak.
In terms of strength, Simone would probably rank first, Raymond second, and Gaius third.
Duane made a mental assessment. ’Even though my power has improved greatly and my techniques are advanced, if I only consider explosive Strength and physical fortitude, I’m probably still a bit weaker than Gaius.’
’But this weakness is definitely temporary. I’m sure it won’t be long before I can catch up and surpass him.’
’I won’t need such a large escort when I go out in the future either.’
"My lord, is something wrong?" Kaelon asked, a little puzzled when he saw the Baron just smiling without saying a word.
Duane snapped out of it. "It’s nothing. I was just thinking about something pleasant."
A mountain breeze blew past, and he lifted his head to look northeast.
From here, one could see the peak that rose from the center of the Hot Spring Mountain Range.
It was a good deal shorter than Heavenly Mountain in the middle of Black Forest Island, and it didn’t seem to have much vegetation. From a distance, it looked like a stone mountain, hence its name, Rock Mountain.
However, just as no one on Black Forest Island had ever summited Heavenly Mountain, no one had ever reached the peak of Rock Mountain either.
’I wonder where the rumor about an active volcano in the Hot Spring Mountain Range came from.’
"Do you remember that drawing of ’Red Sun Grass’ I made a while ago?"
Kaelon nodded. "The one you gave to Ronald, right? I heard it’s a type of herb."
Duane nodded. "It’s called Red Sun Grass. It can be used to improve the Fire Source Beast Bone Soup, allowing even Mid and High-level Warriors to gain a certain boost after drinking it."
As he said this, he glanced at Simone, who was standing to the side.
"We now have several Advanced Peak Warriors here. If we can find Red Sun Grass, it might help them break through to the Human Tier."
Simone’s eyes lit up. His power had been stuck at the Peak of the Advanced level for a very long time.
If he could break through, nothing would be better.
Pursuing greater strength was the dream of most Warriors. For Simone, he wanted to find Vera’s mother, and that was only possible with greater strength.
"Baron, is the Red Sun Grass you mentioned in the Hot Spring Mountain Range?"
Duane shook his head. "That I don’t know. But Red Sun Grass likes to grow in warm environments. Compared to other places on the island, the probability of finding it in the Hot Spring Mountain Range is obviously much higher."
"I’ll lead a team to relieve Gaius in a few days. I’ll search the vicinity carefully then."
Duane nodded. "You can also have others keep an eye out. If you’re lucky enough to find any, remember to leave a few live plants so we can see if they can be artificially cultivated."
"I’ll remember that!"
"By the way, if you’re taking over the post, what about Vera?" Duane asked.
The three-year-old was the apple of Simone’s eye. Although Duane’s question was casual, it let his subordinate feel his concern as a leader.
Simone smiled. "Thank you for your concern, my lord. I’ve already hired a servant. Someone will take care of her."
"That’s good! Remember to tell Little Vera that if she needs help, she can find Willie, or Jack and the others from the Police Department."
"Thank you for your concern!"
Simone thanked him again, feeling even more that escaping Daniels’s control had been the right decision.
At least his life now was much more stable than before, and he no longer had to worry that something might happen to Vera while he was away.
At the very least, the Baron’s style of doing things and his way of managing the Territory were completely different from the Holy Hand Association and the Broken Wave Gang.
This place had the potential to become a world of order and stability.
The three of them found a long pole, tied the wild boar to it, and carried it back to the mining site before starting their journey back.
Although the purpose of today’s outing was to inspect the iron mine’s production, they had encountered quite a few things, and Duane’s own gains were not small.
When they returned to the Lord’s Villa, Owington and the others had already arrived.
As Jasmine helped him remove his Light Armor and change into casual clothes, Owington brought over the tea leaves they had picked.
"Why are there so many?"
Duane found it a little strange; those few tea bushes shouldn’t have yielded this many leaves.
"On our way back, we searched in the mountains and happened to find a lot more, so we picked them all. We just weighed them, and it’s about one jin."
It seemed there was a considerable number of wild tea bushes in the mountains.
"Well done!"
Duane offered a word of praise, then rolled up his sleeves and said, "Come on, let’s take these to the kitchen. I’ll make the tea."
This was a term they had never heard before. Puzzled and curious, they followed the Baron into the kitchen once again.
Come to think of it, the Baron had been going into the kitchen far less often recently.
Before he transmigrated, Duane had processed tea leaves before. Back then, conditions were tough, and living alone with nothing better to do, he had picked some wild tea to process and drink himself, so he had a basic understanding of the steps.
Although he didn’t have a dedicated iron wok for a wood-fired stove, nor tools like a main brush, a long-handled wooden spatula, or bamboo platters, he would just have to simplify things. The important part was to get it done.
He washed and preheated the iron wok until it was scorching hot and slightly red. Duane tossed in three or four handfuls of the picked tea leaves and began to roast them, using a clean wooden board to stir them around.
He had barely tossed them a few times when a line of text appeared before his eyes.
[You have begun making Hot Spring Mountain Tea. Skill Level +3]
The corners of Duane’s mouth turned up. A Skill had indeed been triggered.
What surprised him, however, was that it hadn’t unlocked a new Basic Skill. Instead, Hot Spring Mountain Tea had opened up a new category: [Magic Potion Study].
’Tea is an herb?’
The question immediately flashed through Duane’s mind.
Tea is an antioxidant, can prevent cardiovascular diseases, and has functions like clearing heat and detoxifying, promoting fluid production to quench thirst, and acting as a diuretic and calming agent.
’It seems classifying it as an herb isn’t entirely unreasonable, is it?’
The next moment, Duane realized something else.
He already had the "Basic Herbs" Skill in his Basic Skills tab, which was currently at the Initial stage.
But now, Hot Spring Mountain Tea had appeared under the [Magic Potion Study] category. Didn’t that mean this tea was an Extraordinary-grade tea?
’This is an unexpectedly huge gain!’
Energized, Duane roasted the leaves with extra vigor, sometimes even using his hands to shake and toss them when he got impatient.
When the leaves became soft and the grassy smell had mostly disappeared, Duane figured the "kill-green" step was complete. He scooped them out and placed them on a board, repeatedly kneading them.
"Is the linen cloth frame ready?" Duane asked.
"Ready, ready!" Owington quickly replied.
He and Jasmine tied the four corners of the linen cloth to a surrounding frame, stretching it out flat like a hammock.
Beneath the cloth, they placed a charcoal brazier, which was for drying the tea leaves.
The next step was to turn the leaves every ten minutes or so, until their moisture content was reduced to the point where they could be crushed into powder by hand.
If it weren’t for the need to gain enough Skill Level points, Duane really would have wanted to hand over this hours-long process to Owington and Jasmine.
But there was no choice. To break through the Initial stage, he needed to pull this all-nighter.
Dawn broke, and the rooster crowed.
Duane yawned. Even as an Advanced Warrior, he still needed to sleep every day.
At that moment, a faint tea aroma wafted around his nose.
Duane picked up a dried tea leaf and crumbled it between his fingers. It seemed about right.
"Bring some boiling water and cups."
Duane brewed a cup for himself. He took a small sip, and the taste made him frown, but he could at least make out some tea flavor.
"My lord, is it good?" Owington asked, very curious.
Duane pursed his lips. "You can get a cup and try it yourself."
Owington and Jasmine were quite familiar with Duane by now, so after receiving permission, they took cups and tried it. Both of them frowned slightly.
’A little bitter, and is that... a hint of burnt taste?’
Duane asked, "How is it?"
Owington’s expression brightened. "It’s delicious!"
Jasmine also chimed in quietly in agreement.
’Are you kidding? How could we say something the Baron stayed up all night to make isn’t good?’
Duane chuckled, not pointing out their lie. "The drying process was a little off."
He waited another twenty minutes or so, turning the leaves twice more.
[Hot Spring Mountain Tea Skill Level has broken through. Entry (0/200)]
[Attribute points +0.1]
That must have meant the drying was complete. Duane tried it again, but to be honest, the taste hadn’t changed much.
However, the Skill Level breakthrough had supplemented his knowledge of tea-making.
"The two of you, spread out the remaining fresh leaves and let them wither naturally. Turn them once every two hours."
Duane explained the details he hadn’t paid attention to before. He believed that with this improvement, the results of the next batch of tea wouldn’t be as bad as this one.