Chapter 003 – Nature's Gift
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"You used the ability 'Insight'——
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From the size and style, it originally belonged to a female or a small male;
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The bloodstains on the clothes have dried up, at least a few days old;
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There is a series of messy footprints leading deeper into the cave, the size is large, definitely not left by goblins or gnolls, the owner of the footprints is more likely to be human, bear goblin, or half-orc..."
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Take note of this information.
Matthew carefully put on gloves and took the blood-stained clothes.
Then he prepared to leave.
The terrain of the underground cave is extremely complex, not something that a small Necromancer like him can explore alone.
Although the Bone Dragon is powerful.
Its size is not suitable.
The passage in front of Matthew can barely accommodate two people.
Little Phi definitely cannot squeeze through.
In addition, it happened a few days ago.
Matthew believed that handing over the blood-stained clothes to the security office was the best choice - the Blood Flag Family is one of the few noble families that highly values the security of their territory, which is well-known among the major human kingdoms.
If someone has really gone missing recently, the security office will not ignore it.
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Leave the cave.
Matthew quickly returned to the town.
Along the way.
He noticed that the main quest had changed.
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"Main Quest: Planting Trees
Progress: Achieved primary goal
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Subsequent Quest 1: Keep up the good work!
Description: Please continue to expand the oak forest planting scale in Rolling Stone Town, with a target of 3000 trees!
Reward: 10 XP/1 surviving oak tree
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Subsequent Quest 2: Maintenance is also important!
Description: A newly grown forest can easily be destroyed by an accident, please make sure to protect your forest
Reward: Different rewards for each successful protection"
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10 experience points for each oak tree?
Matthew's eyes lit up.
Isn't this better than fighting and killing?
Planting trees doesn't have much risk!
As for maintenance.
Matthew didn't pay much attention to it.
Since the disappearance of the goblins, the security in Rolling Stone Town has always been good.
The blood-stained clothes in the cave should be an accident, probably related to those restless adventurers.
"My oak forest is planted on private land, no one should dare to secretly cut down the trees, right?"
Matthew thought to himself.
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Besides the two subsequent quests.
Matthew noticed that he didn't know when a symbol similar to a Tai Chi appeared below the quest bar.
The symbol is divided into left and right, with the same shape on both sides, resembling a transparent uppercase comma.
The difference lies in the color of the flowing dots inside -
The left side is gray, with only a trace of sediment at the bottom for now;
While the right side is green, with a large number of dots swirling inside, already accumulating to about half.
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What is this?
Matthew stared at it for a while.
He found that the green dots were slowly increasing, especially when he passed by the oak forest, the speed of increase seemed to have become faster!
The gray dots on the left hardly moved.
Although it was not indicated in the quest bar.
He guessed that this might be related to the Necromancer and druid professions.
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"What will happen when the dots are full?"
"The green dots are more because I planted many trees?"
"If I summon more undead or use negative energy spells, can it increase the gray dots?"
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Along the way.
Matthew studied with great interest.
But when he was near the town.
The appearance of an unexpected guest interrupted his thoughts.
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"Hehe!"
A laughter similar to that of a human girl sounded.
A faint white light appeared before Matthew's eyes.
He stood firmly.
A thumb-sized, winged, girl-like fairy flew out of the white light.
She enthusiastically circled around Matthew three times, then shook her mini flower basket.
A large bunch of fresh fruits fell into Matthew's arms.
Then the white light flashed.
The other party disappeared without a trace.
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"Your ability 'Nature's Gift' is in effect——
You have obtained a large bunch of raspberries!
Raspberries: A sweet, crispy, and nutritious fruit, with the blessing of fairies. Consuming it can slightly increase energy and has a mild purifying effect."
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"Today's luck is good."
When Matthew saw the appearance of the object in his arms, his slightly nervous expression temporarily relaxed.
This is an oak fairy.
They are companions of the oak forest.
Since the size of the oak forest reached five hundred trees, the fairies appeared.
To express their gratitude and admiration for Matthew, they would occasionally send things over.
The fruits given by the oak fairies are mostly of excellent quality, but the problem is that these little fairies have mischievous natures, and pranks are almost in their blood.
Last time when they gave something to Matthew.
He was still in class.
As a result, in front of a dozen children.
A mischievous oak fairy threw several pieces of women's underwear at him!!
This almost left Matthew speechless.
He couldn't possibly tell his students that it was a 'gift from nature', right?
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Fortunately, most of the time the fairies still behave properly.
Matthew didn't bother with them too much.
Chewing on the sweet raspberries.
He quickened his pace.
At the intersection two blocks away from the security office.
He ran into Blade, who had an anxious expression on his face.This is a burly young man with a full beard on his face.
"Matthew, I was just about to find you!"
Blade ran into Matthew with a delighted expression on his face.
Matthew's heart moved:
"Something happened?"
Blade nodded quickly:
"A merchant was intercepted and killed on the road by someone from the east. The body has just been brought to town. I need your help."
Matthew didn't hesitate:
"Let's go."
The two hurried towards the security office.
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Blade was the captain of the guard unit at the security office.
He was also one of the few people in Rolling Stone Town who knew Matthew's profession.
In order to save money for his tree planting project, Matthew not only took up the position of history teacher at the Westville Academy, but also worked part-time as a corpse consultant at the security office.
It was well known that "Call of the Dead" was the most basic undead spell, which could summon the souls of recently deceased individuals for interrogation and solving cases.
With Matthew's strong support, the crime-solving rate at the security office soared.
Over time, the residents of the territory knew that Blade at the security office was like a god at solving cases, so they rarely caused trouble.
It can be seen that Matthew played an indispensable role in the current security environment of Rolling Stone Town.
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After a while.
In the morgue of the security office.
A ghost with a cautious expression and a bewildered look stood in front of Matthew.
"Who killed you?"
Blade asked skillfully.
The ghost pondered:
"It was a man, with disheveled hair, very tall..."
Blade frowned:
"Why did he kill you?"
The ghost shook its head:
"I don't know either. That day, I came back from Jiliu City after buying goods. Because I drank some alcohol and took the wrong road, when I woke up, I was already near the Witch Hut. I saw a group of people singing and dancing there, and there were many ghosts flying above their heads..."
"That scene was really terrifying, those ghosts!"
As he spoke, he trembled all over.
Even the form of his spiritual body couldn't be maintained.
Matthew quickly interrupted and reminded:
"Don't be afraid, you are also a ghost now."
The ghost said blankly:
"Oh..."
"Do you remember anything else? Any suspicious information?"
Blade seized the opportunity to continue asking.
The ghost shook its head:
"I don't know either. That day, I came back from Jiliu City after buying goods..."
"That scene was really terrifying, those ghosts!"
Blade and Matthew glanced at each other, somewhat helpless.
Ghosts were like this, most of them could only have a small amount of memories from their past lives, and they were generally memories with strong emotional colors.
Apart from these, no matter what question you asked, they would only repeat some fragments of memories. This was also the limitation of "Call of the Dead".
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Blade tried asking some other questions.
After confirming that there was no more useful information to be obtained from the ghost's mouth, he signaled Matthew to release the spell with his eyes.
Before Matthew could do anything, the ghost actually looked over:
"Wait, am I really dead?"
Blade sympathetically said:
"I'm sorry."
The ghost sighed:
"What a pity... I haven't bought a cemetery plot for myself yet. After I die, my wife will definitely take away the family property, remarry a merchant with the children. She probably won't choose a suitable burial place for me with all her heart."
Blade was at a loss for words for a moment.
"Can you bury my body in the oak forest to the north of town? No need for a coffin, just bury it directly. I quite like oak trees. Last time when I passed by, I seemed to hear the bickering of little girls. According to my grandmother, I'm afraid I encountered a flower fairy..."
"That's my only wish."
As he spoke, his spiritual body gradually faded away.
Before Blade could speak, Matthew immediately agreed:
"Sure."
"Thank you!"
The ghost disappeared.
Blade hesitated and looked at Matthew.
Matthew shrugged his shoulders: "Archmage Ronan won't mind."
Blade rubbed his head:
"Alright, do as you please. After all, it's your forest. But I can only hand over the body to you tomorrow. There are still some necessary inspections and procedures to be done tonight."
Matthew nodded.
Taking this opportunity, he told Blade about the discovery in the underground cave.
After listening, Blade's expression became unusually serious.
"I understand, I will arrange for people to inquire about it. You also need to be careful, Matthew. Don't wander outside the town alone recently. I have been feeling a bit uneasy."
"Oh, by the way, remember to collect your allowance for this month. I have applied for double the amount for you."
Matthew's eyes narrowed at the mention of the allowance: "I love hearing that."
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The main dish for tonight was Matsutake Mushroom Stir-Fried Rice.
The side dishes were cabbage and egg soup and a few slices of bacon.
The taste was amazing.
Matthew licked the bottom of the bowl clean.
Finally, he couldn't help but praise:
"Peggy, your cooking skills are amazing! Even among the living, you are unparalleled! In the words of my hometown, anyone who marries you is lucky."
The minotaur skeleton blushed from the praise:
"Aha, I just cook casually."
"And I'm already dead, so I can't get married anymore."
After a while, seeing that Matthew was still immersed in the delicious food, she gathered up the courage to ask:
"Matthew, since I cook so well, are you going to give me a raise?"
Matthew wiped his mouth skillfully and stood up:
"Next time, for sure."
His figure quickly disappeared into the basement passage."Damn Necromancer!"
The Minotaur skeleton roared in anger.
Matthew simply ignored it.
He went to the basement, not to start his usual meditation, but to pull out a nearly dust-covered crystal ball from the cabinet in the next room.
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The blood-stained clothes in the cave.
The murdered merchant.
The abnormal crowd lingering in the Witch Hut as described by the ghost.
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Just like Blade.
Matthew also felt a hint of unease.
So tonight.
He planned to perform a divination!
......