Chapter 2
Crunch, crunch.
Patrick Asteri, the Marquis of the Asteri family, was once again busily processing documents today.
Knock, knock—
It was only until the servant who entered with a knock handed over a document that this changed.
"..."
With each line he read, the marquis's expression hardened coldly.
"There's no value in reading any further."
Whoosh!
Using mana, the marquis completely burned the document away.
"That brat still hasn't come to his senses?"
"Yes… ever since he woke up, he's been doing nothing but pulling weeds."
"And anything else?"
"It still seems he cannot sense mana."
The servant answered while wiping away sweat.
That the eldest grandson of the great magical house Asteri could not sense mana was a serious problem.
Ordinary mages experienced mana shock and awakened at age eight, at the latest by ten.
The direct line of the Asteri family, famous for possessing exceptional talent, was said to awaken even at the age of three.
And what about Marquis Patrick himself, standing here now?
He was said to have used levitation magic during his doljabi, a rumor that spoke to his extraordinary talent.
But… what about the eldest grandson, "Lion"?
Until reaching his twenties, he had been unable to sense any magic at all—no flow, no response—an utterly dreadful level of talent.
Mana shock continued to occur, so perhaps he might awaken someday… but it was only natural that Marquis Patrick's patience was reaching its limit.
The Asteri family did not accept those without talent as members of the house.
That rule had never changed, whether before the war or after.
The fact that Lion had been indulged up to now was only possible because Marquis Patrick had an unusual fondness for him.
But this was already the third time…
When the marquis's gaze landed on him, the servant's body shrank back.
The gaze of a great mage estimated to be beyond the 8th circle was far more than an ordinary person could endure.
An instinctive fear welled up, strong enough to make him want to flee immediately.
"Other than that."
Other than that…?
The servant took a deep breath and answered carefully.
"His health condition is good, and there don't appear to be any problems with his memory."
The servant replied while watching the marquis's reaction.
"Tsk. Get out."
After the servant left in a cold sweat, Patrick let out a deep sigh.
"…Sylvia."
Swish.
From the empty darkness, a figure appeared.
An elderly woman neatly dressed in formal attire.
Sylvia—Patrick's most trusted aide.
"To summon me personally… you must be quite worried."
Patrick Asteri did not respond, but the deepening wrinkles between his brows made it obvious she was right.
"I knew the boy had been researching various things to try to overcome the shock, but…"
Patrick muttered as he pressed his fingers firmly against his brow.
"This time it's too much. Herb gathering… and he hasn't even been out of bed that long."
"Perhaps he feels burdened by continuing to receive the family's support?"
"That's nonsense…"
No—was it really?
"You treated him quite harshly on the surface, after all."
At Sylvia's calm words, Patrick's expression immediately turned grave.
After some time had passed—
"Sylvia."
The aide, Sylvia, bowed at the waist.
"Give the order."
"Go find out exactly what that brat is doing right now."
Patrick's mind was clearly in turmoil.
Sylvia quietly looked at Patrick, then asked with a faint smile.
"Shall I also tell him to come see you?"
Even if he pretended otherwise, the head of the family cherished young Master Lion.
Perhaps even more so because he was a sickly grandson.
And yet that indifferent young master, the moment he rose from his sickbed, went and did this instead…
"If he drags his feet again this time, tell him I'll rip out every blade of grass on the estate!"
"I will relay it exactly as you said."
Only after Sylvia's figure completely vanished into the shadows did Patrick mutter to himself.
"That ill-mannered brat. If he's healthy enough, he should've come to see his grandfather first—yet he's been pulling weeds for weeks now?"
At the same time—
Pop!
[You have obtained Aqua Rosemary.]
Pop!
[You have obtained Coriander.]
In the forest of the marquisate not far from the Asteri estate—Mimir Forest.
A young man with a gaunt body and an unmistakably sickly complexion was crouched on the ground.
With neatly tied golden hair, amethyst-like eyes, and pale skin, he looked every bit a noble gentleman—
Yet irreverently, his hands were caked with dirt and smeared with plant sap, and his unscarred cheeks were covered only in sweat mixed with dust.
Pop!
[You have obtained Root Star Anise.]
The young man pulled out the herb with trembling hands.
Baek Yihyeon—now Lion Asteri—formed a faint smile.
'Just pulling weeds gives me medicinal herbs. This place is heaven!'
It had already been a month since he had possessed Lion in the world of In the World.
At first, he had naturally been flustered.
Another world—no, possessing the world of In the World fifty years later?
And although he had played In the World passionately, he hadn't paid much attention to the main story, so it was practically like being dropped into a wasteland with nothing.
'At least it's fortunate that I retained this body's memories, and that I'm the eldest of the Asteri family, a "great magical house" I'd heard of before.'
And this ability.
Expert's Eye.
While taking a walk to grasp the situation after awakening in this body, he noticed an herb field sparkling—and when he tried pulling one—
He obtained medicinal herbs with absurd ease.
[Aqua Rosemary]
– A herb that gives off a rich scent of the sea, unlike ordinary rosemary.
– When consumed raw, it tastes salty, like swallowing seawater.
[Uses – Food, Potions]
[☞ Click to view recipes.]
[Beginner Herbalist (1) Achievement Progress: 1/100]
Along with a notification that the achievement was in progress.
With nothing else to do, he naturally followed the notification and gathered herbs.
After pulling about a hundred herbs, he realized something.
[Beginner Herbalist (1) Achievement Completed!]
[You have obtained 1,000 Shillings!]
That achievements came with rewards!
[A Shilling Shop will open once a certain amount of shillings is accumulated.]
And that a dedicated shop existed as well!
From then on, things proceeded much like they were now.
Achievements existed, and completing them gave money.
If that was the case, then obviously, shouldn't he complete achievements left and right, using all the knowledge he had?
"How much have I got now?"
Lion opened his inventory to check the accumulated money.
"I've already gathered 20,000 shillings."
20,000 shillings.
He didn't know whether that was a lot in the shilling shop or not… but Lion felt deeply moved.
'You get rewarded in proportion to the effort you put in!'
Lion clenched his fist tightly.
How miserable had work been at the company?
Doing all the work, watching office politics between employees, no new hires under him, no recognition for effort—only having his achievements stolen…!
Thinking back on it now made him dizzy.
It was almost shocking that he hadn't burned out.
In any case, receiving fair compensation for labor was more comforting than he'd expected.
"Ahem."
Lion calmed his unnecessarily heightened emotions.
Anyway, since it was a shop system, he probably needed at least 100,000 shillings for it to open.
Until then, he would continue completing achievements using his talents.
"If I do this right… I could make a living anywhere, couldn't I?"
Lion knew that he could be expelled from the Asteri family at any time.
An eldest son who couldn't sense mana—what kind of idiot would that make him?
"Still, I should stick around until I get kicked out."
Even if he later came to sense mana, it was obvious he wouldn't have enough talent to actually use magic.
In that case, being weeded out of a great magical house was inevitable anyway.
Perfect.
'The next head of the family will be my younger sibling, after all.'
"Well, to make that happen, I do need to do a bit of groundwork, but… huh?"
Lion rested his hands on his hips and muttered as he absentmindedly looked around.
And then—
Sparkle!
'That is—!'
A particularly bright plant caught Lion's eye.
It sparkled so intensely it felt like it was emitting its own light.
He could tell instinctively.
'This one's big.'
Gulp.
Swallowing his saliva, Lion knelt in front of the plant and gently began digging away the surrounding soil with his hands.
More dirt stuck to his already filthy hands, but he didn't care.
To Lion's eyes, that herb was worth its weight in gold.
Grabbing the herb whose roots had been partially exposed, he pulled it up with one hand—
Swoooosh!
With an incredible tactile sensation, an herb he'd never seen before was yanked free!
Even after being pulled out, it continued to shine like gold!
[Red Sun Fern (★)]
– Its tip is red and curled like the sun. Unlike ordinary ferns, it can be eaten raw.
– Rumors say that consuming it through a special method clears distracting thoughts from the mind.
[Uses – Food, Potions]
[☞ To view recipes, reach Alchemy Apprentice LV.4.]
['Three-Star!' Achievement Progress: 1/3]
"Yes!"
"Young Master."
Just as expected.
An achievement granted for successfully gathering three types of rare-grade herbs in In the World.
'Three-Star!'
Since it required detail rather than ordinary grinding, it would surely reward shillings on an entirely different level.
And besides…
Perhaps thanks to his talent, he could tell.
That if this were made into a potion, it would show quite good performance.
"Young master."
"Huh?"
He thought it was the usual servant, but a different person was standing there.
This person was definitely—
"Silvia?"
Yes. Silvia, the head maid.
A person who had served the Asteri family for decades.
To Lion, she was no different from a grandmother.
[Lv. ?? Silvia]
Well, whatever.
"Can you see this?"
Lion held out the still-sparkling fern.
"Hmm…"
Silvia examined the herb with a kind smile.
'A high-grade herb.'
There was no damage to the mana, and the roots didn't look harmed either—it must have been pulled out with great care.
With those fern-like hands of his...
"It's a clean herb."
"Look closely! It's shining."
Silvia felt quite sorry for Lion.
Could his state of mind really be fine?
He must have been under a lot of mental pressure to be saying things like this.
Silvia took out a handkerchief and wiped Lion's face and hands, like she would a grandchild.
'Still, I'm glad he looks happy.'
Right. So what if he can't sense mana?
As long as the young master is happy, that's enough.
But then why did her heart ache every time she looked at him?
Even if the head of the family and she herself were looking after him, how big must the void be, growing up without parents?
"You can't see the light?"
"I can't."
"Really?"
"Yes."
"Haha, then I guess I'm the only one who can see it."
"..."
He was clearly making excuses.
He must feel he has no face to show the head of the family.
Silvia was convinced of that.
Of course, Lion was thinking—
'If even Silvia can't see it, then it really must be something only I can see.'
He was genuinely checking whether it was visible or not.
"The head of the family is very worried. You should return now. With this much effort, the head of the family will surely find it commendable."
At the mention of the head of the family, Lion's gaze finally left the herbs.
'No, he won't.'
Whether in his memories, or in what little game knowledge he had, Patrick was a thorough meritocrat.
The outstanding take everything.
That was an iron rule that did not break even for family.
The sponsor—no, the head of the family. Patrick Asteri.
Affection target number one.
'I do need to go see him… but I'm not ready yet.'
At least, not until he obtained this herb.
'Perfect timing. I've gathered most of the ingredients anyway—should I start earning some points now?'
What was he going to do with the herbs?
Obviously, he planned to make a potion.
For now, potion-making was the best—and the highest-quality—gift he could produce.
"Grandma Silvia."
"Yes, young master."
"Tell Grandpa that I'll come see him around lunchtime tomorrow. And also…"
"…could you help me get a few things?"