↳ Mature?
↳ A fully grown Mandrake?
↳ Allfather: Yes. When a Mandrake completes its growth, its body turns red. I even authored a research paper on the subject.
↳ Then what’s the Mandrake we’ve known up until now? Was it undergrown?
↳ Allfather: Based on my past research, precisely so. By any chance, did it hesitate before releasing its roar?
↳ Wild Grylls: Yes. When pulled, it was standing with arms crossed. After that, it roared.
↳ Allfather: Then it is all the more certain. Just as humans in infancy do nothing but cry, Mandrakes are the same. Its uncanny appearance must also be due to incomplete development.
Allfather’s explanation went roughly like this:
For a Mandrake to mature, it requires land brimming with overflowing mana, along with a complete absence of external threats.
However, mana-rich soil is scarce in the world, and the odds of failing in ecological competition are extremely high.
If the environmental standard drops even slightly, it gets chewed, eaten, and torn apart by humans, monsters, or beasts, making full growth impossible.
In short, a Mandrake can only mature under pristine, ideal conditions.
Cultivating one artificially is nearly impossible, as feeding it vast quantities of mana continuously is tremendously difficult.
↳ Okay, got it’s a fully grown Mandrake, but is it more effective than a normal Mandrake?
↳ Allfather: Indeed. A single Mature Mandrake can be used to craft a supreme-grade Elixir. Considering that a supreme-grade Elixir usually requires 10 standard Mandrakes, this is astonishing.
↳ Holy Jackpot shiverrr
↳ Grylls is gonna make bank again shiverrr
↳ Do you have any intention of selling?
Well. At the question of whether I planned to sell, I glanced at the Mandrake.
Having slammed it into the wall a few times for being noisy, the Mandrake had grown docile.
Rather than docile, it was closer to unconscious, but I wasn’t sure if selling this was the right move.
’Would it be easier to just think of it as a 100-year-old wild ginseng?’
I looked up more details on Mandrakes to get a clear picture.
From what I searched, it’s one of the primary ingredients for Elixirs and a staple reagent in countless potions.
From root to leaves and stems, every part can be used as a medicinal herb, leaving no wasted part.
A plant born specifically to be potion ingredients. However, alchemy is essential to maximize efficiency.
’Should I give it to Sword Matstar?’
Since she gave me an Elixir before, giving this as payback seems fair. Once I harvest a few more later, I’ll give some to Heavenly Demon and other regular users.
Especially Heavenly Demon, who is an elderly senior, so it would be great for her. Didn’t she say she was in severe pain before and handed over precious herbs?
Praise the Sun gave me a free shield as well, so I plan to gift him one free of charge.
First, let’s repay Sword Matstar. I can just harvest a fresh Mandrake anyway.
↳ Wild Grylls: Not selling, going to give it to Sword Matstar-nim. Want to repay her for giving me an Elixir earlier.
↳ Sword Matstar: I don’t need it?
↳ Wild Grylls: Think of it as a health supplement.
↳ Sword Matstar: I’m healthy.
↳ Wild Grylls: Becoming even healthier won’t hurt, right?
↳ Sword Matstar: I don’t want to become any healthier than this;;
↳ Wild Grylls: No, but why turn down getting healthier...?
↳ A person who hates getting healthy LOL
↳ Why hate it HAHAHA
↳ Ah lol anyway she doesn’t wanna be healthy kkk
↳ Fr makes zero sense LMAO
↳ Allfather: Boiling and consuming a Mature Mandrake normally will still significantly increase one’s mana reserves.
↳ Sword Matstar: Hearing that makes me want it even less.
↳ Wild Grylls: Why on earth...?
I couldn’t understand it. Was there really a person in this world who hated being healthy?
Though not to Heavenly Demon’s extent, Sword Matstar was also an older adult.
Although she had her quirky sides typical of a Gallery user, she was quite refined.
’Since she refuses so adamantly, I can’t force it on her.’
The remaining candidate was Heavenly Demon. Conveniently, she offered an antidote and tinnitus remedy, so trading would be ideal.
Just as I was about to initiate a trade with Heavenly Demon, a comment caught my eye.
↳ Starlight Lady: Excuse me, but could you give that Mandrake to me? I shall reward you handsomely.
It was Starlight Lady—the user who posted daily threads praying for a full recovery.
Come to think of it, there was someone who needed it most of all. I typed a reply to her comment.
↳ Wild Grylls: You gave me a compass before, so no need for compensation. But can a Mandrake cure an illness?
↳ Starlight Lady: It should improve to some degree. Mandrakes are plants imbued with Yang energy.
I remembered. When I found the Crescent Moon Spirit Herb, Starlight Lady mentioned needing Yang energy.
Given how long her full recovery posts had continued, the disease was likely extremely severe.
Coincidentally, Heavenly Demon seemed to have thought along similar lines.
↳ Heavenly Demon: If it is an affliction requiring Yang energy, is it the Nine Yin Severed Meridians?
↳ Starlight Lady: According to the physician, yes. Do you know it well, Heavenly Demon-nim?
↳ Heavenly Demon: Of course I do. How could I not know the most infamous Blocked Meridian Syndrome?
↳ Starlight Lady: Then you must be well aware of its symptoms as well.
↳ Heavenly Demon: How tragic. Stay strong.
↳ Wild Grylls: Is it a severe disease?
↳ Heavenly Demon: It is a disease where talent that can reach the heavens is traded for one’s lifespan. Even those who live long rarely pass twenty years of age.
↳ Starlight Lady: You know it so well. Lately, my body can’t hold out, so I can’t even get out of bed. It’s probably getting dangerous soon.
↳ Wild Grylls: ;;;
I felt like I should hand it over immediately. The illness was far more severe than I thought.
Perhaps finding a cure was extremely tough, but full recovery posts were being uploaded steadily.
Since she stated a cure required an herb comparable to Crescent Moon Spirit Herb, it was practically impossible.
↳ Wild Grylls: I didn’t realize it was that severe. I’m sorry.
↳ Starlight Lady: It’s alright. Grylls-nim, you’re also living day-to-day on borrowed time.
↳ Wild Grylls: Excuse me?
↳ Starlight Lady: Just a joke.
↳ Doesn’t sound like a joke lol
↳ Is she saying let me die together kek
↳ A literal water ghost haunting someone LMAO
↳ Who’s gonna go first? I’m kinda curious
↳ Youuuuu are genuinely evil;;
Though slightly taken aback, I cracked a bitter smile realizing it was a joke.
She likely cracked that joke to break the uncomfortable mood—a form of self-deprecating humor.
Every time I saw situations like this, I felt health was paramount. Health was an irreplaceable asset.
↳ Wild Grylls: By the way, would a Mature Mandrake be effective against the Nine Yin Severed Meridians?
↳ Allfather: A standard Mandrake might not, but a Mature one certainly should have an effect.
↳ Starlight Lady: Even just having an effect is huge. Mandrakes themselves are extremely rare plants in the first place.
↳ Heavenly Demon: It seems it is not exceptional enough to fully cure the Nine Yin Severed Meridians.
↳ Is there no cure for Nine Yin Severed Meridians?
↳ There are cures. Usually 3 methods. One is taking medicine, another is a physician unblocking meridians one by one, or a male directly injecting energy into her.
↳ All good, but what’s the last one? Is it what I’m thinking?
↳ Yep, correct. But it comes with the condition that the male must be sufficiently powerful.
↳ Ooh. I’m strong, can I do it?
↳ How strong are you?
↳ Won all arm wrestling in my village kek
↳ HAHAHA
↳ LOL
This crazy bastard is sexually harassing a sick patient. My expression turned cold.
Because the Gallery guaranteed anonymity, crude jokes like this were poured out quite frequently.
If the atmosphere were light it might be one thing, but doing that when things were grim felt somewhat unpleasant.
↳ Starlight Lady: Come if you’re confident. But be warned, if you fail to meet the condition, I will cut it off.
↳ Cut off? Don’t tell me... his johnson?
↳ Starlight Lady: What else did you think I would cut? If you dislike that spot, shall I sever your neck instead?
↳ Shiverrrr
↳ I’m sorry. I won’t get cocky.
However, accustomed to such nonsense, Starlight Lady fired back fiercely.
The third method was discarded for obvious reasons, while the second was close to major surgical procedure.
And an insanely difficult surgery at that. Even with advanced medical science on Earth, it would be daunting, let alone here.
Practically, the first method was the only viable answer. Yet even that carried extreme difficulty.
↳ Heavenly Demon: The Nine Yin Severed Meridians can only be cured by consuming spiritual entities such as the Sun Fire Carp, Ten-Thousand-Year Fire Carp, or Sun Fire Grass.
↳ Wild Grylls: Never heard of any of those, are they rare?
↳ Heavenly Demon: They are comparable to the Crescent Moon Spirit Herb that you bestowed upon this mistress.
↳ Wild Grylls: Meaning extremely rare.
↳ Heavenly Demon: This mistress was extraordinarily fortunate. Thus, you are my destined miracle and benefactor.
↳ Wild Grylls: I was lucky too, no big deal. Anyway, is a complete cure impossible even with a Mature Mandrake?
↳ Allfather: It is not entirely impossible. The issue, however, lies in the quantity.
↳ Wild Grylls: Quantity?
↳ Allfather: Yes. While a Mature Mandrake is not quite a spiritual entity, it belongs to the grade just beneath it. Therefore, if 6 to 7 Mature Mandrakes are concentrated into a single Elixir, recovery should be attainable.
Six to seven? That sounds doable! I recalled the field where the Mature Mandrakes inhabited.
Running for my life prevented counting accurately, but at least several dozen specimens were clustered together.
Wait, ten? Way more than that. At least dozens of them. At any rate, there were tons.
’And once pulled up, beating them into submission shuts them up.’
I turned my head to look at the Mature Mandrake. It remained limp and unconscious.
Even if it looks dead, I heard reburying it in soil brings it back to full vigor.
Of course, I had no intention of reburying it; I’d give it to someone else. Pulling it up a second time would be a nightmare.
I should mention it first. In doing so, I might get what I want from Starlight Lady.
↳ Starlight Lady: Needing such a vast quantity... it would be impossible to gather them all, right?
↳ Allfather: In all my life, I have only seen three. Even if one were found, someone likely consumed it already.
↳ Starlight Lady: What a shame. Ah... Grylls-nim never said he would give it to me in the first place, so I must have gotten too greedy.
↳ Wild Grylls: There are fucking tons of them here though?
Mature Mandrakes were littered everywhere here. That was the intent behind my comment.
Then, no comments were posted for a long while. I wondered if she had closed the Gallery to do something else.
↳ Starlight Lady: Whaaat?
Turns out she was just too flabbergasted to reply.
↳ Starlight Lady: That’s a lie, right? It’s useless to tease me like this.
↳ Wild Grylls: It’s true though. Remember I said earlier the Mandrakes screamed in a group?
↳ Starlight Lady: All of those were Mature ones?
↳ Wild Grylls: Every single one of them was red.
↳ Starlight Lady: I won’t believe it until you show me a picture.
↳ Wild Grylls: Hold on.
Taking a picture was easy enough. Packing my gear roughly, I headed toward the Mandrake colony.
Though the distance was short, beasts could jump out at any moment, so I didn’t forget to stay cautious.
"Huh?"
When I reached the Mandrake colony, I was puzzled by its altered appearance.
The location hadn’t changed. But without being pulled, several Mature Mandrakes were standing above ground.
They were looking around as if standing guard; being mature, they seemed to have developed intelligence.
’This makes things tricky.’
The moment I’m spotted, the sentries will roar, blasting me with another shockwave like before.
My only option was to wait until they burrowed back down. Still, this was enough for proof.
Mature Mandrakes standing guard
(Video of Mature Mandrakes standing guard)
I didn’t lie. Starlight Lady-nim, please check the video and leave a reply.
↳ Why is this real LOL
↳ Why the fuck is it real HAHAHA
↳ Are Mandrakes normally like that?
↳ Hell no kekekeke
↳ Allfather: Ohhh! Mature Mandrakes standing guard...! This is material for a research paper! Are all those plants over there Mandrakes?
↳ Wild Grylls: Yes. Looks like they’re standing guard because I kidnapped one of their friends earlier.
↳ Allfather: If you do not mind, could you observe them continuously?
↳ Wild Grylls: Sorry. I don’t really have the spare luxury for that.
↳ Allfather: What a pity.
While conversing with the academically passionate Allfather, Starlight Lady posted a comment.
↳ Starlight Lady: All of those... are Mature Mandrakes, right?
↳ Wild Grylls: Yes.
↳ Starlight Lady: Just the ones buried in the soil look to be well over dozens.
↳ Wild Grylls: Yes.
↳ Starlight Lady: Who on earth are you?
Reading Starlight Lady’s comment, I pondered. If I said I was a Miryang Park, would she flame me for playing around?
Yet I had no fitting answer to that question anyway. I didn’t even know why I ended up here.
While I hesitated, a rain of other comments poured in.
↳ Answer! Fly bait!
↳ Answer! Castaway of the Forest of the Four Seasons!
↳ Answer! Beggar!
↳ Answer! Motherless bastard!
↳ Don’t Abandon the Hero: Answer! A weird person!
↳ Wild Grylls: Fuck, leave the others aside, Orange Badge what is wrong with you?
↳ Don’t Abandon the Hero: Just bored! By the way, the guy who made the yo-mama insult gets a 1-hour ban!
↳ Wait, Grylls literally has no mom here. Why ban?
↳ Don’t Abandon the Hero: The wording sounds terrible! And telling an orphan they have no parents is deeply hurtful!
↳ Wild Grylls: You’re even worse.
↳ Don’t Abandon the Hero: Ahhh! I’m sorry!
↳ LMAOOOOO
↳ HAHAHAHAHA
↳ KKKKKKKKK
Spicy bastards, as expected. I chuckled softly before asking Starlight Lady again.
↳ Wild Grylls: So do you want it? The first one I pulled I can give for free, but I can’t give them out for free after that.
↳ Starlight Lady: What do you desire? I will grant anything I can procure. Do you need money?
↳ Wild Grylls: No, money isn’t urgent right now.
The money Allfather gave was plenty. Rations I would only request during emergencies.
What I needed right now was only one thing. Something that might be second in importance only to food.
↳ Wild Grylls: Starlight Lady-nim, your family is wealthy, right?
↳ Starlight Lady: You could say that.
↳ Wild Grylls: Then if I send you Mandrakes, can you immediately turn them into Elixirs?
↳ Starlight Lady: It will take time, but it is possible. I am quite skilled in alchemy.
↳ Wild Grylls: Then I just have one request.
This worked out perfectly. Starlight Lady could fulfill my greatest need.
And the fact that she was well-versed in alchemy was icing on the cake.
↳ Wild Grylls: Once you fully recover, could you supply me with Elixirs? I never know when I might get injured. It feels wrong to just take, so I’ll send you Mandrakes occasionally too.
↳ Starlight Lady: I shall provide an Elixir every time we trade Mandrakes. If I can achieve full recovery, I would give my title, wealth, or even my body.
↳ Wild Grylls: Would you like to come to where I am? kek
↳ Starlight Lady: Ah. That’s a bit... haha;
↳ Wild Grylls: Mean person.
↳ Wouldn’t step into the Forest of the Four Seasons even to save her life HAHAHA
↳ Curing herself just to commit suicide kek
↳ Seeing her offer Elixirs, she must be legit rich.
↳ Offering Elixirs instead of potions means she’s definitely a noble.
This was enough. All that remained was delivering the Mandrakes.
To do that, I had to catch the Mandrakes. I gazed at the sentry Mandrakes.
’They call it standing guard, but it’s not that strict.’
Monster or not, a plant is still a plant. What’s more, their alertness had dropped compared to earlier.
Being plants, they had to burrow back into the ground eventually. I waited until the last one remained.
Ssuk! Ssuk!
Before long, several Mandrakes burrowed under, and just as the last remaining one prepared to sink in...
Thinking this was my chance, I sprinted forward at full speed. Spotting me, the Mandrake startled and opened its mouth wide.
I had to catch it before it roared. But the distance was too far.
Knowing this might happen, I prepared something: a heavy stone I picked up earlier.
"Ugh...!"
Hu-ung!
Just before it could scream, I hurled the rock. Having played baseball back in the day, my aim was dead-on.
Peok!
"Kuek!"
Struck squarely on the head by the rock, the Mandrake let out a weird screech. Now, all that was left was capturing it.
Before long, I pinned the Mandrake down with both hands. And then...
Peo-eok! Peok! Peo-eok!
Gripping the stem connected to its root, I pummeled it with my fists so it couldn’t even make a noise.
On top of that, I forcibly stuffed dirt into its mouth. If its mouth was stuffed full, it wouldn’t be able to scream.
Thanks to these strenuous efforts, the Mandrake went limp shortly after. It had passed out.
’Is this really the right way to harvest it?’
Eh, whatever works.
A perfect ghetto solution isn’t all that different from the proper method, after all.
’I’ll give one to Starlight Lady and hand them out to the others one by one.’
With this, I should be able to repay my debts to some extent.