Offer a Tribute and Become an Archmage - Chapter 148



Only Noblemtl

Episode 148.

Cordyceps sinensis.

If you wander around the mountains, you can sometimes see mushrooms growing parasitic on dead insects.

When I had nothing to do, I would go up to the mountain to collect firewood or pick berries to eat, and when I did that, I would occasionally see Cordyceps Militaris. It is often considered a very valuable herb, but I never thought I would see it in a dungeon.

“Isn’t that Cordyceps militaris? It looks like a shiitake mushroom. Is this Cordyceps militaris?”

I don’t know because I wasn’t that interested in Cordyceps sinensis.

“Is there anything inside the mushroom?”

“Oh! There is! There’s something like a rock!”

“Look!”

There is. You can touch it. When you tear open the mushroom, a strange, sticky liquid flows out, and inside there is a hard stone.

“It’s a monster.”

It was definitely a monster.

Although it was small in size, it was still a strange rock.

“That’s strange. I didn’t feel any magical energy until the mushroom was torn open.”

“Yes, that’s right.”

Even Ronobe, who was quite sensitive to magical energy, didn’t know. It seemed that the mushrooms were covering up the magical presence of the rock. It was only after tearing the mushrooms that he felt the presence.

‘If I dig into this structure, I might be able to do something that completely hides the energy that appears in martial arts novels and is irrefutable?’

While Ronobe was reloading his nonsense again.

Liam asked, looking at the mushrooms.

“Can I eat this mushroom?”

“Liam. There is nothing in this world that cannot be eaten.”

Ronobé said, placing a hand on Liam’s shoulder.

“However, it is divided into whether you can eat it just once or multiple times.”

“…”

Mushrooms have been quite poisonous since ancient times. So this mushroom could be poisonous too. It could be something that controls its host like Cordyceps sinensis, so if you eat it, you could be controlled. Isn’t this a fantasy world where magic exists? Everything you imagine could be real.

“Liam. This isn’t just any ordinary mushroom. This is a miracle mushroom. This miracle could make you a knight!”

“This, this…”

Liam knew it was nonsense, but he couldn’t bring himself to refuse.

Knight. The meaning of that name was like a poison to Liam that he could not refuse, even if it was unknown to others.

Besides, the person saying this is a wizard.

This is what Ronobe, who has shown several miracles, says. What kind of person is he! He is the one who defeated the wizard of the empire, and at the same time, he is the wizard who turned the miracle of the cold in the Allobato territory into a blessing. To Liam, Ronobe was the great magician, and Ronobe was the wise man of this land. Of course, it was limited to magic.

“No, no. You shouldn’t eat it. It might be poisonous. They tested it on small animals and verified it several times, so it seems safe to eat it. What are you talking about?”

“Is that so?”

Liam, who was trying to put a mushroom in his mouth without realizing it as if possessed by something, flinched and stepped back. Ronobe clicked his tongue.

“Are you kidding me, Baron Jun? Using me! To test the effectiveness of the mushrooms!! You son of a bitch!”

Liam drew his sword.

“… I am a wizard. Do you think I would feed you mushrooms for no reason? This is the answer that comes from the wisdom of a wizard. I smelled it and this mushroom is not poisonous.”

“What kind of wisdom are you talking about when you just smelled something instead of being wise!”

The one who had been using poison since childhood was Ronobe. He even extracted the poison from the fangs and used it separately. According to Ronobe, this mushroom was not poisonous.

“For poison to be necessary, it must have a purpose. The mushrooms that create these hosts cannot be poisonous because their purpose is to spread by being eaten.”

If there is poison, wouldn’t it be impossible for it to create a host by being eaten? Of course, in such cases, there are many cases where it spreads spores and reproduces, but Ronobe’s nose is extremely sensitive due to the bear’s nose.

‘It smells sweet. It smells kind of spicy…’

The scent of the unknown mushroom is very good.

The reason plants and fungi make these scents is mostly to be eaten. To reproduce by being eaten. Ronobe expressed his opinion.

“I’m talking to you! I’ve been climbing mountains for over a decade in Hopper! Do you think I’ve only seen this guy once or twice!? You can smell the deliciousness just by looking at him!”

“Some things that smell sweet are actually poisonous. If the host of the mushroom is a dying corpse, there is a higher chance that it will be poisonous.”

Ronobe’s stubbornness was shattered and destroyed by Mick’s opinion.

“Kaaaak! Kyaak!”

Liam looked at Ronnove and spat on the ground.

“Can I do that to the owner?”

“Aren’t you the master who tried to kill his servant? Even if you get stabbed in the back of the head, you won’t be able to say anything.”

“Oh my! This guy!”

He looks really angry.

From Liam’s perspective, it makes sense. He was trying to feed mushrooms that he didn’t know what would happen to them with all kinds of sweet talk!

“It’s strange. For some reason, I feel like eating this would be good for my health.”

It was a feeling. It just felt that way. No, to be exact, it smelled that way. What should I say?

“This sweet yet spicy smell…”

It was a very familiar smell from somewhere.

This smell is indescribable. And even without the smell, I have a feeling that something is okay.

There is no way to explain why.

I just had a feeling.

“If it’s so good, try it yourself!”

“Well, that’s a bit…”

“This kid! He can’t eat a map!”

“I’m a wizard! To become a knight, I have to endure this much pain with my spirit! Huh?! I have to keep my stomach in check! And you can’t even do that, and yet you’re trying to become a knight!?”

“If I had done that, I would have been a wizard! Would I have wanted to be a knight?”

George was gaslighting Liam, who was indignant. But once trust was lost, it could not be restored quickly. There was no answer. So he had no choice but to ask for the answer. After thinking for a while, he called out the name in his mind.

“Help me! Yonterion! Urdisa! Ageidon!”

A toad, a bear, and a snake appeared.

The gods sighed as they looked at each other and Ronobe. Now, they didn’t even bother to say anything. Watching the puppet show, they didn’t feel like complete strangers like before. What should I say? It was like a camaraderie of taking care of a troublemaker together? That was the feeling.

[What are those mushrooms?]

“This is it.”

Ronobe explained the whole story.

The gods’ eyes were filled with pity as they realized that they had been called something so insignificant.

“There’s no poison, right?”

[does not exist.]

A snake that uses poison. After Ageidon said that it was not poisonous, it disappeared.

“Can I eat it?”

The answer was given by Urdisa.

He sniffs it a few times and then nods.

[Eat it if you can. It looks nutritious. Mushrooms that are miraculously derived usually taste good. I smelled it and this one is a little spicy.]

“Is it spicy?”

[Yeah. Your tongue will hurt if you eat it.]

“!!”

Spicy.

He had only ever seen pepper, but it was spicy! Ronobe’s eyes began to water. In a world full of kids who didn’t know what spiciness meant, Ronobe was the only one who missed kimchi. He was also quite shocked that he didn’t know what the spiciness felt from mushrooms was.

‘It was pickled in the Middle Ages.’

I missed the spicy taste so much that it brought tears to my eyes. But it’s okay now.

In this hand! There are spicy mushrooms! As Urdisa finished speaking, Yonterion looked at the mushrooms and said.

[It’s a type of Cordyceps militaris. Don’t eat it raw. It’s better to boil it and eat it. You can also eat it roasted.]

“Do you know what it is?”

[If Cordyceps sinensis appears in a dungeon, it is no different from medicine. However, if you eat it raw, you can become a host. It is okay for you, a wizard, but others will not be able to resist.]

“How do you know?”

[There’s nothing I don’t know. No, there’s nothing I don’t know except the inside of a magpie’s head. So you can eat it. I checked it out and it’s good for stamina.]

“…?!”

Spicy mushroom peppers.

But it’s also good for stamina?!

“Really?!”

[Why would I lie? There are many names for it… Since it is a thing that uses a host, it cannot help but contain ingredients that are beneficial to the reproduction of the host. That way, it is easier to spread.]

Energy… Ronobe’s throat was drawn high and low. If he hadn’t been told not to eat it raw, he would have swallowed it right away. In fact, I didn’t say anything until now, but after Beni fully awakened as a knight, he often felt a little weak.

I guess it’s become a bit burdensome to win at night.

‘If it’s this…’

You can become the king of the night again!!

“This! This mushroom! What’s its name?!”

[If it had a blue, giant civet as its host, it would probably be… a fune.]

[Is this Pune?]

Urdisia was surprised.

“Why, why?!”

[I’ve heard of Pune too. It’s a medicinal herb that disappeared a long time ago…]

Urdisa sat down with a thud and stroked her chin as she spoke.

[Once upon a time… a king who was poisoned by a witch that no one could detoxify ate a blue mushroom brought by a herbalist while he was working hard and was cured. That was Pune. The medicine that detoxifies all the poisons in the world is Pune.]

“Is it that precious!?”

Why would such a noble person be in a shabby place like Hopper…!

[I don’t know. If you can get it, stock up on as much as you can. It might save your life someday.]

As Urdisa and Yonterion disappeared, Ronobe shivered.

“Okay, I’ll change my plans.”

Ronobe treasured the mushroom in his bosom as if it were gold.

‘Spicy, good for stamina, and an antidote to all kinds of poison? This is crazy. You should never give this to anyone else!’

It was a medicine that he had to monopolize even if the world collapsed. Ronobe knew the horror of aphrodisiacs. In this world, whether it was an animal or a herb, the moment the word spread that it was good for aphrodisiacs, those that were good for aphrodisiacs disappeared from this world that day.

Never! Never!! It must not be known.

“Why are you suddenly like that?”

Liam opened his eyes slightly at the sight of Ronobe’s suspiciously changed appearance.

“What’s so suspicious about that? I look up to the sky without any shame!”

“No one ever said anything suspicious. Why are you suddenly being stabbed?”

“Who got stabbed? Shut up!”

Beni, who couldn’t stand to watch, stopped Ronobe. It was true that he was strangely excited and his bloodshot eyes were suspicious.

“Ronobe, come here for a moment.”

Benny took Ronobe away for a moment and hugged him. As he patted her, Ronobe’s excitement subsided for a moment.

“Don’t rub it. Why are you suddenly like that?”

Ronobe whispered the secret of Pune only to Beni. There was no question of how he found out. As soon as he heard it, Beni entered the dungeon and drew the sword on his waist that he had never taken out before.

“Let’s catch them all right now!”

“Don’t let the seeds dry up!”

“ah!”

The truth was that even the ever-calm Benny was excited. Destroying the dungeon that produced this precious medicine! It was something that should never happen.

“Sir Mick. There’s a reason for that in the dungeon, right?”

“That, that’s right…?”

“Then, if we don’t remove the cause, the dungeon will be maintained?”

“Usually yes.”

Benny and Ronobe looked at each other and nodded.

Originally, the plan was to eliminate dungeons.

Of course.

Hopper was now the place where Ronobe would lay his foundation and where his legend would begin. If he wanted to build a safe village, it would be better to have no dungeons. However, now that he knew the truth, these wonderful medicinal herbs that grow naturally began to look like a blessing rather than a threat.

‘Even if I were to receive a hundred gold coins a year… I wouldn’t have enough money to build a castle, maintain soldiers, and even create knights.’

Even if you have money, it’s not enough.

That’s the thing called money.

But what if you could produce this Pune at home? What if you had this wonderful detoxifying, aphrodisiac, and spicy spice?!

‘Move out of the way, pepper! Move out of the way, pepper!’

If you have Pune, you don’t need anything else.

Anyway, Pune is a mushroom. Cordyceps sinensis, which is parasitic on living things, but in the end, it could be considered a crop, right? If it was Ronobe’s totem, it might be possible to grow Pune quickly and cultivate it.

Everyone, including nobles, royalty, commoners, and neighborhood mutts, likes things that are good for stamina.

That’s what a man is like.

In the first place, Ronobe has women named Benny and Elicia. There is absolutely no harm in replenishing your stamina in advance.

Originally, a hero had to have three wives and four concubines to be considered a hero! The number of women a man has shows his strength!

“good.”

After gathering his thoughts, Ronobe took out the totems from his bosom and hid them in various places underground. These were the totems that he had kept in the snake cage for emergencies, so there was no need to save them.

‘From late autumn to late spring, and even to late summer.’

Ronobe flinched as he placed the Manchu totem. Manchu drives away bugs and makes crops grow. If you think of the raccoon as a bug, there is no greater disaster than this.

“Hmm… Let’s just leave Manchun alone.”

The totem of Manchun that restores the body. I decided to leave Manchun alone for now. If I leave Manha’s totem as well so that he can drink water, the dungeon will be maintained well. They are the lucky ones who will be responsible for Hopper in the future, so they should not die for no reason.

“… What are you going to do?”

“For now, I’m going back.”

The dungeon is wider than I thought and has many forks in the path.

My heart is pounding, but there is no need to rush. I need to test the efficacy of Pune first.

“I’m looking forward to tonight.”

Benny smiled bashfully and clung close to Ronobe.

And that night.

Ronobe became a monster.

The potion was much stronger than expected. Ronobe was unable to control his strength and knocked Beni unconscious, flying to Gradas Castle and releasing his fear until the potion wore off. Only after the lord had fallen did Ronobe realize how fearsome Pune was.

End