"So, I heard you became a knight." Sicily was waiting for Peter to get out of the cabin.

"Yeah, but it took out so much of my money. That girl is definitely cheating me of my money."

"Whatever, in the end, making gold is easy." Peter turned to look for Anya and Mary.

"Where did the two of them go off to?"

"Probably went out to get drunk. I was hoping they would bring a bottle over. I haven't gotten drunk in a long time."

"I'm going to sleep then got to get to Summerbrook tomorrow for a quest."

"You need help?"

"No. It's just an errand quest."

*****

"Don't be disappointed if you couldn't meet Flemil yet. He's very picky. " Peter met Alder one last time before heading to Summerbrook.

Summerbrook was on the way to Port Blair, located in the middle of a meadow. The village acts as a replenish stop to travellers to Hedgesnow. With extensive grass fields surrounding the village, it is paradise to a herbalist.

There was a small stream that empties to the Alder river closer to the cost that acts as the water source to the village. With a small population of under 200 people, the village heavily depends on the travellers for its survival.

Summerbrook was the closest village to Hedgesnow. At full speed, it's only half an hour away but the carts could only be requested by the nobles. The local peasants had no choice but to walk.

Peter boarded a horse-driven cart and headed towards Summerbrook. The driver was quite skilled and avoided most of the rough terrain.

The knight title was equipped giving Peter an aura of authority over the common NPC. Along the way, people either bowed or got out of the way wherever he passed by.

Summerbrook was quite a charming grassland. The village gates were quite large and allowed moat wagons to enter inside. There was a stable station inside providing refreshments to the riders and the horses. The soldiers all bowed in respect seeing a knight approach the village gates.

"My Lord, the village elders were notified of your presence. They will present themselves in a few minutes. Please let us escort you to a more appropriate place."

"I will go and meet them. They must be quite busy. I do not wish to disturb them nor you at work. Where can I find them?"

"If you insist, my lord. They are at the village office. It's right next to the local stores. You won't miss it."

Saying his good by, Peter left looking for the village heads. It would be inappropriate to not see them at that point.

The village office was just another store similar to the rest of the buildings in the main street. There were multiple stores on either side but most of them were either closed or empty. 'Maybe they can be bought. I wonder what price it would cost?'

The street felt considerably crowded to the hedgesnow perhaps due to how smaller they were in comparison. As Peter approached, the guards saluted and held the doors open for Peter. An elder couple was waiting inside for him.

"Welcome to Summerbrook Lord Vision. Is there anything in particular that we could help you with?" The granny asked. "Yes, I was hoping to find Miss Ionna and Master Flemil. I need to visit them for a quest form Mistress Alder."

The two elders waited for a few seconds. The lady replied politely, "Master Flemil is not in the village at the moment. I'm afraid you will have to wait for a few more months to meet him. He went outside yesterday. If there is anything I can help you with I would be happy to oblige. I'm Ionna and my husband here is Seracus. "

"You are Miss Ionna the herbalist? I was requested to meet you by Mistress Alder. I wish to learn herbalism. The Lady has taken me as her disciple. I am supposed to obtain a herb diary as well. She has asked me to learn from you the basics of herbalism. I hope you have some spare time."

"The herb diary is easy to get. Most of the shops outside sell them. But I'm afraid you will have to learn on your own. I haven't gone to the woods for a long time. My back has given away I'm afraid. " She paused for a bit." But I will be more than glad to help you identify any herbs you pick from the forest. If you notice any herbs in the dairy, just pluck it as is. Most of the herbs around here are common rank. I don't think you will run into any trouble."

"I'm afraid that will have to do. I do not wish for you to get in harm's way. While we are at it, I noticed that a few of the shops were either closed or empty. I wonder if they are up for sale?"

"Yes, they are. Would the Lord like to purchase a few?"

"Yes, I was hoping to get a shop running." Ionna walked towards the big map displayed on the wall. "The closest map to the entrance is placed at 1000 gold while you can purchase the furthest from the gates for 100 gold. Our shops are in very high demand due to how close it is to the hedgesnow. As you can tell, the price here us much lower. We can even provide you with retainers if you wish for it."

"I plan to buy the store closer to the gates if possible but the price is still a bit higher. Maybe something near the village office." Peter pointed at the shop opposite to the village office. "What about this one? Is it up for sale?"

"I believe it is. It is much larger than the other shops and comes with a built-in warehouse. It comes down to a total of 1200 gold. The place is definitely worth the money."

"How good is the warehouse? How much can you store in it?"

"You can place up to 20,000 inventory space of goods in the warehouse. It's on the smaller side. If you need extra space I'm afraid you will have to rent a storage unit. You can also buy larger warehouses in towns and cities."

"I will take the place. Think you can reserve it for me till I come back later today? I want to try and get a few bundles of herbs from the forest."

"Of course. I can put it on reserve for 3 days. Beyond that is not in my power I'm afraid. "

"I'll be back in a few hours. Thank you."

Once Peter when out the office, he eyed the store come warehouse carefully. It was indeed larger compared to the other building in the area. 'I will have to recruit some retainers to run this place. I should talk with Ionna about it.'

All the shops in the area sold Herb Diaries. They all had limited information on herbs and we're restricted to the common and some few uncommon ones in the Garesian Empire. The rare ones were mentioned but there were no images to equate them to.

After roaming around the grasslands for a few minutes, Peter concluded. The herbs were emptied. There was not one herb in the grassland surrounding Summerbrook. Maybe due to the abundant herb collectors around the village? He decided to return to the office and deal with the shop.

"You returned fast, My Lord." Ionna was still waiting at the office with her husband. "Yes. I couldn't find any herbs in the grasslands. Was it emptied recently?" "The grasslands have a lower spawn rate compared to the forest. Since most of the beginners practice around the place it is often stripped bare. I'm sorry, I should have said that beforehand."

"It's all right. I would like to purchase that store and a few retainers if possible." "The store cost 1200 gold and each retainer charge about 10 gold a month average. How many would you like to hire?" "I need them to get me the herbs so how much can I expect from them per month?"

"It depends on the season. A bundle sells for 10 silver and most can harvest up to five bundles a day. As you saw the supply is cut relatively short here so expect three would be reasonable. That would be ninety bundles a month. You can sell it for up to 12 gold easy in the auction house at Hedgesnow. There is a considerable shortage of herbs compared to mines and logs in the area."

"That should be fine. We should settle the paperwork fast. I also require an assistant to man the shop and warehouse and take care of the inventory. Do you have anyone capable of that?"

"Yes. we can get someone but they will cost a bit higher. At least 20 gold per month. Since you are a knight most of them would be willing and loyal but the price is harder to lower down from there."

"It's fine. Can make the necessary arrangements then. I plan to return to the town by nightfall."

*****

"So, how did it go?" Sicily was having her breakfast when Peter got out of his cabin. "Yes. I managed to meet Ionna. I just became a herbalist now. Herb gatherer to be specific." "You sure you can handle all of this. Even with just the smithing job, you seem quite busy." "It's ok. This time I was able to hire a few retainers to gather the herbs for me. All I need to do is collect the herbs from the store in Summerbrook. " "You got a store?" "Yeah, it was quite cheaper in the village."

"But the tragic would be too light. I can't see it turning in profitable." Sicily finished her cereal standing up. "It's ok. Mainly use it to purchase items and get them delivered to the town. I placed a few gold coins to purchase the herbs directly. I bet it's going to upset the merchant players monopolising the market there."

"Do you have spare gold then? We need a few to officially purchase a shop in the city. We are a bit short. " Sicily kept avoiding his face when he asked Peter for the gold. "Sure, I should have a thousand gold on me. I did place a few thousand armours for sale in the auction house. I'm not sure how much they sold for?" "Thousand will do. I can transfer the money or pay you back in gold later. Thank you." "Don't mention it. I am a part of the workshop, aren't I?"

*****

"So, you became a herbalist. Did you enjoy picking herbs?" Alder was sitting on a couch reading some scroll when Peter presented himself. "No, I didn't harvest anything. Ionna taught me the basics." "You will have to master herbalism if you need to progress as an alchemist. Some of the herbs must be obtained by the alchemist themselves."

"I will improve as I go. The area was stripped clean. "

"That's up to you. You are now an apprentice alchemist. By a cauldron from the tool store. Try to gain as much recipes as you can. If you can successfully concoct any higher grade potion, I will promote you to the next tier."

"I need to get back to the market. I need to sell a few more weapons if I'm to make more money. I'm already running on fumes." Peter left the office heading towards the auction house.

Of the three thousand weapons Peter placed in the auctions, most sold for almost 30 silver. After giving Sicily thousand gold, peter's pockets were empty. Most of the players had already surpassed level 20 equipment and there was a high need for higher tier weapons and armour.

Soon, peter was busy again with mass crafting new blueprint weapons. Steel weapons were quite expensive to make. Each weapon cost almost 1 gold to make. Peter made 100 swords and placed them into the market before getting off to meet Eric and his new office.

*****

Profile

Name: Vision

Title: Creative Artisan(R), Knight

LVL: 24

Gold: 655

Credit: 52,723,990

Available points: 9

STR: 25

VIT: 20

AGI: 10

AP: 2750

DF: 2600

HP: 200

Swordsman (C): T2 L14 (2855/7000)

Miner: T1 L10

Blacksmith: T2 L18 (2294/14,250)

Alchemist: T1 L0 (0/0)

Herbalist: T1 L1

World fame: 110

Blacksmith fame: 40

Swordsman fame: 10