Stage 19: The Friendly Reminder
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Lixin was left with many questions after reading the monk's two messages. Particularly about the passage in the first letter that wrote that Herba had the ability to nurture relationships with beings from different realms.

That couldn't be a coincidence, could it? It must be connected to how he can get to Huánghé Realm. He had no clue if he was overthinking it or not, but the signs were there. The second note solidified his suspicions even further. 

After reading it, he was certain that Herba could be used for more than just healing and fighting. A high probability existed that it also had the ability to travel between realms. The only unknown was how.

However, he was in no rush to find out. In a well-written story, the secret would be divulged when the time was right. After examining the note again, he flipped to the next page. He didn't really know what he expected but it sure wasn't this. It appeared to be something out of a cookbook.

In an unfamiliar script were the words (Low Grade) Tearum Foliarum Saculum, but he inferred it meant teabags from the illustration below it. There were even instructions on how to make them.

In addition, there was a section at the bottom with the monk's handwriting:

I have found Atropa doesn't react to Loose Leaf tea as Dexatrim does. I've concluded that its power needs to be compressed before being unleashed so that when it is released, its force can flow freely.

"Looks like I'll have to make my own tea bags," Lixin muttered. As he was about to turn the page, a small question mark caught his eye at the bottom of the page. Intrigued, he clicked on it only for a notification window to appear.

[Cora:] [Friendly Reminder: You need to have the tailoring skill in order to use this recipe!]

After reading the notification, Lixin made a mental note to check his skills after this. He remembered from the cutscene that his persona already had a few skills, but couldn't recall which ones. If he already knew how to tailor things together, that would be great, but if not, he would have to look into getting the skill.

With that thought in mind, he turned the page and saw the word "Ceylon" written in the same format as the teabags. The only difference on this page was that instead of instructions and materials, there was a list of ingredients and a recipe for preparing tea leaves.

Well, that and Zin's notation at the bottom which was really cryptic.

Ceylon was a concoction born from fire and will encase its victims in ash.

Lixin was baffled by what the monk meant by those words. Fortunately, he didn't have to guess because the word 'Ceylon' was highlighted on the page. When he clicked on it, a new screen appeared with a detailed description of the skill:

Ceylon LVL 0/20 (Red Hot Cinnamon Citrus Tea + Pink Savory): This skill enables fiery embers to enter a monster's body, charring its insides before burning it into ash. The stronger the monster, the more powerful the spell must be cast. *-15 HP per second for 10 seconds (It only works within a 5-foot radius of the target.) 

Lixin's mouth dropped open as he read the skill's description. He couldn't wait to see it in action. Curious about what the other skill was, he quickly turned the page and clicked on the highlighted word. The skill was even more impressive than the previous time.

Lamprocapnos LVL 0/20 (Black Tea + Bleeding Heart Flower): When using this skill, a red vine will emerge from the ground and wrap around an enemy, draining their life energy through its thorns. * -20 HP per second for 10 seconds. (This only works within a 5-ft radius of the target.)

"Amazing!" Lixin exclaimed after reading the details. "Who would have thought something like tea could be so deadly?"

Excited by the skills he had gained so far, Lixin tried to move on to the next page, but the system refused to allow him to do so. It seems he could only see the skills he had unlocked.

'That sucks,' he thought.

Just as he was about to tap the X to close out of the Cora, he remembered he wanted to check out his regular skills. Giving a slow shake of his head, Lixin removed his hand from the exit button and navigated his way to the other tabs.

Glancing at them, he saw that, aside from the Herba tab there were Skills, Quests, Profile, Cooking Journal, and Functions. There were a few more but they were grayed out. Although he was intrigued by the Cooking Journal, he wouldn't let himself get off track and clicked on Skills.

After pressing the Skill tab and opening it, he saw it was divided into three sections. Which were Supportive Skills, Offensive Skills, Life Skills, and Racial Skills. Since Lixin knew he didn't have any supportive skills yet and the offensive ones were probably the ones he just looked at in his Herba tab he clicked the expand button on the Life Skills tab first.

The skills he saw were: 

Cooking Lvl 4: This allows players to cook with various food ingredients. Players can acquire recipes by learning them from NPCs or they could create them themselves. There are many cooking specializations, and players will learn them as they level up. *Open the Cooking Journal to see which specializations and recipes are unlocked and can be used. 

"Oh nice, " Lixin whispered to himself. He was happy to see his cooking skill was level four. Now he didn't have to start from scratch. However, he couldn't help but wonder if his persona had any specializations. This made him want to hurry up and check out the cooking journal.

Continuing through the skills list, he saw he had the fishing skill and something called ingredient seeking.

Ingredient Seeking Level 4: Ingredients to make delicious cuisines can be found in nature if one knows where to look. However, it is very difficult to tell the difference between quality and trash. With this skill, you will have an easier time doing so. Ingredient Seeking will help you recognize any useful ingredient from plants to animals. *This is a passive skill that can be turned on and off.

Tea Mixology Level 3: You must combine at least two different varieties of tea to produce an innovative blend of 2-3 sorts of tea. When you combine tea, strange things can happen. New flavors or maybe a completely distinct mixture.

Fishing Level 1: An essential skill when catching fish in the water. A player can easily start fishing with a fishing rod and bait, but you need more than that to fish even better. You must know how to properly attach the bait. You must have the judgment to choose a suitable place and the patience to wait until a fish is caught. Once a fish is caught, you must control the single fishing line and quickly snatch it up as the fish will challenge you with its strength. This is why many people refer to experienced fishermen as masters of life. *To level up this skill please find these masters of life to help you.

Lixin knew those three skills would be really helpful but unfortunately, he didn't have any tailoring skills. While that was a bummer, his last skill made up for it.

Bartering Lvl 1: Everyone thinks money can buy anything, but when this skill is in use money is obsolete. Once a day a player can exchange goods or services without using money. *It has a 5% chance of success that doubles depending on charisma level. 

He thought it was an excellent skill to have. Although he wouldn't be able to use it until later in the game, just having it made him smile. 'I have to tell Zeyu about it. He probably knows a way I could use it to the fullest.'

~

Author Says:

MomoCatt: Wow you have some amazing skills!

Lixin: I know right! I’m still shocked by the tea ones.

MomoCatt: But doesn’t that Ceylon one remind you of something?

Lixin: Like what?

MomoCatt: Did you forget the first tea I gave you?

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