After securing the property and using divination to confirm there were no issues, Don contemplated for a moment before opening the system interface.
'System, are there any plants with high sugar content nearby? If not, what would be suitable plants to cultivate here?'
He planned to try making sugar himself. After all, one still needed to satisfy their appetite sometimes. Even the sugar used by nobility in this world paled in comparison to what he remembered from his previous life.
[Searching initiated. Automatically deducting 10 knowledge fragments.]
[Remaining knowledge fragments: 10,015]
The system mechanically announced.
The sugar production techniques in the Kingdom of Loen couldn't be considered sophisticated. The sugar produced wasn't very sweet and contained many impurities. The purified portions without impurities were mostly supplied to the truly powerful nobility, not something commoners could enjoy.
Even the sugar containing impurities came at astonishing prices. Moreover, as a strategic commodity, sugar production and sales were generally controlled by the Kingdom of Loen itself, with few unofficial sugar vendors in the civilian market.
After several minutes, the system spoke again.
[Relevant information found.]
Don examined the materials provided by the system. The plant with the highest sugar content nearby, and the most convenient for production, was something called "thumb fruit," so named because its shape closely resembled human fingers.
However, because each thumb tree bore relatively few fruits and they mostly grew in steep, hard-to-reach locations, few people knew about these trees. Even fewer would eat something that looked so unsettling. Even when occasionally brought back to town by adventurous individuals and appearing in the marketplace, they attracted little attention.
Looking at the appearance of these fruits, Don couldn't help but shudder.
"Are you sure this thing naturally looks like this?"
And not because it ate something contaminated? Like... say, a Rose Bishop? Or grew crooked from listening to the True Creator's rap in godforsaken places like the Forsaken Land?
[Yes indeed, Host. The evolution of this world always seems full of mysteries. Growing like this might truly just be coincidental?]
Although feeling like he'd suffered mental contamination, Don still decided to have the guards search the woods for these finger-like trees.
Even if they really did damage one's sanity.
——
Returning to the castle, Don took one of Owen's spare suits of armor and tossed it into the "Artisan Module" along with the Sequence 4 Beyonder characteristic.
[Selected Beyonder abilities and negative effects.]
[The 'Artisan' will imbue your mystical item with the following abilities:]
[The Undying's capability regarding the Spirit World and Underworld]
[The Undying's control over 'Death']
[The Undying's power of 'Immortality']
[The 'Artisan' will imbue your mystical item with the following negative effects:]
[The Undying's negative effect regarding 'Death']
[Note: When crafting demigod-level Beyonder characteristics, unavoidable variations may occur during production.]
[Remaining production time: 239:59:21]
Don was somewhat astonished. 'It takes this long?'
Ten whole days.
'And what exactly are these 'unavoidable variations'?' He pointed out sharply. Previous mystical item productions hadn't included this.
[Possible variations include Beyonder abilities mutating to become stronger or weaker, possibly gaining additional attributes like new imbued abilities, or negative effects becoming more severe. But Host needn't worry too much - these variations won't be too extreme.]
The system explained.
'Hmm, alright then.' Don closed the system interface. "We'll see what the finished product looks like in a few days."
Baron Lamud was already prepared to depart. The distance to the Southern Continent wasn't short, with the Berserk Sea separating the two landmasses, but this posed no problem for him.
After all, every high-sequence Beyonder of the Death pathway could travel through the Spirit World, which covered the entire world.
Before leaving, he gave Don a brass whistle.
A brass whistle?
Don blinked, uncertain if this was the same item that would later belong to the Lord of Mysteries.
"This can summon a messenger unique to me," Baron Lamud said gently. "If you encounter any problems, you can blow the whistle and have the messenger deliver a letter to me."
"Understood, Father." Don quietly pocketed the whistle while having the system appraise it.
[Item Information: A simple brass whistle crafted to summon a messenger exclusive to descendants of Death.]
[Beyonder Effects: Messenger summoning, divination interference.]
[Negative Effects: Causes deceased bodies that haven't found peace to reanimate, while also attracting various undead creatures within a certain range (PS: Perhaps this shouldn't be considered a negative effect?).]
Don blinked again. It really was the same.
How embarrassingly convenient.
Baron Lamud departed. Lady Boianca didn't seem particularly affected, continuing her daily routines as usual. She spent most of her time in the gardens without any intention of going out, appearing like a sheltered noble young lady.
In modern terms, one might label her a "homebody."
Don sent people to search for those thumb-fruit trees. While waiting for results, he used dream divination methods to consult his spirituality, recalling those vague memories from his previous life.
As someone from an information-based society, simply having a phone meant constantly receiving new information.
Even if he hadn't consciously learned about certain things, just encountering them once meant his spirituality would remember, storing them in his subconscious where special methods could retrieve them.
"If I could take college entrance exams like this, I might have scored a hundred points higher."
Don mused to himself.
In Fourth Epoch history, before Roselle's arrival when modern inventions weren't commonplace, improving living standards and earning some extra money wasn't particularly difficult.
After all, the room for improvement was much greater now than during Roselle's era.
Moreover, he planned to make this territory his stronghold, establishing the rituals needed for future advancements, stable anchors, and acting requirements here.
Since he didn't plan to leave anytime soon, he also intended to begin preliminary acting.
'If the Seer pathway's Sequence 4 is called 'Bizarro Sorcerer' then what kind of acting would qualify as Bizzaro magic...'
Eerie, terrifying, bizarre, horrifying - these elements made Don think of many things he'd seen before.
Like the Slit-Mouthed Woman, Siren Head, or the Red Bridal Dress...
'And getting a head start on acting certainly can't hurt.'
[Host, I get the feeling you're not planning anything good...]
"Whatever gave you that idea?" Don smiled.
(End of Chapter)