The hologram of a wheel spun with a hum and Kain’s eyes tried to follow the plant names as they flashed before him. With a final dramatic slow turn, the wheel stopped on his first draw.
The image that the wheel stopped on showed vibrant green leaves with silver veining.
“A juvenile Ethereal Moonleaf. Orange-grade at maturity. It is a relatively rare plant and when its leaves are consumed it significantly boosts the rate of spiritual power condensation. Not bad…” A satisfied grin spread across Kain’s face. This seed would be an excellent addition to his collection.
He eagerly spun the wheel again, hoping for a similar outcome. This time it landed on a deep purple flower. “A Venus Blossom seed. Red-grade. Another spiritual power booster, although of a lower grade.” While not as potent as the orange-grade Ethereal Moonleaf, it would still be a useful asset.
Kain quickly pressed the button again. However, it seems that his good luck ran out for this draw.
The wheel stopped at a pale blue flower. “A fully mature Aetheric Breath Orchid. Red-grade. When consumed, it grants temporary underwater breathing.
This could be useful in specific circumstances, and at least Kain could just keep it stored in his inventory without it degrading until he needs it since it’s already fully grown and doesn’t need to plant and care for it until it reaches maturity like he would the juvenile Moonleaf and Venus Blossom seed.
Kain continues to spin the wheel, each stop yielding a mix of red and orange-grade seeds and plants. After using up all 10 tickets, he had amassed a collection of seeds with a variety of effects.
Kain thankfully was able to obtain 5 draws for plants that improve spiritual power, 3 orange-grade and 2 red-grade. He obtained one plant that was able to allow him to breath underwater. And he drew 3 fully grown plants that act as antidotes for different types of poisons.
The last draw though was surprising, it was only a red-grade plant, but it had an effect that Kain had never even heard of before.
“The Bloom of Ascension. A flower that when consumed in its entirety can cause ordinary animals to become the lowest quality black-iron quality spiritual creature.”
This was something that Kain had never been exposed to. There had always been a clear divide between ordinary creatures, and spiritual creatures. There had never been a reported case of an ordinary creature becoming a spiritual creatures, even if only an ordinary black-iron quality one.
This is because their bodies inherently lack the ability to condense spiritual power, and therefore were missing a necessary component needed to become a spiritual creature.
And since they were unable to evolve, and any past attempts to turn them into spiritual creatures had caused them to die due to the energy their bodies were unequipped to handle—similar to the spiritual power poisoning that Aric’s death was blamed on.
However, the deaths from experiments on ordinary creatures were more gruesome, more so resembling the results from experiments on ordinary people who in a desperate bid for power try to forcefully awaken an affinity. If they are lucky, they become soulless shells. If unlucky, neither their bodies nor their souls are left intact in a violent and bloody explosion.
And Kain had an idea of just what kind of ordinary creature he’d want to convert.
Most microorganisms have no use to him precisely because most of them, aside from Eve and Bea who he’d met so far, are ordinary creatures. They are completely no threat to most creatures, since even most ordinary creatures and people have a small amount of spiritual power and, therefore, a more robust immune system than people back on Earth.
Although Kain does find it weird that microorganisms, which are usually the first to evolve, strangely in this world seem to be so weak…
However, most of microorganisms Kain has come into contact with, in addition to being ordinary, also don’t have harmful effects. Instead, they are most often seen in the beverage and food industries playing a role in fermentation, alcohol production, cheese production, and more.
Therefore, Kain didn’t think he could obtain a suitable contract for himself using this Bloom of Ascension. Kain decided to use the flower to help him with his not yet started business.
Kain pushed open a heavy wooden door to a bustling pub, and a wave of rowdy laughter and warm air greeted him. The establishment was packed, with customers chatting animatedly, laughing, and clinking their glasses, while music from a lively band in the corner added to the mixture of sounds.
The pub’s interior was predominantly composed of dark woods. Old pictures and newspaper clippings featuring the pub with famous figures in the past adorned the walls.
The air was thick with the scent of grilled meat and the tang of beer, mixing into an intoxicating aroma that caused Kain’s stomach to growl.
Kain made his way through the sea of patrons, dodging the occasional swinging arm.
Finally, he reached the which stretched the length of the room. Behind it, the bartender was a tower figure of solid muscle, with a bushy beard that framed his weathered face and sharp eyes that could seemingly pick up on even the smallest details of his customers.
His movements were smooth and quick, clearly familiar with the routine of working the bar.
Kain approached and raised his voice to be heard over the noise. “Evening! I’ve heard nothing but great things about this place. Business seems to be booming.”
The bartender glanced up, a flash of pride flickering in his eyes. “Ah, welcome! You’ve come to just the right place if you’re looking for a good time. I’m Barret—the bartender, the owner, the brewer, and occasionally the chef. I do it all! What can I get for you?”
Kain flashed a smile, “I heard that your bar is the most famous one in Dark Moon. It has an old history and the spiritual beer your ancestors produced is considered by the locals to be the best within the whole Celestial Empire. You’re truly a local gem! The pride of Dark Moon City.”
“Flattery will get you everywhere. But the locals are just bragging! Probably just wanting to butter me up for some free beers. Is that what you’re doing now? It won’t work!” Barret said while laughing.
“It was worth a shot!” Kain said while chuckling. “I’d love to try one of your renowned beers. Maybe a plate of ribs as well. I just realized I haven’t eaten all day.”
“Coming right up!”
A few minutes later a plate of steaming hot ribs was placed before Kain. Once Kain began to dig in, Barret poured a foamy mug of a rich amber ale and slid it across the bar. Kain took a sip, savoring the complex flavors that danced on his tongue—notes of malt, subtle spices, and a very faint fruity undertone.
Kain could also feel his star space unconsciously reacting, drawing in spiritual power at an extremely slow rate due to he not consciously attempting to draw it in. However, if he did try to cultivate right this instant, he could sense that his efficiency would definitely be greatly improved.
“This is exceptional,” Kain said, setting the mug. “You definitely live up to you reputation.”
Barret’s eyes gleamed with pride. “Thank you. I put my heart and soul into every batch.”
Kain finished his meal and the beer. At the bottom there was a tiny amount of cream-coloured residue—Kain’s target.
“Could I actually get another one to go?”