After I finished checking all my announcements, Mahya turned to Lis and asked, "Should we harvest here or on Earth?"

Lis paused and tapped his chin. "Let's do another round and then decide."

They disappeared between the trees, only to return after a short while.

Mahya scanned the surroundings. "Looks peaceful," she said. "I think we dealt with all the big threats."

Lis clapped his hands once, briskly. "Then we will harvest here."

In a flash, a pile of monsters materialized in front of them. Most were snakes, like the green one I had killed earlier, but some creatures resembled bears with squished faces and metallic spikes, and others looked like canines with six legs and tails ending in stingers.

"How come they're not dissipating?" I asked.

Lis glanced at me. "Those are mana beasts, not monsters."

Lis took out a large knife, straightened one snake, and cut the skin from head to tail.

He turned to me, saying, "Start peeling the skin off the flesh; you don't have to be too careful; this skin is very tough and doesn't lose its strength after the burrower dies."

I had a better idea and said majestically, "Behold." I covered the snake with a thin mana layer between its skin and flesh and popped the skin right off. With all my practice on the bison, it took me two minutes, and the skin came off clean.

They both stared for a moment, eyebrows raised. Lis let out a low whistle. "Great, that'll go faster," he said, already pulling another snake toward him and slicing it lengthwise.

I continued popping off the skin from all the snakes. Beside me, Mahya sliced each snake open and carefully removed a green liquid sack about the size of a mango and a small crystal from each body.

I paused, glancing over at her as she held up the items. "What are those?"

"The venom sacks and the beast cores."

"And why do we need them?"

Mahya looked up, meeting my gaze with a smile. "The venom sacks are an alchemy ingredient, and the cores are mana crystals, like the ones Lis told me you can harvest."

I nodded, then glanced down at the half-skinned snake. "Cool."

I continued popping off skins until we ran out of snakes.

"You should harvest the meat, too," Lis suggested. "It's much richer in mana than the meat you saturate."

I wrinkled my nose. The idea of eating a scary snake was not exactly appealing. "I'm not sure I want to eat a nasty green snake."

Lis laughed at my expression, shaking his head. "Mana snakes are delicious, and don't forget about Rue. He needs the mana-rich meat to progress."

He had a point, and I knew it. With a reluctant sigh, I gave him a thumbs up, deciding to make the most of the situation. As an idea formed in my mind, I decided to use the opportunity to progress my loot spell, but I wanted to approach it differently this time. Pulling out the biggest plastic sheet I had, I spread it on the ground with a flourish.

Lis raised an eyebrow. "What are you doing?"

I grinned, excited about my plan and eager to show off. "Wait and see."

Hey, you need to use the circumstances to your advantage.

I lifted the snake with telekinesis—God, the fucker was heavy; I could almost feel my mind sweating from the strain, like trying to lift a damn boulder with a toothpick. The snake hovered in the air, wobbling slightly as I brought it over the plastic sheet. Splitting my mind, I cast Clean and Purify and zeroed in on it with my mana sense. The snake's insides lit up in my mind, a complex mess of a long digestive tract winding through its body and a few other internal organs that I didn't want to think too much about.

With a deep breath, I encapsulated all the unneeded parts in a tight cocoon of mana. Then, I created a precise grid of mana inside the snake, a mental blueprint for where I wanted to make the cuts. My focus sharpened as I applied the correct aspects to the grid, tweaking it here and there until everything was just right. Pushing a steady stream of mana into the grid, I held my breath and released the telekinesis from the steaks, letting them drop.

A satisfying series of thuds echoed as a neat stack of steaks landed on the plastic sheet, each piece perfectly cut as if by the sharpest blade. The offal, still suspended in mid-air, hovered like a grotesque piñata that thankfully wouldn't be part of tonight's dinner.

Lis and Mahya clapped, and Mahya even cheered, jumping in excitement. I couldn't resist the moment. With a flourish, I took a theatrical bow, one hand behind my back, and the other sweeping low like a stage performer. "Well, thank you, lady and gentleman," I declared with exaggerated pomp, trying not to crack a grin. Straightening up, I added with a wink, "And that's how you do it."

With that, I went back to work, quickly and efficiently cutting all the snakes and feeling pretty pleased with myself.

Mahya reached out and caught my wrist just as I was about to handle the last snake. "I nicked the venom sack; this one is poisonous now."

"He has Neutralized Poison," Lis pointed out.

Mahya waved him off. "I know, but there's enough meat. No need to scavenge damaged goods."

I couldn't help but laugh, nodding in agreement. "Fair point," I said, stepping back. Lis just shook his head at our antics, probably wondering how he ended up stuck with the two of us. I remembered the snake I had stored, took it out, and tried to cut it lengthwise like Lis did, but my knife slid right off the scales, not leaving even a scratch.

Frustrated, I turned to Lis. "How do you cut them so easily?"

He held up his knife with a smile. "It's an enchanted mithril knife. I'll do it, unless you want to build a mana edge on your knife and give it a try?"

I shook my head. "I've trained enough for one day. You do it, and let's get on with the harvesting."

I moved on to the quilled bears and crouched beside one, eyeing it. "Is there anything to harvest here?"

Lis looked over. "Yes, the quills and the hides."

I looked at him, confused.

"The quills are metallic and venomous," he said, walking over and nudging one with the toe of his boot. "Hunters and alchemists both want them."

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I ran a hand over the bristly pelt, fingers brushing against a socket where a quill had already fallen out. "What about the skin? Looks like it's been used for target practice."

"Those are natural sockets. The skin's reinforced around them—makes it more durable, not less. Leatherworkers use it for specialized gear."

"Huh." I blinked, tilting my head at the bear.

It took me the better part of twenty minutes to figure out how to pluck the quills with mana—it wasn't as straightforward as I'd hoped. After a lot of trial and error (mostly error), I finally cracked it. Turned out, you've got to coat the bottoms of the quills with mana and then pop them out like you're opening a stubborn jar. Once I got the hang of it, it was smooth sailing. In less than an hour, I had plucked over thirty bears, leaving them looking like oversized, defeated pincushions.

The next step wasn't exactly glamorous. I had to slice open their bellies, scoop out the internal organs—trying not to think too hard about what I was holding—and hang them upside down to drain the blood. It was messy, but necessary.

Once the bears were hanging, we moved on to the canines. Same drill: open the abdomens, hang them upside down, and let gravity do the work. But, of course, there was a twist—because why should anything be simple? There's a specific technique to opening the abdomen without nicking the venom sac of the tail stinger. One wrong move, and you've got a venom explosion on your hands, as I learned on wolfie number two.

I asked Lis and Mahya, "How do you know all this? Have you been in this world before?"

"No, but you'll start recognizing patterns with certain groups of mana beasts over time," Lis said. "It's all about knowing who buys what. Alchemists always buy poison-related items, like those venom sacs. Leatherworkers will take any leather, especially durable stuff like this. You're already familiar with mana crystals, and mana-rich meat is always in demand. And if the taste isn't to your liking, there's always Rue—he won't complain."

I nodded, but something still puzzled me. "What about the quills and knowing where the poison sack is located?"

Lis chuckled, glancing at the pile of quills I had painstakingly plucked. "The quills feel metallic and carry venom. It's pretty obvious they're good for crafting. As for the poison sack's location, it's fairly straightforward. In reptiles, you'll find it near the head; in mammals, it's usually tucked in with the other internal organs. Or, you could buy the Appraisal skill—you have enough points– and it will tell you what's valuable in any monster."

"I already have the Appraisal skill from my Merchant class," I said, realizing I hadn't been using it to its full potential.

Lis nodded. "Right, I forgot about that. Go appraise one beast we haven't processed yet; you'll see what I'm talking about."

Sheepish, I nodded and turned to appraise the next beast in line, determined to better use my skills. I approached one canine, its six legs splayed out awkwardly on the ground, and focused on it, activating my Appraisal skill.

Pelt 6–9 Silver

Meat 3–7 Gold

My vision was drawn to its belly.

Venom Sack 1–3 Gold

Beast Core 6–9 Gold

My vision was drawn to its tail.

Stinger 1–3 Silver

Cool!!

I asked Lis, "It says the stingers are worth one to three silvers; why aren't we harvesting them?"

Lis shrugged. "Locating a blacksmith who crafts poisonous weapons is difficult. They tend to face opposition and work in secret with assassins and the like."

"Got it," I said, nodding as the pieces fell into place. "Why is there a difference in prices, though?"

"Supply and demand," Lis said, pointing at the wolf. "This quality of material is rare in medium-mana worlds, so the price is higher. In high-mana worlds, it's more abundant, so it's cheaper."

"It's still expensive," I pointed out.

"Of course. You still have to kill a dangerous mana beast to get it."

Well, economics applies in every world, I guess.

After we finished hanging all the beasts like some macabre display, Mahya turned to me and asked, "Can you cast Clean on me, please?"

I raised an eyebrow. "Why don't you buy it? You've got a ton of points."

"I can't. I had it, but I traded it for an engineering skill," she said with a gloomy look.

"So now you can't buy it ever again?"

"I hope I'll be able to buy a mage scroll with the spell," Mahya said, crossing her fingers.

"You can learn it from a scroll, but the spell construct has to differ from the one you converted," Lis chimed in. "If the spell construct is the same, you consume the scroll but don't receive the spell."

Mahya looked at him, curious. "How do you know?"

"Happened to a Traveler I know. It took him over ten scrolls to find a different version of 'Peaceful Night.'"

"What's 'Peaceful Night'?" I asked.

"It's a spell to make your camp invisible," Mahya said, sighing deeply. "I had it, too."

"Sounds useful," I said, imagining the possibilities.

"Yes," Lis replied, then added, "but don't rush to buy it; try to create or learn it instead. You're lucky with your wizard class; you can learn spells like you did with the barrel."

"Yes," Mahya confirmed, "He and Lyura both."

"Why Lyura?" Lis asked, looking confused.

"Her mother is a witch who taught her all the spells she knew. Lyura also has the ability but is just starting to develop it," Mahya said.

"It's an ability, not a class?" I asked, trying to wrap my head around it.

"Yes," Lis replied. "It depends on the type of mana body you have. Because you have power orbs, you could be either a Mage or a Wizard, depending on where your talent lies. However, you can't become a Witch since you can't store mana in your body, nor can you become a sorcerer since you can't channel external mana unless you advance in your Wizard class and develop the necessary skill."

"This whole subject of magic is very complicated," I admitted, feeling overwhelmed.

"Not really," Mahya said, giving me an encouraging smile. "It's just new to you. After you get used to thinking with these concepts and continue to study, it will become second nature and very clear to you."

I dragged a hand through my hair. "I'm not there yet."

"While waiting for the beasts to drain, we should start working on the trees," Lis said. "We have a quiet and undisturbed place here."

"Why did I have to cut down so many trees?" I asked, still not clear on that part.

"It's for a project Mahya and I are working on," Lis replied, as vague as ever.

"Yes, but what project?" I pressed, trying to get more out of them.

"Like we told you about the radio, be patient," Lis said with a wink.

I rolled my eyes and muttered, "Keep your secrets," before pulling the first tree from Storage.

We got to work removing all the branches from the trees. Once each tree was free of branches, Lis stored the trunks in his Storage. Meanwhile, I focused on coating the saw's blade with mana—a task that, despite my efforts, remained challenging. Lis, of course, made it look easy with his enchanted saw, cutting through the wood swiftly while Mahya concentrated on stripping the leaves from the branches.

After a few hours, we finally finished with all the trees, and I was exhausted. Just as I was about to discard the leftover branches, Lis stopped me. "Don't throw those away. Save them as firewood. Mana-rich wood is excellent for fire; it burns for hours."

"Why did I have to cut down all these trees instead of saturating Earth's trees with mana?" I asked.

"You can't saturate a tree with mana if it doesn't have it in the first place," Lis explained. "No matter what you do, the tree will explode into mulch. It's actually a great way to make money in medium-mana worlds—turning trees into mulch with mana and selling it to alchemists. They're willing to pay considerable sums to grow more potent herbs."

This man is a fount of knowledge.

After we got all the beasts down from where they were hanging, I pealed them off like the snakes

I was too tired to cut all the beasts into steaks, so Lis suggested I keep them in my Storage for now. They'd mostly be for Rue, and since I'm the cook for all of us, it made sense.

Lis and Mahya divided the hides, crystals, quills, and venom sacs into three equal piles. They each stored one pile, and then Lis turned to me and said, "This is your pile."

"Mine? But I didn't do anything! You're the ones who fought all the beasts and monsters."

"Yes, but you helped us cut the trees, healed our injuries, and helped us harvest the materials. The party rule applies here—an equal division for the three of us."

"What's the party rule?"

Lis folded his arms, adopting a more instructive tone. "When a party works together, if there's no different agreement in the first place, everything is divided equally between all party members, unless something specific is very suitable for a particular person. That person gets it but must give up something of equivalent value."

My shoulders slumped. "Good to know," I mumbled, too tired to speak coherently.

Once we had everything stored away, we made our way back to the Gate and bed. I was dead on my feet.

On the way, I checked my profile; my Harvest Game was still [in Progress].

Bummer.

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