Adventurer of Many Professions-Chapter 91: Joy of the Harvest!

In what felt like mere seconds, Raymond was already standing before the ’Vine Demon Tree’, its remaining arms now useless and broken.

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"Die!"

With a battle cry, Raymond plunged his sword deep into the heart of the ’Vine Demon Tree’. The tree gave one last, pained shudder as he twisted the blade, and then, with a final, resounding crash, it toppled to the ground. The branches trembled for a moment, letting out a faint, unwilling sound before they withered and died. A cloud of dust swirled around its fallen body as its life force faded completely.

Raymond stood over the fallen ’Vine Demon Tree’, his chest heaving with exertion. "It’s finally over..." he muttered, exhaustion settling in as he plopped down on the fallen trunk.

He had just been surrounded by two of these monsters, their coordinated strikes relentless. Every movement had been a careful dance of evasion and counterattack, and though he had dodged death numerous times, the tension had drained him completely.

His gaze shifted to the distant trees where Sylph and Lorene had been watching anxiously. "If it weren’t for Lorene’s quick thinking and Sylph’s explosive magic, we might have left this place empty-handed. Or worse."

Raymond chuckled bitterly to himself, wiping the sweat from his brow. The ’Vine Demon Trees’ had been far stronger than he’d expected. The underground thorny limbs had nearly caught him off guard several times, and despite his fighter’s instincts, he’d been on the edge of disaster more than once.

"I didn’t think two ’Vine Demon Trees’ would be so tough," Raymond muttered, shaking his head. "If we didn’t have those explosive spells and a little luck, we’d be in a much worse position right now."

At that moment, Sylph and Lorene came rushing over, concern still etched on their faces.

"Raymond! Are you alright?" Lorene asked, her voice filled with anxiety as she noticed him sitting on the ground, a little disheveled but seemingly unhurt. She was still carrying the backpack that had fallen earlier.

"I’m fine," Raymond waved off their concern, giving them a reassuring smile.

Lorene, however, had a bittersweet expression on her face as she looked at him. In her heart, she’d hoped for a minor injury, just something so she could feel useful. Yet, at the same time, she didn’t want anything to happen to Raymond.

Raymond caught the conflicted look in her eyes and smiled warmly. "Lorene," he began, "thanks for that shout earlier. I was getting boxed in, but your suggestion to align with them helped me turn the tide. If I’d stayed like I was, those two might have caught me off guard."

At his words, Lorene’s face lit up with surprise. I helped him? She thought for a moment, her heart soaring with pride. A genuine smile broke across her face, and she felt a wave of warmth.

"Yeah!" she beamed, her voice more confident than ever.

Raymond stood up from the trunk of the fallen ’Vine Demon Tree’, wiping the sweat from his brow. The fight had taken a toll on him, but it was finally over. He turned toward Sylph and Lorene, who had been waiting for his signal.

"Alright, the area is clear. You can go ahead and start digging up the ’blood vine grass’ now," Raymond said, gesturing toward the patch of the rare plant that had been their goal all along.

Both women nodded, relieved that the immediate threat had been neutralized. Sylph and Lorene wasted no time. They hurried toward the ’blood vine grass’ area, careful not to damage the delicate plants as they began to dig around their roots with the bottoms of their magic wands.

Raymond, however, wasn’t done yet. His sharp eyes turned back to the two ’Vine Demon Trees’ that had been struck by Sylph’s explosive magic. They were still twitching on the ground, their long limbs flailing weakly as the magic that had shattered them began to lose its effect.

"I’ll take care of these two," Raymond said, his voice steady, despite the exhaustion beginning to settle in his muscles. "Better to deal with them now than let them grow back."

Sylph and Lorene exchanged a quick glance, both understanding that the trees were no longer a threat to Raymond. They didn’t argue, and with a nod, they focused on their task.

Raymond moved towards the fallen ’Vine Demon Trees’ with his sword drawn. As he drew closer, he noticed something remarkable: the severed arms and legs of the ’Vine Demon Trees’ were already showing signs of regeneration. He could actually see the limbs beginning to grow back at an astonishing rate.

"They regenerate this fast?" Raymond muttered to himself in awe. He had read about the regenerative abilities of these creatures in a book, but seeing it firsthand was another matter entirely. "In a few days, these trees will be back at full strength."

His fascination with the regeneration was brief, though. While it was impressive, he quickly realized it was a passive ability, something innate to the ’Vine Demon Trees’, much like the ’jungle cats’’ sharp claws. It was the kind of ability Raymond couldn’t acquire, not without some form of training or skill acquisition.

Raymond felt a pang of regret. If I could somehow gain that regeneration power... It would be like having an unstoppable healing factor, able to regrow limbs in an instant. The possibilities were tantalizing, but he quickly dismissed the thought.

Instead, his mind shifted to another idea. But if these creatures have skills... Raymond recalled the ’jungle cats’’ "’Tearing’" ability, a skill that assassins could also learn. Perhaps, just maybe, there were other learnable skills from monsters, skills that could be found in books like Professional Skills.

With that in mind, Raymond walked toward the two ’Vine Demon Trees’, deciding it was time to finish them off before they fully recovered. They were twitching and attempting to reassemble themselves, but Raymond wasn’t going to give them the chance to fight back.

The trees lashed out with their remaining limbs, but Raymond was too quick. With precise movements, he dodged the strikes and brought his sword down in two swift blows. The limbs were severed, and the trees collapsed to the ground with a final, heavy thud. The ’Vine Demon Trees’’ struggle stopped, and their leaves turned dry and brown as their life force drained away completely.

Raymond exhaled in relief, sheathing his sword. "It’s finally quiet. Now we can focus on the ’blood vine grass’."

He walked over to where Sylph and Lorene were still working, digging around the precious plants with intense concentration. The two women looked up when they saw Raymond approach, and Sylph quickly urged him forward.

"Raymond, come help us out! We’re digging too slowly!" she called out, clearly anxious to finish.

Raymond smiled and shook his head, noticing they had only managed to dig up a single plant each. "I see that. Let’s get this done," he said.

He moved in quickly, surveying the area. As he got closer, he realized there were far more ’blood vine grass’ plants than he had initially thought. From a distance, he’d only noticed the dense patch where the plants grew in clusters. But now, standing right in the middle of the area, he saw that ’blood vine grass’ was scattered across a much larger area than he had anticipated.

Raymond counted quickly, there were at least twenty plants in total. More than I expected...

At that moment, Lorene looked up from her work, her brow furrowed as she glanced around. She seemed to be counting the plants as well, and then spoke with a note of concern. "Raymond, there seem to be more ’blood vine grass’ here than we actually need. The commission said it would only accept up to 20 plants, right?"

Raymond nodded, his expression serious. "Yes, the contract clearly states that only a maximum of 20 plants will be accepted. Any more than that, and it’s not worth anything."

Sylph’s eyes widened, clearly anxious. "What should we do? We can’t just leave all these extra plants behind. We might need them for something else!"

The two women exchanged looks, both uncertain about what to do with the excess. The ’blood vine grass’ was valuable, but Raymond had seen the rules written in black and white. They couldn’t submit more than what was required.

Raymond crossed his arms, thinking for a moment. "You’re right, we can’t just leave them here. But I don’t think it’s worth carrying them back with us either. We’ll have to be strategic." He scanned the area again. "Let’s gather the twenty plants required and leave the rest. Perhaps we’ll find another use for them later, or maybe we can trade them. For now, let’s focus on completing the job."

Sylph and Lorene nodded in agreement, though the disappointment was evident on their faces. They knew it was the right choice, but part of them still felt like they were leaving something valuable behind.

Together, they carefully harvested the ’blood vine grass’, ensuring they took only the required number. It was tedious work, but with Raymond’s help, they made quicker progress. Once they finished, Raymond double-checked the plants, satisfied that everything was in order.