Single Spell Sorcerer-Chapter 131: Nombian Winemaking

Jax and the rest gathered around their loot once they’d caught their breath. The Lakeborn Monkey had been generous in death, leaving behind several stones glinting in the afternoon light, along with what appeared to be a spell scroll.

Ning showed them the regular Emerald stones first before presenting the blue one.

"Water Emerald stone," Melayne said, picking it up immediately. "I could use this for my armor crafting."

Jax looked at the stone, then at Melayne. "Actually, I’d like that one. I need any stones I can get to improve my Spell."

Melayne raised an eyebrow. "Doesn’t that just happen when you break through?" she asked.

"No, my Spell is different. It has parts that I need Navi stones to unlock. Right now, I’ve only managed to unlock 3 of the total 22."

"Do you want all the stones?" Ning asked, gesturing to the regular gems.

Jax shook his head. "I can only use Elemental stones. The others I can share."

"Oh, I have sadly sold all of mine already," Ning said.

Lucille went through her inventory and pulled out two smaller stones that seemed blue in color but had stark white veins running across them. "I have two Lightning Opal stones if you want them. I was going to sell them anyway."

"I’ll take them," Jax said gratefully. Any elemental stone was better than none.

They unrolled the scroll next.

"Water Guardian. This looks promising," Melayne said. She looked toward Lucille. "Do you want it?"

"A defensive spell?" Lucille asked. Upon thinking, she nodded. "I’ve been more or less useless in the battles, so I can do this at least. It also pairs well with my restriction."

With the loot distributed, they made their way back to the village. The journey felt lighter somehow, knowing that Jax’s quest had come close to the end.

At the village, Jax split off from the group and headed straight for the Wine Hermit’s shop. It took him a while to get hold of the hermit, but when he did, he presented him with the blue flower.

"You found it," the hermit said, his voice filled with excitement. "The Celestial Bloom. I wasn’t sure you’d actually manage it."

Jax pushed the flower through the window screen. "Here it is, as promised."

"Perfect. Absolutely perfect," the Hermit shouted inside his shop. He disappeared into his back room and returned with a thick, leather-bound book. "This is your payment, as agreed."

Jax accepted the book, feeling its substantial weight. Before he said anything, he heard a notification sound in his ears.

He had completed the quest.

"This book has what I want?" Jax asked in surprise

"Everything you need to know about advanced winemaking," the hermit said. "Aww, my Celestial Bloom, how I’ve missed you."

The hermit began talking to himself inside.

Jax sighed and was about to leave when the hermit addressed him.

"Come back tomorrow morning if you want to see what you’ve been fighting for all this time. I’ll give you a taste of this flower."

Jax was taken aback, but he nodded and made his way back to the tavern, where his party was waiting for him.

"Quest complete?" Ning asked as Jax sat down.

"Yes," Jax said. "We’re all done."

"So, can we leave the village now?" Lucille asked immediately.

Jax nodded.

"When is it best to leave? In the morning?" Ning aksed

"We’ll leave the morning the day after tomorrow," Jax said. "I have to meet with the hermit again tomorrow."

Melayne nodded approvingly. "I don’t want to suddenly leave anyway. A day of rest sounds nice, and I have a few people I want to say my farewell to."

The group eventually dispersed to their rooms, and Jax finally had a chance to examine the book the hermit had given him. The cover was embossed with an elegant script: "Nombian Winemaking."

Jax frowned, trying to place where he’d heard the term "Nombian" before. Something about it seemed familiar, but he couldn’t quite remember the context.

He opened the book anyway and began reading.

The recipes and methodology were incredibly simple at first glance, but as Jax read, he realized how much intricacies the wines actually needed during preparation. Not only did they require vast amounts of ingredients to produce even small quantities of wine, but each formula demanded precise measurements and specific techniques that would require an entire dedicated setup to attempt.

The cost alone would be enormous. Jax doubted he had the time or money to pursue this seriously right now, not when he had to prepare for the 9th Carriage’s trial in less than 2 months.

He decided to give it a go once he reached the 8th Carriage.

Still, he continued reading, fascinated by the variety of wines described. There were healing wines far more potent than anything he’d encountered, along with formulas for wines that provided strength and speed amplification. Some wines enhanced perception, while others improved Navi channels to make spell casting more efficient.

Halfway through the book, Jax found something that made him stop and reread the entire section. A wine that improved the speed of Navi absorption, a wine that could help him and his party advance faster through the stages.

The recipe listed primary ingredients along with various alternatives that could be found throughout different carriages. The flexibility of substitutions made it seem almost achievable, given enough time and preparation.

"This is incredible," he murmured to himself.

By the time he finished reading through the entire book, Jax was certain he’d received something truly valuable. The knowledge contained within these pages could not only help him speed his way through the carriages, he could also sell them for a lot of money.

He placed the book into his Inventory, still very excited about Winemaking in the future, and pulled out the Water Emerald stone and the two Lightning Opal stones.

It was unlikely they would help him unlock any threads, but they would get him close.

So, Jax spent the next hour absorbing them all before finally going to sleep.

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