Chapter 88
Perhaps the elders felt that quarreling in front of apprentices was beneath their dignity, as Garrett Nordmark was quickly dismissed. It wasn't until the next day, when Elder Elwin Wilkinson took him to get the oak wand, that he was informed of his share:
"Consider it half. Little one, don't complain. The Guild's money is ten times yours, and you only get thirty percent!"
Oh, the technology I provided is also included in the shares. The elders are quite generous!
"Just that you won't see the money until next year. Little Garrett, if you ever need funds for magical research, let me know!"
"Teacher, the money isn't urgent"
Garrett lived and ate in the Mage Tower, with no immediate expenses. Sir Westlow thanked him with ten gold coins, and after healing Baron's wrist, he received another fifteen gold coins. With a hefty sum in hand, Garrett felt no financial strain and showed no sense of urgency:
"The important thing is to start the cleanup quickly. Teacher, if you're slow, the danger of the plague increases. Please be cautious!"
"Got it! Child, you don't need to worry about this matter!" Elder Elwin responded impatiently, lifting Garrett and leaping onto the treetops. Garrett tried to speak but was met with a gust of strong wind, leaving him no choice but to remain silent.
The place Elder Elwin brought him to was the hill where worshippers of the god of nature gathered on every new moon night. From the foot to the summit of the mountain, countless oak trees covered the sky densely. Elder Elwin carried him halfway up the mountain and then dropped him off:
"Find a tree."
"What?"
Garrett was bewildered. On such a large mountain with oak trees everywhere, you want me to find a tree without any specific guidance? Teacher, at least give me a target!
"Each of us uses an oak wand that we cultivate ourselves, starting from an acorn when we receive education," Elder Elwin explained without providing any hints. Instead, he stood aside, slammed the wand into the ground, and slowly began to narrate:
"Children starting their education will plant an acorn in an open space, wait for it to take root and sprout, growing into a sapling. On the day they become apprentices, with the help of their teachers, they turn the sapling into a wand."
From then on, this wand grows with them, fighting alongside them, experiencing decades or even centuries of storms. Until the end, it returns to the forest with its owner...
"And what about me...?"
Garrett couldn't help but ask. Growing an acorn into a sapling takes several years. Forget about apprentices trained from childhood. Did you bring me here just to give me an acorn for an oak wand?
"Your situation is special. However, in the thousands of years of the teachings of the god of nature, there are methods to deal with it. Find an oak tree, and then I'll tell you what to do next."
"How do I find one?"
"Search with your heart. Release your mind, feel, listen. You will discover the oak tree that resonates with you the most."
With a "plunk," a dark brown acorn fell into his hands.
"Teacher"
Garrett turned back in amazement. However, just as he was about to react, Elder Elwin leaped up, his robe fluttering, and went straight up the tree trunk. After a moment of silence, he handed Garrett a bundle of verdant:
"Mistletoe. Take it."
Garrett hurriedly accepted it. Elder Elwin lifted him again, arrived at the middle of the stone circle at the summit, and with a clang, threw a dagger at him:
"Soak the acorn in your blood. Then, wrap it with mistletoe, bury it in the soil, and think about making it grow quickly."
Garrett did it without saying a word.
He crouched in the center of the circle, pressed the loose soil on the ground with his hands, concentrated, and visualizedor imaginedthe appearance of the oak tree rising from the ground.
Silence surrounded him, only the rustling of leaves in the summer breeze. Unconsciously, there was a great pressure accumulating in the air, even the chirping of birds around disappeared.
Suddenly, everything went dark in front of Garrett. His body
weakened, limbs powerless, as if something was extracting his strengthjust then, a slight movement under his fingertips, a trace of green breaking through the soil, a stem, a raised head, leaves unfolding...
Not enough!
I want more!
I want to grow!
Give me power
A greedy thought came from that green. Garrett's head spun, his brain dizzy, he knelt down with a thud. Not enough, even if you suck me dry... you've only grown two leaves...
He silently spoke to the green shoot. A hand suddenly rested on the back of his neck, a warm and vast power surged down, turned in a circle, and gushed out from his fingertips. The green shoot responded with a wave of joy, rustling, rapidly growing.
Garrett knelt on the ground, watching it grow taller than his head, the main stem from translucent to the thickness of chopsticks, to the thickness of a pen, to the thickness of a cup's mouth. Finally, seven or eight main roots pulled themselves out of the soil, carrying a play of light, silently shrinking into the trunk
"Take it." Elder Elwin lifted him up, grabbed the just-grown sapling, and handed it to him:
"This is your oak wand!"
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