Chapter 5: Berry Crafting
In a dilapidated tent within a valley camp.
A little girl, around ten years old, looked anxious, with tears in her eyes.
And on the haystack before her lay a woman, pale-faced and unconscious.
“Mom…”
The girl anxiously called out to the gravely ill woman before her.
A month ago, she and her parents had set out from the Royal City, accompanying Prince Lei Wen to his fiefdom.
However, they got lost halfway, her father left them, and her mother fell gravely ill.
Ten-year-old Anna knew this sickness was a fever. She had seen beggars by the roadside in the Royal City suffer from it, and die on the street because they had no money for treatment.
Anna had visited that beggar before; she had secretly slipped a piece of black bread to the beggar.
And now, her mother was showing the same symptoms as that beggar.
“Mom, wake up! *sob sob* … Don’t leave Anna here alone…”
Anna tried to shake the woman’s arm, calling out “Mom.”
However, the woman had fallen unconscious. No matter how much she called, her eyes wouldn’t open, and she couldn’t gently stroke her head and respond softly as usual.
Just then, Anna suddenly heard footsteps from outside.
Immediately after, the tent flap was lifted, and the Physician and Old Butler from Prince Lei Wen’s side entered.
Physician Lila glanced at the crying girl in the tent, her brow furrowed. She quickly stepped forward, examining the woman’s condition as she said, “Let me handle this!”
“Physician… Physician! Please save my mother!”
Anna felt as if she had seen her last ray of hope. She immediately stepped aside obediently, watching intently.
Lila reached out and felt the woman’s forehead. Her expression immediately turned very serious.
“She has a high fever and has fallen unconscious,” Lila said.
“Will Mom wake up?” Anna couldn’t help but ask.
“I will do my utmost,” Lila replied, then said to the Old Butler, “Mr. Elif, I need Moonpetal Herb and Bitter Root to alleviate her symptoms.”
Hearing this, Elif took out two herbs from the medicine box and asked, “What should I do?”
“Prepare a pot, put these two herbs in it, and boil them for thirty minutes. Then, give the bowl of medicine to the patient,” Lila replied.
Hearing this, Anna quickly said, “I’ll help!”
Lila looked at the young girl with some surprise and asked, “You know how to boil herbs?”
“I used to help my mom at home!” Anna wiped away her tears, knowing the current situation at the camp.
There were many patients, and the Physician wouldn’t be able to stay here long, so there were things she needed to do.
“Good child, it’s up to you then,” Lila nodded.
Anna took the herbs from the Old Butler and ran out of the tent to boil them as the Physician had instructed.
Finally, she fed the boiled herbal soup to her unconscious mother, sip by sip.
Time ticked by, and Anna didn’t know how long had passed.
She only felt utterly exhausted.
The exhaustion from the journey, coupled with staying by her mother’s side without leaving.
This poor girl finally couldn’t hold on and fell into a deep sleep.
…
…
Anna was awakened by a familiar voice.
“…Thank you, Lord Elif.”
She suddenly woke from her sleep, as if having had a bad dream, and cried out, “Mom!”
Hearing the voice, the woman turned her head. She had drunk the herbal soup, and her condition had improved. Although still very weak, she respectfully stood up to greet Lord Elif, who had come to check on her.
“Mom…” Seeing her mother awake, Anna, who had been holding back, immediately let out tears of grievance. She threw herself into her mother’s arms, crying and saying happily, “Thank goodness you’re okay!”
The woman gently stroked her daughter’s head. “Don’t worry, Anna.”
With that, she looked up at Elif before her and said respectfully, “Thank you very much, Lord Elif.”
Hearing this, little Anna also jumped down from her mother and said to Elif, “Thank you!”
A smile appeared on Elif’s face. Looking at the mother and daughter before him, he said:
“You don’t need to thank me. If you want to thank someone, thank Prince Lei Wen! He’s the one who distributed the herbs to everyone.”
Prince Lei Wen…
Was he the one who saved Mom?
At that moment, Anna’s heart was filled with gratitude towards that Prince Lei Wen.
*
【 Popularity +3! 】
【 Popularity +1! 】
【 Popularity +2! 】
【… 】
Lines of information continuously flashed across Lei Wen’s panel.
His previously single-digit 【 Popularity 】 had, in the span of just one day, directly broken through the 15 mark.
And his Satisfaction, which was previously 0, had reached 50.
“It seems my judgment was indeed correct.”
Lei Wen murmured.
By distributing his herbs to the people, he could solve the problem of citizens dying from illness and also gain their gratitude.
However, more than this matter, what made him happier was that he had directly obtained 50 Satisfaction this time.
With a slight movement of his will, Lei Wen opened the Technology interface.
The next second, several technologies that could be unlocked in the Agricultural Era appeared before his eyes.
【 Livestock: Unlocks the method for raising land Pokémon, required exchange: 200 Satisfaction. 】
【 Fishing: Unlocks the method for raising aquatic Pokémon, required exchange: 200 Satisfaction. 】
Lei Wen: “…”
50 Satisfaction is still too little!
He couldn’t even unlock Livestock or Fishing, let alone the later 【 Electricity Technology 】 and 【 Poké Ball Technology 】.
Lei Wen continued to flip through the Technology Tree. Although he couldn’t unlock some technologies due to era restrictions, he could view them in advance.
【 Pokémon Food Science: Unlocks the production methods for Pokémon foods like Poffins and Energy Cubes, required exchange: 1000 Satisfaction. 】
Pokémon food?
It’s just that there are not many Pokémon in the territory right now, so its current utility is not very high.
Lei Wen continued to look down and soon, a technology on one of the routes below the Industrial Era caught his attention.
【 Berry Crafting: Unlocks the crafting method for Berries, allowing the use of Berries and specific materials to create the wondrous crafts of old Poké Balls, required exchange: 500 Satisfaction. 】
Berries?
Lei Wen was slightly taken aback. He incredulously found the 【 Modern Poké Ball Technology 】 technology and, looking at its staggering 10,000 Satisfaction exchange requirement, was somewhat stunned.
Why is the gap between the two so large?
Logically speaking, the method for crafting Poké Balls is not difficult. Hundreds of years before the Pokémon League was founded, people living in the Hisui Region used Berries combined with metal and jade to create old-era Poké Balls.
Although they were old-era Poké Balls, their performance in capturing Pokémon was not significantly different from modern Poké Balls.
Moreover, the prerequisite for unlocking Poké Ball Technology was Electricity Technology…
A bold idea suddenly struck Lei Wen.
Could the so-called 【 Modern Poké Ball Technology 】 include the crafting method for the 【 Master Ball 】, which is why the exchange requirement is so high?
