33: Chapter 33 Tea, Food, and the Path

Since he couldn't find Professor Pulang's whereabouts, looking for his steward was naturally a normal matter.

Ross sat in the Goblin Supervisor's small cabin for a while and drank a cup of otherworldly black tea it brewed.

Ross felt that the taste of this tea had no astringency upon entering the mouth, nor was it like a thick soup loaded with many ingredients.

"Not bad. The tea here is quite good," Ross said after savoring it for a bit.

While tasting the Goblin Supervisor's tea, Ross's thoughts drifted somewhat.

For Ross, before he stepped into the wizarding domain, his understanding of a wizard's power—this extraordinary power—was mostly...

simply the pursuit of a longer lifespan and greater power.

But after truly stepping into the Wizard World, he discovered that the "Wizard World" he lived in was completely different from the impressions of being "sinister and evil" or "fiddling with bubbling green potions."

It wasn't that these labels didn't exist here, but rather that it was far more enriching and diverse.

This also shattered Ross's worldview. Although he still intended to use his time more efficiently,

this didn't stop Ross from acknowledging other wizards' worldviews and their respective pursuits.

Just like some wizards pursuing stability, such as Professor Pulang—although on the path of wizardry, a First-Ring Wizard might be Old Wizard Pulang's endpoint.

but because of this, he also avoided quite a few crises and the risk of death.

As well as some existences that, even in Ross's eyes, were unorthodox and rebellious.

It was much like how wizards' time was quite precious, but it also depended on what they were doing.

When there was urgent research, naturally no amount of time was ever enough.

But this didn't mean that wizards spent all their time on cultivation like cavemen or ascetic monks.

Just like the various shops opened by Official Wizards on the Wizard Commercial Street,

some ran magic items and the like, fitting the outside world's imagination of wizards, while other wizards opened gourmet food or tea beverage shops.

It's just that the ingredients used and items sold in these wizard-run shops were various materials containing magic power or special effects.

These types of wizards generally chose to become members of the "Gourmet Wizard" path after becoming Official Wizards.

Through continuous research into gourmet food, they enhanced their own understanding of ingredients.

Then, by utilizing various wizard tools or researching spell effects that enhanced deliciousness... and so on.

This was also a means of becoming stronger.

Although wizards, after stepping onto the wizarding path, could basically obtain what they needed by absorbing magic power,

and even for those who stepped into being Official Wizards by relying on "stern self-discipline" to control themselves,

the existence of "Gourmet Wizards" was simply a waste of a wizard's power.

However, the Wizard World was big enough, and its strength belonged to a "renowned" faction throughout the multiverse.

Only in a world with a sufficiently powerful civilization could all kinds of "eccentricities" be nurtured.

They were "eccentricities" in the true sense of the word, not some derogatory title.

Rather, wizards really could achieve higher realms through the in-depth cultivation corresponding to the "gourmet" path.

Of course, this was also the result of the predecessors planting trees so that later generations could enjoy the shade.

In the barbaric era, wizards were still tirelessly pursuing higher realms and combat effectiveness.

It was said that because quite a few powerhouses plundered the laws related to "gourmet food" from different worlds and integrated them into the Wizard World,

did the path of the "Gourmet Wizard" appear within the wizarding power system.

Come to think of it, even if the Wizard World broke away from labels like "barbaric" and "cruel," the sprouts of "gourmet food" wouldn't just appear within its civilization.

Without powerhouses integrating the "law of gourmet food," even if there were scattered wizards willing to invest themselves in researching the "gourmet" path,

it would take a despairingly long time before the sprouts of "gourmet" power could possibly appear.

The moment Ross finished tasting the tea and saying "This tea is not bad," these thoughts fell like snowflakes in his mind, and then Ross gathered his mental power and snapped back to reality.

At this time, the Goblin Supervisor's voice came over:

"This tea was harvested and stir-fried from an Official Wizard-grade black tea tree cultivated by my master. The tea tree belongs to the Official Wizard grade, but the tea leaves grown from it have degraded to the apprentice grade."

"My master also hopes to cultivate a tea tree capable of producing 'Official Wizard-grade tea leaves,' so that its value would rise to a level that even Official Wizards cannot ignore."

"Over the years, as spring went and autumn came, my master has accumulated quite a bit of tea leaves in his hands. Therefore, he has also rewarded me with quite a lot of tea leaves as tokens of appreciation."

"If you don't mind, My Lord, I can take out two catties for you to take home and try first. When my master returns, with your identity, you'll be able to ask for some freshly made tea leaves as well."

"Then I won't stand on ceremony, Supervisor. These tea leaves can play a relaxing role regarding my mental power," Ross replied.

This wasn't because Ross coveted some tea leaves.

Because in just this short moment, Ross discovered that his mental power was more active, and even his train of thought when thinking about things had become much clearer.

Other than drinking this cup of tea at the Goblin Supervisor's place, Ross hadn't done anything else.

Presumably, it was the effect of this tea. For Professor Pulang, tea leaves that had not reached the Official Wizard grade did not hold high value.

But for Ross, "apprentice-grade" tea leaves were already quite valuable auxiliary cultivation items.

He only had "water lily lotus seeds" in his hands—a kind of food that could reduce mental pressure.

If he could acquire some "apprentice-grade" tea leaves from the Goblin Supervisor,

it would yield twice the result with half the effort when used for ordinary magical knowledge study and research, such as activating mental power and refreshing the mind.

As for asking Professor Pulang for some "new tea," it was better to wait until Ross and Professor Pulang became a bit more familiar with each other.

"I will accept these teas. Thank you for your tea leaves; I will keep this in mind and put in a good word for you to the Professor at an appropriate time," Ross said.

"Thank you, My Lord. These are all trivial matters. Whatever needs you have within the plantation, I will share your burdens."

The Goblin Supervisor's face looked even more amiable as it immediately responded.

Ross didn't come here today just to drink a cup of tea.

The main purpose was still to ask the Goblin Supervisor about Professor Pulang's whereabouts.

Since the Goblin Supervisor wasn't clear about it either, he could only leave it in its hands.

"At the end of the month, I will leave the academy for a period of time. Therefore, Professor Pulang's magical plants in the laboratory basement will need someone else arranged to feed them for a while..."

The Goblin Supervisor flipped open a new page in a cowhide-covered notebook and noted down Ross's words one by one.

...Now that someone had been found to replace him for the matters entrusted by Professor Pulang, Ross had time to tinker with his own affairs.