Re: Level 100 Farmer

Li crossed his arms. "And how do you figure that?"

He wasn't going to tell her anything just yet. He needed more proof that she could back what she was saying. Sure, his actions had put up a few loose ends here and there. His unexplained beast taming and his surprising physical strength and speed were the biggest things to the adventurers but explaining it away as an eastern martial art or skill seemed like it had been good enough.

The only people in the world that knew his true power were his closest confidants on the farm, beings that could straight up sense his nature through his human disguise, and questionably the duchess, though she hadn't made any moves that would solidly confirm this either.

And as he watched Sylvie grow quiet, he nodded to himself. There was no way she could know. He had covered all his bases when he went to help for this little Lerneas quest. He had stayed far from them, used an undetectable summon to spy, and cast a long-ranged spell to prevent anyone from knowing where the source came from.

Sylvie sighed and turned. In her hands was a little glass bottle. A few little green dots of energy floated within it, suspended in animation. She held the bottle towards Li, and he saw that her eyes gleamed red not with suspicion, but with curiosity.

"I found these lingering upon Jeanne's body," said Sylvie. "They look identical to the particles you drew up in your attempt to heal Old Thane."

"That's ridiculous." Li shrugged. "I'm an herbalist practicing the old ways, and with that comes a little bit of knowledge in Druidry. You heard what's been going around – the forest guardian's started to come back, and maybe it decided to save Jeanne as well. I'm not surprised that my healing spell would look pretty similar to what a guardian does – they're where I source my power from, after all."

"Perhaps, but this magic is unfathomable." Sylvie raised the bottle to her eyes, her eyes widening as she marveled at it. "I have sent it to be analyzed by arcana scholars, and yet they could not identify it one bit. It is unlike any spell they have ever borne witness to. This is not Druidry, it is something far more, something that does not exist within the western continent of Eldenia."

"No, that's definitely Druidry." Li cocked his head. He didn't know even spells that didn't create terrain or summons could have permanent marks on this world.

However, [Tranquility] was Druidry, no mistake about it, and as he got a better look at how Sylvie was leaning forwards, her eyes so very wide and practically sparkling with curiosity – the same curiosity she had when she had questioned him about his so-called "eastern powers" – he began to suspect that she didn't have quite the full story.

Sylvie pursed her lips. "It is fine to tell me the truth – I will keep it a secret close to my heart."

"Hold up," Li sighed. "Before I say anything, I just want to know: what is it you think happened? How is it you think I could heal Jeanne and also knock back such an insanely dangerous monster like the Lerneas?"

"You must have followed us when we ventured for the hunt, and when the critical time came and we retreated, that is when you healed Jeanne and felled the Lerneas in one fell swoop." Sylvie clutched at the bottle tightly as her face brightened as she finally got the chance to let loose the theories she had spent so much time rolling over in her head.

"As for your power, I am sure none else knows, for they are uneducated on the matter, but I have been interested in the east for a very long time, and now I finally understand. Through my research, I know that warriors of your land grow powerful enough to defy the heavens, striking out against their gods. You must rank among them. There is no other explanation for you to possess such potent eastern restorative magic."

Li nodded slowly. "Okay, let's say this is true. How come I haven't let anyone know about my supposed powers yet? Wouldn't it make sense for me to try and gain as much recognition as possible? Then I wouldn't have to be a simple farmer digging up dirt everyday while having to cram and study just to be a small-time herbalist."

"That is true." Sylvie pointed to Li triumphantly. "That is why I have also hypothesized you to be a figure of some merit who wishes to hide yourself. Perhaps you were one of the one hundred and eight warlords, but you were forced out by civil strife? Or, or-" She clasped her hands together around the bottle in visible excitement. "Perhaps you are an exiled prince of the Jade court!? Yes, that would explain your secrecy. You wish to remain hidden so none from your land come for you."

"If I was this supposed exiled prince wanting to lay low, why would I risk my own neck to help you all in the first place?"

Sylvie paused. She looked at Li with a brow raised in confusion. "Well, I judge that you are a good man, aiding Old Thane so, and thus if you were to have power to help the world around you, then surely you would. To not do so would almost make you implicit in the tragedies you could have stopped."

Li held up a hand to stop her. She didn't know anything. She did know that he could cast powerful healing, but she had taken that tiny little nugget of knowledge and formulated a vast web of theories that were all wrong because they were founded on her bias that Li was some kind of eastern marvel. At the end of the day, that meant she still thought he was just human.

In other words, she had no idea of the scope of his true power or his true nature.

"Look, I'm…not what you expected me to be." Li affected a sigh. "I wasn't lying when I said I have very faint memories of where I come from. I understand I have some strength - a bit of martial arts conditioning, a way to calm monsters, and a few healing spells here and there, but I can't tell you much of anything else. I'm no prince or warlord, that's for sure."

Li figured he would spill out the fake story he had formulated with Old Thane about what he was doing in the forest now. It was a good thing he had rehearsed it, although he doubted Sylvie would ever mistrust him. Even now, the romantic in her head that valorized the east didn't so much suspect him as it did idolize him.

"As for the situation in the forest, well, I was out there, but I never did manage to see you all. I was picking last-minute herbs when I felt something absolutely incredible. It felt like the entire forest was shaking, riling up its rage, and then I knew as a regular man that this was the presence of something way beyond me. A forest guardian."

Li shook his head in mock wonder.

"I never got to see the guardian fight the Lerneas directly, but I'm sure I would've been killed in the crossfires of a fight of that scale. What I do know is that later, I saw the Lerneas's form for a split second, flying across the sky with its tail tucked between its legs."

Sylvie held the bottle up again. "But you must have healed Jeanne, it was your very own spell."

"Not quite. I do have to say that in my opinion as an elementary druid, the forest guardian healed her. I hate to tell you this, but Druidry is still just Druidry, regardless of whether its western or eastern. The healing energies I use are going to be very similar to the ones any forest spirit uses.

Your scholars probably had no idea what my spell was because Druidry, as far as I can tell, is mostly a lost art around here, not to mention that my eastern Druidry is probably even more foreign on top of that."

"That is true." Sylvie remained quiet for a second. She pocketed the bottle. "Well, I suppose this is a more apt explanation. When we asked Jeanne what had healed her, she said she beheld a vision of a god. An unclear vision, so we thought it was that Helius had graced a miracle upon her, but she would have recognized the very god she is sworn to as a priest.

No, it makes more sense that it was a forest guardian, as she would be unfamiliar with such an entity."

Sylvie sighed. "I am sorry to have bothered you, Li. It seems my aimless thoughts have wasted your time."

"Not at all. Always good to clear up misunderstandings." Li started to turn. "Now then, shall we head back? Can't just leave everyone to do the rest of the work now, can we?"

Sylvie reached out to grab Li's arm before he could turn. Li blinked, catching Sylvie with her eyes cast downwards.

"The truth is," she said, her voice shaking. She looked up at Li with resolute eyes, her voice now firm. "I wished to ask you to teach me, for I was convinced of your power and eastern knowledge. But even if you do not have such power, I still wish to know if you can help me. I have dedicated all my training to what few eastern scrolls and manuals I have salvaged, but I cannot fathom them myself. There are parts I do not understand and some that are entirely untranslated."

"I just told you I wasn't an expert on my homeland's practices," said Li. He nodded at her, taking up a gentler tone. "I can sort of understand your drive to be stronger, but I simply don't have the ability to help you. I'm not a ninja nor am I some secret prince or warlord. You probably know more about the east than I do at this point."

"That cannot be the case!" Sylvie gripped Li's arm tighter. "You are a man of greatness, I can tell. Are you not curious of your homeland? We can work together. We can pore through the scrolls and manuals together, and hopefully your memories will return."

Li couldn't help but frown. "Maybe my homeland isn't something I want to remember." He shook his head and put a hand to Sylvie's shoulder. He wasn't opposed to helping her, but he didn't want her to get attached to him further. No bond they made would ever last, after all. "Look, I know you're disappointed, but I don't think I can help you. And besides, you've already got a great team to depend on. There's no reason to be this desperate about getting stronger."

"They aren't just my team." Sylvie's lip quivered. "They are my family, and it is because they are family that I cannot depend on them. No, I must protect them, because in the end, they are all that I have in this world, the only people that stood by me when I had nothing, and for that, I must become stronger."

Li sighed, causing Sylvie to bate her breath in anticipation. "If it's for family, then that's something I can understand." He nodded. He had a responsibility to her to ensure she didn't become reliant on him, but at the same time, he could still respect her own responsibility to the only family she had ever known as an orphan.

"Alright, I'll consider taking a look at your stuff, but for now, we should help out with cleanup."

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