Lee Jun stood at the edge of his fields, eyes fixed on two freshly tilled plots. In his hands were a handful of Veilroot and several strands of Moonshade Grass, harvested just the day before by his goblin foragers.
"If I can grow these myself… we won't have to rely on scavenging anymore," he muttered, hope glimmering in his voice.
He gave instructions to two goblin farmers to prepare the soil—mixing in compost made from previous crop waste—before carefully planting the rare herbs. They watered it with clear river water, then covered the plots gently with fresh soil.
"If this works," Jun thought, "we can produce healing potions consistently—and maybe even sell the surplus."
The day passed quietly. That night, Jun went to bed with a rare smile, envisioning rows of rare herbs blooming under the dungeon's eternal twilight.
But the next morning…
"…What the hell?"
He knelt down, stunned.
The Moonshade Grass had already withered, its once-luminous leaves now pale and curling inward. Worse, the Veilroot was beginning to rot, giving off a faint stench of decay.
The goblin farmers frantically tried to water the soil again, loosening the earth, but it was no use.
Jun crouched and ran his fingers through the dirt under the dead plants.
"Same soil… same water… why won't they grow?"
After hours of examining and testing, he finally sat down, defeated.
"Maybe… they're not meant to be cultivated."
Later that day, he recorded the results in his journal.
📝 Experiment Log #03 – Cultivation of Rare Herbs
Subjects: Veilroot & Moonshade Grass
Location: Central plot, Goblin's Grove
Status: Failure
Notes: Both plants wilted within 24 hours. No signs of adaptation. Soil and water conditions appear normal, but possibly lack the wild energy required to sustain these herbs.Conclusion: Cannot be cultivated. Must be foraged in the wild.
Jun let out a long sigh. It was a setback—but also a revelation:
Some things are meant to be found, not grown.
And with the high value of these herbs, he now knew what had to be done:
Keep searching. Keep foraging.