Chapter 44: Lumberjack, Lumberjack, Lumberjack, Lumberjack

June 25th, weather is sunny.

Just like the plan yesterday, go to the outer forest to collect wood.

Good wood is used for carving wooden statues, while ordinary wood is used for burning fire; there isn't much wood left in the workshop.

Xiang Guangtai brought Dou Jianqiao's stone carving and Cherubi's stone carving, put on the firewood rack, and picked up the logging axe.

"Yo-wu (⊙╰X╯⊙)~"

Dou Jianqiao also waved its ribbons at Cherubi and followed Xiang Guangtai, floating along.

At night, Cherubi rarely entered the house. Even if Xiang Guangtai invited her in, she indicated that being in the soil made her more comfortable, and going into the house didn't have that feeling.

Xiang Guangtai knew that it was the knowledge he bestowed upon this land that was at work. The effect of the Lush Land made this place full of vitality, so for Cherubi, who loved soil, staying outside was more comfortable than entering the house.

"Sorry to trouble you with watching the house today!"

Xiang Guangtai had already written the plan yesterday and told the two Pokémon in the evening. Cherubi also raised her small skirt, trying hard to wave, and the three leaves on her head swayed with the wind.

"Cheru~"

Go early and return early!

There were no other wild Pokémon nearby, so there was no need to worry about wild Pokémon coming to attack. The only ones who would come to his house were the Diglett, but after the plowing time ended, they should stay in the village.

Moreover, even if a Pokémon appeared, Cherubi's Sunny Day + Solar Beam would be enough to drive them away.

Cherubi's small skirt clenched like a fist!

She was in excellent condition now and wasn't afraid of any opponent!

And after Xiang Guangtai and the two Pokémon entered the forest, that Pokémon that had been tracking Cherubi before quietly set off from near the workshop and quickly entered the forest!

And Cherubi turned her head in confusion!

It's here again, that strange feeling of being watched... Huh? It disappeared?

Crossing the nearby snow-water stream, they entered the outer forest where the sunlight was broken.

This was just the edge of the Shenhe Forest's power extension, with no powerful Pokémon inhabiting it, and villagers often came here to cut firewood. However, for the village, this place was still a bit far, so they chose several forest farms closer to the village.

But Xiang Guangtai didn't see the forest farms abandoned by the village; perhaps they were not in the direction he came from.

"Let's cut trees around here."

Xiang Guangtai thought so, found a position that was not easily discovered, and buried Cherubi's statue at the root of a relatively thick tree.

But only buried half of it.

The sculpture Xiang Guangtai buried could make the trees quickly regain new vitality.

Plus, the trees in this world grew very fast anyway.

The statue began to take effect. Xiang Guangtai clearly felt that a strange vitality was emanating from around some trees. This feeling was hard to describe, but Xiang Guangtai guessed that it was because he made the "Symbol Plate," which greatly improved his mental power, so he could perceive this strange environmental change.

Trees also possess life, so he could feel it when they underwent changes in vitality.

The surrounding forest seemed to start rustling, as if a wind had blown through.

"... It's like they want to talk... Right, let's try the psychic training mentioned by the tree, although it's daytime now."

Xiang Guangtai stared at a tree carefully for a while.

His attention gradually concentrated, and Xiang Guangtai seemed to hear the sound of the forest. It was this moment of trance, his attention scattered, and Xiang Guangtai lost that wonderful feeling again.

"Eh? It really works?"

This was just ordinary concentration... Xiang Guangtai pondered.

Was the mental improvement brought by the Symbol Plate actually an introductory talent for psychic power?

Xiang Guangtai talked to himself at the tree, making Dou Jianqiao's two eyes look puzzled. They sharpened their sword bodies, unable to wait to cut down trees to test their swordsmanship level.

"Okay, let's start now. Dou Jianqiao, use Fury Cutter! Cut down those thick branches!"

"Yo~!"

White light shone on Dou Jianqiao's two sword bodies simultaneously. Fury Cutter was swung in x2, instantly cutting off a thick branch of a tree!

The branch hit the ground, making a sound, and Dou Jianqiao's two consciousnesses both felt that they were very cool at this moment!

Although it was just cutting a tree... There were two more things!

The two swords suddenly became hostile to each other, making "Yo-pu" and "Yo-wu" sounds!

Left sword: I was the one who cut the fastest just now!

Right sword: It was clearly me who cut faster just now!

"Okay, even if you become two consciousnesses, your chuunibyou personality hasn't changed." Xiang Guangtai silently complained, then continued to command:

"Don't fight, Dou Jianqiao. The split consciousness will return to normal after evolution. Now continue with Fury Cutter!"

"Yo-pu! (⊙)╰!"

"Yo-wu! (⊙)╰!"

The two swords agreed with each other, and then immediately glared at each other again!

Left sword: It was calling me just now! I am the main body!

Right sword: It was clearly calling me! I am the main body!

"You both did a great job!" Xiang Guangtai felt a bit ashamed.

Fortunately, both swords thought work was the important thing now, so they began to compete secretly, listening to Xiang Guangtai's instructions, their blades dancing up and down, constantly cutting off those branches!

Lumberjack, lumberjack, lumberjack, lumberjack! Double speed logging!

Xiang Guangtai directed Dou Jianqiao to cut down those thick branches, and for those trees whose main bodies were relatively thin, there was no need to cut branches, just cut the main body directly.

After a busy morning, enough wood was collected. Fortunately, there was the scabbard stone carving. Although the 5% logging speed bonus didn't seem high, if you stretched out the logging time, you would find that it still increased efficiency quite a bit.

The forest rustled, Cherubi's sculpture constantly radiated vitality, and Xiang Guangtai thought that his knowledge could also be used on this forest land. If he transformed this place into a Lush Land, combined with the Cherubi stone carving, he could make the trees grow constantly, achieving the effect of repeatedly restoring this forest land.

Originally, a major point of logging was to frequently change the location of the logging forest farm. Always logging in one forest land would affect the growth of trees. This is called over-logging leading to the destruction and fragmentation of the forest ecosystem.

However, with the forest recovery ability of the Pokémon world, this ordinary logging probably wouldn't affect tree growth at all.

"Near Azalea Town in the Johto region, there is a famous charcoal shop. They have Farfetch'd, and the charcoal craftsmen will go to the Ilex Forest where Celebi is worshipped to harvest high-quality wood, and it can keep the water clean and the air fresh. It's simply incredible."

"The charcoal house is also reflected in the game... that little plot of chasing Farfetch'd."

"Speaking of which, I've been burning a lot of wood lately. This time I want to make 'Charcoal'... although it might not be as good as that Farfetch'd charcoal shop, it should allow me to master the craftsmanship related to burning or fire."

When Xiang Guangtai and Dou Jianqiao entered the depths of the forest, the grass-green Pokémon appeared again next to Cherubi's wooden carving; she had been observing in secret.

She radiated a bright shimmer, curiously pulling the wooden carving out of the ground and looking at it repeatedly.

It could actually make trees grow again?

She blinked, and a strong curiosity grew in her eyes!

That human is really amazing!

Johto region, Azalea Town.

Steven immediately noticed the news of the workshop's new products. He hurriedly opened it to check, but found that the new products were just some small statues.

Although those stone carvings were marked with some special effects, they felt like they were fooling people no matter how he looked at them.

Stone carvings, huh... Indeed, from the information obtained so far, that craftsman's family craft is indeed carving.

Steven visited Kurt. For this Hoenn Champion, Kurt was not very familiar, but when he heard Steven asking about a craftsman, Kurt immediately knew why he came.

"Oh, it's him. Last time Bugsy found me and asked about these things. I didn't expect even the Hoenn Champion to come looking for him."

Kurt was a bit puzzled. In his impression, Xiang Guangtai's craft didn't seem very famous before; he was just an ordinary craftsman. Moreover, what Bugsy and the others asked about were stones, not the craftsman himself.

Well, when did that kid transform into a material merchant?

But it's a good thing to be valued. Maybe after these people get familiar with him, they will often patronize his shop. Many times, without fame and unique craftsmanship, a craftsman's income source depends entirely on old customers.

"His family used to be good at carving... They were quite good at both wooden and stone carvings. This kind of carving craft originally came from Johto, but their family later went to the distant Sinnoh to develop. Afterward, about a few years ago, I learned the news of his father's death. Now I don't know where he is. I heard he returned to near Johto."

Kurt recalled, and for a craftsman choosing to develop in other regions, this is a very normal thing.

Johto region also has famous sculptors. Pryce of Mahogany Town is a famous ice sculpture artist. Wanting to roll over Pryce on the sculpture track is simply a fantasy, and it just so happens that the Sinnoh region is also keen on various carving arts, so running there to develop is actually not wrong.

"Is that so? Thank you."

Steven got the information he wanted, then left Kurt's residence and headed to the Azalea Gym to visit Gym Leader Bugsy.

And after Steven left, Kurt, out of curiosity, wanted to pay attention to Xiang Guangtai's workshop online shop. After all, he also wanted to know how Xiang Guangtai's technology was now. But he was not interested in these online contents, so he had to ask his granddaughter for help:

"Maizie! Help Grandpa pay attention to this online shop; Grandpa doesn't know how to operate it!"

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 45 =====

(End of chapter)