"What's in to start the day?"
"Baked chicken."
"Chicken again?"
"Complaints?"
"Sorry mdm."
This is what happened at home. Mum and Dad's unusual "bickering".
"What's the ruckus about?"
"Good morning, Kei. Listen here, this guy over here is trying to say something about what we are eating."
"But it is already three days, nine continuous meal of chicken? What about beef?"
"Complains?"
"No."
Instead of making direct complaint. I asked for the location of vendor. The chicken these few days did remind me of something.
Something about lacking eleven herbs and spices…
Where did I even?
There is still time before my meeting with Selene. I first visited the stall. Hormones, definitely hormones, pending thinking of natural or not.
Known clue:
Cheap chicken.
Chicken in this stall doesn't look natural.
If a chicken is cheap, the food have to be cheaper. This can be achieved by:
Acceleration of life cycle
Using a super budgeted "food" source. Hence, feeding eggs to chicken is definitely out of question. I highly doubt grass and worms are able to achieve such big TT for a chicken.
Acceleration of life cycle seems more probable.
I had already learnt my lesson during the conversation with that water mage. I lost 2 gold, but at what cost? The "cost" here would be me gaining access to RO water, salt, and a life lesson not to underestimate the possibility of mana.
To cut cost, possibility of mana potion is omitted. But can be reinstated.
Still, I gave a brief check on the guild. The only legal accessible source of mana potion. For commoners like us, at least.
The shelves are quite full. No signs of depleting stock.
"Just curious, are there increased sales for mana potion?"
"Nope, in fact we are selling less. The new year has begun and some people are waiting for the next dungeon layout change before heading down."
"Thanks."
Even less possible.
The chicken industry here is quite straightforward.
Rooster and hens are mixed that is safe to assume all eggs are fertilised.
Since every egg has potential to be grown into chickens, the price is actually very close to one, the cheaper factor is only the food cost.
The seller will just reach for the egg that poor hen had been sitting on. No guarantee of what you are getting: Either the day one mix of whites and yolks, or a chick that is quite well developed. Very gacha system, unless you paid more for the guy to specially get you the new egg of the day.
I bought three fresh eggs and headed to the academy.
Mira would test on one egg with acceleration technique. I had previously evolved her water ball to water jet just by surface area adjustment. It was noted as a self damaging technique and the kingdom restricted the spread. She would accelerate the egg full force.
Self damaging? She is a healer who has experience of healing mana circuit. You could even say it is her exclusive skill.
The rest would rotate among themselves and try to hatch another egg.
I will attempt to hatch the last one.
In mere one hour, Mira managed to down 2 mana potion and achieved the result of chick breaking the shell. But the chick doesn't really look lively.
2 hours later with sheer manpower rotations, the candidate team managed to achieve similar result as Mira. The chick is obviously even weaker.
I stopped. There is no point for my results when the healer team is struggling.
Nothing for the egg stage. Too impractical, in terms of talent requirements and mana consumption.
It has to be another day to test actual chickens. Pouring mana into weak chicken is plain stupid with no sugarcane no milk added.
On the way home, I bought a chick. At home, I drew a detailed diagram on exactly where stimulation would be needed tomorrow.
Tested pumping mana on a chick with food in front of it. Significant increase in appetite, this manner of chick eating is as if it were starving.
Starving? While being such a healthy fat chick?
Wow, even I can do it. But no, such unusual eating habits only increase cost.
I am getting nowhere. Let's instead. Reverse engineer tomorrow.
I visited the vendor for the cheap chicken. Another vendor for a normal chicken.
A simple flow of my mana verifies the fact that one chicken is certainly disturbed by mana influence, too obvious.
Mira is an actual water mage. If a mage in adventurer guild claims it is not really a tall task to yield me RO water. They have means to know what is not water.
Mira is handed two blood sample and she can tell me both are not exactly the same. Good enough. My hypothesis is correct.
1: Mana flow affects animal growth is a valid but costly road.
2: Mana IS involved.
3: Obvious difference in blood samples can be detected.
4: The opposing party knew about stimulation.
Possible cheat: Mana related. Growth related. Sales related. Biological related. Other random system quest related. Or the worse but impossible case scenario: Time related. Definitely not detection type. Not combat type. Highly doubt it is brain related. But it is possible for one to induce prompt to strangers.
If it were to control time I'd be the one evaporating already.
Either way, I advised the candidates that it might not be a good idea to further consume those meat.
————
The guild here actually serves purpose for all general hiring, but instead of actual hire, it is more of a last minute job like a freelancer. Help me fetch something. Help me clear/dig the lastrine. My hire was sick, I need some manpower.
"Any weird request so far?"
"No."
"Any commission directed the need to mana or chicken?"
"Also no."
"Thanks"
"You're welcome."
There is no such thing as confidentiality since all commissions are disclosed publicly. Even for a commission that points direct request for specific entity. Everything is stuck on that super big board.
First the unnatural clothes, now the chicken.
No matter your reason is.
It is
WAR