This Necromancer Just Wants to Plant Trees - Chapter 196 (Patreon)

Chapter 196: "The Tree-Planting Mage," the Arrival of the Dragon!

On the seventeenth of July, early in the morning, the town square of Rolling Stone Town was packed with people. Unlike other celebratory events, amidst the bustling crowd, there was a cacophony of barks mixing with the voices.

The constant barking seemed like a powerful beat in the summer symphony, silently urging the official start of the dog fighting contest.

However, before this spectacle, the residents of Rolling Stone Town had been informed that today marked the day for the awarding of the first-ever Rolling Stone Town Outstanding Citizen Medal.

The name of the awardee had already been quietly circulating among the locals.

So, while people debated fiercely about which dog would stand out as the ultimate winner, a considerable number were immensely curious about this "outstanding citizen."

"Thompson, have you heard? The first outstanding citizen is that mage who plants those strange trees!"

"Isn't the tree-planting mage just a rumor?"

"Who knows? Besides Master Ronan, I trust no one here. In a small place like Rolling Stone Town, how could a real mage possibly show up..."

Two young men, each wearing a hat and holding a fierce hunting dog, whispered to each other.

And at that moment, a dashing gentleman ascended the platform set up in the center of the square.

Dressed in a crisp white shirt, jet-black trousers, pristine shoes, with meticulously groomed hair and impeccable posture, he exuded elegance and grace no matter the setting.

"It's Mr. Richard!"

"Richard!"

"Big boss Richard!"

The crowd erupted in cheers. Most of the responders were young to middle-aged men engaged in crafts in Rolling Stone Town, but a significant portion came from various other professions.

As the youngest member of the five-member committee, Richard held tremendous popularity and respect among the residents of Rolling Stone Town.

Known for his meticulous work and fair decision-making, he rarely appeared in public, making today a first.

As Richard took the stage, the atmosphere quietened considerably. He faced the audience, bowed, and commenced with the formalities.

"Ladies and gentlemen, before the dog fighting contest begins, the committee has decided to award the Outstanding Citizen Medal for this year."

As widely known, due to controversial reasons, the award had remained unissued for several years.

Unfortunately, in the past few years, not a single medal had been awarded.

Fortunately, this year, Rolling Stone Town welcomed its first deserving recipient.

"I'm sure you're all eager to know who the recipient is—without further ado, as per the committee's decision and Lord's approval, the first Outstanding Citizen of Rolling Stone Town is none other than—"

The figure spoken of in whispers among them, the 'Tree-Planting Mage.'

"Mr. Matthew!"

Cheers and whistles filled the air. Though many present still harbored doubts about "Who is Matthew?" and "What exactly is a Tree-Planting Mage?" it didn't hinder their fondness for the occasion.

Amidst the cheers, Matthew, with a smile, stepped forward to receive the award. He had dressed up for the day, relying on his natural charm and donning a stylish new outfit, instantly winning the favor of the majority.

While young girls tried to maintain a composed demeanor, middle-aged women showed no restraint in their admiring gazes.

Standing behind Richard, Matthew shook hands with him. Then Richard began recounting Matthew's "contributions."

"Over the past three years, Matthew has made an indelible contribution to Rolling Stone Town's greening initiatives..."

"Though a necromancer, his love for nature far surpasses anyone among us..."

Richard's oratory skills were excellent, but this part of the speech seemed a tad long-winded.

Initially surprised by the sudden revelation that "the trees around them were planted by this dashing fellow on stage" and "that Rolling Stone Town indeed harbored a necromancer," the crowd's mood eventually grew somewhat muted.

Thankfully, Richard didn't elaborate for too long.

After the narrative concluded, the five-member committee, led by Richard, conducted a brief award ceremony for Matthew.

By the time the weighty medal landed in Matthew's hands, the attention of the audience had begun to drift.

Next came Matthew's moment for the acceptance speech.

Holding the medal, he swiftly moved to the center of the stage, suddenly adopting a serious expression, emanating a somewhat ominous aura.

"Those who didn't applaud just now, I'll turn you all into undying servants!"

Suddenly, a shiver ran through the crowd. Before panic could set in, Matthew promptly added his second sentence:

"Just kidding."

The audience still regarded Matthew with a mix of surprise and uncertainty. Capitalizing on everyone's diverted attention, he whistled to the audience below, and a jet-black, fluffy dog bounded up.

Grabbing the leash around its neck, Matthew addressed the audience with his third statement:

"I'm just a tree-planter. But they told me there's prize money to claim here, so here I am. Instead of applauding for my past honors, I hope you'll support my 'Hank' in the upcoming dog fighting contest."

With that, he shook the leash, and Hank promptly barked enthusiastically, echoed by a chorus of barks from hundreds of other dogs.

And that was that.

Matthew waved his hand, stepping down from the stage with his medal and Hank by his side. For a moment, the square was alive with thunderous applause, transforming its previously lifeless atmosphere. Cheers erupted from everyone.

"Matthew!"

"Matthew!"

His name echoed through the crowd. It wasn't just his charm that captivated them; it signaled the official start of the Dog Fighting Tournament.

In no time, the crowd began to disperse, guided by volunteers. Participants of the tournament, each with their beloved dogs, headed to different sections of the square. Intense barking resonated from various corners, accompanied by cheers, curses, and debates among the onlookers.

In a corner of the square, below a raised platform, Richard watched Matthew and his dog with surprise. "I thought you'd prepare a lengthy speech, Rhaegar wanted to use this chance to dispel people's doubts about you," he remarked.

Matthew chuckled softly. "Under this scorching sun, boasting about my achievements isn't a wise choice."

"Besides, I think the current effect is not bad. What do you think?" He gestured toward the curious young people greeting him.

Richard nodded lightly. Matthew's brief speech had an impressive impact. His opening jests managed to alleviate some of the biases against necromancers. Furthermore, declaring his participation in the Dog Fighting Tournament bridged the gap between him and the common folk.

"People will realize that necromancers can joke around and share the same passion for the tournament as everyone else," Matthew said, satisfied with this step. His aim was merely to dispel the fear the townsfolk harbored toward him, not to garner more affection. He aimed for a normal interaction, neither overly friendly nor aloof, leaving a positive impression.

He believed this would debunk the rumors about the Oak Forest. With the Excellent Citizen medal endorsed by the Rolling Stone Town officials and the strong credibility of Richard and Rhaegar, Matthew didn't need to exert much effort.

A little push in the right direction was all he required.

The only surprise during the award ceremony was the Excellent Citizen medal being made of pure gold! Coupled with the 300 gold coins, it was a substantial income for Matthew, who, since acquiring the Bone Pigeon, had seen a tremendous leap in both strength and wealth.

Upon careful consideration, the 300 gold coins represented several months' worth of savings for his past self, diligently planting trees. His association with the Moon Goddess paved a profitable path to the Golden Coast, where a single trade journey could yield tens of thousands in profit. However, within the Seven Saints Alliance's "Quest-Gold" system, an S-rank mission promised at least two million gold coins.

Comparing the three, they epitomized different income levels in this world: the ordinary producer, the top speculator, and the absolute ruling class's power and wealth.

"In the end," Matthew mused, "in the world of Aendu, magic is the ultimate productivity."

Later that afternoon, Matthew arrived with Hank at a branch venue on the eastern side of the square. Here, he would officially participate in the Potato Dog Fighting Tournament.

The rules were simple: two dogs in a large cage, a small iron cage in the center holding a piece of cooked meat. The dogs fought to occupy the iron cage; the victor would feast on the meat.

Though it sounded dull, for Rolling Stone Town, starved for entertainment, it was second only to several other festivals. Moreover, the actual matches always held surprises. In one year, during a match, two fighting dogs suddenly stopped and switched to mating. The intensity matched their previous fight. Later, both owners argued over who won. Even the referee was uncertain.

Supporters of the male dog claimed dominance, while the female dog's backers argued successful seduction. The incident quickly became a nationwide debate, each side adamant in their stance, resulting in that year's tournament becoming a massive debate.

Ultimately, a five-member committee declared both dogs losers to quell the controversy.

It's worth noting that...

Afterwards, those two dogs got together, and their owners became friends as a result.

Similar things like this happened quite frequently.

Overall, the dogfighting competition always provided plenty of entertainment for the residents of Rolling Stone Town.

Matthew wasn't particularly keen on this.

He was just here to fill the numbers.

Even the hunting dog, Hank, who accompanied him to compete, was borrowed from Mrs. Wesley's place.

Despite Hank's intimidating appearance, he was actually naturally timid.

For example, at this moment.

During the warm-up for the first round of the competition.

Hank looked at Matthew seriously and said, "Can I just concede as soon as we start? The opponent looks hard to deal with."

Matthew glanced over and noticed that the opponent's dog was only two-thirds the size of Hank, but its aura was indeed fierce.

"Could I throw the match?" Matthew used Animal Speak while the opponent's dog owner wasn't paying attention, attempting to bribe on the spot.

Unexpectedly, the hunting dog paused for a moment and agreed: "I want ten pieces of meat."

Matthew readily agreed: "Deal!"

And so, this round of the battle ended very quickly.

Hank barely lunged forward, baring his teeth.

The enemy cowered in the corner of the cage.

No matter how loudly his owner shouted and cheered, the dog just timidly looked at Hank.

Thirty seconds passed.

The referee immediately declared Hank the winner.

Under the puzzled gaze of the dog's owner.

The dog barked a few times at Matthew: "Remember to keep your promise."

Matthew blinked and conveyed in a way only animals could understand: "Tonight, I'll find you."

Finally, the dog's owner left with their disappointed dog.

Meanwhile, Hank proudly advanced to the next round.

This battle brought an epiphany to Matthew.

Dogs were always the most spiritually connected animals.

And at this moment, almost every dog in Rolling Stone Town had gathered in front of him. He could easily take advantage of this opportunity, chatting with dogs all day and night.

This would rapidly advance his progress on the Animal Speak task!

He roughly estimated that there were at least over a hundred fighting dogs participating, and the dogfighting competition would last for three days.

He could easily engage with every single dog.

By then, this task would be a third of the way complete!

Thinking about it, Matthew was decisive.

His style had always been swift and decisive.

During the subsequent second round, he quickly made Hank surrender, liberating himself.

After that, he wandered between different venues with Hank.

Approaching every dog.

Because Hank provided cover, and Matthew was cautious, hardly anyone noticed that he wasn't just there for the show but was actually disturbing the competing participants.

"Good morning, Mr. White Dog."

"Not good at all, my owner only feeds me leftovers every day. Damn, I wish I could make him eat my leftovers every day!"

"You look very spirited, Mr. Spotted Dog."

"My owner must be crazy. I'm so cute, and he actually made me participate in a dogfighting competition. Can you help me slap some sense into him?"

"You're very beautiful, Miss Golden Retriever."

"Thank you. Can you tell my owner to stop bathing me? Sometimes his gaze gives me the chills, and sometimes he even forces..."

"Almost made it to the next round, Mr. Hound."

"No, losers have no excuses. I need to become stronger to qualify for the next round. Can you make me more outstanding? My owner only pampers me, he doesn't know I have the heart of a warrior!"

"Um, pardon my intrusion, what breed of dog are you?"

"Shh, don't tell anyone, I'm not a dog at all, I'm a wolf. My owner just dressed me up as a dog to compete. It's a competition strategy, I'm here to crush these losers hahaha..."

Moments later.

"Mr. Wolf, how come you got eliminated?"

"Don't know, something went wrong somewhere, the opponent was too fierce, I suspect they're also a wolf!"

Matthew silently looked at this dog in front of him, resembling a Husky, lost in thought.

At the end of the day, Matthew's progress in Animal Speak soared to 60/300 in one go!

Much faster than before.

It made the reward for the task, the Lich, seem within reach.

Originally planning to participate for just one day, Matthew suddenly changed his plans.

In the next three days.

He would become the social butterfly of the dogfighting competition.

He must interact deeply with every single dog!

That night.

Young Patton found Matthew.

"What?"

"You want to install electric lights?"

Matthew looked at the other person in utter surprise.

Patton excitedly nodded, "Don't you find the working environment too stifling? Have you seen the situation in Bigfoot City? Lights are everywhere, making the city nights as bright as day."

"For you mages, isn't this like creating an extra portion of nighttime out of thin air?"

Matthew shook his head gently.

During times without electric lights, he relied on Magefire, candles, and luminescent stones for illumination.

It's just that these lighting methods were indeed not as stable and potent as electric lights.

Back when he just crossed over, during his poorer times, he couldn't even afford candles.

Afterward, when he had candles, he often felt his eyes dry and itchy.

It was due to insufficient light.

Matthew had grown accustomed to many things over the years, but when young Patton suggested this idea, it stirred something deep within him.

"Are you sure you can popularize electricity in Rolling Stone Town?"

Matthew's concern was the implementation difficulty of this endeavor.

"I could conduct a trial in your graveyard."

"That's also why I've come to see you."

Young Patton exclaimed with excitement, "Remember those things I stole from Stulock's branch office? After that, I pilfered quite a lot, including a substantial amount of components for making electric lamps and items related to power generation."

"The principle behind lamps is simple, as long as we can address the four aspects of power generation, storage, transportation, and terminals, more people can enjoy light."

"I have a small generator on hand; demon hearts are needed for the energy aspect, which I can get from Rhaegar. He surely has no shortage of demon hearts, so power generation is no problem; storage and transportation can be handled using the starry realm crystals from Stulock Industries."

"I also have raw materials here; just a temporary assembly is needed."

"As for terminals, I have several light bulbs. Actually, the challenge in popularizing this lies in our industrial level, insufficient to produce the tungsten filaments and copper wires needed throughout the entire process."

"But that's something for the future to consider."

"Right now, I just want to attempt assembling the things I've retrieved."

"Your graveyard is the prime location I can think of for installing electric lamps."

Matthew pondered for a moment.

Letting Patton tinker around seemed harmless.

Who knows, if he manages to create a lamp for himself, perhaps more electric products might follow. Like the elevator Matthew had been thinking about – that would make navigating underground dungeons much easier.

Thinking this through, he agreed to Patton's request.

Yet, Matthew strictly defined the scope of Patton's tinkering.

The initial batch of lamps.

Restricted solely to Matthew's workshop and the arsonists' craft workshops.

Regarding the installation site for the generator.

Matthew agreed with Patton's strong suggestion, placing it in an open space near the ghost activity zone.

After that, he left Patton to his own devices.

Over the following two days, Matthew devoted all his energy to communicating with animals.

Fortune favors the determined.

By the third afternoon, approaching the moment of crowning the ultimate dog king, progress in animal communication had reached 112 out of 300, far exceeding Matthew's expectations.

Standing in the square at that moment, surveying the scene, there wasn't a single dog in Rolling Stone Town he hadn't interacted with!

He felt a profound sense of contentment within.

But at that exact moment.

All the dogs in the square suddenly barked in unison.

Then, just as suddenly, they all closed their mouths simultaneously.

Ignoring their owners' leashes and curses, they desperately fled in different directions!

"Help! Help!"

Matthew heard these cries of distress simultaneously from the fighting dogs.

In an instant, a strong sense of fear surged within him.

However, that fear quickly dissipated.

Seconds later.

In the midst of everyone's bewildered ignorance, a shadow suddenly loomed over Rolling Stone Town.

Immediately following.

A tidal wave of air rushed in—

That was...

The might of a dragon!

"Ahhh~~~!"

A strange dragon roar descended from the heavens above, engulfing every corner of Rolling Stone Town...

"Warning: Dragon attack!"

-----------

Table of content

• You can access publicly available chapters of "This Necromancer Just Wants to Plant Trees" right HERE.
• Your invaluable feedback and ratings mean the world to me. Please take a moment to rate this novel at Novelupdate.
• You can also check out the other Novels I'm currently translating by clicking HERE.
• If you come across any mistakes within this chapter, kindly notify me in the comments below, so that I can make the necessary corrections.