Chapter 43: Mocha Forest 14
Apples from the same tree, from the same batch, picked only a few days apart, yet the taste was worlds apart.
The apples nourished by the Water Wood Stones were noticeably larger, redder, and tasted sweeter.
But with so many Water Wood Stones, she felt like she was a little short on Water-cooling Stones. So, she decided to spend her last remaining day by the creek.
To her surprise, however, she found that the once-quiet creekside was now crowded with people.
All it took was a little asking around to find out that these people were all here for the Silvermoon Fish and Immortal Cicadas.
Immortal Cicadas were a limited-time ingredient. Although a single one wasn’t worth many points, they were incredibly easy to catch. A single night’s harvest was enough to equal a full day’s work.
Then there were the Silvermoon Fish. Although they swam quickly, catching them was a piece of cake for anyone who had awakened a Water Talent.
"Everyone here has been robbed of their points. To avoid being disqualified from the game, they’ve had no choice but to band together for safety."
The person speaking to Moira Lynch was a tall girl who looked to be around her age, probably a student as well.
The girl seemed to be lamenting their situation, but her eyes fell on the basket in Moira Lynch’s hands.
Moira Lynch, in turn, generously showed the other girl her basket.
When she saw the pitifully few points in Moira Lynch’s basket, a flicker of pity crossed the girl’s eyes, and her tone softened. "Don’t worry. There are a lot of us, so those people won’t dare to cause trouble here. By the way, my name is Misty Cloud. What’s yours?"
"SesameDumpling."
Moira Lynch gave a random name without batting an eye.
The two quickly grew familiar with each other.
Perhaps because she felt Moira Lynch had so few points and was destined to be disqualified, Misty Cloud’s eyes always held a hint of pity.
Moira Lynch took it in stride. ’Better to be pitied than envied,’ she thought.
As evening fell, Moira Lynch watched the group boldly build a fire, showing no signs of seeking shelter. She couldn’t help but ask, "Aren’t you guys going to hide?"
Misty Cloud, using a large leaf as a bowl, walked over with a full serving of wild vegetable and mushroom soup. Handing it to her, she said mysteriously, "We found a way to keep the beasts from getting close."
Just as Moira Lynch was wondering what this method could be, she saw several people emerge from the forest, carrying a large, leaf-wrapped bundle together.
Seeing it, Misty Cloud said proudly to Moira Lynch, "This is our secret weapon."
Staring at the tightly wrapped bundle of leaves, Moira Lynch had a sinking feeling she knew what was inside.
As the leaves were unwrapped layer by layer, everyone present instinctively wrinkled their noses.
"We just need to smear this dung around the area, and no beasts will come near us tonight."
Hearing Misty Cloud’s explanation, Moira Lynch had to admit that while it was a bit gross, it was certainly an effective method.
Moira Lynch glanced at the wild vegetable and mushroom soup in front of her. Suddenly, she didn’t feel so hungry anymore. ’Maybe I don’t need to eat right now after all.’
Misty Cloud directed the others to smear the stuff on the surrounding trees.
It was disgusting, but for the sake of points, they had no choice but to do it.
Meanwhile, Moira Lynch quietly distanced herself from the group. It was no exaggeration to say that with her around, they probably wouldn’t be able to catch a single Immortal Cicada all night.
’So it’s better if I keep my distance. We won’t interfere with each other, which is better for everyone.’
When Misty Cloud saw Moira Lynch move away from the group, she didn’t say anything, assuming Moira had resigned herself to being eliminated and was just giving up.
Finding the tree hollow where she had rested before, Moira Lynch agilely climbed inside.
While she waited for nightfall, she continuously collected Water-cooling Stones from the creek.
Occasionally, she would even find a Silvermoon Fish hiding under a Water-cooling Stone.
She took out her basket and checked the rankings. She had dropped from first place to fifth.
’Not bad,’ she thought. ’I was expecting to fall to eighth or ninth, or maybe even out of the top ten entirely.’
Night descended. Moira Lynch perceived a familiar sound, slowly closed her eyes, and began to focus intently on catching the Immortal Cicadas as they emerged from the soil, placing them in her basket.
Soon, Moira Lynch was surprised to discover that there were several times more Immortal Cicadas than the day before. She had to use all of her baskets just to keep up with the speed of her catches.
’Is it because I’m closer to the water source?’
Moira Lynch was frantically busy the entire night, so much so that her spiritual power was nearly depleted. Fortunately, she had a high-grade Recovery Agent.
It wasn’t until dawn began to break and the Immortal Cicadas stopped emerging that Moira Lynch finally breathed a sigh of relief.
After consolidating the points from all her baskets, Moira Lynch had once again successfully reclaimed the number one spot.
Peeking through a crack in the tree hollow, she could see that many people had already started wading into the water to catch fish.
Fresh from taking a high-grade Recovery Agent, she was brimming with energy. So, she decided to climb out of the tree hollow and join the fishing party.
"I was starting to think you weren’t coming."
A flash of surprise crossed Misty Cloud’s eyes when she saw Moira Lynch.
This time, Moira Lynch didn’t say a word, offering only a polite smile.
Since it was the last day of the game, Moira Lynch decided to continue heading upstream.
She had planned to do so earlier, but her plans had been disrupted by the man she’d encountered and the figure that had appeared out of nowhere.
Now, everyone was busy collecting points. They shouldn’t have time to bother with a player like her, who was supposedly doomed to be disqualified.
After walking for several hours, a giant plant suddenly appeared ahead, blocking her path. To be more precise, it lay stretched across the upper part of the creek.
Moira Lynch walked over to take a look.
WHOA!
She had assumed the creek was naturally this size, but it turned out nearly half its flow was being blocked by the thing in front of her.
When she got to the other side of the plant, she discovered scores of Silvermoon Fish hiding beneath it.
Moira Lynch rubbed her hands together. ’Such a windfall, right here in front of me? Well, I won’t be shy.’
’Be good now, little fishies. How about I find you a new home?’
Without giving the Silvermoon Fish any choice in the matter, Moira Lynch waved her hand and instantly transferred them to the pond in her personal space.
She then turned her attention back to the plant lying across the creek. It was a vibrant, emerald green, covered in beautiful, intricate green patterns. Its leaves... seemed to have been completely stripped off.
She looked around. There were no signs of disturbed earth. ’So how did this thing get here?’
’Don’t tell me it fell from the sky?’
The reason Moira Lynch was so interested in the plant was that her spiritual power could sense it emitting a strange fluctuation all over.
This alone told her that the plant was anything but ordinary.
And...
Moira Lynch leaned in for a sniff. A faint, medicinal fragrance wafted into her nose. She instantly felt as if she were floating on air, like her entire body was soaking in a hot spring before being treated to a full-body massage.