Chapter 77 — The Central Valley
The third morning began quietly.
Azrael stood near the edge of the mountain pass, looking down at the enormous valley below.
Mist covered parts of the landscape, but countless glowing plants could still be seen scattered across the grassland.
Several ruins stood between them.
Farther away, groups of Academy disciples moved through the valley.
Some were gathering resources.
Others were fighting monsters.
A few had already established temporary camps.
Seraphina walked beside Azrael.
"There are more people here than I expected."
Azrael nodded.
"The central region is probably where most of the valuable resources are."
Caelan studied the valley.
"And where the competition will be strongest."
Lyanna checked their map.
"We have five days left."
Orin looked at the enormous valley.
"Then we should make them count."
Azrael smiled.
"Agreed."
They descended from the mountain.
The moment they entered the valley, Lyanna became more cautious.
"Something is different here."
Azrael looked at her.
"What?"
"The monsters."
She pointed toward the grass.
"There are fewer."
Caelan frowned.
"That’s strange."
Azrael activated Origin Perception.
The valley immediately appeared differently.
Hundreds of energy signatures were scattered across the region.
But most of the stronger creatures were concentrated around certain areas.
He understood.
"The weaker monsters have already been hunted."
Lyanna nodded.
"Exactly."
Seraphina looked around.
"Then the valuable resources have probably been discovered too."
"Most likely."
They continued forward.
After a short distance, they encountered another group of disciples.
This time, nobody approached them.
Everyone simply watched one another carefully.
The atmosphere was more competitive than before.
Orin lowered his voice.
"Everyone here looks stronger."
Caelan nodded.
"We’re closer to the center."
Azrael wasn’t worried.
Instead, he noticed something else.
Several groups were heading toward the same location.
He pointed ahead.
"There’s something there."
Lyanna looked.
A massive tree stood in the middle of the valley.
Its trunk was silver.
Its branches stretched hundreds of meters into the sky.
Hundreds of glowing fruits hung from its branches.
Seraphina’s eyes widened.
"Those are..."
"Moonlight Fruits," Lyanna said.
"They’re extremely valuable."
Caelan frowned.
"How valuable?"
"Enough to increase cultivation efficiency for several months."
Orin looked at the tree.
"Then why hasn’t anyone collected them?"
Azrael noticed the answer.
The area around the tree was empty.
No monsters.
No disciples.
Nothing.
"Because they’re waiting."
"For what?"
Azrael pointed upward.
Something moved among the branches.
A pair of golden eyes opened.
Then another.
Then another.
Seraphina’s expression became serious.
"There’s more than one."
The branches suddenly shook.
Dozens of creatures descended from the tree.
They resembled large black panthers with silver markings.
The System appeared.
[Monster Detected]
Name: Moonshadow Panther
Race: Spirit Beast
Level: 28–32
Rank: Rare
Status: Territorial
Number: 23
Orin stared.
"Twenty-three."
Lyanna drew her daggers.
"That’s a lot."
Caelan lowered his spear.
"And they’re protecting the entire tree."
Azrael smiled.
"Then we know what we’re doing today."
Seraphina raised her staff.
"You’re enjoying this too much."
"Maybe."
The Moonshadow Panthers suddenly vanished.
Azrael’s eyes narrowed.
"Behind us!"
Orin turned.
A black blur rushed toward him.
BOOM!
His shield blocked the attack.
Another panther appeared behind Seraphina.
Azrael moved instantly.
Astraeus flashed.
CLANG!
The panther’s claws collided with his sword.
The creature retreated.
Lyanna attacked another from the side.
Slash!
Her dagger cut across its shoulder.
The battle erupted around the tree.
Caelan’s spear moved continuously.
Orin blocked attacks from multiple directions.
Seraphina’s golden magic spread across the battlefield.
Azrael focused on the creatures moving through the shadows.
They were fast.
Much faster than the Stonefang.
But their bodies were weaker.
That meant they relied on speed.
Azrael changed his approach.
Instead of chasing them...
He controlled their movement.
He struck the ground.
BOOM!
A shockwave forced two panthers away from Seraphina.
Caelan immediately attacked.
Piercing Spear!
The spear struck one creature through the shoulder.
Lyanna finished the second.
The System appeared.
[Moonshadow Panther defeated.]
Contribution recorded.
Azrael continued moving.
Every attack created an opening for someone else.
The number of panthers gradually decreased.
Twenty-three became twenty.
Then fifteen.
Then ten.
The remaining creatures became increasingly aggressive.
One suddenly leapt toward Seraphina.
She raised her staff.
"Genesis Shield!"
A golden barrier appeared.
BOOM!
The panther slammed against it.
Before it could attack again, Azrael appeared beside Seraphina.
Astraeus flashed.
The creature fell.
Seraphina smiled.
"Thanks."
"Anytime."
Another panther charged.
This time, Seraphina didn’t wait.
She raised her hand.
Golden vines erupted from the ground.
"Genesis Binding!"
The creature was trapped.
Lyanna finished it.
The final panther turned and attempted to flee.
Caelan threw his spear.
THUD!
The creature fell.
Silence returned to the valley.
The Moonlight Tree remained standing.
Several fruits had fallen during the battle.
Orin looked around.
"We actually did it."
Lyanna nodded.
"Twenty-three monsters."
Caelan retrieved his spear.
"Good teamwork."
Azrael looked at the tree.
"Let’s collect the fruits."
They carefully gathered the fallen fruits first.
Then Lyanna and Caelan climbed the lower branches.
They collected only what they needed.
Seraphina looked at the remaining fruits.
"We should leave some."
Azrael nodded.
"If we take everything, the tree won’t recover."
They left most of the fruits untouched.
The System appeared.
[Moonlight Fruit obtained.]
[Rare Resource collected.]
Contribution value increased.
Azrael looked at his Academy token.
A faint number appeared across its surface.
Contribution Points: 8,420
He smiled.
"Not bad."
Orin looked at his own.
"How much do you have?"
Azrael showed him.
Orin stared.
"Why is yours higher?"
Azrael shrugged.
"I contributed."
"You were standing around half the battle!"
Seraphina laughed.
"You were the one getting hit."
"Exactly!"
Everyone laughed.
For the first time since entering the Outer Territory, the pressure between battles felt lighter.
They packed the resources.
Then Azrael looked toward the deeper part of the valley.
"There should be more."
Lyanna nodded.
"The map shows several resource zones ahead."
Caelan looked at the distant ruins.
"And those."
Azrael’s eyes moved toward them.
Several ancient structures stood beyond the Moonlight Tree.
One was partially buried.
Another appeared to have been built into the side of a mountain.
The final structure was much larger.
Its entrance was still intact.
Azrael studied it.
"Let’s investigate that one."
Seraphina nodded.
"But carefully."
"Of course."
The group began walking toward the ruins.
They didn’t know what they would find inside.
But unlike the first day...
They were no longer strangers working together.
They were becoming a team.