Chapter 137: Seed & Divinity
[Killed Level 31 Millennium-Frost Lizard. EXP +2000]
Aurelius watched the notification without the slightest emotional fluctuation.
He merely let out a sigh, feeling that this lizard was truly too unfortunate.
Given its strength, it should have been able to compete for ownership of the Silverheart Lotus. Under normal circumstances, it would have emerged victorious.
Unfortunately, its reckless actions and subsequent bad luck had sentenced it to death.
Who could have expected that it would be unlucky enough to stumble upon his hiding place?
And it had even taken the initiative to attack him rather than escaping immediately.
’You can only blame your bad luck,’ Aurelius muttered inwardly, waving his hand to destroy the evidence of the one-sided battle.
After placing the remaining body parts of the lizard into the System Inventory, he glanced in the direction the green light and the monsters had gone.
He didn’t rush to chase after them. He had already thought of a way to locate them if necessary.
For now, his main focus was on the matter at hand. He needed to investigate his earlier discovery.
Aurelius turned in the opposite direction, toward the place where the Silverheart Lotus had once grown and where it had bloomed.
By now, the remaining monsters had long since departed, returning to their nests in order to heal their wounds.
The clearing was empty. No signs of life could be seen.
Even after Aurelius reached the location of the long-gone silver puddle, no monster appeared to obstruct him.
The remaining aura went as far as to deter other, weaker monsters, preventing them from coming any closer and making this place seem like a rare paradise in a land of cruelty and slaughter.
Glancing at the empty ground, which was one of the few spots that had remained undamaged, Aurelius fell into thought.
Initially, he had believed that the Silverheart Lotus had remained intact solely because of the monsters’ restraint.
After all, no one would be willing to destroy such a precious treasure.
But when the man appeared and picked it off, he had discovered something surprising.
With the lotus having been stolen, the monsters had no reason to hold back any longer.
They had taken action with their full strength, unleashing a variety of skills.
Yet this place had still remained intact!
There was obviously something strange going on!
The Silverheart Lotus’ appearance in this place no longer seemed like a simple accident. Perhaps there was a reason for its birth.
Knowing that he still had a battle to participate in, Aurelius did not dwell on these thoughts for long.
Before long, he unsheathed the silver sword at his waist and struck the ground in front of him.
With his current physical stats and the assistance of a sharp weapon, he should have been able to slash through metal walls with ease.
Yet when the sword collided with the "ordinary" ground...
Clang!
Its edge was bounced off, as though it had struck an invisible barrier.
The momentum rushed back into Aurelius’ arms, spreading throughout the rest of his body and wanting to push him back.
Thankfully, he reacted in time and adjusted his posture, preventing himself from collapsing to the ground.
Despite his inability to break through the earth, Aurelius showed no disappointment.
If anything, he became even more excited.
His suspicion had all but been confirmed.
There was indeed something hidden here.
With that thought, the Sea God’s Trident materialized in his right hand.
He used no Spirit, merely thrusting it toward the ground beneath him as if it were a hoe.
Yet unlike when faced with the sword’s edge, the earth quickly parted this time.
A large hole soon formed on the ground, as though a hot knife was slicing through butter.
The tips of the trident pierced several inches into the earth, leaving behind a large hole.
It was only when Aurelius’ perception detected something that he stopped.
Leaning down, he reached into the hole and carefully dug out the item resting inside.
As soon as he took it out, a trace of surprise flashed across his face.
He had predicted many things regarding what the mysterious item behind the Silverheart Lotus’ emergence would be.
Extraordinary resources. Precious ores. Even the corpse of some powerful creature who was used as nourishment.
Yet the actual answer defied his wildest expectations.
It was a seed. Round with elongated edges.
It was half the size of an adult’s palm and golden in color. Given its appearance, one could easily mistake it for a gem or ornament.
However, Aurelius didn’t make such a mistake.
Not only because of the trace of vitality he sensed from within, but also because his Talent activated on its own.
Alchemist’s Touch!
The moment he touched the seed, Aurelius felt his intuition screaming at him louder than ever.
The item he was holding was extremely valuable!
He had only had a similar feeling when he encountered the Sea God’s Trident, an Epic Relic, in the past.
Back then, he had immediately recognized that it was a Relic.
Now, however, he struggled to understand what it was.
It couldn’t really be an ordinary seed, right?
Aurelius raised his eyebrows. His eyes focused, ready to concentrate on the seed and let the Player Panel determine its true identity.
Yet just before he could do so, a thunderous boom suddenly reached his ears. He nearly lost his footing.
He was far from the only one affected.
The sudden explosion echoed not only in the clearing, but across the entire core area of the Dryad Forest.
Instinctively, Aurelius raised his head and looked into the distance, toward its source.
There, he could sense an inexplicable power descending.
He had only sensed it twice before.
Once when he advanced to Rank 2, and once during Selene’s latest advancement.
Although many things had happened since then, Aurelius would never mistake it for anything else.
Even though there were some subtle differences between the three that were impossible to miss, he could be absolutely certain!
It was the aura of Divinity!