Chapter 612: Collection of Natural Treasures
Moon’s eyes sparkled as he stared at the collection of items arranged on the table in front of him.
Spiritual energy radiated from each one. The aroma wafting through the air having a calming effect.
Tom stood beside him with his arms crossed, a satisfied grin spreading across his face as he watched Moon’s reaction. This had been the fun part of the whole ordeal for Tom. Getting to be the one who handed a young genius the tools he needed to skip ahead of the recovery curve.
"Let me walk you through what you’ve got here." Tom gestured toward the leftmost item.
"Diluted third order ginseng. Grown in the shadow of Mountain Vellun — a famous peak in the Third Sanctuary — over four hundred years, harvested during the last equinox alignment.
It’s been diluted specifically for your absorption, otherwise even your body would rupture trying to take it in raw. ""
Moon’s mouth twitched slightly. ’Phrasing matters... old fox.’ He thought, but did not voice out.
Tom continued, "It strengthens your bone density from the marrow outward. After absorption, your skeleton will be much stronger. Estimated to provide twenty to thirty points in Constitution."
His finger moved to the next item, a small crystal vial containing a swirling silver and golden liquid.
"Second-Order Wyrmvein Essence. It looks like a potion, but it isn’t. It’s a concentrated extract from the heart of an eastern coastal wyrm. This goes directly into your mana channels, filling the microtears with dragonvein essence, reinforcing the channel walls, and slightly increasing their capacity."
Moon’s eyes lit up.
Wyrms were a draconic subspecies renowned as one of the strongest races in the Second Sanctuary. Even the weakest among them stood at the peak of the Second Order—at least A-Rank—while most reached S-Rank. Given a race of such overwhelming strength, Moon had little doubt that somewhere within the Second Sanctuary, a Supreme-ranked wyrm still existed.
Tom tapped the third item, a small rounded stone with a dark red core that pulsed slowly like a heartbeat.
"Bloodstone of the northern peaks of the Second Sanctuary. Refines and purifies your blood at the cellular level. Removes any residual toxins that have built up over the years, boosts your body’s oxygen carrying capacity, and increases the density of your blood so your organs can handle much greater physical stress. Your recovery from any future injury will accelerate significantly after this settles in."
Despite the great deal of items, Tom did not stop. His hand moved to the fourth item.
A dark green root that looked almost fibrous, twisted into a rough spiral.
"Iron sinew grass. This one goes to your muscles, strengthening your muscle fibers. You’ll be significantly stronger without any visible change to your physique."
The fifth item was a small, Iridescent pearl about the size of a fingernail.
"Spirit pearl from the deep sea. This one is meant for your spiritual foundation, which will make your channels less prone to future damage. If we can’t stop you from pushing yourself past your limits, we can at least raise the ceiling on what your limits actually are."
The sixth and final item was a small vial of clear, glowing liquid.
"Distilled essence of the moon lotus. This one is a general accelerant. Once you begin absorbing the other treasures, this essence multiplies the efficiency of the process. Your body will assimilate everything faster, cleaner, and with less waste. Without this one, the full absorption would be less efficient. Think of it as a catalyst."
Tom stepped back and swept his hand across the table with the pride of a man who had negotiated an obscene favor from the state.
"What do you think about this haul?"
Moon’s eyes were still shining as he took in the collection.
Tom’s grin widened.
"These treasures are priceless. Real money can’t buy them. The Association has been sitting on some of these for years, these greedy bastards wouldn’t let go of them without some serious bargains. Congratulations. You are that bargain."
Moon nodded slowly, excitement threading through every one of his cells.
He couldn’t wait to get back on schedule after absorbing so many natural treasures.
After going through Tom’s instructions on how to consume each treasure for maximum absorption, Tom left the room to deal with his own matters, leaving Moon and Selene alone.
Moon settled onto the meditation cushion Selene had arranged for him in the center of the room.
His posture was steady even with the missing arm. He crossed his legs into the lotus position slowly, his body still a little stiff stiff from the days of rest, but functional.
Selene sat on the edge of the couch a few meters away, close enough to watch, far enough to give him space and not distract him
Moon reached for the first item.
’Diluted Third Order Ginseng’
The ginseng root sat in his palm with an earthy smell coming from it. The instructions were simple, consume it like normal food. Chew it, and let it dissolve in your mouth before swallowing.
Moon bit into the root.
The flavor was bitter and deep, with a little sweetness at the edges. His teeth broke through fibers that seemed thicker than they should have been. He chewed patiently, letting his saliva start the breakdown process. The moment the first portion slid down his throat, warmth spread through his chest and radiated outward.
His bones began to shake a little.
The sensation was strange.
A non-painful vibration that started in his marrow and worked outward through his skeleton.
He closed his eyes and his breathing slowed.
He let the ginseng do its work.
Three hours later...
Moon’s eyes opened.
A notification flashed across his vision.
[Constitution +20]
His fingers flexed against his knee.
His bones felt denser than ever. Moon could immediately tell the difference.
Moon wasn’t worried about his amputated arm missing out on potential benefits. Stacey had told him that once his arm returned, the body will naturally spread the extra benefits in other bones, to the arm, to achieve equilibrium.
Such was the body of an Evolver.
Selene had been watching him for the entire cycle.
At first she had watched because she was curious about the absorption process which was rather boring.
Just Moon, seated in the lotus position. The only visible change had been a faint golden glow that had risen from his skin during the second hour and had faded again by the third. Otherwise, he had simply sat there.
She had watched anyway.
Her attention had drifted from the absorption itself to his face.
His eyes had been closed. His expression focused, in a deep meditation state.
She had never seen him this still.
He was beautiful.
The thought made her cheeks flush slightly. She had spent so much of her time around him watching him move, watching him think, watching him work.
She had never gotten to just look at him. Not without him noticing.
Now she had uninterrupted hours of it.
She used every minute.
She smiled.
’What are you doing to me.’
Although she knew that she wasn’t meant to be looking this much, she let herself look anyway.
When his eyes finally opened and he glanced at her, she smiled at him with an expression of a woman who had absolutely not been doing what she had just been doing.