Chapter 340 End It a Little Faster

The closer he got to the center of the garden, the taller the fog lamp grass grew. Those in the very center even reached Xia Nan's chest.

Similarly, their thicker stems and dense roots made the light blooming from the flower lamps at their tips even brighter. Swaying, they emitted a brilliant blue-white radiance like incandescent bulbs.

Surrounded by this dazzling brilliance, the massive, silent object looked like a "cocoon of light," interwoven with foliage and glaring radiance.

Gripping the [Ember Fall] straight sword tightly, he parted the fog lamp grass blocking his path and slowly approached.

As the distance between them closed, Xia Nan caught a clear view of the entire "cocoon of light."

He sat there cross-legged.

Or rather, "its" former body remained in place.

The lower half of its body had been completely replaced by twisted, purple-green vines like those of the Fog Lamp Monster, leaving no trace of its original legs.

In its malformed and twisted state, it intertwined and connected with the root systems of the surrounding fog lamp grass. Faint traces of blue-white energy could be seen flowing through the stems and limbs.

The transformation did not seem complete. "Its" upper body, especially the head and arms, still retained the general shape of a human. The facial features, arm structures, and fingers were clearly visible. However, the skin had been replaced by plant-like protective tissue, devoid of pores or hair. Only fluorescent blue veins, resembling the veins of fog lamp grass leaves, flickered faintly beneath the skin.

The expression on "its" face was one of agony and struggle, yet it was frozen and rigid. Its hands tightly gripped the roots of its lower body, the fingertips digging deeply into the fibrous flesh.

Xia Nan didn't dare get too close. Keeping a considerable distance, he observed it from afar.

His vigilance deepened.

Recalling the life evolution ritual recorded at the end of the journal, there was no doubt that this statue-like, deformed plant entity before him was the journal's owner—that evil Druid stuck at the Level 5 bottleneck.

Although he didn't know the specific details of the so-called sublimation ritual, the scene before him seemed to indicate the outcome: a "failed evolution."

'So—is he dead?'

Xia Nan observed secretly, focusing his attention and pushing his Perception to the maximum.

Looking at this state—

Not dead, but not alive either.

It was as if he were in a half-dead, half-alive state of superposition.

Under his Perception, the connecting roots of the surrounding fog lamp grass continuously channeled energy into the plant statue in the center while blooming with blinding light.

But the number of fog lamp grass plants was limited after all. No matter how tightly the roots and stems intertwined, it was like a tiny stream trickling into a dried-up riverbed—far from enough to revive him, only barely maintaining the lingering life force within his body.

Considering the growth pattern of the fog lamp grass, which only bloomed in a specific month each year, the energy channeled into the Druid's body would likely have to sustain him for the rest of the year once the flowering season ended.

Thinking of this, Xia Nan breathed a sigh of relief.

It was good news.

At least he wasn't facing a high-tier Class Holder who had already broken through the bottleneck and completed their class advancement.

And just as he carefully stepped forward with his straight sword in hand, intending to put an end to all this—

Suddenly, the plant statue that seemed frozen in place twitched its head ever so slightly.

Its previously ferocious and agonizing expression quickly faded away. With trembling fingertips, it shook off fibrous debris and pulled its hands free from the roots.

Its closed eyes snapped open. Those pupil-less, pure white eyes stared straight ahead at Xia Nan, who had rapidly retreated the moment he noticed the movement.

Its lips parted, and a hoarse, dry voice that sounded like rubbing dead leaves echoed through the cold, dead air.

"Wait—unfamiliar adventurer—"

'You think I'll wait just because you said so?'

Alarm bells blared in Xia Nan's mind, but he didn't stop his feet. He held his longsword horizontally in front of him, locking his eyes on the Druid ahead while keeping a wary watch on the surrounding fog lamp grass, terrified of a sneak attack from some blind spot.

His continuous retreat seemed to make the half-plant Druid anxious. That rigid, purple-green face twisted, seemingly trying hard to squeeze out a smile, causing the branches and leaves around its body to tremble slightly.

"Adventurer—you can see my current state—"

"A living corpse who exhausts all his strength just to raise a hand poses no threat to you."

Naturally, Xia Nan wasn't going to believe his explanation.

Having read the journal, he knew very well that this entity used to be a proper Level 5 Class Holder. The man's alignment leaned toward evil, and he could carelessly use the lives of innocent villagers to create the conditions for his own advancement.

Under these circumstances, even if this Druid looked half-dead and on the verge of perishing, Xia Nan absolutely would not let his guard down.

Only when he had retreated to a sufficiently safe distance did he gradually slow his pace.

Seeing this, and worried that the adventurer who had barged into the garden might just leave if he wasted any more breath, the Druid quickly cut to the chase, raising his voice:

"I have touched—the edge of eternity."

"I am only one step away from completing my transformation."

"Adventurer, help me—you will receive rewards beyond your imagination."

'Rewards?'

Xia Nan raised an eyebrow. While maintaining his inner vigilance, he deliberately slowed his steps even further, feigning a look of interest.

Having only been awake for a short time, with his mind not yet fully clear, the Druid naturally failed to notice Xia Nan's disguise.

Thinking he had truly swayed the other party, the Druid hastily increased the stakes.

A flash of blue-white fluorescent light passed by. Xia Nan felt a faint trace of mental energy transmit from the center of the garden. Carrying a bit of information alongside a deeply hidden seductive control effect, it brushed against his consciousness.

The [Gaze into the Abyss] Feat triggered immediately, instantly neutralizing that sliver of mind-control effect.

Perhaps because the effect of the ability was too weak, the Feat's deterrent counter-effect did not activate. It merely isolated the negative influence, allowing the information inside to pass through normally.

Soon after, several short paragraphs of text, accompanied by clear images, surfaced in Xia Nan's mind.

They were a brief introduction to a combat technique, the description of a piece of equipment, and the effect summary of a potion, respectively:

[Mist-Hidden Light Step]: Utilizes smoke in the air to significantly increase movement speed for a short time, providing a certain degree of stealth and concealment;

[Green Grass Wooden Ring]: When the wearer is in a forest or grassland environment, slightly enhances wound healing speed;

[Concentrated Fog Lamp Grass Essence Potion]: Increases Constitution and Strength attributes for a short time after ingestion, but once the effect ends, the consumer will enter a three-day weakness state.

These were the so-called rewards the Druid offered to tempt Xia Nan.

Despite his extremely poor state at the moment, he barely managed to retain his pre-slumber level of observation skills.

Thus, he could roughly judge that the adventurer who had barged into his garden definitely didn't have a high Class Level. He guessed the young man had just advanced—probably Level 1 or Level 2—which was the most impoverished stage of a Class Holder's path.

Under these circumstances, a combat technique, a piece of Magic Equipment, and a potion recipe perfectly hit the sweet spot. No one would be able to resist this kind of temptation.

Considering this, the Druid wasn't actually wrong in his line of thought.

For ninety-nine percent of the adventurers in this world without any background, the period just after completing their class advancement...

...put them in an awkward phase: standing at the peak of ordinary bottom-tier adventurers, yet sitting at the absolute bottom of the professional pyramid.

They would look down on the standard gear in the blacksmith shops, but wouldn't be able to afford enchanted equipment. The few combat techniques they possessed weren't enough, yet they were nowhere near having enough points to exchange for new ones on the Association Second Floor.

If the person standing here right now really was an ordinary, newly advanced adventurer with slightly weaker willpower, they might have actually fallen for his nonsense.

But Xia Nan just so happened to be the "one percent" outside of that ninety-nine percent.

[Mist-Hidden Light Step]—With [Fang Hunt] in his arsenal, his mobility and explosive power were already sufficient. It was impossible for him to waste a precious combat technique slot on such an obviously low-quality skill, not to mention it had casting restrictions, requiring a smoke environment to be used.

[Green Grass Wooden Ring]—A weakened, watered-down version of [Tears of Spring Breath]. Xia Nan rarely even used the "Lesser Healing" spell attached to his pendant. Even if he did get this ring, its presence would likely be extremely low, firmly sitting in the top tier of items to be sold for cash when he was short on money.

As for the [Concentrated Fog Lamp Grass Essence Potion]—compared to the other two, it was slightly useful. But its actual utility for Xia Nan was far smaller than imagined, especially after he had reached the Novice tier in a Stage 2 burst-type combat technique like [Ember Echoes].

In conclusion, from Xia Nan's perspective, the three rewards offered by the Druid might not even be as appealing as a freshly cooked, steaming pot of creamy mushroom soup.

Of course, if he could actually get his hands on these three things without taking any risks and without crossing his own moral bottom line, he wouldn't refuse them either.

After all, even if he just liquidated all of them for gold coins, it would probably still be a decent income.

Seeing Xia Nan stop in his tracks, the Druid mistakenly thought he had been convinced.

The Druid's previously anxious tone instantly smoothed out as he adopted a deliberately profound tone:

"These—are only a part of the reward."

"Once the ritual is complete, all my knowledge—and control over this garden—shall be yours."

'Now that's just a bit too fake.'

Xia Nan's expression remained unchanged, though he inwardly scoffed.

Now, his mind, which had been slightly shaken by the entity's resurrection, gradually calmed down.

On one hand, he could sense that the energy pouring into the Druid from the surrounding fog lamp grass was far too meager; it was likely nowhere near enough to restore his combat power.

On the other hand, he keenly perceived the other party's attitude.

If the Druid in front of him truly still possessed his former Level 5 strength, how could he adopt such a lowly posture, offering explanations and promising rewards to sweet-talk him? He would have just attacked long ago.

The initiative—was on his side!

Perhaps he could test the waters a little and pry as much useful information from his mouth as possible.

Thus, he opened his mouth and slowly asked, "So what do you need me to do?"

Seeing Xia Nan take the bait, the corners of the Druid's mouth twitched upward. Deliberately adopting a solemn and dignified air, as if entrusting him with a grand mission, he spoke in a deep voice: "I am only one step away from metamorphosis and sublimation—I need energy. Life energy."

"The village outside—those ignorant sacrifices. Their lives—are inefficient impurities, but when gathered together—"

"—they are enough to pry open the shackles."

In human terms, he just wanted Xia Nan to help slaughter the village and collect life energy to continue his so-called advancement ritual.

This severely violated his bottom line, so he naturally wouldn't do such a thing.

Xia Nan didn't outright refuse, however. Instead, he took a detour and asked about the whereabouts of the young master of the Morton Family mentioned in the journal, who was suspected to be carrying the key to the [Dream Weaving Corridor].

"Why are you asking about this?"

The Druid didn't seem to care that his experimental journal had been discovered; he merely frowned and replied:

"Many years have passed since our party disbanded. He said he was going to the Southern Archipelagos to recuperate, but who knows if he changed his mind later."

"That has nothing to do with you and me—but if you truly wish to know, once the ritual is complete, my sublimated self might have a way to assist you."

'Still lying!'

Clearly knowing in his heart that this was just an excuse to deceive him into collecting life energy, Xia Nan gave up on the idea of learning about the Morton Family heirloom from him.

With a shift of his thoughts, he smoothly changed the subject.

Taking a step forward as if drawn in by the rewards, he allowed a hesitant expression to show on his face.

"It does sound good, but how can you guarantee that you won't absorb me as life energy along with them after I help you? Could you pay a deposit? For example, the specific formula for the potion you mentioned, or hand over that enchanted ring first."

"That way, I can work for you with some peace of mind."

Hearing this, the Druid's eyes flickered. He opened his mouth but couldn't squeeze a single word out.

Coming from an adventurer background himself, he naturally knew how cunning his peers could be.

If he really listened to this kid and handed over the rewards as a deposit, the brat would probably just take the goods and bolt.

After pondering for a moment, he narrowed his eyes and spoke slowly:

"Rest assured, you will receive everything you are owed once the ritual is complete. Not a single thing will be missing."

"If you're truly worried, we can sign a contract."

'A contract?'

Having personally watched Abi press his handprint onto a contract under a devil's deception just recently, Xia Nan was crystal clear that in this fantasy world filled with supernatural powers, there were countless ways to tamper with a contract.

One moment of carelessness, and you might even end up selling your soul.

It was a high-risk operation that demanded extreme caution; how could he possibly make such an agreement with this creature?

Its promises were nothing but castles in the air, the so-called rewards were dispensable, low-value items, and it wasn't even willing to reveal a shred of true, reliable information.

Everything the Druid was doing was solely to bewitch Xia Nan into helping complete the ritual.

He could, of course, continue to feign civility and squeeze some potential benefits out of him.

But the risks involved were far higher than any anticipated gains.

And honestly, he knew he didn't have the eloquence or the grasp of human nature to pull it off.

'Better to just keep it simple—'

In an instant, the Druid felt the aura of the young adventurer with messy black hair in front of him shift drastically.

The hesitant and indecisive look on his face vanished in a flash.

On that incredibly calm face, only an indescribable, chilling harshness remained.

With a low thrum, the dusk-like Gray-Black Straight Sword reflected the fluorescent glow of the fog lamp grass on both sides, a sharp, cold glint flashing briefly across its blade.

His deep eyes were like a secluded pool in a dense forest, reflecting the twisted, towering figure ahead.

A voice devoid of emotional fluctuation echoed faintly through the dead air:

"Hand over those items you just mentioned."

"And depending on the situation—I might end this a little faster."