Chapter 133: Connection & Peculiarities

Aurelius stared at the familiar vast forest in front of him.

This monster habitat was the place he had visited the most since awakening his memories of Earth—save for Blood Sun City, of course.

Having spent so much time here, Aurelius believed that there were few people with more knowledge about it than him.

Yet this idea was proven wrong not long ago.

Aurelius appeared thoughtful.

As his mind stirred, a wooden scepter materialized in his right hand.

Dryad’s Scepter.

Feeling its rough texture, he couldn’t help but raise his head and look toward the Dryad Forest.

There was no reaction from the Elite Relic.

However, he knew very well that his previous feeling had not been an illusion.

The Dryad’s Scepter and the Dryad Forest must have some kind of connection!

The reason he thought of this was not that the two shared the same name.

Instead, it was because of what had happened yesterday, when he repeatedly used Fruition to produce Stat Fruits.

Back then, he had noticed that some resources would give birth to slightly more powerful fruits that would grant higher Base Star enhancements.

He had thought it was a coincidence at first and that there were some outliers.

Yet as it happened again and again, he felt that he had to investigate the reason.

In the end, he discovered that all the resources that produced such effects came from the Dryad Forest.

It was not because they came from a monster habitat. If that were the case, the resources from the Goblin Mountains would have also reacted similarly.

Rather, it was due to the peculiarity of the Dryad Forest itself.

Aurelius’ eyes narrowed. He tightened his grip on the Dryad’s Scepter before stepping into the forest. Determination flashed across his face.

Since it was noon and the sun had yet to set, there were many adventurers entering the forest at the same time as him.

Sounds of battle could be heard from nearly every direction. Some came from battles between humans and monsters, while others were the result of monsters fighting among themselves.

Either way, Aurelius paid no attention to either of them.

His goal this time was to confirm whether the Dryad Forest was really as strange as he believed.

... And if it was, to investigate the reason why.

The former was relatively simple.

"Squeak!"

Not long after Aurelius entered the forest, a small mouse floated in the air in front of him, struggling to break free. It continuously waved its paws, as though trying to break its prison.

Unfortunately, no matter how much it struggled, it ultimately failed.

Facing the Rank 2 Aurelius, a Level 5 monster could offer no resistance.

Soon, it took its last breath.

[Killed Level 5 Mouse Monster. EXP +1]

Glancing at the pitiful amount of EXP, Aurelius shook his head lightly.

Thankfully, he hadn’t come here to obtain Experience. Raising the Dryad’s Scepter, he let the emerald on its top erupt with power, wrapping around the corpse and absorbing it.

The corresponding fruit was soon born.

...

[Agility Fruit: ...]

[+3 AGI at Rank 1]

[+2 AGI at Rank 2]

...

Aurelius looked down at the information and noted it down. Then, he retrieved an item from the System Inventory.

It was another corpse. One that also belonged to a Level 5 mouse monster.

Moreover, it was at the same Level as the one he had just killed.

’I found this monster just outside the forest. If the fruit that is born is the same, then everything will be fine. It should have been just a coincidence.’

’If not, however...’

Aurelius did not finish that thought.

The same green glow erupted from the scepter.

Soon, a second Agility Fruit lay in his hand. Compared to the previous one, though, it was significantly smaller.

...

[Agility Fruit: ...]

[+2 AGI at Rank 1]

[+1 AGI at Rank 2]

...

The same race. The same Level. Nearly the same environment.

Yet the fruits created from their corpses were completely different.

This could no longer be a mere coincidence.

Due to his cautiousness, Aurelius took his experiments a step further, checking whether the time since the monster’s death was possibly the reason.

But even after he let the monster’s corpse remain for several minutes, the result was still the same!

Sure enough! There was something bizarre going on in the Dryad Forest!

Whether it held certain mysteries or simply had a connection with the Dryad’s Scepter was unknown.

No matter what, however, Aurelius felt that he ought to investigate.

’Over the past month, I’ve already unintentionally visited most of the forest. If the secret is somewhere here, I would have already discovered it.’

’For me to fail to find anything, either the secret is extremely well hidden, or...’ Aurelius raised his head, his gaze turning toward the center of the forest.

’... it is in the monster habitat’s core.’

With that thought, Aurelius’ footsteps quickened.

Having already found a goal, he had no reason to waste any more time in the forest’s outskirts. Soon, both the weak monsters and the adventurers were left behind him.

--

The Dryad Forest, just like most monster habitats, had the same structure as the Goblin Mountains.

It was divided into several layers, with the power of the monsters and the density of Mana increasing the closer one got to its core.

This led to the birth of many precious resources. Anything extraordinary was far more prominent in the inner layers than the outer ones.

However, few people dared to venture any deeper than the forest’s outskirts.

They knew very well that these resources had nothing to do with them. Even if they managed to locate them, they were bound to be guarded by powerful monsters.

Humans in this place stood absolutely no chance!

Aurelius had heard of this in the past but had never encountered such a situation himself.

Yet not long after he entered the Dryad Forest’s core—

"Awooo!"

"Grrl!"

The feral cries of several monsters entered his ears.

His interest was instantly piqued.