Chapter 65: The Essence of Verdure

There are many words used to describe a forest.

If it’s a forest with many trees, it’s a woodland; if it’s one that often sees rain, a rainforest.

Among those, there is the word ‘verdure.’

It refers to dense green foliage or the shade beneath such greenery.

It’s a fitting name for the tropical rainforest zone that begins at the 14th Layer.

This place is humid, sultry, and at the same time, slightly ominous.

The small green bead called the Essence of Verdure glimmered damply, as if it had captured the tropical rainforest itself.

“Why is this here…”

The problem is, this treasure, which so perfectly fits this layer, is actually supposed to appear far deeper down.

This jewel, known as an ‘Essence,’ holds powerful magical energy.

But compared to ordinary magic stones extracted from magical beasts, it was on another level entirely.

It is formed when the unique magical properties of a particular layer are highly condensed.

The deeper you go, the richer the mana, and Essences gradually begin to appear.

Depending on the characteristics of each layer, the properties of the Essence also differ; in the case of the Essence of Verdure, it’s found much further below, in the great jungle.

The trees there grow as tall as entire buildings, and only in the forest of the elves can the Essence of Verdure be found…

“It’s a little flawed, though.”

However, the color is a bit dull, and the Essence itself is a little small.

Since this is still only the 14th Layer, it would be unreasonable to expect an Essence of true deep-layer quality.

Still, judging from the nature of the mana emanating from it, it should offer similar effects.

Also, perhaps because it’s inside Barretan’s sacred ground, it exudes an unknown holy power.

“The jewel of the forest!”

At that moment, the Toin Chief marveled at the Essence Yuseong had found.

“Oh…”

Yuseong realized his mistake in that instant.

The Toin seemed to know just how precious this Essence was.

Here, whatever it took, he wanted to keep the Essence of Verdure for himself.

Yuseong’s expression hardened for a moment.

“Human, you’re very lucky. I’m envious!”

“Huh?”

“Barretan has chosen you, human! You may drink as much sweet water as you wish.”

“So… I can take this with me?”

“…Why do you ask something so obvious?”

Fortunately, the Toin showed no sign of insisting on keeping the Essence for themselves.

Yuseong couldn’t help but break into a broad smile.

He was still bitter about Barretan’s Sacred Spring being destroyed, but this unexpected windfall more than made up for it.

“What’s going on? What did those people say?”

Jang Dojin, who couldn’t understand the language, asked impatiently.

“Oh!”

“At least that’s good news.”

“Uh, but what is that thing, anyway?”

Yuseong grinned.

“Get a water bottle out of the backpack for me.”

“Just a second.”

Yuseong took the water bottle Jang Dojin handed over.

He unscrewed the lid and dropped the Essence of Verdure in with a plop.

“Is… Is it really okay to use it like that?”

“That’s how it’s used, apparently.”

There are many other Essences besides the Essence of Verdure.

Essence of Glacier, Essence of Extreme Heat, Essence of Chaos…

As technology has advanced, various ways of utilizing them have emerged—embedding them in weapons, inserting them into staves to enhance magical gifts, and so on.

In such times, the Essence of Verdure isn’t particularly popular.

“Of all things, the Essence of Verdure… You’re really lucky.”

Of course, for Yuseong, it was among the best of all Essences.

Yuseong shook the water bottle containing the Essence.

He gave the thoroughly shaken bottle to Jang Dojin.

“Drink up.”

Jang Dojin, still skeptical, hesitated before unscrewing the cap and drinking.

His eyes went wide.

Gulp, gulp.

“…Whoa!”

He’d only meant to take a sip, but ended up drinking more than half the water in the bottle.

“Wha—what is this?”

“Good, right?”

“Yeah, it’s just water, but… I mean, it’s been in the bottle a while, so I expected it to be warm and stale, but the taste is amazing.”

“It’s a bit sweet, right?”

“Yes… it really is a little sweet. And refreshing, too.”

As expected—even if it wasn’t a perfect Essence of Verdure, the effect was clear.

Refreshing meant it had a purifying effect.

Perhaps it carried the power of Barretan, the Toin’s deity.

“That’s good. At least I can worry less about sugar now.”

Even though he’d only shaken it for a few minutes, a faint sweetness already spread through the water.

Just as its name ‘jewel of the forest’ suggests, the Essence of Verdure always brims with gentle life force.

If you leave it in a water bottle for about 24 hours, the water turns sweet.

And thanks to its purification properties, just using the sweetened water in cooking should detoxify weak poisons.

“So the Secret of the Honey Spring was this Essence.”

Barretan’s Sacred Spring, which endlessly flowed with sweet nectar.

And the Essence of Verdure, which could turn plain water sweet.

It was only natural that they’d be connected.

But…

“It’s still no match for the Spring.”

Even if the water steeped with the Essence of Verdure became sweet, how could it compare to Barretan’s honey?

Just dipping a finger into Barretan’s honey and tasting it—its rich sweetness was peerless.

Those who destroyed it can never be forgiven.

“Let’s clear things up here, then head up to the surface for a bit.”

The Seven were said to be Treasure Hunters searching for the Abyss’s relics and treasures.

“Is there something hidden in the Toin ruins?”

The White Crocodile was certainly a tasty magical beast, and rare as well.

But as a treasure, it left something to be desired.

Clearly, that group was after something.

Those who destroyed Barretan’s Sacred Spring—he’d never let them gloat.

Seeing Yuseong’s determination, Jang Dojin gripped his crab-scented spear tightly.

“Alright! Then should we go back to where that old bottle man was?”

“Hm? What for?”

“Huh? We have to clear it, right? Go back and finish up.”

Yuseong waved his hand as if he couldn’t be bothered to answer.

He turned to the Toin Chief and asked in Toin tongue,

“There’s a Clear Gate, right?”

“There is, human! Shall I guide you?”

“Please do.”

There are many ways to clear a layer.

Each time, explorers try to pioneer new Clear Routes.

Among them, one way is to interact with the Toin and arrive in their village.

***

Third Layer, Special Exploration Autonomous City.

Cheonghwa Support Center, in other words, the Blue Expedition’s Abyss branch.

The director of the Support Center reviewed the documents that had just arrived.

Even within the company, Baek Yuseong had become a hot topic, and now he had come to see the director in person.

As always, the director, known for his perfectionism, had just printed out Baek Yuseong’s Achievement Monument with the latest updates.

“Incredible.”

It’s hard to believe these records belong to a rookie who started pioneering only a few months ago.

Among them was a newly recorded achievement from just forty minutes ago.

“Heroic Achievement. The path shown to a Toin friend…? What the…”

There were several bizarre achievements whose meaning was difficult to discern.

With a frown, the director glanced at the bottom of the page, at the estimated Achievement Score.

“2,096 points…”

It was a little lower than the average Achievement Score for Fourth Rank explorers.

Still, it was certainly higher than the average Eighth Rank explorer.

‘Achievement Score’ doesn’t perfectly reflect an explorer’s ability; rather, the longer one has been pioneering, the higher the score tends to be.

It’s simply the sum of points assigned per achievement by rank.

But at the same time, it directly reflects how many achievements an explorer has accomplished, so it’s a good measure of ‘explorer potential’ rather than raw fighting power.

“Now those guys will have to shut up.”

The Pioneering Association had promoted Yuseong to Fourth Rank.

At least within the country, this was an unprecedented and bold move.

Frankly, it would have been a joke to promote the leader of the Serpent Subjugation Party—who’d defeated the notorious Serpent—to only Eighth Rank.

That’s why, as soon as the Serpent Subjugation succeeded, the Association promoted Yuseong on the spot.

But in Korea, those who pull out the awl from their pockets always draw attention.

Those who didn’t believe Yuseong was a prodigy claimed that his promotion was only due to Cheonghwa’s influence.

Their excuse was Yuseong’s Achievement Score.

At the time of his promotion, his score was about 1600.

Definitely a bit below the Fourth Rank average.

But Yuseong had raised it by another 500 points in just a few weeks, so now, no one would dare use Achievement Score as an argument.

“Idiots. They have no idea how many unpublished achievements there are.”

But what truly sent chills down the director’s spine were Yuseong’s hidden achievements.

Most explorers have no reason to hide their achievements.

The more their record is filled, the more it becomes their résumé as an explorer.

But from what he’d observed, Yuseong often set his achievements to private.

He didn’t care what others thought of him.

Or perhaps, he cared too much and thus chose to hide them.

Usually, only world-class Fifth Rankers do this to protect their own information.

For a rookie, it was extraordinary.

“His real Achievement Score might be much higher.”

With that in mind, the director stood up with the documents in hand.

Leaving his office, he headed to the reception room where Yuseong was waiting.

There sat Yuseong, still in his suit, as if he’d just come straight from an expedition.

“Upon review, your qualifications have been met, and you are approved.”

At the director’s words, Yuseong smiled.

“And, since official monitoring of other explorers is illegal, if we fail, we’ll sever all connections. That means you may not get the information you want.”

“Well, it’s surveillance, so I understand.”

“Ahem. Please refer to it as the ‘Information Request Service.’”

Blue Expedition, the corporation born from Cheonghwa’s support.

Among its explorers, only those who qualify may request certain things from the company.

From information about specific layers, to even confidential data on other explorers.

“How many layers can you cover?”

“For now, up to the 17th Layer. We can monitor up to Fourth Rank targets.”

There was clear pride in the director’s voice.

All organizations that sponsor explorers actually do this kind of work.

However, the extent and capability varies widely between organizations.

Currently, the top explorers have reached the 18th Layer, and Blue Expedition can acquire information up to the previous layer, the 17th.

It’s something to be proud of.

The director reconfirmed the items Yuseong had requested.

“Where is Seven now, and all papers on the 14th Layer and its ruins, Barretan, the Toin, and White Crocodile, including all predatory aquatic beast data.”

“Then, I’ll leave it to you.”

“We’ll show you the true capabilities of Cheonghwa.”

The director declared confidently.

Whatever Seven was plotting, they had tangled with Yuseong, and behind him stood Cheonghwa.

Their information would be thoroughly dug up and delivered to Yuseong.

***

As Yuseong expected—and as they had made public on their own channel.

The Three Brothers of Seven were at the 14th Layer.

However, nobody knew exactly where in the 14th Layer they were.

In the vast Abyss, explorers rarely encounter each other regardless of layer.

Pioneers have developed the most efficient Clear Routes, and 90% of explorers within a layer are clustered along them.

But those three clearly belonged to the other 10%.

True to their name, Treasure Hunters, they had developed a taste for searching for relics and treasures in the Abyss.

Though it was a little less profitable than just slaying magical beasts for magic stones, finding gems or rare minerals was also rewarding.

Especially the world’s idle tycoons, who often bought treasures discovered in the Abyss’s shrines for exorbitant prices.

Among other things, certain elixirs occasionally discovered could fetch at least several hundred million to tens of billions of won.

Even an ordinary person who consumed one would enjoy long life and health.

If an explorer took it, it would raise their level.

That’s why, when called from the frontlines, they’d returned to the 14th Layer.

“Hyung! I figured it out! This is amazing!”

The youngest, Il Horangi, shouted excitedly.

Recently, they had defeated a Guardian Golem in the 14th Layer.

In the youngest’s hand was a Guardian Stone, extracted from the Golem.

A gemstone distinct from ordinary magic stones.

In his other hand, he held a cross-shaped, antique relic.

He fitted the Guardian Stone into the slot in the center of the Cross-shaped Relic.

Clack—click-clatter.

The ordinary-looking relic came alive the moment the stone was inserted.

The branches of the cross shape contracted into one, and complex protrusions popped out.

The second brother, watching, murmured with a face full of joy.

“It’s real… It’s become a ‘Key.’”

“Yeah, hyung, now we can open the door to the ruins.”

A while ago, the Three Brothers of Seven had obtained a certain piece of information.

According to it, an astonishing treasure was hidden in the 14th Layer they had once passed through.

Tracking down that information, they solved the clues one by one, and recently discovered this Cross-shaped Relic and a number of murals.

According to the meaning they inferred from the murals, you could make a key by combining the Cross-shaped Relic with the Guardian Stone.

If you opened the ruins of the 14th Layer with this key, the murals depicted mountains of jewels awaiting.

“Now we just need to capture a White Crocodile alive and offer it as a sacrifice at the altar.”

“We’ve done it before, so it’ll be fine.”

When Yuseong said he was going after a White Crocodile, Seven had responded for this very reason.

The murals depicted opening the altar’s door with the key, and offering a White Crocodile as a sacrifice.

“Soon, not much left now. Baek Yuseong still hasn’t shown his face.”

“It’s obvious how this will end—the Three Brothers’ victory, as always.”

Just as the two younger brothers were conversing, the eldest, Il Horangi, tried to interject.

He

Il Horangi suddenly jerked his head.

He sensed something amiss.

“Hyung, what’s wrong?”

The youngest asked, seeing his older brother gazing off into the distance.

From the bushes Il Horangi was staring at, a few birds suddenly flew up.

“No, must’ve been my imagination.”

For a moment, it felt like something was there, but he wasn’t sure.

The Three Brothers, key in hand, set off once more.

Far off in the direction where the eldest had first sensed that presence—

Blue Expedition’s top-class operators were concealed with surveillance and monitoring equipment, yet the brothers hadn’t noticed a thing.