The area around the Oasis was changing at an astonishing pace.
A vast expanse of green fields stretched out, and dandelion seeds of the Epfeltz Flower floated here and there across the desert.
On the surface, everything seemed to be going smoothly, but Jaeho had one lingering concern.
The detailed observation progress in the Flora Compendium had not surpassed 60% in any category.
“Why is that?”
It was especially strange that the Epfeltz Flower’s progress had stalled at 60%.
After all, it had even bloomed in the desert!
“Heh, you can’t assume that just because you grow flowers well, you know everything.”
The answer to his question came from Elda, the elder of the Luxi Forest.
While insisting on making the flower bloom in the desert, Jaeho had continuously received help from the Elves, so he had come to express his gratitude.
“It’s a common misconception. People think the Elves wouldn’t care about a single flower. But flowers, and all plants, aren’t grown just for show.”
Elda smiled wryly and continued her explanation.
“Not only flowers, but every plant has a variety of uses. Some are used as medicine, some as tonics, and others as seasonings. There is a wide range of applications.”
“Of course… that makes sense.”
It was easy enough to understand.
“Then, can we say that Alicia knows all those uses?”
“No.”
Jaeho had only thought about running a flower shop and hadn’t considered secondary production using the flowers.
“Our Elves are known as friends of nature because they have profound knowledge about plants. Anyone can learn to cultivate them well once they get the hang of it.”
Her words cut straight to the heart.
“Do you remember the various dishes we gave you, Alicia? Even something like Spinach Pie is a harmonious blend of fifteen ingredients.”
“Ah!”
Suddenly, Jaeho recalled the moment he was saved by the Sandglass Guardian in the secret dungeon.
What had allowed him to withstand that place bare-handed and strike the hourglass?
Class passives helped, but more so, it was the food he received from the Elves that gave him tremendous aid.
The recovery effects were astonishing, and the buffs so powerful that they had barely kept him from death.
“Growing flowers well is not all there is to mastery. To take it a step further, you need to understand everything about them.”
“I see…”
It was a reasonable explanation.
“If you can understand everything, Alicia, you’ll even be able to hear their voices.”
“Voices?”
“I’ll tell you everything later; it wouldn’t be fun otherwise.”
With that cryptic remark, Elda gave no more hints.
Still, what Jaeho had heard was a huge help.
He realized that to reach 100%, he needed a different, more diverse, and active kind of experimentation.
“Oh, by the way, I heard you’ve started the Destruction of Shinmok?”
“?!!!”
Jaeho was so startled he was speechless.
“How did you know?”
Contrary to his worries, Elda’s reaction was still lighthearted.
“Our elders say there’s a connection to the Shinmok. It’s rare, but we could hear it mumbling.”
“Mumbling?”
“They said it sounds like it’s struggling under the star.”
“Cough…!!!”
“Is that really something you share?”
The fact that she heard the voice of the Shinmok was certainly rare news…
“Later, you’ll find that the Shinmok complains a lot. So you don’t have to worry too much.”
“That’s better than…”
Jaeho worried that Elda might be displeased with the fact that he planted the Sacred Tree Seed right in the middle of the desert, not far from Luxi Forest.
“Is it really okay?”
“Hm?”
“Well… I thought that spot would be suitable…”
[ <The Spirit of Vitality> said “The Sacred Tree is definitely…”]
“Hoho, the Shinmok has entrusted everything to the Regent of Spirits. We cannot intervene in Alicia’s decisions.”
“Hmm…”
“Of course, as I said before, the Shinmok complains a lot. You’ll have to soothe it well until it takes root and sprouts leaves.”
Jaeho suddenly recalled his own quiet talks with the Epfeltz Flower.
“Do I really have to do that kind of thing too…?”
It had taken two months just to make the flower bloom. He couldn’t even imagine how long the Shinmok would take.
***
“Your Majesty.”
“Don’t call me that.”
“ …Alicia-nim…”
It was difficult for Samantha to address Jaeho.
Calling him “Your Majesty” was a title she had to swallow hard for her own purposes.
Even harder was calling him by the nickname “Alicia.”
“What is it?”
Jaeho, testing and experimenting with the Epfeltz Flower, turned his head.
“I… have a question.”
“?”
“Alicia-nim, aren’t you leveling up?”
“I am, aren’t I?”
Jaeho pointed toward pots and Beakers.
Of course, in the New World, there were no fixed rules for leveling.
You could level up in any way you wanted.
But the most efficient and fastest leveling was always hunting.
Yet during all the time spent together, Samantha had never seen Jaeho actually go hunting properly.
Occasionally, starving desert monsters had attacked the area, but…
“Alicia-nim, please focus on what you do best! We’ll handle the rest!”
The Elves who had settled there often chased away the monsters for him.
Jaeho himself didn’t refuse their help.
But Samantha was different.
For someone about to become a junior ranker, going nearly a month without hunting was fatal.
She thought that if he just upgraded to a Unique Class, he could overcome that downtime.
But there was a gut feeling.
For the next several months—no, years—it felt like he wouldn’t be hunting much.
“Oh! Is it because he doesn’t need to level up anymore?!”
A sudden thought!
That was how ranker players with Unique Classes were.
They didn’t focus on leveling for play but rather on honing their class skills!
Unique Class skills were qualitatively different from other skills.
Thus, raising and enhancing Unique Class skill levels was priority number one, and character leveling was second.
By that point, character leveling became so difficult that efficiency dropped drastically.
“So… this man already achieved a Unique Class!”
It was no wonder he didn’t understand the talk about leveling.
“Ah! Then you need to level up!”
Of course, Jaeho couldn’t understand such complex matters.
He only felt sorry for not considering the ordinary player’s perspective.
“Then why not bring Mei along?”
“…Huh?”
“Well… isn’t this area too low-level for you to hunt in?”
Jaeho simply wanted to bypass the place, but it was true.
“True, but… Mei is still too new even with me around for leveling…”
Unlike Jaeho, Mei still reeked of newbie vibes even in enemy camps.
Considering Samantha’s level was in the 280s, even bringing Mei wouldn’t split experience points.
“Oh, Mei doesn’t really need to level.”
“?!!”
Just as Samantha’s misunderstanding of “Is Mei also a ranker?!” was about to spiral, Jaeho’s explanation stopped her.
“Mei just needs to continue her Flora Compendium work in the area.”
“Oh…”
That was easy enough.
Samantha was used to large-scale fights, so protecting one Mei was no trouble.
“Understood. Then I’ll accompany Mei.”
The two left the desert.
Mei crying as she parted from the Elves was an added scene.
***
[<Epfeltz Flower>]
[Observation Progress: 75%]
[A flower commonly found in the Luxi Forest region.]
[Loves morning dew.]
[Loves the sound of the wind through leaves.]
[Adapts easily to any environment with excellent survival ability.]
[(Omitted)]
[Discovered hidden effects of the ]
[Effects]
[1. Has a mild stamina recovery effect.]
[2. (Unconfirmed)]
“That’s it!!”
After grilling, frying, boiling, and dissecting the Epfeltz Flower, Jaeho finally gained results!
Without yield, the observation progress increased to 75%, unlocking new information.
Since even unconfirmed info was displayed, it was assumed that reaching certain levels would unlock more.
Also, recipes related to the confirmed first effect were updated in the Compendium.
[Obtained recipe for <Epfeltz Flower Soup> ]
[Obtained recipe for <Stir-Fried Epfeltz Flower Seeds> ]
Recovery dishes with mild effects.
However, there was one difference: Jaeho’s creations showed about 20% better performance than the recipes.
Moreover, they came with the prefix “Regent of Spirits,” giving them a premium feel.
But…
“Salt is a shame…”
It was nice to be able to produce various recovery items like this.
However, the fact they were food was a problem.
“Recovering through food is inconvenient and hard to store.”
That was his experience-based judgment.
How many ingredients had he greedily stuffed in to get the Sandglass Guardian?
Besides, food was meant to be savored, not shoveled down in a rush.
“So that’s why potions exist!”
Jaeho had a realization both profound and mundane.
Thus, he set his goal to extract the Epfeltz Flower’s effects to make potions and began experimenting.
***
Jaeho’s work was simple.
He checked the status of the flower beds around the flower shop and Oasis and cultivated relatively easy-to-grow low-level flowers.
He also sat by the place where he planted the Sacred Tree Seed and quietly talked.
During the remaining time, he endlessly experimented with specimens of his plants.
His behavior seemed quite at odds with his resolve to run a flower shop, but… “The Elves do it too,” so it was justifiable.
[Obtained the title <Fake Chef> .]
[Reduced debuff occurrence rate caused by reckless mixing of cooking ingredients.]
[Obtained the title <Self Experimenter> .]
[Poison resistance increased.]
[Obtained the title <Bold Experimenter> .]
[Scientists favor you.]
Although the effects themselves were modest, the titles were not very appealing bonuses.
“Alicia-nim, a guest has arrived.”
At that moment, the Mirage Soldier’s call outside stopped Jaeho’s work.
“Guest?”
A guest in the middle of the desert?
Jaeho hid the rapier behind his back and approached the entrance cautiously.
Creak
He opened the door ready to stab.
But the sight before him froze him.
“The great Regent of Spirits has arrived!”
With a booming shout from a male Elf, a line of dozens of Elves bowed their heads before Jaeho.
“…Who are you?”
“I come from the Black Vine tribe. I am Beheim, their chief leading this group.”
That wasn’t all.
“I am Lucia, chief of the Lydia subtribe.”
“Chief of the Tandemain subtribe is…”
More tribe chiefs appeared in a line, introducing themselves.
In other words, hundreds of Elves had gathered in the desert to find Jaeho.
“Crazy! What on earth is going on?”
Of course, there was a reason.
Like Elda, the other tribe chiefs had heard the Shinmok’s voice.
But Jaeho had never expected they would all come together like this.
Though Jaeho was unaware, the New World community was in turmoil.
ㅡ Seems like something happened? Suddenly seeing so many Elves!
ㄴ Yeah, I saw too. Feels like the entire race is moving. Is a war breaking out?
ㄴ Could this be what the Sword of Light mentioned?
ㅡ This is the Terrace Continent. Looks like the Elves are gathering here. Something’s definitely up.
ㄴ Anyone have intel? Report please!
ㄴ I’m not reporting. Just follow the Elves and find out. Maybe it’s time to explore their territory!
ㄴ But can Elves really roam in big groups like that? No nobles stopping them? Balls of steel.
ㄴ Idiots. Don’t show off. Those Elves don’t scare easily. If you want to stay safe, just leave them alone.
ㅡ Probably the top guilds know something. I’m following their movement for now.
ㄴ Smart. Best to keep an eye out. This is definitely the prelude to a big quest.