Chapter Twelve: Hidden Goods

Ashes left the cave in deep thought and handed the slip of paper to Not the Sword Immortal. The latter was slightly taken aback, puzzled. “Wasteland Year 2077? That can't be right! Why did the last time I played, the background year was 9102 AD?”

“Hm?” Ashes was equally surprised. He had indeed come across the Foundation's newspapers before, but the parts he obtained only covered events and made no mention of dates. Now, hearing Not the Sword Immortal say this, the situation grew even more confusing.

“Well, no point in overthinking it now. Let's go back and turn in the side quest—once that's done, everything we need to know will be clear.”

Since he couldn't figure it out, Ashes decided to stop thinking about it. He was convinced that as the quest progressed, all the mysteries would eventually be unveiled.

Not the Sword Immortal, who had left the cave ahead of time, had already severed the wolf's head as a quest item. The two, brimming with curiosity, left Wolf Valley at once and hurried to the Forest Guardian's location. This time, they again took the land route, and along the way encountered a squad of Shadow-Eating Bugs—likely remnants of the Hive—bringing their total exterminated bugs to over sixty, roughly thirty apiece.

Ashes excelled at single-target attacks, while Not the Sword Immortal supported with area attacks, so their efficiency in clearing monsters was about the same.

However, just as they were about to return to the Forest Supply Post, an unexpected event occurred.

The green leaf pins on their chests, emblems of the Monster Tree Alliance, suddenly shone brightly, displaying the scene of the Forest Guardian under attack. This was the shared vision effect—in the Forest Guardian's field of view, Ashes saw two unfamiliar players retreating in panic.

“Other players are here!” Not the Sword Immortal, seeing the newcomers, rubbed his hands eagerly, his warlike nature instantly treating them as rivals. But remembering his pitiful attack stat, he couldn't help but feel a little deflated.

Seeing this, Ashes chuckled. “Let's turn in the quest first. Who knows if those two will even come back?”

“That’s true,” Not the Sword Immortal agreed, shaking his head before hurrying at full speed to the Forest Guardian.

“Oh, it’s you two! I thought it was those two troublemakers again.” The Forest Guardian’s long brows floated as he looked at them in surprise. “Don’t tell me you've already dealt with that vicious wolf?”

“We did our best!” Not the Sword Immortal displayed the wolf’s head, startling the Forest Guardian. “Who is this—wait, this is that creature’s head! How did it end up like this? Strange, the blood glimmers with a grayish light, and its pelt has lost all luster. Clearly, this is a sign of massive life force loss. Brave guests, can you tell me what happened in detail?”

Ashes nodded and recounted the main events, also showing the slip of paper from the cave to the Forest Guardian, hoping to trigger some hidden story content.

“A virus? How could there be a virus in the Dark Curtain Forest?” The Forest Guardian was taken aback, but the strange condition of the wolf’s head forced him to confront the truth. “This is too strange. This news must be taken seriously. First, I want to thank you both for your courage. Second, I hope you can find the Gardener and report this abnormal situation!”

[Notification: You have completed the side quest—“Wolf Threat.” Rewards: a large number of contribution points, 1,000 Foundation credits, and access to hidden goods at the Forest Supply Post.]

[Notification: Do you accept the main quest—“Find the Gardener”?]

...

Quest Name: [Find the Gardener] (Main Quest, First Phase)
Objective: Go to the Gardener’s Cabin in Dark Curtain Forest
Reward: Unknown (Cumulative rewards, given based on completion after all phases)
Description: The appearance of a mysterious virus has alarmed the Forest Guardian, who now wants you to find the Gardener and report this abnormality.
[Notification: Completing the main quest will help you meet the assessment requirements, but it’s also possible that, depending on your choices, you may gradually diverge from these requirements.]

...

The main quest, at last!

Ashes clenched his fist, carefully studying the final notification. With all the information so far, he knew he was tangled in a web of mysteries, and that all answers lay in the Gardener’s Cabin.

“You both accepted? That’s wonderful! The duties at the Forest Supply Post keep me tied up, so I must trouble you two.” The Forest Guardian thanked them repeatedly, then leaped from the tree hollow and opened the hidden Forest Supply Post within the trunk. “Come, take a look! I hope you find what you need here. Everything is half price!”

Half price!

This discount delighted the two players, and the Forest Supply Post’s inventory dazzled them even more.

Regular items like cultivation batteries went without saying, but there were several types of enhancement materials and inlays, and a vast selection of tree fruits that could restore health and boost status. What caught Ashes’s eye most were the special goods marked as hidden.

...

[Plant Partner Enhancer]: Install on a cultivation dish to upgrade a plant partner with attack below “Normal” by one damage tier. Price: 1,500 credits (half price). Can be repeatedly uninstalled. Bound upon purchase. Cannot be taken out of this assessment space. Stock: 1/1.

[Explosive Pinecone]: Deals area damage at “Normal” attack tier. Blast radius: 2 meters. Price: 500 credits (half price). Cannot be taken out of this assessment space. Stock: 5/5.

[Death-Defying Fruit]: Blocks one fatal attack and restores 50% HP. Effective when carried in the inventory. Price: 1,000 credits (half price). Cannot be taken out of this assessment space; only one may be carried. Stock: 3/3.

[Basic Regeneration]: Passive skill. Effect: Automatically restores lost HP after leaving combat; recovers 3% of max HP every 5 seconds. Learning requirement: Perception Level 1. Price: 1,500 credits (half price).

...

Excellent items!

All of them were excellent!

The Plant Partner Enhancer would let the Peashooter’s attack reach a new level. The Explosive Pinecone was as straightforward and powerful as its name suggested. The Death-Defying Fruit was likewise invaluable—having one meant you could face any challenge with confidence. As for the final skill, Basic Regeneration, it was even more practical and cost-effective, saving potentially countless rare healing resources.

But the key problem remained: no money!

After turning in the pest control quest, Ashes’s credits totaled 2,300. If he bought the Plant Partner Enhancer, he’d have to give up the Death-Defying Fruit and Basic Regeneration. He also needed to buy three cultivation batteries, which meant he could only afford one Explosive Pinecone at most.

“Wow! Being broke really sucks…” Ashes shook his head, but still said to Not the Sword Immortal, “I want to buy the Plant Partner Enhancer.”

There was only one available, and it would be bound upon purchase, so Ashes had to make his intentions clear. Not the Sword Immortal was also very interested in the Enhancer, since his main weakness was lack of attack power. Although he didn’t quite understand Ashes’s obsession with boosting damage, remembering his sacrifice earlier, Not the Sword Immortal decided to let it go and instead bought the passive skill Basic Regeneration and a Death-Defying Fruit.

“I think our partnership should last until the assessment ends.”

Seeing Not the Sword Immortal’s confusion, Ashes simply showed him his Level-3 Peashooter. Not the Sword Immortal was an excellent teammate, and he didn’t want a minor disagreement to end their collaboration.

“Whoa! Level-3 Peashooter? Let me see—the Beginner Peashooter set costs 900 credits, the Level-3 Peashooter plus cultivation dish, 2,300 credits. That’s 3,200 credits in total. You actually earned an Excellent rating on Hard mode? Or did you get a Perfect rating in the end?”

This time, Not the Sword Immortal was genuinely shocked, so much so that he didn’t think to investigate the special nature of Ashes’s pouch further.

Ashes shook his head. “Just Excellent. I don’t know what it takes to get Perfect, but I guess you have to defeat the final boss.”

“So you got 3,200 credits, and spent them all right away!” Not the Sword Immortal clicked his tongue, eyes shining. “That’s a bit bold, but I like it! Looks like this run, I’m definitely hitching my wagon to you! With a Level-3 Peashooter and the Plant Partner Enhancer, a single volley could take out half a player’s health! Heh, I never realized how nice it is to have a powerhouse on my side.”

Ashes shrugged and began slotting the cultivation batteries into his Level-3 Peashooter’s dish. “Don’t get ahead of yourself. The Peashooter still needs eight minutes to finish maturing, so let’s hold out until then. Even with it, we can’t let our guard down. The upcoming tasks will only get harder, and the two of us may soon not be enough.”

“True!” Not the Sword Immortal nodded firmly, putting away his smugness, and prepared to head to the nearest Gardener’s Cabin, as directed by the Forest Guardian.

However, just as they were about to leave, the Forest Guardian suddenly called Ashes and Not the Sword Immortal back. Resonating with the surrounding forest, he had once again detected the presence of the two players from before.