…
Izroth ventured deeper into the wilderness. So far, he had been traveling for nearly fifteen minutes and there were no signs of animals or monsters, let alone people. But, it was not all bad news.
Izroth came upon a strange tree with red leaves and a deep blue trunk that resembled the depths of the ocean. The tree was only three meters tall, making it one of the smaller trees Izroth had come across within the wilderness.
Another unique feature this tree possessed was the abundance of fruit growing from its branches. This fruit bore a striking resemblance to figs, except it was bright maroon in color. In addition, there were short spikes that covered its surface.
'I have read thousands of books at the Amaharpe Palace Library and the Apothecary guild, but this is the first time I've seen something like this in RML.'
Izroth wasted no time plucking all the fruit from the tree and placing them into his inventory. However, he kept two of the fruit in the palm of his hands.
Appearance-wise, there was not much that differed between the two fruit. That is, excluding their colors.
While most of the fruit on the tree was bright maroon like the one Izroth held in his left hand, the fruit in Izroth's right hand was an untainted saffron.
There were tens of the bright moon fruit; however, there were only three of the saffron fruit.
'Just from this alone, my trip to this Secret Realm has already paid off.'
Name: Young Wing of the Ambrosia Tree
Rank: Mythical(192)
Usage: An unmatured «Wing of the Ambrosia Tree». While it is often referred to as a fruit, the «Wing of the Ambrosia Tree» is a special ore found only in the «Ancient Wilderness». Once fully matured, it is said that the «Young Wing of the Ambrosia Tree» will be devoid of impurities and require no refining. Adding this ore to items will cause them to exhibit some effects of longevity.
Special Note: While edible, the «Young Wing of the Ambrosia Tree» is considered highly unpalatable, and consuming it may cause harmful bodily side effects.
Name: Mature Wing of the Ambrosia Tree
Rank: Pseudo-Divine(1)
Usage: A fully matured «Wing of the Ambrosia Tree». While it is often referred to as a fruit, the «Wing of the Ambrosia Tree» is a special ore found only in the «Ancient Wilderness». Unlike most ores in nature, the «Mature Wing of the Ambrosia Tree» is devoid of impurities and does not require refining. Adding this ore to items will cause them to exhibit some effects of longevity and immortality.
Special Note: Unlike the «Young Wing of the Ambrosia Tree», the «Mature Wing of the Ambrosia Tree» tastes of a rich sweetness that's similar to honey with a hint of cinnamon. But, due to its extremely high purity, consuming it will result in death.
Not only did Izroth obtain close a good amount of mythical quality ore, but he even received three pseudo-divine ores. In terms of rarity, not even the Blood of the Immortal Hydra could not compare to a pseudo-divine material!
It had been less than an hour since he entered the Secret Realm and he already received such a massive bounty.
According to its description, the Young Wing of the Ambrosia Tree was capable of granting items effects of longevity. As for what these effects may be, Izroth had a few guesses but nothing concrete.
Unfortunately, the Young Wing of the Ambrosia Tree seemed incredibly difficult to work with given its toughness of 192 was only three points shy of the potent Blood of the Immortal Hydra.
However, the Mature Wing of the Ambrosia Tree was clearly in a league of its own. With a toughness rating of one, it was so easy that even complete novices could make use of it. Though whether or not they would unleash the material's full potential was another story.
But, what really caught Izroth's eye about the Mature Wing of the Ambrosia Tree was one word—immortality.
What was immortality? One of the most sought-after dreams of humanity—eternal life!
Of course, Izroth did not believe that it grant one true immortality. After all, it was not a true divine material. But, just by studying the Mature Wing of the Ambrosia Tree, it may be possible for one to delve deeper into the topic of eternal life in RML and grasp a more concrete understanding.
Not to mention, even being given a form of limited access to immortality would be unquestionably beneficial to the receiving party; therefore, Izroth was not disappointed in the slightest.
'It's a shame that there were only three of them that managed to reach full maturity. If I could return to this place, I may have been willing to wait for the others to mature before picking them. But, time is a luxury I lack at the moment.'
Izroth stored the remaining two fruit in his inventory as he took one last look at the Ambrosia Tree before continuing on his journey into the Ancient Wilderness.
'It's strange… A place with this much plant life, even if there are no monsters, at the very least, there should be some wild beasts roaming about. Can it be that this place truly is devoid of living creatures?'
The more time Izroth spent in this Secret Realm, the more he was certain—this place was nothing like the Mortal Realm.
As Izroth pondered about the bizarre state of the Secret Realm, the sound of flowing water drifted into his ears.
Based on the turbulent sound alone, Izroth concluded it was most likely a stream. And, it was not too far away from the direction he was headed.
There was nothing particularly special about the stream itself; however, wherever there was a water source, there was a good chance that people would be close by.
At first, Izroth questioned whether or not there would be any people in the Secret Realm. But, after receiving the Breath of Gaea from the system, Izroth knew for certain there were inhabitants in this Secret Realm.
While it would not be disadvantageous for him to simply explore the Ancient Wilderness and search for other treasures like the Wing of the Ambrosia Tree, Izroth had a feeling that there was much more this Secret Realm had to offer.
At the moment, he did not know what that was. But, if he wanted to find out, Izroth understood that he needed to make contact with the residents of this Secret Realm. After all, if he failed to take full advantage of his current circumstance, he could only look back and regret in the future.
Izroth swiftly made his way towards the sound of the flowing water as it became louder with every step.
It did not take Izroth longer than a few breaths to reach his destination as the view of the stream came into sight.
The water rushing through the shallow stream was light blue with a soft luster that appeared almost ethereal.
However, just as Izroth was about to approach the stream, he suddenly slowed his steps before coming to a complete stop.
'There's someone here?'
Several meters away from Izroth there was a person kneeled over the stream. Based on the physique, it appeared to be a man with light blonde hair verging on the peak of white that stopped at his shoulders.
It was hard to tell due to the angle, but they seemed to be washing their face or quenching their thirst.
'Even though they are right in front of me, I can't feel their presence.'
Naturally, Izroth had scanned the area with his Energy Vision Sense beforehand. But, it did not reveal that anyone was present in the vicinity. Though what surprised him more than anything was that this person was capable of completely escaping the scope of his enhanced senses!
Suddenly, the man paused his actions and slowly stood to his feet. The next moment, he turned and glared in Izroth's direction, revealing a pair of sky blue eyes with hints of white energy flowing through them. He was quite handsome and appeared to be in his late twenties to early thirties.
He wore an outfit that loosely resembled a toga that highlighted his well-toned body that looked as if it were forged through countless battles.
"Who is it?! If you have the courage, come out and face me! I will not flee from a challenge!" The man's voice boomed.
When the man turned around, Izroth was finally able to get a look at his system information; however, it was nothing at all like he expected.
'This is certainly a first…'
Name: Rebellious Son of Thunder, Astratis(???)
Level: 0
