Just after dropping Kalina on the ground, Alex succumbed to exhaustion. He fell unconscious over Kalina.
Kalina had to push him away to stand up. Looking around, she saw the mind-numbing destruction caused by the white snake.
It was a tier 5 beast. She concluded.
Nothing else can plough through the earth and decimate a landscape. Even her grandmother, the matriarch of the ice phoenix tribe may not be as destructive as that beast.
After all, humans have physical limits.
However, it doesn't mean that the matriarch was weaker. It just means they had different specializations of power.
After looking around and making sure that they were safe. Kalina finally looked at the unconscious Alex.
He was sleeping peacefully like he was on a picnic. Occasionally, he turns around and snuggles his thick clothes.
He looked like a cute kitten seeking warmth.
Kalina was thankful to Alex. Even though he was a hard person to interact with. And often his actions might seem crazy. He had a good heart.
In a dangerous moment, when they were paralyzed by fear. He remembered to save her and flee.
It was a hard favour to repay.
'You are a difficult person to understand. I am indebted to you once again.' Kalina thought while taking off her coat and covering him with it. She was used to the cold. It's better for Alex who was suffering from energy exhaustion to use it.
_____
"Sleeping beauty. It's time to wake up." Pulling on his cheeks, Kalina called out to Alex.
"No… A little more…" Alex groaned. Grabbing the warm hand that was pinching his cheeks, he hugged it. It felt like a soft and warm pillow to him.
"Slap…" However, soon a slap blessed his face.
"Now, are you awake?"
"Aaa… Yes." Holding on to his blushing cheeks, Alex nodded. To be clear, He was not blushing due to shame. It was due to pain.
"Then follow me. We need to go there to investigate." Pointing at the crater in the ground, Kalina said. She didn't give him any room to reject.
The white snake had emerged from the crater. So, the ground around it was overturned.
And some of the few mountains around the plateau have been affected by the shockwave.
While they walked, they could see the crumbling cliff faces that were not previously there.
"Wouldn't it be dangerous around the crater? The commotion was visible from kilometres away. Don't you think other magical beasts would occupy the place before we reach it? It would be hard for me to fight or even flee in this condition." Alex cautioned.
Even though he wanted to explore the crater. He knew of his condition. He warned Kalina in the hope that she would choose a safer approach. After all, he could always escape into the interdimensional farm. However, he would not be able to save her the next time.
Once they reached the crater, Alex was reminded of the gripping fear he felt. Mentally preparing himself to deal with any danger that might crop up, Alex followed Kalina.
"Don't worry. The lingering aura of the tier 5 beast will scare away all the small fries. What we should be worried about are humans. Only ones foolish enough to seek death are humans." Kalina said seriously.
Her grave tone spooked Alex. But her words caused him to smile.
"Are you calling yourself a fool? I don't want to seek death with you. Our relationship is not deep enough for us to do that."
Even though Alex said that his curiosity was piqued. He wanted to see what was inside the crater.
The crater was a couple of hundred meters in diameter. It looked smaller than the silhouette of a giant snake he saw in the sky.
'The white snake might have coiled on itself. That is the only way for it to fit into the crater. The mound of dirt around the crater might have been caused by the snake pushing its body out of the ground.'
'We didn't see any sign of the beast while we hunted. It means the beast was asleep underground before we reached here.'
'How long did it sleep?'
'Why was it underground in a random place?'
When observing the crater, Alex came across more questions than answers.
"Your enthusiasm over exploring the crater is making me curious. What is the real reason you are doing it? Could it be a treasure?" Alex inquired.
"There might be. After all, this is my first time exploring the abandoned lair of a tier 5 beast. We can't possibly imagine what a tier 5 beast has. They live far longer than people and at the same time have the strength that can contend against even the strongest warriors. It might not be surprising for us to find some treasure. But, the chances are low."
"Why?"
"Most of the beasts don't save up treasure. If they have something good, they consume it and go into slumber for decades. Just like the white snake we saw before." Kalina explained.
The lifespan of a beast was dependent on its strength. It was better for the beast to consume a rare treasure and increase its strength. Thus ensuring his survival in this world where strength mattered most.
"That is reasonable. I would have done the same. So, what are those glowing mushrooms over there? Magic mushrooms?" Alex pointed towards the centre of the crater while saying.
Just as he said that Kalina ran towards the centre of the crater.
There stood a group of golden mushrooms that shone in a yellowish shade.
At a glance, anyone could identify that these fungi were special.
It was a blessing in disguise.
"They are tier 4 herbs, the golden mushroom. It has an enormous amount of energy inside it. This is the best type of medicine used in the awakening ceremony. One golden mushroom would cost about a thousand gold and we have sixteen of them. This is amazing." The ecstatic Kalina said.
It was rare to see Kalina excited. This caught Alex's attention. His eyes glittered while looking at the mushrooms.
"Thousand gold. I could buy two hundred thousand chickens with that. This is super awesome. Even with price fluctuations with increased demand, I could probably buy two million chickens with these sixteen stalks of mushroom. Finally, after all this hard work. The gods have rewarded me." Alex felt like a flock of two million chickens were jumping around in his head.
"Don't… Don't even think about it. Do you have nothing except chickens in your mind? Is that thing called fried chicken that great?" Kalina looked disapprovingly at Alex and said.
In her opinion, it was a waste to sell them. If used correctly, the mushrooms can safely awaken the children of her tribe without any side effects. And the abundant energy inside it will help boost the kids' growth. And if you consider other uses of the mushrooms, their value is unmistakably immense.
And Alex was planning to sell them to buy chickens. It would be such a waste.
"Yes, fried chicken is the best. And for your knowledge. I don't plan on selling everything. I just want to sell one and buy two hundred thousand chickens. Wouldn't that be great? Ha ha ha…"
"So, how do we split it? Me ten, you take the remaining six." Alex said after thinking about it for a while.
"No, we can split it evenly."
"Agreed."
At first, Alex had the intention of bargaining for more. But later he gave up. Half was enough for him. And with that, he was now eight thousand golds wealthier. And the feeling was incredible. He didn't have to worry about money anymore.
Finally, after deciding on the split. Alex grabbed a golden mushroom.
It was twenty centimetres tall and looked like an open umbrella. He was trying to store it in the inventory.
The moment his fingers made contact with the soft golden mushroom. A notification lit up in his vision.
[Data shard detected]
[Analyzing data]
[A new plant life detected, Golden mushroom, has been added to the shop. Golden mushrooms can now be planted inside the farm]
'I knew it, I friggin knew it. The appetite of the friggin farm is too big. It doesn't even consider things below tier 3. Only tier 3 and above ingredients are good enough to be seen by it.'
'I think I know why my experiments of trying to plant seeds from this world didn't work. Only seeds that are recognised and added into the shop can be planted on the farm.'
"Ahhh…" Alex groaned while scratching his head.
"Let me store them in my space storage. After returning home, I can give them to you." Alex said while climbing back from the crater.
Even though the golden mushrooms were the only valuable thing they found inside the crater. It made it worth spending their time exploring.
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