Zavier had noticed her because her voice had echoed throughout the cave.
She then jumped about like a child.
"You are my fortunate star, Captain!"
Hansa exclaimed happily as she danced around Zavier like a puppy. She was overjoyed, and while looking at the Lanling grass, she couldn't help but think about Zavier's face. Her heart was racing, and she didn't stop until her body began to heat up.
After a while, she stopped dancing and became bashful again. "Please accept my apologies, Captain."
Zavier laughed "There is no need to apologize. I pledge that we will do our jobs correctly. Anyway, do you know how to concoct a potion?"
"Of course!" Hansa said immediately, "I can brew the best potion in the world, and the only problem is that the ingredients aren't simple to come by..."
"We'll be receiving the ingredients here," Zavier said, smiling, "so all you have to do is create the brew. Don't be concerned. Everything will be alright."
"I appreciate it very much, Captain!"
They then began to collect Lanling grass here.
To avoid an increase in the mission's failure rate, they had to set aside a little portion for the mission's employer.
Many hunters frequently went above their rank to accept missions or purposefully failed to complete them to obtain free information. To stop this problem from recurring, the government required that ones have the right team rank badge to receive the mission.
The difficulty and success rate of mission completion were used to establish the team rank badge. As a result, they must set aside a portion of their Lanling grass to finish the assignment, or Hansa's team badge would be soiled.
Zavier was collecting when he heard Hansa's startled call for help.
"Oh my goodness! Look what I discovered!"
When Zavier looked back, he noticed she was carrying a brightly colored branch in her hand. Through the time-space sight, he could tell that it held a distinct energy.
"What exactly is it?"
"It's a branch from the Divine Tree," Hansa said incredulously.
"The Divine Tree?"
"Yes!"
"Only the branches can contain such essence!" Hansa nodded.
"The Divine Tree... I've heard about this type of tree before. They're dubbed the 'Tree of Life' in ancient times," Zavier whispered gently.
"Yes…" Hansa said "There's a reason these trees are known as the Trees of Life. Their seeds will continue to develop and feed us with mana for thousands, if not hundreds, of years."
Hansa went on to explain in a serious tone, "It can grow in the absence of sunshine and could live for a thousand years. Records show that the trees can even grow in space. The most significant aspect of them, though, is their ability to reproduce. With the energy contained inside its seed, the tree could produce a great amount of mana for everyone. And their vigor is limitless."
Zavier's brows wrinkled slightly together. His curiosity grew.
"Are they uncommon? Where can they be found in this location?"
Hansa shook her head and said, "They're quite difficult to come by. They are difficult to identify and harvest. I'm not sure why it's here."
Zavier scowled and considered for a time. He then opened his time-space eye to survey his surroundings. He soon discovered more fissures deeper down the cave. Some of those fissures remained, but they didn't appear to be too firm, implying that they wouldn't cause much damage to the cave wall. Others, though, looked like they had been broken or torn apart, suggesting that the whole cave could fall down at any time.
"Perhaps we can delve further to gather important knowledge."
"What did you discover?" Hansa inquired.
Zavier pointed to a crevice and said, "This appears to be an entrance. We'll go down and look first; perhaps there's a clue somewhere. I'm concerned that going deeper will be more perilous."
Hansa simply nodded and followed Zavier without saying anything. She was eager to try her luck again.
When they reached at the crack's edge, Zavier straightened up and took a deep breath before leaping into the darkness. The two of them then began searching all the way down.
"There appears to be nothing..."
Hansa exhaled a sigh. She hoped they'd find anything, but the darkness of the caves was so dense that she couldn't see more than ten meters ahead.
But for Zavier, this is not a problem; the time-space eye provides him with significant convenience.
Zavier kept mumbling as he searched, "The density of spiritual force should be greater here than at the summit. Perhaps there is anything worth investigating."
However, as he descended lower, the cave became darker and darker until he reached the bottom and couldn't even see the end.
"How far down does the hole go?" he said quietly.
Hansa returned the favor.
"I'm not sure."
"Then let's continue. Maybe I'll strike gold."
As he strained, Hansa unconsciously tugged at his cloak.
"Are you terrified of the dark? Don't be afraid, I can see," Zavier said as he took her hand.
Zavier then took his time walking down. When he went halfway down the hole, he realized his feet couldn't move any more. A force was crushing down on his feet, stopping him from moving down any farther.
"Damnit! What exactly is this? "He screamed angrily.
His feet came to an abrupt halt, and Hansa, who was following him, almost ran into his back when she collided with him.
"What's the matter, Captain? Do you find it difficult to move? "She inquired, her voice trembling.
"There's something wrong."
He suddenly found himself treading on a dark, sticky material that resembled glue. This substance was disseminated throughout the cave and exuded the same spiritual power as the Divine Tree, leading him to misidentify it as clay. It's no surprise that his time-space sight didn't notice this unusual substance sooner. Even though he was very spiritual, the lack of light made it hard for him to understand what was going on.
Zavier attempted pushing against it, but he could only make minor motions. It was quite tough to break through the sticky fluid.
"Damn, I'm stuck."
"What in the world is going on?" Hansa inquired, concerned.
"I'm being stuck."
Zavier's face clouded, and he fought furiously. However, the sticky liquid pressed on him as if it were a coating of metal armour, denying him the opportunity to remove them.
He couldn't take another step forward because of the weight, so the more he struggled, the tighter they felt. His muscles were beginning to ache. The sticky substance also pressed tightly on his legs, limiting his movement.
Hansa attempted to assist him but was stopped by Zavier.
"Don't come over here yet; don't get stuck like I did."
"What are you fixated on?"
"A slimy black material."
"Could this be related to the Divine Tree?" Hansa wondered.
Zavier then took a close look at the sticky stuff. It was absolutely dark; it had nothing to do with the natural substance or the cave.
"There must be some sort of secret here."
Suddenly, the voice of the system came to him.
[Congratulations to the host for activating the hidden mission: gathering the Divine Tree's fruit.]
[The Divine Tree, a tree with strong spiritual qualities that is closely tied to spirits, has remained dormant for millennia. There is no known way to obtain its fruits. Only someone who can extract its core and absorb its energy can obtain its fruit.]
At the same time, Zavier was startled and excited. This was the first time the system told him directly that he had to do something.
But for the time being, he needed to get out of this predicament.
So he thought to himself, "What do I need to do to get rid of this black goo?"
[As far as the system is aware, there is no method to eliminate this substance.]
'Are there no other options?'
[There shouldn't be, according to the system's information.]
Zavier was almost depressed. "So you're fucking triggering hidden missions for me now just so I can stay locked here?" he said inwardly.
[Please, host, calm down. If you become irritated, you will be unable to attain your aim.]
Zavier was desperate to kick the system in the shins. He instantly calmed down, given the system's previous messed up response pattern.
In this world, there was no such thing as an intractable problem. He was well aware that no existence was flawless. There will always be a remedy as long as there was a problem.
So he rephrased the question, "What can I do to get out of my current situation?"
The system suggests that the host use his own bloodline power to try to fuse this black, sticky substance, since the host has a body that can fuse anything.
'Of course! I knew it. It can't be removed, but it can be fused. 'How exactly...?'
[The host's blood has the highest affinity.]
'Okay. 'I've got it.'
Hansa noticed his silence and inquired, "What's up with you?"
"Shh!"
Zavier motioned for her to keep quiet before releasing his blood and mana to touch this black goo. As soon as the black ooze met his blood, it flowed wildly towards his wound, like a shark smelling blood.
Zavier was startled and used his blood sword to put a stop to it. The powerful blood blade first stopped the black goo. However, it would not give up; the neighboring black goo began to move and then enveloped him.
The clone with the Magus System also appeared to assist in stopping the mystery black goo. In the cramped cave, the black ooze and blood blade collided fiercely, generating a terrible sound.
BOOM...
This 𝓬ontent is taken from f(r)eeweb(n)ovel.𝒄𝒐𝙢