Chapter 163: Hunting for the Forest Spirit Seed Part 2
It took Kayn's team close to two hours to reach what is labeled as the north side of the Slumbering Forest on the map. It was also the part that Natas pointed to be the location of the Forest Spirit Seed.
Along the way, they never spotted even a single adventurer group let alone another individual. It all makes sense though since that is the exact reason why this place is called the Slumbering Forest.
It's also much better this way as they won't have to always be cautious of their disguise.
"Should we split up?" Gilbert suggested.
"I think that's a bad move," Jude responded before turning his head to look at Kayn. "What's your plan, Kayn?"
"Jude's right, we can't split up," Kayn nodded his head. "Although we didn't encounter anyone else until now, we should still not let down our guard as there is still a possibility that we will meet other people. And with the surrounding nature of the Slumbering Forest, I suspect that the people we would encounter wouldn't be as kind as those we met in the Peaceful Volcano,"
"They weren't kind though," Gilbert pointed out the fact that they ambushed them as soon as they got out of the Peaceful Volcano.
"That was only because they were under the charm of Wesley," Kayn corrected.
"Fair enough," Gilbert conceded.
"I suggest we go from east to west," Charles suddenly interjected.
"Why do you think so?" Kayn approaches.
"Look," Charles pointed at the map. "There's a nearby Village at the very north of the Slumbering Forest. If a Forest Spirit Seed is indeed located there, it would have been found by other people a long time ago,"
"Our best choice would be to look at the area far from their territory,"
"That's true," Kayn agrees. "The farthest to their territory is the area to the west, but it is also far from us right now. So, to save us some time traveling, we should start at the edge of the east and slowly make our way to the west,"
"Kayn, you also need to take into consideration the possibility of the Forest Spirit Seed hiding at what you thought to be an impossible place," Natas can't help expressing.
"I got it,"
"Got what?" Gilbert, Jude, and Charles simultaneously stare at Kayn.
"Nothing," Because he was deeply engrossed with the map, he nearly forgot that only he could see Natas. That was so close, good thing that he wasn't acting strangely just now.
"Let's begin," Kayn immediately initiated their search.
With that being said, Kayn led everyone to the east side of the Slumbering Forest.
The east side isn't far from where they stopped, so it only took them ten or so minutes to get there.
When Kayn said at the very edge of the east side, he meant it quite literally.
Looking behind them, they could see a wide expanse of flat land.
"I can't help but wonder. What if the Forest Spirit Seed is not inside the forest but outside?" Gilbert suddenly expressed.
"That only means it wasn't meant for us to find it from the very beginning," Kayn quickly disregarded the thought. "And besides, it has the word 'Forest' on it for a reason,"
"I guess you're right,"
"Stop dilly-dallying around and let's begin our search!" Kayn said with a stern voice. "Gilbert, you search the top of the trees. Charles, you lead in front of us. Jude, at the center. While I'll be the one to double-check all areas you've searched,"
"Understood!" Gilbert, Jude, and Charles acknowledged.
Everyone no longer wasted any time as they started their search for the Forest Spirit Seed.
In their search, they turned almost everything nearly upside down, strictly not leaving anything unchecked.
It even came to a point where Jude practically blasted a huge rock into pieces just to make sure that there wasn't a Forest Spirit Seed hiding inside the rock.
Needless to say, they took extra precautions whenever they encounter a Drowsy Mushroom in their path.
Even though they are now wearing a mask that can filter out the mist of the Drowsy Mushroom, Cedric meticulously reminded them that there is a limit to the extent of mist it can handle. That's because they are not the Shielded Nose Moose and the mask is nothing but just an ornamental item now, not a part of their body.
"Let's make a detour," Kayn suggested again. They always make a detour every time they encounter a Drowsy Mushroom.
"Are you sure? There could be a possibility that in one of those Drowsy Mushrooms that we didn't search a Forest Spirit Seed is hiding," Gilbert expressed.
"I have my own ways of checking. And besides, there's a reason why I assigned myself the responsibility to double check,"
"Alright, you're the boss,"
Even if Kayn tells them the truth, they definitely would not believe him.
Looking in the direction of the Drowsy Mushroom, Natas gave him a thumbs down. Meaning, there is no Forest Spirit Seed hiding around it.
What Gilbert and the others didn't know, they aren't actually a team of four members, but five, which includes Natas.
In all the instances they encounter a Drowsy Mushroom, it was Natas that came forward to check the area for any signs of the Forest Spirit Seed. The only reason why he always suggests a detour is because there was one time when the Drowsy Mushroom nearly releases a mist. It wasn't because of Natas, but instead, it sense a threat from one of three, either Gilbert, Jude, or Charles.
He can't blame them though since he is the only one who can see Natas. And moreover, they genuinely don't want to just leave a place unchecked, that is why they always feel like checking whenever they see an area with a Drowsy Mushroom.
Finally, Kayn's team finished checking the entire east side. It took them quite some time, more than five hours to be exact. Within that timeframe, they never let down their guard even a single bit and continued to earnestly search every nook and cranny of the place.
Most importantly, the east side was huge despite the fact that this is only the east side of the northern part of the Slumbering Forest. So, one can only imagine just how stressful and arduous the task was, and how much effort and labor they have to exert.
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