Goblin Heavy Dependence

Chapter 339 should end quickly.

The closer to the center of the garden, the taller the fog lamp grass grows; the ones in the very center even reach Xia Nan's chest.

Similarly, the thicker stems and denser root system make the light emitted by the flower lanterns at the top of the fog lamp grass even brighter, emitting a blue and white glow like an incandescent bulb as it sways.

Surrounded by these dazzling rays of light, the silent, massive object resembled a "cocoon of light," interwoven with foliage and radiant light.

Gripping the [Emberfall] straight sword tightly in his hand, he pushed aside the fog lamp grass blocking his way and slowly approached.

As the distance between them gradually shortened, Xia Nan was able to see the full picture of the "cocoon of light".

He sat there cross-legged.

Or rather, it is the body that "it" once remained in the same place.

The lower body has been completely replaced by the purple-blue twisted vines that were like the previous fog lamp monster, and the original lower limbs are no longer visible. In the deformity and twisting, it is intertwined and connected with the roots of the surrounding fog lamp grass, and you can vaguely see blue-white energy flowing and transmitting in the stems and limbs.
It seems that the transformation is not complete. Its upper body, especially the head and arms, still retains the general shape of a human. The facial features, arm structure and five fingers are clearly visible, but the skin has been replaced by a plant-like protective tissue. No pores or hairs can be seen. Only fluorescent blue veins like those of a fog lamp grass leaf are visible under the skin, glowing faintly.

Its face showed pain and struggle, yet it was frozen in place, its hands gripping the roots of its lower body tightly, its fingertips digging deep into the fibrous flesh.

Xia Nan didn't dare to get close, and observed from a distance.

I became increasingly vigilant.

Considering the life evolution ritual recorded at the end of the log, there is no doubt that the statue-like deformed plant in front of us should be the owner of the log, the evil druid who is stuck at level 5.

Although the details of the so-called sublimation ritual are unknown, the scene before us seems to indicate that the other party has "failed to evolve".

So... is he dead?

Xia Nan observed secretly, focusing her attention and maximizing her perception.

This appearance...

He didn't die, but he didn't live either.

It's like it's in a superposition state of being half-dead and half-alive.

Under his perception, the roots were connected, and the surrounding fog lamp grasses, while radiating light, were also continuously supplying energy to the plant sculpture in the center.

However, the number of fog lamp grasses is ultimately limited. No matter how tightly the roots and stems intertwine, it is like a small stream flowing into a dried-up riverbed, far from enough to revive the plant, and can only barely maintain the continuation of its life force.

Considering that the fog lamp grass only blooms once a year in a specific month, the energy delivered to the druid's body will likely have to support his consumption for the entire following year after the flowering period ends.

Thinking of this, Xia Nan couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

That's good news.

At least he wasn't facing a high-level professional who had already broken through the bottleneck and completed the job change.

And just as he carefully stepped forward, carrying his straight sword, intending to end everything before him.

Suddenly, the plant statue, which seemed to be frozen in place, moved its head very slightly.

The previously contorted and pained expression quickly vanished, and his trembling fingertips shook off the fiber fragments as he pulled the plant from its roots.

His closed eyes suddenly opened, and those eyes, which had no pupils and only whites, stared straight ahead at Xia Nan, who had retreated rapidly the moment he sensed the movement.

As his lips moved, a hoarse, dry voice, like the rustling of withered leaves, echoed in the cold, deathly silence.

"Wait... Strange adventurer..."

You think you can just stop whenever you want?
Alarm bells rang in Xia Nan's mind, but he didn't stop walking. At the same time, he held his longsword horizontally in front of him, staring intently at the druid in front of him, while also being wary of the surrounding fog lamp grass, fearing a sneak attack from somewhere.

His continued retreat seemed to make the druid, who was now half-vegetable, anxious. His stiff, purplish-blue face contorted as if he were trying to force a smile, and even the branches and leaves around him trembled slightly.

"Adventurer...can you see my current state..."

"A living dead who has to exert all his strength to even raise his hand poses no threat to you."

Naturally, it's impossible to believe the other party's explanation.

Having read the notes, Xia Nan knew clearly that the other party was previously a legitimate level 5 professional with an affiliation leaning towards evil, capable of ruthlessly exploiting the lives of innocent villagers to create conditions for his own advancement.

Even if the druid looks half-dead and is on the verge of death right now, he will never let his guard down.

They only gradually slowed down after retreating to a sufficiently safe distance.

Seeing this, and worried that if he said a few more words, the adventurer who had barged into the garden would probably leave immediately, the druid quickly got to the point and raised his voice:
“I have touched… the edge of eternity.”

"Only one last step is needed to complete the transformation."

"Adventurer, help me... You will receive a reward far beyond your wildest dreams."

award?

Xia Nan raised an eyebrow, remaining vigilant while deliberately slowing his pace and feigning interest.

Her awakening was brief, and she was not yet fully lucid, so she was unaware of Xia Nan's disguise.

Thinking that the other party had truly been persuaded, the druid quickly increased his stakes.

A flash of blue and white fluorescence appeared, and Xia Nan felt an extremely weak spiritual force coming from the center of the garden. It carried some information and a deeply hidden seductive control effect, touching his consciousness.

The special ability [Looking into the Abyss] was immediately triggered, and the slight mental control effect was instantly negated.

Perhaps due to the weak effect of the ability, the deterrent and countermeasure effects of the specialty did not work; it only isolated the negative impact and allowed the information inside to be transmitted normally.

Immediately, a few short passages of text, accompanied by clear images, appeared in Xia Nan's mind.

Each item includes a brief description of a combat skill, an introduction to a piece of equipment, and a description of the effects of a potion.

【Fog Concealment Steps】: Utilizes the smoke in the air to greatly increase movement speed for a short period of time, and also has a certain stealth effect;

【Green Grass Ring】: When the wearer is in a forest or grassland environment, it slightly increases the speed of wound healing;

【Mist Lamp Grass Concentrated Essence Potion】: After consumption, it will temporarily increase physical and strength attributes, but after the effect ends, the user will enter a state of weakness for three days.

This was the so-called reward offered by the druid to lure Xia Nan.

Despite his current extremely poor condition, he still retains a level of observational ability that he had before falling into a deep sleep.

Therefore, it can be roughly judged that the adventurer who has broken into the garden is definitely not of a high professional level. It is estimated that he has just been promoted, around level 1 or 2, which is the most difficult stage on the path of a professional.

In this situation, a combat skill, a magical piece of equipment, and a potion-making recipe—almost perfectly capturing the essence of the matter—make it an irresistible temptation for anyone.

Considering this, there's actually nothing wrong with Druids.

For 99% of adventurers in this world who have no background, when they have just completed their professional advancement, they are in an awkward stage where they are at the top of the ordinary low-level adventurers, but at the bottom of the professional pyramid.

He didn't like the standard equipment in the blacksmith's shop, and he couldn't afford enchanted equipment; his combat skills were insufficient, and he was far from having enough to exchange for combat skill points on the second floor of the guild...

If the person standing on the field at this moment were just an ordinary, newly promoted adventurer, with a slightly weaker will, they might actually have believed the other party's nonsense. But Xia Nan was precisely that "one percent" outside of the ninety-nine percent.

【Hidden Mist Steps】—With 【Fang Hunt】, one already possesses sufficient mobility and explosive power, so it's impossible to waste a valuable combat skill slot on such an obviously low-quality skill, not to mention its release restriction, requiring a smoke-filled environment to use;
【Green Grass and Wood Ring】—A weakened, youthful version of 【Tears of Spring Breath】. Xia Nan rarely even uses the “secondary healing spell” that comes with the pendant itself. Even if he really gets his hands on this ring, its presence will probably be extremely low, placing it in the first tier of items to sell for cash when he is short of money.

As for the [Mist Lamp Grass Concentrated Essence Potion]... compared to the two items above, it is slightly more useful, but its actual usefulness for Xia Nan is far less than he imagined, especially after he had mastered the second-stage explosive combat skill [Echoes of Ember].

In conclusion, from Xia Nan's perspective, the three rewards offered by the Druid might not even be as appealing as a pot of freshly made, steaming hot cream of mushroom soup.

Of course, if he could get his hands on these three things without taking any risks or crossing his own bottom line of values, he wouldn't refuse.

After all, even if all of it were used to convert into gold coins, it would probably still be a decent income.

Seeing Xia Nan stop, he mistakenly thought that he had persuaded her.

The druid's previously anxious tone instantly softened, adopting a deliberately profound manner:

"These... are just part of the rewards."

"After the ceremony is complete, all my knowledge... and control of this garden... will be yours."

That sounds a bit fake.

Xia Nan's expression remained unchanged, but he couldn't help but mutter to himself.

Right now, his heart, which had been slightly agitated by the other party's resurrection, has gradually calmed down.

On the one hand, it could be sensed that the energy being poured into the druid's body from the surrounding fog lamp grass was too weak, probably far from enough to restore his combat power;

On the other hand, he also keenly sensed the other party's attitude.

If this druid truly possessed the strength of his former level 5 days, how could he be so humble, offering explanations and promises of rewards while praising him? He would have already attacked.

The initiative... is on our side!

Perhaps we can try to probe a little and pry out some useful information from the other party.

So he opened his mouth and slowly asked:

"So what do you need from me?"

Seeing that Xia Nan had fallen for the trap, the druid's lips curled slightly, and he deliberately adopted a solemn and dignified posture, as if he were about to entrust the other party with some important mission, and said in a deep voice:
"I'm just one step away from transformation and sublimation... I need energy, life energy."

“The villages outside…those foolish sacrifices, their lives…are inefficient impurities, but when combined…they are enough to break the shackles.”

In plain terms, he wants Xia Nan to help him slaughter the village and collect life energy to continue his so-called advancement ceremony.

This would seriously violate his bottom line, so naturally he would never do such a thing.

Xia Nan didn't refuse directly, but instead asked the other party about the whereabouts of the young master of the Morton family, who was suspected of carrying the key to the [Dream Corridor] mentioned in the log.

"What do you ask for this?"

The druid didn't seem to care that his experimental log had been discovered; he simply frowned and replied.

"It's been many years since our team disbanded. He said he went to the Southern Islands to recuperate, but who knows if he changed his mind later."

"This has nothing to do with you or me... but if you really want to know, after the ceremony is completed, I might have a way to help you after my ascension."

They're still lying!
Knowing full well that this was just a ploy by the other party to entice him to help collect life energy, Xia Nan gave up on trying to learn about the Morton family's relics from them.

With a thought in mind, I proactively steered the conversation to the main topic.

He took a step forward, seemingly attracted by the reward offered, while a hesitant expression appeared on his face:
"That sounds good, but how can you guarantee that after I help you, I won't absorb you along with my life energy?"

"Could you pay a deposit, for example, the specific formula for the potion you just mentioned, or give me that enchanted ring first?"

"That way I can feel more at ease helping you with your work."

Upon hearing this, the druid's eyes flickered, and he opened his mouth but said nothing.

Having been adventurers himself, he was well aware of the cunning of his fellow adventurers.

If we actually listen to this kid and hand over all the rewards as a deposit, the other party will probably just run away after getting them.

After a moment's hesitation, he squinted and slowly spoke:

"Don't worry, everything that's due to you will be given to you after the ceremony is completed."

"If all else fails, we can sign a contract."

contract?

Having just witnessed Abby press her handprint on the contract under the devil's influence not long ago, Xia Nan knew all too well that in this fantasy world with supernatural powers, there were countless ways to tamper with contracts.

Before you know it, you might sell your soul to the other party.

This is a high-risk operation that requires extreme attention, so how could such an agreement be made with the other party?

The promises were all empty words, the so-called rewards were nothing more than low-value items that were dispensable, and they were unwilling to reveal even a little bit of real and reliable information.

Everything the druid did was merely to entice Xia Nan to help him complete the ritual.

He could certainly continue to feign compliance with the other party and extract some possible benefits from it.

However, the risks involved far outweigh the expected gains.

To be honest, he didn't realize he had that kind of eloquence or the ability to win people's hearts.

It's definitely better to keep it simple...

In an instant, the druid felt that the young adventurer with short, black hair in front of him suddenly changed his demeanor.

The hesitant expression that had appeared earlier vanished in an instant.

On that utterly calm face, only an indescribable chilling coldness remained.

hum-

The twilight-like gray-black straight sword reflected the fluorescent light of the fog lamp grass on both sides, and the sharp, cold light on the surface of the sword was fleeting.

His deep eyes, like a secluded pool in a dense forest, reflected the distorted, tall figure in front of him.

Words devoid of emotion echoed eerily in the deathly silence:
"Hand over all the things you just mentioned."

"I think... we should finish this quickly."

(End of this chapter)