Chapter 723 - 568: The Ultimate Bootlicker
The colorful orbs of light hung gently swaying from the branches of the World Tree.
Each light sphere grew from a green stem, with a leaf-like structure at the end reminiscent of a floral sepal, resembling the fruit of the World Tree.
Watching these mysterious light orbs, Xia Mu felt curious.
He cast a [Light Body Skill] and jumped off the Red Dragon’s back, landing directly onto the tree trunk.
As he got closer, Xia Mu saw everything more clearly.
These were definitely not the cocoons that birthed players and the Primordial Elves since they were simply too small.
These "fruits" were about the size of a basketball, with a faint aura of magic power and a peculiar fragrance.
When Xia Mu inhaled this aroma, he felt instantly refreshed in spirit.
At the same time, he noticed that his internal magic power seemed to circulate more smoothly, re-sensitizing his magic circuits, which had grown sluggish after two hours of morning meditation.
*What is this thing? The mere scent can help me channel the magic power in my body!* he said with some surprise.
"Elf Kingdom"’s magic system was designed to be very realistic, with every player having internal magic circuits and a magic pool. Daily meditation enlarged their magic pool and strengthened their magic circuits.
However, with meditation, the magic power within players would become increasingly restless.
Although this restlessness wouldn’t cause magic backlash or interfere with spell casting, when it reached a certain limit, it inversely suppressed the magic circuits’ activity, greatly reducing the effectiveness of training.
That is to say, they reached the day’s meditation training limit.
To let magic power cool down, they needed to wait a whole day.
This was why, even with meditation methods, players could only train for up to two hours daily.
If Xia Mu hadn’t misunderstood, then the aroma from this peculiar light orb could perhaps allow players to extend their training time!
*What exactly is this thing? It’s practically a divine artifact for training assistance!* Xia Mu’s expression was one of delight.
Although he was already maxed out in terms of level, daily meditation remained effective.
Even if meditation couldn’t grant a significant leap in strength or a higher level, it could still gradually strengthen his magic pool, slightly improve his magic power, and increase his resistance to magic backlash.
Suddenly, Xia Mu found himself immensely curious about the light orbs.
After pondering for a while, he tentatively reached out to touch one.
Upon contact, it felt warm.
The light orb was not illusory; it appeared to be a kind of entity, but the texture was unlike anything ordinary.
The sensation was like bringing one pole of a magnet close to another similar pole.
There was a slippery kind of repulsion, yet it wasn’t particularly strong.
*This feeling is quite pleasant,* he thought.
Xia Mu sensed that if he exerted a bit more force, this "light orb" might deform under his grip.
However, he refrained from doing so.
He wasn’t sure what it was and feared that his rash actions might lead to adverse consequences.
He had to remember that where he was standing—the canopy of the World Tree—was, in "Elf Kingdom" lore, the true form of the Eve Goddess.
Anything related to the Goddess required cautioun.
The Goddess was not just a backdrop character but a real NPC.
Though she appeared less frequently in the storyline as more players joined, seasoned players knew this fact well.
With this in mind, Xia Mu decisively cast an identification spell.
As expected, the information returned was a string of question marks.
Xia Mu, having spent four years in the game, knew what this meant.
Either the identified target had a higher level than himself,
or the target was under the protection of some powerful entity.
Here being the World Tree, and Xia Mu sensing no immensely powerful force from the light orb, it was certainly the latter.
*This light orb... is protected by the Goddess!* Just in a flash, any thoughts of trying to pick these "fruits" faded away.
Upon reflection, Xia Mu realized that anything growing from the World Tree would probably withstand whatever strongest Six-Circle Magic he had mastered.
Picking it would likely be impossible anyway.
No one had ever been able to pick a World Tree leaf, and it’s not as if no one had ever tried.
Players who had attempted it had all ended up losing favorability with Elf NPCs.
"Elf Kingdom’s" favorability system was incredibly strict, leaving mischievous players with no good outcomes; even just the marketplace exchange rate penalties served as a wake-up call.
Xia Mu naturally had no intention of getting into trouble.
*If this is some kind of fruit, then surely it has to mature someday, right? Or have I stumbled upon some hidden storyline?* he mused aloud.
After looking around and noting his location, Xia Mu decided to leave.
The light orbs weren’t going anywhere, and he planned to drop by every few days to check up on them.
However, while Xia Mu was fairly straightforward, his Red Dragon with a canine nature, was not.
The peculiar aroma attracted not only Xia Mu but also the Red Dragon Relya.
The little creature sniffed a couple of times, drooling copiously, and after joyfully roaring "RUA!" it leapt forward and swallowed the light orb in one gulp, under Xia Mu’s dumbfounded gaze...