Near the area where they two had spent last night after leaving the boss chamber, Skyler came to a pause when the snake stopped telling him the direction.
He stood before some twisted trees whose long branches entirely surrounded the area behind them, with tiny gaps in between.
Charles paused beside him, a wry smile playing on his lips. They had came back, almost full circle, to the very spot where their journey had begun that morning.
"How did we miss this place? You even checked the area when I was unconscious. I can’t believe you missed it too."
Skyler didn’t respond. He was groaning inwardly. Just how terrible his luck was for him to completely miss this place, despite it being so conspicuous and close by?? He hoped nothing similar had happened during the preliminary test, or he would cry.
Putting Riruru on a tree branch, he and Charles moved forward, quickly clearing a path through the twisted trees by pushing aside branches and dense foliage. Their eyes widened at the sight before them.
Skyler closed his parted lips.
"Is this what I am seeing... is it?"
Charles didn’t reply. Instead, he reached out to pinch Skyler’s arm, making him wince.
"What was that for??"
Charles glanced at him.
"Just checking I’m not imagining things."
Skyler glared at him.
"By pinching me??"
Charles didn’t respond. Instead, he moved forward and took a breath before exhaling. His lungs felt a strange kind of freshness as the dense Evol in the air filled them.
Before them lay a small clearing, awash in sparkling grass and many golden tulips that glowed softly in the dappled sunlight.
The twisted trees around formed a dense canopy, casting shadows, but the glowing golden petals and grass illuminated the space with their warm glow.
Skyler counted the tulips.
"One... two... more than ten! Hey, if all of these herbs are Adapt or Epic-tier, just how much money can we get?"
Charles glanced at the area.
"Don’t just count the flowers. The grass growing here is also not ordinary. We could be rich if we harvested everything here."
He didn’t have much knowledge of how much they would sell for, but he knew they wouldn’t be cheap. In Eldoria, the standard currency everywhere was called star coins, and it was mostly transferred electronically, as people rarely carried it physically.
About 1,000 star coins could provide two normal meals a day for a family of three.
A tier above star coins are Evol crystals. They could only be traded physically and are mined from various places.
These crystals were the size of a small stone and available in seven colors, since every element’s Evol color is different. They could be absorbed into the body to restore Evol and also increase one’s strength.
Their worth differed according to the rarity of their element. For example, if a fire Evol crystal is worth 1,000 star coins, a space Evol crystal is worth double that price.
Skyler nodded at Charles’ words.
"Then why wait! Start plucking!"
He bent down and carefully started picking up the tulips and also the glowing grass.
Riruru watched the two with interest, wondering what they would do with so many healing flowers.
Perhaps eat them?
Charles picked up a tulip and glanced at Skyler from the corners of his eyes.
"How are we going to divide the profit?"
Skyler glanced back at him, ready to shamelessly suggest an 80%-20% split.
Of course, with 80% being his.
But he stopped when he saw Charles digging out a patch of grass that glowed brighter than the rest, and along its root, came crystal-like droplets of blue Evol.
His fingers itched to touch them.
"How about 50-50? Only if you hand over what’s in your hand and forget about it."
Charles blinked, taken aback. He was actually thinking along the lines of 80-20. That was more like Skyler. Did he actually misunderstand this good guy?
Bullshit! No way he did! Something was amiss, and it was related to how Skyler’s eyes were practically boring holes into the patch of grass in his hand.
He didn’t know whether to laugh or cry when he soon realized what was wrong.
Skyler wasn’t looking at the grass; he was looking at the crystal-like droplets of blue colored hardened Evol along its roots.
How did he not notice?
It was so evident!
Why Skyler had so many elemental stones in his storage ring and nothing else. Why he had tried to reach for a crystal-like flower by clinging precariously to a cliff.
The boy was obsessed with crystals!
Charles laughed dryly.
"Here, take it. What are you even going to do with it? It’s clear only a water elementist can absorb the Evol in the hard droplets."
Skyler hurriedly took the patch of grass from his hand and only felt relieved again after storing it in his storage ring.
"So? Just forget about it. It doesn’t exist anymore. Or no, 50/50."
Charles raised a hand to his lips, making a sealing gesture. He wanted to let his friend know that the secret was safe with him.
But his shoulders shook uncontrollably, betraying his effort to stifle a laugh.
Skyler scowled at him, a silent curse escaping his lips. Why the hell couldn’t he hold his urge for a few seconds? They both knew everything was going to be stored in his storage ring eventually, and he could have easily taken what he liked. But no, he had to go and do something idiotic!
He took a deep breath. Damn, he needs to learn self-restraint or else he knew he was going to end up in big trouble one day.
By the time the two were done, the once vibrant place was left barren. Every single glowing herb in the clearing was plucked.
Skyler glanced back at Riruru.
"Shall we continue, my dear?"
His lips curled upward into a sly smile. Beside him, Charles also wore a smile as they both crowded Riruru. The snake was bewildered, and then utterly speechless when she grasped their intentions.
With a tired sigh, she led them to another place where cone-shaped herbs, emitting Darkness Evol, were growing.
Skyler and Charles gasped at the sight.
Why had they never known one could find so much in just a single dimension?! If they had, they would have come here sooner!
No one can blame them since not many find a good guide who knows every nook and cranny of the dimension they are in.
Lights rarely find valuable resources in Novice-tier crystals, the weakest tier.
Yet, here they were finding so much.
Charles rubbed his hands with a laugh. He felt Skyler’s excitement was rubbing off on him and said what Skyler had said earlier.
"Why wait? Pluck everything!"
He moved forward, thinking he was going to swim in star coins once they were out of here, and Skyler quickly followed behind.
This is the reason why their stay in the crystal, which should have ended after the two villains died and Skyler befriended the dangerous snake, extended to a few days.
Only when Riruru could no longer guide them to another place filled with herbs or Evol did they finally make their way back to the boss monster chamber.