The First Treasure.
For someone who had only spent a few minutes exploring this area, it was a very good start.
But Lian had no intention of being satisfied with this much.
The second destination was near one of the golden trees.
This tree was larger than the others, and its white roots extended out of the ground.
He followed the path marked by the book until he reached the northern side of the trunk, where a layer of transparent material had gathered between two roots.
From a distance, it looked more like ordinary tree resin.
But when he got closer, he noticed that very pure energy was flowing inside it, the material slowly glowed under the golden light, and tiny particles were floating in its center.
He examined it for a moment.
This time, he couldn’t identify the material’s exact name and rank, but the book’s reaction showed that it had considerable value.
He carefully examined the part of the material that had separated from the root.
Then he collected a suitable amount of it without causing serious damage to the tree’s main structure.
After closing the container, his gaze remained on the white roots.
The flow of energy inside them was unusual, instead of moving only from the soil into the tree, mana was moving in two directions at certain points.
Lian examined them more carefully for a moment but couldn’t reach any clear conclusion.
Perhaps this was a special feature of the tree species in this area, in any case, he had no good reason to spend more time on it for now.
He stood up and looked toward the golden forest.
If he could find even a few resources of this quality every day, the value of the treasures he collected would probably increase very quickly.
By this point, he had collected six B-rank plants and an A-rank blade that had been lying beside a tree since they entered the area.
But it still wasn’t enough.
Until nearly noon, he explored several more sections along the edge of the forest, some of the book’s markers pointed to resources that required special tools or time to collect.
Lian memorized their locations and passed them by for now, in one area, he also found a plant that didn’t seem to have reached maturity yet.
He decided to leave it alone.
If we stay here for a few more days, it might become more valuable.
His goal wasn’t to collect everything he saw, he wanted to obtain as much value as possible during his limited time here.
And to do that, he had to prioritize his opportunities, as he changed his route toward the next spring, a familiar figure in the distance caught his attention.
A young man with dark hair and a long spear in his hand was standing beside one of the stone paths.
Rindo.
He was examining the area’s map and occasionally looking toward the river.
Lian walked a few steps closer.
"Did you choose this route too?"
Rindo raised his head and gave a slight nod when he saw him.
"There are several important springs along this section, I want to check the connections between the routes and the mana conditions around them."
The young Vorhelm looked at the map.
"I also want to check one of the springs."
Rindo looked at him for a few seconds before closing the map.
"Then our routes are the same for now."
Lian nodded, there was no need for further conversation, and the two of them followed the stone path beside the river.
But they hadn’t walked for more than a few minutes when they heard a girl’s gentle voice from nearby.
"Excuse me... could you please avoid pulling that plant out by its roots for now?"
Lian turned toward the voice. Beside the river, a girl with light brown hair was kneeling next to several small plants.
One of the exploration staff members was standing in front of her and seemed to be trying to pull a plant out of the soil.
The girl continued in a polite tone.
"I think it can grow again if the roots are left in place, you can take the upper part and leave the rest untouched."
The staff member looked at the plant for a moment before nodding.
The girl smiled.
"Thank you very much."
Lian watched the scene for a few seconds, then approached with Rindo, when the girl noticed their presence, she immediately stood up and brushed the dirt off her hands.
"Hello."
A friendly smile appeared on her face.
"Are you here to examine the spring too?"
"More or less." Lian nodded.
The girl looked at their clothes for a moment, then seemed to remember something and stood a little straighter.
"Sorry, I forgot to introduce myself, I’m Amélie Moreau, from the French National Academy."
Rindo also introduced himself in his usual calm tone.
"Rindo."
Lian gave a faint smile.
"Lian Vorhelm."
Amélie looked at him for a moment.
"Mr. Vorhelm?"
The young Vorhelm raised an eyebrow.
"Just Lian is fine."
The girl hesitated for a moment before smiling.
"Okay... Lian."
She seemed to have heard his name in the news, but unlike what Lian expected from some people, she didn’t start asking about his ancestral mark or the events in Verendal.
Instead, she pointed toward the plants beside the river.
"I was examining a few types of medicinal plants, I think the springs in this area have some really good resources."
Lian looked at the plants.
"You seem to know them well."
Amélie gave a slightly embarrassed smile.
"A little, there are still many things I need to learn."
But when she explained the differences between two types of plants beside the river, he quickly realized that her "a little" was probably more than she thought.
She not only knew the medicinal properties of the plants, but could also explain their growing conditions, the best time to harvest them, and how water quality affected them.
Lian listened carefully.
She has good knowledge.
After finishing her explanation, Amélie looked between the two of them.
"By the way, which spring are you planning to visit?"
Rindo showed her their approximate destination on the map, and the girl looked surprised for a moment.
"That’s interesting! I was planning to take the same route."
Then, as if she was worried that her suggestion might bother them, she paused for a moment.
"If you don’t mind, maybe we could travel together for a while, of course, if you prefer to be alone, I completely understand."
Lian gave a slight shrug.
"I don’t mind."
Rindo checked the route again.
"We can travel together until the next spring."
Amélie’s face brightened.
"Thank you very much."
She gathered her belongings and put a small bag over her shoulder, then the three of them started moving along the river.
The path beside the river was quiet and smooth.
On the right, clear water flowed between white stones, and on the left, the golden trees gradually grew denser.
The farther they went, the more the light around them changed. The golden leaves reflected some of the light, and small patches of light moved across the ground and the surface of the water.
Amélie spent most of her time examining the plants growing along the path, sometimes she only gave them a quick glance and continued walking.
But whenever she saw an unusual specimen, she stopped for a few moments and examined it more carefully.
Lian noticed that unlike some Awakened who only cared about the rank and market value of resources, she examined even ordinary plants with interest.
Of course, that didn’t mean she ignored the value of the resources.
When they reached a group of blue flowers, the girl examined them briefly before speaking.
"These probably haven’t reached maturity yet, if we harvest them now, the quality of the medicinal material will be much lower."
Lian stood beside her.
"Then we should leave them alone."
Amélie nodded in agreement.
"Yeah, their value might be much higher in a few weeks."
Lian smiled.
At least she thinks logically about their value too.
He looked farther along the path, near one of the river’s bends, a tree with white roots was growing out of the ground.
Beside its roots, several small plants with thick leaves and dark green veins were growing.
He noticed that one of them was filled with a considerable amount of mana, so he approached and sat down beside the plant.
But just as he was about to pull it out of the soil, Amélie’s voice rang out.
"Excuse me, Lian."
He raised his head, and the girl walked a few steps closer.
"Could you please avoid pulling it out by its roots for now?"
Lian looked back at the plant.
"Why?"
Amélie knelt beside him and pointed at several thin strands between the roots.
"This plant is connected to the smaller specimens around it through underground roots, if we pull out the main root completely, the others will probably dry up too."
Lian looked at the smaller plants for a moment.
"But most of the energy is inside the root."
She nodded.
"That’s true, which is why completely harvesting it would be more valuable if you want to use it right away."
The girl paused before continuing in a polite but firm tone.
"But if you only take the upper part, the root can grow again, and maybe the next time someone comes here, there will be several mature specimens."