24: The Nectar Of Arcana Blossom

Thorne, who had used the nullifying effect of the Neutralizer pill to cancel out the muscular paralysis from the beastial tree earlier, staggered his way deeper, trying to find the path Lyra had taken. Even though his stiffened muscles had been tended to, his nose was still broken from the fall, and he had one hand over it while grunting and nursing the pain.

Thankfully, he didn't wander for long before he spotted Lyra. She seemed to have found what she was looking for, as he saw her bending over a plant. Just as before, he concealed himself behind the cover of a tree to avoid being noticed by her. However, he was more cautious than ever, making sure not to step on any twigs or brush against any other beastial plants. He had to look around cautiously and sniff before he was certain of safety.

*****

A few moments ago, Lyra heard a snapping sound behind her, which she initially thought was due to her paranoia. Later, she heard a gust of wind coming from the same place. She left, her wand leading her to the source of the scent she had perceived, with her guards still on alert.

As she followed the scent, some thoughts lingered in her head: 'Why am I imagining things and being so cautious? I know it didn't go well with the Tendrilwort, but not everything is going to end that way.'

With her wand clutched tightly in her grip, she continued to follow its lead. As she traced the source of the scented plant and walked deeper into the forest away from their camp, she made sure to leave some remnants of her ethereal energy on the path she took. This way, she would be able to find her way back to the camp once she had found the plant she was looking for.

After venturing deeper into the forest for a fleeting moment, she came to a halt because she could see the plant she was looking for. It wasn't just one plant; there were a few of that kind of plant spread around that area. And now, she didn't even need the wand to pinpoint which plant it was, because the scent she had followed was more concentrated here.

This time, with all her guards of caution up, she approached one of the plants after conjuring some type of barrier in front of her. After all, this plant was also one of the beastial plants in this area.

The plant in question was small and compact, resembling a shrub. Bathed in the moonlight and the glow from her wand, she could discern that it resembled a monocotyledonous plant, with sharp, needle-like leaves arranged alternately. These leaves aren't green; they were actually yellow in color.

But on the thick, waxy surface of those yellow leaves were straw-like projections that resembled the villi in the human small intestine. From the hollow openings of those projections, that was where the thick greenish gaseous scent was emanating from. Surprisingly, each of these plants had four to six nodes, and at the top of each was a single large flower bud. All the peach-colored petals of this unusual flower were closed at the top, possibly waiting to open at some point.

Lyra stood there with a surprised expression etched on her face as she gazed at the specific one she had approached. "Isn't this the Arcana Blossom?"

As she uttered these words, she recalled the time she had trained with the High Priest before they set out on their quest. He listed some plants she should look out for, along with their morphological features and magical properties.

This particular plant in front of her was one of them. It wasn't just the scent she remembered from her visits to the High Priest when she was young, but everything about the plant resonated with what the High Priest had told her.

Even though the yellow leaves with straw-like projections and the greenish gas emanating from within were highly toxic if ingested in large quantities. She didn't mind as she approached the one in front of her, with her barrier still surrounding her and a large vial that she took out from her Astral Ring in her hand.

"All I need is the nectar of its closed flower. Sometime during this quest, it might be our saving grace and it can also help boost my control of a larger volume of ethereal energy," she muttered to herself as she bent over to the Arcana Blossom.

With a dense layer of ethereal energy surrounding her index finger, she gently touched the tip of the closed flower. As if awakened from a slumber, the petals of the flower began to bloom slowly, revealing a viscous, greenish-yellow nectar within its confines.

Lyra opened the large vial and, using her enchantment ability, extracted the nectar into the vial using telekinesis. Then, in the same manner, she used her barrier, ethereal-energy-coated index finger, and telekinesis (all learned from the High Priest) to extract the nectars of the other Arcana Blossom flowers around that area.

Lyra, who had finished extracting all the Arcana Blossom she could find, let out a sigh, but a scowl remained on her face. "I still can't find the parent Arcana Blossom of these plants."

According to the High Priest, whenever a cluster of Arcana Blossoms is found in one area, the mother Arcanablossom is likely nearby. This one is the real deal, but also the most dangerous, as it can launch an attack on intruders with its condensed toxic gas, formed into a ball of energy. When hit by the condensed ball of green gas, you will be knocked off into oblivion. That is why it is always good to identify it first before entering its sensitive region.

Meanwhile, Thorne, still in the shadows, was confused by Lyra's actions as she stood up after collecting nectar from all the visible yellow plants with peach-colored flowers. He was also very cautious around those plants, completely avoiding getting close to them as he followed behind her. If nothing else, the paralysis from earlier taught him to be careful.

Lyra amplified the illumination from her wand to easily locate the mother Arcanablossom as soon as possible. As she looked around, she spotted a dark-blue liquid that left a trail deep into the forest. As she bent down to touch the blood, a ball of green gas hit her magma shroud from behind...

*****

In another part of the forest, Drake and Kael were searching for edible fruits for the group. Throughout their journey, Kael was lost in thought, contemplating Drake's calm and composed demeanor.

Even though he held a higher rank in the Templar hierarchy than Kael, there was a significant difference between their knight and warrior ranks. In terms of the martial arts they were trained in, available resources, and the amount and precision of Aura they could control. But Drake never imposed his higher position on Kael.

From his own perception, Kael came to understand that Drake prefers to handle things himself and keep them to himself. There was an awkward silence between the two as they gathered the fruits.

Currently, they had gathered some fruits and were about to return to the camp when Drake halted and spread his Aura sensitivity far into the forest. After that, he started walking in a specific direction and said, "Follow me."

Kael followed, but since he hadn't reached that level of aura manipulation, curiosity was seriously affecting him. Who knows what Drake had sensed with this Aura?