Chapter 819: Forest
Soon, when Shaneās basket was full, he packed up and turned his attention elsewhere.
There was still time to wander, and the Fairy Realm wasnāt just a lake, a crop field, and some treesā¦
He soon visited the forest where there was a thicker presence of Mana due to the number of living beings that were accumulating themā¦
As he got closer to his destination, the smell of flowers and honey became strong, and soon enough, he reached a clearing he had visited before.
Dozens of Forest Sprites hovered here, and they were no taller than Axisā¦
They also had translucent wings and seemed unbothered by his presence.
At this time,Ā they worked diligently around hives settled within hollowed trunksā¦ They were collecting golden nectar that would later be refined into honey.
Still, some of them paused to wave at Shane shyly, clearly recognizing him as āthe human their guardian trusted.ā
Shane greeted them politely, then lingered for a while, watching the Sprites fly between blossoms.
Their laughter and chatter were also quite relaxing to hear as he recalled his past in the Fairy Realmā¦
After observing them for some time, Shane continued moving and soon, he entered a cavern mouth located in a hillside.
This was the same place where the Forest Sprites collected the red Mana Crystals.
The walls glowed faintly red, and scattered across the stone floor were chunks of raw Red Mana Crystals.
They werenāt collected by the sprites, probably because of their size, or the mana they had inside was insignificant.
Still, Shane wanted to collect as many as possible, so he immediately took a few of them and stored them inside his inventory. He didnāt even inspect themā¦
As he collected hundreds of them, he finally checked their item description.
[ High-Purity Corrupted Mana Crystal: A crystal infused with pure corrupted mana even without refinement. It can be used as a pure mana source, enchantments, soul energy recovery, and spirit energy recovery.
Mana Units Available: 20,000 ]
āCorruptedā¦ā Shane muttered as he gently nodded.
It wasnāt as bad as he thought. He had already seen Corrupted Mana in the Fairy Realm Invasion before.
However, at that time, the corrupted Mana wasnāt pure so it was a Black Mana instead.
āStillā¦ Is there a dead Ascended Being here?ā Shane muttered to himself as the mystery of the cave just grew even more.
After all, the last time he had seen a Corrupted Mana was when he had entered a tomb of a powerful ancient being in the Fairy Realm Invasion Apocalypse.
āWhateverā¦ Itās dead anyway. The most it could do is corrupt the mana within the cave. With World Tree nearby, itās also being suppressed and wouldnāt come out even it wanted to.ā Shane thought.
Everything was still under control, and he had nothing to worry about.
However, he was still quite curious about the corpse that could possibly be inside the cave.
After giving some instructions to Axis, Shane then wore his Corruptor Set that he had obtained after looting Prov the Corrupter.
He gained a lot of rewards after eliminating Pro,v and aside from the Equipment Set, he also obtained a title called Corruptionās End.
[ Corruptionās EndĀ Title: Grants +25% resistance to decay-based attacks and nullifies low-tier corruption effects. Enhances purification abilities by 20% against undead entities. ]
Just like that, his resistance was boosted after wearing the equipment. Then, with his title, the mana inside, even if it was dense, didnāt bother him at all.
āIām readyā¦ā Shane muttered as he looked at the path ahead.
His Perception was quite limited here due to the corrupted mana but even if that was the case, he still had other skills that could be perfectly used here.
This includes Faerie Insight and other Skills he had in his arsenal that could boost his detection like Mental Clarity and Heightened Awareness.
Just like that, Shane made his way deeper into the caveā¦
He wasnāt exactly sure what he would find here, but he was hoping that it would entertain him until the time limit he had was reached.
***
In the meantime, while Shane was exploring the cave, Axis couldnāt help but feel worried about himā¦
āSeriouslyā¦ Is he not afraidofĀ going deeper into that cave?ā Axis muttered while a few Forest Sprites were feeding her with honey.
āDonāt worry about him. Heās blessed by the Fairy Queen. Iām sure that heāll be fine even if the corpse inside is a demonā¦ or even the Traitor of the Fairy Realm.ā
āAhhā¦ Heās also equipped with that incredible armorā¦ I can tell that itās made to block corruption. Heās definitely prepared. There should be nothing to worry about.ā
Another Forest Sprite said.
They were all observing Shane the moment he had entered the cave. They knew how he collected the red crystals and wore a new set of equipment.
āMhmmā¦ I just hope that nothing happens. You know that corrupted mana isnāt compatible to humansā¦ He might be in danger if heās not careful.ā Axis muttered.
āHeh~ Do you think heās still a mere humanā¦ Did you forget that he could easily touch the World Tree?ā The forest sprite reminded.
After hearing these words, Axisās eyes turned round and nodded.
āYouāre rightā¦ Youāre amazingā¦ I forgot about that!ā Axis exclaimed.
Apparently, no normal human could easily touch the World Tree. They would either burn to death or perhaps explode due to the presence of pure mana.
In short, if Shane wasnāt special, he would surely die after touching the World Tree, even with the blessing of the Fairy Queen.
āThen, Iāll just get to work I guessā¦ Deliver more jars of honey since he already collected everything.ā Axis said as she looked at the Forest Sprite assigned to collect the offering.
āOf course! Just get us all the supplies we need, and you get all the honey!ā The forest sprite grinned as their trade requirements had already been established several days ago.
Just like that, Axis returned to the World Tree as she planned to give Shane another gift laterā¦
āWith thisā¦ Maybe I can finally join him outsideā¦ā Axis thought before she fluttered away from the forest.