Looking at the fruit in the shade, Zaki noticed some shimmering specks of light floating about it; it was quite mystical.

"Whoa, what in the world is this, it's shimmering with light," Zaki exclaimed, his expression astonished.

"I certainly didn't expect that reaction, are you pulling my leg?" Dimitri said, his face weird. You certainly understand what it is... If you're attempting to hide your surprise at my discovery, you're horrible at it, you know...it's pretty cringe, don't do it again.

Zaki was embarrassed by his reaction, and his mind raced as he tried to come up with a response: 'This is a fruit, glowing or not, it should be edible, and it probably is valuable and has some unique effects, judging from Dimitri's proud countenance.'

"So, what are the effects?" Zaki asked as he tossed the fruit back to Dimitri.

"I'm not sure, I'm not a herbalist," Dimitri said, rolling his eyes."But I know this one should be a mind nourishment treasure, I heard it's quite rare among spirit fruits," Dimitri said, holding up one of the fruits.

'So these are known as spirit fruits, and it's most likely widespread knowledge. "How do you know it nourishes the mind?" Zaki pondered. "They both appear to be the same to me."

"Oh, that's simple, just sniff it"

Dimitri brought one of the fruits close to Zaki's face and the other close to his own before taking a long inhale through his nose.

Zaki, still skeptical of Dimitri's assessment of the fruits, took a short smell, and immediately his eyes clouded and his mind felt clearer than ever,It was as if nothing in this world was beyond his comprehension, as if he were a higher being looking down on the world of humans with contempt.

Zaki sobered up several seconds after the effects of the scent wore off, he immediately pushed the fruit away from his face while looking vigilant.

"what the fuck was this Dimitri?...Dimitri"

Zaki's questions fell on deaf ears as Dimitri was holding the other fruit near his nose, his face flushed and his eyes out of focus while grinning stupidly.

Zaki slapped Dimitri across the face, jolting him awake.

"What the fuck are these fruits, they've screwed with my head!"Zaki exclaimed.

"What was that for?" Dimitri touched his cheek, still tipsy, and it took several seconds for him to sober up...forgetting about the slap.

"You're right, the effects are incredible, no wonder cultivators fight tooth and nail for it!" Dimitri exclaimed.

"They messed with my head!" "They're psychedelic junk," Zaki maintained his vigilance.

" what? No, these aren't those deadly addicting trash; these are potent spirit fruits that improve a cultivator's strength when taken; in fact, it's so potent that its medicinal energy affects others even through its smell."

Zaki paused for a few seconds before admitting that he had overreacted a little, after all, the smell had only given him hyper clarity of mind for a handful of seconds, but he couldn't be faulted, as in his knowledge anything that plays with the mind is a narcotic substance that should be avoided.

His uncle had warned him to stay away and not use drugs for as long as he could remember, regardless of whether it was advertised as harmless, non-addictive, or the tried and proven method of "it's just one time."

Even a single use can lead to addiction, and quitting is exceedingly difficult, especially in Afghanistan, where such narcotics are easily accessible and inexpensive.

The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

"Are you sure this isn't harmful?" Zaki asked, his alertness lessened.

"Of course not!" It is a prized possession! If you think it's bad because it affects your mind, try this one, which nourishes the body."Dimitri took Zaki's fruit and handed him the second fruit in his other hand.

Zaki hesitated a little, but eventually determined that sniffing it wouldn't hurt; after all, it's a fruit.

Looking at Dimitri taking a long breath with his nose practically touching the fruit in his hand, Zaki brought the other fruit close to his face and decided to take a modest smell this time.

When the scent of the fruit penetrated his nasal canal, Zaki took an uncontrollable deep inhale, his cheeks flushed, his heart rate increased, his blood circulated faster, and his internal energy boiled.

Pleasure coursed through Zaki's body as if someone had massaged him from head to toe, relieving his exhaustion and giving him the illusion that he is the king of the world.

A few meters away from the two fruit sniffers, the girl who had roasted a bird sat eating her not so excellent bird meal while watching the two men sniffing fruits and grinning like idiots.

The two resembled drug addicts under the influence.

"what's with those two?"

The girl muttered but was too tired to bother investigating.

Zaki moved the fruit away from his face and felt the changes in his body, after several seconds, his internal energy, blood, and heart rate calmed down and his body got heavier as his exhaustion returned.

Now that Zaki had calmed down, he realized that, as Dimitri had stated, the fruits are treasures that improve a person's power, and just smelling them made him feel like his cultivation level will rise.

"Mystical," Zaki muttered.

"It's good stuff, right?"Dimitri grinned broadly.

"Yeah, where did you find this?"

"These two were hanging from a little tree barely a meter tall, which I noticed when looting a body near the tree after the ambush today."

"If just smelling it has such an impact on us, wouldn't eating it be even riskier?" "Wouldn't it crush our minds and rupture our bodies from the inside?"Zaki inquired, concerned.

Dimitri scratched his cheek"Uhh, don't think so, from the scant information I have about spirit fruits, that scenario would only happen if the treasure is far far stronger than the person consuming it, and these fruits seem like low-level items, consuming this won't kill us, at most we will end up wasting a large amount of its medicinal effects if our body were too weak to use it."

"You don't appear to be very confident in what you're saying."

Dimitri shrugged"All of my information comes from customers in the tavern where I used to work, and I overheard this from a conversation among a group of adventurers."

Zaki's eyes widened" Adventurers, like [Adventurers guild] adventurers?

"Those ragtag's got their own guild? You can't be serious"Dimitri scoffed.

Zaki was a bit disappointed with the answer he got, but he didn't lose hope, 'maybe it goes by a different name' he thought.

" you know, a place where they get together, rest, eat, drink, and pick tasks for rewards"

"Do you mean a tavern or an inn?" There are normally notice boards at these businesses where individuals put up tasks for a reward, and they also sell food, lodging, and drinks, but calling it an Adventurers Guild seems like a stretch...oh, is that the name of a Tavern? It all makes sense now! And what a great name for a tavern, this name could attract more adventurers and increase sales manifold!"

And that effectively ended Zaki's excitement.

'ugh...why did I even ask about fiction? It appears that all those anime and novels have deeply poisoned my mind...this is embarrassing.'

"Yeah, it was a famous inn where I come from ha ha," Zaki said as he avoided his gaze.

" bet their business is booming, it's a shame the name is taken, but back to what I was talking about, those adventurers also said something about the herbs or fruits that nourish the mind, they said the first time someone uses it, their mental strength will grow by a certain amount, and geniuses will breakthrough something, something realm something."

"what thing?"

"Something," Dimitri shrugged, "well I don't know, I'm not a master spy; I only overheard a portion of their conversation while serving them and some close customers, but I do know they weren't talking about the Mental energy that's gained when eating mind-type treasures, They were discussing something else that is obtained only the first time it is eaten, and geniuses will break through something something, not only that, but they've also mentioned being able to take on numerous geniuses of the same level after breaking through the'something' realm."

Zaki put his hand under his chin and said

"so whatever that thing is, it only happens when a mind-type treasure is eaten for the first time, and if the so-called 'breakthrough something' happens, the person that ate the fruit will have the ability to fight several other skilled cultivators at the same time"

"yeah, that's the gist of it"

"...And why are you telling me all of this?"

"Oh, I wanted to give you these fruits," Dimitri grinned.

"What is your agenda?" Zaki asked, narrowing his gaze and tossing the fruit in his palm back to Dimitri.