[As you arrive in front of the harvest tree, you look through the scattered items on the ground. You decide to first retrieve your knife and a waterskin. You try to exude calm as you walk forward, and are relieved to find that the harvest tree remains still.]
Lem’s simulated self surveyed his spoils.
The blade of the knife was covered in dust, and the handle was singed, but it seemed to still be in good working order.
He hefted the water skin, and determined that it was slightly over half full. Even though its exterior was burned, it did not seem as though there were any holes or leaks.
He undid the lid and took a small sip.
The water was warm, but otherwise fine.
Lem could feel that his simulated self was making a decision of whether or not to retrieve the jade slip.
It was closer to the harvest tree, making it a more dangerous retrieval target.
At the same time, he did not know what would happen if he left it unattended. With the harvest tree’s abilities to affect its surroundings, would it disappear someday?
He also had not yet looked past the First Chapter. If he lost the opportunity to see the rest of the [Mountain Sitting Technique, would his progress forever be stuck at the First Stage of Body Refining?
Lem was in favor of him returning immediately.
Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
Just look at the jade slips in your possession before doing anything dangerous again!
Lem could feel the conviction of his simulated self wavering. He looked out and surveyed the forest floor again.
Lem was sure that his simulated self was about to return, when he suddenly put down the knife and waterskin and began walking towards the harvest tree again.
This time, he had slightly less fear than before.
Lem was confused when he saw that his simulated self was not even going for the jade slip of the [Mountain Sitting Technique].
Instead, he walked up to one of the nearby crystals that had fallen from the martial elder’s bags. It was clear and thumb-sized, made all the more unremarkable for the fact that there were many other similar crystals scattered across the ground.
Lem doubted its usefulness. How could something so common be any good?
When his simulated self actually grabbed one, he was startled. In addition to the expected pain, there was a sensation of pleasantness.
The crystal was filled with spiritual energy. A spiritual crystal!
Lem’s simulated self quickly grabbed a small intact pouch that was also originally from the martial elder’s possessions.
Disregarding the contents of the pouch, he began retrieving all of the nearby spiritual crystals and stuffing them on top of whatever was inside.
Once there were no more crystals in the immediate area, he picked up a few of the other pouches and small objects.
If Master Brightflame had a use for them, perhaps they were good things for him too!
[After checking to make sure that your knife is still functional, and drinking from the water skin, you return to collect a few of the martial elder’s belongings. Among them, you find a type of clear crystal that is scattered among the other items. You immediately recognize it as having a spiritual quality, and rush to pick up as many as possible.]
Lem’s simulated self returned with the pouches, putting them beside the knife and the waterskin, before turning around again.
A third trip?