Chapter 56: The Harvest

After traveling through the dim, sightless earth for nearly two hundred meters, Grim was finally forced to emerge. The underground world, after all, was not as easy to traverse as the surface; vast layers of rock and random pockets of gravel and sand made it extremely difficult for the magic puppet to move forward. So, as soon as they were out of the danger zone, Grim ordered the Crocodile Hunter puppet to surface within a tunnel.

With his eyes closed, he sensed the surroundings. Mary, hidden in the puppet’s belly, was breathing heavily, her body burning hot. Grim couldn’t help but shake his head and sigh. The ancient vampiric variant truly had its secrets—she could continuously improve herself simply by feeding on blood.

During the earlier battle, Mary had forcibly drained all the blood from a high-level enemy apprentice, rapidly filling her reserves of bloodline energy and triggering yet another bodily transformation. Lacking the necessary knowledge, Grim dared not disturb her natural evolution. He could only select this relatively safe area, have the crocodile puppet spit her out, and lay her flat on a felt blanket. Meanwhile, Grim eagerly began his favorite activity—searching the corpse.

First, he pressed his hands together in silent prayer to every god and spirit he could think of. Only then, with great excitement, did he begin to rummage through Anna’s tragic remains.

As a high-level apprentice, she was sure to have magical items and witch tools on her. Even if she was poor, she would at least have a spellbook and some notes. If not, then at least some magic crystals or alchemical materials!

Anna, when alive, was not unattractive, and her figure was full and enticing. Unfortunately, the final battle had been so fierce that most of her skin was torn into countless bloody wounds, rendering her almost impossible to look at. Still, most of her clothes and gear had survived.

The first thing Grim removed was a bracelet from her right wrist. Under elemental vision, this bracelet emitted a constant emerald glow, clearly signaling it as a special magical artifact. After much examination, Grim finally determined it was a bracelet that could rapidly activate a plant-based Thorn Armor spell.

Although plant magic was incompatible with Grim’s innate talents, as long as the energy within the bracelet was not depleted, he could still forcibly wield it. This made Grim, who had so far lacked any defensive magic, overjoyed; he kissed the bracelet twice before strapping it onto his own wrist without hesitation.

Next, he pulled off Anna’s boots. On inspection, these were crafted from lantern grass and dryad hide, forming a pair of enchanted boots that could trigger the “Forest Passage” spell. With these, no underbrush, vines, or thorns in the wild would ever block his path again. Even in the densest, impassable forests, he could stride through as if walking on flat ground.

A pity… they were women’s boots!

Grim tried them on, but they were clearly unsuitable for him. He could only set them aside, thinking perhaps Mary might be interested later.

The third item he found was a magical earring—another plant-aligned artifact, this one bestowing self-healing. If the wearer stood motionless in a lushly vegetated area, within fifteen minutes it could restore about ten points of life energy. The requirements were a bit restrictive, but in critical moments, it might prove invaluable.

After all, healing salves could only mend wounds, not restore lost vitality. So, keeping the earring on his person might just save his life one day.

For a high-level apprentice like Anna, three magical items were already quite a haul. Grim quickly unbuckled her belt and began to examine it closely.

It was a finely crafted, ornate waistbelt, its inner lining branded with a series of strange runes. Grim managed to decipher four of them after much effort, but there were a total of eleven.

With no other choice, Grim called upon the chip’s power.

“Chip, scan these runes!”

“Beep. Storage belt scan complete… Eleven ancient wizard runes detected. Preliminary assessment: activation incantation for a storage belt… The incantation is as follows…”

As the data streamed in from the chip, Grim furrowed his brow and carefully pronounced the eleven runes in the archaic tongue of ancient wizards. The moment the incantation was complete, Grim sensed the presence of a miniature space within the belt. Inside floated a dozen or so indistinguishable items.

A storage belt—just as he had hoped!

Grim had long coveted such a personal treasure. Apprentice wizards usually relied on storage pouches, but those were not true spatial items; they could not negate the weight of their contents or shield magical fluctuations from detection. The storage belt, on the other hand, was the lowest grade of true spatial artifact—items placed within would no longer weigh Grim down, nor would their magical auras be sensed by others.

So, to have obtained a storage belt in his very first underground battle was almost beyond his wildest hopes.

Grim glanced back, careful not to disturb Mary, who was still deep in her trance, then quickly buckled the storage belt around his own waist. Naturally, he kept his old pouch on top to conceal his new prize.

Never flaunt your wealth!

Such treasures were rare even among full-fledged wizards—he would enjoy its benefits first!

After several more sweeps to ensure he had missed nothing on the body of this fallen apprentice, Grim immersed his mind into the storage space and began to examine each item in turn.

Seven magic crystals, a spell notebook, a shrieking frog used in special rituals, a communication crystal, a forearm-length rod of verdant wood, a thumb-sized lump of enchanted mithril, and a wooden idol used by priests…

With today’s spoils, Grim now possessed ten magic crystals—a modest fortune. The spell notebook recorded Anna’s experiences learning plant magic, including some notes on spirit summoning and possession—fields Grim could not master himself, and would have to trade off once he returned.

The shrieking frog was a common ritual material, mainly used for setting up alert wards and similar support spells. The communication crystal was clearly loot taken from one of Anna’s own teammates. By sensing the personal imprint within, Grim could tell it had belonged to that high-level apprentice named Matthew.

Both the verdant rod and the enchanted mithril were precious magical materials. The former was clearly a half-finished piece—likely a plant-based artifact Anna had been crafting—and the latter was a superior wand material, greatly improving energy conduction and reducing loss. With this mithril, Grim could easily forge himself a small, one-handed wand.

The wooden idol, however, was a mystery. Grim could sense an aura of power within it, but no runes or magical script. Its true purpose would have to be identified by a specialist at the wizard’s tower.

As Grim sat, turning the wooden idol over in his hands, lost in thought, a soft, warm body suddenly pressed against his back.

“Hehe, handsome boy! You’ve treated me so well—how should I thank you?” A sweet, beguiling voice sounded in Grim’s ear, and Mary’s arms slid under his, stroking his chest.

Uh…

The unexpected intimacy made Grim’s hair stand on end, his whole body growing tense as if carved from wood.

“How about a kiss?” Mary’s syrupy voice lingered in his ear.

“I…” Grim tried to speak, but before he could finish, a fragrant, silky tongue slipped into his mouth.

In that instant, it felt as if a molten fireball exploded in his mind, sending Grim’s consciousness soaring heavenward—he lost all sense of his own body.

Only after a long while did Grim manage to pull himself from his daze. By then, Mary was already sitting beside him, examining the pair of enchanted boots.

“Chip, what just happened? Why did Mary affect me so strongly?” Grim asked quietly.

“Beep. Residual mental magic detected… Subject may have been influenced by a mental spell. Based on observed effects, it was likely a natural charm ability…”

Natural charm?

Grim’s mouth twitched involuntarily. Damn, that was an incredibly powerful form of mental magic!

Most mental spells produced obvious psychic ripples when cast, making them relatively easy to defend against if you were alert. But the terror of natural charm lay in the word “natural”—it could not be learned artificially, only awakened in certain rare species. Once awakened, it provided subtle yet tremendous advantages.

Any creature with natural charm could move through dangerous areas unmolested, as long as it behaved non-threateningly. It would easily win the trust and affection of other species.

If Mary truly possessed this ability now, her every word and gesture would be even more bewitching, her allure more potent, and she would be much harder for enemies to guard against.

Grim couldn’t help but wonder if Anna had carried the blood of a flower or tree spirit, passing on such a strange power through her blood.

“You’re awake, little brother?” Mary was clearly pleased with herself. “Imagine, just a kiss and you’re so entranced! You really need to toughen up your willpower.”

Grim looked at her with frustration. He could tell that Mary hadn’t yet mastered her new power; everything she did now radiated an overwhelming aura of temptation.

“We’ve taken down a fallen apprentice. Should we stay and search for more resources, or head back?” Grim tried to steer her attention elsewhere.

“Let’s go back!” Though Mary was still a bit giddy, her mind remained clear. “After all the commotion here, the other teams are sure to hurry back. We should too—I’d rather not be trapped underground by those black-robed wizards!”

“Agreed.” Grim nodded, accepting her advice.