Chapter 841 Chapter 840: Terracotta Grottos (8)
?When the bud began to bloom, the Nature Mana that had gathered inside the grotto swelled and pulsed as it was funneled into the blossom, pulling the lush green sepals back one by one to reveal the flower within.
A set of rich, vibrant purple petals blossomed when the sepals fell, revealing a globular flower that released a bitter, yet fragrant scent into the air, whilst a secondary, hidden sweet scent wafted off of the center of the curled petals.
Hundreds of these petals formed a gradient from that dark, royal purple into a strong bloody red in the center, where the petals grew smaller and more compact, creating a beautiful, uniquely colored flower.
A nectar was already beginning to form in the center of its petals, the red gold liquid moistening the petals and threatening to drip down onto the ground.
All of the Nature Mana swirled around the flower and seeped into its stem, stimulating its growth and making the flower even more beautiful as the colors deepened and became more saturated, whilst the scent became more abundant as well; specifically the scent of the nectar, which was almost as thick as honey thanks to the Nature Mana swirling around inside it.
Honestly, the nectar almost seemed like Nature Mana taking a liquid form, that was how seeped in mana the red gold liquid was...
Meanwhile, as I was observing this absolute masterpiece of natural beauty, the monsters were going rabid trying to reach it, something that made Jahi grunt as she pushed one of them back, only to ask in a strained voice "A little help here, Kat?! This is the last of 'em, but damn..!"
We weren't that far away compared to some of the other reported areas, but it was still a slightly tense walk as we returned to the base, wondering if the Dungeon was going to raise monsters nearby to get its flower back, which was still oozing Nature Mana.
Thankfully, we got back to the base without much issue, and we found the others had already returned, with Leone standing over a giant metal cauldron as she stirred around a viscous red liquid, Ammit right beside her and pouring some more liquid into the cauldron.
Seeing us, they both frowned as they looked for the others, though a quick nod and Lucy going to explain to them what happened was enough; meanwhile, I placed the vase on the large table that had been constructed in the middle, waiting for them to come over and join us.
"Jahi remained back to harvest the monsters. We ran into a rather sizable horde... what about you?"
Satanya continued to fiddle with her model, the Demoness having taken a liking to it over these hours, and she answered me without even looking my way.
"Not a large one, but instead we had to fight a tribe of Goblins for the garden of flowers and roots that was growing inside their grotto. Ogres, Trolls, and even a damn Crone, all with a few dozen Goblins shooting arrows at us. Thankfully Ammit and Leone are precise with their spells... they sniped the Crone before blasting down the gate, letting us go inside and massacre the remaining Goblins."
"Well, that's good. And the flowers and roots you got, is that what is in that cauldron already?"
"Yup. Healing ingredients primarily, and the two of them think that they'll also work as buff potions too. Minor boosts to muscle strength and blood flow, as well as a heightened reaction time. I made the executive decision that those herbs should get turned into a potion as quickly as possible so we didn't lose any efficacy, and Leone agreed. That flower is the reward for your labors?"
I chuckled, looking down at the purple and red dahlia for a few moments before I replied "If I had to take a guess, it's more so the nectar that's the reward, instead of the flower itself. But... yes. It would seem so."
As well as the copious amounts of experience I had gathered from this outing as well, of course~!