The jet-black stag moved gracefully through the depths of the dense forest.
Whether the ground beneath its hooves was muddy and soft or rocky and treacherous, it always maintained a steady, unhurried pace forward.
Orum followed cautiously behind, keeping his distance.
The dewdrops the forest sprites had scattered earlier contained the power of natural magic. They not only restored his stamina but also healed the wounds, large and small, covering Orum's body.
The powerful magic prompted rapid regeneration of the skin around his wounds. The once bloody gashes quickly closed and healed one by one, ultimately leaving only prominent red scars.
They looked pretty ugly, but at least Orum didn't have to worry about infection or blood loss anymore.
Watching the jet-black stag ahead, Orum wondered to himself:
"Where the hell is this deer taking me?"
Orum wasn't the only one puzzled. In fact, every scholar who had ever studied the deity Benshaba wanted to know the answer to this question.
Each time Benshaba's stag suddenly appeared, its purpose seemed to be leading someone somewhere, but most of the time, when people reached the destination and searched the area, they found nothing.
Some believed that even if nothing happened, the change in location had secretly tugged at the threads of fate, causing certain people to meet sooner and certain events to occur in the future.
But others were more convinced that this was all just another one of Benshaba's pranks.
After all, who would believe that a dark, twisted goddess who unleashed indiscriminate terror curses would have such deep patience and strategic planning?
"The jet-black stag reaches its destination within 5 hours every time it appears. Even if I cut it close to the latest deadline, it won't be completely dark yet."
Orum calculated the time. As long as he didn't have to trek through the night, that would be fine.
Otherwise, running through the woods in pitch darkness, if he missed one turn and the jet-black stag vanished into the shadows, Orum would be gifted with a lifelong curse of misfortune. That would be one hell of a raw deal.
After confirming he wouldn't lose track of it, Orum's mood settled down. He kept half his attention on the path beneath his feet and turned the other half toward his pocket.
To be precise, toward the purple crystal in his pocket. This was the only trophy Orum had obtained from slaying the Blighted Treant.
"The monitoring station mission mentioned that the larger the volume of the purple crystal, the more gold coins it can be exchanged for.
This one from the Blighted Treant is fist-sized. Does that count as large or small?"
"The Blighted Treant was so powerful, its crystal should belong to the larger category. How many gold coins it can actually be exchanged for depends on whether the monitoring station's budget is flush."
Orum opened his pocket and glanced at the radiant purple crystal. It seemed to possess its own soul; its bewitching glow circulated and flowed within, radiating outward from the inside, then returning inward again.
"This crystal... it's like it's alive?" Orum's heart stirred.
Could it be that these purple crystals were some kind of crystalline life form, parasitizing the plants in the Misty Forest?
After personally encountering so much fantasy, Orum had no doubt that silicon-based life forms existed in this world.
Perhaps a moving mountain range that carried an ancient shrine on its back, capable of crossing mountains and rivers, traveling a thousand miles a day.
Or perhaps a talking pebble that, after an adventurer answered its riddle correctly, would sing a cheerful song, with legendary martial techniques capable of splitting mountains and cleaving earth hidden within the lyrics.
Thinking of this, Orum couldn't help but be extra cautious. He tied his pocket tighter and more securely.
Next, Orum summoned his panel once again.
[You have slain 1 Blighted Treant]
[Stage reward available: Heart of the Ancient Tree]
The second magical beast organ was the Heart of the Ancient Tree from the Blighted Treant.
Although Orum's kill had involved some luck, the panel still gave him the reward without question.
"Looks like as long as I'm the one who slays the monster, regardless of the process, I'll receive the corresponding magical beast organ reward."
"From an efficiency standpoint, I could maybe hire a team of legendary powerhouses in the future to specifically beat magical beasts down to a sliver of health for me, then I swoop in for the kill.
Or... I could just open a goblin breeding farm? Mass-produce magical beasts for me to slaughter?"
While Orum pondered the product selection and layout for his breeding farm, he silently recited in his mind:
"Claim."
In an instant, Orum felt as if a scorching fireball had been forcibly shoved into his chest. The searing pain made him suddenly open his mouth, and deep, eerie green ghost flames instantly burst forth from all seven orifices!
Orum's vision plunged into complete darkness. After a moment of stunned confusion, he realized his retinas had actually been burned away.
The burning pain gradually weakened, and Orum suddenly felt a vigorous life force emanating from his heart.
The burned retinas, eardrums, tongue, and trachea began to regrow, restore, and heal under the impetus of this life force.
In just ten-odd seconds, Orum's eyes could see light again. His delicate, newborn eyes were stimulated by the light and shed scalding tears.
Orum looked down, his right hand touching his chest. He could clearly feel that beside his original heart, there was now a brand-new heart. It beat calmly yet pumped powerfully, incredibly steady.
The dual-heart circulatory system operated incredibly smoothly. Orum could clearly sense that his body's functional ceiling had once again dramatically increased.
With this new system, he felt he could chase down a galloping horse!
Besides that, Orum also sensed that this secondary heart called the "Heart of the Ancient Tree" possessed tremendous potential.
Once activated, it would release the immense healing vitality within, as if every cell in his body had been endowed with abundant life energy. Each activation felt like being reborn!
Furthermore, this healing ability could also be applied to others! Although the effect would be diluted, it was enough to easily heal any critically injured adventurer and pull them back from death's door.
This power could be used up to three times. After three uses, Orum would need thorough rest before the "Heart of the Ancient Tree" could fully recover.
Feeling the abundant, powerful life force filling his chest, Orum felt extremely satisfied.
"This reward doesn't overlap with the previous magical beast organ's function. The goblin tendon belongs to the musculoskeletal system, while the Heart of the Ancient Tree belongs to the circulatory system.
Plus, it can affect other living beings. Its practicality is extremely strong."
"If I keep modifying myself like this, will all the organs in my body eventually be replaced? Every single organ in my body with a unique special ability?"
Orum immediately thought of the chimera from mythological legends, that stitched-together monster with a lion's head, eagle's wings, and serpent's tail. But obviously, he would definitely be more powerful than a chimera!
After all, the magical beast organs provided by the panel were all premium quality, and he had the freedom to choose, to decline rewards.
This further eliminated the possibility of being stuck with weak organs.
What kind of trashy patchwork monster was a chimera anyway? He could kill three with one punch.
[You have obtained magical beast organ: Heart of the Ancient Tree]
Description:
"Let them remember forever that the forest can rage too!" (Centaur Arch-Druid, Windcaller Velosha)
[Next stage reward:]
[Slay 10 Blighted Treants to obtain Blighted Treant magical beast organ advancement]
"This is the same reward pattern as killing goblins. Kill 1 first, then kill 10." Orum murmured thoughtfully to himself.
"Could my panel be a monster encyclopedia?"
"No... my panel's functions seem to go far beyond just that."
Orum suddenly remembered that when he slew the Blighted Treant, a new special notification had appeared on his panel:
[You have gained the friendship of the forest sprites]
[You have received a permanent blessing from the forest sprites: 'Symphony of Life': Can be triggered once per day.
When you call upon forest sprites to aid you in battle, they will bestow blessing magic upon you, greatly enhancing all your attributes for 1 minute and causing each of your attacks to additionally inflict mixed elemental damage.]
"Let me find it."
With a thought, Orum slowly scrolled down the panel. Sure enough, in the previously blank area, two eye-catching lines of text had appeared:
[Friendship with forest sprites: 100]
[Friendship with goblins: -50]
"Jesus, even goblins have a friendship meter?"
"Can goblins actually be... romanced? Form an alliance with goblins?"
Just imagining himself carrying boys and girls to pay tribute to the goblin king, then being crowned a goblin knight, made Orum's mouth twitch and filled him with visceral disgust.
Ugh, better to be a person with taste and standards. Goblins, stay the hell away.
"This permanent blessing's effect is way too overpowered. Boosting all attributes, adding multiple elemental hybrid damage (it's basically broken).
Logically speaking, if the forest sprites were just expressing gratitude, they couldn't possibly grant this kind of power, and they didn't cast any spells on me anyway."
"So this permanent blessing was also a benefit issued to me by the panel, rewarding me for establishing a good relationship with the sprites." Orum suddenly sucked in a sharp breath.
This panel's functions seemed to be even more extensive than he'd imagined.
Perhaps, to this day, Orum's development of the panel hadn't even reached one percent.
...
Several hours passed. Orum followed the jet-black stag across mountains and through rivers, never leaving its side.
Along this journey, with the jet-black stag's "protection," although it looked very safe, it actually wasn't dangerous at all.
The jet-black stag maintained the same speed throughout, until it stopped in front of a cliff.
Orum looked down. The cliff was dozens of meters high and dangerously steep, its gradient nearly ninety degrees. If he lost his footing and fell, without a feather fall spell, he would die without question.
"Reached the destination? Is it over?" Orum turned to look at the jet-black stag, hoping it would immediately vanish and grant him his freedom.
However, the next instant, Orum's eyes widened in disbelief at the scene before him.
The jet-black stag gracefully walked to the edge of the cliff... extended its front hoof, and as if walking on solid ground, began strolling forward in midair.
Orum froze for a second, the thought "Benshaba's cheating" flashing through his mind.
Ha, using divine power to fly across the cliff, making the follower fall to their death, if that's not cheating, what is?
But the jet-black stag walked through the air, each step as if treading on solid ground. That sight stirred a wave of doubt in Orum's heart.
Orum crawled to the spot where the jet-black stag had extended its front hoof and, gathering his courage, reached out to touch... Sure enough, his fingertips met something cool and solid!
"This is... an air bridge?!"
Orum stared at his seemingly empty palm, dazed.
"Seeing is believing." Orum felt that everything his eyes saw was in 8K ultra-high definition, real with no trace of Photoshop.
Yet the sensation transmitted through his palm also clearly told him of that cold hardness.
This paradox between sight and touch suddenly gave rise to an indescribable sense of disorientation in Orum's heart.
After repeatedly touching it, Orum finally confirmed that what the jet-black stag had stepped onto was indeed a bridge invisible to the naked eye but solid enough for people to walk on, an air bridge.