This plant, known as Scalevine, had been brought back half a month earlier by elven priests returning from the City of Chaos.
This time, nearly every elven warrior stationed at the northwestern border of the Forest of Freyst had been issued one Scalevine.
After more than half a month of blood-feeding, along with sustained infusions of mana and battle aura, the Scalevine on their wrists had already developed extremely strong defensive capabilities.
What no one expected was just how powerful that defense would be.
A young elf with only second-tier strength, ambushed from behind by a werewolf of at least third-tier strength, managed to block the attack, relying solely on the Scalevine's protection.
Well… saying it blocked the attack wasn't entirely accurate.
It would be more precise to say that the damage, which should have resulted in severe injury, was reduced to nothing more than a light wound.
"I never expected Scalevine to be this effective," Livim muttered thoughtfully. "No wonder the elven priests forced everyone to use one… I really wonder where this plant came from."
At the clearing where everyone had regrouped to rest, Livim overheard many discussions about Scalevine.
"Elves are naturally physically weaker than beastfolk. In a head-on confrontation, we usually rely on agility and movement to evade attacks before counterattacking."
"But with Scalevine, the situation changes."
"It's still not enough to completely face beastfolk head-on, but blocking several frontal attacks is more than feasible."
"I heard from the priests that after fifteen days of blood-feeding, Scalevine's defense basically reaches its peak—but if you keep feeding it, its defense will continue to increase slowly."
"And the mana consumption also decreases over time."
"This plant must be incredibly valuable, right? It'd be amazing if everyone in the clan could use it."
"That's impossible. It's already impressive that our unit got equipped."
While they were chatting, the squad leader had already compiled feedback from everyone regarding Scalevine.
He then dispatched a scout to send the information back to the clan.
---
Central Forest of Freyst.
Viewed from the sky, the scene below would leave most people in awe.
An ancient tree rose from the earth, towering into the heavens.
Its canopy spread like a colossal umbrella, covering an area of tens of kilometers.
Its vast, intricate branches were as wide as roads, weaving and spiraling through the air to form a paradise unique to the elven race.
If the City of Chaos—with its entire foundation—were uprooted and placed among the branches, it would probably fill less than a fraction of the space.
—This was the Tree of Life.
The legendary divine-favored tree of the God of Life.
It had nurtured generation after generation of elves.
The elves revered it as Mother Tree.
It was the symbol of the elven race.
And the heart and origin of the Forest of Freyst.
Within the trunk of the Tree of Life stood a palace formed naturally as the tree grew—a residence for the Elven Queen.
Holding the frontline report, an elven priest stepped out of the palace.
After receiving the queen's personal approval, the priest's face lit up with joy, his heart brimming with ambition.
The effectiveness of Scalevine far exceeded expectations, delighting both him and the queen.
After real combat testing, not only were the experimental results in Harper's paper fully verified, but several new special uses of Scalevine were also discovered.
The most crucial among them was early warning—
—or rather, automatic protection of its host.
Just like the young elf who had been ambushed by the werewolf.
By the time he himself realized the danger, it was already too late to react.
Yet Scalevine sensed the threat first and instantly spread its leaves to protect its vital areas, blocking what would have been a fatal blow.
After reporting these findings to the queen and receiving authorization, the elven priest was given a new mission.
He was to return to the City of Chaos and negotiate cooperation with Ron André.
Scalevine showed an unexpectedly high compatibility with elves.
Despite the same fifteen days of blood-feeding, the defensive boost it provided to elves was even greater than what Harper's volunteer test subjects had achieved.
It was practically a plant tailor-made for the elven race.
Without delay, the elven priest set off for the City of Chaos.
---
City of Chaos.
As the morning sun rose—
Ron André stood in the back courtyard of Ron's Wonderful Flower Shop, performing one strenuous movement after another.
In the cold winter morning wind, his body radiated heat like a blazing sun.
Sweat streamed down his skin, evaporating before it could reach the ground.
With every movement, more light-aspected battle aura was squeezed from his body, flowing through his meridians and finally converging into the battle aura vortex in his lower abdomen.
After several minutes, Ron's breathing gradually steadied. His limbs drew back in, and he stood upright.
The previously violent battle aura vortex had now completely calmed.
—Second-tier warrior.
Ron clenched his fists, feeling the power coursing through his body, and smiled in satisfaction.
From early September, when he transmigrated into this world, to late November, nearly three months had passed.
With the help of the Crimson-Gold Chrysanthemum, his battle aura cultivation had finally caught up to his mage progress, reaching the second tier.
Though his flower shop housed a sixth-tier mage and a sixth-tier assassin—making security a non-issue—Ron still insisted on early-morning training every day without interruption.
To be fair, cultivation was like fitness: once it became a habit, it was genuinely addictive.
Compared to working out, cultivation was even easier to get hooked on.
Just for the sake of a healthy body—no sore waist, no aching legs—Ron would keep up his morning training.
After all, that was a man's capital.
Ron patted the Life Belt around his waist, feeling the warm currents flowing along both sides of his lower back. It felt incredibly comfortable.
Back on the second floor of the flower shop, Nora was already up early, wearing an apron and preparing breakfast in the kitchen.
Like an old married couple, they exchanged good mornings.
Ron peeked in from the doorway, sniffed, and said, "What's for breakfast? I smell bacon."
"Mm-hm, bacon and eggs, plus bread and milk," Nora replied, then added softly, "You're all sweaty, shop owner—don't come in yet. Go shower first."
"Alright," Ron responded, turning toward the bathroom.
Halfway through his shower, the system notification echoed in his mind—
[Side Quest] — [Help Mia Open a Hotpot Restaurant in the Royal Capital]
[System: "Congratulations, host. Quest completed. Rewards have been deposited into the [Backpack]."]
[System: "Triggering follow-up side quest."]
[Side Quest] — [Guide Hotpot & Barbecue to Sweep the Human Empire]:
[Requirements:
Open branch hotpot and barbecue restaurants across major cities of the Human Empire, making this dining style wildly popular. Progress will be evaluated by the system.]
[Reward:
Phantom Willow Seeds and its cultivation method.]