Ascension of the Sylvan Cosmos.

Chapter 44. Cinderielle and Verdantia Meet

When they looked at each other, Verdantia raised her hand and called her. "Miss Cinderielle, it is a surprise seeing you here." Cinderielle saw her eyes going to her back and smiling. "Is this your first time going on an adventure?"

Cinderielle blinked and blushed a bit. "I-Is there something wrong with my setup?"

Verdantia shook her head with a smile. "Some of the things you have are a bit excessive unless you are going on a long exploration. But it's mostly correct."

Cinderielle nodded, her eyes moving toward the staff from time to time. Verdantia naturally caught her eyes and asked. "Something wrong with my staff?"

Cinderielle coughed and shook her head. "No… It's just… What materials did you use to make it?"

Verdantia's eyes gained a touch of wariness. "That's a strangely specific question, no?"

Cinderielle laughed, scratching the back of her head. "Is it? Hahaha. Sorry, it was just stunning and eye-catching. I was honestly curious."

Verdantia's eyebrow raised. "Oh…? 'Stunning and eye-catching,' you say. Miss Cinderielle, this staff is nothing but a brown-colored staff with a branch coiled around it."

Cinderielle waved her hands and changed the subject. "Ah, don't worry about that. Also, you seem like you come here often."

Verdantia squinted for a few seconds, but after a while, she let it go and answered her. "I do come quite often. While I usually go solo, there are times when the forest is too dangerous and I need to gather in groups."

Cinderielle nodded and looked at Verdantia's backpack. "What do you carry there?"

Verdantia paused for a second before answering. "Books."

"Huh?" Cinderielle asked again, confused. "I meant in the backpack."

Verdantia nodded with a smile. "You heard it right."

"Why are you carrying books to the wild!?" Cinderielle was flabbergasted.

Verdantia shrugged. "I like to read them."

The red-haired Sylvan looked at the green-haired one with an incomprehensible face. 'Is this the difference between a veteran and a newbie? I prepared with care, yet she currently looks as if she is going on a picnic.'

Verdantia placed a hand over her mouth and laughed. "Don't look at me like that. As a Sylvan related to Nature, very few creatures are hostile to me. If I had fire affinity like you do, I would've needed to be as careful as you."

Cinderielle found the explanation reasonable but not so much. "I see."

While they were talking, someone approached them by calling them.

"Verdantia, where are you going out this time? I thought you would remain at home, making potions and reading again, hahaha."

The green-haired woman turned to look and saw her usual companions. She had changed groups after what happened in the past, and honestly, Verdantia was quite satisfied with them.

She smiled, her aura gentle and nature-like. Even between Sylvans, it was clear that her closeness to nature was extraordinary. "I'm going to the Golden Sap Forest. I need a few fungi that only grow over there, but if I'm lucky, I might find new plants or other interesting flora."

Cinderielle's ears perked up. 'Golden Sap Forest? Isn't that the place I decided to explore this time as well?'

"Oh? Well, you should be able to defend yourself in that area. However, be careful."

Cinderielle blinked and gave Verdantia a deeper look. 'What Level is she?' She wanted to check, but doing so with close people felt a bit too invasive. As an example, it was similar to seeing someone bare in one of those magazines compared to seeing a friend of the opposite sex naked in front of you.

While many didn't consider it that big of a privacy breach, it was considered polite not to do so.

One of her male friends nodded. "Well, that place is quite safe. With your level 7 strength, you should be okay. Moreover, you have that <Low-Grade Flawed Level> staff with you. It should be a walk in the park."

Verdantia looked nodded with a smile. "Yes. There shouldn't be any other problems."

Meanwhile, Cinderielle's eyes almost popped out of their sockets. 'Level 7!? Low grade!? What is she doing with something so expensive!?'

You must realize that even some Level 10 explorers hadn't worn a Low-Grade item in their lives. Only wealthy people of Level 15 and above started wearing them if they ever did. Having one at Level 7 was too luxurious. Verdantia smiled a bit awkwardly. "Sadly, it ended up being a Level 10 weapon, so I can't fully bring out its strength."

Cinderielle couldn't hold her interest and asked. "W-What are its stats?"

Verdantia thought for a moment and shared them with Cinderielle. While they weren't close friends, they had shared enough conversations to know that she was trustworthy. "These stats are the ones without the Level Penalty. With it, I can only use around 50% of its strength."

Cinderielle nodded and looked at it.

[Level 10 Nature Tree Staff (Low Grade Flawed Level)]

+50 Aether Mana

+50 Phoer

+600 Anima Energy

Aether (+5), Physique (+5), Anima (+50), Willpower (+5).

Cinderielle almost coughed a lung out. 'PLUS FIFTY ANIMA!? HUH!? AND THIS IS THE WEAKENED VERSION!' 

Verdantia's companions nodded empathetically. "Honestly, it is a waste."

Cinderielle looked at them, puzzled. "What's a waste?"

Verdantia coughed, but one of them smirked and continued speaking. "She that branch coiled around the staff? That staff was a Basic Grade Complete Level staff, but after coiling that branch, it jumped directly to the Low Grade."

Cinderielle's eyes flashed for a second and asked. "Oh? Why?"

Verdantia sighed, and her companion spoke. "Because that branch is a D+ Rank branch!"

Cinderielle was petrified on the spot; not even her facial muscles were twitching. 'D-D-D+ Rank!?"

Her friends shook her head. "If she were patient and used it as a base material when she had the resources, who knows what kind of monster weapon she could've created? Sadly, it has already fused with her current staff, so there is nothing we can do."

Verdantia coughed loudly this time and changed the subject. "Anyway, I think it's your turn, Miss Cinderielle."

The Fire Sylvan followed Verdantia's finger and saw that the queue before her had disappeared as they talked. "Oh! Well, let me go and get my first quest." She approached the counter and followed the procedures without problems.

With a smile, she turned around and saw that Verdantia and the others had left. 'Tsk. They could've said goodbye or something.'

Shaking her head, she exited the building when a new notification appeared in her system interface.

[Quest Received: Explore the recent movements in the Golden Sap Forest. Creatures are starting to become more active, and there is a chance of a beast tide.

Completion Condition: Gather enough information to be useful.

Reward: Sylvanium Shards (2), Etherium Shards (10), Ascendium Shards (10)]

Looking at the notification, Cinderielle was baffled for the "n" time today. 'A Sylvan Quest!? My first Quest turned out to be a Sylvan Quest!?''

There were two types of quests in the world.

The first type was regular quests created by creatures, which were the most abundant and weren't registered in the system interface. The rewards were given my real entities, and it was usually done in the local currency or even with items.

For example, a quest about exterminating a plague in a particular house, a quest about hunting for a specific creature, etc. When created, all quests were regular quests.

However, very rarely, there were some quests people dubbed as [Sylvan Quests].

Sylvan Quests were admitted as an official quest by the System, and other than the expected rewards by the one who created it, the person who completed it to the System's satisfaction would receive extra rewards from the System itself.

These rewards were highly varied, from a few coins to extremely rare equipment, to large amounts of experience points, or other kinds of bonuses like permanent attribute increases, potential increases, and many more things.

The number of possible rewards was so vast that even when there was a registry, people added new ones almost daily.

However, the same quest might not trigger for different beings. They were called [Sylvan Quests] because, most of the time, they happened to Sylvans. This was another advantage over other creatures and another reason why extremist groups hated Sylvans just for existing.

If humans had accepted the quest to explore the forest, they would've probably never triggered the Sylvan Quest Cinderielle had.

That didn't mean humans couldn't trigger them, but the conditions were much stricter and more unique. They were called Sylvan quests for a reason.

The rewards Cinderielle had were attractive, as they were the Universal Currencies. Universal currencies worked everywhere because they could be used to create, enhance, or produce varied structures and items.

Between them, Sylvanium Shards were used for all kinds of construction, equipment forging, potion making, and many more. It could be said that, without Sylvanium, their current society wouldn't be able to develop as much as it has, without hurting the environment as little as they did.

Of course, there were other kinds of materials. Still, Sylvans and most humans didn't use them because Sylvanium was much more efficient and valuable and could be used to create basically anything.

Then, the other two currencies she received, Etherium and Ascendium, were used similarly to Sylvanium. But, contrary to Sylvanium's all-encompassing use, these three were used for specific items.

Items that enhanced or used Aether Mana needed Etherium and Sylvanium.

Items that enhanced or used Anima Energy needed Ascendium and Sylvanium.

Of all the items, those that boosted Destiny were the rarest and most extraordinary. More than 99 percent of those in circulation were rewarded by Sylvan Quests in the past, and they were treated like precious babies by those who owned them.

Destiny was a stat that couldn't be changed by regular means, so anything that modified it was extremely precious.

Producing items that used all Universal Currencies was also very complicated, almost impossible because Ascendium, Etherium, Cognium, and Celestium reacted harshly when combined.

If any producer managed to create even one flawed basic-quality item by using all four materials, they would instantly become famous. It was something that almost never happened, though.

So, when Cinderielle saw the rewards of the Quest, her eyebrows shot up with pleasant surprise, and her lips arched.

Before leaving, Cinderielle decided to check her current equipment.

[Level 5 Blazeiron Sword (Basic Rank Complete Level)]

+60 Aether Mana

Aether (10).

[Level 5 Blazeleaf Robe (Basic Rank Complete Level)]

+25 Aether Mana

+90 Phoer

+25 Anima Energy

Aether (+5), Physique (+15), Anima (+5), Willpower (+5).

[Level 5 Blazebark Staff (Basic Rank Flawless Level)]

+90 Aether Mana

+25 Phoer

+25 Anima Energy

Aether (+15), Physique (+5), Anima (+5), Willpower (+5).

Usually, carrying two weapons and one defensive treasure was considered wealthy. Especially if one of them was of flawless quality. To say that Cinderielle was powerfully equipped was an understatement.

This was all thanks to the academy's benefits she had gained, which lent her these items as long as she was a student. 'Well, if I break, lose, or damage them, I will have to pay for reparations from my own pocket. I need to be careful.'

With confidence, Cinderielle left with a caravan toward the forest.