Brand New Life Online: Rise Of The Goddess Of Harvest

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“Hey, sleepyhead, where have you been?” Elayne asked.

“I’ve been conserving my energy,” Gardenia replied. “But now you’ve grown so strong I don’t need to sleep as much! You have far more Spiritual Energy for me to move freely, and your stats… wow! What have you been doing in just one week?”

“Well, a lot!” Elayne giggled.

As she chatted with Gardenia, Chalk couldn’t help growing curious about the Great Spirit’s presence and who—or what—Gardenia truly was.

“Excuse me, Elayne, but who is this creature?” Chalk asked.

“Creature?! I am a Great Spirit!” Gardenia snapped, bristling with indignation.

Chalk raised an eyebrow. “Spirits? They don’t exist here the way they do in the Living World. I’ve never seen anything like you. What are you, strange being?”

“I already told you, I am a Great Spirit, you brainless—”

Elayne swiftly covered Gardenia’s mouth before she could finish. “Sorry about her. She has quite the temperament. She’s a Spirit that came with me when I died. She resides inside my soul.”

“Wow, that’s incredible,” Chalk said. “Spirits usually cannot survive in the Netherworld. Whenever one tries to enter, they perish within days or weeks, depending on their strength. They simply cannot exist here.”

“Hm, truly remarkable,” Blank added. “I assume this has something to do with your Spiritual Heart, correct?”

“Indeed, it’s thanks to that that she can thrive,” Elayne nodded.

“Well, that’s honestly quite impressive,” Blank said.

“Yeah! It’s amazing,” Chalk agreed. “Do you have any more Spirits?”

“I do, but they’ll take some time to appear,” Elayne answered, choosing not to elaborate further. “Anyway, are we getting closer?”

“Yes,” Blank replied. “Almost there.”

Thanks to the ghostly carriage—a brilliant invention of the White Ghost Race, who blended necromancy with alchemy to craft spectral vehicles and gadgets—they reached White Tooth Mountain in mere minutes.

The journey took only fifteen minutes, and the view was breathtaking. Everyone gazed in quiet awe at the vast lands stretching below, the endless expanse beyond the city, and the immense Labyrinth Region that resembled a colossal cavern.

The carriage descended slowly and landed safely in a designated area where several others were already stationed. Blank placed a small rune on the carriage and stepped away.

“Shall we go inside then?” he asked. “I never thought this would turn into such a large group, but well, it’s better than nothing.”

The entrance to White Tooth Mountain was narrow and long, but it posed no difficulty for them. Once they reached the true interior entrance, they stepped into a vast cave of gleaming white stone, illuminated by luminous mushrooms and glowing crystals.

No wandering adventurers or gatherers disturbed the silence. The cavern felt empty, serene, theirs alone to explore.

“All right, let’s go, everyone.”

Elayne stepped inside first, marveling at the unique white stone and the strange mushrooms and plants scattered throughout.

As she looked at them, the System promptly identified each one.

[Abyssal Tooth Mushroom]: [Hard as stone and inedible. Dry and disgusting. Excellent material for building sturdy houses.]

[White Tentacled Algae]: [Plant-like creature resembling white tentacled algae. Snares prey and slowly drains their juices. Juicy and crispy yet disgusting in flavor and poisonous to most.]

[Scarlet Moss]: [Red moss born from corpses and blood. Feeds on passing monsters or adventurers, tainting their bodies red. Tastes like the blood it consumes. Poisonous.]

[Crystal Cap Mushroom]: [Crystal-capped mushroom. Inedible and hard as crystal. Can be planted to grow crystals infused with the energy present in the soil. The crystals glow with various lights.]

As Elayne examined these new species of “plants” and “mushrooms,” she immediately recognized their incredible potential. If bred and modified over time in her farms, they could become invaluable.

The Abyssal Tooth Mushroom could provide sturdy building materials, yet with enough selective breeding, its stone-like flesh might soften and become edible.

The White Tentacled Algae, grown in rivers rich with spiritual energy and nutrients, could turn sweet and delicious.

The Scarlet Moss might serve as a fine salad ingredient—if fed the blood of powerful Nether beasts, it could develop a truly exquisite flavor.

And the Crystal Cap Mushroom seemed perfect for cultivating custom crystals on a large scale. No one had ever discovered how to farm these, so few realized the mushroom’s astonishing possibilities.

“If I infuse spiritual energy, could they grow into spirit mushrooms?!” she wondered, gasping at the sudden revelation. She began gathering every specimen she could find, collecting with frantic excitement.

Lost in her fervor, Elayne wandered farther and farther from the group.

“Aha, got this one!”

She scaled the wall and plucked a large crystal mushroom, carefully storing its deep, stone-like roots as well.

“Perfect. With these, I’ll have enough to start a small farm for each type,” she muttered, finally noticing the silence around her. “Uh… I think I’m lost? I should head back.”

She retraced her steps quickly, extending her Spiritual Senses to locate the others. They weren’t far.

She detected a powerful source of life force to her left and hurried toward it, assuming it was Blank.

It wasn’t Blank.

“Eh?”

“Grrrr…?”

In the center of the cave loomed a massive, grotesque creature: a writhing mass of black spheres studded with glowing red eyes and long, spider-like legs.

[Great Cavity Germ Beast (Tier 2): Level 119]: [A fearsome beast of the White Tooth Mountain Caverns. Recently evolved into a Tier 2 Beast.]

“Ah…”

In the Netherworld, beasts were ranked by Tiers that roughly corresponded to the Classes of people.

Of course, Skills, Runes, Soul Relics, and raw Stats could still create significant differences.

Even so, a Tier 2 Beast was a deadly threat!

“GRAAAAHHH!”

The beast roared and charged in an instant. Its legs shook the cavern as it barreled toward her, massive as a tank. Elayne refused to meet it head-on. She leaped aside with desperate speed just before it could crush her.

CRASH!

The monster slammed into the wall behind her, shattering stone and sending huge boulders tumbling over its back. It shook itself violently, undeterred.

“Harvest of Duality!”

FLASH!

In a heartbeat, she targeted every surrounding plant and the beast itself. Black and golden energies surged toward her. Her current limit was modest, within her, the “sphere” where she could store this energy was only roughly the size of a large watermelon.

But it was more than enough.

The beast staggered as the draining attack weighed it down, its movements growing sluggish and unsteady. Confusion and panic flickered in its many red eyes as it struggled to comprehend what had struck it.

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