Ignoring the bargaining going on between the hunter and the cat, the Admiral picked up the wooden tray and examined it closely.
On the tray lay two bunches of peculiarly shaped fruit. Their appearance was indeed very similar to ordinary grapes, but unlike regular grapes, these fruits displayed a translucent, crystalline blue color.
Under the glare of the midday sun, the surface of the fruit didn't reflect any harsh light. Instead, faint, wispy tendrils of white, frosty mist drifted upward from them. They didn't look like any plant fruit grown naturally in the wild; rather, they resembled beautiful works of art carved from solid ice by a master craftsman.
"Well, the price is certainly a bit exaggerated, but looking at them, they almost seem worth it," the Admiral said, scratching his chin. "They're actually freezing to the touch, and quite hard, like stone. Are these really edible?"
Cornered by the Admiral's imposing gaze, the Nether-marked Grimalkyne's eyes began to dart around guiltily. Its voice grew uncertain as it scratched its head. "Uh... probably... they should be edible, meow?"
"'Probably'?!" Aiden cried out, his eyes widening in shock. He had already plucked an ice crystal grape, and if the cat had spoken any slower, he would have popped it right into his mouth.
What if it was poisonous?!
Everyone knew that even the plants in the New World were full of nasty surprises these days. Just tasting terrible was considered merciful.
"Don't worry, meow! I ate several bunches myself when I was harvesting them, meow!" As if to prove its point, the Nether-marked Grimalkyne thumped its chest proudly and declared loudly, "Look at me! I'm still standing here, alive and kicking, meow! So they're definitely safe to eat, meow!"
"So that's your testing method!" Erin lost her composure completely. Not even a glutton like her would do something so reckless. She pointed at the death-defying cat and scolded, "Don't gamble with your life like that! What if you ate something toxic and died?!"
"It's fine, meow," the Nether-marked Grimalkyne waved off her concern dismissively with a laugh. "The forest is completely chaotic right now, meow. New and bizarre things pop up every day, meow. If there was any real danger, it wouldn't be my turn to eat it, meow."
"You sure are reckless," Aiden muttered, rolling his eyes once he was reasonably sure the fruit wasn't poisonous. He finally tossed the grape-like object into his mouth—Crunch!
"So crunchy! Whoa, it's freezing!! My teeth hurt!!"
An incident of a grape biting back.
Chomping down, Aiden let out a sudden cry of pain. It didn't feel like his teeth were sinking into soft skin and flesh at all; instead, there was a sharp, distinct cracking sound, as if he had bitten through a piece of ultra-crispy fried food.
But before Aiden could fully register it, an incredibly rich, intensely sweet-and-sour juice erupted from within the crunchy shell, instantly flooding his entire mouth. It was a mystery how such a tiny fruit could hold so much liquid.
The temperature was extraordinarily low, no different from shoving a whole block of ice straight into his mouth. The numbing chill spread down the back of his tongue, proving too much for even a hardy hunter's teeth to handle, freezing them to the point of pure ache.
"Is this—is this normal?!" Aiden exclaimed in shock, clutching his jaw. "It's still summer, right?! It hasn't even snowed in the Ancient Forest, so why is it this cold?!"
"Hehe, who knows, meow?" The Nether-marked Grimalkyne possessed a bit of a mischievous streak. Seeing Aiden get a little pranked clearly delighted it; its eyes crinkled into slits, and it couldn't mask its snickering even while covering its mouth. "Tastes good, right, meow?"
As the discoverer of this fruit, it still brought the creature joy to see someone appreciate what it had found.
"Yeah!" Aiden nodded at lightning speed. He chewed a few more times frantically before swallowing the remaining pulp, praising it without hesitation. "I was definitely startled at first because the temperature is insanely low, but once you get used to it, it's incredibly delicious! Crunchy and bouncy! Everyone, don't just stand there watching, give it a try! It's absolutely worth the 2,000 Zenny!"
Without needing another prompt, seeing Aiden eat with such gusto—where even his freezing shivers couldn't hide his look of pure enjoyment—the accompanying hunters found their curiosity piqued. They gathered around to sample the fruit, and with everyone taking a few berries, the tray was cleared in no time.
"It really is delicious." True to her nature as a professional Guildmarm, Sophia habitually pondered over why the fruit turned out this way as she chewed. "The blue appearance isn't surprising—almost all lifeforms corrupted by Nether-attribute energy look like this. But how does it maintain such a low temperature for so long after being harvested? Hey, shopkeeper meow, how long ago did you pick these?"
"Hmm... probably about half a day ago, meow?" The Nether-marked Grimalkyne furrowed its brows as it recalled.
"Was there a lot of ice where you picked it? Or perhaps any ice-element monsters nearby?"
"No, meow. Right off a tree, meow. It was very warm, meow."
"That's quite bizarre, then... There are absolutely no conditions for a low-temperature environment. Could it be another inexplicable mutation caused by Nether-attribute energy?" Sophia sighed deeply. "Researching things nowadays is just too difficult; everything defies logic."
"Oh, Sophia, don't think about those dry topics right now! We're at a festival, we should be having fun!" Erin's mouth was already stuffed full of ice crystal grapes. It was as if she couldn't feel the cold at all; aside from her slurred speech due to her overfilled mouth, she showed no signs of discomfort whatsoever. "With the current drastic ecological changes, finding a fruit that isn't bitter, astringent, or poisonous is no small feat. Shopkeeper meow, where exactly did you find these?"
"Meow?!" Erin's question instantly made the Nether-marked Grimalkyne—who had been basking in the joy of making a profit—bristle its fur. It glared at the hunters warily. "Why are you asking that, meow?!"
"This is a treasure I worked so hard to find, meow! It's my cash cow, meow! I'm not telling you anything, meow!"
Talk about being protective.
"Whoa, calm down, she didn't mean it that way," Aiden quickly explained. "It was just casual curiosity. If you don't want to say, that's perfectly fine."
"Hmph, bad guys, meow!" The Nether-marked Grimalkyne remained puffed up with anger. "The forest is full of new things right now, meow! If you want some, find them yourselves, meow! Don't try to steal my treasure, meow!"
Realizing they weren't on the same page, the Nether-marked Grimalkyne simply bundled the coins given by the hunters into a cloth pack, slung it over its back, and gave a powerful kick with its robust hind legs. In just a couple of bounds, it vanished into the canopy above, rendering the hunters' shouts and attempts to stop it completely useless.
"Wow, it runs fast," one of the hunters said, lowering his hand helplessly. "It feels like the Grimalkynes aren't as simple and pure as they used to be... It's almost like this fellow has some kind of trauma regarding this. Isn't it being a bit too paranoid?"
"I—I really wasn't trying to pry into its secret!" Seeing her companions looking at her with teasing glints in their eyes, Erin's face instantly flushed red as she defended herself. "I was just a little curious! It's research! This is part of the Elder Dragon investigation!"
"Mhm, right, we get it."
"Don't worry, we understand completely."
"No, you don't understand at all!" Erin huffed, growing a bit flustered.
"Alright, alright, knock it off," the Admiral interrupted their banter. "Let's deliver our gifts to the Azure Star Dragon first. There will be plenty of time to fool around later."
"Right!"
The group continued pushing their cart along the path toward the top of the giant tree. On both sides, Nether-marked Grimalkynes were everywhere, either cooking up delicious food or hawking their wares. A quick glance revealed countless rare and bizarre items, leaving one to wonder where these Grimalkynes had managed to unearth them all.
Putting racial differences aside, the sheer bustling energy of the Glavenus Tribe briefly made the Admiral feel as though he had returned to the Capital of the Old World. In his memory, only major cities like the Capital boasted such dense crowds—except the primary residents here were Lynians, not humans.
Times had changed. The Glavenus Tribe was no longer the weak faction it once was. Since the entire tribe had evolved into Nether-marked Grimalkynes, they were essentially a nation of warriors, and small monsters could no longer pose any threat to them.
If nothing else, despite the current perils in the Ancient Forest and the wars of extinction raging everywhere, none of the newly formed Lynian tribes dared to provoke the Glavenus Tribe's patrols.
The patrols, riding atop Jagras, were as unstoppable as divine soldiers descending from the heavens. Wherever they passed, the primitive tribes scattered in panic—simply because these patrol members would genuinely deal lethal blows to ensure the safety of their own kin.
This was also something that many members of the Research Commission—especially the Felynes among them—found rather difficult to accept. They were shocked to discover that their distant relatives in the New World were a bit too ruthless. The Glavenus Tribe was an active participant in these tribal wars, having completely wiped out an untold number of newly emerged species.
In the eyes of ordinary Felynes—and even Prowlers, who underwent specialized combat training—these Grimalkynes felt like bloodthirsty, crazed felines. It was truly terrifying to behold.
Precisely because they showed absolutely no mercy to anyone who dared harm their people, the new Lynian tribes surrounding the Glavenus Tribe had settled down, allowing the ordinary Grimalkynes to enjoy a peaceful living environment.
Yet, defeating such opponents brought no pride to the Glavenus Tribe. In fact, long before Asterion had settled down with them, even average large monsters were no match for the tribe. There was absolutely no need for Mirrorblade or Kulve Taroth to intervene; the numerous and well-coordinated Chosen Warriors alone could slaughter any beast that dared threaten their kin.
After successfully hunting large monsters multiple times, the Nether-marked Grimalkynes built up immense confidence. They no longer restricted their activities to the giant tree where the main tribe resided. As their population swelled, various structures of the Glavenus Tribe sprawled out across the surrounding areas, gradually taking on the silhouette of a proper city.
"...It's literally like something out of a fairy tale," Erin murmured, looking around and marveling at the scenery before her.
Walking along, the hunters couldn't take their eyes off their surroundings; everything they saw was utterly dreamlike.
The ground beneath their feet was no longer muddy soil, but a clean, smooth road paved with neatly cut blocks of Nether-crystal. Walking on it produced a crisp clicking sound, and the hardness of these crystals was remarkable—even with the hunters marching in heavy steel boots, they couldn't leave a single scratch on the surface.
In the hunters' past memories, the building materials the Grimalkynes used to construct their homes had always been rough wooden planks covered in yellowish-brown bark. Now, however, those traditional wooden huts had entirely vanished.
The giant tree itself and the surrounding arboreal structures had undergone a fundamental transformation. Their branches interconnected to form a massive network. Amidst the rustling leaves, the dwellings built by the Nether-marked Grimalkynes were revealed—some hung like crystal baskets, while others clung directly to the surface of the trunks.
Countless rope-like walkways crisscrossed overhead, and every now and then, a few Nether-marked Grimalkynes could be seen scurrying across them. Underneath one of the ropes, the Admiral even spotted a handicraft from Astera—an Old World-style lantern hanging gracefully in place.
At a glance, these houses were made from planks of crystallized wood, making the entire Glavenus Tribe dazzle like some sort of magnificent crystal palace.
"It seems our old friends gave their home quite a makeover during the lockdown," the Admiral remarked cheerfully. "It's certainly a lot more beautiful than before."
"But don't materials rich in Nether-attribute energy glow in the dark?" one of the hunters chimed in. "With things that bright, can they actually get any sleep?"
"Hard to say," Sophia said, shaking her head. "Don't forget that they are now lifeforms living in symbiosis with Nether-attribute energy. They are completely different from us. What might be impossible for us to adapt to could very well be a luxury to them."
"Well, that's true," Aiden said, scratching his head. "They're incredibly capable. This has got to be the first city entirely built by Lynians, right? We've never seen anything like this back in the Old World."
"Well, the Old World has a massive human population," a nearby hunter noted, curiously tapping a wooden hut by the roadside. "Huh, this is different from that fruit. It doesn't feel like wood anymore, but it's pretty close to stone."
"Don't just touch things randomly. Careful, or they might make you pay damages."
Much like Granny Liu entering the Grand View Garden, the hunters gaped and exclaimed all the way to the very summit of the giant tree—the lair of Asterion.
The lair, which had remained vacant for years without a dragon, finally welcomed back its master. Countless clusters of Nether-crystals grew outward from the depths of the den. The hunters even spotted a few Grimalkynes holding massive shears, looking utterly exasperated as they trimmed the sharp crystalline growths to make them look a bit tidier.