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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 16
Chapter Title: Moonview Cave
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Early evening.
Dusk began to faintly color the ground.
I leaped across the continuous stretch of rocky terrain, moving swiftly.
"Squeal!"
Thorn boars lingering on the mountainside would occasionally charge at me.
"Don't get in my way."
*Shred!*
With my elongated nails, I slashed at the thorn boar's weak point.
Blood sprayed into the air.
My current stats were comparable to those of a level 70 player.
Though, with almost no item bonuses, my actual combat power was probably around level 50.
For the tutorial stage, these were overwhelming specs.
[Predation has been used.]
I didn't forget to use Predation on the fallen thorn boar.
I had already collected all the essences I needed, but the [Heart of the Dragon] effect slowly accumulated my magic power stat.
The increase was minuscule, less than 0.1 points.
But as they say, even dust can become a mountain if you gather enough of it, right?
After a few more battles, the mountain peak shimmered into view.
I walked up the gentle slope and reached the summit.
"The sky is beautiful."
A sky as dark as black ink dissolving in water.
The full moon began to assert its presence, slowly pushing back the darkness.
A full moon.
Instead of its usual gentle glow, an intense blue light drove away the darkness as it began to rise into the sky.
The brilliant light soon dyed even my retinas blue.
The Blue Moon.
A moon of immense magical power began to rise.
[You have witnessed the Blue Moon.]
[For tonight, your mana recovery speed is increased by 50%.]
As I faced the moonlight directly, the buff was applied.
An incredible buff that more than offset the penalty of Emirate Mountain!
Well, not that it means anything to me.
'The important thing is that I've confirmed it's the Blue Moon.'
I grinned and looked down.
There are two paths to the summit of Emirate Mountain.
The south—a gentle path.
The north—a sheer cliff.
Though there were technically two, the northern cliff was so steep it was nearly impossible to climb without proper rock-climbing gear.
*Tuk.* A stone I kicked with my foot tumbled over the cliff.
The pebble vanished from sight moments after it fell.
If I were to fall from this cliff, I'd end up just like that, wouldn't I?
But now, I had to descend this very cliff.
The discovery of Laurent the explorer.
Following the [Forgotten Temple], he had found another one of Rainbow Island's hidden elements.
A fact that would be revealed five years from now.
Sorry, but I'll be the one to make use of this first.
[Ultrasound has been used.]
[Reading the terrain structure within a 100-meter radius.]
With Ultrasound active, I stepped onto the cliff.
An incline of nearly ninety degrees.
One wrong step, and I would plummet a thousand meters.
Well, I gathered all those essences precisely for a situation like this.
[Sharp Claws has been used.]
I even reinforced my elongated nails with mana and plunged them into the rock.
The nails sank about ten centimeters deep.
With this, I could regain my balance even if my foot slipped.
'I had an ace up my sleeve.'
Hehehe.
I chuckled in satisfaction and began my descent down the cliff.
* * *
An endless cliff.
I made full use of my reinforced nails as I descended.
The moment I let my guard down or lost focus, I'd fall to the depths below, wouldn't I?
That Laurent fellow, he must have been brave to even think of climbing a cliff like this.
Even for me, who had raised my stats by consuming various essences, the cliffs of Emirate Mountain demanded my full attention.
And yet, Laurent the explorer had descended this cliff without overwhelming stats or skills.
I'd heard that even before being invited to the Tower, he had spent his time rock climbing and exploring remote areas.
He supposedly brought related equipment with him when he joined the tutorial.
'He must have found the hidden place because he was that kind of eccentric.'
How far down had I gone?
[Ultrasound] detected an indentation.
I moved my arms and legs cautiously, heading toward the hollowed-out area.
A crevice from which a blue light was leaking.
Sweating profusely, I continued on and soon reached my destination.
"Phew, I thought I was going to die."
I gasped for air, inhaling and exhaling as if screaming.
The moment my feet touched level ground, the tension gripping my entire body melted away like snow.
Even before my regression, I had rarely been this tense.
It's an experience I wouldn't want to repeat.
[Your current location is the Moonview Cave.]
[You are the first to discover the Moonview Cave in the tutorial stage. Magic Power increases by 5.]
A portion of the light lingering on the surface of the Moonview Cave seeped into my body.
Ahh, this is why I can't afford to miss any hidden elements.
"I found it."
I walked into the cave without hesitation.
The structure of the Moonview Cave was simple.
A straight passage.
Walking straight ahead led to a fifty-meter-wide cavern.
No monsters, traps, treasures, or hidden quests, you ask?
'Nope, nothing.'
A cave that greets the moon.
That's all the name implies.
I took the Moonstones from my pocket and walked around the cavern.
*Clink. Clink.* One by one, the Moonstones were placed on the cavern floor.
Only after arranging the thirty-two Moonstones I had purchased from the trading post in a circle did I sit down comfortably on the floor.
'Now that the setup is done, let's rest a bit.'
I had done everything I needed to.
All that was left was to wait for the full moon to rise to its highest point.
[A visitor has appeared in the Moonview Cave.]
[The Blue Moon is reacting to the visitor's wavelength.]
[The cave is preparing to greet the moon.]
*Rumble!*
The cave ceiling split in half and slid open to either side.
Moonlight streamed through the gap.
Through the open ceiling, the perfect full moon positioned itself above the Moonview Cave.
At that moment, the blue light enveloping the Blue Moon poured into the cave like a waterfall.
'Wow, what a sight.'
I clicked my tongue in amazement.
I reached out with my right hand to caress the moonlight.
Despite being formless mana and light, it had a soft texture that tickled my fingertips like the edge of a blanket.
A phenomenon where mana, condensed beyond its limit, becomes tangible.
The energy of the Blue Moon, brimming with immense mana, filled the Moonview Cave.
*Vwoom—!* The Moonstones I had placed on the floor resonated with the light of the Blue Moon.
The Moonstones levitated in place.
Soon, they began to absorb the streams of light that filled the Moonview Cave.
'Good. So far, it's just as I heard.'
Laurent the explorer was the one who discovered the Moonview Cave, right?
But looking at the results, it was only half a discovery.
The immense mana gathered in the Blue Moon would pour into the cave, but it didn't actually grant players any buffs or blessings.
'The secret of the Moonstones was probably revealed around 2037.'
Laurent started climbing the Tower of Babel in 2030, so the cave's secret was revealed seven years after that.
After about ten minutes, the Blue Moon began to move westward.
"Phew, my heart is pounding."
The strange phenomenon that occurred in the Moonview Cave.
Before my regression, I had only heard about it, never witnessed it myself.
With a trembling heart, I picked up a Moonstone.
[Moonview Stone]
Grade: Unique [U]
Type: Consumable
A Moonstone that has fully absorbed the energy of the Blue Moon.
The Moonview Stone is imbued with powerful mana. Consuming it can enhance Magic Power or Internal Energy.
*Can be consumed once every 15 days.
"Ha, haha."
I collapsed onto the floor.
After checking the item details, the strength left my legs.
I was so happy I wanted to scream, but I held it in.
Moonview Stones.
I had obtained thirty-two Unique-grade elixirs.
* * *
The Moonview Stone is a rare elixir.
It can only be obtained on Rainbow Island.
And if the timing of the Blue Moon cycle is off, you can't even attempt to get it during that round.
After the hidden secret of the Moonview Cave was revealed, various guilds trained their prospects even more rigorously to secure the Moonview Stones.
'Unique-grade elixirs aren't so rare that one would go to such lengths for them, though.'
As you climb the Tower, you can sometimes get [Legendary] or [Transcendent] grade elixirs as rewards.
Compared to those, the Moonview Stone's effects were weaker.
So why would major guilds go so far as to nurture prospects and stake their lives on obtaining Moonview Stones?
The reason is...
'An elixir that enhances Internal Energy.'
Internal Energy is a stat related to martial arts.
Elixirs related to Magic Power often appear as rewards in the Tower.
But elixirs that enhance Internal Energy were not only few in number, but also much more difficult to obtain.
Ah, now that I think about it, martial arts are probably looked down upon at this point in time.
'When was it that martial arts-related traits started getting a second look?'
Among the players, there were some who awakened traits that synergized with [Martial Arts].
But for a very long time, those with martial arts-related traits were treated as non-mainstream.
To use martial arts, you first have to learn a Heart Art. Without learning some kind of Heart Art, the [Internal Energy] stat won't even be created.
And that's not all.
Unlike Magic Power, the Internal Energy stat is incredibly difficult to control.
If you fail to manage it, you can suffer internal injuries, and in severe cases, even fall into a status effect called Qi Deviation!
'Still, if you manage to master it, you become incredibly strong.'
It would be a long time before players who learned martial arts started getting noticed.
This time, that era might arrive a little sooner.
Because of me.
'After learning a suitable Heart Art, I'll use the Moonview Stones to rapidly increase my Internal Energy.'
[Heart of the Dragon] only increases Magic Power.
Internal Energy has to be built up separately by practicing a Heart Art.
The hidden element of Emirate Mountain, the Moonview Stones, will be a great help in enhancing my Internal Energy.
I gathered the Moonview Stones from the floor.
I had secured all the fortuitous encounters available in the Moonview Cave.
Now it's time to go and prey on other essences.
The way back was much better than the way here.
The ceiling had opened to accept the light of the Blue Moon.
If you looked closely, you could see a staircase, wide enough for one person, located in the gap.
'Guess whoever designed this had at least a shred of conscience.'
[Agile Hind Legs has been used.]
I kicked off the cave floor and leaped upward.
Grabbing the stairs with my right hand, I steadied myself and slowly climbed up.
This path was just as steep, but having places to put my feet made it worlds easier than scaling the cliff face.
'And to think I was sweating buckets on the way down.'
I feel a little cheated.
Once I emerged from the crevice, I was back on the summit of Emirate Mountain.
The moment I stepped away, the path to the Moonview Cave closed and vanished without a trace.
'I've gotten everything I can from Emirate Mountain.'
I looked to the northeast.
Thanks to the light of the Blue Moon, I could easily see the landscape of that region.
The forest region.
Looking at my next destination, I clenched my fist tightly.