The item resting in Marcus’s hand was none other than the Nine Leaf King Flower, the very treasure he had snatched from the Greedy Demon not long ago. At the time, he had barely spared it a glance. Losing the Pure Mist Cloud Cluster had left him irritated enough that everything else felt meaningless, and the flower’s brutal drawback did not help matters either.

Carrying it reduced movement speed by eighty percent, which made it more of a burden than a reward. So he had simply tossed it into his bag and forgotten about it.

Now, standing high above the Bodhi Grove, Marcus suddenly felt grateful for that careless decision. The Nine Leaf King Flower possessed a rare property. Creatures below Divine Beast rank could not attack anyone holding it. What had once seemed like a disappointing consolation prize was now revealing itself as a lifeline, a quiet glimmer of hope emerging from what had felt like pure loss.

Hopefully, the Stone Grunt Archers below were not Divine Beasts.

Marcus reminded himself not to relax too soon. Even with a powerful item in hand, recklessness was how players died. Safety came first. He guided Blackie through the air toward the First Emperor’s Island inside the Bodhi Grove, quickly resetting his Wanderlust teleport point to the entrance of Mystic Turtle’s Tomb Level Four. Only after securing an escape route did he circle back, hovering once again above the massive Bodhi Stone.

Below him, the Stone Grunt Archers had already stopped searching. They wandered lazily around the stone as if nothing had happened, their patrol loose and unguarded, completely unaware that the thief they had chased earlier had returned.

’Perfect.’

Marcus inhaled slowly and shook the Nine Leaf King Flower in his hand. Pale white light drifted from its petals, accompanied by a faint, almost sacred fragrance that spread through the air. He felt no physical change himself, but the system confirmed what mattered.

Ding!

[Stonehaven, you are surrounded by the fragrance of the Nine Leaf King Flower.]

Instantly, his speed plummeted.

The world seemed to thicken around him. Even at full effort, moving felt like wading through invisible syrup. Every motion dragged, every step stretched unnaturally long. The flower had roughly ten minutes of effect remaining. The Bodhi Stone lay less than two hundred meters away. If the item truly concealed him from the Stone Grunt Archers, that was more than enough time.

Still, the slowness was agonizing.

He pushed forward anyway. A hundred meters took more than a minute to cross, and Marcus almost laughed at how absurd it felt. Of course it was slow. Eighty percent reduction meant exactly what it sounded like. Yet despite the painful pace, the archers showed no reaction whatsoever.

No alarms. No sudden turns. No arrows flying toward him.

Ninety meters.

Seventy.

Fifty.

They continued wandering casually, utterly unaware. No ambush, and no hidden mechanic. The flower was working exactly as advertised.

Realization hit him all at once, followed by a surge of excitement that washed away days of frustration. The Nine Leaf King Flower was incredible. His trade with the Greedy Demon had not merely broken even. It had turned into outrageous profit.

The Well of Earth’s Divine Water suddenly felt within reach.

Greed stirred uncontrollably in his chest as he advanced. At this pace, he would reach the Bodhi Stone in under two minutes. After that, he could repeat the same method at the Well of Earth. And then the Stone Milk Sacred Cave. The Stone Milk Nectar there had driven him away before he even understood what guarded it, but now the situation was completely different.

Soon enough, that nectar would simply vanish without explanation. A quiet, mischievous chuckle slipped from his lips.

Sometimes you had to be a little shameless. Not evil, just clever. Crafty enough to take opportunities when the world handed them to you.

Twenty meters.

Ten.

Five.

Marcus stood almost shoulder to shoulder with the Stone Grunt Archers now. One of them passed so close he could have touched its armor. He even lifted a hand in a silent greeting, amused by the absurdity of standing invisible beside enemies powerful enough to kill him instantly.

Part of him wanted to jump right in front of one just to see its reaction.

He resisted the urge.

Instead, he slipped past them, stepped up to the Bodhi Stone, and grabbed it without hesitation.

Ding!

[Congratulations, player Stonehaven. You have obtained the Divine grade item, Bodhi Stone. Reputation +500. Gold coins +5000.]

’Success.’

The moment the system announcement finished, Marcus felt the change. Just like when he had taken the Pure Mist Cloud Cluster, the Nine Leaf King Flower’s concealment vanished the instant he performed a direct action. The white glow faded. The fragrance dispersed. His body reappeared beside the now missing treasure.

The Stone Grunt Archers turned simultaneously, and there he stood, Bodhi Stone in hand.

"What...?!"

One archer froze in shock, eyes wide enough to nearly fall out of its skull. But Mythic Beasts were not slow to react. The creature recovered instantly, drawing its bow while charging forward. Behind it, Golden Stone Grunt Knights urged their mounts into motion, heavy footsteps shaking the ground as they rushed him.

Unfortunately for them, Marcus had already anticipated this exact moment.

The instant the Bodhi Stone entered his inventory, he was moving.

"Wanderlust!"

He stuffed the stone into his bag and activated the skill just as the archer pulled its bowstring tight.

"See ya."

A black arrow began to leave the bow, but the light of Wanderlust swallowed Marcus first. He even had time to flash a quick wave before his figure dissolved into teleportation light, leaving the pursuing Mythic Beasts staring at empty air, stunned and furious.

A flash later, Marcus reappeared on the First Emperor’s Island within the Bodhi Grove. He grinned openly now, the expression of someone who had just pulled off a flawless heist. His eyes drifted immediately toward the nearby Well of Earth as he prepared to repeat the process.

Then the system notification arrived.

Ding!

[Stonehaven. You have stolen the Bodhi Stone from the Mystic Turtle’s Tomb. The tomb’s guardian, the Shadowstone Windracer, will now pursue you using the stone’s energy.]

Marcus blinked.

Of course there was a guardian.

Without wasting even a heartbeat, he kicked Blackie forward and shot into the air toward the Well of Earth. Speed mattered now. If he could secure the Divine Water before the guardian arrived, the risk would be worth it.

He had barely crossed above the wooden bridge when a sharp pressure descended from behind.

The Shadowstone Windracer appeared almost instantly, gliding through the sky with terrifying speed, wings slicing through the air as it locked onto him.

’That was fast.’

Marcus’s stomach dropped. Mythic Beast mobility was on an entirely different level. At this rate, he was not even certain he could reach the Well of Earth before being caught.

But retreat was not an option.

His heart pounded violently as adrenaline surged through him. He tightened his grip, eyes fixed ahead.

"Wraith!"

Every speed boost he possessed activated at once. Blackie surged forward under him, accelerating like a launched missile as Marcus raced toward the Well of Earth, gambling everything on reaching it before the Shadowstone Windracer closed the distance.