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The inside of the tree was a completely different world.

Although it didn’t appear so big from the outside, as they entered inside, a vast space opened up.

This was the sanctuary of the fairies.

“Hmm.”

As soon as they entered, the first thing that greeted Ethan was a strong scent.

The further they went inside following the Elder Fairy, the stronger the scent became.

‘It’s an extremely pungent smell. It carries the distinct odor of a potent poison.’

Ethan could discern the identity of the person who created this poison just by smelling it.

‘It’s him.’

He had suffered quite severely from it, and from his experience with various toxins, he had never encountered a scent like this except from that specific poison.

As they continued further inside, a massive chamber appeared.

The door was open, and the ornate decorations on the door indicated that this was the chamber of the Fairy Queen.

As they entered, a horrifying sight greeted them.

“Ughhh.”

“W-what is this!?”

The forest keeper exclaimed in dismay at the sight of the horror.

The Elder Fairy directed a beam of light toward the forest keeper’s head.

“Eugh.”

As if being struck by a powerful blow, the forest keeper recoiled backward.

“Be quiet, forest keeper. Do you want to die?”

“Is this where the Fairy Queen lies?”

Yerica asked.

There was something lying on the bed made of giant leaves. It wasn’t in the shape of a fairy. It was just a lifeless lump.

A pungent stench filled the air.

The leaves, which should have been green, had turned pitch black where the queen lay.

It was unmistakably not the form of a living being.

“Yes.”

The Elder Fairy confirmed firmly.

“The one lying there is our queen.”

The countless fairies who had entered together had equally grim expressions.

Even the Elder Fairy couldn’t approach any closer to the queen beyond introducing her as their queen.

“This is…”

The condition was severe.

Yerica had a considerably high magic resistance, but even she couldn’t gather the courage to approach closely.

It wasn’t simply a result of magic.

It was a powerful poison combined with magic that had caused her to be in such a state. Approaching carelessly could lead to getting poisoned and dying together.

However, Ethan didn’t hesitate and approached without fear.

“……!”

“E-Ethan!”

“Ethan.”

After the fairies, both the forest guardian and Yerica also tried to restrain Ethan. However, Ethan paid no attention and continued forward.

His determined figure silenced the fairies in their place.

The Fairy Queen had done countless things for the fairies.

She never hesitated and dedicated her entire being to the forest.

Yet, even though she had been such a queen, due to the fear of the danger of approaching her in her poisoned state, proper measures were not taken.

It was deeply embarrassing and against the principles of morality.

The fairies felt a mixture of emotions but were immensely grateful to Ethan.

-The fairies feel immense gratitude towards you.

-Survival probability increases.

-You have achieved an achievement!

-You have received ‘1’ like.

There were achievements that could be accomplished with simple actions alone.

‘If I can properly heal her, I can achieve one more achievement.’

There were achievements that could be obtained by helping each race.

‘My survival probability is steadily increasing.’

First, Ethan examined the condition of the Fairy Queen.

Since she was completely decomposed, there was nothing to examine, but he first smelled the stench.

Then, he carefully examined her, searching for her face.

‘This is her face.’

And below was her body. It was much larger than regular fairies.

-Extremely toxic!

-You have been poisoned.

-Abnormal condition: Poisoned state.

-Gourmet trait is activated.

-Damage is reduced due to resistance.

Ethan immediately stepped back.

He had only been close enough to inhale for a moment, and yet he was already poisoned. Fortunately, thanks to the Gourmet trait, there was no major issue.

It was clear that the condition was severe enough for the fairies to fear it.

“She’s poisoned. And it’s an incredibly strong toxin. When did her condition become like this?”

In response to his question, the Elder Fairy answered.

“It’s been about a month. She suddenly collapsed.”

“Suddenly? That’s unlikely.”

As Ethan spoke as if he knew something, the Elder Fairy sighed heavily.

“There was a witness. But she went insane. She turned into a corrupted fairy. So we imprisoned her.”

“I need to hear the full story properly.”

The Elder Fairy pondered for a moment.

“I guess it’s okay to leave the queen as she is.”

“…I understand. I’ll follow your lead. Please cure our queen.”

The Elder Fairy gently touched the spot where Ethan was hit and spoke.

“We can’t simply cure her. There are conditions.”

* * *

Ethan first obtained various ingredients from the fairies.

He planned to use them to create an antidote.

‘Oh, these are blue Itka leaves.’

Ethan’s mouth slightly opened.

Blue Itka leaves were incredibly rare herbs. They were not as valuable as the 200-year-old Lecard essence, but still, they were highly sought after and could even be auctioned in the black market.

Perhaps because they were fairies, they had a significant amount of these precious herbs.

‘I absolutely need these.’

Ethan said so and put numerous herbs directly into his personal subspace pouch. Of course, these herbs were not needed to create the antidote.

After procuring the herbs, Ethan collected toxins from the decaying tree and the fairy queen. Then he opened the Donguibogam.

-The toxins already recorded in the Donguibogam are included.

-Successfully analyzed the toxins due to the included ones!

-Cockatrice and scorpion’s extreme venom will be recorded in the Donguibogam.

“This is crazy.”

It was a mixture of various toxins based on cockatrice and scorpion venom. Fortunately, Ethan had already recorded the toxins in the Donguibogam during a previous trial.

-Analyzing the extreme venom.

-Created a decoction for detoxifying the extreme venom!

-Grade assessment in progress…

-Extreme Venom Detoxification Decoction [Grade A]

“Good.”

-The proficiency of Heo’s Decoction skill increases significantly!

Since Ethan had been using Heo’s Decoction skill to manufacture decoctions, his proficiency in the skill had reached nearly 40 percent without him realizing it.

‘I can’t wait to see how incredible the decoction will be once the proficiency increases.’

Ethan continued to create detoxification decoctions. If the culprit was indeed the person Ethan suspected, there must have been a reason for poisoning the forest like this.

‘I can’t let them do what they want.’

“Is it all ready?”

When the elder fairy asked, Ethan nodded.

“With this, it should be enough for detoxification.”

When Ethan showed the detoxification decoction, the elder fairy couldn’t help but shed tears.

Together with the other fairies, Ethan returned to the Queen to prepare for the detoxification.

Standing in front of the queen, Ethan applied the detoxification decoction directly to her face.

Sssss…

With a hissing sound, the toxin that covered the queen’s face began to disappear.

Ethan then slightly opened the queen’s mouth and fed her the detoxification decoction.

He also asked the elder fairy for assistance in applying the decoction to the queen’s body.

As a result, the queen’s body, which had turned completely black, began gradually returning to its original state.

“Ahh…!”

“Your Majesty!”

“Your Majesty has returned to her original state!”

The fairies started emitting a strong light.

The queen, now restored to her original form, looked extremely elegant.

Unlike other fairies, she had beautiful transparent wings and green hair.

It had been hidden beneath the black venom all this time.

“Thank you very much.”

“Thank you!”

The fairies simultaneously bowed their heads.

Ding!

-You have helped the fairies. The fairies bless you.

-Your stats have permanently increased by 3.

-Challenge completed!

-You’ve earned an achievement! You’ve earned likes for the achievement [Race Doesn’t Matter].

-You have received ‘1’ like!

Ethan couldn’t help but be surprised.

‘I didn’t expect to get a permanent stat increase.’

The rewards were better than expected.

Plus, he even received a like.

‘There’s an achievement to help each different race at least once, so I should try to help other races when I encounter them.’

Of course, it wasn’t about helping everyone without reason. It was best to help while also obtaining what could be gained.

Many fairies approached Ethan, expressing their gratitude.

“If the Queen wakes up, she will surely give you an even better reward.”

“Thank you very much, Ethan.”

“Please forgive our rudeness earlier.”

Furthermore, there were still rewards from the Fairy Queen.

‘She will probably bestow her blessings upon me.’

The Fairy Queen’s blessings were permanent buffs.

If the Queen returned to her normal state, additional rewards could be obtained.

And those rewards would certainly be substantial.

This whole situation was quite satisfying.

Meanwhile, the Forest Keeper was at a loss as he observed the series of events.

He approached Yerica cautiously and asked.

“Who exactly is he ?”

“He’s a weak and sickly young master who learns everything from books.”

“…….”

Yerica was quite frank.

After observing the condition of the Fairy Queen, Ethan spoke to the Elder Fairy.

“It will take some time for her to wake up.”

Considering the severity of the poison she was exposed to, it would be impossible for her to recover quickly.

They would have to wait at least three days.

Amidst the grateful fairies, Ethan called upon the Elder Fairy.

“Let’s go to the underground prison. I need to hear the full story about the person who made the Queen like that.”

* * *

Underneath the giant tree, there was a dark underground prison. Originally, this underground prison was not meant to hold the guilty fairies.

Fairies, by their nature, did not commit crimes. Only the corrupted fairies were capable of such acts.

“What are the criteria for corruption?”

“It is a contamination of the mind. We fairies display symptoms if our minds become tainted. Our eyes are the mirrors of our souls and indicators of our sanity. If they are corrupted, it becomes unmistakable.”

“So, fairies never commit crimes unless they are corrupted.”

“Yes.”

That was the trait of the fairies.

‘I didn’t realize the details.’

The prison was mostly empty, except for one spot.

“Grrrr-“

A wolf-like howl echoed through the air.

Kwang-! Kwang-!

As signs of movement were sensed, the prisoner inside the cell repeatedly bashed their head against the bars.

Ethan handed the Elder Fairy a Decoction for detoxification.

“I am a bit frail. If that mad dog bites me, I might die.”

“Yes, I will take it.”

The Elder Fairy’s tone had become more deferential. He already had complete trust in Ethan.

As they stood in front of the cell, they saw a fairy drooling, with only one side of their face completely corrupted while the other remained fine.

‘Certainly, their eyes are a bit off.’

The clear signs of severe intoxication were evident.

When Ethan gestured, the Elder Fairy opened the prison door and engaged in combat with the prisoner.

Bam-! Bam-!

As befitting his name, the Elder Fairy swiftly subdued the prisoner and forcefully administered the Decoction into their open mouth.

Bam-! Bam-!

After consuming the Decoction, it didn’t take long for chunks of corruption to start falling off the prisoner’s body.

“Their condition is better than the queen, so they should wake up soon.”

“Should we wait?”

“No.”

Ethan shook his head.

“We have to wake them up.”

Ethan swung his fist towards the fairy.