Chapter 60

"It seems we've really struck gold. I wonder what kind of person the former castle owner, the Sun Elf mage, was to have planted such valuable plants in the greenhouse."

Gordon looked at the acorn in his hand: "Since it's such a good thing, why don't we each eat one?"

"Eat it?" Shelley's eyes were like water as she looked at her lover, "This is a golden acorn. If it were me, I would definitely take it to the Adventurers' Guild for auction. Then we wouldn't have to worry about food and clothing in the future."

This was a typical adventurer's way of thinking. When they found something good in a ruin, their first thought was to sell it for gold. Gordon felt it was necessary to educate Shelley and elevate her thinking.

He wrapped his arms around the girl and gave her a light pat on her firm buttocks: "With me taking care of you, do you still worry about food and clothing? That's such a petty mindset."

Although his words were a bit domineering, women, especially those who had just established a deep relationship, loved to hear such sweet words that increased their sense of security. This was a universal truth across the multiverse.

However, since they were going to eat the acorns, the question of how to peel them arose. Gordon had never eaten this kind of nut and didn't know what to do. Should he use a Knock spell to open it? Fortunately, Shelley solved this problem for him.

Seeing Gordon's puzzled look, Shelley took a golden acorn, removed the stem, and then pinched it, and the thick, hard shell cracked with a sound: "When I was a child, I often went to the forest with my mother to collect acorns. I know how to handle these fruits. You just need to find the fiber pattern on the shell and apply force along it, and it will peel off easily."

Although she said it easily, the shell was not so easy to crack. But he remembered that Shelley was a level 4 Ranger with a Strength attribute of at least 15. Despite her delicate and slender appearance, she would be a top-tier tough woman on Earth.

After peeling the shell, a fragrant aroma immediately spread. Gordon saw a thumb-sized, yellowish-brown fruit inside. Ordinary acorns were not suitable for human consumption; only small animals like squirrels would consider them a delicacy. But the fruits of this Golden Oak were different.

Earlier in the hall, Gordon had not eaten the aphrodisiac-laced food, so he had been fasting. After the intense activity with Shelley, his energy was even more depleted. The fragrant smell of the fruit made his mouth water.

Gordon was never indecisive. He quickly dug out the fruit and put it in his mouth. Although it had no moisture, the acorn was crispy and smooth, melting in his mouth.

"You have consumed a Golden Acorn. Strength +1, Agility +1, Constitution +1. You have gained the permanent buff 'Blessing of the Oak Father,' which makes you immune to all diseases and plagues."

As the power of the Golden Acorn flowed down his throat and spread throughout his body, Gordon received a system notification in a comfortable feeling, as if basking in the warm sunlight of spring.

In "The Ancient Era," it was very difficult to increase base attributes. To gain three points at once was quite astonishing. Although it wasn't an increase in a key attribute like Intelligence for a mage, a strong body was essential for anyone. Including the Constitution increase from the Rainbow Hot Spring, Gordon now had 15 points in Constitution.

If on Earth, professional combat athletes who had undergone specialized training to withstand hits, or long-distance runners who could win world-class marathons, would have a Constitution level around this. If not for the need to cast spells, Gordon could have played the role of a heavy warrior.

A small piece of fruit was like a feast, leaving Gordon feeling full. After Shelley ate the other golden acorn, Gordon suddenly thought of something. He pointed to the wooden sign and said, "It says here, 'Only the pure blood of Omalen can make the fruit fall.' Perhaps the two acorns only bore fruit because of you."

Shelley glanced at the grass, where the bright red proof of purity was so conspicuous that she blushed and almost buried herself in Gordon's arms: "Don't be silly, it might just be a coincidence."

"Not necessarily," Gordon raised his index finger and shook it, "Before we entered this greenhouse, wasn't there a sentence on the stone wall, 'Omalen sings the Song of Summer, and the garden will open for you'? You don't think any elf singing the Song of Summer could open the secret door, do you?"

He continued, "What does Omalen mean? Could you be an 'Omalen'?"

Shelley shook her head: "I don't know. My elven mother died when I was nine, and I don't know much about my background."

Seeing the faint sadness in Shelley's expression, Gordon decided to stop the conversation to avoid bringing up bad memories. However, the half-elf girl seemed different from what he had imagined, not just an ordinary adventurer ranger.

The two decided to leave the greenhouse and continue exploring deeper underground.

On the map, Gordon found that the third underground level had a thick wall built of heavy leadstone, a special material that could block the leakage of arcane energy, commonly used to construct magic laboratories and spell practice areas. He thought there should be some good things there.

Exploring the dark underground ruins with a beautiful girl, discovering and uncovering rare treasures, Gordon had experienced this countless times in "The Ancient Era." Now, reliving the adventure in the real world had a different flavor.

As usual, Gordon cast buffs to enhance Shelley's vision and hearing, and then the two cautiously left the greenhouse's secret door.

When they were three turns away from the stairs leading to the next level, Shelley suddenly pulled Gordon back: "Something is approaching us."

Suddenly, a sharp whistle came from nearby: "Intruders, catch them!"

The two quickly retreated down the corridor but found that the enemies reacted very quickly, quickly blocking both exits.

"Subspecies snake people," Shelley said, looking warily at the enemies blocking the corridor.

No wonder the enemies could detect their presence almost simultaneously with Shelley, who was buffed with various spells. Subspecies snake people were a branch of humans. They had fully functional limbs like ordinary humans, unlike pure snake people, whose lower bodies were large snake tails. However, this race was very different from true humans. Their skin was covered with fine scales, their pupils were vertical slits, and their tongues were forked, always making a hissing sound.

More importantly, they had dark vision and snake-like senses. In the dark underground, this was their home turf.

"Oh, isn't this the Gordon Freeman that Lady Amavre is looking for?" The subspecies snake person hissed, looking at Gordon with venomous and cruel eyes. He wore a black robe with a poisoned snake-head dagger on the sleeve. Gordon recognized it as the symbol of Zehir, the god of poison and assassination, the patron of snake people.

Gordon hadn't expected that not only demons but also various evil gods had gotten involved.

What surprised Gordon even more was that the enemy recognized him. After some thought, he realized it must be because of the incident where he killed the necromancer Mendoza, which had angered evil enemies.

"Go, subdue these humans, my dear pets!" The snake people at both ends of the corridor hissed, waving their wooden staves at Gordon.

Gordon heard a cacophony of "squeaks" and "chirps." Then a large group of rats, commanded by the snake people, surged toward them.

Shelley's face turned pale.

These rodents were not ordinary rats. They were as large as cats, with fierce red eyes, sharp teeth, and thick fur, exuding a sense of the Abyss.

Abyssal Fierce Rats?

Gordon drew a sharp breath. Snakes were the natural enemies of rats. He knew that in the subspecies snake people, some had a natural talent for commanding rodents, able to control them to scout, search, or attack enemies. These snake people were called "Rat Herders."

Facing the surging waves of Abyssal Fierce Rats, if one had a weak nerve or a phobia of dense crowds, they would probably faint from the shock. Gordon felt like he was in a cheap horror movie.

Because of the party, Shelley hadn't brought any weapons, so it was up to Gordon.

As if Gordon's troubles weren't enough, the subspecies snake person chanted a spell, and a pitch-black energy ball exploded in the corridor, turning into an invisible curtain that absorbed all light. The already dim tunnel plunged into complete darkness.

This was the Darkness spell, which absorbed all natural light. Only divine or arcane light spells could counter this. The Darkness spell had no effect on the subspecies snake people and Abyssal Fierce Rats, but it was different for Gordon and Shelley.

Unable to see, and with the constant screeching of the approaching rats, the feeling was hair-raising. Gordon had to spend time casting a Light spell to dispel the darkness.

But the delay allowed the Abyssal Fierce Rats to rush over.

Gordon's ankle ached as an Abyssal Fierce Rat bit him with its sharp teeth. Several adult-sized rats, as big as cats, climbed up his pants, trying to use their weight to knock him down and then swarm over him to tear at his flesh.

Gordon stood firm in the sea of rats, knowing that if he lost focus and his spellcasting was interrupted, it would be over.