CHAPTER 96: SUPERB ABILITY

"Don’t forget to look for what we’re actually here for," Leslie reminded, eyeing the oddly cheerful group.

They were supposed to be searching for a perfect herb, but why did Nash’s group look like eager farmers at harvest time?

"Don’t worry, I wouldn’t miss it."

A perfect herb was one with a 100% void saturation rate—a natural wonder, a miracle of the dark plane.

If Nash missed such a dazzling beacon, he might as well dig out his eyes and stomp on them.

"As long as you remember..." Leslie sighed.

---

Another half an hour passed before Lawrence called the team back.

While moving to another area, some members from the other group noticed the bulging packs on Nash’s team.

"Is that... herbs? You guys have time to pick herbs?"

"Why not? Instead of wasting time looking for some nonexistent perfect herb, why not collect free money?"

"Tsk, are you sure you’re not just messing around? Since you already scouted the area, why not help the rest of us?"

"Huh~ Each of us is on our own."

Hearing the chatter behind him, Lawrence couldn’t help but frown.

The efficiency of this Arlean descendant was clearly too fast that they even had time to harvest herbs.

The reason they had to stay in each area for half an hour was because the two pathfinders took so long to scan.

If this Arleanian helped, they might be able to cut that time in half.

"You—what’s your name again?"

"I’m Noir."

"Noir, after you scan the area around you, help the other group."

"Alright," Nash nodded without complaint.

Their bags were already stuffed with herbs. Anymore, and it would start affecting their combat ability.

As for using William’s storage bracelet, Nash wasn’t shameless enough to ask.

Since William didn’t offer, he didn’t want to embarrass himself by bringing it up.

William, on the other hand, did want to help carry Nash’s herbs.

Unfortunately, his storage bracelet was already full of food.

It seemed he went a bit overboard due to excitement.

---

Soon, they reached another area.

Bringing his group, Nash quickly scanned the location they were assigned and returned to Lawrence almost immediately.

"So fast?" Lawrence muttered when he saw them come back.

From the time they left to their return, not even five minutes had passed.

It seemed he still underestimated this Arleanian and his ability.

Scanning such a wide area in the blink of an eye, it was no worse than those mobile scanning machines.

If the Verdant Group had a team of pathfinders or scouts like this, they might reach another level entirely.

With eyes that could directly see the essence of the void, not just herbs, they could also use it for enemies, dark beasts, and various other materials.

What Lawrence didn’t know was that Nash’s abilities were fundamentally different from ordinary Arleanians.

Not only were his eyes over 500% saturation, which was beyond a normal Arleanian, but the way he found herbs was also completely unique.

Aside from using his vision, Nash relied on the [Sensing Module System].

Like an automatic scanner, it didn’t require him to search manually.

As long as anything emitted even the faintest void energy, the system would match it with the energy signature he’d input beforehand and notify him of the saturation level.

If Nash didn’t care about standing out, he could’ve scanned the entire area in mere seconds.

Even though the Willow Jungle was full of obstacles that it affected his void energy readings, his scan range still reached up to three kilometers.

If not for his current weakness, Nash wouldn’t even need this group. He could’ve gone off to find the perfect herb by himself.

"Come help the other two—they’re in the east and north area," Lawrence said, pointing to the direction.

The two pathfinders he pointed out were the slowest.

Since they had to rely on their noses, it took a long time to differentiate between the various herbs.

The third one, a walking encyclopedia who knew most of the herbs that grew on the Nova Battlefield, just needed to look around for anything unusual.

Although slower than Nash, it only took him over 10 minutes to scan the area allotted to him.

Meanwhile, hearing Lawrence’s order, Nash simply nodded and headed toward the other teams.

Following him, William couldn’t help but complain.

"This is too much work for you, boss. The merits they’re paying aren’t enough."

Signing almost the same contract, he knew they’d only earn between 10,000 to 100,000 merits.

Even if Nash got the full 100,000, it still didn’t seem enough to compensate for the effort.

"This is for experience. I want to see if we’re ready to face a 5-star environment."

Getting a chance to experience a 5-star danger zone for free while still getting paid, it was more than he could ask for.

With this, he could better gauge if they were truly prepared for such a dangerous place.

Hearing Nash’s words, William could only nod in agreement.

With experience, they’d be able to cope better with the threats ahead.

---

Arriving at the other team, Nash quickly scanned the area for a few minutes.

"There’s nothing here."

Not finding anything, he left and moved on to the next group.

"There’s nothing here either. Let’s go back..."

Returning to the main team, Lawrence couldn’t help but smile.

"Not bad. It took only a quarter of an hour to scan the whole area."

By cutting the time in half, their efficiency had doubled.

---

Soon, as they went deeper and deeper into the Willow Jungle, the hours began to pass.

During this time, the dangers they faced became more intense.

From miscellaneous dark beasts ranked 2- to 3-star danger, they soon began encountering 4-star and even 5-star threats.

Fortunately, with Lawrence around, even if they faced a 5-star dark beast, there was no problem.

As long as they shouted for help, it only took him a few seconds to arrive.

Although there were some injuries, no casualties had been reported so far.

However, as they got to the center of the Willow Jungle, it seemed like the gods themselves wanted to stop them in their tracks.