Divine Grace After a Hundred Years

Mona dragged the viewpoint.

A new profession called [Fisherman] had appeared in the Tribe.

Because Richie had lifted the sea's prohibition, people were able to approach the ocean and learn how to fish.

That was why this related profession had appeared within the Tribe.

[Fisherman lv1]: Used sharp eyesight to observe the flow of water and silt, thereby increasing the efficiency of harvesting marine life ↑

Among these fishermen, a small number had also gained related talents and knowledge.

Some had awakened talents related to fishing.

Others had acquired knowledge of processing catches.

"Diving lv1": Possessed twice the lung capacity of an ordinary adult man and basic resistance to water pressure, allowing one to dive into the shallow seabed for basic harvesting.

"Pickling lv1": The primitive technique of preserving fish with sea salt.

Now, people had learned how to fish.

With pickled fish, their food reserves had also increased to some extent.

The famine had passed.

But freshwater had become a major problem.

For some reason, this year's rainy season had yet to arrive.

If the streams dried up,

then those unable to work might not receive any freshwater and would be unable to survive.

Richie fell into thought.

He had once promised the gods that he would treat every member of the Tribe with kindness.

At that moment, a knowledgeable elder offered a suggestion.

"Several decades ago, several short, crooked trees suddenly grew within that god-gifted Mangrove Forest."

"Someone once ventured inside and discovered strange fruits filled with juice growing on those crooked trees. But he was soon burned to death because of it, and no one knows whether the rumors about those fruits are true anymore."

After thinking it over, Richie decided to allow people to enter the Mangrove Forest and see whether those strange fruits truly existed on the trees.

The moment he said this, everyone was terrified.

The Mangrove Forest.

Those enormous sacred trees bestowed by the gods to shield them from violent winds and tsunamis.

No matter how fierce the wind or waves were, they would mysteriously vanish upon reaching the Mangrove Forest.

For the past hundred years, they had regarded the enormous Mangrove Forest along the coast as sacred ground.

And forbidden ground.

Fearing that they might damage the guardians bestowed by the gods, no one had dared approach that place for over a hundred years.

Even with an order from the chieftain, a chosen one of the gods, no one dared move at first.

"If you are unwilling to pick that fruit and fear the descent of divine punishment, then I will pick it myself."

That was all Richie said.

No one noticed that, upon hearing of that strange tree and fruit, an inexplicable glimmer seemed to rise in his eyes.

Just as it had on that night many years ago, when he had crossed the Mangrove Forest and reached the shore.

Before long, this ever-steady chieftain ignored everyone's objections and personally entered the Mangrove Forest. He climbed the crooked tree, which was the color of the beach, and picked the fruit.

No divine punishment descended.

Everyone could not help but breathe a sigh of relief.

Richie broke open the thick green rind of the head-sized fruit, which was covered in soft spikes, and clear water flowed out.

A guard named Barlow voluntarily stepped forward to taste the juice for him.

"Chieftain, it can be drunk. It's a little salty, but there's also a slight sweetness to it."

Barlow smacked his lips and knelt as he spoke.

The juice tasted somewhat strange.

But it truly was drinkable and not poisonous.

There were three such trees in total.

Each tree bore around a dozen fruits.

Richie made a rough calculation.

Nearly forty fruits.

If they were all intact, then perhaps those Tribe members unable to work would have a better chance of lasting until the rainy season arrived.

Everyone knelt on the ground and shouted.

"Great Chieftain! You have led us to miraculous fruits filled with freshwater!"

"No, the gods guided us here."

Mona had naturally witnessed Richie leading everyone to discover the fruits.

At that moment, he was somewhat puzzled.

Because he had realized that the strange tree on the beach, hidden within the Mangrove Forest, was not one of the trees he had drawn with the [Paintbrush].

Naturally, that fruit was not his creation either.

"A strange fruit that I've never seen on the island before. Where did it come from?"

Mona pondered for a while.

Then he noticed a crudely carved wooden half-body idol beside the Mangrove Forest.

The decayed idol appeared to have been buried there for nearly a hundred years.

At this [Anchor Point], he began pulling back the timeline.

As long as an Anchor Point existed, he could use it to observe the past.

Mona quickly found the point where the tree had been born.

Around twenty years ago.

He saw the fruit's true "creator"—

A large green bird flew over the island with its wings spread.

As it passed over the island's beach, it dropped a lump of yellowish-brown matter.

And so, a tree bearing strange fruits appeared there.

Before long, green oval fruits grew from it.

"This fruit looks strangely familiar. Back when I was human, I think I saw something similar. A coconut... perhaps?"

A look of reminiscence flashed across Mona's face.

In the end, he merely used the [Paintbrush] in his hand to lightly touch one of the fruits on that tree.

The tip of the [Paintbrush] immediately turned the color of the fruit's skin.

Then he gently placed that color into the [Palette] within the [Divine Miracle].

In an instant, one of the slots in the [Palette] faintly gained a new light-green color.

[You have unlocked a new color.]

[You have obtained: Shamon Fruit]

[Shamon Fruit: A green fruit that favors saltwater and sandy soil. It stores freshwater within.]

[This color has been added to your Palette.]

"Shamon Fruit. Interesting. It counted as something new."

Mona looked at the new color in the Paint Palette and found himself in a rather good mood today.

Perhaps it was because he had recalled some memories from his human days, or perhaps the many new things appearing within the Tribe had delighted him.

His gaze soon turned to Richie, who had personally led everyone in picking the fruits.

In any case, being in such a good mood, he decided to grant them a small reward.

Now that the color of the Shamon Fruit had received the blessing of divine power in his Palette, it had become a Divine Shamon Fruit.

[The Palette has infused this color with divine power.]

[Shamon Fruit → Divine Shamon Fruit]

[Divine Shamon Fruit: A miraculous fruit bestowed by the gods, containing multiple forms of energy.]

This time, Mona tapped in to inspect the color of the Divine Shamon Fruit in detail.

[Plant lv1] Divine Shamon Fruit

[Traits]: "Satiety lv1" "Hunger Value lv1" "Life Energy lv1"

[Under the blessing of divine power from your Palette, Divine Shamon Fruits will become larger, sweeter, and more delicious, providing the consumer's body with additional satiety and Life Energy.]

Beyond the original [Hunger Value lv1], the Divine Shamon Fruit had gained [Satiety lv1] and [Life Energy lv1].

Hunger was the food intake index necessary to sustain life activities.

Satiety was linked to the consumption rate of Hunger Value. The higher it was, the more slowly Hunger depleted, and the less easily people would feel tired or hungry.

Life Energy, meanwhile, was related to the strength and growth of the consumer's body.

The higher the Life Energy, the greater the benefits this fruit would bring to the body after being consumed.

Mona selected the light green representing the [Divine Shamon Fruit].

Then he gently dotted the pixelated beach on the Drawing Board several times.

In an instant.

Four enormous fruits appeared on the beach.

Several people who had been loudly singing the chieftain's praises saw this scene and were so excited that they nearly fainted.

"Divine fruits!"

"The gods have bestowed even more fruits like these upon us! And they're even bigger!"

"After a hundred years, we have finally received the gods' grace!"

"Quick, report this to the chieftain!"

When Richie received the news, he practically rushed back to the beach with the guards.

When he blankly held several enormous, miraculous fruits on the beach, each larger than a human head, even he, who had become much calmer, could not help but grow excited.

"The gods' grace has truly returned once more."

Richie murmured.

This time, what the gods had bestowed was no longer divine punishment and disaster.

But grace.

Over the past hundred years, those sinners had angered the gods, which was why the Tribe had waited so long without receiving divine grace.

Now, he, who had carried out the gods' merciful will, had finally caused that grace to descend once more.

This also proved that the path on which he had led the Tribe was the right one.

But it did not make Richie feel relieved.

Instead, the mission upon his shoulders felt even heavier.

"Cut it open. Use cups to collect the juice carefully. Do not let a single drop spill. These are precious fruits bestowed upon us by the gods."

Richie calmed his excitement and gave the order for the fruit to be carefully opened.

After one fruit was cut open, the liquid inside was astonishingly a completely different pale green from that of the earlier fruit.

One enormous Divine Shamon Fruit filled two ceramic jars in total.

Richie cautiously raised his head and took a sip.

He never doubted whether a fruit bestowed by the gods could be drunk. His eyes contained only pure anticipation and curiosity.

What exactly was different about a fruit bestowed by the gods?

The moment the juice entered his mouth, he froze. His dry lips and throat seemed to be moistened at once.

An indescribable sense of comfort spread through him.

Then a sweet fragrance filled his mouth.

Sweet and luscious.

Refreshing, sweet, and even carrying a strange hint of coolness.

"Gods, I have never tasted anything so delicious!"

"As expected of a divine fruit bestowed by the gods!"

"Just drinking the juice makes me feel full."

"It tastes sweeter than any fruit we have ever found in the mountains, as though it was born solely to be tasted."

Several elders who had hurried over upon hearing the news widened their eyes in excitement after taking a sip as well.

Of course, what excited them was not merely the fruit's sweetness, thirst-quenching quality, and satiety, but what it represented: the return of divine grace.

Some young guards in the Tribe saw the elders' reactions and stared fixedly at the divine fruit.

Their eyes were filled with curiosity and envy.

But fruits bestowed by the gods were incomparably precious.

Only the Tribe's chieftain and several highly respected elders could taste them first.

People like them were destined not to taste these precious divine fruits right away.

"We must give this divine fruit a name. Since it symbolizes the return of the gods' grace, I shall name it the Return Fruit."

Holding up the fruit beneath the golden morning light spilling across the beach, Richie cradled it in his palm and cried out devoutly.

"Return Fruit!"

"Return Fruit!"

At that moment, the Tribe erupted in cheers.

It was as though they were not celebrating the birth of a new fruit,

but the rebirth of a Tribe.

Along the coast shrouded in morning mist.

A sliver of the rising sun slowly emerged through the haze, scattering flowing golden-red light.

The sparkling sea broke that dreamlike radiance into fragments, letting it wash over every cheering person on the beach.

Everything was so uncertain and blurred, yet everything was filled with hope.