Duke carefully picked it up between his fingertips. It felt smooth and warm, like jade, yet carried a strange vitality.
He tried sending a faint thread of mental power into it to find out what it was.
The little bean trembled. Green light flowed across its surface, and it gave off an indescribably pure, vibrant aura of life.
The aura was not forceful, but it was as deep as the sea, ancient and vast, as though it held the most fundamental secrets of life.
Merely sensing it eased some of Duke's fatigue from the past few days and lifted his spirits.
He searched his memory for everything he had learned and every text he had read, but found nothing that matched the wondrous bean before him.
The life energy it contained was of an extraordinarily high order, yet it remained so restrained.
When Albedo saw Duke pick up the little green bean and look at it in confusion, she finally let out a soft laugh.
"Hehe." Her laughter echoed through the empty treasury, tinged with teasing. "What's wrong? After all that effort, and even owing me a huge favor, all you found was this... harmless-looking little bean? Disappointed?"
Duke looked up at Albedo, his brow furrowing. "What exactly is this? Its aura of life is incredibly pure and ancient, but I've never seen or even heard of anything like it."
"Oh? Asking me for help already?" Albedo stepped closer, almost pressing against him. She studied the seed in his hand with interest, then glanced at his puzzled face.
"I suppose I can tell you." She extended a finger and pointed lightly toward the seed. "At your current level, having this is like a baby clutching a gold brick. You can see its value, but you can't use it. Worse, it