The Blue Moon's Secret
Early evening.
The twilight began to haze the ground in soft shadows. I leaped across the continuous stretch of rocky terrain, advancing swiftly.
“Kkiiik!”
Spiky boars lingering on the mountainside occasionally charged at me.
“Don’t get in my way, buddy.”
Thud-thud-thud!
I raked the boar’s weak point with my elongated claws. Blood sprayed upward.
My current stats were on par with a level-70 player. Without item bonuses, my actual combat power was probably around level 50. Still, that was an overwhelming advantage in the tutorial stage.
Devour has been activated.
I didn’t forget to Devour the fallen spiky boar. I had already collected all the essences, but thanks to the Dragon’s Heart effect, my mana stat kept ticking up little by little. Even 0.1 points at a time added up. They say even dust can become a mountain if you keep piling it on.
After several fights, the mountain peak came into view. I climbed the gentle slope and reached the summit.
“The sky’s really pretty tonight.”
The sky had turned pitch-black, like ink spilled into water. The full moon slowly pushed back the darkness, revealing its presence. Instead of the usual soft glow, an intense blue light began to rise, driving away the shadows and tinting even my retinas azure.
Blue Moon.
The moon of powerful mana was ascending.
You have witnessed the Blue Moon.
Mana recovery rate increases by 50% tonight.
Facing the moonlight head-on triggered the buff. It more than offset the penalty of Mt. Emirate—though it didn’t really matter to me.
‘What matters is confirming that’s the Blue Moon.’
I grinned and looked down. There were two paths to the summit of Mt. Emirate: the gentle southern route and the northern cliff. The northern precipice was so steep that climbing it without proper gear was nearly impossible.
A pebble kicked by my foot tumbled over the edge and vanished from sight almost instantly. If I fell from here, I’d disappear just like that stone. But I had to descend the cliff starting now.
On the night of the full moon, I climbed to the summit of Mt. Emirate. Overwhelmed by the beautiful view for a moment, I spotted a faint light while gazing at the cliff.
Explorer Laurent’s discovery. After the Forgotten Temple, he had uncovered another hidden element of Rainbow Island. A fact that would only become known five years later. Sorry, but I’m claiming this one too.
Sonic Pulse has been activated.
Mapping terrain within a 100-meter radius.
I activated Sonic Pulse and stepped onto the cliff. The slope was nearly vertical. One wrong step and I’d plummet a thousand meters. Good thing I had collected those essences in advance.
Sharp Claws has been activated.
I reinforced my elongated claws with mana and drove them deep into the rock. They sank about ten centimeters—enough to catch myself if I slipped.
‘I had a backup plan.’
Heh-heh-heh.
Chuckling, I began my descent.
The cliff seemed endless. I used my reinforced claws aggressively as I climbed down. Lose focus for even a second and I’d fall. Laurent had guts, attempting this cliff. Even with my stats boosted by multiple essences, I couldn’t relax for a moment. Yet he had descended without overwhelming stats or skills. Apparently he had been into rock climbing and wilderness exploration even before receiving the Tower’s invitation, and he had brought the right gear to the tutorial.
‘No wonder a guy like that found the hidden spots.’
How far had I gone? Sonic Pulse detected a recessed area. Carefully shifting my arms and legs, I moved toward the hollow. A gap leaked blue light. Sweating and straining, I finally reached my destination.
“Whew, thought I was gonna die back there.”
I exhaled like I was screaming. When my feet touched flat ground, the tension that had gripped my entire body melted away. I hadn’t been this nervous even before regressing. Once was more than enough.
Your current location is Moonview Cave.
First discovery of Moonview Cave in the tutorial stage. Mana increases by 5.
Some of the light lingering on the cave’s surface seeped into my body. This was exactly why I couldn’t afford to miss hidden elements.
“Knew I’d find it.”
Without hesitation, I walked deeper into the cave. Its structure was simple—a straight corridor that opened into a fifty-meter-wide cavern after a short walk. No monsters, traps, treasures, or hidden quests?
‘Nope. None.’
Moonview Cave. The name said everything about the place.
When the full moon reaches its zenith, the ceiling of Moonview Cave opens and absorbs all the moonlight.
The sight of the glowing Moonview Cave was breathtaking—an unparalleled spectacle!
Holding the Moonstones in my hand, I circled the cavern. Tap-tap. I placed them one by one on the floor. After arranging all thirty-two Moonstones I had bought from the merchant association in a circle, I finally sat down comfortably.
‘Setup’s done. Time to rest.’
I had done everything I could. All that remained was waiting for the full moon to reach its highest point.
A visitor has appeared in Moonview Cave.
The Blue Moon is reacting to the visitor’s wavelength.
The cave is preparing to receive the moon.
Rumble-rumble-rumble!
The ceiling split in half and slid aside. Moonlight poured through the gap. Through the parted ceiling, the perfect full moon now hung directly above Moonview Cave. At that moment, the blue light enveloping the Blue Moon cascaded into the cave like a waterfall.
‘Whoa. That’s actually spectacular.’
I clicked my tongue in admiration and reached out with my right hand to touch the moonlight. Though it was formless mana and light, it felt as soft as a blanket against my fingertips. It was mana condensed beyond its limit, given physical form. The Blue Moon’s energy, brimming with immense mana, filled the entire cave.
Hum—! The Moonstones I had laid on the floor resonated with the Blue Moon’s light. They floated into the air and began absorbing the beams of light that filled Moonview Cave.
‘Good. Everything’s going exactly as I heard.’
Explorer Laurent had discovered Moonview Cave, but his find had only been half-complete. While the tremendous mana gathered by the Blue Moon poured into the cave, it granted no buffs or blessings to players.
‘The secret of the Moonstones was revealed around 2037.’
Laurent began climbing the Tower of Babel in 2030, so the truth about Moonview Cave came out seven years later. About ten minutes passed before the Blue Moon began moving westward.
“Whew, my hands are shaking.”
I had only heard about the phenomenon in Moonview Cave before regressing. I had never witnessed it myself. With trembling hands, I picked up a Moonstone.
◈ A Moonstone that has fully absorbed the Blue Moon’s energy.
◈ Contains potent mana. Consuming it can increase mana or internal energy.
◈ Can be consumed once every 15 days.
“Ha… haha.”
I collapsed onto the floor. Seeing the item description made my legs give out. I wanted to scream with joy, but I held it in.
Thirty-two Unique-grade elixirs. Moonview Stones.
Moonview Stones were rare elixirs obtainable only on Rainbow Island. If the Blue Moon’s cycle didn’t align, you couldn’t even attempt to obtain them in that run. After the secret of Moonview Cave was revealed, major guilds began training their promising recruits even more harshly to secure the stones.
‘Unique-grade elixirs aren’t that rare that you’d go to such lengths.’
While climbing the Tower, players sometimes received Legendary or Transcendent elixirs as rewards. Compared to those, Moonview Stones had weaker effects. So why did large guilds stake their promising talents’ lives on them?
The reason was…
‘Internal energy boosting elixir.’
Internal energy was a stat tied to martial arts. Mana-related elixirs appeared as rewards in the Tower fairly often, but elixirs that increased internal energy were few in number and far harder to obtain.
Come to think of it, martial arts were still looked down upon at this point in time.
‘When was it that martial arts traits started getting reevaluated again?’
Some players awakened traits that synergized with martial arts. For a long while, however, those with martial arts traits were treated as outsiders. To use martial arts, you first had to learn a cultivation method. Without one, the internal energy stat wouldn’t even appear. And that wasn’t the end of it. Unlike mana, internal energy was extremely difficult to control. Fail to manage it and you could suffer internal injuries—or worse, fall into the state of qi deviation.
‘But once you master it, you become incredibly strong.’
It would be much later before players who trained in martial arts began to draw attention. This time, that moment might come a little sooner. Because I was here.
‘Learn a suitable cultivation method, then rapidly increase my internal energy with the Moonview Stones.’
Dragon’s Heart only increased mana. Internal energy had to be built separately through cultivation. The hidden element of Mt. Emirate—the Moonview Stones—would be a huge help in boosting internal energy.
I gathered the Moonview Stones scattered across the floor. I had claimed every opportunity Moonview Cave had to offer. Now it was time to hunt other essences.
The way back was much easier than the descent. The ceiling that had opened to receive the Blue Moon’s light now revealed a stairway wide enough for one person between the cracks.
‘Whoever designed this at least had a shred of conscience.’
Agile Hind Legs has been activated.
I kicked off the cave floor and leaped upward. Grabbing the steps with my right hand, I steadied myself and began climbing. The path was still steep, but having footholds made it far easier than scaling the cliff face.
‘I was sweating buckets on the way down, though.’
Somehow that felt unfair. As soon as I stepped out of the fissure, the summit of Mt. Emirate appeared. The moment I moved away, the path leading to Moonview Cave sealed itself and vanished.
‘I’ve taken everything I can from Mt. Emirate.’
I looked northeast. Thanks to the Blue Moon’s light, I could clearly see the landscape in that direction.
The forest region.
Clenching my fist, I fixed my eyes on my next destination.