147
Chapter 147
A Harvest that looked like a dried-up Mandragora.
Mr. Scarecrow called it Transcendence Ginseng.
And if one consumed the Transcendence Ginseng,
he explained that anyone's level would increase by one stage.
Except for those who had reached the Ultimate Realm, of course.
"Hmm...."
No wonder Mr. Scarecrow shouted 100 points.
Unconditionally raising a level by one stage...
How could such an absurd plant even exist?
It might just be an okay effect for low-levels, but for high-levels, it was a plant with a truly overpowered effect. Because the higher the level, the harder it is to Level Up.
"Haha, I never thought I'd see a Transcendence Ginseng like this again. Since I haven't done any mass harvesting after reaching the Ultimate Realm, I thought I'd never see one again."
From what I heard,
Transcendence Ginseng was also a plant born through Random Creation like any other Harvest, so you couldn't get it just because you wanted it.
And they said the harvest probability for Transcendence Ginseng was truly abysmal.
Well, that was only natural.
There's no way a plant with such an effect would be pulled commonly.
For reference, even the person using the Random Creation skill couldn't manipulate the probabilities.
You could manipulate and raise the probability for a meager Harvest like a Carrot, but it was said you couldn't manipulate the probability for anything even at the level of a Lowest-grade Natural Mana Stone.
"...?!"
The Princess Doll looked flustered.
It seemed she didn't realize her Harvest was such an incredible item.
Then again, there was no way she would have known.
"...!"
Soon, the Princess Doll put on a proud expression.
She seemed certain of her victory.
This kid, she's quite lucky, isn't she?
To pull something like that without my Luck Buff... Amazing.
If she hadn't belonged to the Doll Domain, the Luck Domain might have taken an interest in her.
"Ooh, this unappetizing-looking plant has such a great effect?"
During the judging,
Tosun's Mom intruded.
Tosun's Mom stared intently at the Transcendence Ginseng and asked.
"Saying that even a level 99 can use it... does that mean it lets you reach the Ultimate Realm without fulfilling the special condition?"
"Special condition? What is that?"
"Hmm? To reach the Ultimate Realm, you have to fulfill a special condition unique to each soul, you see."
"This is my first time hearing about such a condition. I reached the Ultimate Realm simply by consuming this Transcendence Ginseng."
So Mr. Scarecrow had also consumed a Transcendence Ginseng.
So he had leveled up to the Ultimate Realm using that.
"Mmm...?"
"If such a special condition really exists, then either consuming this Transcendence Ginseng was my condition, or the Transcendence Ginseng ignores that condition and allows one to achieve the Ultimate Realm. It must be one of the two."
"...Nope. From what I'm hearing, it seems ignoring the special condition is the correct answer."
"Hmm? Why is that?"
"In my case, I instinctively realized what the special condition was at some point. That was when I first learned that a special condition to reach the Ultimate Realm even existed. But you didn't even know that a special condition existed until just now, right?"
"Right, I just heard it from you and learned for the first time that such a thing exists."
"It makes no sense to fulfill the special condition without even knowing it exists. There's no way you wouldn't have realized it upon seeing the item corresponding to your special condition. Therefore, that Transcendence Ginseng must indeed be an item that helps one reach the Ultimate Realm while ignoring the special condition."
"Is that so... It's an item born from my ability, but it was far more surprising and incredible than I thought."
It really was.
It was an even more overpowered item.
"Whoa...."
"Kkyuaaa... So amazing...."
The Fox and the Red Panda.
And all the waiting Participants let out gasps of admiration.
Blankly staring at the Transcendence Ginseng.
With each gasp, the Princess Doll's shoulders rose even higher.
She looked ready to pierce right through the ceiling.
"Gomgom gomgomgom? Gomgom, gomgomgomgom?"
I cautiously asked Mr. Scarecrow.
Can we keep that Transcendence Ginseng?
No, rather, can the Princess Doll keep it?
"Of course. They are your Harvests, after all."
Mr. Scarecrow readily agreed.
He even added that we could take all the Harvests we pulled.
I thought he might be reluctant to part with this Transcendence Ginseng since it was such a precious item, but surprisingly, he gave it up easily.
Was it because Mr. Scarecrow no longer needed it?
Anyway.
The most efficient way to use the Transcendence Ginseng is to use it at the highest level possible.
Therefore, it was best to save it for as long as possible.
To extract maximum efficiency, it must be used at level 99.
Not only is it the highest level at which the Transcendence Ginseng can be used, but you can also bypass the special condition.
But honestly, saving it until then feels a bit much.
Who knows when that day will come?
If you keep hoarding it while looking so far into the future, even the most precious item becomes useless.
Therefore, I don't plan on saving it too much.
Since I belong to the Luck Domain, I might be able to pull more Transcendence Ginsengs later.
Mmm.
It feels like a waste for me to use it right now....
Should I gift it to the Centipede of the Lake, who can use it most efficiently right now?
The Centipede's level is 99.
Out of all the monsters I know, it was the one who needed the Transcendence Ginseng the most.
From the perspective of the Centipede, who doesn't know its special condition, receiving this Transcendence Ginseng as a gift would make it go crazy with joy....
Just as I was thinking that.
"...?"
Suddenly, the Princess Doll caught my eye.
Oops.
Come to think of it, the Transcendence Ginseng wasn't mine, was it?
I was worrying over how to use it for no reason.
I forgot for a moment and got way ahead of myself.
The Transcendence Ginseng was strictly the property of the Princess Doll.
I had no right to interfere with where it was used.
She should use it wherever she wants.
I could probably ask for a favor, but still.
Ahem.
Anyway, I'll have to come to the Gacha Field more often to get a Transcendence Ginseng for myself.
Perhaps with the help of the Luck Domain, I might even be able to trigger a Transcendence Ginseng duplication bug.
On a side note.
Perhaps the probability really was abysmal,
because even in the distant past when Mr. Scarecrow was mass-harvesting, they were very hard to find. He said he had only harvested about ten Transcendence Ginsengs in his entire life.
***
Just as Mr. Scarecrow had initially shouted.
The Transcendence Ginseng was such an incredible item that giving it 100 points wouldn't be an exaggeration.
But still, a rule is a rule.
Since the maximum score a Judge could give was 10 points, Mr. Scarecrow held back his tears and gave the Transcendence Ginseng 10 points.
...But is this really something worth holding back tears over?
"Gomgom, gomgomgom."
I also chose the Transcendence Ginseng.
No matter how hard I looked, there wasn't a single Harvest that looked better than this.
And I also gave the Transcendence Ginseng 10 points.
Because it was an item that truly deserved a perfect score.
However, the Princess Doll didn't get a perfect score of 30.
"Woong, woooong."
That was because Judge Tosuni gave her 3 points.
This wasn't a score given to the Transcendence Ginseng.
Even though she definitely heard about the effects of the Transcendence Ginseng, Tosuni stubbornly chose a Carrot.
It seemed she couldn't give points to anything other than a Carrot.
What a kid with truly consistent judging criteria.
Like this,
when all the Judges' scores were added up, the total was 23 points.
The Princess Doll had pulled an overpowered item like the Transcendence Ginseng, but because she failed to pull a Carrot that caught Judge Tosuni's fancy, her victory wasn't completely guaranteed.
"...?"
The Princess Doll looked slightly flustered.
She must have thought she would get a perfect 30 points unconditionally.
Ah, for reference.
The Princess Doll still can't understand what I'm saying.
Earlier, when I told her to stop her Actions, when I told her to come out for judging, and when the scores were given and announced—Ailee had been doing real-time Interpretation for all of it.
"...!"
The Princess Doll, who had been flustered at first.
She must have been quite satisfied with the score she received regardless, as she smiled brightly, carefully packed away the Transcendence Ginseng, and stepped aside.
The remaining Harvests were moved by the Fake Dolls.
"Our baby did so well! That's amazing!"
"...! ...!"
***
The Fake Dolls moved the Participant's Harvest.
The Participant who came forward for judging this time was the Fox.
"Heehee! Everyone, look at this!"
The moment we were about to examine the Harvest.
The Fox called out to us with a face full of confidence and triumphantly held up an item.
"I have a Transcendence Ginseng too! Give me 10 points!"
"......."
Mr. Scarecrow stared at the item the Fox was holding with a dumbfounded expression.
Tosuni didn't even pay attention and was just looking for a Carrot.
Soon, Mr. Scarecrow approached the Fox and said.
"...It might be disappointing, but this is not a Transcendence Ginseng, it's just the corpse of an ordinary Mandragora."
"T-that can't be! Look closely again...!"
"No matter how I look at it, this is a Mandragora corpse."
"Whine......."
I let out a deep sigh.
Oh dear, Fox....
You shouldn't cheat.
Gomgomgom.
I trotted over and lightly smacked the Fox on the head. Bonk!
"Hoeh?"
"Gomgom, gomgomgom. Gomgom!"
And then I scolded the Fox.
This kid didn't actually think that was a Transcendence Ginseng.
I saw everything clearly earlier.
While the Fox was waiting for judging.
I saw her subtly reading our expressions while squeezing the corpse of the Mandragora she had pulled from the field and killed, trying her best to make the corpse look as much like a Transcendence Ginseng as possible.
In other words.
The Fox had attempted to fabricate it.
What a cheeky kid.
Did she really think she could trick us with such a sloppy deception?
"Gomgom, gomgomgom! Gomgom!"
"Waaah... I'm sorry... I never dreamed this method wouldn't work......."
After severely scolding the Fox.
I swiftly turned my head and shifted my gaze toward the Participants waiting on the side.
"Kkyu, kkyua...."
The Red Panda, who was panicking while watching the Fox get scolded.
"Kkyuheok!?"
When its eyes met mine, it flinched in surprise and hastily hid a Harvest behind its back.
It's no use hiding it.
Because I saw everything you were doing earlier, too.
The Harvest the Red Panda just hid was a Mandragora corpse that was an Imitation of a Transcendence Ginseng.
It had also been next to the Fox, diligently squeezing a Mandragora corpse with her.
Sigh, the two of them are exactly the same, really.