The fog that once blanketed Goblin's Grove had now completely vanished. Where once there was a dense, impenetrable mist, now the forest stretched out clearly in every direction. Vast fertile lands rolled toward the distant hills, and the eastern river glistened under the sun, feeding the earth with life.
In the aftermath of the brutal attack by the wild goblins, Lee Jun had begun expanding his fields. But this time, he shifted his focus entirely. Instead of growing ordinary crops, he set his sights on something far more valuable: rare herbs for alchemy. These plants were key ingredients in the creation of mid-grade healing potions, highly sought after and sold for outrageous prices in the outside world.
But there was a catch—most of these herbs couldn't be cultivated. No matter how fertile the soil, some plants only grew under certain natural, mystical conditions. Trying to plant them in rows like potatoes was useless.
"Can we really depend on plants like this?" Jun muttered, crouching beside a wilted herb. A few goblin farmers looked away, afraid he might blame them. But Jun simply sighed.
"Not all soil is meant to hold every root," he said softly, more to himself than anyone else.
Meanwhile, in the newly revealed forest beyond where the fog once loomed, three goblin scouts were exploring on his orders—searching for wild herbs or signs of rare monsters.
Under a fallen, ancient tree, one goblin spotted something strange: a twisted, dark-purple root growing from between two large rocks. Its tip was sharp and branchlike, and its skin was smooth, almost waxy. It looked unlike anything they had seen before.
"Grrr-ak!" the goblin chirped to its companions and quickly dug the root out, carrying it back to their master.
Lee Jun examined the root curiously. It was foreign, cold to the touch, and emitted a clean but unnerving scent that seemed to reach deep into his nose.
"What is this…?" he murmured, turning the root over in his hand.
Not recognizing it, Jun labeled it as a mysterious forest find and placed it in a small storage box for future research.
What he didn't realize was that the goblins had just discovered something incredibly rare: Veilroot—a plant that only grows in lands saturated with death energy. It was one of the core ingredients used in crafting mid-grade healing potions, and its rarity made it worth tens of millions of won per piece.
Even more importantly, Veilroot cannot be cultivated. It must be found and harvested from the wild—making Jun's discovery all the more significant.
That night, unaware of the treasure now sitting in his storage, Jun stood at the edge of the forest, gazing out under the moonlit sky.
"This land… still has secrets," he whispered.