As soon as he spoke, Alexander drew his spear, which immediately began dripping poison, and used |Water Field|. He pressured everyone nearby and carefully retreated back to the road.

  The trio of strangers cast angry looks at him and seemed unhappy; they couldn't do much more than that, as they could feel Alexander was stronger than them and were already tired and injured.

  The "dynamic duo" weren't much different. Mark was certainly even more irritated than the trio. He thought he could take advantage of Alexander's group's arrival to seize the {Tree of Good Fortune}, but he ended up empty-handed after losing his 'treasure' to a commoner.

  After moving away from the trio of strangers and verifying he wasn't being followed, Alexander deactivated his |Water Field| and picked the {Tree of Good Fortune}. He ate a few leaves to check its effect.

  Upon tracking the result with his status open, he discovered he only gained XP and 1 Luck attribute point per leaf eaten. An effect that didn't seem very good, considering this treasure's rarity.

  The amount of XP was even considerable, so much that his bar reached the top, but it would be a waste to eat such a {Natural Wonder} just to gain XP and additional points in his Luck attribute. What Alexander didn't know was that, naturally, the Luck attribute was the hardest for any individual to increase.

  "It seems my luck ran out when I managed to harvest this plant… Its effects on me are very low," thought Alexander, still undecided about what to do with the plant. "Storing it or selling it also doesn't seem like the best path to follow."

  After thinking about what to do, he passed it to Diana. "Go ahead and try your luck. It didn't have a very good effect on me."

  Diana was embarrassed at first, but didn't refuse the offer and timidly ate one of the leaves. "Thank you very much. It tastes very good. I can even feel its energy coursing through my body."

  "Damned sexist plant," cursed Alexander in his thoughts, completely indignant with the plant. Its taste wasn't horrible when he ate it, but it was far from very good.

  "Eat half of the leaves since you liked it," said Alexander as if it were nothing.

  Seeing Diana's uncertain face, he added: "I don't even intend to eat the other half; I'll give it to Ocean."

  Mark and Stella, who were no longer running ahead of the group, heard the entire conversation in silence. But upon discovering that Alexander didn't care about the treasure, and even planned to give half of it to his wolf, they became chaotic.

  Feeling this was the last straw, Mark began to grow increasingly chaotic and impatient.

  This, however, quickly stopped when the young man felt his body being enveloped by Alexander's |Water Field|, who brandished his spear.

  "Try to do something, anything, and see if you won't suffer triple the damage you can cause," threatened Alexander coldly. Inside he was already thinking about how to eliminate this problem in human form.

  Seeing the ferocity in Alexander's eyes, Mark gave up trying to do anything. At least for now.

  Stella's thoughts were also chaotic, but since she didn't exude as much hostility as Mark, Alexander didn't threaten her. Even without the threat, she could feel her fate wouldn't be much different from Mark's if she tried anything.

  Being treated like this was a first for Stella, who grew up receiving praise and favor from everyone around her.

  She didn't quite know what to do, but she stepped forward and stood in front of Alexander. "I'm not trying to take your treasure. But since it didn't work well for you, could you sell it to me?"

  "You don't have the money to buy it," observed Alexander.

  "My family does," replied Stella.

  Alexander instinctively laughed upon hearing those words; not because he disregarded her or mocked her, but because he found Stella's innocence amusing.

  "Don't take me wrong. I'm not belittling your offer," assured Alexander. "It's just that you don't seem to have understood a very simple thing."

  Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

  "What didn't I understand?" asked Stella, confused.

  "The fact that this plant is only mine because I'm the strongest here," explained Alexander. "What guarantees it will still be mine when we reach a place where there are people who can wipe the floor with me?"

  Stella initially thought Alexander's words made sense. After thinking a bit more, however, she became indignant.

  Was he insinuating that she and her entire family were thieves?

  Seeing her face contort and feeling that she was losing control, Alexander thought it better to explain clearly to avoid the risk of things getting worse. Because if she tried anything, he would react.

  "I'm not saying you or your family will try to rob me. But can you guarantee for others?" asked Alexander, looking at Mark.

  Such an act left Mark even more irritated—especially because Alexander had perceived his plan.

  Stella finally understood, but this left her at an impasse.

  She wanted to eat leaves from the {Tree of Good Fortune}, but had nothing to bargain for it at the moment.

  Amused by seeing her try, Alexander decided to provoke her gradually to see how far she would go. But Diana intervened, ruining his fun: "Can't you give them a little? There are still so many leaves."

  Despite her gentle personality with others, Diana wisely excluded Mark's name, who was in mutual hostility with Alexander, when trying to plead for some benefits, which were obviously for both.

  Even so, she was still reprimanded by Alexander: "Naive. Do you think they would give us anything if the situation were reversed?"

  Diana didn't need to think much to know the answer. But it wasn't as if her personality would change from one moment to the next.

  Seeing her in conflict, Alexander couldn't help but sigh. "Half the leaves are already yours, so you are free to do as you wish with your share. But think very carefully before making your decision, because each leaf you don't eat is a part of this unique opportunity you'll be giving up."

  The weight Alexander placed on Diana's shoulders by giving her this choice was immense, but he couldn't, nor wanted to, make every choice for her. It was time for her to face reality and make her own difficult choices.

  Diana almost hurt her lip by biting it in her indecision, but in the end she still ended up giving 5 leaves to each of them.

  Even though the pride of both was hurt, Mark and Stella didn't refuse Diana's generosity.

  5 leaves didn't seem like much, but considering there were 60 leaves left on the plant, and only half belonged to Diana, her act of giving away 1/3 of what could be the biggest opportunity of her life surprised them.

  Even Mark, who tried to maintain a certain haughtiness, was moved by her gesture.

  Stella went even further and made a promise to Diana: "I thank you for your generosity, but I can't simply take advantage of it. When we return, I will compensate you. I promise."

  Stella's promise also bound Mark, because he could no longer pretend he received the "share he deserved."

  He also ended up having to commit to providing some compensation, or it would affect his image.

  While Diana began consuming her leaves, Mark and Stella pondered whether or not to eat theirs. After all, such a treasure was rare and its effect might be better for other members of their family.

  The doubt was great, but Alexander ended their reverie: "You better hurry. We have company."

  Alexander's words startled the rest of the group. No one besides him and Ocean could sense any presence.

  After a few moments trying to sense where the presence that put him on alert was, Alexander found the approximate location. But even under his intense gaze, the person didn't reveal themselves.

  Seeing it wouldn't be easy to make the individual reveal themselves, Alexander fired the |Water Cannon| through his spear in the direction of the presence.

  The spell got very close to where Alexander wanted. After passing through a few trees, it exploded upon colliding with a large, robust tree, releasing a large amount of pressurized water and knocking the tree down.

  Alexander's feat left Mark and Stella surprised, as they didn't expect him to have such destructive power with his element. But what left them even more perplexed was seeing a man fleeing from the spot where the tree was about to fall.

  Seeing the man flee, Alexander shouted: "This Demi, who looks like a large pup, is under my protection. Think carefully before trying anything."

  Alexander's words left the group's atmosphere a bit strange. Mark and Stella grew sour with the confirmation that, apparently, they were on their own and at their own risk, while Diana turned doubly red from Alexander's words.

  Just him shouting that he was protecting her would already be enough to make her blush, but Alexander went even further and compared her to a large pup—which was too much for her heart.

  She couldn't even look at him.

  Even after casting his warning spell, Alexander could still sense the pursuer's presence. The distance between them had only increased.

  Alexander could feel the group following them due to their growing hostility towards his group as each leaf was consumed. But such hostility and pursuit served no purpose, as all they could do was watch while others, even a wolf, ate the treasure that could have been theirs.

  As soon as the leaves were gone, Alexander began thinking about what to do with the remaining wooden part: "Consuming this part won't bring many benefits, but it can still be used as the core or auxiliary component of a good wand or scepter. After all, it's the stem of a genuine {Natural Wonder}."

  After thinking a bit about what the best use he could make of this part would be, Alexander turned to Stella and asked: "Do you know why I didn't eat this part? If so, are you interested in it?"

  Stella bit her lip thinking Alexander was just toying with her, but she replied anyway: "Yes, I know what it can be used for. And of course I want it, but are you willing to give it up?"

  "Why not? You can have it," said Alexander, handing what remained of the {Tree of Good Fortune} to Stella as if it were nothing.