Beautiful slumber

Kit collected a large bunch of white flowers as they trailed behind Snowball through the forest. He couldn't stop thinking about the moon sphynx's cryptic words.

Finally, they arrived at a vast field adorned with black flowers shaped like cones. Kit guessed that the petals had seeds inside them, hidden from view. The flowers rested on long, slender black stems that seemed too delicate to support their weight. Each plant boasted five blooms sprouting from the spindly leaves near its base.

In the centre of this flower-filled field stood a magnificent white bear that caught Kit's eye immediately. From a distance, it resembled a polar bear, but much larger and with fur that glowed golden in the sunlight.

"Kit, it's a monster!" exclaimed his friend, already itching for a fight. "Look at how massive he is, and his fur is shimmering with gold. I can't wait to take him down."

Kit glanced over at his friend and couldn't help but feel uneasy at the ferocious look in his eyes. He gazed back at the towering beast before them and knew it wasn't one they could easily defeat.

The glistening glow of its fur was a clear indication that this was no ordinary monster. Kit attempted to use his power of identification on the creature, hoping for some insight into its true nature.

[information unavailable]

Kit had guessed right, it was too high a level for his identify. "Mars I don't think we should even try to engage this monster in a fight."

"Kit, I have a feeling those flowers will be necessary for the recipe," Mars said, gesturing towards the black flowers. Kit gazed at them thoughtfully before turning to look at the white bear.

Maybe Mars was right. If the monster let out a powerful roar, the flowers would sway in the wind and solve the final part of the riddle given by the moon sphynx. With a sigh, Kit realised that although the flowers were tantalisingly close, they were still just out of reach.

"One," came a familiar voice from above. Kit glanced up to see the hot pink bird perched on a nearby tree branch.

"One." The bird repeated, holding a golden flower in its yellow claws and staring intently at Kit with its small, beady eyes.

"One."

"Let's just ignore it, Kit. I don't think it's a threat to us. If it was going to attack, it would have already." Mars reassured her.

"But Mars, look at how cute it is!" Kit exclaimed, ignoring his previous warning about birds.

"No, no, no. You said you didn't like birds after the last incident." Mars teased with a sly grin on his face.

Ignoring both Mars and the bird for now, Kit focused on the vibrant flowers in the field.

"One," the persistent bird chirped again.

The bird continued to be ignored by Mars. "The moon sphinx wants the drink, correct? So there must be a way for us to obtain those flowers or it wouldn't have let us enter." Mars was vocalising his thoughts to Kit.

"Maybe we could make a quick grab for a flower before it reaches us." Kit thought that would be the only feasible option.

"That won't work," Mars replied. "It's too risky. As much as I'd like to take on this challenge, I know it would result in my demise. Watch this, I'll demonstrate." He took out one of the moon fruits and flung it into the field.

A deafening roar erupted as soon as the fruit hit the ground. The wind whipped fiercely, flattening the black flowers onto the ground.

When the gust reached them, they were hurled backwards into the trees. Kit collided with the trunk of the tree behind him.

- 300 health

Kit let out a grunt, feeling as though his spine had been shattered. Attempting to move only sent waves of agony down his back and he was forced to lean against a nearby tree, panting heavily.

Through the corner of his eye, he could see Mars standing nearby, holding a bottle of water. As he struggled to sit up and take a sip from the offered water, Mars helped him sit up.

"Sorry Kit," Mars said apologetically. "I underestimated its power. I thought we were far enough away to avoid any damage."

Kit could only respond with a pained grunt. He felt the cool water soothe his injuries and slowly began to regain control over his body. He reached into his pouch and took out two more bottles of water, quickly chugging them down before attempting to stand up straight. When the pain had subsided enough for him to continue, he stood up.

Kit let out a sigh and frowned. "Well, that was quite unpleasant. How on earth are we going to retrieve those flowers now?" He couldn't bear the thought of getting any closer to the white bear after witnessing the destructive power of its roar.

But then his attention was caught by the hot pink bird once again. "one" It seemed to be offering something to him, lifting its leg as if presenting a gift. And there it was: a beautiful golden flower, glistening in the moonlight. Kit couldn't help but wonder if the bird wanted to communicate something with them.

With cautious steps, Kit approached the tree where the bird perched above him. The bird continued to hold out the flower as if beckoning him to take it. "Do you...want me to have this?" he asked tentatively.

The bird simply responded with a single word: "One." And with that, it released the flower from its grasp, allowing it to float down towards Kit. He reached out and took the flower from midair, thanking the bird for its generosity.

"Is there anything you would like in return?" Kit offered, feeling it would only be polite to make a trade.

But all the bird did was tilt its head curiously before spreading its magnificent wings and soaring away into the night sky. Kit watched as it became smaller and smaller until it disappeared completely. "Well, I guess it didn't want anything after all," he chuckled to himself.

As he examined the golden flower in his hand, he noticed a faint dusting of shimmering gold on its petals. When he tried to use his identification skills on it, he discovered that it was at a level beyond his capabilities, just like the white bear.

"What does the bird want us to do with this flower?" Kit asked, holding it up for Mars to see.

Mars examined the flower and pulled out a book from their bag. The title read 'Pictures of Exotic Flowers'. "Why do you even have a book like that?" Kit questioned.

"I told you my dad travels all over CAL collecting rare flowers," Mars explained as they flipped through the pages. "He made me promise to bring him some if I ever found any. I have a whole collection of books in this storage ring for identifying rare flowers."

Mars extended his hand, revealing a simple silver ring on his index finger. Kit couldn't believe their luck. "Do you have any other books that might have information about the flower? I'll help search," Kit eagerly offered.

Mars handed over a book titled 'The Rarest of the Rare Flowers.' Kit couldn't help but chuckle at the unique titles of the books they had found. Settling on the ground, Kit opened the book and began scanning through the pages of vibrant illustrations.

As he was flipping through the pages, Mars suddenly exclaimed, "Kit, I think I found it! Come take a look!" Excitement filled Mars' voice as he placed the book on the ground for them to examine together. And there it was - an identical drawing of the elusive flower they had been searching for. Kit's eyes quickly scanned the information written alongside the image.

[Beautiful slumber]

Found in the hidden tropical forests of the moonlight paradise realms. The golden flower has a strong sedative effect on all animals including spiritual beasts. When the golden dust on the petals is ingested by an animal it causes the animal to fall into a deep slumber. The duration of the sedative depends on the level of the animal.

Kit's heart began to race with excitement. They finally had the key ingredient, now all they needed was a way for the white bear to consume the golden dust.

Kit couldn't believe their good fortune. Soon he would create a new recipe! Taking a deep breath to calm, Kit reminded himself that they still needed a plan.

"I told you there would be a solution. That cat has a strong desire for the juice. We're lucky it has a weakness or else that bird wouldn't have given us the flower." Mars suggested that the cat may have sent the bird.

"Do you really think the moon sphinx convinced the bird to give us the flower?" Kit was skeptical.

"Yes, I feel like he's just like Pint. That cat will do anything for juice."

Kit chuckled at Mars' comparison. They believed that the moon sphinx was a powerful creature and didn't expect it to make things easier for them. But then again, they hadn't expected it to be so easy to find in the first place; they credited Snowball's tracking abilities.

"You could be right. But right now, we need to focus on finding a way to get the white bear to ingest the flower without getting ourselves killed." Kit turned to Mars, hoping they had a plan.

"We can use the dust to lure the bear in, but it will be dangerous," Mars suggested, deep in thought.

Their attention turned to the white bear in front of them. "Let's see if he'll go for some meat first. We only have one chance at this," Mars informed Kit.

Kit pulled out a piece of Apelop meat from his bag. He wasn't sure if he could throw it far enough with his strength, so he handed it to Mars.

"I'll try to get the meat into the field of flowers from here," Mars said, testing the weight of the meat in his hands. "But stand back just in case."

Kit ran a considerable distance away and hid behind a nearby tree, peeking out to watch Mars. Once Mars was satisfied that Kit was a safe distance away, he threw the meat into the flower field and ran behind a tree himself.

The meat landed with a loud plop, followed by a deafening roar that shook the trees around them. Kit barely managed to pull his head behind the tree as strong winds whipped past him. When everything had calmed down, he cautiously peeked around the tree once again.

The large polar bear was already sniffing at the meat when it was finally safe for Kit to peek. He couldn't fathom why the bear hadn't devoured the food yet.

To his surprise, the bear used its paw to roll the meat out of the flower field and leisurely strolled back to the centre. "Well, that didn't quite go as planned," Kit sighed upon returning to Mars.

"Looks like it's picky with its food," observed Mars, scratching his chin as he gazed at the bear.

"How are we going to get it to eat the flowers now?" Kit's words carried a sense of defeat.

They both fell into a heavy silence, lost in thought. Admitting that he had no idea how to make this happen, Kit resumed collecting moon fairy flowers while Mars followed suit. They walked around the perimeter of the field in contemplative silence, searching for a solution.

Mars was the first to notice a commotion at the edge of the field, and he quickly caught Kit's attention. They both watched as a small creature appeared at the edge of the black flower-filled field.

The animal was similar in size and shape to a goose, with a torpedo-shaped body, round head, and flattened bill. Its feathers were various shades of blue, with some sticking up on its head like a headdress.

As it waddled towards the black flowers, Kit noticed the white bear raise its head from its resting state. The bear's eyes were fixed on the bird, but it didn't move closer to it. The bird slowed down and started to look around before dashing towards one of the black flowers.

Suddenly, the white bear vanished from its spot and reappeared right in front of the bird. It opened its mouth and snapped its jaws closed, catching the bird in an instant.

Kit was stunned and terrified at this display; it seemed like the white bear could teleport. "M-MMars did you see that. It can teleport. I think we should leave." stuttered Kit.

Kit couldn't help but feel disappointed, although he tried to hide it. He told himself that at least they had acquired some new ingredients. With any luck, he could create a concoction similar to the magical moon juice.

"Yes, I saw. This is great news; we can finally gather the flowers," exclaimed Mars.

Kit glanced over at Mars, wondering if they had both seen the same thing. How could Mars have come to the conclusion that they could collect the flowers? Kit decided to ask for clarification. "Um, Mars... how exactly are we going to do that?"

"We just need to catch one of those birds," Mars replied with a smile.

"But even if we manage to kill one, we still have to get close enough to the field and place it inside the monster's range. What happens if it decides we look more appetising than the birds?" Kit pointed out.

"Based on its behaviour, it seems like the monster is fiercely protective of the black flowers. We've been here for a while now and it hasn't left its post to attack us. As long as we stay away from the flowers, we should be safe," explained Mars.

"Okay, but then how do we lure the bird to the white bear?" Kit inquired.

Mars considered their options carefully. "The bird took a risk in trying to get the black flower, so it's likely that it will go towards them if we bring one with us," he concluded.

"But if we give the bird the golden dust, it will fall into a deep sleep," Kit pointed out.

"Don't worry, as long as it doesn't ingest the dust, it won't fall asleep. We'll just rub it on its feathers and send it in," Mars reassured him. Kit couldn't believe how quickly Mars had come up with a solution.

His partner's thought process was impressive; Kit often admired his ability to adapt to any situation. It was probably why Mars was such a skilled fighter. Kit made a mental note to pay more attention to Mars and learn from him.

Excitement pulsed through Kit as they finally had a plan to defeat the white bear and obtain the flowers they needed. He was so jittery, he couldn't sit still. They needed to put the plan into action immediately and secure those flowers before someone else did.