I, the All-Class Magus, All My Awakening Skills are LvMax

At first, he glanced at them casually, but then his brows furrowed, and he looked more closely.

"How many of these shards do you have?"

Is there hope? John felt a stir of excitement but scratched his head and said, "We don't really know what these are, so we haven't collected many. We only have a small amount."

"Give me these, and I'll tell you the locations of resource points."

Just that one sentence told John that the Treemonkey King especially wanted these shards.

"That's not really fair, is it? These were obtained by the whole fortress, and as the commander, I only managed to get a few. It wouldn't be right to take everyone else's share," John said, pretending to hesitate.

The Treemonkey King sneered, his tone dripping with sarcasm.

"Then forget it. I wasn't that interested anyway."

As he spoke, he actually handed the sparkling shards back to John, leaving him dumbfounded.

Seriously?

Can't we just talk this out calmly?

Do you really have to be so straightforward in rejecting it?

Even if there's something important, can't we negotiate?

"Wait, don't be hasty. Since we are allies, I should help you get what you need. After all, I can't expect you to provide resource information for free, right?"

John said with a smile, taking out half of the shards from his backpack.

He poured them on the ground, creating a small, dazzling pile.

The Treemonkey King's expression softened slightly.

He personally gathered all the shards into a pile, and with a flick of his hand, the shards disappeared.

John clearly saw this.

So, even bosses have their own storage space...

"Here is a map of the nearby resource points. See for yourself," the Treemonkey King said, handing John a map.

John, a bit surprised, took the map and opened it.

He found it detailed with coordinates and descriptions.

These shards were worth it!

"I'm curious, what are these shards exactly? Are they very useful to you?" John asked casually.

If these shards were truly valuable to the Treemonkey King and his kind, it could change everything.

The Treemonkey King glanced at John, seemingly in a good mood from receiving so many shards, and didn't hold back.

"Just as you humans need magic cores from magical beasts, we need your human magic cores."

John's pupils dilated, and his hand instinctively tightened around his staff.

What did that mean?

Human magic cores?

"No need to be so tense. Humans no longer have such things," the Treemonkey King said, seemingly in a genuinely good mood, smiling slightly.

"That's a story passed down through my tribe.

Many years ago, humans also had crystals within their bodies, and for us, absorbing these crystals helped us grow rapidly."

"I don't know why, but now there are no humans on this continent, except for the occasional appearance of your kind, and you no longer have those crystals."

"I thought these crystals were just a legend, but today you actually brought some. Even though they're broken, they're still usable."

These few sentences left John's mind blank, rendering him speechless.

He understood that humans hadn't been seen on this continent for a long time, as this was just a fragment of a secret realm.

But... crystals...

The Treemonkey King might not know where these shards came from, but John did!

These shards were what remained after those humanoid monsters were killed and decomposed.

Which means...

Those humanoid monsters might have been humans many years ago!

Moreover, John suddenly recalled what the Treemonkey King had said: that humans no longer had crystals.

There was a hint of disappointment in the Treemonkey King's tone, and John suddenly understood why the Treemonkey King was willing to cooperate and why he felt there was no irreconcilable conflict between them from the start.

Because they didn't have crystals!

If they, like the ancient humans, could form crystals in their minds, then...

John gripped his staff tightly once more.

Then who would be the prey?

That would be uncertain!

John looked at the Treemonkey King again, only to find him also staring back.

That human-like face was expressionless, yet it gave off a chilling feeling.

"So, do you want to get more crystals?" John asked after a moment of silence.

The Treemonkey King looked at John curiously, "Didn't you say there weren't any more?"

John smiled, walked to the table, and saw it was filled with monkey wine.

Without a word, he quietly pocketed several bottles.

Given the abundance here, taking a few more wouldn't be a big issue, and he could bring some back for Old Nick and the others.

"While I don't have any more right now, humanoid monsters appear during the fortress sieges. I can arrange for my people to help you extract crystals from them, and I'll make sure you get them."

John smiled as he took a bite of an apple.

Hmm... it was quite crisp and sweet.

You have to admit, this old monkey really knew how to enjoy life.

"What do I need to do?"

The Treemonkey King, of course, understood that such an excellent offer wouldn't be made in exchange for just a resource map.

This alone would no longer suffice, especially now that John knew how important these crystals were to him.

John's face lit up with a brilliant smile.

"Talking to smart people saves a lot of effort. While our people can kill those monsters, it comes with some costs. But if the little monkeys could use blaststones, it would be different."

John had realized when he entered the cave what these blaststones actually were.

They were essentially monkey droppings, mixed with some monkey wine, and then wrapped in mud to form blaststones.

The thought of almost being covered in droppings made him feel a bit nauseous.

The Treemonkey King continued to stare at John, then suddenly smiled, baring his sharp white teeth, looking rather intimidating.

"You've got guts to propose that to me."

John nodded, unfazed, then upped the ante.

"And you know, we have three fortresses, all of which are besieged by monsters."

"I know you have ways to extract these crystals from those monsters, but you can't do it as quickly as we can."

"So, we can cooperate fully. We help you extract the crystals, and you help us defend the fortresses. It's a win-win situation."

"Moreover, there are many resource points in the forest that we haven't fully exploited. If you could help with that, it would be even better. In return, all the crystals from the three fortresses will be yours."

John grinned, looking very much like a cunning fox.

The Treemonkey King fell silent.

He knew John's demands were all targeted at his needs, but he was tempted!

Advancing in their ranks was extremely difficult.

With these crystals, even though they were broken, he could make significant progress!

Perhaps even breaking through to platinum-tier, or reaching emerald-tier, or even diamond-tier!

At that point, he would command the entire forest!

"So, what do you think? My offer ensures you won't lose out. You just need to throw some stones for us; we'll handle the rest."

John smiled brightly.

"This deal is a sure win for you, and because we've cooperated before, I came to you first."

"Otherwise, I'm sure there are other bosses in the fortresses who would need these crystals just as much."

As soon as John finished speaking, he heard the Treemonkey King's decisive response.

"Deal!"