Mycelium Silver

The Refinement Catalyst The Root Realm Controls

A silver-white crystal produced by specific fungi in The Root Realm, generated in a distributed manner throughout the entire mycelium network. Collection requires permission in accordance with the Mycelium Code, and the Root Realm Federation strictly manages production volume.

Mycelium Silver does not decay and has the property of absorbing and releasing a fixed amount of Aether particles, giving it excellent performance as an Aether refinement catalyst. Because of this characteristic it is highly in demand in The Canopy Isles, and since the First Bridge it has become the primary trade material between both civilizations. Compared to the same weight of gold, Mycelium Silver trades at a higher price.

The De Facto Common Currency

Mycelium Silver is also easy to work with and extremely difficult to counterfeit, so in Rakuen it functions as the de facto common currency. Despite the Canopy Council issuing its own currency, the paradoxical situation has emerged where Rakuen's actual settlement currency is Mycelium Silver.

Economic Pressure as a Weapon

Mycelium Silver's market price fluctuations have influence directly connected to both sides' political situations. The technique of the Root Realm Federation intentionally tightening production volume to apply economic pressure has been used multiple times in the past, and the Canopy Council views this dependency as "the second weakness after Aether Crystal dependency."

Authentication by Mycelium Pattern

The reason Mycelium Silver is difficult to counterfeit lies in its formation process. Secreted only at specific nodes of the Memory of the Earth, the moment of collection a unique pattern called a "mycelium pattern" is carved into the crystal structure. This pattern is determined by the combination of collection location and collection time, so no two pieces of Mycelium Silver in the world share the same pattern. Appraisers can read mycelium patterns to instantly judge provenance and authenticity.

The Refiners' Guild is pursuing development of an artificial catalyst as its most important project to escape dependence on Mycelium Silver. However, if this succeeds it would greatly weaken the Root Realm Federation's economic position, so the Federation views this project as the greatest potential threat in relations between both civilizations. Multiple operatives are said to have infiltrated the Guild for intelligence gathering, but the Guild denies this.

It is prohibited by the Mycelium Code to recover Mycelium Silver from the body of someone who died with it. A deceased person's possessions are considered things that should be returned to the Memory of the Earth, and Mycelium Silver is no exception. This Code is the only ethical deterrent preventing plunder of Mycelium Silver on battlefields.