Fossil Research Chain (6 quests)

The Fossil Research chain is Victoria Island's longest narrative arc in the Lv 17 tier — 6 quests, 3 NPCs, 3 towns, ~30-45 minutes of quest time. Payoff: guaranteed Leaf Earrings + 30 Blue Potions + 15 Eggs + 15 Oranges + 5 Meat + ~5,892 EXP.

The chain at a glance

1. 10405 — Searching for Fossils (Winston, East Rocky Mountain II). Collect 1 Plant Fossil + 1 Animal Fossil for Winston. Plant Fossil drops from Axe Stump, Animal Fossil drops from Green Mushroom. Reward: 15 Blue Potions.
2. 10406 — Delivering a Box of Fossils (Winston → Dr. Betty, Ellinia). Winston realizes a tent is a bad place to store irreplaceable fossils. Carry the Fossil Box to Dr. Betty in Ellinia. Reward: 15 Eggs.
3. 10407 — Research on Plant Fossils (Dr. Betty, Ellinia). Betty needs 8 Plant Samples from the plants covering the Ellinia forest. See the "How to collect Plant Samples" section below — this is the step where our datamine stops being helpful. Reward: 15 Blue Potions.
4. 10408 — Research on Animal Fossils (Dr. Betty). Betty needs a Stuffed Drake Skull. She sends you to fetch it from her daughter Anne, who is at The Hill East of Henesys (map 10001060). Reward: 15 Oranges.
5. 10409 — Transporting Drake's Skull (Anne → Dr. Betty). Anne hands you the Stuffed Drake Skull. Deliver it very carefully back to Betty in Ellinia. Reward: 5 Meat.
6. 10410 — Progress on Fossil Research (Dr. Betty → Dr. Winston, East Rocky Mountain II). Betty hands you the completed Fossil Report. Bring it back to Winston on the mountain. Reward: 1 Leaf Earrings.

How to collect Plant Samples (step 3)

This is the step the quest text is coy about: Betty tells you "I can see a lot of plants covering the woods in Ellinia" and expects you to figure out the rest. Here's what we know:

Plant Samples are not a regular mob drop. Our client datamine has zero mobs listed as a source for item 4031072 (Plant Sample). That's not a bug in our scraper — the item is deliberately not on any mob's drop table.

They come from plant reactors. In pre-Big-Bang MapleStory (the era Classic World rebuilds), Plant Samples drop from interactive bushes and plants scattered across the Ellinia forest floor. You walk up to one, hit it with your weapon just like a mob, and it breaks and drops a Plant Sample ETC. These are reactors, not monsters — they don't show in the minimap and they don't give EXP.

Where to look: start on the tree platform maps directly north of Ellinia town. Good candidates based on the pre-BB layout:

• The Field Up North of Ellinia — one map north of town.
• The Tree That Grew I and II — the climb up Ellinia's great tree.
• The Forest North of Ellinia — a wider forest map with plant decor.

Honesty caveat: we have not yet confirmed that Classic World ships the plant reactors on these specific maps. The quest, items, and NPC data all match the pre-BB layout exactly, and Classic World is rebuilding that era, so the reactors almost certainly exist. But if you walk The Field Up North of Ellinia and see zero clickable plants, let us know — we'll update this section the moment a player tells us where they actually spawn. Verification state for this specific claim is tracked in the quest's verificationNote block at the bottom of this page.

Step 1 details: where to kill for the fossils

Step 1 asks for one Plant Fossil (from Axe Stump, Lv 17) and one Animal Fossil (from Green Mushroom, Lv 15). Both are modest drop rates — plan on ~10-20 minutes of grinding unless you get lucky early.

• Axe Stump — closest spawns to Winston: Winston stands on East Rocky Mountain II itself, which has 12 Axe Stumps per spawn cycle. You literally do not need to leave his map to farm the Plant Fossil. If the room is crowded, East Rocky Mountain III and Over the Wall have another 12 and 11 respectively.
• Green Mushroom — the detour: Rocky Mountain has mostly Snails and Stumps, so for the Animal Fossil you'll want to walk west. West Rocky Mountain III has 32 Green Mushrooms and is a straight shot from Perion. If you prefer the Ellinia side, Tree Dungeon, Forest Up North III (16 spawns) and IV (31 spawns) are directly on the Ellinia-to-forest route you'll already be running for step 3's plant reactors.

Where each NPC stands

• Winston (NPC 512): East Rocky Mountain II. From Perion, take the east exit and walk two maps east. He's by his dig tent.
• Dr. Betty (NPC 308): Ellinia proper, near her biologist tent in town. You can't miss her — she's one of the few townsfolk standing outside a shop.
• Anne (NPC 224): The Hill East of Henesys, map 10001060. From Henesys town, take the east exit — Anne is on the hill one map out. (The quest text says "near Henesys" and leaves the exact map vague; our datamine resolves it to this specific hill.)

Efficiency tips

• Carry Return Scrolls. The chain forces four cross-town hops (Perion → Ellinia → Henesys → Ellinia → Perion). If you have Return Scrolls from the Bruce / Nella chains, this is the chain to spend them on.
• Dual-purpose with Shane's chain. You're already killing Green Mushrooms for step 1 and running Ellinia forest maps for step 3 — those are the same maps and the same mobs Shane's Mushroom Chain uses. Pick up both quests before you start grinding.
• Finish before Alex's Chain. The Leaf Earrings in step 6 give you an earring slot you didn't have. Pair with Old Wisconsin and the earring STR/INT/LUK/DEX scrolls from Alex's Request for a free Lv 17-18 accessory refresh.
• Keep spare inventory ETC slots. You will be carrying Fossil Box, Plant Fossil, Animal Fossil, 8 Plant Samples, Stuffed Drake Skull, and Fossil Report in rapid succession — that's six distinct ETC slots in a 24-slot ETC tab. Clean out vendor trash before you start.