"Argh...! To think I was as filthy as all this," he said, disgusted by how dark the water had become after he had dunked his clothes in.
But then Noah noticed something strange:
'Why is the water so clear..?'
He wondered, realizing that the water was crystal clear—even after he had bathed.
"...There's something odd about this water too, isn't there?"
Instead of the dirt spreading, it was gradually diminishing. Before he knew it, Noah found himself standing before a pure spring once more, and his clothes had never looked cleaner.
`[This spring is a source of purification!]`
`[Its main property is the elimination of impurities, which in turn drastically increases one's aptitude for cultivation.]`
"What ridiculous... How can there be so many absurd things hidden underground?"
`[This is a special place.]`
"Special...?" Noah asked, confused yet intrigued.
`[Yes.]`
`[Far below this forest and many kilometers beyond lies an earth vein – the most basic kind of Qi vein – and the source of purification is the result of the condensation of pure energy from that vein.]`
"I see... this is truly ridiculous... My luck is absurd. I guess I've spent a lifetime's worth of luck in this place."
`[Isn't that unfair?]`
`[After all, you had no luck at all in your past life.]`
Noah paused, deep in thought. His smile faded for a moment as he stared at his reflection in the water.
"That's true..."
Striving not to drown in memories, he managed a smile.
"I suppose I deserve all this as compensation, right?"
After wringing his clothes and shedding the excess water, he held them in one hand—while in the other he clutched the healing pill that kept his pain at bay. Then he looked at the spring and asked:
"Can I add this to my inventory too?"
He wondered nervously, not wanting to leave something so precious behind.
`[Certainly!]`
"It would be even better if I had some separate bottles for those situations when it's hard to remove it all from the inventory. But I don't have any on me, so..."
Some glass claws materialized before him—a claw even broke because he couldn't grab it.
`[There were a few among the crystals as well.]`
`[Do you need more?]`
"No, but... how did that phoenix have so much stuff? Was it normal for people to come to this place trying to challenge her back then?"
He crouched down and began filling the glass containers with water—leaving only a void behind.
`[Other creatures might not have the courage to face a phoenix directly, but among all beings there is one that places greed above all and doesn't mind taking huge risks to acquire something deemed extremely valuable.]`
"...Humans."
`[Exactly.]`
`[No matter how dangerous it is, if it's valuable, there will always be someone trying to claim it.]`
"...But the one who killed her didn't take anything with him," Noah said, recalling the sword lodged in the phoenix's back. "Then what could have been his reason for doing that?"
`[He couldn't carry it; I suppose that's the way it's meant to be.]`
"I see... so the battle wasn't one-sided..."
The spring vanished, taken along with the water bottles by the system. But the empty bottle remained in Noah's hand.
"Bring the phoenix's body here for a moment," he instructed.
The bottle was then filled halfway with the creature's golden blood, and afterward, both the bottle and the phoenix's body were returned to the inventory.
Noah resumed his journey toward the semi-dragon's offspring, while waiting for his clothes to dry enough for him to dress. The path stretched on, and at one point, his steps grew slower. Until then, he had been focused on collecting all useful items and leaving that place as quickly as possible, but now a question arose in his mind now that he was truly near the so-called "offspring":
'...What am I going to do if it attacks me...?'
He wondered anxiously.
Trembling, he quickly glanced at the area where the creature was—seeing nothing intimidating. Noah then swallowed hard, and looking a little more calmly, found his doubts answered.
He sighed.
"It's an egg..!" he said, relieved.
Noah had never let out such a satisfying sigh in his entire life until that moment.
"Are eggs considered living beings...? Can it be stored in the inventory? I don't think I can get out of here carrying this."
`[Yes, they are.]`
`[However, living beings can only be stored in the inventory in two cases – either when the being lacks the capacity to choose, or when consent is given.]`
"I see, so this case falls under the first option, right?"
`[Wrong!]`
`[The semi-dragon's offspring gave its consent before being stored in the inventory.]`
"Really...? So it's already a conscious creature?"
`[Transcendental beings are born with elevated wisdom.]`
`[In the case of creatures that remain in eggs after birth, they only break out of their shells when their physical bodies are fully formed – however, they are conscious from the very first moment of their birth.]`
Lost in thought and wondering what other incredible things existed in this world, Noah wandered through the labyrinth following the system's instructions. He asked which of the exits was closest to where he was—the very same hole through which he had entered—and he headed in that direction.
"Crap..."
Looking up, Noah could not see even a single ray of light, not even from afar. With his current vision, he could see the tunnel, of course, but he couldn't make out its end even up close.
"How am I supposed to climb all this...? It doesn't seem to have an end."
`[Why don't you just jump?]`
"Ah, sure, and why don't you tell me to just fly? It's 5 kilometers!"
[...]
Sighing, Noah first put on his clothes—they were almost completely dry by now.
"This is idiocy..." he said, disbelieving, "And it's even more stupid that I'm considering such a ridiculous idea."
Noah smelled the pill one last time, holding it close to his nose. He sighed and prepared for the leap—expecting failure, of course. Even knowing that something had certainly changed since he began cultivating, he had no idea how great that change had been—or even what stage of cultivation he was in, since he hadn't stopped to think about it.
His mind emptied, but soon the putrid odor of the serpent's blood invaded his nostrils. There is no wind in this place, so what is it that's making his hair move?
When his fingers left the ground, Noah saw the 5 kilometers of depth of the hole pass by like a mere blur around him.
He feels the breeze—and it *is* the breeze. He senses the scent of nature and sees the world in all its beauty after a few days that had felt like an eternity.
"That's incredib-!"
Eyes wide open, he hid among the trees near a nearby river where he had fallen. Noah retrieved the vampire sword from his inventory and gripped it, trembling.
For a brief moment, his excitement made him forget where he was—the forest where death loomed over the treetops.
"...Which direction is the nearest city..?" he murmured, carefully scanning his surroundings.
`[The nearest city lies to the north.]`
`[It's a little over 20,000 kilometers away.]`
"20 thousand-?!"
However, it seems he wasn't careful enough.
His body stiffened, and he didn't know why. The sun vanished and a gigantic shadow took its place. Turning around, Noah trembled, fearing what he would find.
'Dammit...! Why does this always happen to me?!'