The two searched around the stone hall, finally locking down the source of the heat to the tree hole at the base of the withered tree.
The tree hole was very narrow with a very low opening. Even with Lilian's slender figure, she had to bend over and pull in her shoulders to barely squeeze inside.
Past the cramped opening, the view suddenly opened up into a completely different sight.
The space inside the tree hole was unimaginably vast, with a soaring ceiling and broad, level ground. All around grew red maple trees that constantly shimmered with flowing light, making the area over ten times larger than the cavern outside where they had fought!
Lilian stopped in her tracks. Space folding? Or was it just born this way?
Clara crawled in after her on all fours, her clothes smudged with black ash. When she raised her head and took in the surrounding sights, her mouth hung half-open, unable to squeeze out a single word.
In the open clearing directly ahead of the stone hall, a three-meter-tall bronze gate stood silently.
Behind the gate, there were no walls, no corridors, and no attachments whatsoever; it stood alone in the center of the clearing, its surface shimmering with mottled rust.
Lilian froze, her heart inexplicably skipping a beat.
Then, her legs began moving on their own, walking step by step toward that massive bronze gate.
“Lady Saintess? Lady Saintess!”
Clara stomped her feet in anxiety behind her, jogging forward to catch up. She called Lilian's title while grabbing her arm and robes, trying to drag her backward.
Yet Lilian's body was as heavy as a stone statue. Her steps didn't pause for a moment as she dragged the little nun along, moving forward step by step.
Sounds from the outside world felt separated by a thick veil of water, growing muffled and unclear.
By the time she snapped out of it, Lilian found that her palm was already pressed against the cold, rough bronze surface.
Dense, intricate patterns she had never seen before were carved onto the doors. As the rough grooves scraped against her fingertips, a wave of numbness washed over them.
Patter.
A warm drop of liquid slid from her eye, falling onto the scalding stone slab at the base of the gate and dispersing into a wisp of white steam with a sizzle.
Strange, why am I crying?
Lilian raised the back of her hand to wipe her cheek, feeling a wet slickness.
“Lady Saintess!”
Clara wrapped both arms around Lilian's arm, her eyes red and her voice thick with tears.
Lilian stepped back two paces, a heavy tightness in her chest, unable to calm her breathing for a long while.
“What on earth happened to you just now, Lady Saintess?”
Seeing the clarity return to Lilian's eyes, Clara pressed anxiously, her small face pale. “You almost scared Clara out of her wits!”
“I'm fine.”
Lilian waved her hand, wiping away the lingering tearstains from the corners of her eyes.
She couldn't explain what kind of madness had taken hold of her just now.
The feeling hadn't felt dangerous; instead, it carried a familiarity and warmth carved deep into her soul. Yet what washed over her heart immediately after was a heavy, overwhelming sorrow.
Before she could dwell on it, the system notification chimed clearly:
[A traveler from an alien land witnessed the embers of the old era.]
[Your talent 'Outsider' has triggered. Obtained random reward.]
[Congratulations! You have obtained: Second-Rank Fire Spark - Balsam Flame!]
The notification deep in her mind dispelled that sorrowful emotion.
Before Lilian could even look up, the bronze gate that had stood there for untold ages faded away into nothingness, without making a single sound.
It was as though the entire gate had appeared solely to meet her once.
On the ground where the gate had vanished, the stone slabs cracked open layer by layer.
A gorgeously crimson flower sprouted through the soil, its layered petals unfolding into the shape of a red firebird about to take flight. Dazzling flames churned inside its stamen.
The temperature shot up instantly, sending a wave of heat that forced eyes shut!
“So hot!”
The soles of Clara's feet felt as if she were stepping on a hot iron. Driven back by the scorching heat, she hopped frantically, wrapping her hands around her head as she retreated seven or eight paces, stopping only when her back pressed against the cave entrance.
Lilian was similarly baked to the point of breathlessness. Raising her arm to protect her face, she quickly backed away to a safe distance.
“So this is a Second-Rank Fire Spark... Balsam Flame?”
Lilian wiped away the hot sweat beading on her forehead and muttered.
In all the time since transmigrating over, this was the very first time she had actively triggered her EX-rank 【Outsider】 talent.
The generosity of the reward was jaw-dropping.
A Second-Rank Fire Spark—even if thrown onto the black market for cash—was a staggering fortune that ordinary people would never see in their entire lives.
Yet looking at the fearsome, wondrous object before her, which had burned the stone slabs to a scorched red, Lilian's cheek twitched twice.
The reward was a great item, but the problem was... how was she supposed to take it?
Lilian could bet that if she recklessly approached it, her entire hand would be cremated on the spot before she even touched the spark.
Far away beneath the stone wall, Clara covered her mouth with both hands, her eyes wide as saucers, her breathing halting from the shock of the words "Second-Rank Fire Spark."
“H-How many gold coins could this be worth...?”
Lilian began thinking about how to retrieve this fire spark. Take it by force? Putting aside whether she could pull that off, how would she store it after getting it?
Have Searing Spark devour it? That little thing was a textbook coward that bullied the weak and feared the strong; right now, it was shivering in fear inside her body.
Lilian tried approaching it using Spiritual Snake Form, but before she could get close, her own flame was completely drained down to nothing.
Feeling like her lips were about to crack from the heat, she decisively gave up.
“Let's go, Clara. We're leaving first. We'll leave this thing behind for now!”
“B-But...”
Clara looked at the fire spark, then at Lilian, her fingers fidgeting back and forth.
“If we don't leave now, we're going to get baked into jerky.”
Lilian shook her head and stepped out of the cave first.
This Second-Rank Fire Spark was not something she could covet with her current strength. She could only note down the location for now and return once she grew powerful enough.
Returning to the dim stone hall, Lilian led Clara along as they hugged the rock wall, quickly sneaking toward the cave exit.
With her maxed-out 10 points of Spirit fully active, the rustling of weeds at the cave entrance in the wind and the faint creak of shrub branches bending under wind pressure a hundred meters away unfolded crystal-clear in her mind.
The beast tide outside from earlier had long vanished without a trace; it seemed safe for the time being.
“There are no magical beasts outside. Let's go.”
Lilian turned her head and notified her in a low voice, being the first to squeeze out of the narrow opening.
A cool forest breeze blew straight into her face, driving away the layer of dry heat.
Lilian raised her head, greedily breathing in the chilly air.
This narrow escape from death made her realize completely: this world was far more brutal than she had imagined.
Even if you didn't look for trouble, trouble would come knocking on its own. To live in peace, one had to become strong.
She turned her head to look at the dirt-faced little sidekick behind her:
“Clara, where are we right now?”
Clara pulled out her small map and studied it for a moment.
Only after quite a while did she pout her lips and look at Lilian. “Lady Saintess... we ran so frantically to escape earlier that I can't be sure of our exact coordinates anymore. But if we're heading to Morningbell City, we need to go east...”
“Alright, alright, hold on.” Lilian felt dizzy listening to her and waved her hand. “I trust you. Just lead the way.”
Clara hugged the parchment map against her chest, sticking her chin up high:
“Don't worry, Lady Saintess! Even if Clara loses herself, Clara will definitely deliver Lady Saintess safely into Morningbell City!”
Following behind her, Lilian's eye twitched.
Wait, what? If you get lost, is there any difference between that and me getting lost?
Still, she was a total directionless klutz herself, so she could only hope Clara was actually reliable.
Soon, the two traversed the dense forest, and before their eyes appeared a small river over ten meters wide.
Clara pointed at the gurgling, flowing river water in front of them, her eyes sparkling:
“Lady Saintess, look! This is the Layan River. If we follow this river downstream, we'll reach Morningbell City very soon.”
Lilian looked in the direction Clara was pointing, and her heart skipped half a beat.
On the opposite side of the river, a deer-like magical beast over two meters tall was drinking water at the riverbank. Swirling leaves drifted around its body, and a faint mist lingered all over it. At a glance, it was clearly a high-rank magical beast.
Lilian clamped her hand over Clara's mouth, her heart beating rapidly.
Even with her maxed-out Spirit, she hadn't sensed this fellow at all!
Across the river, the deer-like magical beast's ears twitched. It stopped drinking water, raised its head, and looked directly toward the two of them hiding in the grass.
Oh dear God, Clara, you've really gotten us killed this time!
Rate on N.U.
