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‘What a cliché plot! Still, the vivid immersion gave the scene a touch of emotion. It would’ve been perfect with popcorn and soda.’

Zane glanced at the others. Endless Sea sat cross-legged, picking his nose, looking like he was about to doze off. Shiu, on the other hand, appeared thoughtful, nodding from time to time. Meanwhile, YoyoPink quietly sniffled, crystalline tears dripping onto the ground.

“…” In that moment, Zane was convinced he was one of the more *normal* ones among them.

…

“Thank you for patiently listening to all that,” Fia said gratefully.

With the story wrapped up, it was time to get down to business.

“Fia, take us to the Spring of Life,” Zane said bluntly.
“You… really intend to enter that place of corruption?”
Zane nodded. “Even if it’s tainted, we need to see it for ourselves.”
“…Very well. Follow me.” Fia’s form lifted into the air.

The death knight’s body had now completely vanished. But Fia’s spirit still lingered.

…

*‘Now that I think about it, we haven’t encountered many monsters after running into the death knight.’*

“They’re afraid of the aura of high-level undead,” Fia said, seemingly reading Zane’s thoughts.

*‘That made sense.’*

“So, does this mean we’ve completed the quest?”

Fia nodded lightly. “Yes… although ‘purge’ is really just self-deception. Once his presence fully fades, more enemies will rise. I am but a shattered soul now, I have nothing left to offer you.”

*‘What? Is she trying to weasel out of the reward!?’*

Thankfully, Fia had no such intention. “Your goal is the Spring of Life. You came here for Saintbloom Water, did you not? Saintbloom Water has many uses, but I imagine you braved these risks to make Holy Spirit Elixir for someone in need.”

*‘…Completely wrong! Don’t act like you know everything! That was awkward as hell.’*

Still, Zane went along with it. “Mm.”

“Holy Spirit Elixir is made from one part Saintbloom Water, two parts Sunrise Bloom, two parts Genesis Bud, and one part Wood Essence, stirred thoroughly.”

For a moment, everyone fell silent. It was clear they’d all received the same notification.

Fia continued speaking on her own. “But honestly, that recipe is a waste of good ingredients! When I was little, I accidentally discovered that if you added crushed Elemental Crystals and a bit of syrup to the mix, it would taste absolutely delicious!”

*‘What the hell? You turned medicine into a dessert? Who’s the one wasting ingredients now!?’*

*‘That’s dope!’*

“You’re a genius,” Zane said, giving her a thumbs-up.

Fia smiled brightly but didn’t say anything more.

*‘So this is the reward?’* Zane hadn’t expected to get a percentage-based potion recipe so early in the game. If they had carelessly killed that wraith… such a priceless recipe might have been lost forever.

Although the reward had been unexpected, there was still something more important to verify, the current state of the Spring of Life. If the key ingredient, Saintbloom Water, was unusable, everything else would be meaningless.

There was also one more thing bothering Zane.

…

Based on how water flowed, springs could be classified into intermittent or continuous.

The “Spring of Life” before them was clearly a continuous spring. A steady stream of water trickled down from between the rocks. Moss had long vanished from the stone surfaces, and not even weeds grew around it.

Although the water had not stopped flowing, it had taken on a murky grayish-white hue. It made one question whether it could still be consumed safely. But more than that—there was the overwhelming, acrid stench. It smelled of rot and decay, carried along with the current.

They hadn’t forgotten how toxic that little stream earlier had been.

“The Spring of Life is beyond saving…” Fia’s voice was filled with helplessness.
“Fia, you said the spring was corrupted by the aura of death. If we brought a priest here, could they purify it?”
“No. The contamination has seeped in over countless years, it’s not something that can be cleansed in a day. Besides… Anru is a special case. It would take at least ten high-level priests working constantly to channel Holy Light into the land.”

Zane’s mouth twitched. *‘Sure, the guy was strong, but isn’t this a bit too ridiculous?’*

“However,” Fia added, her tone shifting, “if it’s one of the fabled Wishkeepers, perhaps there is a way.”

*‘Elna? Come to think of it, if Elna sent me here to fetch Saintbloom Water, she had to know the spring was already corrupted… which means… she probably has a solution!’*

Zane pulled out a water bucket he had prepared. It cost three copper coins apiece and was supposedly indestructible. The general store owner had guaranteed its quality…

**Sssst—**

As soon as the bucket touched the springwater, its surface began to corrode rapidly. In moments, it was leaking all over. One drop even splashed onto Zane’s foot.

The black liquid bubbled menacingly. Thankfully, this was only a game. Otherwise, his foot would have been crippled!

“Ahhh—!” Even so, the pain felt shockingly real.

To her teammates, it looked like this: a tiny blonde girl had dipped a bucket into the spring, then accidentally spilled some on herself and started yelping in pain.

Shiu pressed a palm to his forehead and sighed. “What are you even doing?”

*‘Curse that shopkeeper! One day I’ll get back at him!’*

Well, in fairness, this wasn’t really his fault.

“Adventurer, what are you trying to do?” Even Fia couldn’t make sense of Zane’s behavior.
“Isn’t it obvious? If I can’t purify it here, I’ll just bring it back and cleanse it myself!” Zane declared, as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

“…”

“Zanny,” YoyoPink suddenly called him. Because of his transformation, Zane had told them just to call him Zanny for now.

“What is it?”

“Your class… isn’t it Wishkeeper?” YoyoPink asked timidly.

Zane froze as if struck by lightning. Of course he knew that! The problem was that he didn’t know what he was supposed to do with it!

*‘Forget it. Let’s test my skills one at a time.’*

“Invoke: Blazing Fire!” A wall of flames surged up, forming a barrier across the springwater. More accurately, it filtered the flow. The stream that passed through the flames appeared noticeably clearer!

*‘It worked!’*

“Sea, help me collect some water!” Zane shouted urgently and tossed him a bucket from his bag.

“Leave it to me!” Endless Sea scooped up a full bucket. This time, it didn’t corrode.

“Heh heh…” Zane grinned mischievously as he glanced at the fifty spare buckets split between Starry and his own inventory.