In the wild pool full of mud, four people effortlessly walked with no trouble. They all had a faint mana covering their feet. Especially the blue fairy at the front. She looked clean and beautiful. Her steps didn’t create any splashes or ripples.

However, there was one rugged child at the back of the group who looked grumpy. Dirt and mud covered him.

Yomp! Yomp! squelsh! Mud splashed his cloth. “Argh, this is so hard! Why is everyone else able to move so freely?” He struggled to walk through the mud.

“Faye, how are you able to walk on it like that?” he asked. While using his dirty hand to brush the mud off his pants, hoping to make them cleaner and move faster,

She giggled while seeing him struggle to move. “We use mana to coat our feet,” Faye said as she touched her thigh. “In my case, I make my steps lighter, making it easier to traverse mud or squishy surfaces. It also allows me to minimize the sound of my footsteps, like an elegant lady should do.” She lifted the edge of her skirt with her hand, mimicking the movements of a refined woman.

Rain’s eyebrow raised slightly, impressed by her ability. If it weren’t for the tiny ripples on the water, I wouldn’t have noticed her footsteps. “Wow, that’s convenient. Do others do that too?” he said.

She smiled at Rain. “As I mentioned, this is solely my method.” She pointed her finger towards the princess ahead of them. “Look at Ella. She uses mana to solidify the mud she steps on, making it easier for her to walk.”

It was a clever technique, creating a stable platform for her to engage in combat, dash, and leap with ease.

Then Faye pointed at Eeon. “I’m not sure what he’s doing, but he walks as if the ground beneath him is a normal floor. I can only sense a faint hint of mana on the soles of his feet.”

He looked at Eeon’s steps. This one was more difficult to comprehend. Maybe he was making the mud solid like Ella did, but it still looked and felt muddy. He touched the muddy ground where Eeon had walked. It was peculiar how he possessed that ability. However, I shouldn’t think about it too much. After all, he was the chosen one. He was capable of anything.

Faye looked at him sweetly. “And, dear blue long hair lady, Lovely Rocky, she has the power to control water around her feet. Go through any water gracefully, like as she is the same way of water itself.”

“Why’d you say her name like that?” Rain clutched Rocky tightly, looking around nervously, but could only spot three small figures in the distance. She’s not looking back at me, is she? Perhaps her mana distracted her, or maybe she was too far away. He released the tension on his shoulders.

Little did he know, Aria had listened to the entire conversation through the wave on the surface of the mud. She whispered under her breath, ‘Rocky needs to be eliminated.’

Once he made sure Aria didn’t notice, he turned his head towards Faye. “Faye, could you lend me a hand? I really want to learn how to walk gracefully like you,” He said.

“Aw, you want to be a fair lady like me too? Such a sweet boy. However, it’s not very appropriate for a young man to rely on a woman’s help, you know. I can’t offer assistance, as it goes against my principles as a lady. Maybe you can ask Aria. She would be a good fit for you, maybe even treat you like a princess, a delicate boy with a stone maiden.” Faye covered her mouth with her hand. “Oopsie! Apologies for my impoliteness,” she said playfully.

Rain tilted his head again to make sure nobody could hear Faye’s nonsensical talk.

“Don’t worry, she’s already too far,” Faye assured him.

“I wish that too. I don’t want her to hate me even more. Like you said, I want to keep my head on my shoulders.” He shrugged as he walked through the muddy field with an awkward posture.

Faye giggled as she matched her steps to his and walked beside him. “That’s right, keeping your head on your shoulders is the best. It wouldn’t be very pleasant to see it in a pickle jar. I don’t want your head to swell up like that, okay?”

He glanced left and right, saw a few wet twigs poking out after the water had receded. “What a scary thought. A head as a souvenir. What is that?” He said as he picked up a wooden stick and tried to use it to help him walk, but it was useless and got stuck in the mud.

“I have one, maybe two, in my castle. If you reach the northern continent, I’ll show you, but don’t worry, they’re all my enemies’ heads. And they don’t have any swelling or ugliness, they’re completely intact. Their faces are frozen in a perfect state of shock,” she said casually.

Rain glanced at her. “Please, Lady Faye, no more scary stories about headless things,” he said as he grabbed a large piece of wood bark and tried to slide it on the muddy surface. It moved smoothly on the squishy land. “Those stories aren’t good for my tiny heart. Even though I rarely sleep, I don’t want to have that nightmare in my dreams.”

“Waa, that’s quite sad,” she exclaimed. Her eyes turned crimson as Iris changed into a vertical line. “I want to present the story of both boldness and stupidity of kings, Who tried to annoy me, but okay, no more spooky story” She bent her knee and sat on her heel, looking at his moving hand that was currently tying wooden bark with a grass robe. “Darling, what are you doing?”

“I don’t know either,” he replied. His hands continued to bind the bark, layer by layer, making it thick like a surfboard. “I’m just looking for something that might be useful and combining it together.”

Faye rested her hands on her knee and leaned her body closer to him. Her eyes shone a little and her iris returned to its circular shape. “Is it use for sliding on the mud floor?”

He smiled at her. “I hope so.” He lay his body on the board. It was slippery, but amazingly, he didn’t sink in the mud. “The first phase of the experiment is complete. So next, we utilize the forward function.” He spoke like a madman from the lowest detention room. He tried to claw at the mud ground and lunge forward, it moved.

Gradually, Faye moved her head along with his movements. It was slow, like a snail running in an animal festival, but her eyes sparkled. The corners of her mouth lifted. “Darling, that’s impressive. With that speed, you’ll reach the island by tomorrow.”

Rain hold his moving hand, and he sat on the surfboard instead. “Yes, that’s right, Lady Faye. It’s not enough speed.” He touched his rocky head, brushing off the stained clay from its face. “We’re falling far behind that saint's group. We need to upgrade this function.”

Faye stood up, took a step, and then sat down again. Her amulet jingled, producing a vibrant, clear sound. “What are you going to do? Wouldn’t it be better if you used magic instead? Transform yourself into a fish or something else that can swim in this mud land.”

Rain shook his head. “It’s not possible, Lady Faye. I don’t have the spiritual sense like all of you on this green earth. I can only see through it and have little power to reflect or blend it. It’s not as convenient as what all of you can do, but thank you for the suggestion.” He looked around and saw fish flickering in the mud pond, trying to flip themselves to the other side. “Swim like a fish, right?”

Faye listened to his word, Light sudden sparkle in her eyes. “Oh, how can you do—”

Splash! squelch, squelch, squelch. A whirlpool began to form nearby, gradually drawing in everything in its path. The mud, the dirt, and even the helpless fish flickering about, unable to escape their inevitable fate. Eventually, they were all swallowed by the gaping mouth of the whirlpool.

And there it was, the eerie black creature slithering out of the mud pond. It had the shape of an enormous salamander, with two hideous fins attached. Its tip had a boney dried, lifeless finger that waved and moved in an irregular motion, out of sync with the rest of its body. It was covered in slimy mucus, making it move swiftly through the muddy land. Its small, white blind eyes looked at the tiny red and black peculiar fish in front of it.

Faye slowly stood up and looked at it. “Wow, a six pentagon tier, the mud mourner. We are lucky to have found a clue about the water receding. It doesn’t show itself often, just silently eating dung and water, but a single bite of it is enough to destroy a merchantman ship.”

Rain was taken aback. “What is this?” he said. He quickly activated his Verity Eye. His eyes widened in shock. “What the hex is this Digby Dragon!? Do dragons also live in muddy fields?”