Anna opened her eyes, realizing that the pain had subsided significantly. It might be the pain had subsided or her body had gotten used to it, but there was another thing that changed in her body.
She raised her hand and tried to make a grip. She even grabbed a stone and tried to crush it.
"Mhm?" She cracked the stone and gradually split it open. She assessed her change inwardly, 'My strength is… doubled?'
'The Body Strengthening Liquid is a unique liquid from this mountain. It's said that the mountain itself has a unique rock formation, trapping the water in it.
'When the rain comes, the water is stored and compressed by the rock. And that water flow through the gap and eventually reach the pointy rock above our head, allowing it to fall one droplet after another.
'No one has ever found the truth, but that's the best version of the explanation. However, the concentrated water is indeed useful to our body. Just by being exposed to it, the water will try to enter our pore to change the water in our body, causing our flesh, bone, and skin to change.
'If we drink it, it'll do the same to our organs, but the organs won't be able to take it, causing people to die.
'That's why the best way to take advantage of this water is to bathe in it to reinforce our muscle.
'Sadly, we can't keep this water since the Supreme Devil Organization is here. With a huge demon carrying it, it's possible to transport all the water in this place, which will cause a lot of trouble for the Demon Banner Army in the future.
'It's better to destroy this place and inform the Demon Banner Army so that they can dispatch a team to investigate the liquid itself.'
Anna took a deep breath and wondered when they would go out. On the one hand, she didn't want to come out because it would keep increasing her strength. On the other hand, they couldn't be too long in this place. Not only the efficacy of the water would keep decreasing, but the Supreme Devil Organization might find them.
'Well, Noel should already calculate it. I should just focus until Noel wakes up.'
Anna decided not to put too much thought in it since Noel would do the rest.
As Anna expected, Noel opened his eyes three hours after that. He had gotten used to this pain and checked his body.
'Hmm, this is?' Noel noticed something different from Anna.
[Mission: Body Strengthening Liquid]
[Description: Go to the Geolythic Mountain with Anna Stargaze and bath in the Body Strengthening Liquid]
[Reward: Sword Aura +3 Level and 20 SP]
[Penalty: Someone gets it.]
He checked his skill and confirmed that his Sword Aura had raised by three levels.
However, there was one more thing he saw through from this development.
When he channeled his Spiritual Energy from his body, he realized he could do it more fluidly.
His organ couldn't be refined by the Body Strengthening Liquid, so there was no change when he tried to use his Muscle Strengthening Technique. But he noticed the change when he used Spirit Aura Breathing.
The Spiritual Energy could easily travel on his skin and body.
'Anna said this liquid is strengthening one's muscle, but the Muscle Strengthening Technique doesn't have any change. Instead, the Spirit Aura Breathing, which release Spiritual Energy to cover the skin, has a more fluid flow.
'It seems that the effect of this liquid is to smoothen the flow of the Spiritual Energy by refining anything that it touches.'
To prove it, he channeled his Spiritual Energy to the inside of his mouth, which had been exposed by the water earlier when coughing out the air.
As expected, he could make the Spiritual Energy flow easier in that area. In other words, Anna's explanation was wrong.
'Did she lie to me? No, by the looks of it, she also didn't know about it.'
Noel fell silent for a moment and thought about something.
'I see. It seems that Ardagan has known about the effect of the liquid. That's why the mission reward is Sword Aura's levels. That's basically the reward for refining this liquid and the 20 Skill Points are the reward from Ardagan.
'So, if I'm more careful with the mission's description, I can see through the real reward as well as the effect of what I'm planning to get.
'This is good. Not only can I control a bit of the mission, but I can also know what I'm getting at. This is like a clairvoyance.'
Noel smiled and realized he could take advantage of this liquid one more time. With that thought in mind, Noel stood up from the pool while glancing at Anna, who seemed to have just woken up as well.
"Noel? Are you done?"
"Yeah. I have found out something. But the price for that information… I want you to promise me something." Noel looked at Anna with a serious expression, adding inwardly, 'Thanks to your foolish action by dragging me inside, I can find this truth, so I don't mind sharing a bit.'
Anna was confused for a moment but Noel wasn't someone who would do meaningless thing. So, she agreed without hesitation. "Sure. What do you want me to do?"
"Judging by our condition, it seems that we will be able to go back to the fort by moving close to a river. It means we won't have any problems with water supply. That's why I want to borrow your water bottle."
"Hmm? For what?" Anna tilted her head in confusion.
"I want to bring as much water as possible before burning all this water away." Noel explained.
"But what can you do with those two water bottles? And with yours, it's four water bottles. I don't think that's enough water to use."
Noel fell silent for a moment, thinking about a solution. However, Anna seemed to remember something. "That's right. Don't you have that magic bag or something that can bring a lot of water?"