Chapter 91: Good to Be Prepared

While the others were in surprise and disbelief, only Hugo remained unfazed and even appeared confused. “What’s the Vital Harmony Spring?”

Frans and Paula had yet to recover from their shock, so it was Ain who answered, “Have you heard of sacred treasures?”

“No,” Hugo replied. Ain didn’t find this unusual. After all, he’d only learned about them from the inheritance book. This information wasn't available on Cyberspace with his old 3-star access. Although spirit tamers would eventually come to know of them, it had only been a few months since their awakening. There was a limit to what they could be exposed to.

“Simply put, sacred treasures are super resources. They can have unimaginable effects, far surpassing other resources of the same rank. This Vital Harmony Spring we found is an Advanced Rank-3 sacred treasure. It can greatly improve our physiques, cleanse our bodies, and even heal severe injuries. Moreover, it is equally effective on all spirit tamers below Rank-4,” Ain explained.

Hugo’s eyes animatedly widened as Ain’s explanation progressed. In the end, even his mouth hung wide open. “Advanced Rank-3!? How much does it cost!?” Ain’s efforts proved fruitful as Hugo exclaimed, realizing the value of the Vital Harmony Spring.

At this point, hearing Hugo’s outburst, Frans answered while still in disbelief, “The Vital Harmony Spring is invaluable. Even for my family, it can only be chanced upon, not bought. I’ve only heard of it appearing in an auction in Aethralis.”

“Aethralis? The core city of the Emerald Plain?” Hugo asked. He still only possessed the 2-star Cyberspace access that all new spirit tamers received. Information regarding Aethralis was sparse, with only major events making it to his eyes.

“Yes. I’m not aware of its auction price, but if possible, we shouldn’t sell it. If this is really the Vital Harmony Spring, we have to consume it ourselves,” Frans continued with expectations in his heart. He really hoped Ain was correct about the liquid’s identity.

Ain nodded upon hearing Frans’ remark.

From Teacher Turner, he’d had learned that the primary focus of Rank-1 was the physique. Their physiques would experience a gradual metamorphosis, adapting to spirit energy and laying a foundation for the future. If they consumed the Vital Harmony Spring, this process would be greatly accelerated, and their physiques would improve drastically. With better adaptation to spirit energy, their training speed would naturally accelerate as well. In Ain’s case, his spirit core branding progress would accelerate, inching him closer to Advanced Rank-1.

Indeed, just as Ain thought, Frans explained while gesturing at Paula and Hugo, “I don’t know much more about the Vital Harmony Spring’s effects than what Ain mentioned, but I know that if you two consume the Vital Harmony Spring, you might immediately reach Intermediate Rank-1.”

Although Paula was already aware of this, her expression did not differ from Hugo’s. Their eyes were sparkling with excitement.

“And for Ain and me, our progress towards Advanced Rank-1 would increase drastically. Moreover, our spirit pets can consume it for similar results. Well, except for Paula’s mechanical gauntlet,” Frans finished his piece as he cast an apologetic look at his childhood friend. But this was just a natural response at her being left out. He didn’t think she had lost out.

Paula indeed wasn’t bothered by it. Mechanical spirit pets could increase their ranks easily in the early stages. As soon as she reached Intermediate Rank-1, her mechanical gauntlet could be upgraded.

“Then, can we consume it now? If Ace and I reach Intermediate Rank-1, our return will be much safer.” After hearing so much about the Vital Harmony Spring, Hugo was eager to consume it and increase his power.

At this moment, Paula suddenly calmed down and glanced around with a weird expression before replying ambiguously, “Why don’t we wait? I think it’s better to consume it when we’re safe at home.”

Ain and Hugo looked at her doubtfully. If there were such benefits placed before them, why would they wait? Like Hugo said, increasing their power took precedence.

On the other hand, Frans seemed to understand Paula and said, “I agree. We should return first before consuming it.”

When he saw that Frans also agreed, Hugo couldn’t help but ask, “But isn’t it better to increase our strength now?” Ain’s expression supported Hugo’s question.

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When Frans saw this, he seemed to realize something and explained, “Well, the Vital Harmony Spring also has a powerful cleansing effect. I’ve consumed some cleansing medicines before, and it isn’t a pleasant experience… It is preferable to have a shower ready.”

At this point, realization dawned upon Ain and Hugo. Cleansing their physiques meant expelling impurities from their bodies. These impurities ranged from within their skin and bones, all the way to their internal organs. It wouldn’t be a pleasant experience to do so here, where insufficient water was available.

Ain and Hugo had never experienced this before, resulting in their oversight.

“Yeah, I think you’re right. I don’t want to go through something like that here,” Hugo agreed sheepishly after some consideration.

Ain silently nodded, his thoughts shifting as well. He’d seen cleansing medicines before, but at that time, their cost to benefit ratio wasn’t high. However, those medicines were incomparable to the Vital Harmony Spring. Ain mentally removed them from his list.

After deciding on the usage of the Vital Harmony Spring, Paula brought another issue to light, “How do we take it away? I didn’t bring any containers,” she said. She glanced at Frans, who possessed a storage ring.

In fact, she had a storage ring as well, but she couldn’t be clearer about the lack of containers within. She could only place her hopes on Frans.

Frans caught sight of Paula’s gaze and shook his head, “Unfortunately, I didn’t bring any special containers either.”

Hearing this, Hugo couldn’t help but deflate, “So, we can’t take it away and have to consume it here?”

Ain glanced at the rest and suddenly spoke up, “I have some containers.”

The others glanced at him in astonishment and immediately perked up.

“Great! As expected of you!” Hugo laughed with a clap, displaying his joy. Frans and Paula also sighed in relief while mentally noting this down for their next trip.

“Let’s go and get our bags. We can also begin moving the camp.” Frans said. Because of the narrow crack, their bags were left outside the cave. While retrieving Ain’s containers, they could also move the unfinished camp inside.

“There’s no need. I have them right here.” Ain shook his head lightly and reached into his collar. With a gentle motion, he pinched a thin silver chain before bringing it atop his armor. Hanging at the bottom of the chain was a silver ring.

This sight immediately refreshed everyone.

“Storage ring!” Hugo exclaimed with some surprise. He’d already witnessed Frans’ storage ring in action, so what really surprised him was that Ain also possessed one. Hugo wished to hold it in, but his curiosity ultimately appeared on his lips, “Where did you get it?”

Ain didn’t mind Hugo’s question and a smile, “It was a gift from someone.”

“Who gives a storage ring as a gift?” Hugo sighed with amazement but didn’t probe further. He was long aware that there was more to Ain than what met the eye. After all, with a financial situation worse than his own back then, Ain had contracted a ghost-attribute spirit pet out of nowhere.

Frans and Paula were surprised, but they quickly recovered. Their perspective was different from Hugo’s. Spatial storage devices were commonplace to them. What they did pay attention to was Ain’s method of concealing his storage ring. They added another note for next time.

Ain poked the holographic interface projected from the storage ring, retrieving the special bottles. These were part of the alchemy items he’d stored earlier. These bottles were just catching dust in his apartment as he rarely used them.

Under the light from Illumination and the Vital Harmony Spring, a wooden chest suddenly appeared in front of Ain following some spirit energy fluctuations. Crouching down, he opened the chest with a creak, revealing rows of neatly stacked bottles. With a capacity of 500 mL each, they were crafted from special crystals with preservation abilities.

These weren’t potion bottles but containers for liquid alchemy ingredients. Ain had a few different types of containers stocked.

“It’s a good thing that you practice alchemy,” Paula rejoiced as she discerned why Ain would carry these around, earning a nod form Frans and Hugo.

However, Frans and Paula were unaware of Ain’s true alchemical abilities. Only Hugo had an inkling to it, as he’d been offered Ain’s medicinal pills before. Hugo had rejected them out of principle as he loathed to take advantage of their friendship.

Ain roughly compared the Vital Harmony Spring and containers before speaking, “These bottle should be enough. Let's transfer the Vital Harmony Spring.” While saying so, he brought out mismatched alchemy funnels and ladles, handing them out alongside the bottles.

“By the way, you can stop before reaching the bottom. I’ll transfer the remaining liquid with Telekinesis,” Ain thoughtfully added. The rest nodded and began their work carefully to prevent any losses. This was also why they didn’t just submerge the bottles into the pool.

The pool wasn’t large, nor was it deep. Rather, it was more akin to a slightly deep puddle. In just a dozen minutes, the Vital Harmony Spring was transferred into twenty-four bottles. This was result after Ain’s use of Telekinesis to transfer the residue at the bottom of the pool.

When all the work was done, Ain glanced at the bottles of Vital Harmony Spring before saying, “It’s a good even number. We’ll take six bottles each.” As per their initial agreement, their harvest was divided equally.

After that, Ain asked Frans to store the bottles away. Although he’d revealed his storage ring, Frans was already the designated pack mule.

With the removal of the Vital Harmony Spring, the dense spirit energy rapidly dissipated.

Paula yawned, “Let’s move the camp into the cave. I’m tired after all these events.”

Frans glanced at Paula and shook his head with a smile, “We should indeed bring the camp inside, but don’t forget, we’ve yet to harvest the Dark Iron Bamboo.”

Frans’ words jogged Paula’s memory, and she couldn’t help but let out a silent groan.