I knew diving was horrible for my leather armor, but after all the time I’d spent in the water lately, I just couldn't bring myself to get upset by it anymore. Even if I did, it wouldn't matter at midnight, anyway. That's when the System renewed my equipped gear to their originally perfect state. Convenient, right? I didn't have to restring my bow or smooth the chinks out of my blade, it was all done for me. I just needed to survive long enough to enjoy the benefit. Right now, this pessimist wasn't feeling very optimistic.

Especially as I fought to look around the turbulent water churning in the plunge basin. Violent currents spread out in every direction, bashing into the rocks before rushing through the only opening -- the narrow slot canyon outlet. The current in the canyon wasn't that bad. I mean, it was mild enough that I easily moved around during the fight. The current now, though, was another matter entirely. It bludgeoned my body, trying to force me to my death at the bottom of the plunge basin.

If I wasn't utilizing every ounce of Power Swim, that's exactly where I'd be.

I couldn't see that well either, because of the bubbles and dirt agitated from the falling water. Fortunately, I didn't need to see with my eyes. All I needed to check was if there was a cave or something that led to the other side of the waterfall. I could use my aura for that.

I swam up the surface, recharged my oxygen, then swam as close as I dared to the far back wall. The backwards hydraulics ripped at my body, but I anchored myself in place with Water Manipulation. Then I forced my magic into the surrounding water. Like before, it resisted my intrusion, but the more I did it, the easier it became. During the fight, my awareness space was about three feet around me. Now, with only the waterfall for distraction, I pressed out to five feet. Six feet. Seven feet. How much farther could I reach?

I felt the water bend and flow with the current, rubbing against the walls and pushing decaying rock sand down the river. Felt the pull, as the water caught in an eddy, and curled backwards around and around in a death spire. Felt the soothing realization of joining with something more than what I was. An understanding that one of the most powerful and precious elements in the world was at my beck and call. It was a heady feeling. It felt ... so familiar. Like a long forgotten dream I never knew I had.

I could have stayed there forever, just being one with the water. But the beautiful dream popped when my lungs started to burn — an increasingly familiar feeling. Dang, I was to distracted with the feeling, I forgot to search for openings in the rock wall. I kicked to the surface and took a deep breath. Before I dove again, Levi popped up next to me.

He blinked at me and communicated that he didn't find anything. The plunge basin was deep and smooth. There weren't any caves at all.

"So," I muttered, and glanced at the waterfall. "The cave might be in the wall, behind the falling water."

Oh, man, climbing wasn't really my thing. I could do it, but my life's ambition was definitely not to become a great mountaineer, that's for sure. Nor did I have climbing gear, other than rope. So, how could I do this with the tools available now?

I created another water raft and climbed on to conserve as much energy as possible. Levi chilled in the water beside me, his thin body blending in with the rushing stream.

I took a breath, plotting out a plan. Maybe I didn’t have to ‘climb the cliff.’ "I can climb up," I said with assurance. "But I'll need your help."

Five minutes later, after hammering out every detail with Levi, I navigated my water raft to the side of the waterfall, getting as close to the rock as I could. The water tried to rip my raft apart, drag it under, and force it down stream all at the same time. It was a little chaotic, but I forced the water to obey me.

"Ready?" I asked Levi.

He nodded and looked at the falling water.

Together, we reached out with our magic to the falling water. It was like trying to catch rain in my hand. Because every droplet was separated from each other, it was hugely different from controlling river water. Every time we managed to merge together enough droplets to create something larger than eight ounces of water, it was beaten apart before we could grow it bigger. It didn’t help that we were newbs at figuring out how to work our magic together.

"This is going to wear us out before we even get started," I muttered. "Let's go a little lower." I motioned to the churning water being beaten by the falling water.

Levi followed my direction. Together we grabbed a huge chunk of water and slowly lifted it. The falling water pounded on the segment we controlled, threatening to rip it into pieces, like an umbrella in a hail storm. I gritted my teeth and refused to let that happen. Not this time. Levi's own determination burned in our bond.

Although I could feel the movement of his magic, it wasn't the easiest to merge our powers together. Still, I persisted, sensing his movements and adjusting the water that I controlled to match his. He did the same. There were some bumps and overlapping — and at one point, our magic self-destructed and it all splattered back into the plunge basin — but slowly our water formed a wedge that the waterfall bounced off with enough force that water shot ten feet out. As it did, the rocky wall behind the waterfall finally came into view. Well, at least the bottom of it did. Since we started at the bottom of the waterfall, we were going to have to work our way up.

"Let's go," I whispered.

Together, we directed the water wedge up, deflecting water everywhere.

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Five feet high. No cave.

Seven feet up. Still nothing.

There had to be something here. The System wouldn't send me on a useless task to a dead-end in the middle of the wilds right before nightfall. Would it? Then again, what did I really know about the System? Nothing. Honestly, I knew nothing about the System or what the semi-sentient program wanted, other than to force me to level up. But why did it?

Ten feet up. Was there really anything here? What if I was entirely wrong?

The doubt crept into my mind, messing with conviction that forced my water into shape. My half of the water wedge wobbled, almost splitting from Levi's half.

He hissed and chased after my half, forcing them to stay sealed. Then his accusations flooded my mind, blaming me for getting distracted. I should be focusing with him.

He was right. "Sorry," I whispered and put my all into the magic. The higher the water wedge went, the harder the water pushed on it because the water was less broken up. Sweat crawled down from my forehead, creating an itch I didn't dare scratch. What if I lost concentration again?

Twelve feet. Was there even any room felt for a cave to hide behind the waterfall now?

I was just about to give up when the wet sediment rocks of the wall darkened. At first, it didn't seem like much, but when the water wedge rose another foot, I knew for sure. There was a three-foot hole in the wall. The cave I was looking for.

"The map should have pointed up after all," I said, somewhat bitter. It would be a lot easier to climb down from the top of the cliff, then up the wet wall. Regardless, I steered my little water raft to the wall and grabbed the lowest rock. I glanced up, plotting my path. "What I wouldn't give for a set of stairs." As soon as the word exited my mouth, I wanted to bang my head on the rocks. After the stair hell from a couple days ago, I never wanted to see another flight again. "Okay, Levi, are you ready?"

He nodded. Slowly, his magic bled into mine, taking over the water that I controlled and bearing the force of the waterfall. Two inches on the far side collapsed, but the rest stayed steady. He groaned in his mind, his whole body rigid as stone around my shoulder.

If he let go, I could get seriously hurt from the waterfall, if not drowned. Still, I chose to trust him to protect me. As awkward as we were, we were still a team. I took a breath then reached down and grabbed a sizeable chunk of water from the plunge basin. Frowning, I mentally morphed the water like play dough until a ten-foot later lined the wall. It didn't go all the way up, but I didn't feel confident in my control that far away. It differed from a bunch of cookie-cutter rings I flung around. The ladder was all one piece and needed to be strong enough to support my weight.

Here we go, I thought and climbed the first rung. Well, it didn't fall apart immediately. That was a good start. I slowly worked my way up the wall. I was still new with this Water Manipulation thing, nor did I have the hyper focus adrenaline I got during a fight to help, so my control wasn't the best. It took a lot of concentration just to keep the ladder in shape, especially with dozens of stray droplets pelting it. Each one was like a bullet on a string and the vibrations rippled through the whole ladder. I wish I could make it as steady as steel, but water merged with water — it's a natural process and I didn't have the strength to stop it.

Once I got to the top of the ladder, I took the water below me and grew the ladder taller, finally reaching all the way to the cave.

Levi urged me faster, his mind turning chaotic from the pressure.

"Almost there," I muttered, blinking the water drops from my eyes. Quick as I could, I scaled the ladder and climbed into the hole.

As soon as my feet were in, Levi released the water wedge with a tired groan. The waterfall crashed into my ladder and shattered it to pieces. The entire volume of our combined water crashed down into the plunge basin below with a thundering boom.

We both sagged to the ground, mentally strained. Levi grumbled about his glory days in my mind, how he used to be so big and powerful, yada yada. I ignored him and sat up, feeling a small trickle of water bunch and flow around my knees. The waterfall behind me cut off most of the evening sunlight except for the occasional flashes when the water shifted enough to let a light-beam in, but I could see perfectly in here for one very obvious reason; the water I knelt in was glowing.

My eyes widened in shock and I followed the thin glowing line of water to the back of the thin cave. At the very end, water bubbled up from the red stone ground and formed an overflowing two-foot bowl of water. The air above the spring shimmered and sparkled with pale blue lights. The magic was so strong, there wasn't a need for mage vision, even humans and melee Hunters could see it.

It was so pretty, I couldn't resist taking my phone out and taking a picture to show my family when I got home. If I get home.

Ding! [Destination Reached.]

"So this is the spring I needed to find." Since the cave was so small, I crawled closer to the glowing water. "Have you ever seen anything like it, Levi?"

Were there magic spots in the wilds? If there were, I think I’d hear about them by now. Unless it was a hoarded secret. Hunters were naturally cautious of anything and one that posed a threat — which included other Hunters — but my guess didn't seem quite right. It seemed more likely that either this was a one of a kind thing, or Hunters didn't know about magic spots.

Levi slithered by my side, skirting along the glowing water. He shook his head, just as baffled as I was. So this was the first time he'd come across a magic spot, too. He dipped his head in the trickle and tasted the water. His golden eyes lit up, like a child with a piece of candy. He leaned down and took another drink.

I frowned. "Are you sure that's safe?" Just because it was pretty, it didn't mean it should be ingested.

Levi shooed me away with his tail.

I rolled my eyes. Oh well. After all the effort we put in just to get a pint of glowing water, he deserved a victory drink. I knelt by the spring, watching the gorgeous magic glitter flickering and flitting in the air. There was just barely enough room beside it that I could lounge back and enjoy the show. Slowly, the tension that clinched my chest since I walked into this forest in the rare, quiet peaceful moment.

I sighed and took a glass jar from my Items Bag and carefully directed the magic water in. Directing normal water was like handling silk, smooth and fluid, yet solid. This magic water was like the fluffiest of fluffy down, soft and light as air and so fun to touch, I couldn't resist smiling.

Ding! [Task Collect a Pint of Spring Water Complete.]

"All this work, just from some glowing water," I said as I stored the jar in my Items Bag. Although I kinda understood why the System thought it was worth it to come here. How often do you find a magic spring? Never. The answer was never. Unfortunately, this discovery came with a steep cost.

I glanced towards the exit, which was steadily darkening on the other side. I'd never make it out of the forest before dark. I was trapped here.

******