Zach winced. It had been so long since he felt the sun shining over his face. Even when the white dimension was so bright, it paled in comparison to the burning bright star. He raised his hand, blocking the sun.

Then his nose wrinkled. A smell so foreign yet subtly familiar drilled through his nose. Thirst which he had forgotten for a second, came back again like a wild beast leading a stampede. He felt his throat burn. Zach looked to the side as if his instinct led him. Then he saw it. Just a few feet away, a pristine clear-looking pond with a calm surface, unperturbed. It was water.

Then he jumped. He dove straight in, headfirst. Ignoring the fact that there was a possibility of being a shallow pond. But thirst triumphed. The absence of the white dimension’s aid unsealed the depravity that had been withheld in his body. His body which had been pushed to the brink of severe dehydration wanted nothing more than the taste of the nectar of mother earth itself.

Zach swallowed mouthful after mouthful. Quenching the burn in his throat, relieving the eternal thirst he felt for over a year. For a picky young man, who was very particular over hygiene, it was unbecoming of him to drink unboiled water. But what he could do? It was either he lived or he died.

His head rose. Breaking the surface tension of the pond. His chest expanded as he took a deep breath with water dripping all over his body. The relief and joy on his face showed what he really felt at that moment. It was heaven on earth. Water was the treasure of nature that had always been sideline not until the moment one realized its importance.

Then something emerged.

[Enlightenment dawn on you.]

[You have gained Skill: Value of Water.]

[Value of Water(Lv.Max)(Tier: Epic): The value of a drop of water should never be questioned. Effect: Triple the effect of liquid-based potion or drinks. Will not succumb to severe dehydration in extreme conditions. Shorter experience cumulation for any skills related to water.]

It left him numbed for a while as he never knew he would earn another gift out of the blues. As if his suffering birthed a miracle, and it was well deserved to be honest. The growl of his stomach made its presence known. Not only liquid, but his body also cried out for food to replenish the diminishing energy in his body. His sight fell upon the surface of the pond that was growing calmer. The reflection of himself gazed back at him as he saw his current self.

“Fuck,” Zach said. No wonder his thirst and hunger never went away. The skinny man he had turned into did not revert back to how he normally was, and despite the lacking of additional status points over his efforts, his hardworking pain was paid in a different currency.

Again the growl beckoned him. Zach trailed his eyes over a fish swimming around him. It was far from being appetizing. Yet hunger demanded it to continue living. He waited like a predator. His hand hovered over the surface of the pond, waiting for the right moment.

Splash. He went for it. But his hand came out empty-handed. Zach frowned as the annoyance from being starved was fouling his mood for the worse. Again, he waited. Striking at the right moment, and failing. By the time he reached the fourth time, his effort wasn’t in vain. He succeeded in catching a palm size fish, slippery in his hands as it wriggled to get away. Zach didn’t wait long as he just chugged its tail right inside his mouth. The taste was awfully disgusting, but he didn’t puke. His gag reflex remained off as all he needed was something to fill the cavity of his empty stomach. A few seconds after, the whole fish vanished from existence.

[Eat to live. Live to eat.]

[You have gained Skill: Dominion of Satiety.]

[Dominion of Satiety(Lv.Max)(Tier: Epic): Take your satiety under control. Effect: Double the effect of solid-based food or ingestible. Easily satiated. 10% probability of acquiring bonus status points from unique ingredients.]

Another gem fell on his lap. Zach couldn’t be more grateful for what he was given. The effort he sowed grew a bountiful harvest. A harvest that went through his pain, sweat, and tears. But despite that, he didn’t expect to look like this.

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“I look awful,” Zach said. His skin was dry and wrinkly, and it made him look aged thirty years older. The cure for all of this was where he stood. Zach scooped the water in the pond and gushed it all down his throat. Water had never tasted this good, not even back when he had cola in hand.

Then the rustling of leaves pulled his head away. His eyes focused on the appearance of a woman, emerging out from the foliage of the forest. A navy dress draped over her slim figure as her chestnut color hair was neatly braided. Her dark brown eyes were dazzling, fitting with her overall beauty like a noble lady from a great house. Yet something stood out strangely.

An iron sword in her right hand, and a wooden shield in her left. The things she held contrasted greatly with how demure she appeared. Then he noticed the glistening metal pinned on her left chest. An owlbear, a sigil of the one who governed the northern lands of Brittania, the House of Weisebraun.

Both gazed at one another with different thoughts running through their minds. The first to part their lips was the one who held the sword. She pointed the edge at him. Stating her question, “have you been to the white room?”

“I have,” Zach said. Turning back his gaze to the pond. He scooped another palmful and took a swig out of it.

“Then did you meet the owlbear then?” she asked. Her tone was as if trying to affirm something.

“An owlbear?” Zach glanced back at her. The mention of meeting an owlbear piqued his interest.

“Yes, I know it sounds silly, but a talking owlbear mentions about a war, and some other nonsense of picking your own power and whatnot,” she said. Lowering her guard a bit as the sword pointed to the ground, and the shield hanging by the grasp of her hand.

“You mean there’s a mythical owlbear, speaking the language of man?” Zach probed further. From what he could deduce, for now, this talking owlbear might be the equivalent of the book on the podium.

“I know this sounds confusing and all, but I just can’t wrap my mind around all of this. At one moment I was in my bed, then I was suddenly brought to the white room, and now I’m here, in a forest that is so dissimilar to Harewood,” she said. The confidence in her voice was gone, replaced by a worrying tone.

“Did this owlbear say anything else about the war? Like what is it about, and so on?” Zach asked.

“It didn’t say…” she stopped. Gazing at Zach with a frown. She realized what this wrinkly old man tried to do. Again, the tip of the sword glared at Zach. “There was no owlbear, is it?”

“You seem like a nice person, so I’ll be blunt. Yes, there was no owlbear, but yes, I’ve been to the white room . . . If you question it of course,” Zach said. He moved to the edge of the pond and came out with water dripping from his clothes.

“You’re lying,” she said. Keeping the pointed edge aimed at Zach as he walked around the pond, drawing closer to where the Lady of Weisebraun stood.

“You know, for our first time meeting, don’t you think you’re being quite rude?” Zach said. Wringing the end of his drenched tunic.

Her eyes wavered a bit, and Zach saw it. But her composure returned as the fire behind her eyes still burned. “I can say the same thing to you, stranger. Prying for information while pretending is a lot ruder,” said the Lady of Weisebraun.

“Not ruder than being pointed by a sword,” Zach fought back.

“Fine,” she said. She sheathed her sword back in the hidden sheath under the wooden shield. Looking less menacing. She nodded at him with her eyebrows raised. As if asking him whether this was good enough for him.

“The name’s Zach. It’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance,” Zach said. He slightly nodded his head, a gesture of being polite.

Her eyes softened a bit as she sighed lightly. “I am Dayana Weisebraun, House Weisebraun of Kolham,” she introduced herself with much dignity in her voice and in her gesture.

Usually one would be in awe, but not Zach. Not when there was no courtesy befitting a noble lady when introducing herself. But she wasn’t entirely to blame. He should have introduced himself properly as the son of the House of Gardwin, but he knew it was going to be more fun if he did it like this.

“Now speak,” Dayana said. “What did you see in the white room if not an owlbear?”

“A book,” Zach said.

“A talking book?”

“Of course not,” Zach said. Looking at Dayana as if she was nuts. “It would be ridiculous if a book can talk even without a mouth.”

“You’re lying again, aren’t you?” Dayana said. Her hand poised near the handle of her sword readied to unsheath it at any second.

“I wish I did, but I’m not,” Zach said. “The book speaks through a different method. Letters emerged and sentences were formed. But too bad there was nothing substantial except for the same war you spoke of.”

Rather than disappointed, Dayana had a smile on her face. It seemed she was glad she wasn’t losing her mind with all the things that had happened in a single night. But her smile froze. Another voice made an entrance.

Zach and Dayana drew their eyes at a tree as someone emerged from behind the cover. Radiant blonde hair and sparkling blue eyes, were traits destined to belong to a house with the sun and sea on their banner.

“Now I know why a buxom girl greets me, and I have to say, she’s the most delicious one I’ve tasted so far.”

The blonde hair man grinned.