“I’ll accept,” Savreen said.

A smile lurched on the beautiful holographic maiden. She gestured her arm at the wall as the light of the moon unraveled a new door for the chosen. Zach wasn’t bothered much by the event. But Savreen could not hide her amazement.

Perhaps he had an idea of how ‘magic’ worked, considering he had seen many movies in his previous life, and if he wasn’t wrong, it kinda reminded of him of the Fellowship of the Ring. Not entirely, but just a tad of it.

“Come, my chosen,” Bulan said. She floated above the stone floor, guiding Savreen to the door that would open new boundaries for the Mirdouin lass. Yet Savreen stopped midway.

“What about him?” She turned to Zach, showing a slight concern over the man that had protected her.

“It is unfortunate, but the male cannot tread through the restricted sanctum of the Moon Shrine,” Bulan said.

“Will he be safe here?” Savreen asked.

“Do not worry, my chosen,” Bulan said. “This domain is barren from any life forms, and thus his life will be assured.”

“Um, sorry for cutting in,” Zach said. “But what about food, and water? I bet whatever you ladies are doing won’t be short, and since I’m just human, I probably wouldn’t survive if the necessities aren’t provided.”

For the first time, Bulan glanced at the ‘male’. Their eyes made contact. They stared at one another, and Zach had to say, even for a hologram, her crystalline blue eyes were mesmerizing.

“Have you seen the door behind my previously chosen statue?” Bulan asked. Zach nodded.

“Then you’ll find what you need,” Bulan said. “But a bit of warning though. A sip is enough and more can be precarious.”

Bulan said what was needed, and they went their way. They vanished through the door as a glimpse inside only showed Zach there was only darkness, or perhaps it was another working of ‘magic’ in play.

Then there was one.

He looked left and right, the rows of books neatly organized in the bookshelves were hard to unsee. At first, he thought of asking permission, but thinking that perhaps he would be denied, considering the vibe he got from her, he kept his mouth shut.

His interest drew him to the closest bookshelf. He grabbed one and saw whether he could read it or not. Thankfully, it was readable. He could not hide his smile, reading through the first page. It would have been better if there was a blurb at the back of the cover. But he shouldn’t complain. He just hoped there would be gems hiding within these many books.

The first was a history book. It detailed how the Moon Shrine took its step in planting itself as the main belief of this country. It was interesting, but not that beneficial. He then scoured the rest of the books, going through them one by one, and found out they were more or less the same. From an autobiography of prominent individuals of the enclave or the general knowledge about this fallen country.

Zach stretched his neck from left to right with a bit of crack. Then glancing down below. His stomach had been growling over the last hour of his book skimming, and the thought of what Bulan told him came to mind.

He paid a visit to the surface, and found the door she spoke of. He peeked inside and there were debris and fallen statues. It wasn’t entirely it as the lighting was terrible and the partly broken roof barely let in the much-needed moonlight. But here was the part when he was grateful for having the ring on his pinky finger.

Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

Lantern Orb came out, and the place brightened. He looked around and found nothing special though. It was just a rundown pantheon with nothing much to offer. He even used Identify to a few things, trying to see whether he could snag a treasure among the trash, but there was none.

He started questioning whether that Fallen had pulled a quick one on him. Well, to appease her chosen one, being kind to Savreen’s companion was a good choice of action. Since he knew he would, or was he getting rotten as time went by? He shrugged off that train of thought and continued looking around.

'Is that a door?' Over the heap of broken pillars, there was a slight gleam of silver covered in dust. His feet took him closer, and Identify confirmed it.

“She didn’t lie,” he said. Now he felt guilty having that thought about her, and perhaps he was indeed rotten or just simply pessimistic. He rubbed off the dust and the silver surface reflected the light on him. Making him squint. He distanced the orb and got to work. At first, he tried lifting the pillar, but even after straining himself, his strength was not enough.

He bit the edge of his finger. A nib for a bleed, and stacked the pain count as strength welled within him. This time, his strength did not betray him. The pillars were removed and the door he sought stood in front of him. With a slight push, the double door creaked. An air of staleness burst from the inside, ruffling his hair for a second. He covered his mouth and waved the dust around him. Then he saw it. The thing Bulan spoke of.

A gorgeous statue made from silver or perhaps a mineral of the same material. The water flowed from within the jug the statue held, slowly but flowing. Pooling underneath in a circular wide fountain.

[Fountain of Aquarius]

[A gift from another Q@#%&!, flowing water made out of the essence of the Lunatic Moon. Effect: Replenish 10,000 HP, and 10,000 MP.]

Now he knew why she said just a sip. That incredible amount was astonishing for someone whose health points were still below a thousand. He couldn’t imagine what would happen if he took a few chugs of this miraculous water.

Out of caution, Zach glanced around, using his Identify. At the moment, it was safe. No traps were found and if they were there, escaping his Identify, then he hoped it would remain inactive or broken down due to the passing of time.

He knelt before the fountain, staring at the pristine calm water. Now that was high-grade water. Far beyond the pond where he indulged himself out of thirst. The water appeared to be brimming in life as if mana was within every atom that constituted its structure, and the gleam of turquoise added another appealing nature to such a mouth-watering thirst quencher.

He scooped a palm-full and drank it all in one go. The taste had a hint of sparkling with a tad of sweetness, going down easily as he could feel a soothing energy coursing to every part of his body. Then a notification popped.

[Value of Water activated.]

A skill he had long forgotten at the back of his mind. He even wondered what effects did it had? Was it prevented him from a dehydrated state or was it something about easing the learning curve of water-related skills?

[Consumption effect will triple.]

The moment he read it, it hit him. He felt a fuzzy feeling in the pit of his stomach, and it went away after a few seconds. It got him worried though since Bulan did say only a sip. But a palm-full wouldn’t be that bad would it? And judging by that little tickle, he guessed it wasn’t so bad after all. He assumed it was just a reactive effect since the mana pool was too small to hold a large amount of new mana as well as for his health.

“I guess that’s enough for—“ a sudden bout of pain struck him when he least expected it. He crumpled on the floor, and his head fell quickly against the dusty ground. Yet the pain on his head paled in comparison with the growing heat at the pit of his stomach. The fuzzy feeling was like a friendly scout before the big tank came barging in.

He squirmed in pain. His veins popped out all over his body as if on the verge of bursting. But they didn’t. His heart pumped like mad as blood dripped from his eyes, nose, and ears. Whatever this was, Zach was in danger, and he was barely withstanding it. The harmful try of a handful was now turning into poison in his body. At this point, he had never felt this regret over his carefree action.

Pain tortured him through the passing of time, and after who knows how long, it finally ended. Zach lay there on the ground, eyes lifeless. His drool pooled underneath, and he did not care. He was just glad the pain had stopped.

Then his eyes gazed at the new message.

[The abundance of mana destroys and creates at the same time.]

[Your health pool has increased forcefully. +100 MP.]

[Your mana pool has increased forcefully. +100 MP.]

He didn’t know whether to be grateful or curse. But for now, he uttered in a whisper slightly smiling.

“Fucking system.”