After I cracked the issue with my lightning, we tinued on our way. For three days, we sailed on the river on our jet skis, stopped for lunch, and slept at night. We rode on the river the rest of the time, and Rue was in heaven. My dog eed demon.

  During our entire cruise, the river kept expanding as more tributaries ected to it. On the fourth day, the river was already at least half a kilometer wide, maybe even more. At first, the current was calm, but towards noon, I felt the curreing stronger. I opehe Map to check, and as I suspected, we were very close to the falls.

  I reminisced about my jump from the waterfall in Shimoor, and decided I had no desire to gh it again.

  “Rue, buddy, let’s go ashore.”

  Since we passed by the st towerday evening, I saw no boats on the river. But I looked around the make sure. Seeing that we were alone, we stored the jet skis and took to the air—invisible, of course. When we reached a height of at least two hundred meters, I saw huge crags ing out of the water and splitting the river into many smaller rivers. On the Map, the small rivers tio the waterfalls, then, after the waterfalls, ect to one big river again. I checked where the road was, and it didn’t seem too far.

  We flew towards the road and waited until a fancy carriage with several mounted guards passed, getting far enough that they wouldn’t see us. I rose again into the air to ensure nobody else was ing, and we became visible.

  sidering the luxurious carriage and the suspi that those were nobles, I decided not to take out the ATV. I didn’t feel like answering questions, so I told Rue we’d tinue on foot. But these nobles gave me an idea. My css still showed a Healer, so I ged it to a Mert—nobles have a lot of money.

  Another carriage passed us. The mounted guards around it got tense aheir ons at the ready. Their eyes lost focus, and they rexed, at least partially. A few of them still gnced apprehensively at Rue, but overall, they seemed calmer. They passed, and we tinued walking.

  Walking leasant, but I o run. Pig up speed, my legs moved in an easy rhythm, each stride so light it barely felt like toug the ground. Wind whipped past, tugging at my clothes and sending bursts of cool air over my face. I wasn’t pushing, but judging by the blur of trees slipping past, I was still moving at a ridiculous speed. Thirty kilometers an hour, maybe more. A ugh slipped out of me—a thrill ran through me every time I felt this, like the wind itself was helping me along.

  The feeling hadn’t faded, even after leveling up so many times. I’d catch myself marveling at how my body responded, how strength and speed blended so naturally now, yet still surprised me. I wa to stay that way—the awe, the little kick of wohe moment it became routine, just aatistic to be calcuted and improved… well, that would be a shame. The day I’d stop feeling the wonder would be the day I’d leave a piece of the journey behind—a piece that made every ep, every skill gained, feel like a small triumph. Without that spark, what would be left? Just numbers on a stat sheet, distances calcuted and covered without a sed thought, like clog in and out at some mundane job. The thrill would drain out, repced by routine, dull and meical. I imagined myself moving through the worlds without that edge of excitement, and it felt empty, almost lifeless.

  There’d be no thrill iing limits, no curiosity about what I could do —just an endless stretch of expected outes and predetermined results. A part of me shuddered at the thought. If the journey became little more than hitting marks, measuring progress without a flicker of surprise or pride, I knew I’d drown in boredom that would dull every view, every enter. I’d be just another wanderer, going through the motions, barely awake to the world arouhe thought made me sad, until the sound of rushing water cut through it, sharp and alive. I rouhe st bend, and there they were—the Prismatic Falls, stunning and ued, crashing down with a roar that shook me out of my thoughts.

  The yout resembled terraces. From where we stood, I could see more falls further up, with rivers flowing until the fall and then tinuing down to more falls. Old, worn-out bridges crossed at various heights through the falls. Some falls had only oall bridge, while others had a tall bridge and a smaller one below it. Most of the bridges had moss growing oone ns.

  Everything appeared so beautiful at first ghat I was utterly astohe falls weren’t the typical stream of water. The water was a stunning dispy of all the colors of the rainbow and them some. They created an impression that the falls were living and stantly ging.

  We walked to the first bridge, and I could see the waterfall below when I stood atop it. The water cascaded into a wonderful clear pool. As the mist rose, I could feel its ess against my skin and smell the st of wet grass and young pnts. All around the falls were trees with dense leaves. I suspected the leaves’ thiess was because of the high mana levels here. The trees created a barrier from the outside world, making me feel like I was in a hidden heaven, away from the world’s crossroads.

  I strolled across the first bridge, enjoying the view. When we reached the other side, I could see more of the falls. Eae was more stunning tha. Another bridge curved gracefully across a sed, more enormous waterfall. When I there, I could see water dropping from even higher above, creating a spray that shone in the sunlight. The water’s colors, sounds, and sheer strength were nearly too much to bear. Each waterfall wasn’t wide, and didn’t drop a lot of water. But there were so many of them that together they roared.

  I stood there for what felt like hours, taking it all in. The noise was deafening—a vast, booming roar that filled the air and made my chest shake. It sounded like a thousand drums beating at the same time. As we got closer, it drowned out everything else, being a stant, powerful presehat makes you pay attention and tells you how powerful nature is. The sound, a steady symphony of moving water, was both hypnotid overwhelming.

  I closed my eyes a myself drift into the sensation, feeling the mana hanging thi the air. It brushed against my skin in a way that felt… almost alive, like the warm breath of an old forest. Familiar, but different. A sensation that teased at the edges of my mind, just out of reach. There was a riess to it, deeper than Life Mana, with a hint of that warm, earthy pulse I’d felt with Nature Mana. But it wasn’t quite either.

  I took a deeper breath, abs the mana into my body, tasting its fvor and trying to pin down what I was sensing. It g to me, sinking in with a warmth that felt oddly soothing, like slipping into a hot spring after a rough day. That was new. Life Mana had a spark to it—this mana had a softness, an ease that felt like it was mending something ihough I couldn’t quite put my finger on it. A memory tugged at me. I felt this mana before, or something simir.

  Then it clicked. Restorative Mana. That was it. The same quiet, subtle energy that strengthened life ford restored things. Those spells had other cepts in them, so the restorative mana was gentle, with only a hint. But here it was stronger, more pronounced, like a promise of healing in every breath. I let it wash over me, surprised at how much it lingered, sinking into every part of me, deeper and more deliberate than anything else I’d felt. It was Restorative, all right—but something told me it was more than that, maybe a unique blend from these falls.

  I stood a little longer and listeo the thundering water, until Rue said, “Rue hungry.”

  “You’re always hungry,” I said. Laughing.

  “Now Rue is hungrier hungry.”

  I scratched his ears and ughed again.

  There were few people at the falls. At the big falls with the old bridges, we were almost alone. As we walked down the rivers, we reached smaller waterfalls with pools. I saw more and more nobles, judging by the guards with ons and the servants scurrying and scraping. We reached an area with many more people, but much quieter. Here, the falls were lower, and they fell into peaceful pools around which people sat. There were nes here, but the view was more picturesque.

  Beautiful pink flowers were all around the base of the falls and the pools. The colors were so vibrant; they stood out from the forest’s greens. I just breathed in and absorbed everything. The air was cool and refreshing. But there was more to it than just physical fort. There was a sense of harmony and equilibrium in this pce. Of restoration.

  As I looked around, I found a path that led to a peaceful spot by the falls. It was a retively shallow pool without a waterfall above it, just a stream eg to it. As a result, the water was calmer here, creating a serene pool that looked almost too good to pass up. It was deserted, which was a big plus in my book. I gave Rue food and sat on a rock gazing at the water for a while.

  When Rue finished eating, I sank into the water. Closing my eyes, I floated oer and rexed. Rue jumped in, swam a bit, y down ier close to the shore, and closed his eyes. We stayed there for a while, enjoying the water and rexing. The water was chilly, but because of its mana properties, the cold didn’t affect me. My cold tolerance went up with my stats, but I could feel the difference from how I perceived the cold of the kes in the mushroom valley, and the cold here.

  When it got dark, we became invisible and flew half an hour away from the falls. I opehe house, and we went to sleep.

  We returo the falls the day, and I went towards “my” pool. When I got there, I saw children pying ier and three old men with white hair and beards sitting on the bench by the pool, knitting. I did a double-take. I didn’t imagi. They were knitting. Rue, of course, ran immediately to the children, his tail a blur.

  After thinking about it, I decided it was actually hat they knitted. It created a id-back, rexed vibe and gave me an idea.

  I had lots of yarn in my Ste. The problem was that the paper bands around the skeins were full of ese text. In the past, I cimed that the text on products was the maker’s mark, but these bands were so full of text that they looked more like the maker’s life story. I thought about removing the bands and them yarn without them, but I didn’t have the patieo remove them from hundreds of yarn skeins.

  Hmm, a drum.

  My core had absorbed cars and various metals inside my Ste when we were at the junkyard, and that gave me an idea. I moved five oversized nylon bags filled with yarhe core and instructed it to absorb aurn the yarn, but with pin bands without text. It took a few minutes, but my core was a trooper. It absorbed all the yarn aur with bnk bands.

  I told it, “Good boy,” in my mind. Of course, not out loud; I’m not suicidal. Rue would never five me.

  I approached them with a friendly smile. “Good day, gentlemen. I sell yarn for knitting. Would you be ied?”

  All three of them looked at me, their eyes losing focus for a sed. The one on the right blinked and said, “If you show us what you have, we might be ied.”

  Nodding, I took out one of the oversized bags of yarn, pg it in front of them with a casual gesture. Their eyes widened as they took in the bag’s size. The man on the right reached out and touched the pstic bag, his brow furrowed. “What is this material? I have never seen anything like this before,” he asked, his tone ced with surprise.

  “It’s something that’s made in my homend, but I’m not sure how. I buy it ready-made.”

  “Where are you from?” he asked.

  Remembering what Mahya had mentioned, I quickly opehe Map in my mind and answered, “Lotam.”

  “I’ve never heard of it. Where is it?” the middle one asked.

  “It’s a medium ti northwest of Lumisor.”

  “Is it far?” the left one asked, his voice tinged with .

  “Yes, two months sailing.”

  All three shook their heads in unison, and with a look of admiration, the man on the right remarked, “You are a brave young man to sail such a distance. I do not like sailing.”

  Meanwhile, the other two took out yarn and exami. Their cries of enthusiasm caught his attention, and he also joined in examining the yarn. I sold them three enormous pstic bags of yarn for thirty-one gold, and they thanked me repeatedly. I gave my Nose for Business skill a pat on the back. There was no doubt this ability led me to this deal.

  The sound of casg water roared around me as I strolled through the falls, examining groups of nobles with their servants and guards. I kept my distance, sizing them up, mentally matg products with people like I was solving a puzzle. Which of them would actually bite? My gaze caught on two men off to the side, rexed, puffing away on pipes, their eyes half-lidded as they spoke in low voices. Something clicked—I had something like that I “liberated” from Vegas.

  I sed my ste and took out the boxes, their polished wood glinting in the misty light. I walked up to the men, doing my best to look casual, and held out a cigar box. “Care for a look at some uobacco?”

  Their expressions twisted, both of them looking at me like at dirt that stuck to their shoes. That look—a mix of disgust and barely tained impatience. But they nodded, and with relut hands, took the cigars.

  The moment they opehe lid, their faces ged. The disdain vanished, repced by i. Suddenly, I wasn’t some annoyance, but a man worth speaking to. They leaned in, iing the cigars like rare jewels, and within moments, one of them spoke up, asking for my entire supply.

  My face stayed ral, but inside, I was grinning. “Of course,” I said smoothly, naming a price fifty pert higher than the appraisal. They didn’t even blink, and forty-eight gold s dropped into my hand for two cartons of cigar boxes. They thanked me as though I’d dohem some great favor, warmth in their voices as they shook my hand.

  Their ged tone and body nguage made me feel a tad evil for fleeg them, and I almost, almost offered a dist.

  Don’t be an idiot.

  That’s how I went around among the nobles and sold things acc to what I felt ropriate for each group. I sold a group of dies some silver jewelry with turquoise from Santa Fe; to anroup, I sold perfume; to another noble, I sold belts and medieval knight armor replica; and to a dy with a baby, fifty packages of diapers. The st dy was so happy that I suspected if her husband wasn't beside her, she would have proposed to me. At the end of all my sales, the visit to the falls ed me 132 gold s. urned out to be good for something, after all. I'd have to update my sensei.

  Looking at the Map, there were two options: tinue along the river to Crystalspire or tur on the road towards the Crystal Cave and the Eg Caverns. I had no preferences, so I sulted Rue.

  “Rue, buddy,” I said, scratg behind his ears, “what do you think? Left on the river to a big city ht on the road to two kinds of caves?”

  “In city lots yummy food,” he said, his tail wagging eagerly as he perked up at the thought of food.

  “Right. We’ll eventually get to the city,” I replied, patting his side, “but how about visiting the caves first?”

  Rue’s ears fttened slightly as he shook his head. “Rue not like caves.”

  I raised an eyebrow, gng down at him. “I thought you said you were now smarter and not afraid of caves?”

  “Rue not afraid of caves. Rue not like caves,” he insisted, huffing as he pnted his paws firmly on the ground.

  “So, give up the caves?”

  “Yes!” The agreement echoed loudly in my mind, followed by a sudden lunge as Rue jumped up and gave me a big, sloppy face lick, his tail wagging furiously in delight.

  “Okay, buddy. Not caves it is.”

  I saw a Gate along the river on the way to Crystalspire aimated it would take about a day to reach it, and another half day to reach Crystalspire. We walked until we passed the st small waterfall, hid behind some trees, and took out the jet skis.

  “Let’s see what Crystalspire has to offer,” I said to Rue.

  The jet ski hummed under me, and we shot off down the river, the wind spping against my face as we picked up speed. The idea of a city waiting up ahead, full of stuff to see and deals to make, had me grinning like an idiot.