"Um, can we move the ne into your area?" Gisle asked.


    "I''m not sure, the space gap isn''t big enough to fit such massive machinery in there, but we can try." Wain muttered and concentrated.


    He headed for the wall, and it turned to ink. Wain gave the signal and Edena pointed the ne toward the wall, but they had no luck. As Wain had anticipated, the ne was too big.


    "Well, that was to be expected." Reto muttered.


    "Shouldn''t there be a ready-made passageway here? Constructs moved the ne here somehow, so there must be an exit. Right?" Frigus asked.


    The others'' eyes zed over. They realized they had acted foolishly, and the answer to the riddle was obvious.


    "No, it isn''t." Edena disappointed them.


    "What, why? It sounds perfectly logical," Gisle pondered.


    "They could have changed the passage with the nanites, it would take time, but it is possible. However, now we don''t have that option."


    "Okay, then we can cut through the passageway, can''t we?" Wain suggested.


    "Sure, we can do that, but there are several meters of concrete and earth above us. It would take us hours to dig a tunnel. Are you sure there aren''t other ways?" Gisle asked.


    "Huh, we don''t have to do it ourselves. I''ll be right back." Wain mouthed and headed into the spatial rift.


    Everyone was puzzled, but when Wain returned a few minutester, they realized his idea. Along with him came severalrge monsters with massive paws. They were perfect for quickly digging a wide and deep tunnel.


    "Good. Let''s get to work!" Wain gave themand, and the monsters began digging the tunnel.


    The monsterspleted the task quickly, and the ne was on top within ten minutes. Gisle and Luar returned to base, while Wain Frigus, Elegan, and Edena went to their Void. They also took all the alchemical equipment.


    ...


    The ind was only ten days away, and Wain decided not to participate in any events during those days. He was resting, training, and gaining strength. Wain couldn''t advance any further by absorbing the souls of other beings, but training was always valuable.


    Everyone knew immediately how to use a new skill when they received it, but practice was always needed to improve the result.


    In ten days, Wain improved his skills control and understood how best to use them. He destroyed a few ice caves, but they eventually returned to their former appearance.


    The Void was not just an area where creatures could live, but an energy-soakednd that was partly alive. It could bepared to a tree, it was not a full-fledged living organism like a human or some animal, but it was growing and producing certain processes.


    Ten days was quite a long time, and up to that point, Wain had never rested so long. He could feel his body filling up with power.


    Sure, Wain could have fought in the arenas in that time or even tried to capture another Void, but he didn''t want to risk it. He was constantly on the move and decided this was the best time to rest.


    With three days to go, Wain would be ready to return to the, but he decided to check on what progress Lui Bu and Edena had made before that. They had equipment, Elegan had helped them with the supply of resources, and chose the perfect location for them.


    Their alchemicalboratory was in a rock behind a waterfall. Elegan and the monsters had deliberately dug a cave there. The ce was quiet, the temperature was low, and constant ess to clean water.


    They worked hard all this time and had some sess. Ten different kinds of resources grew in the Forest of Frozen Dreams, and each of them was valuable in some way.


    Moreover, the Magical Forest of Azure Rivers had manymon nts, fruits, and insects that could be used to brew potions.


    "Hi, how are you doing?" Wain said, walking into the alchemyb.


    "Huh, I never would have thought I''d be working in a cave behind a waterfall. It''s a beautiful ce where peacees, and thoughts move in the right direction." Lui Bu said smiling.


    "Yeah, it''s not bad. It''s the right temperature and everything at your fingertips. It''s a prettyfortable ce." Edena muttered.


    They were both doing the same thing, but they had apletely different approach. That might have been a problem, but they would have eliminated each other''s shorings and be one with the right interaction.


    "Have you had any luck? I''m going on a trip soon, and I could use some potions or pills. Anything without side effects woulde in handy."


    "Yes, we have made some progress, but since we didn''t know you wereing, we don''t have any batches ready. For now, we''re not saving everything we make. We''re giving it away to monsters to get a better understanding of how potions work."


    "Huh, using them as guinea pigs? Okay, I get it. How long will it take you to make all three portions?"


    "Not much, one day will be enough, but some of the potions we can only make in a single batch." Edena replied.


    "Okay, I understand." Wain uttered and walked out of the cave.


    Until then, he had spent all his free time in the caves or the Ice Lake, but when there was a change with the area, Wain no longer had a ce where he could have privacy.


    He asked Elegan to build him a small cabin in the woods under a rock to solve this problem.


    It was small but spacious and cozy. For now, it was more than enough. Wain could continue training, but he decided to do something else.


    Luar had given him a treasured item, Soul Pearl, and Wain wanted to absorb it. He could have saved it for thest resort, but he decided to use it now.


    It was his third Soul Pearl, and in size, it was tiny, much smaller than the first. However, that wasn''t a problem. Each Soul Pearl harbored arge amount of energy of the highest quality.


    Wain activated a Beyond, a ck crown appeared on his head, and eerie jaws opened on his palms. He opened his mouth wide and swallowed the pill like a grape.


    [You absorbed energy from Soul Pearl. Energy +5]


    It was a small boost. However, Energy was difficult to boost, and Wain''s overall condition improved greatly.


    ''Hmm, I wonder why Pearl Hunter spends so much effort and puts themselves in danger hunting Soul Pearl. It''s certainly a valuable thing, but is arge amount of energy really all it takes?'' Wain wondered.


    He stood up and headed for the exit, but suddenly everything blurred before his eyes, and Wain fainted. He didn''t even have time to realize what had happened.


    ...


    "Huh, looks like he got ahead of the curve by ident." Smiling said a man in a gray robe and a tight blindfold over his eyes.


    The four men were in the dark castle and stood on a gray tform with a ck crown floating in the center.


    "It''s still too early, there''s a lot of energy, but his body isn''t strong enough to withstand it. Only when he takes the second step will it make sense." Pronounced the man in the long tattered cloak.


    His voice was harsh and cold, as if it came from the depths of hell.


    "Huh, don''t be so serious. We''re moving in the right direction." Said the man in the white mask and red coat.


    "Quiet, it won''t be long now. Look." Pronounced Code of Light and Darkness pointing to a crack in the middle of the tform.


    As Wain engulfed Soul Pearl, the crack began to widen, but in an instant, it stopped. However, dark energy was already beginning to emerge beneath the gray tform and headed toward the crown.


    The four figures smiled. The stronger Wain was, the stronger they were. Likewise, they hoped that one day they would see what they had been waiting for.


    ...


    Wain didn''te to his senses until the next day. He was puzzled as he didn''t understand what had happened but decided that it was a side effect of the absorption of a Soul Pearl.


    "Okay, it''s not that important. I have to go back and get ready to go to the ind, but before this, I have to pick up the potions."