Infinity and Eternity. Two concepts that lay at the very Heart of the Origin Sea. The concepts, that all Wanderers would inevitably come into contact with, either intentionally, or unintentionally. It was just that the concepts were so esoteric, that few, if any Wanderers could grasp their essence. His master, for instance, had spent decades trying to grasp the essence of Infinity, and incorporate it into her Heart, forging it into an Infinite Heart. And those were decades that had come after she had reached the peak of the Mystic Rank.

  Similarly, Eternity was also a concept that few, if any could grasp. Rather, it was even more difficult to grasp than Infinity. At least all Grand Wanderers and above had more or less grasped some trace of Infinity. The only difference between them was how deep their understanding of Infinity was. Eternity, on the other hand, was a concept that was rare even amongst Supreme Wanderers.

  Of course, it was not necessary to reach the Grand or Supreme Rank to grasp those concepts. If one could have Goddess Ilea’s blessings, they could grasp the concepts even at the Seed Rank. Unfortunately, Alnea did not have the Goddess blessings. Even when the concept of Eternity was right in front of him, brushing against his skin, he still could not understand its essence.

  Fortunately, the trip was not an entire loss, Alnea thought to himself, as he consolidated his gains from the Fortune Spring. Rather than chasing after some esoteric concepts that he might or might not understand, it was better to focus on what he could understand. Like the concepts of Protecting and Guarding. Or the concept of Slaughtering. Concepts, which he could use not just with the Oathkeeper Arts, but also with the other Martial Styles…

  Once he was done consolidating his gains, Alnea opened his eyes to look at the sphere once again. If he even had eyes at the moment. He just imagined himself looking at the sphere, and sphere manifested in front of him. Or maybe it was him who manifested. The Fortune Spring… It worked in strange ways. In any case, the moment he saw the sphere, he understood that his fate with the Fortune Spring was over. At least for the moment it was.

  Maybe, in the future, when he reached the peak of the Mystic Rank, he could back to experience the Fortune once again, and try to grasp the trace of Infinity, but till then, the Spring would have no effect on him. Sighing lightly, Alnea stretched out his senses to the waves emanating from the sphere, and let them carry him out of the dark, empty world, into the dark, barren desert. The same barren desert, where he had entered the world of the Fortune Spring from. Just a tad bit darker than before.

  Or maybe a whole lot darker. With neither Orn, nor Enn in the sky, the world was already dark as it was, the black sands around him made it even darker than before. For as far as his eyes could see, all he saw was an endless stretch of inky black darkness. A darkness so deep, that for a moment, he even thought that he was floating in the empty void of his Domain.

  It was only the solid touch of the loose sands under his feet, and the faint light of the fading stars in the sky that brought him back to his senses, and made him focus back on reality. With how dark the desert was, it was practically a haven for Oren Beasts lurking in ambush. No, not just Oren Beasts, but all his enemies. Thankfully, a quick scan from his Domain of Night showed that there were no enemies lurking around him.

  Still, Alnea did not dare to lower his guard. With the intangible waves carrying the Mysteries spilling from the Fortune Spring sending out summons into the wild, he did not know when or how he would be attacked by his enemies. Although keeping the Domain of Night deployed was a heavy burden for him, it was not beyond his limits. Most importantly, it was necessary.

  Besides, it was only for a short while. If his estimations were correct, Enn was about to rise. Probably in a quarter of an hour or so. He had spent quite some time with the Fortune Spring, after all. Though the others were spending even longer. Was it because their gains were greater, or because they were having a hard time understanding the concepts? They were not trying to grasp the concept of Eternity, right?

  …Probably not, Alnea hoped, as he made his way back to the tent. Since there was still some time for his teammates to return, he thought that he might as well pack away their tent. It was not too hard anyway. For practical reasons, all the tents sold in the Lost City were designed to be easily dismantled on a moment’s notice. Even with his inexperience, it took him only a quarter of an hour to complete the job. But that left him with another problem.

  With nothing else to do, Alnea was left standing in silence, facing the barren desert all by himself. He could, of course, meditate or temper his Heart to fight his boredom, but doing so without any guards in place would have been a stupid choice. In the end, he could only keep himself entertained by searching for possible enemies, treating it as something akin to a game. It was not until the first rays of Enn peaked through the horizon that the first of his teammates finally returned from the Fortune Spring, relieving him of his loneliness.

  “…How was it?” Alnea asked, as he made his way over to Yuri with a smile. “Did you gain anything?”

  “…I did. More than what I could have imagined. What about you?”

  “Me too,” Alnea said with a grin. “I grasped a couple of Concepts that I have been struggling with for a while, and even made some progress in my Spirit Power. I haven’t had the time to check it yet, but I should not be too far from the Second Level of the Advanced Stage.”

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  “…Those Concepts…”

  “…What are you thinking? I am just a False Wanderer. How could I understand two of the most esoteric concepts?”

  “…Who knows? Maybe your talent with Concepts is just as good as your talent with Martial Styles?”

  “…What about you?” Alnea said, ignoring the grin on Yuri’s face. “What did you gain?”

  “The Fortune Spring cleared up the fog surrounding a couple of Concepts that I have been struggling with. And my Spirit Power should also have grown close to the peak of the Tenth Level.”

  “…And you dare to tease me about my talent?” Alnea mumbled, before turning back towards the dune where the node to the Fortune Spring was hidden. “Although this was our first Fortune Spring in the Black Desert, just this one Fortune Spring was more valuable than most of the Fortune Springs we found in the Night Canyons combined.”

  “…That may be true, but the Night Canyons are much more abundant in Fortune Springs than the Black Desert. And we found those Fortune Springs in the outer reaches of the canyons. The Fortune Springs near its centre should be much more advanced. And dangerous. You should not underestimate a Forbidden Area just because of your experience in another Forbidden Area.”

  “…I know. I was just—

  A burst of white light flashed in the desert, blinding Alnea for a moment, before fading away, revealing the figure of girl, glancing around with a wide grin plastered on her face. A grin that grew even wider when she noticed him and Yuri standing together.

  “Finally!” Cecilia yelled, walking towards him and Yuri. “You won’t believe what I just gained in the Fortune Spring.”

  “…Let me guess,” Alnea said. “You broke through to the Advanced Stage?”

  “…Tsk. Lucky guess,” Cecilia said, before turning towards Yuri. “Guess what else the Fortune Spring did for me?”

  “…Seeing how happy you are… did you make a breakthrough in your Heart? Is it related to what we talked about earlier?”

  “…The Fortune did help me understand a few things about myself, but I have long overcome the things that you are talking about.”

  “Then it can only be the Concepts…”

  “That’s right! I mastered the concept of Charge and Sharpness.”

  “…Charge and Sharpness, is it?” Yuri mumbled, while another burst of light appeared in the distance. Another one of their teammates had returned from the Fortune Spring.

  “I think they will match well with your Martial Styles.”

  “Of course,” Cecilia said, grinning wildly, with a bright light in her eyes. “With those two concepts, my Martial Styles will be at least twice as powerful as before.”

  “Is that it?” Vestia said, stepping out of the fading clusters of white light, shaking her head with sigh. “What a waste of opportunity.”

  “…Do you have a problem with me, vixen?”

  “Why would I have any problems with you?”

  “There are thousand reasons that I can think of… In any case, if you don’t want to fight, then shut up.”

  “…Although I do not have any problems with you, I still wish to share what I learned in the Fortune Spring,” Vestia said, pausing for a moment as she noticed the other team members returning from the Fortune Spring one by one, before continuing with what she was saying. “Do you have any idea what you just missed?”

  “…The only thing I missed is beating you up.”

  “…You missed an opportunity that could possibly help you break through to the Grand Rank.”

  “You are talking as if you made full use of the opportunity,” Cecilia said with a snort. “Don’t forget that you too are just a False Wanderer. How much did you gain from the Fortune Spring anyway?”

  “…At least I laid the seeds for my breakthrough.”

  “…Whatever,” Cecilia said, while the others stared at the two of them with wide eyes.

  “When did we miss such an opportunity?”

  “…In the Fortune Spring.”

  “But all I saw was a giant blue sphere…”

  “Me too…”

  “…That’s because you were concentrating on the wrong things.”

  “…That’s enough, Vestia.”

  “What?” Vestia said, turning towards Alnea in confusion. “Did I say anything wrong?”

  “…You should not belittle anyone’s path just because you cannot understand them. Even if some paths may seem simple to you, can you say for certain that they will not grow enough to encompass Infinity?”

  “…My apologies,” Vestia said after a moment of silence. “I had no intentions of belittling or offending anyone. It is just that my Heart has still not calmed down from experiencing the Fortune Spring…”

  “…I don’t know why, but seeing her apologies makes my skin crawl…”

  “…You are giving me even more excuses to apologise.”

  “You…”

  “…It’s alright,” Karl said. “We all have moments where our Heart runs out of our control. Though if you truly want to apologise, then I would like to know more of what you were talking about earlier.”

  “…I would not mind hearing it either,” Zain said, trying his best to keep a nonchalant expression on his face.

  “…Are you sure?” Alnea said, glancing at Zain, and the rest of the Star Seekers. “Although what you are asking for is not a secret, there is a reason why none of your elders have told you about it.”

  “…Then what about you?”

  “…When your will is strong enough to resist the temptation of an opportunity to break through to the Grand Rank, you can also be fearless like us.”

  “…Forget it. We are happy with what we have gained.”

  “…In that case, let’s return to the city before the Oren Beasts come rushing at us.”