Alex waited for the time to pass by wandering through the village shops. Since he had brought a small fortune with him, he bought every rare plant he could get his hands on.
Inside his pocket watch—where the ancient plants from the alchemist's stash were stored—he placed the new herbs he acquired.
He glanced down at the watch, remembering the time he was in the southern jungle near Tessara's royal palace. Back then, the pocket watch had become hot to the touch, and to this day, he still didn't know why.
He suspected the pocket watch and his dreams were connected somehow.
When he had the artifact inspected after repairing it, the artificer only noted the sub-space engraving. Nothing else. No hidden enchantments, no special runes. Yet Alex could not shake the feeling that there was something more—something tied to his dreams.
Whatever it was, he hoped that acting out in plot of his dreams would lead him to the answer.
Once noon arrived, he put on his mask and went to the meeting place. As expected, a man was waiting beside a boat placed in the water, hidden with some cloth. He was wearing a mask and clothes that covered every inch of skin. The only thing Alex could identify was that he was male since the man was huge.
"Did ya bring'ma mony?" the man asked hoarsely.
Alex deciphered the words well enough."Yes, I did." He handed him fifty gold coins.
"Pefect, hop on'da bot," the man replied.
'Will I even survive this ride?' Alex wondered; the man didn't seem all that normal, yet he stepped in.
As the masked man boarded, he said, "Naim? I'm Stain."
"Marc," Alex answered.
"Mm, feik naim."
"Just like yours. Now we have something in common," Alex said, finding it easier each time to interpret his speech.
Stain placed the paddle into the water.
Immediately, Alex felt his stomach lurch—his vision tightening into a tunnel and his body moving backwards. 'The bastard is a martial artist,' he realized.
The man was spinning the paddle in the water at an astonishing speed, propelling the boat forward.
"Were to?" Stain asked.
"It's not far. The island straight west from your village," Alex replied.
"Oh'kay."
The man kept speeding towards the island for a while.
They sped onward for a few hours. The place wasn't far compared to the long journey Alex would eventually have to take to reach the resting place of Sylvana.
"Hey, Stain... do you perhaps know why personal sailing is prohibited?" Alex asked. He didn't expect much of an answer, but the silence was becoming uncomfortable.
"Ye, central continent, neutrahl plaiz, navale flot al around," Stain said.
Alex squinted his eyes at the man's horrible speech, but after a few moments, he deciphered what he said, and it all clicked.
'Of course! The central continent is a neutral place! But no one really trusts each other, so there are naval floats all around it, which means that knowing their position could be potentially damaging for the military.'
Alex was amazed by the fact that Stain knew such information.
"Thanks, Stain. That was actually very insightful." Still he thanked the weird man.
"Yur welcom."
Hours later, they reached Alex's destination.
Alex stepped off the boat, took out more gold, and said:
"Hey man, could you return here after one month? I have another job for you, and this time I offer two hundred gold coins," Alex said, putting up two fingers.
Stain looked at him silently for a few minutes, making the moment awkward, but he still agreed after a while.
"Ye, one mhonth laiter, hereh."Without another word, he pushed off and left.
Alex had to recognize that, while sounding retarded, Stain was a great damn sailor.
Turning around, Alex looked at the land ahead. Dense, green, and humid.
'A jungle. I despise jungles,' he thought. He had never had a good time in places like this.
As he ventured inland, he found the place mostly devoid of monsters, with only a few normal animals wandering around.
Alex didn't consider that a good sign.
After a few hours of uneventful walking, he had a sudden feeling on his chest, like a calling.
It was soft, gentle, and sweet, yet it oppressed him with great might.
Tears started flowing down Alex's cheeks, yet he wasn't crying at all.
'The Saint's Tear', Alex immediately understood what was producing the phenomenon that he was feeling.
The legendary ingredient was one of a kind, and it contained the largest amount of mana the world could naturally produce.
'This is probably why the monsters are missing. They're hiding from the Tear's influence.'
It has to be that way; otherwise, he couldn't understand how the place could be barren.
'But this seems only to affect those who can handle mana, since normal animals are doing well.' Alex thought while he looked at a squirrel.
He pressed on towards the calling, the pull growing stronger with each step.
He spent hours walking, and since the island was quite big, he needed to stop once to recharge his mana, since he was close to leaking it all out.
'I have to find a way to cure this damn disease.' Alex was growing tired of having to do meditation every certain hours, to keep his core full.
When he finally reached the Tear, his breath caught.
Around the crystalline tear, streams of greenish-blue substance flowed toward it like thick threads.
That's pure mana!' Alex caught on immediately.
The normally divided and invisible mana was so condensed that it took form and colour. It was a once-in-a-lifetime sight, a natural wonder.
The threads emanated a comfortable feeling, like a gentle caress, likely due to the nature of the Tear itself, which was healing.
Alex suddenly remembered the recording artifact he had purchased, quickly took it out, and captured the spectacle. When it finished, he stored it and approached the Tear.
He placed his hands on it and stored it inside the pocket watch.
The moment he did, dread crawled up his spine.
'With the Tear's suppression gone… what about the monsters that were hiding?'
At that exact thought, the jungle erupted.
Growls. Screeches. Roars.
After who knew how long of starving, the monsters had gone rabid—And they didn't care what or whom they ate.