“Man, it’s so much better doing this with company! Going around killing monsters got boring real fast after a few days of dungeon delving. It’s all just so monotonous, you know?” Marco said as he eagerly collected the energy stone from the monster they’d just defeated.
“I know what you mean. I was starting to feel the same way,” Elias said. “But the deeper zones are supposed to be different—more exciting. My parents say the dungeon gets more interesting the deeper you go. The newbie zone is the only part that’s really monotonous... I think the word they used was ‘predictable.’”
Marco handed him the energy crystal from the monster they’d just killed, and Elias added it to his card. Before starting their delve, they’d recorded how much energy he had, so they could calculate exactly how much they’d earned.
Later, they planned to use what they earned to buy food and beers at one of the restaurants in the clearing.
“My dad told me something similar,” Marco said with a shake of his head and a dreamy smile. “Man, I can’t wait to visit some of the places he’s talked about. Honestly, I’m half convinced he made a few of them up. He once told me about a zone filled with floating volcanoes that spew massive clouds of steel dust into the air and drip lava into a sea made of the stuff. It just sounds way too surreal.”
His eyes took on a faraway look, like he was already picturing himself in one of those impossible, fantastical places.
Elias understood that feeling well. A small smile touched his lips as he thought about the magical places he’d heard of over the years. Then he remembered the stories he used to love as a child, and his eyes widened.
“That’s nothing! What about those zones from adventuring stories?” he said with a grin. “I used to love those when I was younger, but some of the descriptions were ridiculous. If we’re talking surreal, those places beat anything I’ve ever heard people talk about by a long shot.”
He let out a light chuckle, his eyes glistening with fond remembrance.
“Come on, that’s not a fair comparison and you know it!” Marco said with an amused laugh, rolling his eyes at Elias. “The places we hear adventurers talk about are at least supposed to be real. I mean, they swear by it. Writers for kids' stories, though? I’m pretty sure they take more than just a few artistic liberties.”
The pair continued walking, chatting about the various dungeon zones they’d heard stories about. What began as a lighthearted discussion soon devolved into a full-blown competition over who had heard of the most absurd places.
The game got so intense that Elias started to suspect Marco was making some of them up on the spot just to one-up him—so he started doing the same.Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.
Eventually, their laughter faded, and the conversation trailed off as the jungle foliage began to thin, signaling they were nearing their destination. The vegetation continued to grow sparser until, suddenly, it opened into a glade with a wide, circular pool of crystalline water at its center.
In the middle of that pool stood a small island, crowned by an enormous bearded fig tree. Its thick roots flowed over the island’s surface, trailing into the water before disappearing into the earth below. Long, hanging vines draped from its canopy, brushing gently against the water’s surface.
The sight reminded Elias of a much smaller version of the titanic tree that loomed over the Hanging Vines Temple just outside the dungeon.
Water bubbled up from a multitude of natural springs surrounding the pool on all sides. There were two distinct types: one that released water so hot it sent up thick clouds of steam, and another so cold that a thin layer of mist clung to its surface.
The springs were clearly divided by type, each positioned on opposite sides of the pool. As their waters flowed inward, the pool appeared to split into two equal halves—one warm and steaming, the other cold and shrouded in mist.
Where the hot and cold waters met, steam and mist weaved into themselves in a mesmerizing dance, like the clash of two armies locked in a silent struggle for dominance. Yet their collision remained confined to a narrow corridor at the center of the pool, neither side able to overcome the other.
It was at that same point where the waters converged, mingling together to become something more than they were apart. From there, the mingled waters slipped through a natural drain and flowed outward, forming a creek that disappeared into the jungle.
Having lived near the jungle his whole life, Elias had, of course, heard of this place. Its waters were said to possess incredible magical properties, drawing many adventurers to it.
From what he’d heard, soaking in the pool offered a variety of benefits. The hot water was said to heal wounds and relax the muscles, while the cold water energized and strengthened the body.
But the real magic lay in the place where the two waters met.
For reasons no one fully understood, the hot and cold waters refused to mix—like oil and vinegar—and that strange behavior amplified their effects several times over. In that narrow corridor of convergence, the water both heated and cooled, relaxed and energized, healed and strained.
Simply bathing in it was said to bring miraculous benefits to the body, mind, and spirit. In fact, some high-end spas in the city replicated this exact experience at a steep price. It served the same function as a recovery potion and a full workout, all in one, albeit at a slower pace.
When paired with proper training, though, the effects were multiplicative.
The glade wasn’t entirely free of monsters, but few ever approached, as if repelled by the beauty of the place. And even if one did appear, it wouldn’t pose much of a threat anyway—unless it was an aquatic species.
Still, Marco and Elias left their belongings on the island where the fig tree was rooted. That way, if a dangerous monster did show up, they wouldn’t have to fight their way back to their gear.
Afterward, the two friends sat atop the tree’s massive roots, taking a few quiet minutes to marvel at the sight before them.
Then, they jumped in.