"That... was intense."
Neo knelt by the side of the blue pond, greedily taking in deep breaths.
He had been so starved of oxygen that the fresh, healthy air above the lake felt like ambrosia. His body was so exhausted that he wanted nothing more than to lie down and sleep, but his past experience—when he had almost been swallowed—taught him to check his surroundings first before doing anything else.
As Neo gradually opened his eyes, he noticed his torn and shredded clothes barely clinging to his body. He couldn't help but observe that there was no blood on his bare skin.
And no wounds either?
"What the f*ck!" Neo gasped.
He frantically examined his body and discovered that he had zero wounds. All broken bones had been fixed and rejoined, shredded muscles had been repaired, torn skin and punctured organs—everything was healed!
Even the broken finger from mere minutes ago had healed!
What kind of sorcery was this?
Neo's mind raced, and he came to an inevitable conclusion. He turned back, gazing at the pond containing the blue water with deep longing...
It healed him?
"Wow!"
Neo had been too focused on getting out of the pond both times to notice that crucial detail. He was certain that without the water's healing properties, he would have drowned for sure, given all the injuries he had accumulated.
At least one good thing came out of that traumatic drowning experience.
But the pond was absolutely beautiful. It was azure and sparkled like a liquid gem, shining and twinkling from different angles. Neo felt tempted to jump into the pond once again but stopped when the danger hidden within its beautiful appearance flashed in his mind.
'We're not doing that,' he thought.
Wait, are those walls?
Neo looked behind the pond and saw that a brown, rocky wall existed behind it. The wall spread as wide as his eyes could see. It looked like this place was some sort of cave?
Neo twirled around to observe the full scenery, and his jaw dropped.
Wow.
Neo was able to confirm that he was indeed underground, but that was the only thing this place had in common with a normal 'cave.'
Before him was the most magnificent view he had ever seen in his life!
Neo stared at the serene view and sighed in contentment.
This is beauty...
Before him was a field of pink grass. Yes, actual pink grass. It was too beautiful! Too mesmerising!
It looked like a dream and smelled like one too.
Neo wanted to lay in this grass and forget all his worries. It was just the way he liked his views!
What's more, behind this field of pink grass was an equally marvellous forest.
Neo was amazed that there was an actual forest in the cave and could only chalk it up to the Spirit Realm being full of wonders.
The forest was majestic and domineering, stretching so far that Neo was sure it spanned the entire zone.
It was really impressive, although it did give Neo a bit of a fright.
Neo didn't really want to enter any forest for the time being. He was content with sleeping in the field of pink grass, where he could see far and where there were no demonic tree beings to terrify him.
He decided he would only explore the forest after spending some time observing how nightlife was there.
Speaking of night, how was this place so bright?
There couldn't be an actual sky, right?
Neo gazed upward curiously and saw the source of the bright light illuminating the cave.
Are those crystals?
There were massive blue crystals poking out of the ceiling of the cave, glowing brightly. Their radiance was enough to give the impression of daylight, and the mist they oozed appeared to be liquified oxygen?
Anyway, that was enough sightseeing for now. Neo had a serious problem at hand.
Growl!
As if on cue, the legendary-grade beasts Neo raised in his stomach began to growl and demand food.
"Boss, we've been waiting for hours! We ain't seen sh*t!"
"We're hungry down here!"
"Yes! I need to feed my little girl!"
"And my little boy!"
"And my little twins!"
"Feed us!"
"Yeah, feed us, you monster!"
It was getting rowdy in Tummy Town.
Indeed, Neo's most pressing issue right now was food. He had not eaten in a full day and was starving!
He might have escaped many deaths in the last 24 hours, but if he didn't find something to eat, he would still end up starving to death.
Am I really going to be forced to hunt?
Neo wasn't confident in his chances against even the weakest type of common-grade beast.
'What should I do?' he thought, contemplating his next choice.
Plop!
Neo leapt back when a round pink ball suddenly fell from the sky, some metres away from him.
He was on guard, no matter how calm he appeared. He had just arrived in this new location, after all, so he was able to react in a timely manner.
Neo's eagle-like eyes watched as the pink ball hit the ground before bursting, leaking out a fragrant pink juice that made Neo's mouth water.
Neo didn't want to believe the timing could be that good...
What was going on here?
He followed the path of the fruit upwards and saw that he was actually standing some metres away from the shade of a massive tree that spanned tens of metres!
Neo's heart lurched. He scampered out of the range of the mysterious tree like a crazy dog.
Growl!
The beasts within Neo were getting impatient. The juicy fruits hanging on the branches of this tree were too much temptation for them.
Neo found himself salivating as he stared at the plump, round, pink fruits quietly hanging in the air, swaying lightly as if trying to seduce him.
Neo cautiously approached the squashed fruit on the ground and examined it.
He was going to perform the 30-minute food test.
This was the only method they were taught at his school to verify whether an unknown substance was poisonous or cursed.
Any cursed fruit was a danger to the consumer; Neo still remembered what his neighbour looked like after consuming one such cursed fruit in the Spirit Realm.
'That horse tail was funny as hell...'
Swiftly, Neo pricked the tip of his finger with his spear and allowed the blood to drip on top of a small rock he had found lying around.
After collecting a sizeable amount, Neo dipped a blade of grass into the pink juice and allowed it to drop over his blood.
Neo waited for 30 minutes and observed closely. If the colour of his blood began to change, then the fruits were poisonous. If his blood began to glow, then it was definitely cursed.
It was a fact that anything edible in the Spirit Realm reacted with blood in this manner, so the test was legit.
After enduring increasingly intense hunger pangs for another 30 minutes, Neo's eyes lit up. His blood did not glow or change colour.
Neo was glad his counting from 1 to 1800 was not for nothing.
Slowly, he rose and stared at the pink fruits on the trees with longing.
He used his spear to calmly pluck one fruit and examined it closely.
It was time to feast!
The barbaric sounds of munching echoed in the pink field for half a minute before abruptly stopping.
Neo had devoured the first fruit he picked up in seconds.
His face lit up with delight when he discovered that the fruit not only tasted great and sated his hunger, but also replenished his energy!
Both physical and mental!
Neo's voice was throaty as he spoke:
"It's time to eat... and be merry!"