"Ugh, why am I even trying to make sense of this?" Ash muttered while shaking her head lightly.
This world was filled with things that defied scientific explanation.
Overthinking it would only add unnecessary trouble for herself.
The most important thing right now was to figure out how to reach the small island in the center of the lake.
From her position, Ash could faintly see the icy blue fruits that was hanging from the branches of the massive ancient tree on the island.
Those fruits must be the Ripple Fruit she was searching for.
"You wait here for me," Ash said, addressing the Larvavine.
After estimating the distance between herself and the island, she was thinking for a while before deciding not to swim.
This lake, nestled deep within the mountain, was bound to be freezing cold.
Although Ash wasn't a bad swimmer, but diving into unknown water could easily lead to muscle cramps due to the cold.
For her own safety, she decided to go outside and gather branches to construct a makeshift raft.
Placing her backpack on the ground, Ash gently set Larvavine onto it.
Then, taking her utility shovel and rope, she made her way back out along the narrow path.
Finding branches of the right thickness and vines suitable for binding them together was a time-consuming task.
By the time Ash had gathered all the materials she needed and dragged them back into the cave, Larvavine was already curled up asleep atop her backpack.
It seemed the past two days of traversing Azure Bay Mountain had truly exhausted the little creature.
So, Ash didn't disturb it.
After neatly arranging the branches and vines for the raft, she grabbed her utility shovel and water flask and headed back outside.
The sky was already beginning to turn a golden hue as dusk approached.
It was clear that she and Larvavine would have to spend the night here.
Ash had no intention of enduring another cold, hungry night.
So, she decided to gather some firewood to take with her to the small island in the middle of the lake.
An hour later, Ash returned carrying two bundles of dry firewood and a few fresh, juicy branches.
The branches were meant for Larvavine.
Ash wasn't entirely sure if the Larvavine could eat human food, so while collecting firewood, she'd also looked for plants she remembered seeing in a guidebook that was safe to be eaten by the Larvavine.
After all, the little creature had saved her life and helped her so much.
She couldn't let it spend a freezing, hungry night alongside her.
As soon as she reached the end of the path, Ash barely had time to set down her load before Larvavine woke up and darted straight into her arms.
"Whoa, hold on—stop, stop!" Ash exclaimed, quickly halting its attempt to climb up her arm while she was still holding the bundles of firewood.
Ash's right hand had been injured earlier while avoiding the giant Vespitoxin's attack.