“Fanya, I’m feeling a bit hungry,” Amisa suddenly said, leaning against Fanya’s arms.

“Hungry?” Fanya asked, glancing around.

“Oh, you’re right, that reminds me, I’m getting hungry too,” Winnie said with a troubled look. “I wonder if this cursed place even has anything edible for humans.”

“There’s the sound of water nearby,” Amisa said, closing her eyes.

“Water? In which direction?” Winnie asked.

After a brief silence, Amisa pointed in a certain direction.

Winnie and Fanya exchanged a glance before heading off in that direction.

Fanya carried Amisa from behind, while Winnie led the way ahead.

Although they were now three people, one of them was injured, and another had nearly exhausted her magic power. Only Winnie still had a reserve left.

The recovery speed of mana for Artisans was extremely slow. Alchemical potions that restore mana could only slightly accelerate this recovery for a short duration, they couldn’t instantly refill mana the moment they were consumed, allowing immediate continued exertion.

Precisely because of this, mana capacity was so important.

Guided by Amisa, the three successfully reached the stream, where dark fish shadows could be seen swimming beneath the surface.

“I wonder if these fish are safe to eat,” Winnie said, rubbing his head.

But at this point, they had no choice. They were all starving, better to catch them first and worry later.

“Besides, we don’t have fishing rods or spears,” Fanya said helplessly. “Without tools, fish are too slippery to catch by hand.”

Winnie could’ve used [Frost Fang] as a multipurpose fishing spear, but he couldn’t use it now.

But it didn’t matter. A true person could always find a way, without rods or spears, victory could still be achieved through sheer power alone.

Winnie stretched out his hand, extending a [Ice Chain] that struck the water’s surface, freezing a small section into what looked like a fishing cage. The fish inside were trapped, immobilized by the ice.

Winnie slowly pulled the icy cage ashore.

“Fanya, do you still have any magic power left?” Winnie asked.

His intention was clear, he wanted Fanya to use fire magic to thaw it.

“Not much,” Fanya replied.

“Alright then, I’ll do it. But I can’t promise I’ll control the heat well,” Winnie said, taking out [Sixfold Hell] and stepping back. “You two stay back too.”

After confirming Fanya had carried Amisa to a safe distance, Winnie fired a shot at the ice cage.

“Boom! Boom! Boom!” The ice instantly shattered, sending several fish flying into the air before crashing onto the ground, flapping helplessly.

“These black fish should be edible, right?” Winnie examined the fish. Although unfamiliar, their appearance wasn’t too different from known species, nothing particularly grotesque.

Well, except that the thought of those scale-covered monsters that attacked them earlier made him a little nauseous. But when you’re starving, who cares about nausea? As long as it’s edible, it’ll do.

Winnie told Fanya to take care of Amisa while he went to gather firewood. Soon, Winnie returned carrying an armful of dry branches he’d collected in the jungle. He had just placed them down when he heard movement behind him.

“Stay back,” Winnie said to Fanya. Fanya understood she had to protect Amisa, who was injured and powerless in combat, so she carried Amisa to a safe distance.

Under Winnie’s watchful gaze, several tall bud-like monsters charged out from the bushes, immediately attacked without hesitation.

“It’s them,” Amisa whispered, then turned to Fanya. “Fanya, don’t worry about me, go help him.”

“Don’t worry. He’s strong, much stronger than me. Don’t think of him as some fragile glass bottle,” Fanya said.

Only then did Amisa turn to look at Winnie.

“Well now, you fellows are awfully considerate, knowing we’re short on firewood, you’ve kindly delivered yourselves as fuel?” Winnie grin, flashing a villainous smile.

Of course, the bud monsters couldn’t understand Winnie’s words. Relying on their towering frames, they charged straight at him.

Winnie extended his [Ice Chain] to pull himself sideways. The monsters missed, and just as they began to turn, one was met head-on by Winnie, who had armed himself with [Armour Fortress] and charged back.

Winnie, clad in enchanted ice armor, slammed into the monster. Shards of ice explode outward, crushing the creature’s chest inward and snapping both arms. It flew backward in an arc before crashing onto the ground.

After dealing with that one, Winnie turned to the remaining two. Using both hands, he launched three [Ice Chains] from each, locking and freezing the necks and arms of the two bud monsters, immobilizing them while simultaneously pulling himself toward them.

Facing two helpless monsters, Winnie easily leapt over them by stepping on their shoulders.

“Master Winnie, watch your back!” Suddenly, Winnie heard Amisa’s voice.

“These monsters can regenerate as long as they’re standing on the ground. They also have high resistance to Light and Water elements,” Amisa continued.

Winnie turned around, sure enough, the monster whose arms and chest he’d shattered earlier was rapidly regrowing its limbs, just like plants sprouting roots and shoots.

‘Looks like I can’t let them keep their feet on the ground.’

He could finish them all at once with his ultimate move, [Frost Snow Flame], but then the conveniently delivered firewood would be destroyed.

More importantly, after several consecutive battles, his mana could no longer afford such extravagance.

Winnie released a [Ice Chain], wrapping it around the legs of the monster behind him. Although these bud monsters resisted Light and Water, Ice seemed to be their glaring weakness, once frozen, Winnie easily tore off its legs.

Behind him, the other two monsters remained deeply frozen by earlier chains, but their feet still touched the ground, allowing them to continuously absorb nutrients from the earth and regenerate.

“With such pathetic abilities, you dare launch a sneak attack?” Winnie laughed.

Compared to the creatures in the dark alley and along the coast, the monsters in this ruined forest were weak, completely different in strength.

Still, weak or not, they had their mechanics. Now Winnie understood why Amisa had struggled so much against them earlier. Her specialty was likely Light and Water magic, both of which these monsters resisted heavily. Combined with their regeneration, unless she uses high-tier, high-damage spells for instant kills, she’d never defeat them.

One could easily imagine how frustrating it must’ve been for a Light and Water specialized Artisan, landing a full combo, exhausting mana, only to watch helplessly as the monsters healed and revived.

But for someone proficient in Ice magic like Winnie, such opportunities would never be granted. He launched four [Ice Chains], snapping the legs of the other two monsters, just as easily as plucking flower stems.

With their mobility gone and regeneration cut off, Winnie stepped forward with one foot. The ground cracked violently, chunks of earth exploding outward and obliterating the three bud monsters around him.

[Annihilation Stomp]

With their legs torn apart by Ice magic, they couldn’t stand or heal. Reduced to rubble, they could only lie there and slowly die, like uprooted flowers.

“See? He’s strong,” Fanya said to Amisa. “No need to worry about him.”

“All done,” Winnie said, piling the monsters’ corpses together. “Let’s use these guys as kindling. They look pretty flammable. Fanya, I’m not good with fire magic, just lend me a tiny spark, okay?”

Fanya gently set Amisa aside, then closed her eyes and murmured softly. A small flame flickered to life at her fingertip.

She guided the flame onto the wood, igniting it, then tossed the burning stick into the pile of monster bodies. Instantly, flames burst forth.

“Time for grilled fish,” Winnie said, finding some sticks and skewering the black-finned fish one by one, placing them near the fire to roast.

Of course, without any seasonings, the taste would be… indescribable.

But at this point, who cares? When you’re starving, even plain boiled rice tastes delicious, what’s there to be picky about?

The three sat around the fire.

“We still need to solve the water issue,” Winnie said, gazing at the stream.

“Master Winnie, I’ve learned the support spell [Water Purification]. You can collect water in a container and give it to me to purify,” Amisa raised her hand softly.

“You know that spell too? I heard that although anyone can learn utility magic once they reach a certain level, it’s extremely difficult, many people can’t even memorize the incantations,” Winnie said in surprise.

A person’s energy was limited. Usually, few would spend effort learning such troublesome, non-combat-enhancing utility spells.

“Also, I’ve told you not to call me ‘Master.’ We’re classmates. If others hear you saying that, it’ll be awkward,” Winnie frowned.

“There’s no one else to hear. Besides, there are no outsiders here, Fanya isn’t an outsider,” Amisa tilted her head, her soft, delicate voice tinged with mild confusion.

“Even if no one else hears, don’t call me that,” Winnie sighed helplessly. The Church generally held negative opinions of him, but there were a few exceptions.

Like Amisa and Luna, Amisa had called him kind upon their first meeting, and Luna had been unusually friendly, even complimenting his looks later.

“Okay, I understand,” Amisa nodded.

Winnie filled Amisa’s water bottle with stream water and handed it to her for purification.

Amisa closed her eyes and began chanting.

The incantation was long, complex, and filled with overlapping syllables, just hearing it gave Winnie a tingling sensation on his scalp.

The sheer volume of the chant was indeed troublesome. It was impressive that Amisa could remember it all.

With a burst of pure blue light and the sound of water chiming, Amisa handed the water bottle back to Winnie.

But doing so had drained nearly all of Amisa’s remaining mana.

“Winnie, you’re thirsty, drink first.”

“Thanks,” Winnie said. He couldn’t drink directly from the mouthpiece, it had been used by Amisa, so he poured it into his hand before drinking.

The purification magic couldn’t remove every harmful impurity, but it eliminated most of them.

It simply changed the water from completely undrinkable to drinkable, safe enough to avoid diarrhea or dehydration.

After drinking, Winnie felt noticeably more energized and passed the bottle to Fanya.

Fanya had no such reservations, both were girls, and she and Amisa were childhood best friends. Of course, she could drink directly from the same bottle.

“By the way, Amisa,” Fanya said, setting down the bottle. “When you were unconscious earlier, you were calling out ‘Milady Saintess,’ right? Did you… dream of the previous Saintess?”

“Mm-hmm,” Amisa didn’t hide it. Sitting obediently by the fire, she hugged her staff and nodded.

“You really saw the previous Saintess? Which one was it? Did she… say anything to you?” Fanya asked, clearly aware of the legend, surprised.

“I don’t know,” Amisa shook her head. “I only saw a blurry silhouette. She had cherry-white long hair and wore a white lotus-silk Saintess’s gown. That’s why I thought she must’ve been the Saintess, not the Goddess Herself.”

“Then… Did she say anything to you?” Fanya quickly asked.

Amisa lowered her head slightly, then shook her head again.

Fanya was truly surprised by her childhood friend’s reaction.

To someone unfamiliar with Amisa, someone like Winnie, this might seem like she simply hadn’t heard what the Saintess said. But to someone who knew her well, like Fanya, it felt as though Amisa was deliberately holding something.

But perhaps… she was just overthinking. She and Amisa were closest friends, having grown up together. Aside from parents and family, they trusted each other above all. They always share everything, how could there possibly be secrets between them?

The smell of grilled fish brought Fanya back to the present. After all that fighting, she was exhausted. She picked up a grilled fish and started eating.

When you’re hungry, everything tastes good, that saying was absolutely true.

“Crunch, crunch!” Like Winnie beside her, gobbling down his fish with greasy lips. He was so hungry he crushed even the fish bones into powder and swallowed them whole.

Fanya glanced at Winnie and sighed quietly.

All previous Saintesss had been elegant, graceful ladies, though she hated to admit it, Winnie’s image was far, far from that.

Right now, Fanya truly felt like she was desperately grasping at straws.

Amisa also watched Winnie eat, nibbling her fish in small bites, silently.

When Winnie had eaten about 80% of his fill, he threw down the wooden stick, wiped the sweat from his face with satisfaction, and took a breath, only to find the two girls next to him looking at him. The sight made him feel a little embarrassed.

Uh oh, had he been eating too carelessly? And with two girls watching him, no less.

Even after trying to be more reserved, all he managed to do was tone his ravenous eating down to something that looked merely like a hearty appetite.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep