"Achoo."

As Andrew thought of An Ya, causing him a nosebleed, in Wildfire Town, An Ya covered her mouth and let out a small sneeze, blushing slightly, feeling a bit embarrassed.

However, she quickly adjusted her state and continued her work.

It turned out that Andrew's decision to make An Ya the manager of Wildfire Town was the right choice.

At this time, An Ya had already begun working on her first task after taking office:

Compiling a list of people who, like little Sophie, started showing signs of a "Professional Awakening" after that "Rain of Enlightenment"!

The most important part of management is the use of people.

Unlike Andrew, who did little to intervene after the Rain of Enlightenment, letting the townsfolk awaken on their own.

An Ya's approach was to quickly and organizedly find people showing signs of awakening and provide them with more targeted assistance and enhancement!

Mostly because more and more people, like little Sophie, were showing signs of awakening.

Andrew instinctively felt that everyone should awaken on their own.

In fact, many people, after showing signs of awakening, were quite panicked! They desperately needed guidance and help. This was something Andrew hadn't considered, but the meticulous An Ya could immediately think of.

"Moreover, the so-called 'severe test' is coming soon."

An Ya thought. She didn't know what the severe test Andrew mentioned was, but for it to weigh so heavily on Andrew, it was probably something more terrifying than Humboldt?

To this, An Ya's thoughts were simple: "I don't have much combat power and can't be of much help, but as long as I can organize everyone's strength, unite and protect Wildfire Town together, that'll surely help Andrew!"

Actually, when Andrew entrusted the management of Wildfire Town to An Ya, he was only thinking:

If any townspeople had emotional issues due to the water problems caused by Shire's injury, he hoped An Ya could come forward to soothe them and stabilize the situation.

At this time, Andrew was already in the underground space.

He would have never thought that:

An Ya was organizing the first guard team of Wildfire Town for him!

The small town quickly became lively, and realizing that they were about to have a Professional Awakening, the townspeople were no longer panicked; instead, they were excited, apprehensive, and thrilled about the opportunity to become professionals—something they never dared to imagine in the past.

So excited, in fact, that they didn't notice: The Magic Laboratory in the center of the town, which had already shown signs of neglect after Humboldt's death, was quietly and gradually revitalizing, emitting a magic light that was different from before, one that was warm yet intimidatingly inviolable...

Thus, the entire Wildfire Town, like a giant living organism, began to exude a vigor it had never seen before.

Outside the town, under the Water Tower Tree, little Ha lay sleeping. Being the peculiar husky breed, it didn't care much about its owner's sudden disappearance—ponders for a moment and forgot about it.

Beside it, the Water Tower Tree "Shire" quietly worked on its recovery from injuries under the protection of the "Deep Blue Armament" Water Magic Array.

Meanwhile, another water magic array set up by Andrew—the "Silken Wing"—encapsulated all of this.

Like an invisible moat, silently guarding everyone within.

At the same time.

Directly beneath Wildfire Town.

In that mysterious underground space deep underground.

"This... I'm sorry." Ivan, with his chiseled features, appeared slightly embarrassed.

He had regained the robust and dependable image of a strong Desert Hunter, making it hard to imagine that the person who'd been shrieking in terror was the same as the one before them now!

"I understand, I understand." Andrew, on the other hand, offered some comfort.

Recalling a roller coaster experience from before the crossing—one of those insane roller coasters that stops at the highest twist, leaving you suspended—Andrew remembered his own reaction, making it easy to understand Ivan's earlier panic.

Ivan continued, "Apologies for hitting you and causing harm, I'm really sorry. I just saw you wiping your nosebleed."

"Well... it wasn't entirely because of your hit..."

"What?"

"Nothing."

Andrew shook his head.

At this point, all previously saved Fire Extinguishing Value had been depleted. It was all used to unlock the miniature version of the "Water Manipulation Technique" magic artifact.

But first, using the Water Manipulation Technique had further stimulated and triggered his own Magic Power.

This made Andrew faintly feel signs of breaking through to Tier Two Water Mage!

To know, under normal circumstances within this Flame Realm, advancing from a beginner Magic Apprentice to a Tier Two Mage takes at least five years! If anyone knew, that after breaking through to a Tier One Mage, Andrew was showing signs of another breakthrough so quickly, they'd be utterly astonished.

Andrew himself was secretly amazed, "Learning magic, using magic, using magic to stimulate one's own magic power, and thus breaking through tiers—this is the normal training method for mages. Unexpectedly, the speed of my Fire Extinguishing Upgrade Method is even faster than expected, like riding a rocket!"

This was Andrew's first reason for not regretting using up all the Fire Extinguishing Value.

Secondly, Andrew was now very sure that the upcoming rewards might exceed his wildest dreams.

Neither Andrew nor Ivan spoke for a moment.

Because they didn't have the capacity to speak.

Because... standing here, seeing the scene before them, anyone would find it difficult to break their silence immediately.

What lay ahead was a massive underground space.

The air was fresh, with even a slight breeze.

So, it shouldn't be a completely enclosed space.

Underground shouldn't have light sources.

Yet, within this space, dreamy water-blue lights floated in the air, illuminating the entire area.

Also illuminating... the clear and beautiful waters within this space.

"Oh my god..." Ivan murmured.

When Andrew first approached him, he had completely looked down on Andrew; but after Andrew healed the lung burns of him and the graveyard dwellers and personally killed Humboldt, Ivan no longer had even a sliver of disdain for Andrew.

However, Andrew had once again expanded the limits of Ivan's imagination. Ivan really wanted to ask: How did you know about this underground space? How did you bring me here?

Ivan looked at the waters before them.

He and Andrew were standing at the edge, within ten meters, they could bend down and touch the incredibly clear water.

Ivan found himself unable to move for a moment!

He was truly shocked, his heart deeply shaken!

In this Flame Realm, especially in this Inner Sea Desert, there wasn't even a single puddle!

How could Ivan have ever seen such an expansive and boundless body of water?

Andrew, with his experiences and knowledge from before his journey, had seen majestic rivers, lakes, and seas, so the impact on him wasn't as great as on Ivan.

But he was still very shocked.

Although the point of his shock was somewhat different from Ivan's.

Andrew discovered: This wasn't a lifeless body of water. On the contrary, this water was brimming with life and vitality.

Like a beautiful big lake.

In the lake, there was not only water but also aquatic plants, life, lazy old turtles, and schools of swimming fish!

Even on the lakeshore, you could see some strange yet ingeniously crafted little houses.

The air was fresh and flowing.

The water was alive.

The lake was vast, but not very deep.

One could see fountains bubbling up from the lakebed, making nearby aquatic plants sway gently like a dance.

Ivan took several deep breaths at this moment, barely calming his wildly beating heart, and looked at Andrew: "Could this be the legendary lake, so big it was called the Ocean, from before the Inner Sea Desert turned into a desert?"

Legend has it that long ago, the Inner Sea Desert wasn't a desert but a vast freshwater body as expansive as an ocean.

It had a beautiful name: Lake of the Ocean.

A freshwater lake as vast as the sea.

"It should be."

Andrew said softly with a heavy tone, "It's just... it's severely shrunken."

The body of water before them still looked immense to the naked eye.

But using near Tier Two Water Magic now, activating "Water Spirit Sensing," Andrew could vaguely detect the boundaries of this body of water.

What had the once ocean-sized Lake of the Ocean gone through to be reduced to such a state that it had to hide deep underground to barely preserve this amount of water?

Ivan was also pondering this issue: "If it truly is the Lake of the Ocean, why did it turn out like this?"

For the current Inner Sea Desert, this underground water source is an incredible water source, an immense one.

But compared to the former Lake of the Ocean, this is merely a small puddle, a very small one.

"Let's go look, and we'll find out."

Andrew took a deep breath, took the first step, and walked forward.

Ivan immediately followed.

Although he couldn't sense any signs of danger, he remained extremely vigilant.

Ivan didn't know how Andrew sensed the existence of this underground water body, or how he brought him here, nor did he intend to ask.

He silently made a decision in his heart: "No matter what, I must protect Andrew."

If before Ivan was willing to follow Andrew's directives more out of gratitude, thankful that Andrew healed his lungs and gave him a second chance at life.

Now, Ivan genuinely started to feel: Andrew might truly be the hope for Wildfire Town, the Inner Sea Desert, or even this Flame Realm.

He watched as Andrew walked to the lakeside, lifted his foot and stepped into the water.

"Careful!" Ivan hurriedly pulled Andrew back.

But with Andrew's lifting foot, a long land bridge rose from the lakebed out of nowhere, supporting Andrew's stepping feet.

Ivan watched with secret amazement, quietly drawing a black short knife as he followed.

The land bridge underfoot was very smooth.

Leading straight from the lakeshore to the heart of the lake.

Ivan saw: At the end of the land bridge, in the center of this underground body of water, there was a small island.

On the island stood a water blue, ancient yet somewhat dreamlike temple.

Ivan had never experienced anything like this before.

For a moment, he felt as if he were in a dream.

With each step he and Andrew took... no, Ivan knew it should be with Andrew's steps, the swimming fish, turtles, axolotls, and some never-before-seen strange creatures in the lake joyfully swam close to the land bridge on either side, crowding around Andrew as if welcoming him.

"Alright, maybe I don't really need to protect him at all, it feels like Andrew coming here isn't an adventure at all but more like... coming home?" A strange feeling surged in Ivan's heart.

Just then, as he quietly put down his knife, his body also relaxed slightly—

"Ah!!" Andrew suddenly screamed.

"What's wrong, what's wrong?" Ivan immediately darted in front of Andrew, all the hairs on his body standing on end. The surrounding fish, turtles, and other aquatic spirit creatures also scattered in shock, regrouping moments later, seemingly confused as well: What happened?

Andrew had a wry expression and said, "I used a one-time magic artifact to bring both Ivan and me here."

But... I forgot to consider the return trip!"

"Mini- Water Manipulation Technique" is single-use, once used it's gone.

Though the stimulation from the Water Manipulation Technique indicated a breakthrough to Tier Two, even breaking through to Tier Two doesn't mean one can learn the true Water Manipulation Technique, nor does it mean one can find a way to return to the surface from this underground water body!

Miscalculated!

Ivan: "..."

After this underground adventure, Ivan, though dedicating his life to serving as Andrew's escort, fulfilling with action his inner promise of "must protect Andrew well."

But one exception to the rule: absolutely no adventuring with Andrew.

Damn it, absolutely not! Ivan swore in his heart at this moment.

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