The water figure Thorne had formed turned into a stream, pulling the unconscious woman on the shore into the lake. Once submerged, everything about her was within Thorne's perception—an indescribably wonderful sensation.
Thorne noticed a simple yet exquisite necklace on her chest, adorned with a pure white pearl. Even underwater, the pearl emitted a faint, hazy glow, and even Thorne felt a sense of comfort from it.
"This must be a treasure. She's so gravely injured yet still clinging to life—probably thanks to this thing."
"System, is there a way to identify what this is?"
With Thorne's limited knowledge, he couldn't recognize it. Even in the memories of all the magic beasts and humans he'd devoured, he'd never encountered such an item.
"I wonder where that Void Stone went."
Through the water's immersion, Thorne searched her body thoroughly but found nothing. He suspected it might be stored in a spatial item, but aside from this pearl, she carried nothing else. Unfortunately, he didn't recognize the pearl, and the system offered no help.
To claim the treasure, Thorne would have to kill and refine her. But given her mysterious origins—likely from a major faction—and the possibility of a tracking artifact on her, he didn't dare gamble on whether the system could handle it.
"Forget it. I'll save her, take the item, and let her go."
Thorne's most practiced healing method was using spiritual water to stimulate a creature's cellular potential. He applied it again, wrapping the mysterious woman in a ball of spiritually rich water.
Surprisingly, the spiritual water had no effect—it couldn't penetrate her body, blocked by a mysterious force.
Now Thorne was stumped. He'd only had the system for a short time and hadn't learned many skills from it. The one healing method he'd figured out on his own was now useless.
"Should I try the new skill?"
Thorne recalled that when he gained the Huang Tribe's faith, the system rewarded him with [Blessing], usable once a month. He hadn't used it yet this month.
He wasn't sure if it worked on all creatures or only his loyal followers.
Treating a dead horse as if it were alive—if it worked, it was her luck; if not, he'd just refine her.
"Use the skill Blessing."
A gentle white light appeared abruptly, bathing the mysterious woman's body.
This time, the mysterious force didn't resist. Under the soft glow, her furrowed brows relaxed, and the pain on her face eased—clearly, it was working.
"Ding, since the target is not a follower of the host, Blessing effect halved."
As expected, Blessing was designed for followers, but it still had some effect on others.
Thorne checked her condition again and found improvement—her breathing had stabilized. He placed her on the shore, still enveloped in spiritual water.
"Falling from the sky—doesn't that mean she's mastered some spatial laws or used a powerful artifact?"
From his devoured memories, laws were the domain of gods. Though mysterious, this woman surely wasn't a god. An artifact seemed more likely—perhaps she'd used it to flee a powerful enemy in haste.
"Whatever. I'll wait for her to wake, complete the trade, and get her out of here."
Thorne was focused on improving himself to face the looming elven issue. Though he'd saved her, it was just a transaction—he didn't expect gratitude. She was being hunted and likely couldn't repay him. He'd be grateful if she didn't drag him into it.
For two or three days, she drifted between coma and brief wakefulness. Infuriatingly, whenever Thorne tried to claim the treasure during her lucid moments, she'd faint again, making him suspect she planned to renege.
On the fifth day, while Thorne practiced having water-formed magic beasts attack and defend, the woman awoke. She didn't speak, lying on the ground, quietly watching Thorne fail and retry.
"A sentient lake is rare enough, but one with such high intelligence is even rarer."
She glanced at the Ghost Thorn Tree, trembling with laughter, and the Magic Dragon Gecko, rubbing its belly.
"Though their base forms are weak, they're mutated species—rare finds here. How strange that such a place birthed so many oddities."
Her curiosity deepened, but it was just that—curiosity. In the vast world, the unknown far outweighed the known. If she tried to unravel every mystery, she'd have died long ago.
"Hey, you've got talent, but you're too dumb. You can't even control your own water flow freely—how do you expect to manage complex actions with conjured beasts? Talk about aiming too high."
Unable to watch any longer, she mocked him.
Thorne ignored her. Under his control, dozens of water beasts charged and bit at each other, lifelike as if flesh and blood.
A direct slap in the face.
The woman's face flushed, muttering softly,
"I underestimated you. You can actually pull that off."
"Cut the nonsense. I saved you—no need for gratitude. Hand over the Void Stone as agreed."
"You even know it's a Void Stone? You're not some god's pet, are you?"
Void Stones existed only in the endless void. She'd obtained a tiny piece by chance, and that alone had drawn countless major factions to fight over it. Already injured, she'd faced another robbery attempt, forcing her to tear space and fall into Thorne's lake.
"What pet? Hurry up and give it to me, or I'll kill you despite saving you."
Thorne didn't care, fixated on getting the Void Stone for the system to create storage space.
Annoyed that Thorne ignored her question, she summoned the Void Stone with a flicker of soul force, only for it to vanish again.
"It's right here, but I won't just hand it over—you can't take it. Don't worry, I'll keep my word. My injuries aren't healed yet. Once I'm better, I'll give it to you. This way, you won't ditch me after taking it."
Thorne had indeed planned to take it and then decide whether to kill or expel her. Despite her youthful appearance, she was cautious, refusing to hand it over early.
Seeing no response, she spoke again,
"I'm Shelley. What about you? I can't just call you 'Lake,' right?"
"I'm Thorne. Don't bother me unless it's important."