The Search for Shelter      

Rain and the others made their way through the Barren Wasteland, with Rain doing his best to map out the area while they fought any beasts they encountered.

So far, they had journeyed farther than before, killing two lizards along the way.

Rain had collected 3.5 mL of Soul Elixirs and 500 EP, enough to evolve all his troops. He was thankful that the amount of EP he received had doubled in this area, allowing his troops to evolve faster.

However, there was a problem with Chi's next evolution. The prompt to initiate her second evolution wasn't appearing, which worried him.

He had read that the first evolution was the easiest, while subsequent ones were more unpredictable and uncertain.

There was also the fact that the next evolution required more than just Synchronization and EP. Some even needed shrines, specific buildings, or quests.

Anyway, Rain forced himself not to think about it since the most important thing right now was to find shelter and secure water and food.

With no landmarks except the occasional stones and dead trees, it was hard to map the entire area. The world map provided by the association lacked details about the Barren Wasteland, making it almost entirely useless to him.

"Let's see . . . there's a large rock over there, and some more rocks, and . . . rocks . . ." Rain scratched his head. What was he supposed to map again?

There was practically nothing out here!

~Chiii~!

Chi called out for Rain's attention and pointed into the distance.

Beyond the haze and heat, Rain could make out a hazy form of something.

"Oh, nice find, Chi! Let's hurry over there and see what it is!"

Chi scooped up the little chicks while Rain carried his statue over his shoulder, feeling its weight on him.

When they neared the place, they saw large stones leaning on each other, forming a cave.

Rain and the others entered and took a deep breath, relieved to be out of the blazing sun.

"Nice . . . this could be our temporary home for the moment."

Though it was open at both ends and contained nothing but dirt and some protruding rocks, the shade was a welcome relief.

"This is much better than the tent," Rain said with a sigh of relief. They all could fit together in here and still have room for more.

He just hoped no beasts occupied this area.

"You guys rest and eat. I'll go and check the area first," Rain said, but his troops were already fighting over the lizard's flesh.

It was a gruesome scene, so Rain quickly left to check the area. There was nothing remarkable of note, and there weren't any footprints or signs that anyone else was a resident of this place.

Just to be sure, he decided he would sleep here for the night.

Rain checked behind the rocks and found nothing of interest. He looked up at the blazing sun and took a deep breath.

There were occasional clouds, but there was no rain.

Water was one of the most critical natural resources to secure. Without water, one could only survive a maximum of about seven days.

Dehydration clouded the common sense, quickly depriving anyone of the will to live — a compelling reason to start his search for water as soon as possible.

The most obvious solution was to collect rainwater or dew. However, there was neither rain nor dew in the Barren Wasteland. Unless he had a shaman willing to perform a rain dance every morning, he'd eventually have to find a more sustainable source.

Suddenly, Rain noticed a swarm of Raptors nearby, and he panicked, thinking they were going to attack them.

Contrary to his fears, the Raptors kept buzzing around a single spot.

"Could there be a corpse there?" Rain wondered aloud.

He hurriedly went to take a look and found a strange wide area of dry, cracked earth. It wasn't muddy, but it was different from the sandy and coarse textures he had used to.

"What's this?" Rain muttered, puzzled. He didn't see anything strange on the spot where the Raptors were flying around. There was no corpse either.

~Chii?~

"Whoa!" Rain flinched and turned to find Chi looking at him with a puzzled expression. "You scared me there."

~Chii~

"Ah. I'm just curious about the Raptors flying around this area. The earth here is different from the rest as well," Rain explained and stamped the soil under his feet. As he did so, the ground came loose, and the soil sank a few inches.

"Wait, is this . . ." Rain's hope surged. He grabbed a large stick from his inventory and started to dig.

~Chii~

Chi stepped in and gently pushed Rain to the side, then proudly pointed at herself, her eyes twinkling.

'Allow me, my lord!' Rain monologue her gesture, and couldn't help but chuckle to himself. 

Chi took a deep breath, her legs tensed, and claws extended from her armored feet. With speed and precision, she began digging, kicking up dirt lightning fast. The Raptors around them flew away, startled by the sudden noise.

"Whoa, amazing . . ." Rain said, trying not to swallow the dirt flying into his face.

When Chi stopped, she raised her head proudly, expecting a pat but was startled when she saw Rain covered in earth from head to toe.

~Chiiiii!~

Chi took a large breath and blew air on Rain, sending all the dirt flying off him.

Rain shook his head and smiled widely at Chi's discovery. "This is . . ." His eyes recognized that familiar liquid, though murky, it was still, "WATER!"

Groundwater.

Rain was ecstatic and dropped to his knees in relief. This land wasn't lost after all! Like his teachers said, there is water everywhere, even in this barren wasteland!

Though it was murky, Rain wasn't worried because he could filter it and . . .

~Chiii . . .~

"Eh . . .?" Rain's smile faded as Chi tasted the water, her face souring.

~Chii~

"N-no way . . ." Rain muttered in disbelief. "W-why is it salty?"

Looks like he had celebrated too soon.