Chapter 187: Rain Tower
The ride also reminded him of the mine cart in the Hidden Level One Dungeon. That had been another day where he had enjoyed the benefits of being the only male in the party more than he probably should have.
Rias glanced over her shoulder just enough to catch the look on his face. Martin was not grinning like a complete idiot, though he was close enough that she understood immediately.
"Oh?" she said.
Martin blinked. "What?"
"You look very focused."
"I’m making sure we don’t fall."
"Is that what you’re doing?"
"Yes."
"Very heroic of you."
Her tone made it clear she did not believe him at all. A small smirk curved her lips, and instead of pulling away, she leaned back a little more when Angel made another turn. The movement was subtle enough to look accidental and deliberate enough to punish him for being so openly pleased.
Martin’s grip tightened for half a second.
Rias laughed under her breath, playful and smug enough to tell him she knew exactly what she was doing. Martin accepted the loss with dignity, which meant he said nothing and pretended the rushing water required all of his attention.
Angel continued tearing through Cascade Valley like she had been waiting all day for this. She skimmed across the surface of a wide pool, rushed beneath a curtain of falling water, and burst out the other side with droplets sparkling around them like broken crystal. Her shell rose and dipped with powerful rhythm, her fins carved through the current, and her rumbling trills blended with the roar of the waterfalls until the whole valley seemed to join her excitement.
For a moment, the world became water, speed, and laughter.
Eventually, Angel’s fun came to an end, and it was time to get back on route.
She slowed near the edge of a stream and let them dismount with a satisfied sway of her shell. Then she lifted her head, gave one last proud shake that scattered water from her shell, and looked at Martin with the calm confidence of a beast who believed she had done an excellent job.
If a dragon turtle could look smug, Angel absolutely did.
Rias stepped onto solid ground and looked down at her stamina bar. It was so low it was practically begging for food or a potion.
"How come teleportation isn’t a thing in a game this big and immersive?" she asked.
She had barely even fought a monster. Most of the damage had come from walking, climbing, and surviving Angel’s idea of entertainment.
"Various facilities can be obtained through dungeons in each academy. I find it exciting. You never know what, where, or when you’ll obtain something, and once you do, you can really make it big. It’s all fair," Martin said, sharing his genuine thoughts.
Oh, how relieved he had been when he learned that he could have found something even bigger through his grind in the Hidden Level One Dungeon.
Rias didn’t know the full story behind that, but his relief was obvious enough. "Who knows? Maybe we’ll be the ones to unlock teleportation."
"Best of luck finding something like that," Martin said, repeating her words.
Rias laughed aloud.
At last, it began to rain.
The rain started gently. The first drops touched the leaves above them, soft and steady, while the forest seemed to grow quieter around the sound. Then the rainfall thickened into a silver curtain, calm and constant, carrying the feeling that gave the academy its name.
That was the first clue that they were close to their destination.
Soon, the first water-gathering tower came into view.
It stood in the middle of the forest, built from dark blue stone that looked almost black beneath the rain. Vines climbed around its base without covering the structure, and narrow channels were carved into the stone. Each channel glowed faintly as rainwater ran through it.
At the top of the tower rested a huge crystal sphere.
The rain did not simply fall into it. Droplets curved in midair and gathered toward the orb, pulled in by a quiet force. Inside the sphere, water swirled in slow layers of silver and blue. It never overflowed or settled. It kept gathering, turning, and folding around itself like a captured storm.
Thin streams of light traveled down from the sphere into the tower’s body. From there, the water seemed to disappear somewhere beneath the forest floor.
Martin slowed without meaning to.
No monster came close to the tower. The forest around it was strangely calm. Birds rested in the branches, small harmless creatures moved through the grass, and the usual distant monster cries faded before they reached this place.
The tower seemed to have drawn a quiet boundary around itself.
It stood out clearly to the human eye. A dark blue tower with a glowing rain-filled sphere was hard to miss. Still, perhaps monsters couldn’t see it very well. Or perhaps they saw it clearly enough to know they should stay away.
Martin turned to Rias. "Do you know what this tower is for?"
Rias shook her head. "No."
She hadn’t researched this part.
"But I am intrigued. You?"
Martin nodded. "I am. It looks like the academy doesn’t just survive the rain. It uses it."
His gaze moved back to the crystal sphere. The gathered water pulsed faintly, almost like a heartbeat.
"Maybe barriers," he continued. "Maybe crafting. Maybe some kind of water bank for facilities or dungeon mechanisms. With a place called The Monster Hunter Academy of Endless Rain, I guess the rain itself has to matter."
Rias watched the tower for another moment. "That would make sense. A whole academy built around harvesting rainwater sounds too important to be decoration."
"Exactly."
A stronger gust of wind shook the trees, and the rain shifted direction for a moment. The tower did not react. The crystal sphere kept pulling droplets toward itself with the same calm, patient force.
Martin wanted to get closer. He wanted to touch the stone, inspect the glowing channels, and see whether the system would reveal anything.
They had not come here to sightsee, though.
He exhaled and forced himself to look back at the road ahead. "We have an important quest to do. Can’t really sightsee."
"Another time, then," Rias said.
"Yep."
Still, as they continued walking, Martin glanced back once more.
The tower remained in the rain behind them, quietly drinking from the sky.
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