Angel looked at the shimmering water outside the door, with no foothold anywhere in sight. After some thought, he created several illusionary cloud clusters and, after a few leaps, arrived near the false painted sky.
He opened a door and stepped out.
Ten minutes later.
Angel successfully passed the Book Sprite's trial and prepared to return to the simulated water area from before.
But before he could open the door, he saw Gray Porcelain and Gabriel waiting in the corridor.
Gabriel floated in midair, while Gray Porcelain clutched its tentacles and lay sprawled across Gabriel's body, looking as though it were sleeping on a soft bed.
From afar, the scene even carried a touch of cozy harmony.
But...
"Clever Gray Porcelain: Why are your tentacles wet? And kind of sticky?"
"Brave Gabriel: This is fluid naturally secreted by the skin to keep the body surface moist! First, it reduces air resistance during flight. Second, this mucus is mildly adhesive, so it can help us stick to objects we want to lift, just like your hands."
"Clever Gray Porcelain: Huh? This is your body fluid?! Why wasn't it there at the beginning?!"
"Brave Gabriel: Um... aren't you afraid of heights? I secreted it specially to increase the stickiness."
"Clever Gray Porcelain: ...If I'd known, I would've been better off jumping into the water and swimming over..."
"Brave Gabriel: Hey, hey, what do you mean by that? Are you disgusted by my body fluid? You should know that the saliva of a Chaotic Evil Maw is a premium neutralizing agent. Many alchemists can't get it even if they pay a fortune! And you're actually disgusted by it?"
"Clever Gray Porcelain: I'm not disgusted. It's just... sigh, you're an outsider. You wouldn't understand. Right, didn't you say this was your body fluid? Why