Southern Reincarnation Paradise Continent, central Spring Region.
Damp, bone-chilling air instantly enveloped her body, utterly unlike the warmth of the spring sunlight behind her.
Noelle pushed aside the dead vines hanging before her, revealing a deathly silent swamp stretching across her path.
Bubbles rose from the murky pools, carrying up several rotting tree trunks.
The pale bones of several unknown creatures lay half-submerged in the mud.
The air was thick with the mingled stench of decay and blood.
She cautiously stepped across relatively solid ground and headed toward the deep fissure in the mountain wall ahead.
The instant she entered the cave.
A damp chill mixed with the distinctive stench of snakes rushed at her.
The rock walls were coated in slick moss, while countless shed snakeskins hung between the stalactites like drifting burial shrouds.
In the darkness, the rustling sounds of slithering and dripping water intertwined, echoing deep within the twisting cave.
"What an unpleasant place." Noelle frowned slightly.
The miniature Sea Dragon God, Leviathan, perched on her shoulder, leisurely flicked its tail.
"A cave environment rich in moisture is perfect for your magic."
As it spoke, the three glowing pupils on its face swept across the snake shadows stirring in the darkness.
"But be careful. I can smell an ancient presence."
"Understood, Lord Sea Dragon God."
Noelle gathered azure magic at her fingertips to light the way ahead.
The deeper she went.
The surfaces of the rock walls on both sides gradually began to display strange snake-shaped reliefs.
As she stepped past a pool of stagnant water, its surface suddenly exploded.
Three snakes leaped out at once, pouncing toward her with venom fangs that gleamed an ominous purple.
"Water Creation Magic: Sea Dragon's Cradle!"
Noelle had been prepared.
As she swung her wand, the Grimoire before her rapidly