On an ancient road where yellow sand filled the sky, Saine leaned on a withered Thorny Wooden Vine and gazed into the distance.
A shimmering oasis lake appeared in front of the two of them. More than a dozen rhino beasts with jet-black hides and a single sharp horn stood quietly drinking from the oasis.
"I never expected a Low-Level Plane dominated by Water Element to have such a special terrain as a desert."
"And those rhino beasts seem to have undergone adaptive evolution unlike that of other rhinoceros creatures." Saine pointed his dead vine toward the distance.
Twelve years had passed. Before they knew it, Saine and Lunna had already spent twelve years in Water Rhino World.
From the Near-Sea region at the beginning, to the deep sea, rainforests, grasslands, and finally this diamond-shaped desert at the border between Water Rhino World's far west and far north.
The two had traveled in an arc, touring virtually the entirety of Water Rhino World.
During those twelve years, Saine had initially been full of interest as he researched and observed every novel thing, specimen, and material in Water Rhino World.
But after roughly three years, having already collected thousands of animal and plant specimens from Water Rhino World, Saine gradually grew far more weary of the process.
Yet Saine, overcome by that weariness, did not choose to leave Water Rhino World with Lunna.
Instead, he continued walking through Water Rhino World with a different perspective and attitude.
Sometimes, the exploration of Truth Arcana did not necessarily require arduous, painstaking, microscopic research.
Drawing close to nature, feeling nature, experiencing different scenery and elemental energies—this too was a form of growth. It was something Saine had only come to realize in recent years.
Perhaps it was because he had studied quite a few