In the Mountains and Wilds!

Following the grassland by the river, after two hours, at half-past nine.

A splashing sound of water came from not far ahead. Merlin felt the moisture in the air on his face.

It felt cool.

As the three of them climbed over a rocky slope, a gleam flashed in Merlin's eyes:

"We're here."

A few hundred meters ahead was a waterfall cascading down from a cliff.

Because the terrain was lower, a pool with a diameter of twenty meters had formed at the base of the cliff.

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The pool was clear to the bottom, which was made up of fine sand and stones of various sizes.

What was peculiar was that the pool was almost split in two by a huge rock in the center.

One side was shallow and the other was deep.

On the left side of the pool, the deepest part was estimated to be one and a half meters deep, while the deepest part on the right was at least three meters deep.

The edge of the pool was piled with large blue stones, and a gap in front of the pool allowed the clear water to flow out towards the distance.

This was also the direction the three of them had come from.

At this moment, a smile appeared on the faces of Merlin and the other two who had arrived here.

"Hee hee, it's so beautiful here, and the water is so clear! There are fish and shrimp in the water!"

Lami excitedly pointed at a large black fish in the pool and said with a giggle.

At this moment, Yol poked Merlin's shoulder. When Merlin turned his head, he saw the longing in her eyes.

"Can Lami and I wash up first? Can you keep watch for us? Please!"

As she spoke, she clasped her hands together, her eyes even showing a hint of pleading.

Merlin nodded and walked to the edge of the giant rock on the left. He reached his hand into the water. Perhaps it was because lynxes could withstand the cold, but he didn't feel the water was cold.

Then he looked up at Yol, "Why don't you try the water temperature? I think it's fine."

Yol was surprised and quickly came over to dip her somewhat dirty right hand into the water:

"Huh? It really is? The temperature isn't cold for me."

However, she said this and then looked at Lami hesitantly, "But Lami is still young, the water temperature might not be friendly to her."

Merlin's eyes flickered, and he looked at her, "Don't worry about catching a cold, I should be able to absorb it.

I'll find some firewood nearby to make a fire later. After washing, we can dry off by the fire, and it should be fine.

Besides, we found some cold medicine in Frevanz a few days ago."

Lami then put her hand into the water and said with a smile:

"Don't worry!

I'm not a delicate little girl. Except for plumbism, my brother and I rarely got sick when we were young.

Our whole family rarely gets sick."

But as she said this, her eyes dimmed. Yol noticed and gently patted her head.

However, at this moment, Lami looked up with a smile on her face again, "Sister Yol, you don't have to be like that. I'm very strong.

Father and Mother would definitely not want me to be sad every day.

So I won't cry, I want to be happy every day.

You too, Sister Yol, be happy every day!"

And her unspoken brother, because she hadn't found Law's body, Lami always held onto the hope that he was still alive, so she didn't dare to say anything bad.

She could only pray for him in her heart.

At this moment, hearing Lami's words, a touch of emotion appeared in Yol's eyes:

"Lami, you're amazing!"

As she spoke, she turned to stare at Merlin, her eyes not blinking. Seeing this, Merlin was speechless:

"Alright, alright, I'll go keep watch for you now."

He said this and turned to leave. Yol watched Merlin head to the right, a gentle smile curving her lips.

At this moment, Lami asked curiously, "Why did Brother Merlin leave? Can't we wash together?"

Yol's mouth twitched, and she looked at Lami helplessly, "Under normal circumstances, boys can't bathe with girls."

Lami was confused, "But I used to soak in hot springs with Father, Mother, and my brother before?"

Yol was speechless and quickly explained.

"That's different..."

Towering ancient trees surrounded the pond.

Thus, there was no shortage of dry firewood nearby. In a short while, between some large rocks about ten meters to the right of the pond, Merlin used a lighter to ignite dry grass, which then set the firewood ablaze.

The flames roared to life.

At this moment, Merlin looked at the backpack and suitcase placed beside him.

His spare clothes were in the backpack; the tin vest he was wearing had been removed.

Beside them lay a katana and that rapier. Merlin set down a grenade he was holding, "Only seven left, huh?"

It was worth mentioning that the rapier Merlin found, while not a legendary sword, possessed the quality of a swift blade, considered a low-tier famous weapon.

Near the hilt at the upper end of the blade, two peculiar characters were engraved.

[Fine Snow]

Now, he picked up a bamboo pole, about five meters long and as thick as his wrist, which he had cut from a nearby bamboo grove while gathering firewood. He sharpened one end of the bamboo with a dagger.

The bamboo tip was barbed.

Listening to the sounds of their splashing play to the left of the large rocks, Merlin stood up and walked to the edge of the pond, watching the plump, dark fish swimming in it.

Gripping the bamboo pole, he aimed the sharp tip at the water's surface, his body still as he stared, warm sunlight bathing him.

His breathing gradually became steady.

His pupils slowly narrowed.

At a certain moment, Merlin's right arm swung out abruptly. Plop! A splash of water erupted, and he felt a solid impact. He yanked the bamboo pole out, a smile appearing on his lips:

"My technique hasn't gotten rusty."

In Frevanz, Merlin occasionally went fishing in the river, and over time, he had honed his spear-fishing skills.

Looking at the half-meter-long fish impaled on the bamboo tip, Merlin couldn't stop smiling.

He tossed the still-struggling fish aside and continued to aim. Soon, a total of five large fish were speared.

"Huh? Merlin, you can fish too?"

Suddenly, a surprised voice rang out. Yol walked over, wearing a light V-neck short-sleeved shirt with white and green stripes, dark blue jeans, and brown ankle boots.

Her chin-length grapefruit-pink bob was wet.

Beside her, Lami had also changed clothes. She wore a light yellow shirt on top and jeans and ankle boots on the bottom.

The clothes they were wearing were "purchased" two days ago in Frevanz.

At this moment, whether it was the cold water or something else, both of their faces were somewhat flushed. Merlin smiled and asked, "Can you grill fish?"

Yol nodded and smiled, "Of course, my cooking skills are quite good."

She then continued with a smile, "Why don't you go wash up? I'll handle the grilling."

Merlin smiled and nodded, placing the bamboo spear on the ground. He took out his change of clothes and sandals from his backpack and headed towards the pond on the left.

Arriving there, he saw two sets of discarded clothes on the bank and a bar of soap placed on a rock. Merlin felt a bit speechless:

"Even if you don't want them anymore, you shouldn't just throw them anywhere! At least burn them!"

Having regained his freedom, he wanted to get rid of bad luck, and of course, he couldn't keep his old clothes.

Shaking his head, Merlin took off his clothes and slowly stepped into the water.

His calves, then his thighs, and he slowly sat down. At this moment, a strong sense of weakness and exhaustion washed over him.

Looking at the pond water that came up to his collarbone, a look of understanding appeared in Merlin's eyes, "It seems the Equipment Slot can't ignore the negative effects of Devil Fruits after all."

Merlin recalled some information about Devil Fruits from his past life.

He knew that Ability Users feared seawater because, in this world's water resources, there was a widely present, mysterious substance called--

"PYROBROIN."

This substance was also known as a Seastone factor.

The difference was that this substance was more abundant in seawater, while in freshwater, it existed in smaller quantities.

Contact with water over a small area would not affect Ability Users.

Furthermore, this substance was generally not absorbed by the human body, so even if Ability Users drank large amounts of water, it wouldn't affect them and would be naturally expelled through daily excretion.

At this moment, with a thought, the [Equipment Slot] appeared before his eyes. Merlin looked at the effect within the Calamity Fruit:

"This Natural Limitation cannot be erased, but it can be [weakened].

So, how can it be weakened?"

For a moment, Merlin was stumped, but he believed that he would eventually find a way to "weaken" this negative effect.

Thinking no further, Merlin, struggling, moved backward until the water reached his waist.

After more than ten seconds, the feeling of powerlessness lessened until it no longer affected his condition.

He picked up the soap nearby, lathered it, and vigorously scrubbed the dirt from his body.

He felt the comfortable sensation as the water washed over him.

A moment later, Merlin, wearing a short-sleeved brown stand-collar shirt and capri pants with sandals, came over carrying the three of their clothes.

Yol, who was grilling fish on a bamboo skewer, saw Merlin approach with the dirty clothes and a subtle expression flickered in her eyes:

"I can get these unwanted clothes myself later."

Merlin calmly tossed the clothes onto the ground nearby and sat down next to Lami by the campfire.

He ruffled her head and chuckled, "Are you cold?"

Lami shook her head vigorously and giggled, "Not cold! It's so warm here."

Before long, the grilled fish was cooked, and the rich aroma of meat wafted through the air. The three of them devoured the incredibly delicious and tender grilled fish.

Yol ate two, Lami ate half, and Merlin ate two and a half by himself.

A feeling of fullness washed over him, and Merlin could feel a warm current continuously filling his body.

The accumulated fatigue on his body was also steadily disappearing.

The food in this world often possessed abundant and potent high-energy nutrients.

This was also one of the reasons why the creatures in this world generally became powerful.

"I'm so full! The meat from these black fish in the pond is really delicious! This is my first time having a picnic in such a deep mountain forest!"

Lami patted her little belly, her eyes shining with happiness as she spoke. Yol nodded in agreement beside her.

A smile appeared on Merlin's lips:

"Then you can rest assured, it will take us several more days to get out of this mountain range, so you'll have plenty to eat!"

"Merlin, where are we planning to go after this?

We found a compass in the city earlier.

While we're not afraid of getting lost, where exactly are we heading?"

Yol asked curiously at this moment. Lami looked over with equal curiosity, as this was also her first time traveling so far from home!