The Life Well Pendant

The tower's location is truly excellent. Ships heading from the north towards Paradise Port will pass by here first.

Ian stood on the top floor of the tower, gazing at the distant sea. The sea breeze howled, waves surged, and countless ships gathered. He felt refreshed and invigorated.

"Knock knock... tap tap... jingle..."

The craftsmen he had arranged for yesterday arrived early. Perhaps it was the generous payment Ian offered, as they all seemed to be working diligently.

Ian yawned and returned to the fifth floor... to catch up on sleep!

Last night was Ian's first night spent in the tower. He had originally slept on the first floor with Wawa, but the fierce sea wind howled nearby, its piercing sound incredibly grating. Not only could he not sleep, but even his meditation was severely disturbed.

He tried out each floor, and surprisingly, the highest floor, the fifth, had the least noise.

He endured the latter half of the night on the fifth floor. In the morning, the wind direction shifted, and the wind speed lessened slightly.

It's said that the winter half of the year on Paradise Island, from October to March, has the strongest winds, with the northeast monsoon prevailing. About two-thirds of the days are windy. Especially in January, February, and December, the sea winds become even more violent.

It was almost December, meaning it would be even harder to endure.

Perhaps he needed to learn some defensive formations like silent barrier spells. He found himself hoping Wawa would grow up quickly.

Wawa was eating more and more, but its sleeping time was getting shorter.

Ian decided to let Wawa stand guard while he took a short nap to recover his energy through meditation before starting his alchemy for the day.

Gold coins were never enough. He needed to accumulate enough supplies before leaving port.

In the evening, Ian did not meditate.

Instead, he was explaining the steam engine propulsion system for a steamship to Wawa using blueprints. Wawa was a magical creature itself; if it could evolve a propeller and a transmission device, it could propel a warship with its own power.

Wawa's form had also undergone some changes, with its head becoming proportionally larger.

Its height had reached 1.8 meters, and its "big head" was also 1.8 meters, forming an ellipsoid. It squatted on the side, hunched over, resembling a giant olive lying on the floor.

Wawa's eyes were still small, "swimming" back and forth on its head.

It now primarily perceived the world around it through spiritual sense, with its spiritual perception range reaching a hundred meters, surpassing Ian's. Its vision was merely supplementary.

Wawa's skin was no longer emerald green. As Ian had requested, it was shifting to a silver-gray. The texture remained delicate but had gained more substance.

"Wawa..."

Wawa responded with a call, indicating it understood as it listened.

Wawa still couldn't speak, but it could now transmit information relatively accurately through spiritual sense.

"Wawa is so amazing--"

Wawa was truly intelligent. Ian hugged Wawa's head and gave it a big kiss.

This wasn't Ian boasting.

Ian had been in this world for quite some time. Most non-extraordinary individuals received very little education, let alone any sort of refinement. Many people in the taverns couldn't even manage simple addition and subtraction.

Communicating with them was incredibly difficult.

The thought of having such crude individuals as sailors was torture for Ian.

The familiar rhythm arrived as expected. Ian instructed Wawa to stand guard and quickly immersed himself in the spiritual world.

In the spiritual world, a new "star" had appeared in the Veil of Fate.

As the "star" descended, a yellow card appeared before Ian.

The card was adorned with faint yellow patterns, and a teardrop-shaped pendant, surrounded by gold ornamentation, was "frozen" in the center of the card.

[Card: Life Well Pendant]
Life Well Pendant: Curious Item. Cannot be stored in the spiritual world after unsealing. Produces one drop of Lesser Life Water every three natural days, and one drop of Life Water every 300 natural days. Produces one drop of Life Water upon initial convergence with a new world.

Life Water: Water from the legendary Well of Life, a treasure of the life aspect. Heals diseases and injuries in living beings, dispels curses, enhances the potential of living beings, and prolongs lifespan.

Lesser Life Water: Heals diseases and injuries in living beings, and to a certain extent, mitigates curses or damage from shadow or death energies.

Lesser Life Water is a byproduct of the formation process of Life Water, and its use does not affect the formation of Life Water.

"Huh? Prolongs lifespan?!"

Ian felt his heart skip a beat.

The lifespan of human extraordinary individuals varied greatly depending on their Extraordinary Sequence.

However, generally speaking, unless they died from accidents, human extraordinary individuals typically lived between 100 and 300 years, far less than many magical creatures.

Of course, beings like the undead who succumbed to death energy were an exception, but their spiritual essence was long corrupted, and they were no longer human in essence.

In the Fifth Epoch, the longest-lived human extraordinary individual recorded by the Extraordinary Professions Union (Sequence 4-9) lived for less than 300 years.

The pursuit of eternal life was the ultimate desire of many life forms, yet no one had ever succeeded.

The Alchemist Fellowship had an unfinished quest since its inception: to research life-giving water in pursuit of immortality.

However, in reality, even slightly extending lifespan was incredibly difficult.

The Life Well Pendant could actually produce Life Water that extends lifespan. Even if it was only one drop every 300 days, and it was still unclear how much it could extend life, it was already astonishing enough.

If the dying powers-that-be in the outside world knew, Ian would be in grave danger, even with the Cards of Destiny.

On the fifth floor of the tower, Ian circled the room, ensuring the windows and doors were locked. He and Wawa then released their spiritual senses to carefully scan, finding no issues.

With a surge of spiritual energy, the Life Well Pendant card appeared in the room.

As the card shattered into faint light and dissipated, a pendant slowly squeezed its way out of the void.

The moment the Life Well Pendant appeared, the surrounding air and Mana seemed to boil, with intense vibrations spreading outwards.

Fortunately, the vibrations only lasted a few seconds before slowly calming down.

Ian gently lifted the pendant's chain and brought it before his eyes. In the center of the pendant, a drop of golden-red water pulsed slightly with his movements.

A craving from the deepest part of life surged from Ian's soul. Ian's throat bobbed, and he unconsciously swallowed.

"WawaWawaWawa..."

Wawa, who had been on guard outside, had already scurried in front of Ian, staring intently at the Life Well Pendant with a face full of longing.

Perhaps sensing that the newly appeared item was also very important to Ian, its four tentacles painfully hugged its large head, and it collapsed on the ground, not daring to approach further.

Ian waved the hand holding the pendant and hung it around his neck. With his will, the fluctuations of the Life Water quickly subsided.

Wawa felt the Life Water disappear and thought its master had used it. It let out another round of sad cries, "Wawa".

Ian felt a mix of amusement and exasperation.

"Wawa, Wawa!"

Ian gently patted it.

"Wawa (Master, I didn't really want it, really...)", Wawa was sensible to the point of being heartbreaking.

"Wawa, if you had consumed that thing just now, would it have benefited you in any way?"

"Waa..."

"You're saying it could significantly enhance your physical potential and increase your growth rate several times over?!"

After receiving Wawa's affirmative answer, Ian fell into deep thought.