" Pearl ..."
" Pearl! ... Slow down!"
Tsunami couldn't help but yell frantically to his first-ever favourite beast. He initially wished to create a good impression and not be perceived as an inept weakling.
But everything happened so fast, with little preparation taken beforehand.
Pearl had managed to ensure he fell on her back, but there was no saddle, and Tsunami's only support was her neck— he hugged her tightly, fearing for his already leaking life.
His lack of experience riding a horse, Pearl's incredible speed, and the strange sensations of space compression and warping made every passing moment a struggle.
His vision was failing him, and if it continued, it was only a matter of seconds before he passed out.
As a second step, favourite beast, Pearl, only needed a ninth of a second between each door summon.
Her jump would start from one door and land on the other.
If someone were to witness her running at full speed, they would only see a streak of red lightning, upending the laws of space, surrounded by a white afterglow of the circle's markings around the doors.
Her vision, sharper than most land beasts could see as far as 5 miles in slow motion— a necessity to aid high-speed manoeuvring.
...
Broken trees, levelled mountains, and beasts' corpses— an aftermath of the atomic splicer operation whizzed past them so fast that Tsunami couldn't help but wonder if that was how it felt when astronauts were on a rocket.
The good thing was that she was not currently going at her full speed, but to Tsunami, this was still overbearing.
" Pearl! "
Feeling his discomfort and the poor state he was in, she slowly reduced her speed and frequency of summoning doors to a level that met his needs... but she never stopped running.
'Just where the hell is she taking me?'
Tsunami wondered as he appreciated the passing terrain.
...
Twenty seconds later, Pearl came to a halt near a spring surrounded by open grassland, with two moons hovering in the sky.
Relieved the run had come to an end, Tsunami let go of Pearl's neck before falling to the ground, taking deep breaths.
'That was insane'
He eyed Pearl, glinting like a man who had won a lottery.
Concerned by the state of her rider, she approached his body and gently nudged it with her head.
To her kind, it was their way of apologising.
Tsunami's soul was relatively stronger than that of the average human, evident from surviving a back kick from the crazy lily, who was also a second-step favourite beast.
However, he could still sustain significant damage.
When Tsunami finally got up, Pearl shyly moved her head away, avoiding his gaze.
Seeing her embarrassed side after being so bold, even going out of her way to stop his bond with Blue Mountain.
Tsunami couldn't help but laugh out loud.
How could he get angry with her?
She was willing to go out of her comfort zone and give a weakling like him a chance.
His promises, though bold and insane even to his regard, the chances of him accomplishing any one of them without the blessings of the gods is close to none.
He got up and lifted her head.
" Next time, just give me a heads-up, ok?"
Pearl shook her head, freeing herself from his hands without responding, and walked away.
'What a shy fella'
...
Tsunami followed her closely; a few steps in, and their short journey came to a halt before a lush green bush.
For several meters, the grass was tall in some areas, reaching his waist, and on some occasions, it even surpassed his height. It was quite a contrast to the open grassland they had come from.
Beneath his feet, he felt resistance and a muddy texture as he walked, which reminded him that he was barefoot.
" Crap "
He looked at his legs, dumbfounded by the irony of how a man could be so rich yet so poor at the same time.
He shook his head and continued to follow Pearl, who was almost out of sight now.
The deeper they walked, the thicker the bush became, until they could hear a faint trickle of running water.
' A spring?'
Tsunami hurried, lifting his legs with great effort, until he arrived at the edge where Pearl stood beside an open stretch of the spring's mouth, about ten meters wide in front of them.
On its surface, it was covered with green leaves, masking it well from view, but he knew that if he took another step, he would fall into who knows what hole.
Tsunami sensed the high concentration of life essence in the air— Shocked, he knelt on one knee and began removing the leaves hurriedly.
He couldn't believe it.
Something that can be regarded as gold in the cultivation world was flowing out of a spring, and it wasn't even far from the mansion.
When all the nearby leaves were set aside, he cupped his hand in the water and took a sip.
The taste of saltiness, sweetness, and umami was in the right proportions that his eyes lit up.
" It's really life essence "
He was shocked by what he had just done and by how he had come to know the taste of life essence.
But that wasn't important, right now. Gold was right in front of his eyes.
Although the amount of life essence wasn't significant for any breakthrough, it was a pleasant surprise.
If such a spring existed here, then there was no telling how many more he could find throughout his journey.
He became very excited at the possibility of getting rid of his debt.
' Wait! '
He turned his head and eyed Pearl.
" Why bring me here?"
Following her gaze, he realised she was looking at his caved chest and shortly after sent him flashes of her memories.
...
Pearl had brought him to this spring, which she had discovered years ago, because life essence occasionally accumulated here.
Although it was limited in supply, it was more than enough to heal his wounds.
Most favourite beasts of her rank never had a use for life essence, for they relied on comprehension of laws to ascend their favourite journey.
To her, this spring was useless, but to him it was a different matter.
A myriad of emotions welled within Tsunami as he gazed at Pearl.