The night quickly passed. Rant Valo was able to sleep quite well and Veia slept while putting her hands on her sides so she would be able to prevent herself from falling if she somehow slips.

As for Nale Narene, he almost fell. Fortunately, his quick reflex saved him from falling down.

Rant Valo, and Veia climbed down the tree while Nale Narene saw them wake up and also did the same. As for Floriana Sabina, she floated downwards.

"We can't really cook in the swamp for breakfast, so we can only walk further ahead and hope that we stumble onto a fruit-bearing tree."

Rant Valo explained to the group. He has been the leader of this group for a while now so he immediately took charge the moment he woke up.

"I understand, Master!"

Veia nodded her head firmly.

Rant Valo's group continued walking through the muddy swamp water. Veia was looking left and right to see if any of the trees were bearing any fruits.

It didn't take long before Veia was able to spot one.

"Master, look!"

Veia pointed at a green fruit on a low-hanging tree. It was semi-elongated in shape and it was about as wide as 5 centimeters.

"Oh, what fruit is that?"

Rant Valo exclaimed as he looked at the fruit of the tree from afar. It was his first time seeing it.

"That's a Swamp Apple."

Nale Narene was the one who spoke. He was aware of this fruit as some of it would get into the market of Narene Town.

"Swamp Apple?"

Veia tilted her head in puzzlement. It had such an odd name to it.

"Yes. It's just a mortal fruit. It doesn't provide any benefits in cultivation. You could make jelly with it though."

Nale Narene explained to her.

"So basically it is our food for breakfast."

Rant Valo spoke before moving closer to it. He plucked one and smelled it.

"Mmm. It smells good."

Rant Valo uttered with a smile. It had a fruity smell to it. A good sign that it was actually edible.

"That's not ripe. The ripe ones are kind of orange in color."

Nale Narene interrupted from the side. Although he was still bitter about what happened yesterday, it would be bad if he didn't try to improve their impressions of him.

"Okay."

Rant Valo nodded his head before letting go of the fruit and picking another one that was orange in color.

"This one smells better."

Rant Valo exclaimed in astonishment. It had a more sweet smell to it.

"And it's squishy."

Rant Valo pinched the fruit in his hands and felt its squishy texture. It was like an avocado.

"I'll try it."

Rant Valo declared before pinching a part of the fruit with his finger and peeling the skin off. The skin was brittle and breaks off easily so he peeled it cautiously.

It revealed the yellow-orange fruit meat inside. Rant Valo took a small bite of it and started to chew.

"Mmmm. It's slightly sweet and has a soft creamy texture to it."

Rant Valo spoke as he continued chewing. He then spat out a seed into the swamp water.

"It even has seeds in its flesh."

Rant Valo thought that it would just be fruit meat inside but it turned out that it also had seeds inside.

After seeing that her master had already eaten one, Veia plucked her own and started chewing on it.

"I like the taste, Master. Should we dry this too?"

Veia commented before suggesting to Rant Valo. She wanted to taste this fruit while on their travels as she took a liking to it.

"I think this one is not suitable for drying. It would just shrivel up and mold."

Rant Valo replied to her. This fruit has a compact moisture inside that would be very hard to remove. Most likely, mold would just grow on it.

"I understand, Master."

Veia nodded her head as she sighed and just continued eating the swamp apple in her hand.

Floriana Sabina was also chewing on one. Although she wasn't saying much, her eyes were revealing the fact that she clearly enjoyed it.

"This is good."

Floriana Sabina mumbled silently. She spat her seeds straight into the swamp.

Of course, just like a noble lady would, Veia spat the seed in her mouth onto her hand before throwing it into the swamp. Nale Narene noticed her actions and was taken aback. He never even thought that she would have such a lady-like demeanor.

It took half an hour of chewing through Swamp Apples before Rant Valo's group was satisfied. They continued deeper into the swamp and they would occasionally pick the Swamp Apples along the way.

Rant Valo, Veia, Floriana Sabina, And Nale Narene were peacefully traveling through the swamp when all of a sudden, the surroundings suddenly got cold. The already cold water became ice cold to the touch.

"Brrr… Why is it freezing all of a sudden?"

Rant Valo looked up into the sky and saw that the sky above was blue and very clear of clouds. It was an odd phenomenon.

"There is Darkness Mana in the air and water around us."

Floriana Sabina explained to them. The Darkness element is one of the most eccentric mana in the world. It was eerie and it created many weird phenomena in the world.

"Darkness Mana?"

Rant Valo turned his head in her direction.

"Yes, it was only located in this area. I only felt it when it touched my skin directly."

Floriana Sabina replied to him. She didn't have her Spiritual Sense out so only when the darkness mana touched her skin was she able to detect them.

"What's in this place, exactly?"

Rant Valo felt his spine shiver. It was cold and eerily silent deeper into the swamp. It was like something was waiting for them there.

"A massive graveyard or a vengeful ghost."

Floriana Sabina answered. Commonly in places where there are a lot of dead bodies or places where there is a strong vengeful ghost would the surroundings have a lot of Darkness Mana.

"A ghost!?"

Rant Valo jumped back in fright. It sounded scary to meet one in person, and Rant Valo was not gonna take his chances. That ghost might even have a cultivation of its own.