Nolan awoke just before sunrise to find Ian and Lyra finishing the last bit of ale from the cask that they had initially brought out. They shared a meal of dried meats and cheeses while everyone else slept, washing down the food with Divine Spirit Fountain water that soon saw them sober. They then laid down to get some rest, leaving Nolan to keep watch over the group.

He and the others didn’t stray far from their camp in the coming days, and simply spent their time relaxing atop their blankets. They couldn’t exactly head to the beach, since it was pocked with spiders and lined with giant alligators in many places. The group that had been hunting the latter ended up as food for their would-be prey, when they attacked a particularly strong group of sunbathing reptiles and were killed in short order. The commotion drew the attention of many in the tent city, including some disciples from atop the walls, who’d watched the demise of the fourteen young men with stoic silence. Evidently, they only assisted those that were forced into a fight.

Halfway through the second day, a group of eight people approached their camp. All were at the first level of Integration save for a small, hunchbacked old man that was at the fourth. Among them, Nolan recognized the person that Nyla had hurled out of the tent city, his arm in a makeshift sling of torn cloth as he approached with a slight limp.

Nolan was positive that they had come to start trouble, but they simply slowed to a stop and turned around once they saw Ian and Lyra drunkenly hurling stones into the distant waters to see how far that they could throw them. Ian was throwing larger rocks to even the playing field, torso-sized boulders plunging into distant oceanic waters with sizeable splashes.

“Tone it down a bit, would you?” sighed Nolan.

“What?” said Ian. “Nyla can throw people, but we can’t throw rocks?”

“I guess that’s fair.”

Sean and Esteban were building a sand castle with some empty cups and casks, and it was shaping up nicely. Slightly taller than Sean, it was about four metres wide and looked like one of the beauties that might have been showcased at a famous beach back on Earth. A few people had actually come over to compliment them earlier, since nobody here had ever seen something like it.

It turned out that ‘three days away’ meant that the tower was opening on the fourth day. They maintained their leisurely ways well into the third day, when over a hundred disciples appeared atop the walls that surrounded the huge villa in a soundly choreographed sequence. A gleam of light caught Nolan’s eye and he recognized the trio that had assisted them earlier. Almost immediately after, a figure with long, billowing robes appeared above the uniform line.

My God…

Nolan had never seen such a beautiful woman. She appeared to be in her late twenties, and wasn’t shy about showing off a slender yet athletic figure. The teal teardrops that patterned her sapphire robes were outlined in silver thread, which matched the steely ribbons that sat atop the few braided ropes of hair that drew attention from the otherwise wavy mass of chestnut brown. Her robes were tied at the waist with a white sash, as opposed to the blue strips of cloth that the disciples used as belts. The upper portion of her robe was undone, which displayed half of each voluptuous breast in a way that was more than just a bit distracting.

“Hello everyone,” she said, commanding the attention of everybody around the villa. “My name is May Asten and I am the fourth elder of the Falling Rain Sect. On behalf of our people, I greet you esteemed guests that have come to take part in the tower climb this time around.”

She surveyed those present with an unreadable, sweeping stare. “Now, we’ve kept you all waiting for quite some time, so I’ll get straight to the point. In the coming hours, several ships will approach the shore and weigh anchor within a reasonable range. At that time, you can purchase an admittance plaque from any of our disciples for a thousand ordinary spirit stones, after which you will be allowed to board one of the ships. From there, we’ll head across the waters to the sect’s territory, and after a day of rest, you will be given access to the tower. Simple, no?”

A mass of iridescent energy suddenly materialized into a large block of golden light, atop which stood a wart-faced old man dressed in silky, silver robes. Garnering attention from the central area of the tent city, the man bowed his head and addressed May Asten.

“It’s an honour, fourth elder. If it’s no trouble, might I ask a question?”

Staring down from her hovered position, the gorgeous woman threw on an enticing smile. “Of course. What’s on your mind?”

“I’ve noticed that there are a lot of powerful creatures in the area. I’m just curious whether there are any that we should be worried about in particular? I’m sure you’re more familiar with the area than I.”

“This lake is home to a good number of frightening beasts, but I assure you that they won’t approach the vessels so long as I’m around. They generally keep a safe distance from our territory.”

“So we cannot travel freely without the presence of one of your elders? What if we desire to leave before the event is over?”

“Then too bad for you. If you don’t like it then you’re free to leave. Nobody is holding a sword to your neck and forcing you to make a decision.”

If the old man was irritated by her rebuke, he didn’t show it. He simply bowed his head again and dissolved the platform that he’d conjured. Nobody else had any questions for the woman. On the contrary, most people seemed very familiar with the rules of the event.

May Asten and most of the disciples retreated behind the walls of the villa as soon as she finished addressing the crowd. As most people returned to their business, Nolan and the others enjoyed a large meal from atop the same blanket. Alicia and Aine were still puffy-eyed and distraught, hardly touching their food as they sat in the sand a few paces away. He could understand why they wore such listless expressions, but was worried that their muddled mind states would implicate the group in some way.

Evidently, Nyla felt the same way. She asked Nolan for an aside, and then voiced her concerns over the vulnerability of the girls.

“I feel the same way,” said Nolan. “What happened earlier was a perfect example of how dangerous the northern wilderness is, especially for people as weak as them. Honestly, I sort of expected something like that to happen at some point.”

She nodded along, and then swept a swathe of dark strands from her face with a smooth finger. “That’s why I think they should join us, as in join your sect.”

“What? Why would you think that?” Those girls were anything but fighters, and they were very weak compared to the rest of the group. As things were, he couldn’t even guarantee their safety.

“That’s why I’ll teach them my core cultivation method.”

“Are you sure that’s a good idea? It’s incredibly valuable, you know.”

“You teach yours to every Otherworlder that you meet.”

“Very true,” he shrugged. “Okay, I’ve got no problem with them joining if they actually show some promise.” With the Profound Soul-Splitting Technique, the density of Origin Energy in the glade, along with the nurturing waters of the Divine Spirit Fountain, he figured that anybody could become a capable and powerful individual with enough visits.

True to May Asten's word, eight ships appeared on the horizon within the coming hours. These were very large by premodern standards, though much cruder than even the most basic ships that Nolan had known from his home world. They boasted simple bodies of sanded wood, with large sails of thick fabric, and slotted windows on the lower levels for the dozens of lengthy oars that propelled them along.

Two hours and eight thousand spirit stones later, Nolan stood upon the deck of the leftmost ship in the small fleet, his hands resting gently upon the railing as he stared out at the dark blue of the deep waters. It hadn’t been long since the ships had set sail, and yet they had already travelled dozens of kilometres out into the lake. The shore had disappeared a short while ago, leaving them stranded in a world of blue horizons. The speed of the rowers was impressive, giving life to several wakes of roiling waters that trailed behind the vessels as if they were powered by modern engines.

Surprisingly, Nolan didn’t see any aquatic creatures throughout the journey, though he sensed plenty within the boundless waters. The lake was massive, more so than even the largest on Earth. Nolan could sense about two kilometres in all directions, albeit vaguely, and yet still couldn’t detect the bottom. That meant that, at the very least, this lake was over two thousand metres deep, much more than any he’d ever heard of.

As they continued on toward the heart of the lake, Nolan became increasingly wary. While he might be able to return to shore if he strained his spiritual space into creating hundreds of artificial platforms, Nyla was the only one amongst his friends that had any hope of doing the same. What would happen if they offended someone within the sect, like they had in almost every place that they had visited since leaving the Three-River Valley? They would be trapped on the island that must have made up most of the sect's territory, a sizeable landmass considering that it resided within a freshwater lake.

There were about two hundred people on the ship, which seemed quite congested, though it was much quieter here than it had been in the tent city. The other passengers kept to themselves, which gave rise to a general murmur of moderate conversation amongst those that were already acquainted.

Before long, the white sands of a tropical beach appeared off in the distance, where a large series of docks extended away from a bustling seaside town. Along with the uncharacteristic and somewhat suspicious transition between biomes, a slight change in the air described a sudden increase in the amount of Origin Energy in the surroundings. The closer they drew to the shore, the more this uptick intensified, a change that impressed a majority of the passengers. Many people exclaimed their amazement as they approached.

“What a beautiful town,” said Nyla, whose sable eyes were wide as she appreciated the sleek stone buildings and the finely cobbled streets. Everything was in such good condition that it seemed as if all of the infrastructure had been created recently. The waves that lapped against the shore were much smaller than they had been by the villa where everybody had assembled in recent days, and they were free of the dangerous creatures that had characterized the other beaches.