A day passed.
Nothing eventful happened the previous night.
It was all calm and peaceful, which made him feel all the more unsettled.
The more peaceful it seemed, the more he felt that trouble was about to strike.
His sixth sense, although tingling very little, further confirmed his instinct and made him feel the urge to take care of his affairs.
It was still early in the morning, and he had just woken up, but he immediately got to work.
He lay on the bed in his room, taking out the core purifying book from the pocket dimension of the Void Orb and reading it.
He discovered that dungeon monster cores could be purified by soaking them in holy water for several hours.
Holy water could be created by infusing purified water with holy power.
What was purified water? It was water that only wizards could create.
To free water of any impurities, wizardry was the most necessary component, and heating was the second most necessary. Val went into the kitchen and filled up a pot with tap water before placing it on the stove over a fire. After the water boiled for several minutes, much of its impurities were removed.
He activated his Heavenly Eye and focused his gaze on the boiled water inside the pot.
He saw tiny black particles floating around in it. 𝚘𝓋𝔩xt.𝑐𝒐𝚖
They were particles of corruption.
Consuming them in such short quantities wouldn’t cause harm and the body’s immune system would get rid of them automatically, but if a person had a weak immune system, they would start mutating into monsters after drinking this level of purified water for several years.
This boiled water, mostly free of impurities but still containing tiny particles of corruption, was considered Level-1 purified water. For creating holy water, at least Level-3 purified water was needed.
The higher the level of purified water, the greater the level of holy water that a priest or priestess can create using it. The effectiveness of holy water depended on its level. For example, level 1 holy water could only eliminate 10% of the force of corruption present in dungeon monster cores. But a level 10 holy water can eliminate all of it.
A wizard didn’t have the power to selectively free water of their impurities, so they would have to overexert themselves to completely purify it, but Val could see where the particles of corruption were in the water, meaning he didn’t need to target the entire water vessel with his soul power. He just needed to dump his soul power in those areas where the particles of corruption were located.
Streams of colorless soul power came out of his palm and entered the boiled water in the pot from different spots, efficiently eradicating the force of corruption inside it.
[Ding! Congratulations, host! The Level-1 purified water has transformed into Level-10 purified water!] A system notification rang in Val’s mind.
Val smiled, pleased with the result.
“Well, that’s one problem solved.”
“Now, I just need the help of a bloodline user who can use holy magic, and I’ll have the holy water. And I know just where to find them.”
Without wasting any time, Val exited the kitchen and stopped just before Eliana’s door, which was on the same floor as the kitchen.
He knocked on her door but got no reply.
‘Weird,’ he thought. ‘It’s already time for her job but she still hasn’t gotten up?’
“Eliana, are you awake?” he called out, but still, no response came.
As his Heavenly Eye was active, focusing his gaze on the door to Eliana’s room was enough to provide him with a view of what was inside.
Eliana was in bed, visibly sick, with a flushed face and a sheen of sweat on her forehead.
He reached for the door handle, turning the knob gently, and the door opened up. It seemed like she had forgotten to lock the door even though he had advised her to always lock her door before going to sleep for her own good.
Val stepped inside her room and approached her. He saw her twisting and turning in bed as if she was being tormented by a nightmare and felt a hint of joy thinking that if she was really sick, he would gain the chance to increase the level of affection she had for him!
Val laid the back of his hand on her forehead, immediately confirming his suspicion – she was burning up with fever.
“I’ve got to help her.”
A house owner pays regularly for the maintenance of his property. Of course, there were some scumbags who wouldn’t, letting anyone naive and ignorant enough to buy or rent property from them suffer the cost, but Val was better than them.
Eliana was his asset, so naturally, he wouldn’t leave her to deal with her problems alone. Not to mention, this was a good opportunity to strengthen her feelings for him and show her that he deeply cared for her and she hadn’t made a wrong choice getting together with him.
He soaked a towel in cool water before placing it gently on her forehead.
Eliana’s feverish discomfort lessened, the coolness of the towel reminiscent of a person shielding her from the unbearable heat of the summer sun. As her discomfort subsided, her eyelashes fluttered before finally parting to reveal her almond eyes, which met his.
“Val?” she murmured in a weak voice.
“Yeah, it is me,” he said gently.
A soft sweetness filled Eliana’s heart at his words. Tears welled up in her eyes as she disclosed, “This is the first time someone has looked after me while I was sick. When I was young, everyone always was too busy, too occupied to spare me any attention. And then when they were no more, every time I fell ill, I only had myself to rely on.” Her brother was too young to be of any help to her. She was the one caring for him after their family was massacred and they became orphan. “You… you being here… it means a lot to me.”