B3—Chapter 41: Prismatic Falls

After I cracked the issue with my lightning, we continued on our way. For three days, we sailed on the river on our jet skis, stopped for lunch, and slept at night. We rode the skis on the river the rest of the time, and Rue was in heaven. My dog was a speed demon.

During our entire cruise, the river kept expanding as more tributaries connected to it. On the fourth day, the river was already at least half a kilometer wide, maybe even more. At first, the current was calm, but towards noon, I felt the current getting stronger. I opened the map and checked, and as I suspected, we were very close to the falls.

When I reminisced about my jump from the waterfall in Shimoor, I decided I had no desire to go through it again.

“Rue, buddy, let’s go ashore.”

Since we passed by the town yesterday evening, I saw no boats on the river. Still, just to be sure, I glanced around. Seeing that we were alone, we stored the jet skis and took to the air—invisible, of course. When we reached a height of at least two hundred meters, I saw huge crags coming out of the water and splitting the river into many smaller rivers. When I checked on the map, I saw that the small rivers continue to the waterfalls, then, after the waterfalls, connect to one big river again. I checked where the nearest road was, and it didn’t seem too far.

We flew towards the road and waited until a fancy carriage with several mounted guards passed, getting far enough that they wouldn’t see us; I rose again into the air to ensure nobody else was coming, and we became visible.

I considered taking out the ATV, but the carriage was luxurious, and I suspected those were nobles. I didn’t feel like answering questions, so I told Rue we’d continue on foot. But these nobles gave me an idea. My class still showed a Healer, so I changed it to a Merchant—nobles have a lot of money.

As we passed the carriage, the mounted guards around it got tense and held their weapons at the ready. Their eyes lost focus, and they relaxed, at least partially. A few of them still glanced apprehensively at Rue, but overall, they seemed calmer. We passed them and continued walking.

After we walked for an hour, I felt the need to run. I wasn’t running as fast as possible, maybe a light jog, but I still think I clocked 30 kph and perhaps even faster. I’ve always been fast, but I got even faster with every increase in my stats. It still surprised me now and then. After thinking about it for a while, I decided I wanted to continue to be surprised. I was sure that the day I started taking all these things for granted, my journey would lose some of its charm and become boring.

Nothing could have prepared me for what I saw once we arrived. As I approached the last bend in the road, the sound of falling water grew louder, and there they were: the stunning Prismatic Falls.

The layout resembled terraces. From where we stood, I could see more falls further up, with rivers flowing until the following fall and then continuing down to more falls. Old, worn-out bridges crossed at various heights through the falls. Some falls had only one tall bridge, while others had a tall bridge and a smaller one below it. Most of the bridges had moss growing on the stone columns.

Everything appeared so beautiful at first glance that I was utterly astonished. The falls weren’t the typical stream of water. The water was a stunning display of shimmering and varied colors, giving the impression that the falls were living and constantly changing and adjusting.

We walked to the first bridge, and I could see the waterfall below when I stood atop it. The water cascaded into a wonderfully clear pool. As the mist rose, I could feel its coolness against my skin and smell the scent of wet grass and young plants. All around the falls were very leafy trees. I suspected the leaves’ thickness was because of the high mana levels here. The trees created a barrier from the outside world, making me feel like I was in a hidden heaven, away from the world’s crossroads.

I strolled across the first bridge, enjoying the view. When we reached the other side, I could see more of the falls. Each one was more stunning than the last. Another bridge curved gracefully across a second, more enormous waterfall. When I was up there, I could see water dropping from even higher above, creating a spray that shone in the sunlight. The water’s colors, sounds, and sheer strength were nearly too much to bear.

I stood there for what felt like hours, taking it all in. The noise was deafening—a vast, booming roar that filled the air and made my chest shake. It sounded like a thousand drums beating at the same time. As we got closer, it drowned out everything else, becoming a constant, powerful presence that makes you pay attention and tells you how powerful nature is. The sound, a steady symphony of moving water, was both hypnotic and overwhelming.

I closed my eyes and felt the mana in the air. There was so much mana here. I suspected there was more than one vent somewhere in the falls or the river before the falls. Otherwise, there was no explanation for the amount of mana. I tried to zero in on the type of mana. It had a similar flavor to Life Mana and Nature Mana, but not exactly. It felt familiar, like something else, but not exactly either. Despite it being on the tip of my tongue, I had to search and struggle to recognize it. Suddenly, it clicked. It felt like Restorative Mana. I couldn’t tell if it was a combination of several types that created this effect, or if it was a specific mana type, but I was sure it was Restorative Mana. I stood a little longer and listened to the thundering water, until Rue said, “Rue hungry.”

I laughed and said, “You’re always hungry.”

“Rue now hungrier hungry.”

I scratched his ears and laughed again.

There were few people at the falls. At the big falls with the old bridges, we were almost alone. After we walked down the rivers, we reached smaller waterfalls with pools. I saw more and more nobles, judging by the guards with weapons and the servants scurrying and scraping. We arrived at an area with many more people, but much quieter. Here, the falls were lower, and they fell into peaceful pools around which people sat. There were no bridges here, but the view was more picturesque.

Beautiful pink flowers were all around the base of the falls and the pools. The colors were so vibrant; they stood out from the forest’s greens. I just breathed in and absorbed everything. The air was cool and refreshing. But there was more to it than just physical comfort. There was a sense of harmony and equilibrium in this place.

As I looked around, I found a path that went to a peaceful spot by the falls. It was a relatively shallow pool that didn’t have a waterfall above it, just a stream that connected to it. As a result, the water was calmer here, resulting in a serene pool that appeared almost too good to pass up. It was deserted, which was a big plus in my book. I gave Rue food and sat on a rock gazing at the water for a while.

When Rue finished eating, I sank into the water. Closing my eyes, I floated on the water and relaxed. Rue jumped in, swam a bit, lay down in the water close to the shore, and closed his eyes. We stayed there for a while, enjoying the water and relaxing.

When it got dark, we became invisible and flew half an hour away from the falls. I opened the house, and we went to sleep. We returned to the falls the next day, and I went towards “my” pool. When I got there, I saw children playing in the water and three old men with white hair and beards sitting on the bench by the pool, knitting. I did a double-take. I didn’t imagine it. They were knitting.

After thinking about it, I decided it was actually nice that they knitted. It created a laid-back, relaxed vibe and gave me an idea.

I had lots of yarn in my Storage. The problem was that the paper bands around the skeins were full of Chinese text. In the past, I claimed that the text on products was the maker’s mark, but these bands were so full of text that they looked more like the maker’s life story. I thought about removing the bands and offering them yarn without them, but I didn’t have the patience to remove them from hundreds of yarn skeins.

Hmm, a conundrum.

I remembered that my core had absorbed cars and various metals inside my Storage when we were at the junkyard, and that gave me an idea. I moved five oversized nylon bags filled with yarn near the core and instructed it to absorb and return the yarn, but with plain bands without text. It took a few minutes, but my core was a trooper. It absorbed all the yarn and returned it with blank bands.

I told it, “Good boy,” in my mind. Of course, not out loud; I’m not suicidal. Rue would never forgive me.

I approached them with a friendly smile. “Good day, gentlemen. I sell yarn for knitting. Would you be interested?”

All three of them looked at me, their eyes losing focus for a second. The one on the right blinked and said, “If you show us what you have, we might be interested.”

Nodding, I took out one of the oversized plastic bags of yarn, placing it in front of them with a casual gesture. Their eyes widened as they took in the bag’s size. The man on the right reached out and touched the plastic bag, his brow furrowed. “What is this material? I have never seen anything like this before,” he asked, his tone laced with surprise.

“It’s something that’s made in my homeland, but I’m not sure how. I buy it ready-made.”

“Where are you from?” he asked.

Remembering what Mahya had mentioned, I quickly opened the Map in my mind and answered, “Lotam.”

“I’ve never heard of it. Where is it?” the middle one asked, leaning forward slightly.

“It’s a medium continent northwest of here,” I replied, keeping my expression neutral.

“Is it far?” the left one asked, his voice tinged with concern.

“Yes, two months sailing.”

All three shook their heads in unison, and with a look of admiration, the man on the right remarked, “You are a brave young man to sail such a distance. I do not like sailing.”

Meanwhile, the other two took out yarn and examined it. Their cries of enthusiasm caught his attention, and he also joined in examining the yarn. They thanked me repeatedly after I sold them three enormous plastic bags of yarn for thirty-one gold. I gave my Nose for Business skill a pat on the back. There was no doubt this ability led me to this deal.

While walking between the falls, I spotted groups of nobles accompanied by servants and guards, but didn’t approach them. I made a conscious effort to consider which product would be suitable for which person. When I saw two men smoking a pipe and talking, I remembered I had something like that. After a quick search, I found the boxes of cigars and tobacco I had “liberated” from Vegas. I approached them and asked if they were interested in seeing special tobacco products.

They both looked at me with such disdain—as if I was dog shit stuck to their shoe, but agreed. After I showed them the cigars, they changed their tune. Suddenly, they talked to me like a human being and wanted my entire supply of cigars. As punishment for the initial disdain, I sold them the cigars for 50% more than the price Appraisal showed me. It added up to forty-eight gold for two cartons of cigars. Once we closed the deal, they thanked me warmly, and I started feeling a tad evil. But then I shook my head and told myself not to be an idiot.

That’s how I went around among the nobles and sold things according to what I felt was appropriate for each group. I sold a group of ladies some silver jewelry with turquoise from Santa Fe; to another group, I sold perfume; to another group of nobles, I sold belts and one medieval knight armor replica; and to a lady with a baby, fifty packages of diapers. The last lady was so happy that I suspected if her husband weren’t beside her, she would have proposed to me. At the end of all my sales, the visit to the falls netted me 132 gold coins. It turned out that nobles were good for something.

We were ready to continue and had two options: continue along the river to Crystalspire or turn east on the road towards the Crystal Cave and the Echoing Caverns. I had no preferences, so I consulted Rue.

“Rue, buddy,” I said, scratching behind his ears, “what do you think? Left on the river to a big city or right on the road to two kinds of caves?”

“In city lots yummy foods,” he said, his tail wagging eagerly as he perked up at the thought of food.

“Right. We’ll eventually get to the city,” I replied, patting his side, “but how about visiting the caves first?”

Rue’s ears flattened slightly as he shook his head. “Rue not like caves.”

I raised an eyebrow, glancing down at him. “I thought you said you were now smarter and not afraid of caves?”

“Rue not afraid of caves. Rue not like caves,” he insisted, huffing as he planted his paws firmly on the ground.

“So, give up the caves?” I asked, holding back a chuckle.

“Yes!” The agreement echoed loudly in my mind, followed by a sudden lunge as Rue gave me a big, sloppy face lick, his tail wagging furiously in delight.

“Okay, buddy. No caves it is.”

I saw a Gate along the river on the way to Crystalspire. I estimated it would take about a day to reach the Gate and another half day to reach Crystalspire.

We walked until we passed the last small waterfall, hid behind some trees, took out the jet skis, and rode to Crystalspire.