The blue gem left behind by the Frost Lord began to melt the floor. It wasn't through intense heat, but the mana held within the gem was turning the surrounding ice into liquid.
"Li-An, look at that. The floor is sinking."
Mei pointed while holding my hand. Clear water began to pool around the gem, quickly becoming a small pond. Strangely, steam started to rise. In the freezing air of Floor 13, only that pool wavered with warmth.
I reached out to grab the gem but stopped. It sank deep into the water and punched a large hole through the bottom. We carefully climbed down through the opening. There was a small space like a natural cave, and in the center sat a massive, hot-spring-like pool created by the gem.
"Wow... I really wanted to wash up."
Chen threw off her clothes without hesitation. Her grey tail flicked near the water's edge. As she jumped in first, white steam billowed up even higher.
"Li-An, you come in too. Your body is too hot. You need to cool down here."
Jia also unfastened her armor piece by piece. Her scales glittered gold under the reflection of the water. I sat by the edge, still feeling a bit dazed. Mei was already pulling off my boots.
"Hurry, Li-An. Let's all go in together."
We soaked our bodies in that warm water. It felt like the fatigue of battle was vanishing. But it wasn't just water. The mana flowing out from the gem seeped through my skin.
In the water, our four sets of legs became tangled. Chen leaned her head on my shoulder, and Jia grabbed my arm. Mei sat on my lap, playfully splashing water.
"But this gem, can we really just keep it?"
Mei asked, poking the sunken gem with her toe. Jia shook her head.
"This isn't for selling. We have to absorb it into our bodies. Through Li-An."
Just as Jia said, the mana in the water was circulating around me. It felt like my body had become a massive filter. Every time their skin touched mine underwater, the density of the mana thickened.
We enjoyed the warmth in silence for a while. It felt like a completely different world from the grimy back alleys of Xinghai or the blood-splattered corridors of the dungeon.
"Li-An, I'm sleepy..."
Chen closed her eyes and burrowed deeper into my chest. My eyes began to close, too. But this wasn't just sleep. It was a forced rest to prepare for the next sector and to grow even stronger.
We fell asleep like that in the blue water, intoxicated by each other's warmth.