"Please… I beg you… don't…"

"I'll do anything you want, just don't do this…"

"NO!!"

With a heart-wrenching scream, Sacred Realm sorcerer Rein Mercury was thrown headfirst into the mud pit.

This was no ordinary mud pit. It was modeled after a special zone in the Continent of Time known as the Soul-Washing Pond. The original pond dissolved impurities in the soul, typically enhancing a sorcerer's learning ability, focus, and mental state for about a week. It was considered a highly beneficial, encounter-type opportunity.

The Belldet imitation, however, naturally failed to replicate any such beneficial effects. It did indeed dissolve impurities, but what it dissolved were physical rather than spiritual, specifically targeting clothes and body hair.

No one knew why the Belldet family had built such a meaningless facility. Perhaps they were simply trying to replicate the Continent of Time's encounter system, or perhaps they were so wealthy that their only recourse was wasting money to stimulate domestic demand. In any case, it had unexpectedly become a massive help to Ashe and the others. It was like finding a filthy, dung-covered mop right next to you in the middle of a street...