Salian stared helplessly at the boundless curtain of darkness before him, fused to the massive tree trunk and devouring all light. He let out a deep, resigned sigh.
Guard Captain Eko and the other mages must be trapped somewhere in this space as well.
Salian had originally planned to find them and regroup. Though in his heart he knew that a few mages weaker than himself plus Eko—who was utterly hopeless with magic—probably wouldn’t come up with any escape plan even if they joined forces.
Still, there was strength in numbers, and it felt better than being alone.
But now it seemed this space had been divided into several completely isolated zones, and he had been sealed away in one by himself.
He was almost certain this was Chief Ilos’s doing—to speak to him without interference from the others.
He made no attempt to touch that wall formed of pure darkness.
It was clearly the same type of existence as those earlier dangerous information blocks. At this size, the psychic shock it contained would surely shatter his mind.
Feeling somewhat lost, Salian retreated to his original spot, his heart filled with unease he couldn’t shake.
This unease wasn’t for himself, but for his ever-airheaded little sister Airaven.
Though he didn’t know the exact details of Chief Ilos’s plan, the words “sacrifices are inevitable” meant that a great many elves would likely lose their lives.
He was terrified his sister would be caught up in it—perhaps even become one of the “sacrifices.”
Now he regretted it. If he had known, maybe he should have pretended to agree, left this place, secured his sister’s safety, and then found a chance to report everything to the Elven King.
But then again—with the Chief’s ability and how well he understood him—his poor acting probably wouldn’t have fooled the man at all.
“Sigh…”
Salian realized that being alone in this absolute darkness and silence made it impossible not to let his mind wander to useless things.
But perhaps that was also an unavoidable form of escape.
He had been trapped here for who-knows-how-many days. Intense hunger constantly burned in his stomach.
Though his constitution and mana could keep him alive for a while longer, the torment itself was inescapable.
If he didn’t deliberately distract himself, his thoughts would drift uncontrollably to the plump, round Puchi not far away… Its body looked so full and juicy—even raw, it would probably be delicious…
He swallowed hard against the saliva that welled up unbidden, forcing his gaze toward the Puchi aimlessly wandering nearby.
This Puchi seemed to possess abnormally strong regenerative abilities.
Earlier, when the Chief had sliced off its cap, it hadn’t died.
When the Chief left and Salian picked it up, he had been shocked to find it still alive.
The Chief had clearly intended to kill it—yet it survived!
However, though the Puchi had miraculously lived, it seemed to have been left brain-damaged.
Now it would sometimes sit motionless, sometimes take a few aimless steps, behaving exactly like an ordinary Puchi. All the cleverness it had displayed while riding on his head was gone.
Closer inspection revealed its cap had reattached slightly crooked—clearly regrown by its powerful healing, but misaligned.
It was as if an elf’s head had been cut off and reattached crooked. No wonder it acted half-witted now.
Or rather, surviving that at all was already a miracle of life!
Salian knew these were trivial distractions in their current predicament.
Yet he couldn’t help imagining how his sister Airaven would react if he brought this now-brain-damaged Puchi home…
Or maybe… he just wouldn’t bring it back?
The thought sprouted like wild vines the moment it appeared.
The Puchi was broken anyway, and he was so hungry…
Slap—!
He suddenly raised his hand and slapped himself hard, using the stinging pain to snap that terrifying idea away.
Even if it was just a Puchi, it was not only his sister’s friend—it had helped him multiple times on the way down.
Eating a companion was simply too horrifying, no matter what!
For the first time, Salian truly understood how hunger could turn an elf into a devil…
While Salian was wholly focused on battling his inner demon, he failed to notice that the crooked-capped scout Puchi nearby suddenly trembled and stopped its aimless wandering.
…
“Pelagel, what are you doing?”
“Me? Nothing.” Pelagel straightened up. Instead of retrieving his pack, he smoothly changed the subject. “The Chief really is incredible—using spatial magic so freely. You’re his student. Did he ever teach you any of this?”
“That wasn’t true spatial magic,” Seldan shook his head, attention successfully diverted. “He simply made clever use of the dungeon’s own inherent rules. That’s all I know. He never explained the specifics.”
“Looks like the mentor is still keeping some cards hidden from us.” Pelagel teased lightly.
Seldan frowned slightly. “Caution is necessary.”
As they spoke, his gaze unconsciously drifted once more to the quiver-pack left beside the sapling. Something still felt off.
At that moment, Pelagel casually slung the pack back onto his shoulder with natural ease. “Alright, we should head back. Even if you’re temporary commander now, you shouldn’t be away from your post too long, right?”
Seldan nodded, and the two turned to leave the sunlit area together.
Meanwhile, inside the abyssal space, Lin Jun suddenly regained perception and control of the scout Puchi.
An unexpected bonus.
He had originally planned to study the sapling more to see if he could access permissions like Ilos had.
Permissions remained unclear, but he had unexpectedly reconnected to the scout Puchi and seized control.
Logically, there was no conventional distance between the abyss and reality. Perhaps the Sacred Tree’s roots simultaneously pierced and connected both sides, causing this anomaly?
Whatever the reason, now that he could control the scout Puchi again, there was no need to fixate only on the sapling above.
Ilos had been able to use permissions here earlier, meaning as long as one was within the Sacred Tree’s domain, it worked.
This also saved Pelagel from having to stall up top.
Originally, if stalling became impossible, the backup plan had been for Pelagel to simply assassinate Seldan.
But then, if Lin Jun hadn’t solved the teleportation issue before the other elves noticed, Pelagel would have had to self-destruct and end the failed operation.
Now things were much safer.
Controlling the scout Puchi, he completely ignored Salian—who was still lost in self-reflection nearby—and plunged straight into the darkness, touching every black information block he saw without hesitation.
If there was anywhere to find control methods, it had to be inside these fixed blocks!
…
A long while later, Salian finally snapped out of his spiraling thoughts and realized the silly Puchi was gone. He searched everywhere but found nothing.
Just as he began to fear that hunger had driven him to unknowingly eat the Puchi, a clear voice suddenly pierced the darkness and called his name!
Was he finally hallucinating from being alone too long?
But no.
“Salian! I can’t believe I found you!” Guard Captain Eko’s figure emerged from the edge of the illumination spell’s light. He strode forward, joy plain on his face.
The wall of darkness that had isolated him had vanished without a trace!
Looking at Eko—who despite his worried expression still looked hale and hearty—Salian’s first thought was:
People with strong constitutions really can endure hunger better than the rest of us…
(End of Chapter)
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