Salyan stared at the boundless black veil that connected to the enormous trunk and swallowed all light, and he heaved a helpless sigh.
Captain of the Guard Eko and several other mages should also be trapped somewhere inside this space.
Salyan had planned to find and rendezvous with them. Although he knew in his heart that a few mages weaker than him, plus Eko who was not proficient in magic, together they probably couldn’t devise a way out.
Still, having more people around for mutual support felt better than being alone.
Now it seemed this space had been divided into several mutually isolated areas, and he had been sealed off in one of them alone.
He was almost certain this had been done intentionally by his teacher Iros—so that when Iros persuaded him, he wouldn’t be interrupted by others.
He did not attempt to touch that wall that seemed condensed from pure darkness.
It looked the same as those dangerous information blocks from before. Its size alone and the informational shock within would be enough to shatter his mind.
Backing away in a bit of a daze, Salyan was filled with an unease he couldn’t shake.
That unease wasn’t for himself—it was for his scatterbrained sister, Alawen.
Although he didn’t know Iros’s full plan, since the teacher had said “sacrifice is inevitable,” many elves would likely pay with their lives.
He was very worried his sister might be drawn in, even become one of the “sacrificed.”
He felt a pang of regret. Had he known, perhaps he should have pretended to agree with the teacher, left this place to secure his sister, then find a chance to expose everything to the Elf King.
But then he thought: with Iros’s ability and how well he understood Salyan, his little act would never fool the man.
“Sigh…”
Salyan found that alone in this absolute darkness and silence he couldn’t help but drift into useless thoughts.
Maybe that was also a forced kind of escape.
He had been trapped here for who knew how many days; a fierce hunger constantly burned in his stomach.
Relying on constitution and mana he wouldn’t starve in the short term, but the continual torment was unavoidable.
If he didn’t force his mind elsewhere, his thoughts would inevitably wander to the round puji not far away… its body looked so plump and thick; even if he tore into it raw, it would probably taste quite good…
He swallowed the saliva his mouth produced and stared at the puji that aimlessly wandered nearby.
This puji seemed to possess an unusually strong regenerative ability.
Earlier the teacher had cut off its cap, and yet it had not died.
After Iros left, Salyan had cradled it and found it still alive—he’d been shocked.
After all, if the teacher struck, he’d intended to kill the puji. Unexpectedly, he had left it alive!
However, although it had survived, the puji now seemed dumbstruck.
It sometimes sat motionless, sometimes took a couple of purposeless steps, like an ordinary puji, completely lacking the cleverness it once had when perched on his head.
If one observed closely, the cap had healed crookedly—obviously regrown under powerful regeneration but not aligned properly.
It was like an elf’s head being cut off and reattached crookedly; no wonder it looked foolish.
Once that thought sprang up it grew like rampant vines in his mind.
After all, the puji was already broken, and he was so hungry…
Smack—!
He suddenly raised his hand and slapped himself hard, using the burning sting to interrupt that horrible thought.
Even if it was just a puji, it was his sister’s friend and had helped him many times on the road down here.
Eating a companion—no matter what—was too horrible!
For the first time Salyan deeply realized how hunger could turn an elf into a demon…
While Salyan concentrated on battling that inner demon, he didn’t notice the crooked-capped scout puji nearby suddenly tremble and stop its aimless wandering.
…
“What are you doing, Pelagel?”
“Me? Nothing.” Pelagel straightened up and didn’t reach for his backpack; instead he casually shifted the topic. “The chief is amazing—he can use spatial techniques so freely. You’re his student; did he teach you any of that?”
“That’s not true spatial magic,” Serdan shook his head; his attention was indeed diverted. “He merely cleverly borrowed part of the dungeon’s inherent rules. That’s all I know; the teacher didn’t explain the exact implementation.”
“Seems the mentor still keeps a hand on us.” Pelagel teased lightly.
Serdan frowned slightly. “Caution is necessary.”
As he spoke his gaze once again, unconsciously, flicked to the quiver-backpack left beside the sapling—something felt off.
At that moment Pelagel hoisted the backpack back onto his shoulder with a smooth motion. “Alright, we should head back. Even as temporary commander, you can’t leave your post too long, can you?”
Serdan nodded, and the two turned and left the area bathed in daylight.
Meanwhile, in the abyssal space, Lin Jun unexpectedly re-sensed and reclaimed control of the scout puji.
That was an unexpected pleasure.
Lin Jun had originally planned to study the sapling longer to see if he could, like Iros, manipulate permissions.
He hadn’t figured out the permissions, but he had re-sensed the scout puji and taken back control.
In principle, there is no conventional notion of distance between the abyssal and the real space; perhaps because the Divine Tree’s roots simultaneously penetrated and connected both sides, this anomaly occurred.
In any case, since he could control the scout puji again, there was no need to stare only at the sapling above.
Iros earlier could still call permissions here, which proved that being within the Divine Tree’s range was sufficient.
That also saved Pelagel’s time-wasting above.
Originally Lin Jun had planned that if stalling failed, he would have Pelagel ambush and kill Serdan directly.
But if that happened and Lin Jun hadn’t solved the teleport problem before other elves noticed, Pelagel would have to self-destruct to end the failed operation.
Now things looked much safer.
Controlling the scout puji, Lin Jun ignored the still brooding Salyan and sent it streaking into the darkness, having it fearlessly poke at the black information blocks.
If there’s anywhere to find a control method, those fixed information blocks were the most likely place.
…
After a long while, Salyan finally snapped out of his chaotic thoughts and found the foolish puji had vanished. He searched everywhere but found nothing.
Just as he wondered if, from hunger, he had unknowingly eaten the puji, a clear voice suddenly pierced the darkness and called his name.
Had he been alone too long and was finally hallucinating?
But he was not.
“Salyan! It’s so good to meet you!” Captain Eko’s figure emerged from the edge of a light circle created by illumination magic; he strode forward, his face betraying unhidden joy.
The black curtain that had isolated him had, at some point, quietly disappeared!
Looking at Eko—worn but still spirited—Salyan’s first thought flashed through his mind:
Those with strong constitutions really can endure hunger better than others…