Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/

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Chapter 70: Prisoner of Dreams

No sooner had those words left his lips…

The white flame above the god shook violently, and the magic fluctuations surged even more fiercely than before.

Salaar’s hand hadn’t yet left Professor Gentry’s shoulder when Myss acted first.

Countless fine threads of magic shot out, invading again through the crack in the giant crystal egg, aiming straight for the god’s body—

Myss might not have been the first to realize the truth about the survivors, but he was definitely the first to notice the god’s weakness. It was a subtle, cloyingly sweet scent of decay, like mead laced with blood. He unexpectedly liked it.

He didn’t care about human emotional entanglements, nor did he care what Professor Gentry thought of him. He only cared about the truth of the Abnormal Fruit.

The pitch-black magic threads roughly seeped into the god’s body and suddenly dropped their restraints. The god’s loss of control came to an abrupt stop. Myss lifted his diffused pupils, and the magic threads drove deeper.

Unlike the previous two probes, even though the god suspected to be Roman was already on his last breath, Myss still encountered enormous resistance. Just as he was about to frown, a gentle melody sounded by his ear.

Salaar’s Mother’s Song.

Amid the soothing, tender music, the god’s tense power loosened for an instant. Myss took advantage of the opening and went straight for “Roman’s” memories.

In an instant, everything was exposed beneath the flames, like a tomb exposed daylight again, or a diary brushed free of dust.

Myss could confirm at a glance that these were indeed the memories of Roman Gerard.

He only needed to flip through the memories of Roman’s team being trapped. He didn’t even need to skip much.

…For this six-person team, this should have been an ordinary investigation.

Roman Gerard and all of his team members were longtime friends who knew one another inside and out.

They had once fooled around together on campus, laughing at one another’s failed papers or failed romances. After stepping out of the ivory tower, they had traveled far and wide together, investigating those lost Night Scourge dungeons.

During that time, the team had encountered plenty of dangers. Pick any two people from the six-person team, and they would have a life-and-death bond between them. Those crises and that blood were like nacre wrapping grains of sand, gradually polishing them into the world’s best exploration team.

They had the best scholar, the best doctor, the best logistics support… the best captain.

Before entering the “Rabbit Hole,” the team members took no chances. The logistics member carefully calibrated all the magic devices, and the other team members confirmed each one again in turn.

“This ‘Rabbit Hole’ sure is deep. I wonder which family made it.”

Sean emphasized in a half-joking tone, “Everyone be careful when we go down. Especially you, Captain. Don’t really start frolicking like a rabbit. If this place was made by some crazy city lord, watch out or it’ll clip off your foot.”

“Shut up. My luck isn’t that bad.” Roman jokingly punched Sean on the shoulder.

Despite saying that, he still tightened the half-long white hair at the back of his head and made sure every button on his gloves was where it should be.

“When are Beverly and Asp finally going to graduate?”

Fiona chewed on some sweet-and-sour dried fruit. “Beverly’s explosion magic is absolutely amazing. If she’d been with us last time, we wouldn’t have ended up in such a sorry state.”

The burly man in charge of logistics said, “I’ve been waiting for Asp for two years. Haa.”

Roman: “Beverly’s temper is as explosive as her explosion magic, and Asp tends to panic at critical moments. The two of them are still young. They need more polishing. That’s how the Professor explained it.”

“To be honest, I’ve already filled out both of their registration documents. I’m just waiting for the Professor to release them…”

“Stop acting like such an old-timer. You’re not that much older than them, Little Roman.”

Sean burst out laughing. “All right, all right. Hurry up and lead the way.”

“It’s Roman—or rather, Captain Roman,” Roman corrected him sternly.

In the end, before he finished speaking, he was the first one who couldn’t keep a straight face and smiled.

Amid the team’s relaxed commotion, the stone door at the entrance slowly closed. The sealing magic device began operating, ensuring that uninformed passersby wouldn’t accidentally enter and disrupt the arrangements.

Even though all around them was endless wilderness, with only a few rabbits quietly hopping across the grass.

Discovering the stairs, examining the paintings, entering the underground filled with caverns…

Myss carefully confirmed every step and discovered that this team was extremely capable. They laughed and joked, but their behavior pattern was exactly the same as Gentry’s, without the slightest slackness.

“It’s the Hope family’s dungeon.”

Standing at the intersection of countless caverns, near the place where Myss had accidentally fallen before, Roman lowered his voice.

“The Hope family loved bloodshed, especially alchemical traps and alchemical lifeforms.”

Sean’s tone changed from teasing to a serious report. “There have never been any records of Hope Dungeon before. Captain…”

“Retreat!”

Roman made the decision immediately. “Ancient alchemy is difficult to deal with. We must reassess the risks.”

His body was heavy, and his head felt dizzy, as though someone had sucked away the air nearby. His magic became as viscous as syrup, difficult to mobilize. Something was wrong with this place.

As captain, he had to be responsible for the lives of all his teammates.

“Follow the footprints and withdraw. Watch out for collapses.”

Roman raised his voice. “Pay attention to the instrument readings, especially the magic vibration index. Absolutely do not—”

Crack.

A cracking sound came from beneath his feet, followed by the weightlessness of stepping into empty air. Everything came so suddenly.

Roman was dazed for an instant. Clearly, all the instrument readings had been fine… Why?

A metal hook extended from his sleeve, while his other hand urgently cast a spell. However, the hook couldn’t catch onto the sand and stones. His magic was also affected by some kind of interference and failed to take shape.

The entrance to the cave was still collapsing.

The ground beneath everyone seemed to have come alive. Sand and stones slipped, boulders fell, and it opened its huge mouth, instantly swallowing everyone into the collapsing opening.

Roman gritted his teeth and flung several dried mushrooms downward.

The mushrooms rapidly expanded, and their soft caps cushioned everyone below. The people made a dusty but soft landing. When they looked up again, the opening above had already been blocked tightly.

“Everyone’s magic device readings were interfered with. The deviation was very small, but fatal. It absolutely wasn’t a natural influence.”

Sean’s voice was somewhat tense. “Also, this place suppresses magic quite strongly. I’m afraid the effects of magic…”

Roman let out a long, heavy breath. “It may be ancient alchemy. We have to find a way out as quickly as possible.”

Magic device interference, weakened magic, plus a completely unknown environment. For explorers, the combination of these three was nothing short of fatal.

Myss looked at it from every angle, and his frown grew deeper and deeper.

From beginning to end, Roman’s responses had been perfect, and his teammates hadn’t dragged him down. Yet in just a few short hours, this world-class team was trapped.

If one had to say what mistake Roman had made, it was that his deduction had been wrong.

Perhaps ancient alchemical magic devices could disturb magic. But they couldn’t grow arms and legs and destroy those landmark nails meant to “prevent magic interference.” Something must have been actively attacking them.

After all, Roman, like Professor Gentry, had made preparations in advance and nailed down many landmark nails. Yet when Myss came in, he hadn’t seen even half a speck of light.

Myss pulled at the magic threads and analyzed the memories with all his strength.

Next, this team’s predicament wasn’t much better than Salaar’s army in the seal.

With no rabbits to guide them at the landing point, they could only continuously adjust the disrupted magic devices and wander through this complicated, deadly darkness.

On the first day.

“Watch your feet!” Roman’s warning came one step too late.

Amid the sound of metal grinding, there came the sound of bones breaking. The logistics man cried out in pain, and blood soaked through his pant leg. It was an alchemical trap hidden among the sand and stones, with almost no magic fluctuation.

The magic devices were inaccurate. Roman had investigated the area with all his strength, yet he had still failed to find this one.

“Just a broken shinbone—a small injury. I can handle it even without magic.” The logistics man was sweating all over from the pain. “I’m in great shape.”

Fiona strode forward. Her hand pressed onto the wound, and the bracelet wand lit up with a faint glow. However, that light soon faded away, barely managing to stop the bleeding.

“…The magic suppression is too strong. I don’t have enough magic.”

“Hold on.”

Roman took a deep breath and spoke in a tone full of hope. “The range of the magic suppression can’t be too large. As long as we get away from this area, everything will get better.”

“Of course, brother.” The logistics man smiled with a sweat-covered face.

Roman nodded, restraining the urge to treat him personally. He had to conserve his magic and investigate danger more carefully.

On the third day, the short man accidentally triggered a poison gas trap, and his respiratory tract and lungs rapidly rotted. It was an unprecedented new type of trap, and the cost of learning it was nearly a life.

The magic suppression still hadn’t disappeared, but there was another injured person. Fiona, who was in charge of medical treatment, hurried back and forth. Her Magibase fox was so tired that its steps became unsteady.

Sean took the initiative to carry the short man on his back, and the team continued searching for the underground river here.

“I’ve calculated the magic source. The magic fluctuations are strongest to the southwest.”

Roman announced this in a voice full of hope, trying hard to hide the bitterness in his words. “Large-scale magic fluctuations mean the magic suppression is weakening. And that place is most likely the center of the ruins, so it must be near a water source.”

“Haha, my luck has always been pretty good.” The short man coughed up dark pieces of flesh. “We agreed to live to eighty together. I remember.”

On the seventh day, the scholar in the team also had her foot injured by a magic trap. Her condition was even worse than logistics’s. That alchemical magic device had instantly incinerated her right foot, reducing it to charred rubble.

Fiona wrapped the injury with reddened eyes. They had done their utmost pressing on, covering a vast distance, yet everyone’s magic still showed no signs of being replenished. A faint stench of decaying wounds began to appear in the air, but their situation hadn’t improved in the slightest.

As seasoned explorers, everyone more or less began to have an ominous premonition.

“Don’t worry. At worst, after we find the water source, we’ll build a temporary shelter.”

“When the time comes, Sean and Fiona can take care of the injured, and I’ll go alone to search for a way out. As long as we hold on long enough, there will always be a way.”

Roman squeezed the hope in his tone with all his strength. Just as he desperately squeezed out his suppressed magic to eliminate those almost endless traps.

One tiny, inconspicuous omission could take away his companion’s limb or life.

But this damned place was full of traps in every direction, and he always missed something… always.

The scholar chuckled softly. Her voice was gentle and steady, as though that severed foot hadn’t brought her any pain at all.

“Speaking of rabbit holes, I remembered a story my mother once told me.”

She used a mild voice to soothe all of her friends. “A story about a little girl who fell into a rabbit hole. In that story, she met a rabbit that guided her way.”

“I’m a little over the age limit, but I did fall into a rabbit hole for the time being. Maybe an old rabbit will pop out and guide us.”

…On the fourteenth day, they reached the center of the ruins.

When they saw the ruins illuminated by faint light, everyone subconsciously breathed a sigh of relief. However, that relief lasted only a few short minutes.

Here, there were only cold bone-burning lamps, even more vicious and obscure arrays of traps, and the bones of predecessors from different eras. Through their broken and twisted tragic states, they showed the team the same ending.

Even worse, that deadly magic suppression hadn’t weakened in the slightest.

Looking around, dozens or even hundreds of caves led into darkness. They were like the dim eye sockets of skulls, and no one knew which patch of darkness hid the exit.

Roman knew they were running out of time.

The short man’s fever wouldn’t stop, and he kept coughing up pus and blood. He wasn’t dead yet, but he was giving off the distinctive rotten smell of a corpse.

The logistics man dragged his ruined leg, his body trembling nonstop from weakness. The scholar sat in the corner, her injury badly rotted… Fiona’s magic had almost dried up. She stared blankly at her weakened companions, and everyone heard the footsteps of death approaching.

“Captain Roman, take half the supplies and go.”

Sean looked into Roman’s eyes and patted his shoulder.

“If you move alone, you’ll have the best chance of leaving this place alive. Fiona and I will stay behind to take care of the injured and try to hold out as long as possible… After you successfully escape, bring people back to rescue everyone.”

Roman looked at Sean, and pain finally appeared in his eyes, like blood seeping from a wound.

All lies.

The short man wouldn’t live past three days. The logistics man and the scholar both had broken feet. Even if they knew where the exit was at this moment, it would be very difficult for them to leave smoothly.

But if Sean and Fiona left together with Roman, Roman would have to split his attention to look after the two of them, which would only increase his consumption…

“You’re telling me to abandon everyone and escape alone.”

Roman’s voice was dry and hoarse. The hope in his tone had vanished completely, leaving only pain and anger.

Sean looked at him calmly. “Otherwise, we’ll all be wiped out.”

“Only if you get out can the abnormalities of these ruins be made public… Only then can more explorers be saved.”

“Actually, you know what you should do, Captain Roman,” he said. “You’re the greatest explorer in the world.”

“The greatest explorer?”

Roman’s eyes grew slightly red. “It’s been half a month. I still haven’t even figured out the cause of the magic suppression, and you want me to run away like a coward?”

“My words represent everyone’s wishes.” Sean took a deep breath and did his best to keep his voice steady. “Think about it. Even if we die, at least we can still die together. If you’re unlucky, you’ll only die alone in some cavern.”

“So don’t make that face like you’re getting the better end of the deal, Little Roman.”

“I…”

Roman gritted his teeth. “…I need a moment to myself.”

Not long after he left, something slowly floated down from the darkness, landing squarely in front of him.

A brand-new letter, sealed with glaring scarlet wax.

This was absolutely not something that should appear in a place like this. Roman didn’t hesitate in the slightest. He stood where the letter had appeared and called for Sean and Fiona.

Before figuring out how dangerous this thing was, he wouldn’t bring it anywhere near the injured.

“There’s nothing wrong with the letter itself.” Sean sniffed the wax seal. “It was written recently. You said it fell from the sky? The sky?”

“Open it and take a look,” Fiona murmured, her lips twitching weakly. “Maybe it’s the work of some Archmage…”

Roman swallowed and opened the envelope.

[Stimulate the limits of your magic and use that magic to nourish your friends. You can preserve their lives.

Mr. Roman, you are a true genius. Even in the direst of straits, one must always hold on to hope.

 —V.O.R]

“Nonsense.” Sean’s face was pale. “They went to all this trouble just to send this? This guy is just watching us make fools of ourselves!”

Roman stared at the ink on the letter and said nothing.

“Roman, Captain Roman!” Fiona summoned all her strength. “If you dare divide out your magic, everyone will only die faster.”

“I know.” Roman put away the letter paper, and his heart pounded nonstop.

This letter had appeared just as inexplicably as the weakening of their magic. The other party must be an abnormally powerful existence. If… If he really could…

No. He couldn’t.

The Professor had explicitly forbidden it. No matter how tempting an invitation from an unknown existence was, he absolutely couldn’t respond.

Roman steadied himself, forcefully crumpled the letter into a ball of paper, and casually threw it aside.

The three of them turned around and walked back toward their base together.

Roman’s steps were a little slow. He couldn’t help looking at the paper ball as it slowly rolled away.

Fiona walked at the very front, wishing she could get farther away from that eerie thing. “I’ll prepare some water. As for that letter, we need to talk more about it…”

Click.

Fiona’s footsteps abruptly stopped. An ominous soft sound came from beneath the stone tile under her foot.

From a crack between the stones not far away, an ax blade shot out horizontally.

It was pure and cold, without the slightest magic fluctuation.

Sean was closer to Fiona, and he immediately threw himself forward. Unfortunately, that ax blade had no magic fluctuation at all. He was one step too late. The rusty ax blade directly tore open Fiona’s neck and cut Sean’s arm.

In her efforts to save her dying companions, the healer had completely drained up all her magic.

At this moment, she couldn’t even use the simplest blood-stanching spell.

Blood surged wildly. Sean subconsciously went to hold his falling friend, only to discover that his arm felt as cold as if it were being corroded. In just a few short seconds, that chill rapidly spread through his entire body.

“Don’t come over… Don’t touch us!”

The unknown toxin paralyzed Sean’s tongue. He used all his strength to shout at Roman, who was more than ten steps away.

Roman’s mind went blank.

No, perhaps it wasn’t blank. He knew that everything was over.

Fiona’s body was convulsing, and warm blood bubbles emerged from her neck. Sean held her body, his face an ominous blackish purple, his gaze gradually scattering.

He widened his eyes at Roman and moved his lips, as if saying “no.”

No? Did he not want to die? Or was he telling Roman not to be sad?

In that instant, Roman could almost hear the sound of his nerves snapping. He watched the rise and fall of their breathing vanish, while the jokes from when they had first stepped into the Rabbit Hole echoed by his ears.

He had been disturbed by that letter. He had failed to clear away all the traps nearby…

It was his mistake, his responsibility. He had watched everyone walk toward the abyss. He understood nothing. He could do nothing…

Roman’s gaze moved wildly, then suddenly locked onto the crumpled paper ball not far away.

Immediately after, he slowly withdrew his gaze and walked toward Sean. His steps were orderly and heavy, as if he were walking toward his own execution.

“I’ll leave alone.” Roman pressed his hands to the two people’s wounds. “Everything will get better. Trust me.”

He squeezed out his own magic without regard for his life and poured it into Sean and Fiona’s bodies. A snow-white elk appeared behind him and gently lowered its head.

Roman wasn’t a mage who specialized in healing.

Even with such powerful magic power pouring into them, it could only barely keep the two of them alive. Fiona and Sean had their eyes tightly closed. As soon as his magic stopped, their heartbeats would immediately cease.

“Roman?” From inside the temporary base came the confused calls of the injured.

“It’s fine. Fiona and Sean suffered minor injuries. I’m helping treat them.” Roman’s voice had never been so full of hope.

After saying this, he calmly raised his head and looked up at the thick darkness above.

“What should I do?” he asked, almost soundlessly.

A letter floated down again. It landed on Sean and Fiona’s bodies, which still held warmth. Blood soaked through one corner of the envelope, making it look just as scarlet as the wax seal.

Roman freed one hand and decisively opened the envelope.

[If you are willing to thoroughly dedicate yourself in exchange for a sliver of hope for your friends,

I will help you realize this dream and turn these ruins into a land of dreams. 

—V.O.R]

His companions were doomed to die; he should leave this place. The invitation from an unknown existence was full of danger. He shouldn’t respond. Such basic truths were as natural as one plus one equaling two.

And yet, the world’s greatest explorer lowered his head toward the darkness.

A third letter slowly drifted down, as though something were watching him from within the darkness—

[Farewell, Mr. Explorer, my dear friend.

Prisoner of Dreams, we shall meet again in the season of harvest. 

—V.O.R]

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