Elena's eyes road over the tunnel, its depth shrouded in darkness. "That must be one heck of a fall."
"Are they even alive?" Princess Lorelai asked, her laughter echoing.
"Of course they're dead!" the group chorused.
"Many demons and devils used to lurk near those tunnels, waiting for unlucky surface dwellers to fall to their deaths so they could feast on their souls. But now, everyone is too afraid to leave their houses," Nori explained.
"Wait," Ren interrupted, his curiosity piqued. "If that's the case, couldn't you just shoot up to the surface through those tunnels and hunt beasts in there?"
The rest nodded. "That's right."
Nori shook her head. "It's not that simple. There's a powerful barrier up there that protects the surface from the Netherworld. Even the late King of the Netherworld, Obsidian X, couldn't ascend without facing the burn of those spells.
"High-level demons stood no chance, while low-level beings like us would turn to ashes upon contact with the entrance of that tunnel. So that thought doesn't even cross our mind."
"Really? But the giant worm could co down here?" Elena questioned.
"It's different. Anyone could enter down here, but no one can ascend."
Elena and Princess Lorelai exchanged a knowing look.
"Wanna try?" they said simultaneously, mischief dancing in their eyes.
Elena grinned. "As usual, the loser gives a legendary-grade item to the winner."
"Sure," Princess Lorelai started summoning her wings, but Ren promptly whacked both of their heads.
"Stop that. We're here on a mission, not for a joyride to the surface."
"Party pooper," Elena stuck out her tongue, pouting in mock disappointnt.
Princess Lorelai didn't mind the hit and chuckled. "Looks like our match will have to wait until after we're done with our quest."
"You guys are weird," Nori observed, studying Ren and the others closely. "It's the first ti I've t surface dwellers who aren't trembling in fear of the Netherworld. How did you even end up here? It doesn't seem like you fell through the purple tunnels."
"We teleported here via a portal," Princess Lorelai explained simply.
"Is that so?" Nori pondered for a mont. "I've heard there are rituals to connect the Netherworld and the surface world, although only high-level demons can create one."
"For a devil, you're surprisingly friendly to strangers," Evie remarked.
Nori shrugged. "Our Elder often spoke about the surface, claiming it was the late king's dream to ascend there. He wanted his people to freely enter the surface and not just stuck in this sunless world."
Her expression then turned somber, a hint of sadness crossing her eyes. "Though he died because of it."
Ren, uninterested in delving into that part of history, swiftly changed the topic to sothing more relevant. "Anyway, if there are so many worms coming down here, shouldn't you just hunt and eat them?"
Princess Lorelai and the others nodded in agreent. "That sounds like the practical solution."
Nori stared at Ren and the others as if they were idiots. "If it were that simple, we would have definitely done it years ago. But those purple worms are considered endangered, which is why killing them is deed a cri."
"They are?" Elena asked absentmindedly, her gaze fixed on the tunnel.
Nori nodded gravely. "Giant Purple Worms need to reach their giant size before they can burrow that deep into the Netherworld. It takes at least a thousand years for them to grow to that size, and not many of them make it that far in their life."
Ren and the others were shocked by this revelation.
"You an we just ate a thousand-year-old monster?" Elena asked, her eyes wide with shock.
Nori winced, the mory of their al still fresh in her mind, and she couldn't help but cry inside. "That's right, and I was part of that cri."
"No wonder it tasted like thousand-year-old dry at," Ren chuckled.
The rest of the group joined in the laughter.
"That's not funny at all!" Nori shouted, jumping out of her skin.
Princess Lorelai's face turned serious. "Though I must ask, if these worms attack you and you can't kill it, then what are you going to do?"
Nori's grim expression brightened. "Ah, regarding that. To repel purple worms without incident, we use worm glyphs. Every village and town has them, and the purple worms would avoid the entire area.
"However, if you're traveling outside the villages, there's a small chance you would encounter one since they're rare and all."
Glyphs? Ren's interest was piqued. Maybe he could make all kinds of it if he acquired all the recipes from Vanadon-Necroth's lair?
"But this world sure is nothing but a desert," Elena comnted.
"For the most part, the Netherworld is a rocky desert full of powerful magical forces, crucial for the survival of underground peoples," Nori explained.
"Life in the Netherworld is all about survival. Everything can run out — even the air! The environnt is a constant danger: cave-ins, toxic gas, or havoc-wreaking torrents are commonplace.
"Adaptation requires creativity and endurance. Community mbers know they stand a much better chance of survival if they rely on each other. At the sa ti, limited resources can create tensions, so the optimal balance is tricky to find and even harder to maintain."
Princess Lorelai leaned over to Ren and whispered, "Is she really a child? She seems to know a lot of things."
"She's a hundred years old," Ren replied simply.
Princess Lorelai smacked her fist into her palm. "Ah, that explains it. Though she looks like a child, deep inside, she's a hundred years old. She's way older than us so this amount of knowledge should be expected."
Nori looked at them with a deadpan expression. "This is common knowledge among the citizens of the Netherworld regardless of age."
Nori's expression then changed. "Anyway, you're here now in the southern part, so expect a lot of desert and dry lands. The Netherworld is vast, and not all parts of this realm are deserts. In fact, the Netherworld is much larger than your surface world!"
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