The Sporogenesis Mill was not particularly large.
Although this city lay beneath the Razor Domain, it was not the shadow city of the Razor Domain. With a sparse population, a too-large area would easily accumulate a lot of garbage—and it would be very inconvenient whether shopping or dining out.
Moreover, the custom of the Underground City was... the fewer production facilities there were within the residential areas of the city layer, the better.
Below, there were dedicated planting layers and exploration layers for producing various raw materials; transportation and cargo movent in the Underground City were extrely convenient, and the land was vast with few people. This resulted in a severe shortage of labor.
But if there were no production facilities at all, the cargo subway and peddlers would not pass by as frequently, and then various goods and basic materials needed would be in short supply.
Usually, less famous small cities do not have their own nas.
The forr "Black Mushroom Mill" and now "Sporogenesis Mill" were the sa.
It used to be the logging area of "Graywood Forest."
Yes, there are trees in the Underworld as well—the cursed aura that overflowed from the planting layer, combined with the light source provided by the Light Ant Do, could give birth to trees with special properties.
For example, the forest known as "Twisted Forest," which is the Graywood Forest, was the sa forest they had crossed in the nightmare of the Sporogenesis Mill.
These very twisted and abstract gray strange trees are actually precious ritual materials. Burnt to ashes, they can serve as the main material for rituals that cause disorientation, only growing in select city layers.
Although not very practical, they are extrely treasured.
And if you can find relatively straight, high-quality Graywood, you could sell it for a high price. A cursed bow made primarily from Graywood could grant the arrows shot with it the power of "Illusory Shot."
That is, it makes the "arrow" in the enemy’s eyes deviate from the position of the real arrow. The faster the shot, the greater the angle of deviation from the main body of the illusion... Therefore, a skilled Hunter could even control the speed of the shot, to completely confuse the enemy about the true position of the arrow, achieving the effect of a nearly invisible arrow.
The gray mushrooms that grew on decaying Graywood could also cause hallucinations. Ground into powder, they could be made into a colorless, transparent hallucinogenic poison.
"We live inside Graywood Forest."
Niusel explained to Annan and his group, "You have to hold a leaf from the Graywood as a ’beacon’ to reach the correct location, but I didn’t prepare any extra leaves. So, stick close and don’t fall behind; if you do get separated, don’t move an inch, just wait there for us to co back; and if soone notices that soone has fallen behind, rember to speak up right away.
"Getting lost here is no joke. Without a beacon and without the ability to locate by sll and perception, it’s really, really hard to get out of here... because the Graywood produces illusions, making you misjudge the distance and intervals between things.
"The sa path, walking till the end and then looking back, you might not be able to return to the original spot."
He was holding the leaves from the Graywood near his ho in his hands—the sa type of leaves as those held by the ssenger in the nightmare.
When you held the leaf from a particular tree, if you didn’t resist the disorienting effect of the Graywood, you could "lose your way" directly to the area where the leaf belonged.
——This was also equivalent to a sort of key, or an automatic navigation map.
"Wait a minute?"
Lin Yiyi caught onto the detail keenly, "Do you live together?"
Annan had noticed it too, but he was too polite to ask.
He always felt it would lower his cool.
"...Ah, yes."
When asked by the girl about this topic, Niusel turned his head away a bit embarrassedly.
He answered hesitantly, "After all, we need to communicate with each other all the ti, so we need to live closer. And she just wants to live in the Graywood Forest without being disturbed..."
No explanation needed, my friend. Those who understand, understand.
Annan silently smiled.
Niusel argued again, saying things like "they haven’t confird their romantic relationship yet", "they just live together, purely", but Lin Yiyi’s expression beca increasingly strange.
It must be true love. Perhaps even first love.
This pure affection... Ah, perfect.
If there were no outsiders, she might twist like a maggot.
Jiu’er was sowhat curious.
That Naifertali... What would she look like?
The big loyal Deacon, it felt like if the other person was a petite, tsundere young lady, it would be a good match. Or a delicate and frail young lady in a wheelchair would also be nice...
Gold just walked seriously, unaware of what the two girls behind him were thinking.
Because he was warned he might get lost, he followed nervously behind Annan, not willing to be left behind...
Fortunately, there was no such setting as "nightfall" in the Underworld.
After walking for about an hour, they saw the small manor ahead.
Just like the houses in other Underground Cities, the area was quite large—after all, here, land was the least valuable resource, even cheaper than furniture. The size of a house depended solely on the owner’s desire.
Niusel didn’t take out a key.
He simply walked to the door and pushed open the unlocked entrance.
"Naifertali!"
He called out as he entered, "I’ve brought guests!"
"Huh?!"
A sowhat flustered voice ca from inside: "Wait a second, the house isn’t tidied up—"
"Tidy up what? They’re from the Secret Eye, not here to et the parents..."
"Drop dead, you idiot!"
Annan and his three companions politely stood at the door, not entering imdiately.
After a while, Naifertali hurriedly opened the door.
The red-haired girl with searing eyes, draped in a violet robe. Her slightly longer sleeves each trailed a white ribbon.
As she placed her hands on her abdon, the ribbons ca together, hanging straight down to nearly the top of her feet.
She bowed to Annan with so restraint, "Pleased to et you for the first ti, Lord Giralda.
"Your arrival was quite sudden, and I wasn’t prepared... My apologies."
"No, the discourtesy is on our side,"
Giralda replied with a kind smile, "We ca unannounced and uninvited. I’m glad we haven’t caused you any inconvenience."
How could there not be an inconvenience—
I’m wearing pajamas at ho! How could I just et people casually!
Naifertali complained inwardly.
But she dared not voice it out loud.
According to the data she had gathered, this "Secret Eye" was probably the ancient Sun Church.
Although Naifertali herself was not a Transcendent.
It didn’t an she couldn’t confront one.
The jewelry she carried, many were cursed items with functions from the School of Prophets and the Idol School. But the checks and detection effects of these spells, when facing Giralda, slid off silently without a trace.
It wasn’t a detection failure; they simply didn’t take effect at all.
As if the person before her wasn’t alive... but rather, an unconscious, emotionless stone statue.
But how could that be?
Her cursed items were gifts from her teacher—another gold-tier Transcendent.
—Without a doubt, he was not of the silver rank.
Naifertali thought quickly.
Judging from the lack of effect when attempting to resolve their encounter, he should not be a deity. But to silently nullify the effects of the cursed items on her person, he must be at least a gold-tier Transcendent hiding his identity... perhaps even a saint!
Yes, cleansing the Underworld of nightmares has no benefits for them. It might even be a futile effort.
But if the other party were the contemporary "Justice," "Determination," or "rcy"... then there seed to be a motive for action.
After all, saints can draw power from their corresponding actions.
—Just like the deities.
With this thought, Naifertali quickly glanced over Giralda’s entire body.
To her knowledge, the sacred remains of "Justice" were the heart, "Determination" the bones from both hands to forearms, and "rcy" a single tongue. As for the other sacred remains like "right arm," "skin," "eye," and other obvious locations, they were out of the question.
Giralda’s hands did not glow, and apparently, there was nothing unusual about his tongue either.
So...
Could he be the bearer of the "Justice" sacred remains?
Reviews
All reviews (0)