Chapter 125
Chapter 125
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 125
Chapter Title: Fall, and... (5)
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Chapter 125
Part 125
I immediately fired a Glass Flower flare toward the sky. As I pulled back the leaf of the water gun grass, the Glass Flower shot off at terrifying speed.
-Whiiiirrrrrr!!!
-Bang!!!!
The Glass Flower rocketed up high enough to touch the clouds before bursting with a sharp crack. Its shattered petals scattered in all directions, spraying light everywhere. With storm clouds rolling in, the glow stood out even more.
-Rumble rumble rumble…!
Almost simultaneously, a massive roar echoed as the ground caved in. I plunged straight into the fissure.
“Ayla!”
-Woof!
At my shout, Ayla leaped in without hesitation. I quickly grabbed hold of her. If we fell too deep, she could kick off the walls to cushion the impact.
“...!”
But that was wishful thinking.
It took several minutes of “falling” before I realized the truth.
There was no “bottom” here.
That’s right.
We were falling endlessly.
“What the hell is this…!”
I looked up, but the fissure that had swallowed me was nowhere in sight. Whether it was too far away or already closed was unclear.
‘Even if the others spot the Glass Flower trail, they won’t be able to find me like this.’
First, I had to stop the fall. I thrust out my arm desperately, groping for anything to grab.
-Thud!
Luckily, a rock outcrop snagged my hand.
-Poof!
It vanished like smoke.
Everything I grasped turned to smoke. There was no way to halt the descent like this.
‘Finding the entrance wasn’t the end of it.’
Of course not. This was a dragon’s lair, after all. Dragons were wise—and vicious. Those who guarded their lairs with hundreds or thousands of monsters were practically the nice ones. The truly ruthless ones created inescapable mazes where you could wander for centuries without finding the exit, or wove sweet illusions you could never break free from.
‘Tondra went with the latter.’
Eternal falling.
A faint-hearted person might’ve died of a heart attack the moment they started dropping. Even if they survived that, realizing the fall never ended would drive most insane.
I hadn’t had a heart attack, nor gone mad. I’d cleared those two hurdles.
Now, all that remained was…
Figuring out how to escape this mess.
Endless falling—no bottom—meant this space didn’t truly exist.
‘...A spatial distortion trap spell.’
Magic dealing with time and space was notoriously tricky and dangerous. Even with “portal” magic available, most people opted for long overland journeys because of it. Even short-range portals carried constant risks of vanishing or catastrophic failure. Unless you were a skilled mage, you didn’t touch spatiotemporal spells.
‘But Tondra could afford such an extravagant trap because it’s a dragon.’
An infinite falling void. To escape, you’d need to be a swordmaster strong enough to cleave the dragon’s spellwork or an archmage who could unravel its nature.
And I was neither.
That’s right.
A druid like me had no business breaking a dragon’s trap.
“Haha…”
I let out a hollow laugh, as if it were someone else’s problem.
If this were truly a “game,” I could just log out.
Unfortunately, this was all too “real.”
-Whine, whimper!
Ayla was starting to get anxious. Naturally. She was as smart as any human, but she couldn’t grasp what was happening.
Maybe Khalid or Didier could make sense of it.
‘But right now, it’s just me here.’
As always, I could only rely on myself.
I hugged the anxious Ayla tight and gave her a gentle smile.
“It’s okay.”
-Whiiiine….
“We’re getting out of here.”
You bet we were. As if sensing my resolve, Ayla’s eyes lost their fear. She nuzzled supportively against me, like she’d protect me no matter what.
“Pip.”
-Pip?
“Help me out.”
-Peep.
Pip fluttered lightly onto my hand with a chirp, as if answering. Unaffected by the fall, it perched effortlessly. And then…
-Flash!
A familiar rainbow glow burst forth. Blinded for a moment, I blinked, and a stunning rainbow bow had appeared.
“Thanks.”
Guess I wasn’t alone after all. I take back what I said about relying only on myself.
Ayla and Pip were right here with me.
‘...Assuming things go my way.’
Preparing for what came next, I pulled the dragon egg—bound with magic chains—from my subspace ring and stashed it in my bag. The bag looked ready to burst, but it was the best I could do.
‘Can’t forget the sedative.’
Ayla clamped down firmly on the bundle holding the sedative.
With essentials secured, the subspace ring held only pre-made jerky, energy bars, and crops and grains for cooking.
Good.
That’d do it.
-Swish.
I slipped off the subspace ring I’d worn for so long. A pale mark lingered on my finger, stirring an odd pang of loss.
But no choice.
‘...Thanks for everything.’
Khalid’s subspace ring contained the essence of spatiotemporal magic. A top-grade magic stone brimming with pure mana, fused with his near-perfect spell formula, creating flawless spatial distortion!
Destroying it would clash its distortion with this space’s, tangling, shattering, and dismantling them both.
I wasn’t a swordmaster or archmage. This was my only shot.
‘What a waste. Do you know how much this cost…!’
Please, let it work.
I gazed at the sparkling ring, then hurled it into the void with all my might.
And.
‘Gotta hit it first try.’
I nocked an arrow swiftly, aiming the glowing tip at the spinning ring. Time seemed to slow.
-Huu.
Breath steady,
-Release!
-Whiiiirrrrr!
The arrow streaked like lightning, piercing the ring dead center.
-BOOOM!!!!!!
A deafening explosion unleashed massive shockwaves and blinding light. I curled around my bag to shield the egg. The blast’s impact ripped through me—nausea a hundred times worse than motion sickness, churning guts, pounding headache.
“Urk—bleeegh!!!”
Tumbling several times, I braced against the ground and retched.
“Urp…”
...Wait. “Ground”?
“Ha, huff…”
It worked!
Lightning realization struck. Headache like my skull splitting? Nothing. I staggered up and scanned around.
-Scraaaape…
Transparent phyllo leaves bloomed everywhere, backed by endless crystal pillars. Wait—no, not crystal. Ice pillars, clear and pure as gems. The floor matched, gleaming under the light.
This was the dragon’s lair…
Its grandeur and beauty rivaled a temple. I couldn’t help but gape. Way cooler than I’d imagined! I stepped forward slowly, taking it in.
-Sparkle!
“...Huh?”
My foot hovered over the ice floor. An eerie sparkle. Bad vibes. Better safe. I froze and examined the floor closely.
It was like a chessboard—squares of ice laid in perfect grid, mirror-smooth and thick. Like reinforced glass flooring, but prettier.
-Sparkle!
That ominous glint bugged me, though.
“Ayla, doesn’t something feel off?”
She just tilted her head, clueless. Her beast instincts didn’t pick up on the sparkle?
Then there was only one answer.
“...Another trap.”
Me alone noticing meant my [Explorer] trait had triggered. Heh.
“No easy paths, huh. No easy paths at all.”
Sighing, I knelt and inspected the floor. Some ice sparkled, some didn’t.
How did it work?
“Ayla, come here.”
I had her grip my clothes, using her as a brace. I pressed both hands on a sparkling square, testing its weight.
-Crash!
Half my weight cracked it instantly. Beneath…
-Whoooosh…
Bone-chilling cold.
‘...Without cold resistance, I’d be frostbitten already.’
Intense. Stepping through would’ve turned me into an ice statue. I waved Ayla over frantically; she yanked me back with a mighty tug.
“Phew…”
Relieved, I stood and surveyed the vast ice expanse to the pillars’ end.
-Sparkle!
-Sparkle!
No worries, though. I had [Explorer]. Whew, without it, I’d suffer crossing—or die unnoticed.
“Ayla, stick to my footsteps only.”
-Woof!
“Be careful.”
I gingerly tested a non-sparkling square. Solid. I stomped a few times, then committed fully.
“Solid.”
The ice held firm.
“Let’s go!”