Yeon-hee, who was as light as a feather, felt unusually heavy today.
I wanted to say something as I watched her staring at me with a stiffened body.
Today, I had one more chance to use the [Disguise] ability…
But for some reason, I had a bad feeling about using [Disguise] to transform into myself right now.
(Wow— it’s like a painting… Huh? Have I ever seen a painting before?)
I asked Rainy, who was wearing a somewhat nostalgic expression while looking at us.
‘You’ve been with Yeon-hee all this time?’
(Yeah. She talks slowly, but it was still fun! Yeon-hee even said she’d accept me as a companion!)
‘A companion…’
Should I really give false hope to someone who’s tied up here?
“Let’s definitely go on an adventure together, Rainy.”
(Did you see? Your master accepted me as a companion!)
‘That’s great! You’re always welcome too, Rainy.’
(Wow—! Awesome! I’m going to go out with you guys someday! The sky outside is blue, right? I’m so excited!)
It seems Rainy really wants to go out into the outside world. She had mentioned wanting that before, but this time it felt genuine.
‘Rainy… why do you want to go out when this place is paradise?’
But unless we could escape from all threats, going to our world would be like a moth throwing itself into a fire.
As I was about to give Rainy some advice, a sudden thought crossed my mind.
‘Wait… Rainy, do you even have a way to get out?’
(What? I’ll have to look for that now!)
‘Right?’
For a moment, I felt hopeful, but it was as I expected.
Just like I didn’t know how I became a skeleton, Rainy probably didn’t know how she got here either.
I poured Irmana’s water into Yeon-hee’s mouth and then drenched Rainy with water.
I had been giving Rainy water every day, and now I could just levitate a jug in the air to quench her thirst that had grown as big as a house.
Yeon-hee, after drinking Irmana’s water, slowly started to feel better over time.
I listened intently to her words as they were slowly articulated and chatted with her, and of course, Rainy joined in too.
The [Stone Statues] condition was said to last for a day, so there was still plenty of time left.
The problem was that Yeon-hee couldn’t manifest her summoning ability.
‘Why can I activate my ability, but Yeon-hee can’t?’
Maybe Yeon-hee was an uninvited guest here.
That meant this place thoroughly rejected outside entities.
‘I guess it was lucky to have entered via an Artifact.’
Much time passed after that.
“Hah— I can finally move a bit now.”
Yeon-hee finally returned to her original state and clung to me like a cicada on an old tree.
“Hee-hee-”
She rubbed against me while displaying a sulky expression that I rarely saw.
It must have been a terrifying experience, even if she didn’t say it. I understood.
“By the way, how are we going to get out? Nom-nom-”
As Yeon-hee tore off some jerky, she kept reaching her hand forward.
Of course, there was no activation of the summoning ability.
‘If nothing works, there is a way.’
I could use the earring one more time and send Yeon-hee home.
If coming in was possible, going out should be easier.
‘But that feels too wasteful…’
However, I didn’t want to waste a chance that was only four times available.
In a way, it was like Yeon-hee having four lives.
While I was pondering what to do, Rainy shouted “Eureka.”
(I found it! Ahohoho, what do you think? The Tree of Possibilities is truly amazing, isn’t it?)
I was curious about what she had discovered, so I approached her.
One of the thick roots that acted as Rainy’s arms had created a crack in the air!
‘… What, what is this?!’
I stammered in surprise.
(The Tree of Possibilities doesn’t miss even the smallest chances! For now, this is all I can do, but someday I’ll go out with you guys!)
‘No way, how did you do that?’
While I had only managed to slice a moment through space, how could she create such a huge gap?
How desperately did she want to go out with us?
(Haha— I don’t know either. I just felt like it would work! But it really did!)
‘… Could it be that Rainy is a genius too?’
I thought I should research the top-tier hunters from Australia next time I had the chance.
Even among S-rank hunters, the difference could be as vast as the sky and the earth, and if Rainy was as special as she seemed, she surely had the potential to be a top-tier hunter.
‘Or maybe… she could have been a Transcendent. That would narrow it down even further.’
Anyway, I needed to make use of the small opening that Rainy had created.
‘I don’t know how you did it, but let’s widen that gap!’
I reached my hand toward the gap without hesitation.
If I had activated [Disguise] and had a human body, such an action would have been impossible.
Swoosh—
As my hand went in, the space expanded just enough for my arm.
Creeeak— creak—
‘It’s really tight. It feels like it could close up at any moment.’
If it had been a human hand, the skin would be tearing apart from the intense pressure.
(Ughhh… Hurry up. My strength is fading.)
Rainy was also feeling the strain.
She was speaking cheerfully, but it seemed she had expended quite a bit of energy creating that crack.
‘We need to put something in here to keep the gap open!’
After much deliberation, I activated [Window of Darkness] and wedged the undulating sphere between the cracks.
It was a moment of quick thinking, but somehow, I felt it might just work.
(Wow! The narrowing gap is being maintained!)
‘Haha, it’s not just you who can do it.’
Originally, the sphere was intended for summoning weapons from another world, but it turns out it can be used in this way. Seems like people think better when pushed to a corner.
I did a high five with Rainy and looked for something to widen the gap.
‘The floor…’
Every time I had a break while training, I’d turned parts of the floor into blocks and collected them in the Space.
I took out a suitably sized piece and wedged it into the gap, and once again the gap was maintained.
This wasn’t an ordinary rock.
‘Okay.’
I fitted the chiseled portion of the floor into the space, gradually expanding it until it was finally wide enough for a person to pass through.
Creeeak— crack.
‘Uaaah— It seems like I can barely hold it anymore.’
Whatever I did, I had to try quickly.
‘Can Yeon-hee pass through this? Where will it lead to?’
I urgently asked Rainy about the spot she had created.
(It should be fine! For some reason, this gap reminds me of the scent I caught when I first came here! If what Il-wol said is true and I lived in a place called Australia, then it should connect directly to that world!)
I had told her many things about Australia, where she likely lived, and she seemed quite intrigued by those stories. But how could this hole lead to there?
‘So it’s okay, huh?’
Of course, just because Rainy said it was okay didn’t mean I was going to shove Yeon-hee through this mysterious passage right away.
[Disguise]
Having transformed into a human form, I pushed my arm back into the opening.
The space had widened enough that there was no pressure that I felt when I first put my hand in, and strangely, I felt a magical energy that was distinctly different from the realm of darkness.
*I’m glad I kept the disguise active.*
“Yeon-hee, I think it’ll be fine?”
“Okay, I’ll give it a try.”
She didn’t say it explicitly, but she was already cautiously pushing her hand into the space.
Yeon-hee, with her hand between the stones of the circular passage, was sweating profusely as she chanted a spell, finally opening her eyes and unleashing her magic power.
‘What kind of magic power is this? So much of it?’
Yeon-hee was spending most of her magic at once.
Shine—
A dazzling beam of light flared up, and at the same time, a door that looked slightly different from the summoning portal I usually passed through appeared.
‘Wow─?! It’s a summoning portal?!’
I’d believed in Yeon-hee to do something beyond anything I had expected, but I never dreamt she would generate a summoning portal.
A massive door glowing a faint purple.
‘It’s much smaller than mine, but the patterns are quite vintage.’
Creeeeeak—
The door Yeon-hee summoned swung open, halfway hanging in the gap.
Thanks to that, the space between the cracks widened quite a bit.
(Wow—)
It might have been way too small for Rainy to pass through…
But Yeon-hee was glowing with joy even though she had summoned it herself.
With a face full of joy, she nodded vigorously and said,
“Yes. This door is 100% safe. Huh─ I’ve been thinking all day about how to structure the magic power while lying down.”
Yeon-hee smiled brightly at me while wiping her forehead.
‘… So you weren’t just resting.’
She had definitely been trying her best to figure out how to get out, and it was precisely because of that effort she could display this ability right away.
‘Still, to unleash such power in just one day…’
No wonder she was called a genius in her past life.
Her combat power had already surpassed S-rank before she died, and her genius played a big role too.
(Could it be that I can also go out through that door?)
Rainy, who had been watching quietly, asked Yeon-hee with a hopeful expression, and upon hearing that, Yeon-hee looked like she was about to cry as she said,
“I’m sorry… but this door is only for me. Il-wol can’t enter either. What should I do, Rainy?”
(… Oh, I see! I thought so! Haha—)
Rainy tried to ease the atmosphere with a forced smile.
‘How sad.’
I’d planned to comfort her later.
‘For now, just go in.’
At my gesture, Yeon-hee nodded, stepped closer to the summoning portal, and cautiously opened it. The purple light softly wrapped around her, and in the blink of an eye, she vanished from the space.
It was indeed an instance that perfectly embodied the phrase “in the blink of an eye.”
‘Oh… It swallowed and spit me out, but this summoning door has great manners. This is discrimination.’
(Of course! Your master has an inexplicably classy feeling! A princess? Yes! Like a princess!)
‘Yeon-hee as a princess? Then I’m the princess’s knight.’
(Ah? What about me?)
‘I’ll make you a knight too. We will protect Princess Yeon-hee together.’
(Wow─ I don’t know what it is, but that sounds kind of cool?)
After Yeon-hee disappeared, I asked Rainy various questions.
‘Did Yeon-hee say anything to you… Thank goodness. I’m glad I set the mood beforehand. Phew…’
I had the ridiculous thought that she might suspect the relationship between me and Rainy, but thinking back, it would be weird to raise questions about a skeleton and a tree getting involved in something.
(I… I’m not sure why, but I was super tense. Tense… tense, me?)
Rainy was starting to show a side quite different from her usual cheerful self.
(Thanks to Yeon-hee, I’m able to feel a lot of new emotions! Help me get out soon, okay? Huh? Il-wol?)
Rainy had never asked me for anything other than for magic power until now, but she seemed desperate to go outside.
After a while of rambling, Rainy kept glancing at the spot where Yeon-hee had disappeared.
The space that had now completely closed off.
‘Will I be able to open it again?’
Beginner’s luck, they say.
It might have been mere fortune that allowed me to open the gap in space this time.
Perhaps it had only been possible because Yeon-hee was there.
(I’m not sure! Maybe I should try again next time! But I need some time. I’ve used up all my strength now. Next time, I’ll save up more power to do it for sure…)
Rainy had accomplished something I couldn’t even do.
Maybe someday, she would truly break free from this place.
When I reach death, this is the place I must inevitably find, but can Rainy truly achieve complete freedom?
‘How interesting.’
When I first met Rainy, she spoke of nurturing the seeds of possibilities to receive rewards.
Despite having already grown as big as a house, I hadn’t received any messages indicating I might just be looking at size alone…
‘Maybe the moment Rainy escapes this place will be when she receives her reward?’
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