âThey succeeded!â
Evé felt delighted as she sensed that the lifeforce of Boxlunch and his team still remained strong, even after they had leaped into the spatial rift.
At this moment, while her incarnation was still within the temple in Kenorland, her main consciousness had returned back to her Divine Kingdom and was already connected to the gameâs system, pinpointing their exact location.
Through her network and she easily located the blue star representing Boxlunch, and directed her focus onto it.
Immediately, her perception shifted and a couple of seconds later, she began to finally see through Boxlunchâs perspective.
Eve: ââŠâ
The first thing that came into her view was an endless expanse of liquid.
ââŠWater?â
EvĂ© was slightly taken aback as Boxlunchâs visual perception continued to shake and struggle until he finally managed to swim to the waterâs surface.
As his head surfaced through, what greeted him was the sight of a shimmering lake.
In that instant, Evé quickly understood what had transpired after these five players entered the spatial rift.
Indeed, they had successfully infiltrated the mysterious demi-realm. However, it seemed that luck wasnât on their side, as the exit of the portal had opened in mid-air, possibly above a lake, which inevitably caused all of them to fall straight down into it.
Fortunately, Boxlunch appeared to be a good swimmer, as his vision quickly stabilized, his body rising and falling along with the movement of the lake.
Boxlunch remained still for a couple of moments, catching his breath and regaining his composure, before he began making his way towards the shore.
Meanwhile, EvĂ© could also hear the voices of the others from Boxlunchâs perspective, as they let out a string of curses.
âWhat the hell?! This is ridiculous! Is that portal cursed or something? It dropped us right into a lake?!â
âThat really scared the life out of meâŠgood thing I know how to swim.â
âWait⊠whereâs Optimist?â
âShit! That guyâs in a full set of heavy armor. Do you think he sank to the bottom?â freÄwÄbηovel.cà«Šm
âHaha, this is too funny! That guy just picked up the heaviest armor from the shop a few days ago. Is he really going to be the first player to drown?â
Calabash, Chopin, and I-Am-Invincible splashed playfully in the water, their laughter ringing out as they reveled in the misfortune of their fellow friend. Yet it wasnât spoken in a malicious manner but rather, the typical banter and playful teasing between close friends.
Soon, their teamâs chatroom crackled with the panicked voice of Optimist:
âLaughUrsistah! (What are you laughing at, you idiot!) HurryHalpme! (Hurry up and Help me!) Glug glugâŠâ 1
His voice came out garbled, likely due to swallowing up a lot of water.
âHahahaha!â
The three burst into laughter once more.
EvĂ© observed them in silence, her gaze fixed on the scene, when Boxlunchâs raspy voice suddenly rang out, stating:
âBash, help him.â
âOkay!â
Out of Boxlunchâs view, she heard Calabash chanting an incantation with a rhythmic cadence before casting a three-ring magic spell called [Feather Wings] on Optimist, who was quickly sinking to the bottom of the lake.
[Feather Wings] as its name implies, was a mage spell that could make its target light as a feather.
With his weight greatly reduced, Optimist was finally able to swim back up and quickly float to the surface.
Whilst coughing up some water, he swiftly swam towards the shore with the help of his companions, before gasping in sheer relief.
âFuck! I really thought I was going to die! Thanks, Bash. Iâll definitely treat you to a barbecue once we get back.â
âHeh, no need to thank me, weâre teammates, after all. But since youâre offering to treat me, then Iâll take a whole roasted lamb.â
â⊠You sure donât hold back at all, do you?â
âHahaha!â
The whole team shared another laugh as they swam together towards the shoreline.
Fortunately, they hadnât fallen into the middle of the lake, so it took them less than three minutes to reach the lakeâs edge.
Once they reached the shore, the entire team collapsed like drenched dogs, whilst exchanging glances at each otherâs soaked faces before erupting into laughter once more.
Afterward, they then began to survey their surroundings.
From the looks of it, they were currently situated on the edge of a small lake which is surrounded by a dense, lush forest that was just as verdant as the Elven Forest.
However, unlike the ancient towering trees found in Elven Forest, the trees in this demi-realm appeared to be much younger instead.
In addition, the forest floor underneath was blanketed with a thick layer of dead wood and fallen leaves, creating a rich layer of compost.
âBy the way, did any of you hear it? I thought I heard someone shouting from the shore when we fell into the water earlier.â one of the players asked while observing their surroundings.
âI didnât notice anything. All I heard was you guys splashing around. Maybe you just imagined it?â
âHmm⊠maybe.â
âLooks like itâs pretty safe around here. I donât sense any strong presences at all.â
âYeah, no kidding. I remember Big Sister mentioned that this demi-realmâs energy capacity is only about Upper Silver-rank at most. So, chances are weâre probably the strongest beings in this place, right?â
Meanwhile, EvĂ©, whose currently monitoring their actions, couldnât help but twitched her lips upon hearing how they refer to her as.
âŠBig Sister?
Regardless, the players continued their conversation:
âI didnât expect the land beyond the portal to be a forest⊠I thought it would either be a maze or some sort of special space.â
âYeah, same here. If it werenât for the weird sky above us, Iâd think we were still in Elven Forest.â
The players idly chatted as they looked around the vicinity.
EvĂ©, whose watching through Boxlunchâs perspective, also saw him glanced up at the sky.
Unlike the sky in SeigĂŒes, which is highly similar to that of Earth, the sky of this demi-realm is mostly made-up of a blank white expanse.
Not only that, but you can also see some black cracks crisscrossing this sky like electric snakes, which is rather creepy.
âItâs a little scary that the sky above us looks like shattered glass.â
Calabash commented, clicking his tongue in amazement.
However, Evé immediately recognized what those black cracks were.
âSpatial fissures⊠It seems this demi-realm really is quite unstable. I wonder if itâs because I tried to force my way in twice before,â she mused thoughtfully.
As Evé mulled over the issue of the spatial fissures in the sky, the five players, on the other hand, have gradually familiarized themselves with their surroundings as they began wringing out their drenched clothes.
At the same time, they continued to chat intermittently, whilst also sharing any findings they had discovered.
âThe amount of mana around this demi-realm really does seem low. When I cast Feather Wings earlier, the spell mostly just used my own magic power and didnât gather much resonance with the ambient mana in the surroundings. Moreover, my current MP regeneration rate feels incredibly slow,â Calabash remarked.
âI kind of felt the sameâŠAlso, while the scenery here is just as stunning as the Elven Forest, Iâve been feeling this odd, indescribable feeling ever since we arrived. Itâs like something is constantly sapping my strength, sort of like Iâm being suppressed as if Iâve gotten a debuff on meâŠbut the strange part is, my status screen doesnât show anything at all.â
The Druid, Chopin added, frowning as he rubbed his nose.
He then glanced at the others. âWhat about you guys?â
The rest closed their eyes and tried sensing it, but after a moment, they all shook their heads.
âNo, I donât feel anything like that.â
âSame here, but I definitely feel that strange sense of suppression youâre talking about. Honestly, this place feels really⊠desolate, even though itâs surrounded by such a lush forest.â
âMaybe itâs related to our goal? Who knows, it could be the influence of the Scepterâs fragment. I mean, itâs part of a divine artifact, so it wouldnât be surprising for it to have some unique effects, right?â
âThatâs indeed quite a possibilityâŠâ
The whole team brainstormed as they speculated amongst themselves.
They conversed like that for awhile, but having unable to reach a conclusion, they quickly shifted their focus on their next course of action instead:
âSo, where do we go from here? I couldnât find any quest marker in this whole area at allâŠâ
âShould we explore the forest then?â
âWeâll need to pick a direction first, right?â
âCaptain, any ideas?â
As they spoke, the group turned to their captain, Boxlunch.
After thinking for a moment, Boxlunch said,
âLetâs ask Zero.â
ââŠAsk Zero?â
At his suggestion, the others were momentarily stunned, before their eyes lit up as each of them slapped their thighs in realization.
âOf course! How could we forget? Big Sisâuh, Lady Zero had cast that spell on us before we left so that she could still communicate with us even after we entered this realm!â
âLetâs ask her quick! Itâs like having a built-in âGrandfatherâ!â 2
âIdiot! Call her âMissâ not Grandfather! your favorability will surely drop if Lady Zero hears you!â
âA-AhemâŠâ
After their brief humorous exchange, the players began calling out to Evé:
âLady Zero, are you there?â
âLady Zero, can you see through our eyes?â
âLady Zero, where should we go next?â
After hearing their âcalls,â EvĂ©, who was already watching their progress through Boxlunchâs perspective, pondered for a moment, cleared her throat, and was about to speak to give them the instructions they neededâŠ
However, just as she was about to do so, the sudden rustling of low bushes that echoed from the nearby forest, made Evé stop as she closed her mouth to assess the situation.
Whilst being accompanied by a crisp female voice, a group of individuals suddenly emerged into the playersâ field of vision.
âBrother Nissia! Those people that I saw fall through the lake are still probably there up ahead! Hurry, come and help them!â
The whole team were left stunned as they watched seven or eight figures step out of the brush in front of them.
âHumans?â
At the same time, the other party also responded with surprise, their voices tinged with both confusion and shock as they shouted:
âD-Divine⊠Divine Clan?!â
1 çŹäœ ćŠčć â This is a colloquial expression which could be translated roughly as âLaughing at your younger sister!â or âWhat are you laughing at, you idiot!â
Itâs typically used to express disbelief, mockery, or light-hearted teasing in response to something that seems absurd or silly. Overall, itâs often used informally among friends or peers, and the tone can vary depending on the context.
The raw sentence is:
âçżéç±»ćïŒçŹäœ ćŠčć) !æé çȘïŒćż«ææïŒ!ććććâŠâŠâ
âçżéç±»ćâ and âæé çȘâ being an intentional misspelling (to convey that Optimist was drowning) of the words thats in the bracket. âććâ is just the sfx for drowning.
2 The context is that âGrandfatherâ being a wise elder that could guide or offer suggestions.
â 429 â
ă DIVINE CLAN ă
â â