Heaven or Hell

"Clang, clang" a chaotic clashing sound came from nowhere, temporarily breaking the inherent silence of a small rocky outcrop next to the waterfall. This was where they had chosen to spend the night before continuing their journey to the higher levels of this cave.

The strange sound startled me, my body automatically turning to find out what was happening.

"Min-na, It's time to wake up" a voice said.

"Oh, turns out she is" I exclaimed in surprise and let out a long yawn. On a small rocky shore at the edge of a ditch stood a blonde girl wearing a small leather apron that was very old. Her hand was holding a hard metal spoon, and she was tapping incessantly on the iron pot in which she had just cooked dinner last night.

Her name is Yumi, a mage whose main role is to support everyone on the team.

"You're so loud, Yumi!" A tall young man frowned and muttered. He stretched lazily, took a deep breath and staggered to his feet.

"Right, it's early in the morning, let me get some sleep" Himmel agreed with Jayce, his eyes still dim. Himmel covered himself with a blanket, squirming like a child.

"Hm, no. If you sleep in, you will become obese. And obesity is not good for your health... You probably don't want to be a fat piglet" Yumi stepped forward and tried to wake Himmel with annoying cheek pinches.

"It's okay to be a little fat. Let me get some more sleep... just a little..." Himmel closed his eyes, and little crowing noises started again.

"Hey, Silly Himmel. Wake up quick..."

"Hurry. Wake up ... Himmel!"

Yumi blushed angrily and slapped Himmel's face with her hand. Although the constant popping noises made Himmel's face swell like a juicy red tomato, he ignored it and just wheezed.

This funny scence made everyone laugh, including me. It had been a long time since I'd seen such good, authentic comedy. I laughed so hard it hurt my stomach, the laughter was so loud I had to cover my mouth with my hands. I don't know what I would be if I couldn't stop laughing.

"Yumi-chan, let me take care of this idiot for you" the remaining mage girl of the group stepped forward, a balloon of cold water swirling in her hand.

"That's right, Yu-chan! Let Kate-san do ít" Others seemed to agree, forming a line of uninterrupted applause and laughter.

Yumi stood helplessly to one side, Himmel lying on his stomach in front of her, drooling and fast asleep. Dissatisfied, she looked at Kate, who was gaining momentum and preparing to land a balloon of cold water on Himmel's face.

"Pop!"

"What the hell!" cried Himmel. He hugged his body and turned his angry glare on everyone.

"It's me, rotten aubergine" Kate touched Himmel's cheek from behind with her white hands. The coldness made him jump immediately, his cheeks turning from the red colour of a berry tomato to a withered greenish-white.

"You've landed salt on my cheek again, old witch"

"Huh, you dare to call me old ...

?"

"So what, or do you want to be called nasty ogress?" Himmel was annoyed, rubbing his mouth as he moaned in pain.

"You're so daring today, rotten aubergine!"

"Pop. Pop... " One, two, then three water balloons filled with crystalline salts were easily made by Kate and shot straight into Himmel's face. Himmel rolled over, his hands cupping his cheeks and screaming in pain.

I tried not to laugh when I saw that his cheeks were now white. The cold was relentlessly escaping in the form of small patches of fog, salt seeping in and making his face swell like a honeycomb again.

The waterballs kept flying made Himmel couldn't stand it any longer. He finally begs for forgiveness from Kate, tries to look pitiful with his big red lips and folds his hands to apologise to Yumi.

Yumi was still angry with him, but seeing his situation made her laugh. She took her wand and walked silently over to Himmel.

"Do you know your wrong, silly Himmel ?" Yumi muttered, closing her eyes and holding her wand in front of her chest.

"Sorry... sorry. I'm sorry. Can you heal my face quickly?"

[Heal]

To my surprise, a soft white light landed and healed all the scratches on his face.

Himmel had returned to his handsome form. He rubbed his face with his hand, pinched his cheeks and looked happily to see the dashing face again through a small puddle of cold water lying there.

"What an baka...!" Kate muttered with a laugh.

"You" Himmel's face turned grey as he heard Kate's whisper in the distance. He grimaced and began to grumble again.

"Himmel, again. Do you want to fast ?" Yumi put her hands on her hips, her face stern.

"How about fasting... huh..."

"No, no. Of course not" Himmel startled, covering his mouth with his hands as he realised the stupidity of his words.

"Then fasting, silly Himmel!" Yumi snapped and turned away from him.

◇

Yumi had just poured what looked like green tea into a wooden cup. She carefully placed it and a portion of the still warm butter bread in my palm.

"Leon-san" Yumi smiled brightly, "here's your portion"

"Thank you" I accepted my breakfast, feeling extremely happy in my heart, knowing that my hungry stomach would now be filled.

"Thank you for the food!" I didn't hesitate to take a bite.

"Oh my God..." I exclaimed, my whole body jumping with joy.

The bread burned slightly on the edges but was very crispy, the buttery filling on top was the most excellent. It was sweet like milk, fragrant like butter and had a hint of banana in the aftertaste, mixed with a slight bitterness of green tea. "This must be the beauty of the world!"

Combined with the taste buds, the scene now becomes very poetic and peaceful, with the sound of the waterfall flowing gently beside it, a few golden rays of sunlight shining through the thick layers of sediment that have turned jade green. I sat there with no words to describe it, just silently feeling and painting this beauty deep in my soul.

Yumi's expression suddenly changed, her hands clasped together as if restless and worried about something.

"Leon-san" Yumi brooded, "do you want to leave this place with us?"

"Leave this cave" I was surprised and stared at Yumi in confusion.

"Hmm. We'll find our way up after everyone's had breakfast"

I was silent for a moment, countless conflicting thoughts running through my head. I don't even know why they're here, what they've been through or what kind of place this cave really is.

As if sensing my confusion, Himmel approached me and placed his trembling hand on my shoulder, squeezing it occasionally.

"Leon, this isn't an ordinary cave" Himmel said gruffly, his hungry stomach grumbling incessantly as he smelled the fragrant toast.

"What do you mean?" I asked curiously.

"Huh. I..." Himmel's eyes stared at the rest of my bread.

"I... bread..."

"Here's your bread" I handed my leftover butterbread to Himmel, laughing as I saw him gratefully clutching it with his hungry little mouth.

"So delicious!" Himmel exclaimed happily.

After eating all my bread, Himmel tried to eat another loaf of bread that Yumi had saved for lunch, but was unfortunately discovered by Kate. The result of this foolishness was a huge lump growing on his head.

"Hic... hic" Himmel was offended, he reached out to me again and slumped down in protest.

"Himmel, you should calm down" I patted his shoulder, trying to comfort him.

"Leon-san, you're the only one who always treats me well!" Himmel turned around. He looked at me with a wet face, his hands clutching the hem of my robe.

....

"Dwarf-san, please take a look at this big sword with Yumi's little dagger"

"Okay. Just leave everything there" Zwerg rummaged through his belongings for something quite old. It was a frayed brown bag, carefully reinforced with a thick cloth, with a few black beads around the mouth of the bag.

"What's it for, it looks so useless" I thought to myself.

"Jayce, help me"

"Wait a minute" Jayce ran over to Zwerg. He rolled up his sleeves, revealing two strong biceps before helping Zwerg take out the iron hammers and large furnaces.

"Well, he's a weapons smith" I said to myself "Ah, right. The dwarves in the story often work in jobs that involve smithing"

"And this strange bag, doesn't it have a bottom ?" I was surprised by the colourful minerals and a pile of old tools that kept taked out from the bag.

"You're right, Zwerg has never able to fill that bag" Himmel said involuntarily, sitting next to me and staring at the forge.

(Himmel stopped whining, maybe he had learned a lesson for himself?)

"Really?"

"Um, the bag is one of the 20 'Lost Items' of the kingdom"

"Lost Items ?"

"Yes, it's a common name for the lost treasures of the Kingdom. The bag Zwerg is using is called [The Space Museum]"

"Like I said, this bag has unlimited space, which means you can put anything in it"

"Sounds great!" I muttered amusedly.

"Zwerg loved that bag so much, he once said it was the treasure of his life. When he first joined the team, he didn't even reveal or tell us of its existence" Himmel smiled faintly. Suddenly, fragments of old memories of the day they met came to him.

"Everyone, if you have a weapon that needs to be repaired, just bring it here" Zwerg said loudly, the steady thud of hammers appearing around the reddish-pink forge fire.

"Zwerg-san, don't make the blade too sharp" (Yumi's echo)

"Don't worry too much, Yu-chan. The blade won't be as sharp as last time"

Zwerg took a few steps backwards, gathered his strength and sent the largest iron hammer flying, slamming the magic anvil that kept emitting strange ancient runes.

"Himmel, what about your sword? Do you need to upgrade it? I have some lunar ore here" the dwarf said loudly.

"Yes" Himmel stood up excitedly. Unable to control himself, he drew the sword strapped to his hip and slashed a few lines forward.

"Leon, wait for me for a moment. I need to ask Zwerg to refurbish the sword and I'll be right back"

◇

I was silent, empty, for a long time before I remembered the question. I turned sideways, turned sideways, looked for Himmel and found him sitting at a natural stone table, legs crossed, staring at his sword.

I approached him, nervous as I sat down.

"Himmel, about this cave, can you tell me more?"

Himmel heeded my request. He hesitated for a moment before taking a deep breath and placing his sword on the stone table. He clenched his fists, his eyes stern, and began the conversation:

"It all started when our team received a commission to search for the Dragon Crystal in this cave, with a reward that far exceeded that of other similar trusts. Although we were a little sceptical, the fact that the person behind this trust kept increasing the value of the reward made us agree"

"This cave is really something so fantastic, that's what we thought when we first came here. " Himmel tries to recall "A diverse ecosystem, green trees and rare ores that seem innumerable..."

"At a time when everyone's mind was on the breathtaking primeval landscape, I myself accidentally stepped on a strange organ and caused everyone to be teleported to a demonic basement. It was pitch black with damp floors, huge viscous tentacles appeared out of nowhere and attacked us relentlessly".

"Luckily, Zwerg managed to find a small exit near the wall and we made it through. And do you know what happens next?" Himmel looked at me.

"I don't..." I'm confused.

"Hmm. Behind that wall is an army of hungry zombies and skeletons. But strangely, they didn't attack or even notice us, they just scattered. Their terrible screams were as if they were afraid of something" Himmel clenched his hand.

Kate, who was standing nearby, heard everything. She came over and sat down beside me. To my surprise, Kate followed Himmel's account:

"I myself had to fight a being stronger than the Royal Magician. It was a Lich wearing a cardinal's robe, surrounded by a terribly distorted source of magical power. The Lich held a forbidden ancient book in his hand, and in his chest was a strange fire unlike any we had ever faced - thick, black and viscous. "

"It ruthlessly swept out the skeletons and attacked us with a lot of powerful magic. Chief among them was the [Death Dream], a cursed magic that the Lich used to enter people's minds. Fortunately, as a priestess in the Church, Yumi learned about the [Holy Realm] and was able to neutralise that black magic. If it's even a few minutes too late, [Death Dream] will darken the entire mind and send the possessed person into a dark fantasy world... " Kate said nervously.

"But magic isn't the only thing Lich has"

"I've never been so scared" Kate remembered, "the moment Lich disappeared and suddenly appeared in front of me with bloody eyes"

"Lich" I shuddered slightly as I tried to imagine the shape of the Lich that was attacking everyone.

"Yes. This Lich is probably the boss of this place..." Kate took a deep breath to regain her composure, staring at me.

(On a cliff not far from the waterfall, half shrouded in thick darkness, came cries full of grief.)

"No way..." Yumi trembled, tears of fear rolling down her cheeks, causing her to involuntarily release the cup of tea in her hand.

"Ch..oang" The sound of falling startled everyone. Immediately, they all turned to Yumi, who was busy packing her things nearby.

"It's a stalker!" Yumi shouted in panic, collapsing.

"What?" Himmel was the first to rush forward, grabbing his newly refurbished sword and standing in front of Yumi.

"Buzz... buzz" (Himmel panicked)

"Stirb... Stirb... Stirb schnell" the roar of a creature hidden behind the black mist, slowly looking at each of us. I don't know for what reason it stopped at me, not looking anywhere. Its eyes were sharp, as if it wanted to pounce on me.

"Stirb... Stirb..."

"Buzz"

"Damn. Leon quickly helped Zwerg pack his things. And the rest get ready to fight..."

"Snap"

"Stirb... Stirb..."

"Huh. He... Where did he go?" Himmel was extremely bewildered, he gripped his sword tightly and looked around.

In this steam-filled space, a chill slowly set in. Yumi held her head and sobbed, Kate was breathing heavily, she was unsteady despite using her staff as a support. It seems that this 'stalker' is an entity that is already too obsessed with humans.

"Jayce, protect Kate and I'll take care of Yumi..."

"And Leon and Zwerg..." Himmel rolled his eyes, his throat tightening at the sight of the silhouette of the mist slowly approaching.

"Leon, behind you!" Himmel shouted. His hands trembled with fear at the sight of the 'stalker' standing behind me.

"Stirb... Stirb..." a creepy sound was clearly audible in my ears. I didn't dare turn my head,just prayed silently that he ignored me.

"What a terrible pressure. I can't move !" I panicked, my limbs stiff and numb. There was nothing I could do to stop the feeling of my body's joints slowly moving apart.

"Stirb... stirb..." Cold hands touched my rough, rugged face from behind.

"Cra..ck."

"What just happened?" I had just experienced a sudden attack of dizziness, accompanied by an extremely disgusting smell. It almost made me throw up my breakfast, and as soon as I calmed down a bit, my eyes met the monster's deep, desperate black gaze. The bony body and the thick flames coagulating in a pool in its chest, no mistake, it was Lich.

"Essen... Essen" the 'stalker' gave me a haunting smile, he just opened his huge mouth, his insides full of rotting tentacles and rushed towards me.

"So it turns out. This monster has broke my neck..." I muttered desperately, my vision turning to the dense blackness of darkness.

"Rumble"

My body was on its knees behind me. The crackling sounds were accompanied by a tremendous amount of heat pouring out incessantly - the spiritual fire was so hot it melted the chest.

◇

"Master"

"In this world, the strength of each creature will be measured by its abilities. Species that are highly adaptable to magic will have their physical strength greatly reduced. That can be attributed to Human, Elf, or the vast majority of other intelligent races. With muscular strength, it will be concentrated in goblins, orcs or magical beasts in general...".

"But there are also some very special species, such as the God clan, High Elf... Their ancestors were demigods, so they are all blessed with enormous amounts of magic and strong health from the moment they are born"

"Hm, and what about Lich?"

"Lich ? Why bother with a creature cursed by death? Those stupid Lich don't even deserve to .... exist in this world" The Great Sage muttered.

"What did you just say?"

"Oh, no. I mean, Lich is very..."

"Where did you learn to speak in such a roundabout way? Just say it straight..." I was annoyed.

"Sorry Master !"

"Huh"

....

"In terms of magical power, Lich is the top species, and their ability to flexibly use powerful dark magic has made them very dangerous creatures.But in reality, Lich is much underrated"

"Master, do you know why?"

"Of course not. Why is it so strange that you ask?"

"The reason is simple, Lich have an overly vulnerable body. A small fire is enough to consume and destroy a Lich's magical root"

"Let's say that, what about physical strength?"

"According to my statistics, the Lich ranks second on the list of the weakest creatures ever recorded. It is only stronger than slime, ... and only harmless insects"

"So I'm so weak" Disappointed, I sighed and lifted my dry, bony arm. As I walked, looking at it dejectedly, I didn't realise that I was walking through a path full of the remains of a battle, blood and bones scattered everywhere.

It was then that I began to regret asking about my race. I wish I hadn't asked him, never heard his answer. I had thought that a lich would have a power no less than that of the divine mages, but it seemed that I was wrong.

"If I encounter a big monster, I'll be trampled to death, right?"

"Master, don't be too upset. Although Lich is weak, he is still considered the Lord of Death because of his unique ability. Besides, as you evolve into higher forms, your strength will also increase"

"Huh. I don't care anymore" I slipped my hand into my cloak and played with the black jewel that had fallen from the spider. For me at this moment, the jewel is like a small piece of joy and a temporary comfort that I can hardly have.

"Master, where did you find the jewel?"

"What jewel? Well, are you talking about the reward that fell from that black spider?"

"Yes. Normally, such valuable things would never appear here. Unless someone..."

"Stop. I'm tired of your unfounded assumptions. If you can, tell me about this jewel" I held the black jewel in my hand and thought to myself, "Is it precious"

"It is very precious. The jewel in his hand was handcrafted by the legendary blacksmith of the Demon Clan, Darkin. This jewel will absorb the magic of its owner and store it in its core. If the wearer is severely damaged, this jewel will allow them to recover once by providing them with a huge amount of magical power. After that, the jewel will go into hibernation within a month"

"Sounds like a fraudulent item" I exclaimed in surprise.

"Fraudulent? It's not in my dictionary. Please explain to me what fraud is"

"That's for later. What about the cape you just gave me? Doesn't it have any special abilities?"

"The sad thing is, no. The cape just helps you hide better"

"Huh. That's boring" I pouted.

(Data analysis completed. Updating and synchronising information in 'Appraisal')

I had just passed through cracked rock crevices that seemed to be about to collapse. The sides of the walls were littered with mystery blue ore, but they became sparser as I went inside. Droplets of groundwater flowed from the crevices above me, sometimes fenced in like rain, sometimes dripping without rules. I had to try to avoid them so as not to soak my robe, for I was still obsessed with water. Why, asked the fucking scarab beetle.

"Master, there's something else"

"What?" I scowled slightly.

"I have just analysed the flesh and blood of the spider stuck on you. An unexpected result was that although it resembled a giant black widow spider, the skull on its stomach and the liquid that had eaten away its bones belonged to the demon frog. Maybe it's a mutated monster..."

"More specifically, according to the information I have gathered, this spider is the only remnant of the Diablos Congregation's magical beast army that attacked the Kingdom ten years ago. It was rumoured that after the last of the monsters had been destroyed, the sky suddenly darkened with the appearance of a monstrous source of magic, a spider-like creature came to life and destroyed the entire team of the Kingdom's most elite holy knights, the Roseblade Knights".

"You mean because of that Black Jewel?"

"Yes. You were very lucky that the black spider didn't have enough magic left to supply the jewel after that, otherwise..."

"I see"

"Great. This is great" I thought to myself, trying to suppress the feeling of joy in my heart, but I couldn't. I don't know when my normal steps turned into glad jumps.

For a moment I had forgotten all the disappointment I had felt before. Strictly speaking, at the moment, I was enjoying a brief, drunken 'happiness'.

That was until I heard strange footsteps and saw the Owl - an adventure party in a very intricate situation.

....

"Leon-san"

"Leon-san, come on ..."

"Leon-san"

"..."

I was startled, opened my blurred eyes and saw Yumi. She was crying with her badly injured arm. Red blood soaked the clothes she was wearing, but it kept pouring out.

"Yumi.. -san" I tried to stand up but couldn't. My body was too heavy and my throat was sore beyond words. Now, apart from Yumi's cries, all I can feel is the heat of the spiritual fire still burning in my chest.

"Yumi, get Leon out of here. We'll try to keep the goblins here"

"No, I can't let you stay and fight while I..."

"Yumi, there's no time" Kate shouted, she was surrounded by a pack of goblins armed with sharp stone weapons.

"No..no..no!" Yumi hesitated. Shakily, she raised her wand to her chest.

"I... I promise to be right back"

Yumi staggered to draw a magic circle around me. She was preparing to use [Teleport], which she could only use once.

"Yumi-san, what's going on?" I muttered. My mind was gradually being enveloped in deep darkness again. I didn't know what to do when I started to fall asleep , no matter how bright the light from the [Teleport] magic was.

[Teleport] Yumi choked back tears.

...

"Keng"

"Ré.. ré" (Goblin screaming sound)

Jayce rushed over, taking out the goblins that were closing in on Kate with a bloodied shield before collapsing. The fatal wound on his chest was rapidly expanding from some horrible, corrosive poison.

"Ni-san" Kate ran to Jayce's side. She hugged him, crying, even as the goblins approached them from behind with sharpened stone axes.

"Rumble!"

Himmel jumped back. He was stunned to see Kate lying on the ground, her head covered in blood. In the distance, Zwerg was on his knees, a sword piercing his neck.

"Min-na !" Himmel shouted hopelessly. He kicked the goblins in front of him and rushed towards them....

But.

"Snap"

"Huh" Himmel fell.

A poisoned arrow of pain flew in and pierced Himmel's heart. Black blood from the wound spilled out and soaked Yumi's kitchen apron, which lay messy nearby. Despite the horrible pain, he reached out and tried to crawl to Kate and Jayce with the last of his strength.

"RÉEEE"

"Pop!" A large, grey-skinned goblin had just leapt from above. It swung the pestle at Himmel's head with all its might.

"Ré... "The Goblin kept swinging the pestle until Himmel's blood covered his face and the pestle was shattered into a large piece.

Satisfied, it stopped and pointed his missing hand at Kate with a creepy smile. It is the leader of this Goblin army. Now, it wants to sacrifice today's poor prey to a more hideous creature - the "FLIES KING".

◇