Chapter 125: Fall, and Then… Part 5

I immediately shot the glass flower flare into the sky. When I pulled the leaf of the watercress plant, the glass flower flew at an incredible speed.

-Screeeech!!!

-Boom!!!

The glass flower soared so high that it nearly touched the clouds, then burst with a sharp sound. The shattered petals of the glass flower scattered in all directions and spread light everywhere. Since dark clouds were gathering in the sky, the light stood out even more.

-Rumble rumble rumble...!

Almost at the same time, the ground collapsed with a thunderous roar. I fell straight into the crevice.

"Ayla!"

-Kung!

At my shout, Ayla jumped in just in time. I quickly grabbed onto Ayla. If we fell too deep, Ayla would brace against the walls to reduce the impact.

"...!"

But that was my mistake.

After falling for several minutes, I realized.

There was no "bottom" here.

That's right.

We were falling endlessly.

"What on earth is this...!"

I looked up, but the crevice that had swallowed me was nowhere to be seen. It was unclear whether it was too far away to be visible or if it had already vanished.

At this rate, even if my companions found traces of the glass flower, they wouldn't be able to find me.

I needed to stop falling. I quickly reached out my arms to grab something, anything.

-Thump!

Luckily, my hand caught onto a rock.

-Poof!

Then, it disappeared like smoke.

Everything I tried to grab vanished like smoke. There was no way to stop the fall like this.

Finding the entrance wasn't the end.

Of course, it wasn't. This was a dragon's lair, after all. Dragons were wise and just as cunning. Those who fortified their lair entrances with hundreds or thousands of monsters were actually the kinder ones. The truly wicked dragons created mazes with no exits or cast sweet illusion spells that made escape impossible.

Tondra is the latter it seems.

An eternal fall.

A faint-hearted person might die of a heart attack the moment they started falling. Even if they avoided a heart attack, most would go mad upon realizing they couldn't stop the "fall".

I didn't have a heart attack, nor had I gone mad. I had already passed those two hurdles.

So, what was left was…

How to overcome this situation.

The endless fall and the lack of a bottom meant that this space didn't actually exist.

It's a trap created with spatial distortion magic.

Magic that manipulated time and space was extremely tricky and dangerous. Even though "portals" existed, most people took long journeys over extended periods of time because of this very danger. Even with a portal for a very short distance, there was always the risk of disappearance or collapse. Only very skilled wizards dared to handle space-time magic like portals.

But since Tondra is a dragon, it could afford such a luxurious trap.

An infinite and endlessly extending fall. To escape this place, one needed the skill of a swordmaster who was capable of cutting through the dragon's spells or the ability of an archmage who could uncover and dispel the nature of this magic.

And I was neither.

That's right.

As a druid, I had no suitable skill to escape a dragon's trap.

"Haha…"

I burst into laughter as if it were someone else's problem.

If this were truly a "game", I could just turn it off here and now.

Unfortunately, all of this was "reality".

-Kiiing, kin!

Ayla was starting to get anxious. It was only natural. Though Ayla was as smart as most people, she couldn't understand the current situation.

Khalid or Didier might be able to understand this.

But right now, I'm the only one here.

As always, I could only rely on myself.

I hugged the anxious Ayla tightly and smiled gently.

"It's okay."

– Kiiiin.

"We will get out of here."

Yes, we would get out. Ayla seemed to be reassured by my words. She looked at me with eyes no longer filled with anxiety and softly supported my body as if to protect me.

"Beepy."

-Beep?

"Help us."

-Beep.

Beepy chirped as if in response and lightly flew onto my hand. He landed on my hand lightly as if he was not affected by the fall at all. And then…

-Flash!

Now, the familiar five-colored light flashed. When I blinked against the unbearable brightness, a magnificent five-colored bow appeared.

"Thank you."

I had to take back the words that I was alone here and that I could only rely on myself. Because now, Ayla and Beepy were with me.

…It has to go according to my plan.

Preparing for what lay ahead, I took the dragon egg bound in magical chains from my space ring and put it in my bag. The bag seemed about to burst, but this was the best I could do.

I shouldn't forget the sedative either.

Ayla had tightly secured the bundle containing the sedative.

Having taken out the important items, the only things left in my space ring were the jerky and energy bars I had prepared in advance, along with various grains and crops I had intended to use for cooking.

Good.

This should be enough.

-Swish.

I removed the space ring I had worn for a long time from my finger. A white mark remained where I had worn the ring, and it left me feeling somewhat sentimental.

But it couldn't be helped.

…Thank you for everything.

The space ring Khalid had created contained the essence of space-time magic. It was a space-time distortion spell brought about by the high-purity magic stone and Khalid's nearly perfect magic circle.

When the space ring was destroyed, the space-time distortion magic forming this space would collide with the space-time distortion magic of the space ring and grow entangled. Then it would all be destroyed and disassembled.

I wasn't a swordmaster or an archmage, so this was the only way.

It's such a waste. This thing is worth a fortune…!

So, please, let this work.

I looked down at the particularly sparkling space ring, then threw it with all my might towards the air.

And then.

I have to hit it in one shot.

I quickly took my stance and drew the bowstring. As I aimed at the spinning space ring with the arrow of bright light, time seemed to slow down.

-Whew.

I exhaled a steady breath,

-Snap!

And lightly released my fingers.

-Swish!

The arrow flew like a shooting star and pierced the space ring accurately.

-Bang!!!

A tremendous explosion, an immense shockwave, and a sharp light burst forth. I huddled over my bag and curled my body tightly to protect the dragon egg. Soon, I felt the impact of the explosion that originated from the space ring pass through my body. A wave of nausea and dizziness along with a headache that was dozens of times worse than what I was used to hit me hard.

"Ugh, bleiighhh…!"

After rolling a few times, I ended up retching on the ground.

"Ugh…"

Wait a second, did I say "ground"?

"Huff, huff…"

I did it!

In a flash of realization, I lifted my head. The splitting headache meant nothing. I stood up and looked around.

– Ssshhhhh…

All around me, transparent leaves were in full bloom, and beyond them, crystal pillars stretched endlessly. On closer inspection, they weren't crystals. They were pillars made of ice and were as transparent and pure as jewels. The floor which was made of the same material sparkled as it caught the light.

This was the dragon's lair…

I couldn't help but marvel at the grandeur and beauty of this place which rivaled that of a temple. It was far more magnificent than I had imagined! I slowly walked around and took in my surroundings.

– Sparkle!

"…Huh?"

Just as I was about to step onto the ice floor, I noticed a peculiar glimmer. Something felt off. It's best to be cautious at times like these. I stopped and examined the floor closely.

The ice floor was arranged like a chessboard with square ice tiles laid out in a regular pattern. The ice was so clear and shiny that it reflected my face, and its thickness was impressive at a glance. It felt like walking on reinforced glass. Though it was more beautiful.

– Sparkle!

However, that ominous sparkle bothered me.

"Ayla, don't you think something's strange?"

I asked Ayla but she just looked at me with a puzzled expression. It seemed that her animal instincts didn't detect the "sparkle".

If that's the case, there's only one answer.

"…Is this another trap?"

The fact that I noticed the sparkle alone meant that my [Explorer] trait had been activated. Haah.

"There are no easy paths, no easy paths at all."

I sighed, knelt down, and closely examined the floor. There were sparkling ice tiles and non-sparkling ice tiles.

How does it work?

"Ayla, come here."

I called Ayla and had her hold onto my clothes with her mouth, and then using her as support, I placed my hands on a sparkling ice tile and put my weight on it.

– Crash!

As soon as half my weight was applied, the ice tile instantly shattered. Below the broken ice tile was…

– Whiooo…

A chill that seemed capable of freezing me to the bone.

…If it weren't for my cold resistance, I might have already gotten frostbite.

The cold was that intense. If I had stepped on it and fallen through, I would have become an ice sculpture with no way to escape. I quickly signaled Ayla. She vigorously pulled on my clothes and dragged me out.

"Whew…"

I let out a sigh of relief. I stood up and carefully observed the ice tiles stretching out into the distance. The ice tiles extended very far, up to where the ice pillars ended.

– Sparkle!

– Sparkle!

Of course, there was no need to worry. I had the [Explorer] trait. Whew, without it, who knows how much trouble I would have had when passing this path… No, I might have died without anyone knowing.

"Ayla, just step where I step and follow me."

– Kuuung!

"Be careful."

I gently placed one foot on a non-sparkling ice tile. It was very solid. Only after stomping on it a few times with my foot did I fully step onto it.

"It's fine."

Fortunately, this non-sparkling ice tile was completely intact.

"Let's go!"