Chapter 80: The Glowing Creature

Chapter 80: Chapter 80: The Glowing Creature

Leaving the central cave, there was only a little over an hour left until the nine o’clock deadline at night.

Seven forty-seven.

Ignoring the depletion of their magic power, all five directly condensed their wings of light, going all out to accelerate and charge straight into the final stone door.

Fortunately, this path was much more peaceful than the previous ones. The destination was a sparse little forest, scattered with only a few low-tier magical beasts so weak that they couldn’t even condense a core.

They swept through the forest, scouring every nook and cranny for over an hour. Finally, at eight fifty-eight, just as the team’s magic power had almost hit rock bottom, a spatial rift in the shape of a faint crescent moon appeared behind the canopy of an ancient tree.

That was the long-awaited exit.

Based on the rules of the wasteland, a single-lined rift corresponded to an F-rank area. There was no worry about accidentally stepping into a high-tier death zone.

Hearing the growls signaling the berserk state of the magical beasts echoing from afar, Jeremy did not hesitate for another second, throwing himself straight into the rift.

The four behind him also decisively followed suit.

The sensation of floating in mid-air lasted for three minutes.

Then, a loud splash shattered the silence. Jeremy’s body sank completely into the freezing water. A feeling of suffocation instantly hit him, and Jeremy quickly kicked his legs and swung his arms to surface.

"Cough... cough cough!"

Violent coughing rang out from all directions. Wiping the freezing water from his face, Jeremy gritted his teeth, squeezing out his very last trace of magic power to condense a small magic flame hovering in mid-air.

The flickering firelight pushed back the darkness, clearly illuminating the surrounding situation. The place where they had fallen was a pitch-black sea, with thick fog obscuring their vision, showing absolutely no sign of land.

"..."

Jeremy frowned. If some mutated monster surfaced from underwater, it would truly mean the heavens wanted to force them to death. He cursed silently in his heart, vigilantly gripping his Sacred Weapon tightly.

Fortunately, the water surface was calm without a single ripple of murderous intent.

"Bloop bloop..."

A strange, clear sound rang out right at his side. Jeremy was startled and immediately spun around, swinging his Sacred Weapon up into a defensive posture.

"...Bloop bloop?"

Before his eyes was not a ferocious monster, but a tiny creature only the size of a palm. Its body was like a softly glowing gemstone, enveloped by a sparkling halo, floating in mid-air. The elemental fluctuation emitting from it was very pure, bringing the friendly feeling of a spirit beast.

It tilted its body (even though no eyes or nose could be clearly seen), seemingly evaluating the five soaking wet and disheveled people with curiosity.

Hovering motionless for a moment, the gemstone creature slowly flew closer to Jeremy. He had just frowned and was about to step back when the creature casually glided past Jeremy’s shoulder, swooping straight toward the scowling Phoenix behind him.

Jeremy: "..." He had flattered himself.

Phoenix inherently harbored an extreme aversion to contact with living creatures. But currently soaking in the cold water and exhausted to the bone, Phoenix could only close his eyes and turn his face away, ignoring the blinding halo circling his head.

"Bloop bloop bloop bloop~" The orb of light spun around Phoenix, letting out crisp chirps full of delight.

Jeremy retracted his Sacred Weapon, smirking playfully: "This little guy seems to really like you."

The corner of Phoenix’s mouth twitched, his tone filled with suppressed helplessness: "...But I don’t."

The sea surface remained calm, but the surrounding fog was beginning to thicken. A faint, fishy smell carrying toxins gradually spread. Leon clicked his tongue: "Stop paying attention to that toy. The fog is starting to get toxic; we have to leave here right now."

Hearing Leon’s words, the gemstone creature stopped flying around Phoenix. It shot upward, circled around all five of them, and then zipped forward. After flying a short distance, the creature paused, spun around, and flew back. This action repeated three times, and its "bloop bloop" cries also became urgent and hurried.

Evelyn brushed her wet hair to one side, asking hesitantly: "...It seems like it wants to lead the way for us?"

Jeremy shared the same thought. Standing still here waiting to die from toxins was not a solution. He nodded: "Let’s try following it and see. What do you guys think?"

Phoenix sighed: "...Whatever works."

The other three also nodded in unison.

"Alright."

Facts proved that Evelyn’s judgment was incredibly accurate. Upon seeing the five of them start to swim after it, the orb of light stopped flying around erratically and maintained a steady speed to lead the way forward.

With their magic power depleted, they could not use magic for support. They could only grit their teeth and rely on their battered physical strength to swim across the freezing water.

The grueling journey dragged on for two whole hours. It wasn’t until the faint glimmer of dawn began to tear through the gloomy veil of night that the gemstone creature finally came to a halt.

By this point, all five of them were so utterly exhausted that they just wanted to sink straight to the bottom of the sea.

Even though they knew their magic power was gradually recovering over time, maintaining their wings consumed a colossal amount of energy. Amidst a sea harboring countless dangers that could erupt at any given second, no one dared to squander the meager strength they had left.

Fortunately, the two hours of agonizing swimming were ultimately not in vain.

Just before their bodies reached the brink of exhaustion, a faint glimmer of silver light caught their eyes — a rocky reef. Although it was not a true island, this place was at least enough for them to escape the freezing water and catch their breath.

The rocky reef was not large in scale, but the central boulder was perfectly flat, with a surface area the size of a room, more than enough to accommodate seven or eight adults.