Laine walked alone through the pitch-black passageway.
Although his pace remained steady, he couldn’t help but click his tongue at the sheer length of the tunnel.
“Isn’t this a bit too long? How long have I been walking? After all this time, I hope I don’t end up at a dead end.”
As he thought this, a trace of unease welled up in his heart.
He manipulated the light orb above his head to float a bit higher, trying to expand the range of his [Illumination Magic] so he could see if any enemies were hiding in the shadows.
Whether it was lucky or unlucky, Laine saw nothing but rough rock walls.
Just like the walls he had seen minutes ago, they had no distinguishing features; they were just ordinary stones.
Seeing this, Laine had no choice but to let the orb descend from the ceiling.
On its way down, he further reduced its size to lower his mana consumption.
“I never thought the magic I learned back when I was bored would come in handy so many times lately. Heh! At least the tuition didn’t go to waste!”
He let out a few dry laughs, but the only thing that responded was his own faint echo.
Laine stood in place, silent for a few seconds, before finally continuing forward.
As he walked, the monotony of the path forced him to start fiddling with his floating light orb again.
This [Illumination Magic] was a very low-level spell, something even an ordinary person with a low [Level] like Laine could learn relatively easily.
Of course, Laine had only learned it back when he was a merchant because he was bored and had extra money to spend.
A typical commoner would never have the time or money to learn a low-level spell that was practically useless for daily survival.
When Laine learned this magic, he never imagined he would use it in such a dangerous situation.
He had thought that the last time he used it in that unknown dungeon would be the final time.
Yet, here he was, using it again—and for the sake of finding Xiaolan…
Thinking of Xiaolan, Laine’s active mind suddenly went quiet.
After a long while, a thought slowly surfaced.
After this incident is over, how should he face Xiaolan?
Laine wasn’t stupid.
The keen intuition he had developed as a merchant had long since told him the reason behind the strange things Xiaolan had been doing lately; they were all likely meant to please him.
As for why she wanted to please him, Laine hadn’t considered any other possibility after catching the occasional look of adoration Xiaolan sent his way.
But what could come of it?
Was he really going to agree?
Even though Xiaolan used to be a…
That being said, Laine didn’t actually hate Xiaolan.
He was just still a bit bothered by how she used to be, which indirectly made him hesitant to face the current Xiaolan, let alone hear those words from her lips.
Of course, Laine knew that running away wasn’t a solution.
He could hide once, but he couldn’t hide forever; eventually, there would be a moment where he had to face it head-on.
When that time came, what should he do?
While Laine appeared calm regarding Xiaolan’s feelings, it wasn’t because he was experienced.
On the contrary, it was his first time dealing with such a situation, which was exactly why he was at a loss.
Even though Laine was once a merchant, he was never popular with women.
After all, his physique was a bit…
Plus, the Laine of that time was entirely focused on his career and had no mind for romance.
Later on, because he was working for Furnace Hook, he had zero time to interact with respectable women.
Thus, even now, he was still a virgin who had never been in love and had no idea how to handle Xiaolan’s pursuit.
Gazing at the infinitely extending rock walls that seemed to have no end, Laine recalled his memories with Xiaolan.
He imagined the possible scenes if this relationship continued into the future.
Finally, he thought of Liyami and Kolin.
Comparing them to himself and Xiaolan, Laine couldn’t help but sigh.
Maybe after this whole thing is over, he should actually respond to Xiaolan’s feelings?
On the other side, Xiaolan and Laura sat in the [Prison Cell] with nothing to do.
To save energy, they had stopped trying any strenuous activities.
Whether it was the culprit’s intention or not, since they were captured, not once had food or water been brought to them.
As a result, the energy they had at the start had drained away.
By now, they didn’t even have the spirit to talk.
After all, speaking would only make their parched throats even more painful.
An Ji Er, lying on the floor, was doing a bit better.
Her endurance was naturally higher than that of Laura or Xiaolan; this level of pain wasn’t even enough to make her frown.
But Xiaolan and Laura were different.
They had never undergone any rigorous training and were now suffering from hunger and thirst.
Furthermore, because they were only wearing their [Swimsuit], their bodies quickly grew cold once they stopped moving.
This time, even Laura, who had previously felt it was warmer here than on the [Beach], was starting to reach her limit.
Feeling the chill in her body, Laura couldn’t help but remember the time she was locked in Furnace Hook’s prison.
Although current conditions were much better than they were back then, she couldn’t stop worrying about whether things would turn out that way again.
However, she quickly suppressed that fear.
She thought of Kolin.
Just like that time with Furnace Hook, she believed that Lord Kolin would come to save her again!
Xiaolan’s thoughts were similar to Laura’s, except the person she imagined coming to her rescue was Laine.
Even though Laine’s combat ability meant he definitely shouldn’t risk coming here to save her, she couldn’t help but fantasize about it.
Because both women held onto their convictions, their spirits remained unbroken despite their physical suffering.
This state of affairs actually surprised An Ji Er.
She had expected these two strangely energetic girls to break within a few hours.
She was surprised to see that their spirits showed no signs of collapsing even now.
She really wanted to know what they were thinking about that kept them from breaking.
Because her body was bound, An Ji Er couldn’t see their expressions, so she didn’t know that these two were currently wearing idiotic smiles while lost in their fantasies.
Just as An Ji Er failed yet again to break her restraints, she heard something.
A sound that hadn’t appeared once during their time here—the sound of footsteps approaching!
At this, An Ji Er felt nervous once more.
She didn’t know who the [Male Demon] would take away this time.
In truth, An Ji Er had been awake long before Laura and Xiaolan ever opened their eyes.
She had never actually closed them.
Therefore, she knew things that they didn’t.
A few hours ago, when they were first thrown into this cell, they weren’t the only ones here.
There had also been a female mage who was a companion of An Ji Er.
However, after only a few dozen minutes, that companion had been escorted out of the cell by a [Male Demon] she had never seen before.
She had never returned.
While An Ji Er didn’t know where they went, she understood that her companion was likely dead.
Furthermore, despite so many people being reported in the [Missing Persons Incident], An Ji Er hadn’t seen any sign of them in this cell.
Excluding the possibility of other cells, she estimated that most of the missing people had already been killed.
And now, the footsteps were ringing out again.
This meant it was likely the turn for one of the three of them.
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