Chapter 54: Cute but Arrogant

“They aren’t in this world anymore?!”

Otillia and Sherivelle felt their hearts stop for a moment after hearing Marguerite’s words.

Marguerite ignored the girls’ exclamations and continued to explain.

“This door is likely not a simple entrance to a ruin. It is a one-way ‘passage’ — it leads to a ‘space’ outside the world.”

“Only one who can awaken the Holy Sword Excalibur can open it… This means that, under normal circumstances, the door would only open if Crown Prince Arthur himself were present.”

“But now, His Highness is on the other side. Without a ‘key,’ it will be very difficult for us to open this door.”

Marguerite’s words once again plunged the room into silence.

This meant their plan to use the rift at the entrance to quickly reach Ian and his companion was no longer feasible.

“Then how are we supposed to find the cat… Crown Prince Arthur and the others?”

Seeing that no one else was speaking, the anxious Sherivelle was the first to break the silence.

“There is no way. We can only pray that they can return on their own…”

Marguerite glanced at the white-haired girl who was clearly infatuated with her student and sighed.

“Lord Stargazer, can’t we search for Ian and the others floor by floor? Perhaps the place where they fell is only a few floors down…”

Otillia also stepped forward, her fists clenched in anxiety.

However, her suggestion only deepened the silence of those present.

Seeing everyone bowing their heads, confusion filled the faces of both Otillia and Sherivelle.

Finally, the person in charge of the Academy’s commission stepped forward.

“Sigh… Miss Philimons. If Lady Marguerite’s interpretation is correct, then Crown Prince Arthur and his companion are at least beyond the 70th Floor.”

“What?!” Otillia cried out.

“Are you mistaken? This is clearly only Level 45. How could Ian have fallen directly to the 70th Floor?”

Sherivelle asked in disbelief.

“Regrettably, young lady, my interpretation is correct. Ian has indeed fallen past the 70th Floor.”

Marguerite paused, taking one last look at the tightly closed door before shaking her head.

“…The only places that can be called ‘Outside the World’ are the floors beyond the 70th Floor.”

Since the deepest progress in the Abyss Corridor Dungeon had stalled at the 70th Floor, it had attracted several ‘experts’ who refused to believe in the legends.

After fighting their way to the 75th Floor, only one dying Level 7 Magic God had returned.

That Magic God left behind the words, “That place does not belong to our world!” before taking his last breath.

Although many in later generations still wanted to see the ‘other world’ the Magic God spoke of, every person who managed to cross the 70th Floor said that it was ‘Outside the World.’

Over time, people began to refer to any floor past the 70th Floor as ‘Outside the World.’

It was the deepest level human strength could possibly reach.

“Is there really no other way?”

“Yes, Lady Marguerite, is there really nothing we can do?”

Sherivelle and Otillia still refused to believe it.

Since Ian was still alive, there had to be a way to find him.

Marguerite looked at the two stubborn, red-eyed girls and sighed.

“With our human abilities, there is indeed nothing we can do, unless…”

“Unless what?!”

“Unless we can borrow the ‘World Tree Branch,’ a holy relic of the Elven Race. Combined with your Spatial Talent, it should be possible to reopen this door and the passage beyond it…”

The mention of the Elven Race plunged the room into silence once again.

Given the current situation where humans and the Elven Race were on the verge of war, it was difficult enough just to see a living elf, let alone obtain their holy relic, the World Tree Branch.

Thus, the situation on Level 45 reached a complete stalemate.

—

Meanwhile, on the 99th Floor, Ian’s situation was proceeding relatively smoothly.

Having lost the elbow-jostling match to Amivy, Ian was forced to take the first watch.

Strange howls echoed one after another outside the shelter.

Ian watched the crackling campfire, feeling no sleepiness at all.

Amivy, on the other hand, had been exhausted after one long day and was sleeping peacefully on the soft grass.

Ian could even hear her mumbling in her sleep, calling him a ‘dog.’

Left with no choice, Ian continued his watch.

But when he turned toward the entrance of the shelter, he suddenly locked eyes with a pair of small, golden, vertical pupils.

Both pairs of eyes reflected deep ‘confusion.’

They stared at each other for a long time until the vertical pupils seemed to grow impatient.

The creature’s brow furrowed.

Suddenly, a small, thin tail whipped toward Ian’s eyes.

Caught off guard, Ian felt a sharp pain in his eyes from the tail whip.

Unable to scream out loud, he could only collapse to the ground, clutching his eyes and writhing like a worm.

“Ying!”

As he writhed, Ian faintly heard a disdainful yet triumphant cry.

The voice was very immature, sounding like the mewling of a newborn kitten.

It was crisp and full of a milky quality.

Next, the blinded Ian heard the sound of crunching and chewing nearby.

‘That little thing is taking advantage of the situation to steal our food reserves!’

However, since Ian was still in a ‘blinded’ state and the campfire was right next to him, moving recklessly might cause the Imperial Prince’s hard work from earlier to go up in flames.

Furthermore, the little thing seemed to be purely interested in eating, so Ian did not act rashly.

After a while, the chewing stopped, and Ian’s vision gradually returned.

He then saw a small, white, furry puppy with a pair of wings and two horns.

It was lying on its back, rubbing its round belly and letting out a burp.

“Ying!”

Seeming to notice Ian’s gaze, the white puppy let out an arrogant ‘ying’ at him.

Then, it vigorously flapped its miniature wings and wobbled through the air until it landed on the face of the ‘corpse-like’ Amivy.

With a *splat*, the white puppy landed on Amivy’s face.

It began to curl up its body, settling down to sleep right on top of her features.

Before long, a small bubble ‘representing’ deep sleep emerged from the white puppy’s little pink nose.

Ian: “…”

Looking at the overly familiar puppy whose size perfectly matched Amivy’s face, Ian was so frustrated that he began to laugh.

But Ian did not move.

This puppy with golden vertical pupils, wings, and horns immediately made him think of the legendary creatures known as ‘Giant Dragons.’

The white puppy’s wicked and arrogant attitude also perfectly matched the characteristics of the Giant Dragon race.

However, its snow-white fur and overly ‘juvenile’ appearance made Ian hesitate.

‘Generally speaking, a Giant Dragon shouldn’t have fur…’