Chapter 174 - Gnome's Realm

"I hope this shall suffice."

The gnome had a smug look on his face as he formed a small stone slab to sit on. With its physicality the way it was, the stone slab was nothing more than an indent on the ground.

Regardless, Oliver wasn't as comfortable.

With his feet still sealed onto the ground, Oliver could barely move. He couldn't maneuver his legs forward or back, making him stuck in a single spot. But he wouldn't go out and talk about it to the creature who trapped him.

"It's fine," Oliver casually answered as he looked up. His vision was still slightly disorientated. The shaking had affected both his balance and focus. Luckily, his feet were planted on the ground. Otherwise, he might be sprawled out on the floor by now.

As Oliver struggled slightly to recover, the gnome was well on its way to getting what it wanted from him.

"Let us start by discussing your real purpose here."

The gnome started the conversation in an attempt to size Oliver up. Because, right about now, it was a battle of wits.

"I already told you. I'm here to find my pet who had gone missing," Oliver answered as he narrowed his eyes slightly in hopes of focusing his gaze.

However, despite Oliver's pleads of telling the truth, the gnome still seemed skeptical.

"Are you saying your pet wandered on its own? Thus, disappearing? How can such a phenomenon occur? Your story doesn't add up, human."

Listening to this absurd accusation, the expression that Oliver carried visibly darkened. As far as his tolerance for bullshit goes, the gnome's statement certainly pushed against the limits.

"Whether you want to believe it or not, that's the truth. I left the wolf alone for a few hours. And, when I came back, he wasn't anywhere to be found. No matter how many attempts I made to summon him, there was no response."

The gravity of the situation was clearly expressed by the tone of Oliver's voice. Whether he wanted the gnome to believe him or not didn't matter anymore.

All Oliver cared about right now was Strider's disappearance.

"Suppose you are telling the truth," the gnome expressed its doubts. "It still does not account for your appearance here."

"I followed the tracks left by my wolf, which eventually led to a massive sinkhole. Which led to this place."

"A sinkhole?" the gnome curiously asked.

"Yeah," Oliver answered as he finally recovered his vision, "The sinkhole was deep and near-bottomless. Or, at least, you couldn't tell from above. But, knowing that the tracks could only mean that Strider had fallen into the sinkhole... I had no choice but to jump in."

Refocusing his gaze at the gnome who was looking directly at him, Oliver continued.

"Believe me. If I had a choice in the matter, I would've picked any other choice than this. With you shaking the ground all the way to the surface, I'd think twice before jumping into some random hole in the ground."

Suddenly, out of nowhere, the seal on his feet loosened. Feeling the grip around his feet slightly ease, Oliver took this opportunity to strike. Only if he could, that is.

The gnome was almost an arm's reach from Oliver. He could just about reach the creature if he exerted some effort into doing so. Unfortunately, Oliver wasn't in a position to do anything right now.

That's because the gnome was still staring directly at him. It was as if the creature was intentionally letting Oliver go. Which, from Oliver's perspective, was a rather odd turn of events.

"Are you just letting me go?" Oliver curiously asked as he was suspicious that the gnome might have some convoluted plan in progress.

"Yes, human. Unfortunately, I have no other choice but to do so," the gnome frustratingly let out a sigh as he stood up from his tiny slab of a chair. "If you would follow me, human, I can show you a way out of these caves."

Before Oliver could answer, the ground started to shake once more. And, not daring to repeat the same mistake, Oliver hurriedly got his feet out from the ground.

Ignoring Oliver's movements, the gnome turned around and faced the wall. From there, the ground split open as a flight of stairs revealed itself. The stairs headed much deeper underground, contrary to what the gnome had promised. The way out was up, after all, not down.

After the ground stopped shaking, the gnome turned to Oliver and spoke. "Follow me, human," the gnome said without any proper explanations.

Again, the gnome moved by itself without waiting for Oliver to respond. Despite its physique, the gnome moved forward at the speed of an average person. With the pace the gnome was moving, Oliver had no choice but to catch up. Losing sight of the gnome would make all of his efforts for naught.

Catching up to the gnome, Oliver found himself much deeper underground as compared to before.

"Hey!" Oliver's tone expressed disdain as he called out to the gnome, "I told you I came here to find my wolf. I don't want a way out of this place. Not until I find what I'm after."

As expected, Oliver was upset. Anybody in his situation would be, for that matter. Despite his constant and repetitive mentions of Oliver's goal, the gnome didn't seem to care one bit.

At this very moment, Oliver contemplated the idea of butchering this gnome for pissing him off for the last time. However, what the gnome said next changed his mind completely.

"You do not belong here."

The gnome suddenly stopped. Then, it turned around and faced Oliver with an ominous expression on its face. It appeared that the creature's mood wasn't any better than Oliver's. No, it may even be worse.

"The hell is that supposed to mean?!"

"You do not belong here," the gnome repeated. "You do not belong to this realm, human. Us gnomes may not have much experience from the surface; however... I am certain those things you speak of do not exist."

Raising a brow, Oliver was suspicious of the gnome's claims.

"This realm is not accessible through physical means," the gnome continued to explain as its expression darkened. "We gnomes were the original inhabitants of this world. Then, you humans came along and harvested this realm of its resources."

Oliver's expression softened as the gnome explained its origins.

"We gnomes were forced into hiding by our invaders. Lest not, we suffer. Thus making these caves our home," the gnome paused as he stared into Oliver. Hands behind its back, the gnome looked up at Oliver with seriousness in its eyes.

"Although the current generation of gnomes does not remember any of these transgressions, detailed accounts still existed. And, I am a result of such events."

The atmosphere slightly dampened as Oliver couldn't tell what the gnome was getting at. However, it seemed as if the creature wasn't kidding around.

"So? What's that got to do with me?"

Declarations of truths or not, Oliver didn't care. He could slightly sympathize with the gnome. But, all in all, he was indifferent. None of what the gnome had just said benefitted him in any way.

"You do not seem to understand the point, human. Those creatures that had come to this realm are long gone. Which means —"

"I'm the only human here?"

Then, with the big reveal, Oliver's expression sunk considerably. Although his expression remained unchanged, Oliver felt weary of the implications. Had he been transported to another realm, Oliver would find trouble returning to Ark City.

With that, Oliver knew there wasn't much time to waste.

"Let's go."

Oliver overtook the gnome who had been reading Oliver's expression from the start. Knowing that the explanation had gotten to the human, the gnome let out a smile of satisfaction.

Walking side by side, the conversation continued.

"Where are you bringing me, exactly?" Oliver asked as they continued walking on this straight tunnel. "You said it yourself; this was a separate realm that no human has set foot on for a long time. If that's the case, where does this tunnel go?"

"An exit... hopefully," the gnome answered as it kept walking straight. Its eyes were fixated on the path the two were walking on.

However, the response the gnome gave didn't strike Oliver to be quite the optimistic answer. It seemed as though the gnome had no idea what this tunnel might lead to.

"So...," Oliver broke the silence after a brief pause. "What did you mean by being a result of such events? Sure, you're different than the other gnomes. But you don't seem to be dreading that fact, either. What gives?"

Despite his lashing out just recently, Oliver paid full attention to what the gnome said. Hell, it sure was a lot more interesting than a significant number of conversations he had with other people.

"A long time ago, the humans who had invaded this realm captured some of us, gnomes. They performed experiments, testing the capabilities of the creatures inhabiting this realm."

"What were those experiments for?"

"I have no recollection," the gnome answered as his tone turned to disappointment. "To fight, perhaps? To simply be used as tools? The reason did not matter as the humans left our realm when they bore no fruit from their experiments."

Hearing this, Oliver stayed silent and nodded. The truth was, he wasn't even surprised. History was a common subject that people had been taught at such an early age. And, from what he could recall during those times in class, humanity was never a kind species.

"Then, how come you weren't hostile to me when we first met?" Oliver asked, unencumbered.

"It is in my nature to doubt, never to assume," the gnome answered. "It is also my first encounter with a human. And, an Oliver, at that."

In response, Oliver scoffed.

"You misunderstood. Oliver is my name, not a type of human. Besides that, how come it's the first time you've come across a human? I thought you've encountered many other humans in the past."

The gnome's expression was slightly perplexed as it answered.

"When I came to, the humans have long abandoned this realm. There were only records of their presence here. Thus, I was able to collect information as to what had happened before I woke up. None of the current generations of gnomes know of humans and their history here."

"And, that's where we're heading now?" Oliver confirmed.

"Yes," the gnome answered as the two were about to reach the end of the tunnel. "None of the other gnomes know of this place. This place is where I had woken up with the ability only I possess."

The tunnel had led to a scientific lab that contained numerous chambers big enough for gnomes to fit in. What Oliver found to be disturbing, however, was the bodies inside these chambers, unmoving.

The center of the room was a Mana Crystal, similar to the one Rynold had found 8 or so months ago. It was tall enough to touch both the ceiling and the floor. And majestic enough to catch the eyes of any passers-by.

As Oliver slowly filled with awe as he approached, something inside him reeled. It was a weird feeling that made Oliver stop moving. The inner conflict he felt made him tense up slightly.

"Is there something wrong, human?" The gnome asked as it watched Oliver's expression turn blank. It was an odd look for Oliver, who had almost always carried a straight face.

"I... Can't... M-"

Failing to form words, the strange feeling inside him started pulsating. It became stronger and stronger with each pulse, filling Oliver with an urge to approach the Mana Crystal.

However, knowing that this feeling was unnatural, Oliver planted his feet on the ground as he fought these urges popping inside his head. Oliver knew he shouldn't give in. No matter what.