Chapter 7: Visitors?

After clearing the whole TEOD Island, I went to search for my final opponent—the dungeon.

I am standing in front of a big hole that goes straight down, deep and dark.

"How did I miss this place…?" I said while looking down.

[Notice: A high amount of magical energy is being detected from the cave.] Aries said.

"Alright, let's go then." I said and started to slide down into the cave.

I went deeper and deeper. It was too dark, but not for me, since I have night vision. After a while, I reached the ground, which was made out of rock and stone.

"Uhhh… Can my root slide from this?" I asked.

[Positive. Yes, you can, but you can't move through air, water, or lava.] Aries replied.

"Uhhh, who would want to walk in lava? I'm not stupid! Hahahaha!" I laughed.

But later on, as I kept going forward… I found out the floor was lava.

"WHY IS THERE LAVA HERE?!" I screamed.

[Well, you are 82 km deep underground, so it's obvious.] Aries replied.

"Is this really a dungeon or just a random hole leading to lava?" I asked.

[There is a presence of magical energy here, so this must be one.] Aries replied.

"Well, all I see here is lava and magma. I don't see anything else." I said.

[You might not have noticed, but this place is constantly sucking your mana.] Aries spoke.

"Eh? What do you mean?" I asked.

[In simple words, this place is trying to kill you by draining all your mana.] She replied.

"HUH?!" I screamed.

[The only reason you're alive is that you are generating mana faster than it's being drained. If it were any other creature, they would have died already.] Aries explained.

"WHAT?! THAT'S INSANE!! And what in the world is even draining my mana?!" I asked.

[Under the lava.] Aries replied.

"Under the lava?" I looked toward the lava and used—

Spy Eye!

Through the lava, I saw…

A purple, glowing dark ball releasing an intense aura. It was boiling like lava itself…

"What in the world is that…?" I asked.

[True Appraisal: It is the Heart of the Island. It absorbs massive amounts of mana and distributes it across the island, allowing strong monsters and plants to evolve. If it stops receiving mana… it will start absorbing space itself. It's similar to your Death Vines but far stronger—it can drain anything.] Aries explained.

"Huh… it absorbs space…?" I asked.

[Yes. If you touch it, there will be no escape.] Aries warned.

"It's basically a black hole, then…" I muttered.

[If you stay at least 20 meters away from it, you'll be outside its draining zone, and it won't be able to steal your mana.] Aries said.

"I see… well, then let's get out of here. Hehe. If it's not a monster that can fight, then there's no need to bother it." I said and started walking out.

After a while, I reached the surface and said,

"It'll be trouble if someone finds this, so I'll do this!"

Earth Magic!

I created a giant rock and sealed the hole, blocking the entrance completely.

"There, all done!" I said.

[Well, it looks like there wasn't a boss under there.] Aries spoke.

"Well, yeah! That means… I'M FREEEEEEEEEEEEE! YAHOOOOOOOOOO!" I screamed in happiness.

I ran around, creating weapons and clothes, even though I couldn't wear them.

I practiced making fruits and potions and did all the things I wanted to do.

"Now, THIS is a peaceful life…"

Or so I thought…

—

A Few Days Later…

While I was roaming near the beach, I noticed some boats coming toward this direction.

"Huh? What the—?" I said and used—

Spy Eye!

I zoomed in and looked at them. There were eight boats, and on them were—

"Humans?!" I said.

[No. Look at their ears carefully.] Aries said.

I looked closer and saw they had ears like cats and dogs—and tails too.

[They are Beastmen.] Aries said.

"Ohhh! I know them from the fantasy RPG games I used to play!" I said.

"This is the first time I had seen them in real life, but wait…"

As I looked more carefully, they were very dirty and injured. Some were fainted in the boats, and others were holding their heavily injured children.

[True Appraisal: 39% of them are suffering from disease. 12% are suffering from life-threatening diseases.] Aries said.

"What in the world happened to them…?" I muttered.

After some time, the boats reached land. The beastmen slowly stepped out and started walking forward. The big and tough-looking ones walked in front, holding weapons—though most were either damaged or broken.

"Those weapons won't save them if monsters were still on this island…" I whispered while hiding behind a tree.

"What do you think? Why did they come here?" I asked.

[I appraised their condition, but I cannot determine their intention. We must find out ourselves.] Aries said.

"I see… well then, let's follow them." I said and silently moved behind them.

Just when I thought I could enjoy my peaceful life…

New visitors had arrived...