"Hi Yiyan, good morning."

"Good morning, Eugeo." Seeing the Ugeo smiling the same as yesterday, Lin Yiyan also said hello briefly and continued, "Ugeo has a whole day off today, right?" ”

"Well, yes. So I want to take Yi Yan for a walk around the village today. ”

"That's great, but before I do that I want to ask you for a favor. Serka disappeared from early in the morning...... I want to look around......"

"Huh?" Yugeo's green eyes widened, then he frowned worriedly, "Did you leave the church without saying a word to Sister Asali?" ”

"It seems to be. The nun said this was the first time it had happened. Does Giorgio know where Serka is going? ”

"Where will it go, even if you ask...... me"

"I told Serka last night about Alice. So I think maybe it's a place where I have memories of Alice...... "Speaking of which, at last, it was really surprisingly late, and I realized the uneasy truth that was entrenched in my heart.

"Ah......h

"What's wrong, what's wrong, Yi Yan?"

"Isn't it ......!! Hey, Eugeo. Once upon a time, when Serka asked you why Alice was taken away by the Integration Knight, you didn't tell her, did you? Why? Yugeo blinked several times, and finally nodded slowly, "Ahhh......h There is indeed such a thing. Why...... Why didn't you say it...... Although there is no clear reason...... But maybe it's because of the unease. It seems as if Serka will follow in Alice's footsteps......"

"This is it." Moaning quietly, Lin Yiyan said, "I told Serka last night. Tell her about Alice's encounter with the land of the Dark Nation...... Serka must have gone to the end of the mountains. ”

"Hey!" Eugeo's face turned white.

"That's too bad. You have to catch up with her and bring her back before the people in the village find out...... When does Cerka depart? ”

"I don't know. When I woke up at half past five, it was gone......"

"It's about five o'clock in the morning. If it's early, you won't be able to walk in the forest. In that case, three hours ago......" Eugeo looked up at the sky and continued, "When Alice and I went to the cave, it took less than five hours on the footsteps of a child. Serka is probably halfway there. I'm going to chase it now, and I don't know if it's too late......"

"Hurry up. Let's go. Lin Yiyan said anxiously, and Yugeo also nodded vigorously.

"There's no time to prepare. Luckily, I always walked along the river, so I didn't have to worry about the water. Good...... This way. Lin Yiyan and Ugeo walked north at a speed that would not surprise other pedestrians. When the shop became sparse and there were no more pedestrians around, they rushed down the stone steps at a speed close to falling. It took about five minutes to walk to the bridge over the canal, and ran outside the village to avoid the eyes of the guards in the sentry box.

Unlike the south side of the wheat field, the north side of the village is next to a deep forest. The hillock that makes up the village of Loulid is surrounded by a canal connected by a river that runs straight through the forest to the north and south. There is a path with fine grass growing on the bank of the river.

Unsquinting, Yugeo rushed into the path by the river, and walked about ten steps to a stand. He stopped Lin Yiyan with his left hand and came down, touching a slightly taller clump of weeds with his right hand.

"That's it...... There are traces of stepping on. He muttered, quickly stamping out the grass "Window".

"Destiny has been reduced a little. If it is stepped on by an adult, it will be reduced even more, and there must have been children passing by here not long ago. Let's go. ”

"Ah...... Ahhhh Lin Yiyan nodded and followed behind Yugeo, who was walking briskly.

No matter how far you walk, the scenery of the river on the right and the forest on the left is almost the same. On the way, we only passed a large lake and a slight uphill slope. It's almost doubtful that you have fallen into the trap of "Ring Terrain" that is common in RPGs. The sound of the village bell tower has long been inaudible, and the time can only be guessed from the little rising sun.

Lin Yiyan and Ugeo marched along the river at trotting speed. If it were me in the real world, it wouldn't take me thirty minutes to lose my breath at all. Fortunately, the average physical strength of men in this world seems to be quite high, and compared to fatigue, they feel comfortable moving their muscles and bones. He once suggested to Ugeo to speed up a little, but Ugeo said that if he ran faster, his destiny would quickly decrease, and he would be unable to move without a long break.

In this way, I ran at a moderate speed for two hours, but I still couldn't see the girl in front of me. Speaking of which, judging by the time, Serka may have arrived in the cave. Restlessness and anxiety spread in the mouth with the smell of iron.

I said...... Eugeo. He said as he was careful not to disturb his breathing. Eugeo, who was running in front of him, looked back, "What's the matter?" ”

"That's just in case...... If Selka enters the Dark Realm, will she be captured by the Integration Knight on the spot? In response, Eugeo looked at him as if he was reminiscing, and immediately denied it, "No...... I think the integration knight will probably fly to the village tomorrow morning. It was like that six years ago. ”

"That's right...... Well, even in the worst-case scenario, there is still a chance to save Serka. ”

“…… What are you thinking, Yi Yan? ”

"It's simple. If you leave the village with Seca today, you might be able to escape the Knights of Integration. ”

"............" Eugeo turned his face back to the front, was silent for a moment, and whispered, "This kind of thing...... How is that possible? And what about vocation......"

"I didn't say I wanted Eugeo to go with me." Lin Yiyan deliberately said in a provocative tone, "I'll take Celka and escape." It's all because I'm talkative, which is responsible. ”

“…… Yi Yan ......" Seeing the injured expression on Yugeo's side face, Lin Yiyan hesitated for a while. However, it was also intended to shake his strong "spirit of compliance". Although I feel a little guilty of taking advantage of the crisis in Serka, it is now necessary to figure out whether the taboo catalogue is just an ethical precept or a rule with absolute coercive force for the people who live in this world.

Finally, after a few seconds, Yogeo shook his head slowly.

"No...... Impossible, Yi Yan. Serka also has a vocation, even if she knows that the knight will come to arrest her, she can't go with you. And I don't think things will get to that point at all. It is impossible for Serka to commit such a major taboo as setting foot in the Dark Realm. ”

"But, Alice did." Lin Yiyan gave a brief example. At this, Yugeo bit his lip tightly and shook his head vigorously again in denial.

Alice...... Alice is special. She was different from everyone else in the village. And I ...... Of course, it's not the same with Celka. After he finished speaking, as if he didn't want to continue talking, he slightly sped up his run. Lin Yiyan followed him and whispered in his heart to the girl who only knew her name at the moment.

- Alice...... Who are you sacred?

For the inhabitants, including Eugeo and Serka, the Taboo Catalogue is not something that can be broken if they want to. It's like people living in the real world can't break the laws of physics and fly in the sky. This can also be said to corroborate the investigation of "although they have the real Fluctlight, the human meaning contained in it is still different from mine".

However, a major taboo was broken...... What kind of existence is Alice, a girl who passively broke a major taboo?

Feet move automatically, to stand on their own, cut and paste fragments of various ideas. That's when Eugeo broke the silence.

"See, Yi Yan." Lin Yiyan raised his face suddenly. Indeed, the forest ahead was interrupted, and Kaya saw gray-white stones joined together. The two men ran side-by-side in the final sprint for the remaining few hundred meters, stopping where the grass at their feet had turned to gravel. Panting slightly, he stared up at the scene in front of him dumbly.

From the edge of the dense forest, separated only by a very narrow buffer zone, suddenly there is an almost vertical mountain of stones. Surprisingly, the place where you can touch it with your hand is covered with a thin layer of snow, and although I don't know how high, there is a pure white light shining in the vicinity of the incitement.

The snow-capped mountains stretch to the left and right of where we stand, until they reach out of sight, as if to perfectly divide the world into two parts, "This Side" and "The Other Side". If there is a designer in this world, I really want to complain that his boundary lines are too simple.

"That's what it is...... End Mountains? Immediately opposite it is the Dark Realm......? Lin Yiyan whispered in disbelief. Yugeo nodded, "I was shocked when I first came here. The End of the World......"

“…… It's so close. With a sigh, Lin Yiyan took the second half of the sentence, and tilted his head unconsciously. There are no obstacles, no forks in the road, and if you walk fast, it only takes two and a half hours to get there. It's just—like a deliberate lure. Lure the inhabitants closer to the Forbidden Lands. Or, conversely, to lure the inhabitants of the Dark Realm into invasion......

Facing Lin Yiyan, who was relieved, Yugeo said anxiously, "Well, let's go." It's about 30 minutes away from Cerka. After finding her, I will immediately pull back to the local dialect, and I can return to the village at dawn. ”

"Ahhh......h That's right. "Following the direction of his finger, we could see that the stream we were walking along was sucked into—or rather, out of it—into an abrupt cavern in the rock face.

"Is that the one......" trotted in. The height and width of the cave are not small, and to the left of the babbling stream, there is a stone path that can accommodate two people walking side by side. The cave was pitch black, with occasional biting winds.

"Hey, Eugeo...... How do you illuminate it? Lin Yiyan completely forgot the necessary items to explore the cave and hurriedly said. Eugeo nodded with a 'leave it to me' look, and held up an ear of grass that he had picked up at some point. So what is this dog's tail grass going to do? In front of Lin Yiyan's dumbfounded gaze, Yugeo said with a serious expression, "System call!" Lit small rod！ ”

《System call》？！ Just when Lin Yiyan was full of surprise——。

The tip of the spike of grass that Yugeo was holding lit up with a blue-white light, bright enough to illuminate the darkness several meters away. Eugeo held it up and stepped into the cavern. Lin Yiyan's surprise did not subside at all, and he hurriedly followed him, walking side by side and asking, "You, Yougeo...... What was just that? ”

Yugeo still frowned solemnly, but he clearly showed a smug look, and replied, "It's a divine technique, but it's very simple. Last year, when I decided to get "Sword of the Green Rose", I practiced hard to learn it. ”

"Divine Magic...... You know...... System and things like Lit...... Meaning? ”

"Meaning...... It's not interesting, because it's a formula. It is a word that calls on the gods and asks for a miracle. It seems that the sentence of the superior divine technique is much longer than the one just now. "I see, it has no meaning as a language, it is just a kind of incantation. Lin Yiyan nodded in his heart. However, this mantra is really realistic. The people who designed this world are really realistic people.

I said...... Can I use it too? Although this is the case, I still ask with some eagerness. Ugeo pondered uncertainly.

"I practiced every day in my spare time at work, and it took me a month to learn this technique. Alice said that people with good quality can learn in a day, and those who can't learn can't learn in a lifetime. Although I don't know what Yi Yan's quality is, it's impossible to learn to estimate it right now......"

That is, to use magic...... Divine art must be practiced repeatedly to improve skills. This is indeed not something that can be mastered overnight. Now I can only give up for a moment and stare at the darkness ahead. **The gray stone road twists and turns, and continues to stretch forward. There was a cold wind blowing in front of me that seemed to be able to cut through the skin, and although there was a partner next to him, he didn't even have a sword in his hand, and he didn't even have a wooden stick, so he was a little uneasy.

I said...... Did Serka really get into this kind of place......" Lin Yiyan couldn't help but mutter. Eugeo silently took a picture of the lit dogtail underground.

"Ah......h The center of the puddle was trampled through, sending out cracks in all directions. Lin Yiyan tried to step on it, and the ice made a clicking sound, and the crack became even bigger. That is, not so long ago a person who was lighter than himself walked across the ice.

"I see...... Looks right. Really...... Should I say that she was reckless or didn't know how to be afraid......" Lin Yiyan couldn't help muttering. Eugeo tilted his head in confusion when he heard this, "Actually, there's nothing to be afraid of." There are no white dragons left in this cave, not even a mouse or a bat. ”

"This, this way, ......" reminds this world that even if there are animals, there are no aggressive monsters. At least on this side of the Ending Mountains, it can be considered an area within the circle in VRMMO.

I don't know when my back relaxed. In the darkness ahead, a wonderful voice came from the wind, and Lin Yiyan and Yugeo glanced at each other. It was a chirping, chirping, like the cry of some kind of bird or beast.

"Hey...... What was it just now? ”

“…… I don't know...... That voice is heard for the first time. Yes!! ”

"W-What is this?"

"Do you have ...... What does it smell like, and Yi Yan ...... it? Hearing him say this, Lin Yiyan sniffed the wind blowing.

"Ah...... It smells burning...... And ...... "mixed with the smell of burning resin, with a hint of beastly stench." Smelling this smell, Lin Yiyan's expression changed instantly. It's not a reassuring taste.

"What is this......" Just as Lin Yiyan said this, a new voice came, and Lin Yiyan gasped.

Ahhh......h With a long tail note, there is no doubt that it is a girl's scream.

"Not good!"

"Celka......!"

Lin Yiyan and Yugeo shouted at the same time, running with all their might on the icy and slippery stone road.

As soon as I came into this world, I felt the greatest - even greater than the time when I didn't know where it was at all - the sense of crisis echoed like ice in my body, paralyzing my hands and feet.

"Under orld" is not exactly a paradise. Beneath the film-like peace is a dark malice. Otherwise it doesn't make sense. For the world is probably a huge pincer that holds all the inhabitants in it. There is someone who spends hundreds of years, slowly, slowly turning the screw. To see whether the inhabitants will resist in unison, or will be crushed powerlessly.

The village of Loulid is probably one of the closest places to the jaws. As "The Last Hour" approaches, the number of souls that have cracked and disappeared among the villagers will gradually increase. However, Lin Yiyan would never allow Serka to be the first of these. Because it was he who introduced her into this cave. In order to take responsibility for interfering in her fate, it is absolutely necessary to bring her back safely......

Relying only on the faint light on the grass spikes, Lin Yiyan and Yugeo ran with all their might. Breathing became disordered, and every time I inhaled, my chest ached sharply. The knees and wrists that slipped under their feet several times and hit the ice wall also hurt constantly, and it is not difficult to imagine that the "Destiny" of both of them has decreased. However, even this does not slow things down.

As we progressed, the scorching smell of burning trees and the smell of wild beasts grew stronger. Mixed with the sound of chirping, the sound of metal clattering was heard frequently. I don't know who is waiting in front, but it's easy to imagine that it's not a friendly guy.

Since you don't even have a dagger at your waist, you should make some battle plans and move forward carefully...... As a gamer, I whispered in my ear, but I thought that 'now is not the time to hesitate'. Moreover, Yugeo's face was even more powerful than Lin Yiyan's, running at a rapid speed, and it was impossible to stop him no matter what he said.

Suddenly, there was an orange light shaking on the rock wall ahead. Judging by the feeling of reflection, it seems to be a rather wide vault inside. A definite, pinprick-like aura of enemy was felt on the skin. And it's plural - quite a lot. Hoping that Serka was okay, Lin Yiyan and Yugeo stepped into the vault-like space at the same time.