"I'm sorry," Seif said. These women only know the pain, and it will only end when they leave this world.

That's why he was sent here. He can help them.

"Tafas wants me to heal you," he said.

"Hah! Is it? Wheezing laughter. Her lips barely moved, but the cracks at the corners of her mouth oozed blood and pus.

"Oh, kid," the other sighed. "You can't help us. There is no cure for our disease. ”

"You might be able to alleviate some of the pain, and we're grateful, but you're wasting your time."

"That can't be...... I must heal you. ”

This is the only way for him to get the job done. Either heal the women, or he'll have to find a way to dig up ten crystals. He would rather be healed. These poor people need healing, far more than Tafas needs crystals. The women who were suffering looked at him with pity, and they were in a much worse situation than he was.

"Tafas twisted the rules for 'his own benefit.'"

"yes, kid, he won't let you take the mountain pass out. You're just as trapped as we are. ”

"That's ......," Sev looked at the other in disbelief. "That's impossible, there has to be a way."

There are no dead ends in this kind of game. Maybe what they told him was true, but there must be a hole somewhere.

They don't need to. Their silence says it all. The woman on the bed exhaled softly and closed her eyes. The simple act of lowering her eyelids caused blood to seep from the sides of her cheeks like sickly tears.

His heart ached. How can a person endure such suffering? It's not the first time he's wondering what's going on in the minds of game developers. Why did they create such game characters? What's the point?

He couldn't even ask Uncle Finn. This brought a wave of intense grief, and he bowed. His strength was so great that he lowered his head and gritted his teeth tightly.

"Try it," he whispered, bringing out his war fan.

The woman didn't speak, but the two people in the chair looked at him with cloudy eyes. There is no expression on his face.

He will prove them wrong. If he is able to re-heal the broken foot, then he can surely eliminate the strange stone structure on the skin.

"Earth Dance", the green wind swirls lazily on his fan and wrist, warm and playful and energetic. He focused his attention on the nearest woman.

"Patch," he said. The breeze rustled through her clothes, blowing through her soft hair and gently caressing her hard skin. It disappeared without any noticeable effect.

He tried again and made up his mind. "Patching." When a similar result is obtained as the first time,

And then again.

The room was filled with a warm spring breeze, whispering on the floor, tumbling from corner to corner, and the whole room was littered with green traces. It dispelled the smell of carrion, leaving only fresh air.

Eventually, the wind stopped, the green faded, and he fell silent, the fan in his hand heavy.

The woman looked at him, her skin gray, rough, hard, pus coming out of the deep cracks, staining her clothes. She looked at him with misty eyes and said, "See? ”

He swallowed heavily and hung down. "Yes."

"It's not your fault," the other said kindly, but he didn't hear it. He walked out of the room dazed, empty and lost, and walked out of the small building.

The cool, pure air outside greeted him, but he couldn't appreciate it. The brightness of the day dispels the lingering gloom that comes with the darkness inside the house, but it does not bring welcome, but rather pain, unforgiveness.

He failed.

He couldn't cure them.

There was a large X mark on the surface of the door, just above his head. He bent his knees to his chest and hugged his knees tightly with his arms.

What should I do now?

He sat in silence for a moment. Then, "System, Inbox." ”

The window pops up. No new messages are displayed. When he looks at his friends list, all the names are greyed out and inaccessible.

He touched the black ring on his thumb. Nothing happened. Now it's just an ordinary ring. His hand hung down.

I can't contact anyone. I can't teleport. I can't get permission.

And his clan...... He hadn't contacted them today, as he planned to teleport to the House of Representatives as soon as he reached Ironback. Now he's trapped here.

His arms tightened his legs. He didn't want the Veiled One to be angry with him. He didn't leave on purpose. It's not his fault! What could he do in such a situation? He lifted his gaze and looked over the minecart track and down the path that led to the outside of the city......

Oh! He jerked to his feet, hope breaking through despair. He has something to do.

The road that leads to the outside of the city. That's his answer. If he can't teleport, he'll go back the way he came. It may take him an hour, but at least he'll be back on the two bridges. From there, he can teleport to the Clan.

He immediately trotted up, his eyes fixed on the road ahead. After a while, he left the mine and the small huts around him. in the back. The caravan was ahead, and Louis was unloading boxes of supplies and placing them on the ground.

The rat-like caravan leader looked up, his mustache twitching in confusion. Seif waved his hand, feeling relaxed. No doubt Louis wondered why Sev had come all the way just to turn around?

Sev smiled to himself.

Mountains rumble. A baseball-sized rock jumped down the hillside, and he stopped just in time to see it bounce off the road in front of him. It went on, almost as if it was being chased, and it rolled down the hillside. He approached the side of the road and leaned down to watch it disappear.

The mountain exploded just above him. Sev gasped, his body writhed, and he turned and looked up—

In an instant, a massive jagged rock flooded into his field of vision, and then engulfed him. The world disappears into white oblivion.

Sef

Panting for air, he staggered when he opened his eyes. Five huts huddled around the entrance to the mine to greet him, as silent and empty as a tomb.

A man crying from behind? Sef turned. He saw Louis beside his caravan, shouting something, and fluttering in shock on the road.

Or the road that used to be.

The only way out of Ironback Mountain, now buried fifteen feet deep under the rubble. The mountain wall above looks like a large chunk has been dug out. Sef's eyes widened in horror.

"You must be careful." A familiar voice said.

Footsteps creaked, and the skeleton of Tafas stepped out of a hut. He stiffened, as if he had been frozen.

Tafas looked at the landslide covering the road and sneered. "Huh. It looks so disgusting. You're lucky that you're an outsider. This kills anyone else. ”

This can't happen. Sef tried to escape, but his feet froze on the ground.

"You'd better watch your step," Tafas suddenly turned to face him. "These mountains are very dangerous."

A rotten smile appeared on that bony face, and a creepy laugh erupted. Sef stood alone in silence.

***

He sat on a rock, chin propped up with one hand, and kept staring at the building across the road. There is a black X mark on the door, telling everyone that the tormented person is living inside. But no one would ever walk through that door. They would avoid it and pass by on their way to another building.

The poor women of that place suffered severely. Who wants to see someone turned to stone with blood oozing out of the cracks in their skin? Not to mention the stench – no one wants to deal with this.

It's not fair.

Why was he able to cure a severed limb but not this or any other disease? Why doesn't he even have the power to touch it? He also remembered that when he tried and failed many times, they gave him a look of pity that bothered him like no other game in this game. Even Ta

Face's stupid game can't be compared either. Ha.

"What's going on in this place?" He muttered to himself. He bent down, picked up a small rock, and threw it at X on the ground. Throw it at the X on the door.

Very sad.

Footsteps creaking on loose rocks. When he looked up, the gray-green robe caught his eye. "Kania?"

She snorted in response, and sat down on another rock next to him. "Well, that's kind of bad."

He noticed blood stains on the hem of her robe, soaking her right boot. It looked like she had stepped into a pool of blood knee-deep. There was more blood splattered all over her clothes.

He asked warily, "What happened?" ”

"Failed to break into the dungeon again, Sef," she told him gravely. "That's it."

"Oh." His gaze passed over to her, toward the entrance to the mine. The Deep Mine Dungeon is located deep at the end of one of the tunnels. It wasn't visible from here, but he could imagine its eerie revolving door. "Not going well?"

"No, it's not like any other dungeon." Her little round face pursed her lips and began to swing her legs, gently tapping against the rock she was sitting on.

"How is it different?"

"Well, you go in and there's only one room." She gestured. "And then all these things will pop up and start attacking you. They are so powerful that we have died many times. ”

It doesn't sound interesting at all. Sef was glad that he didn't have to go into the dungeon with the others. He kept these thoughts in his heart and just nodded slowly. "You don't have a tank or a healer, though, so that's to be expected."

She stuck out her tongue, catching him off guard. "Well, I know! But those things are really weird! Even with tanks, we may not be able to go far. There are too many of them! ”

He nodded again. "Sounds really bad. Where are the others? Did you see Awesome Dude? ”

Kania sneered, her expression instantly irritated.

"Jimbo decided to try his luck in the tunnel," she said, "one said. One of the others went with him. Pretty sure they won't make any progress. And this dude decided to mine crystals, you crazy guy. The rest gave up and quit. ”

"Ahh He rubbed his chin. "Is he really going to mine?"

She exhaled and kicked the rocks with both feet. "yes, but I don't think he's going to go very far. He did say you could join him if you wanted, but to be honest, if we wait here, I'm sure he'll be back soon. Hah"

"Yes, probably." Although Sev is not so sure. If anything, the shadow would get desperately lost in the tunnel, and it would be a few days before they could see him again. He sighed. Kania looked at him again. "What about you?"

"Huh?"

"What does Tafas want you to do? Sitting outside and watching the view? ”

"What!" He almost fell off the rock. Scenery? What nonsense. This made Kania giggle, and he frowned almost to hide his embarrassment. "No, he wants me to heal some women."

"Really? It doesn't sound that hard. ”

Oh, if only she knew. He stared at his feet, motionless compared to Kania's incessant kicks. "I can't cure them."

Her eyes were wide open. "You can't? What do you mean? ”

He shrugged. "Tafas wanted me to heal these tormented people, but my treatment simply couldn't reach them. The disease they suffer from is terrible and there is no cure. ”

"No way. This is crazy! Kania looked insulted by him, but he couldn't help but feel a little encouraged. This is a man who finally understands his pain.

"And that's not all! Since I couldn't teleport, I tried walking out of town. He pointed to the huge rockslides that now covered the ground. The only way out. And then it happened. I'm pretty sure Tafas did it. ”

It seemed impossible, but Kania's eyes widened. "Wow. What a weirdo! ”

Sev nodded vigorously in agreement. "He just came out to tell me to be careful. Just after I was reborn in the city. ”

He looked at Kania, and she didn't disappoint. She looked ugly, bent down, and spat loudly on the ground. "Phew!"

He stared. She met his gaze. Then they both giggled like madmen.