After finding some stones and arranging them in the spots where they had been sitting, Kitsune used his Illusive Leaves skill to transform the stones into illusionary forms of himself, Chang Long, Davy-chan, Hisa-chan, and Kimhant. They then clumsily descended into the hidden passage below.

"Eek! It's pitch dark down here!"

Kimhant exclaimed, upon finding that it was so dark underneath that he could not see anything, not even his own hand.

"Well, it's very deep. Give us some light, Kitsune,"

Chang Long ordered.

"Yes, Master,"

Kitsune replied, exhaling a fireball that he shaped into a floating orb to illuminate their surroundings.

"B... boss can do that too?"

Kimhant stared at the floating fireball in awe. Though he knew Kitsune could breathe fire as he was a beast, but he had not realized he could control it so precisely.

Davy-chan and Hisa-chan, who did not need the light, had already gone ahead to scout for danger. Soon, Davy-chan returned, looking alarmed, and whispered urgently to Chang Long.

"People! 12 living people! They're all on the verge of death!"

"What!"

Chang Long exclaimed, shocked at how easily they had found them.

"This way. Oh! There are traces of the dead around. You should have Kitsune and Hisa-chan guard the entrances; there are two ways in,"

Davy-chan instructed. He led Chang Long to a spot where the living lay scattered, waiting for their death.

Kitsune handed the fireball to Kimhant and returned to guard the entrance they had just used, while Hisa-chan quickly moved to the front to secure the other entrance. Kimhant looked left and right, finding himself alone, quickly ran after Chang Long, not wanting to be left behind.

"Water~ food ~ so hungry~"

came the weak cries from ahead, filling Chang Long with worry. She did not dare to continue because she could not see well and decided to wait for Kimhant, holding the fireball to catch up and illuminate the area.

As the light reached them, Chang Long gasped in horror. The ground was littered with human bones, and living people lay atop them, emaciated and near death. She quickly used her Cone of Abundance to conjure water, which Davy-chan and Kimhant helped to give to the twelve living people. Once they had enough strength, she provided them with food, which they devoured ravenously as if they had been starving for years.

"That was close?"

Chang Long sighed through her mouth with relief, wiping her sweat off as she watched the twelve people eat.

After quenching their thirst and filling their bellies, the twelve living people looked at their savior properly for the first time. Chang Long noticed that among them were ten men and only two women.

"Thank you so much for saving us. We would have starved to death otherwise... and that's a terrible way to go,"

one of them said in a hoarse voice.

"It's nothing. It's just something anyone would do,"

Chang Long replied calmly.

"That's not true. This land has nothing that people can eat. Any human who ends up here must ration their food and water carefully for themselves. No one would be generous enough to share with others like you have!"

Another survivor said, his voice tinged with bitterness.

"Alright! Never mind that for now. Is everyone ready to move? I'll get you out of here,"

Chang Long asked. Kimhant, who had been incessantly taking pictures of the twelve living people, nodded in agreement, feeling extremely uneasy in the place littered with human bones.

"Ah... after eating and drinking our fill, our strength is starting to return. Give us a moment, and we should be able to walk,"

"Uh-huh... How often do the dead come down here?"

Chang Long asked, raising a crucial question for safety despite having Hisa-chan and Kitsune guarding the two entrances.

"Twice a day. They bring water and food, but as you probably know, their food is absolutely disgusting. They watch us suffer for a while before leaving. We didn't stay together like this from the start, though. We just moved here this morning,"

explained the spokesperson for the twelve living people.

"And how many times have they been here today?"

Chang Long asked with a growing sense of dread.

"Once. So far..."

"Master! A group of the dead is heading this way!"

Hisa-chan rushed in, his face filled with alarm.

"This is bad. Everyone, come with me quickly!"

Chang Long urged the twelve living people, who looked panicked at the thought of returning to their tormented starvation.

They scrambled to their feet clumsily, some staggering and unsteady. Davy-chan, Hisa-chan, and Kimhant helped support the weakest among them as they made their way back towards the entrance quickly. Chang Long instructed Kitsune to create an illusion of the twelve living people out of the scattered bones, making it look like they were still lying there. Then they helped the living people towards the exit.

Kimhant was ordered to climb up first to keep watch at the entrance since he could not offer much help otherwise. Chang Long, Kitsune, and her two spirits then used all their speed to haul the twelve living people up swiftly. Her swift movement skill went up by three levels without her realizing it.

The creaking sounds signaled that the dead had reached the area beneath. There were still two survivors left below, their faces etched with extreme fear. Davy-chan managed to get one more up, leaving the last one for Chang Long, who was now sweating profusely from the strenuous effort in bringing the living people to the surface which was three kilometers apart.

"Pass him to me, Master!"

Hisa-chan, seeing Chang Long's exhaustion, offered his help. He swiftly leapt down to assist her. When Chang Long handed over the remaining survivor to Hisa-chan, she lost her balance and fell instead.

"Master!"

Hisa-chan cried out in shock, but Chang Long's body vanished from his grasp, slipping beyond his reach.

Meanwhile, Valentine waited anxiously for the man's response, but he looked at her with suspicion and did not reveal what he was guarding. He stood up, preparing to leave, but his eyes caught sight of a group of the dead approaching, led by Tautas, the captain of the black ship.

"Damn it! I have to go. You should be careful too,"

the man said before swiftly disappearing into the bushes, leaving Aden and Valentine no time to even call to stop him.

"Wait!"

Valentine called out, chasing after him, suspecting that the man might be Kearick, the person they were searching for. Seeing her action, Aden also ran after Valentine.

"Why are you following me!"

The man shouted back when he noticed Valentine running closely behind.

"Because we don't even know your name. You might be the one we're looking for!"

Valentine replied, effortlessly catching up with him.

"Following me just to know my name!?"

The man asked incredulously.

"Yes!"

Valentine responded briefly, almost causing the man to faint.

"We're in a life-or-death situation, and you're chasing me to ask my name!"

He barked irritably while continuing to run at full speed.

"Yes!"

Valentine answered with her usual smile, making the man stop abruptly and turn to face her.

"You really want to know?"

He asked.

"Yes," she said, still smiling. At that moment, Aden caught up with them.

"...If one of you can follow me into the Castle of Death at the northernmost part of the island, I'll tell you. If not! Give up and we part ways. Deal?"

The man proposed with a sly grin.

"Alright. But what should we call you in the meantime?"

Valentine agreed without hesitation, not thinking too much about it, while Aden furrowed his brows, suspecting the man was planning something.

"Call me whatever you want! I'm off,"

the man said, and then he ran off immediately.

"Anything I want? Hmm... I'll call you Ragged,"

Valentine said, pondering for a moment before choosing a name that suited his appearance.

"See you at the Castle of Death, Ragged!"

Valentine shouted after him, making him stumble and fall face-first to the ground.

"W... what did you just call me!"

Ragged shouted back, not caring about the cut on his forehead.

"Ragged."

Valentine replied cheerfully, not thinking he would like the name she gave him so much.

"How could you name me Ragged. From what did you derive that name!"

Ragged yelled, clearly displeased.

"From every aspect. Or do you not like it?"

Valentine responded, unfazed.

"No, I don't like it at all! How could you name me Ragged. It ruins my reputation as a royal guard!"

Ragged yelled, standing up angrily.

"Then tell me your real name,"

Valentine countered. Aden, standing nearby, could not help but smile at her cleverness.

"No! If you want to know my name, follow our agreement! And stop calling me Ragged,"

Ragged retorted irritably.

"If you don't tell me your real name, I'll keep calling you Ragged!"

Valentine insisted firmly.

"There you are, Kearick..." Captain Tautas said in a pleasant tone, but his face was menacing as if ready to devour someone.

"You shut up! I told you to stop calling me Ragged!"

Kearick, previously known as Ragged, snapped at Captain Tautas. He then turned back to argue with Valentine, ignoring Tautas' shocked expression.

"Sh... shut up! You dare speak to me like that? You, a useless royal guard, dare shout to my face!"

Tautas swore, his voice icy, glaring at Kearick with fury.

"... I'm screwed. This is your fault. I'll deal with you later!"

Kearick looked around nervously as Tautas's men surrounded him.

"No worries, we've got this!"

Valentine smiled, readying herself for a fight. Aden, meanwhile, quickly texted their friends to regroup right away.

Grab!!

Chang Long grasped a ladder rung just in time, narrowly avoiding a fatal fall. She glanced down and saw that just a few more meters and she would have met a grim fate like so many other players had. Clinging tightly to the ladder, she breathed a sigh of relief at her luck.

"Hehe, I'm still far behind Davy-chan and Hisa-chan. Even Kitsune moves like he's flying, running on walls and everything. Without my Mystic Gust skill, I don't know if I would have made it!"

Chang Long muttered to herself. She began climbing the long, seemingly long, endless ladder again, wondering if she had enough strength to reach the top.

Beep beep beep beep

The sound of a message alert from Aden echoed loudly. Chang Long quickly silenced it, worried the dead might hear as it was very quiet in there. Reading the message, she smiled in satisfaction before replying that she had found all twelve living people as well.

"Whew! That's great. We can finally get out of here,"

Chang Long said to herself quietly, then resumed her climb, albeit wearily.

Nearly half an hour later, Chang Long finally reached the top. Her companions were waiting anxiously, but seeing her emerge safely, they began planning their next move. It was nighttime, and the surroundings were pitch dark without a single light.

"Kitsune, you see well in the dark, right? Go help Mi and the others. We'll take these people to the Castle of Death. Bring everyone there once you're done,"

Chang Long instructed.

"Yes, Master. Please be careful!"

Kitsune replied, then swiftly vanished into the darkness.

"Let's move out!"

Chang Long commanded. They began their journey towards the north, where the Castle of Death was located. She knew it was a forbidden zone that even the dead could not enter. But she was determined to go there, no one could stop her. She just hoped the dead would not dare follow, so things would be less complicated.

"Master, isn't that place forbidden? How will we get in?!"

Kimhant asked, puzzled.

"I don't know, but I have a feeling we need to go there. And I also feel that I can get in!"

Chang Long answered, frowning slightly, unsure where her confidence was coming from.

"It's strange. Why aren't there any dead wandering around?"

Davy-chan remarked, feeling uneasy.

"Yeah, let's hurry!"

Hisa-chan agreed, urging everyone to quicken their pace. Though exhausted and weary, the twelve living people tried to keep up. They feared that if they were too slow, they would not be able to escape the Land of the Dead.

"Wait!"

Davy-chan called out after they had walked for a while. Everyone halted, glancing around nervously. In the pitch darkness, it felt like countless sinister eyes were watching them from all directions.

"What's wrong, Davy-chan?"

Chang Long asked grimly, trying to keep her voice steady to avoid alarming the others.

"We're completely surrounded,"

As soon as Davy-chan finished speaking, a low murmuring sound echoed from all around them. The twelve living people stood trembling in fear, while Chang Long, Davy-chan, and Hisa-chan drew their weapons, ready for whatever might come.

-----

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