Reigns’ eyes widened instantly and he almost jumped on the spot.
"WAIT A SECOND!"
His sudden scream echoed throughout the area and several people turned to look at him.
"They aren’t going to offer us sacrifices right?!"
Nyxara’s expression also turned cold imdiately.
A sharp tallic sound rang out as she instantly drew her greatsword and stepped slightly in front of Reigns.
The atmosphere beca tense in an instant.
Several villagers froze while Gunther hurriedly raised both his hands.
"Stop being insane."
He rubbed his forehead with a tired look before pointing toward the gathered monsters.
"The sacrifices refer to the things we hunted."
Gunther sighed deeply and motioned for them to watch carefully.
"Watch that."
Reigns and Nyxara slowly lowered their guard but still remained cautious.
Under their watchful gazes, several villagers stepped forward and grabbed the corpses of the monsters they had hunted earlier.
One by one, they dragged the corpses toward the bloody hole beneath the giant root.
Then they threw them inside.
THUD!
THUD!
THUD!
The hole looked endless.
Every monster corpse disappeared completely into the abyss without making any further sound.
Reigns frowned deeply while staring at the strange hole.
"That hole... What is it?"
"Where does it lead to?"
He turned toward Gunther while asking.
Gunther slowly shook his head.
"We don’t know."
His tone carried a strange heaviness.
"Also... don’t ask questions. Just watch."
Reigns and Nyxara exchanged confused glances but stayed silent and continued watching.
Soon, all the monster corpses had been thrown inside.
Silence spread across the area.
Until a faint tremble spread beneath the ground.
RUMBLE...
Reigns’ eyes narrowed slightly.
The very next mont, the huge dark hole suddenly shook violently.Then sothing surged upward from within.
SHHHHHHH!
A small fountain burst out from the darkness.
Clear crystal water erupted upward and flowed across the hole while releasing a faint cold mist into the surroundings.
The villagers imdiately revealed relieved expressions.
"That’s..."
Reigns muttered subconsciously while staring at the clear water.
Gunther pointed toward it and nodded slowly.
"Yes... That’s our lifeline."
"And the very reason we were able to survive."
His eyes quietly looked at the flowing crystal water.
"Without it, we would have died of thirst long ago."
******
Water...
It was the source of all life. For those who had plenty of it, it was worth nothing. Yet only when it beca scarce did humans truly understand its value.
Reigns had never imagined that out of all the problems he would face, it would be a shortage of water.
The upper floors of the dungeon had many things, but they lacked the most crucial and fundantal thing.
Water.
There was no water source or water body anywhere. Nor was there any rain.
"You aren’t kidding right? This has to be a joke right?"
Reigns asked while grabbing the small dusty table tightly.
Right now, they were inside Gunther’s house. It was a single small room with a large bed, a table at the side, and so broken and tattered weapons lying around the corners.
"Do I look like I am joking to you!" Gunther replied seriously. There was no trace of his usual light-hearted smile.
"I am one of the very first inhabitants to co across this land. At first, we drank monster blood to survive, but do you know what’s the problem with that?"
"What!" Reigns asked hoarsely.
"It’s poisonous."
Gunther’s expression darkened as he spoke.
"Many died from poison, and to make it worse, here you can only die twice. There is no concept of halving though."
Reigns, who already felt numb after the series of emotional blows, found himself stunned once again. His throat felt dry as he slowly looked toward Nyxara, but she still maintained a straight expression as if she had expected sothing like this.
At that mont, Reigns began cursing himself inwardly.
’Why Reigns? Just why the hell did you have to step into this hell hole? You could have hunted outside, beco Lv10, and left, but now...’
His thoughts suddenly stopped midway as sothing crossed his mind.
"Gunther... What if you are all wrong?"
"Wrong?" Gunther’s brows furrowed instantly.
"Yes... What if that Shattered Canopy is the boss monster."
The atmosphere inside the room suddenly turned chilly.
Gunther’s eyes widened and his whole body started trembling slightly, which made Reigns frown. Gunther looked visibly unstable as he clenched his fists tightly while biting his lips. It was as if he was struggling to hold himself back.
But that lasted only for a second.
"NOOO!" he shouted loudly.
"Why are you screaming?" Reigns retorted with irritation.
"No ans no. How the hell can you accuse that great being?"
Gunther’s voice beca unusually sharp.
"That thing is the source of life. Source of our vitality. Don’t go around and accuse it. I might ignore it, but others won’t."
He pointed a finger at Reigns while speaking.
"They might kill you for real after hearing this, so don’t go around digging your own ass."
"I..." Reigns wanted to say sothing, but Gunther waved his hand and cut him off.
"That tree isn’t a boss monster. Do you think we are stupid enough to not distinguish between a monster and a tree?"
Gunther spoke firmly.
"When we spot a monster, we can see its level no matter what it is. That’s the fundantal law. But did you see any level mark over it?"
Reigns’ face stirred slightly.
"Now that you said it..."
Nyx, who had been silent until now, finally turned toward Reigns and spoke calmly.
"Darling, he might be correct. The tree might not be the monster."
"How can you be so sure? What if it has a way to avoid it?"
"Reigns... You are overestimating things quite a bit. This is a Tier 0 zone."
Nyx crossed her arms while speaking.
"Why do you think we still haven’t reached Tier 2? Heck, we can’t even move to Lv20 because there aren’t monsters that strong here. Also, the periphery of this land is surrounded by a strange darkness. Anyone touching it would be infected."
"Infected!"
Nyx reacted strongly this ti, startling both Reigns and Gunther.
Her expression changed for the first ti as her eyes narrowed sharply.
"Did that weird bear you killed and the weirdness of this place stem from that?"
Gunther paused a bit and nodded.
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