Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
Angor saw a light.
Seeing light in this never-ending darkness was strange no matter how one looked at the matter. Instead of hoping for an exit, Angor’s instinct told him that it might be an unknown danger.
When he read about plane passageways, he learned that this place wasn’t complete emptiness. There were still specific creatures living here, such as Hollow Weed.
Or certain monsters.
The chance of finding a monster in a plane passageway was as terrible as seeking a needle in a haystack. But it wasn’t zero. Monsters, phantom beasts, or even common animals might wander around this particular place.
Some of them might have stumbled in here by accident, while the others considered the plane passageway their home.
No matter what it was, any other lifeform Angor might meet could be dangerous. Anything that managed to survive in a plane passageway had to have some kind of abilities.
From the books, Angor read about a certain “glowing beast” called “Bacabrado”. According to a wizard’s note, Bacabrado was a gentle-tempered monster that had a shining lantern on its head. The creature used the light to attract Hollow Weed where it would then consume them.
However, the book was written by a wizard and meant to be read by other wizards. A “gentle” monster in their eyes might be something downright deadly to Angor.
The book might have described Bacabrado as herbivorous. But it was probably because there wasn’t anything else for it to eat.
The creature was usually used by wizards to find Hollow Weed. They just needed to follow one to locate the plant. However, Angor wasn’t sure he could do the same without the same power.
Actually, he didn’t even know if the light came from an exit or a Bacabrado.
It didn’t really matter. He also wasn’t sure how long he was going to spend in this total darkness. Even a piece of uncertain hope was better than nothing.
He considered his option and spoke to Toby, “Head to the light. And… be prepared. If it’s a monster, you just get away. Don’t mind me.”
Toby didn’t reply this time.
The light source was still far and tiny, but it was enough to be used as a “lighthouse” which guided them.
…
It drew closer.
They kept flying; Angor noticed that both of his assumptions might be incorrect. The light was neither an exit nor a Bacabrado creature.
According to the book, a Bacabrado released pure white light which could be seen up to ten kilometers away. But Angor was looking at something colorful. It moved and flowed in the darkness ahead like a rainbow galaxy.
Toby stopped moving.
“That’s not a door. It’s moving…” Angor chuckled helplessly. “And I think it’s heading this way.”
Since a Bacabrado was considered relatively gentle, something other than a Bacabrado meant that it could be even more dangerous. Judging from the books, none of the other monsters living inside plane passageways was anything friendly. Even wizards had to avoid running into them.
“Drop me, Toby! Run!”
Again, Toby didn’t answer. The bird dragged Angor and turned back.
Angor tried to force Toby away. But he then realized that Toby’s talons were extremely strong—he couldn’t move them off at all.
“Let go of me!” Angor looked back and saw the “flowing rainbow” catching up. There was no way Toby could outrun it while carrying him.
Angor thought about using an illusion to trick Toby into escaping on his own. He didn’t get the chance because he soon sensed emotions.
Joyful emotions.
“Praise the moon!”
“Praise the queen!”
“Praise our Shava!”
Angor was very surprised to sense the familiar emotions. He then smiled in joy.
“Okay, stop running. I think… we’re safe!”
…
The “journey in darkness” was only true for the first half. Angor quite enjoyed the remaining half of it.
The flowing rainbow turned into a flying carpet which allowed Angor to sit on it. Toby perched against his cheek, while the colors around him praised his, or Shava’s name. It was quite the luxury one could expect in such a desolate environment.
Half an hour ago, when Angor just heard the praising chants, he immediately realized the nature of the “flowing rainbow”—the rainbow dragonflies.
They had to be the same ones who came from the Nightmare Realm, or he wouldn’t be hearing Shava’s name.
Angor also noticed that these were not the guards that protected the monster nest in Lady’s Juice because he was looking at a swarm of a thousand. There were only about a hundred insects that wandered around in Twilight Well.
So what were these dragonflies doing inside a plane passageway?
Angor didn’t really need to know. There had to be a way for these rainbow dragonflies to survive here, and Angor believed that they knew about the coordinate of Nightmare Realm.
With this in mind, he tried to communicate with the dragonflies, hoping to ask them to get him out of here.
It was difficult. The insects had very limited intelligence. They knew nothing more than praising people.
Angor considered and decided to tell the dragonflies that he would stay with them. And they understood him this time.
This was exactly what was happening now—about a thousand rainbow dragonflies gathered together as a colorful carpet and supported Angor who was sitting on top of them.
With their help, Toby finally got to rest properly.
Angor had no idea where the insects were heading. They had to have a destination though, be it Nightmare Realm or somewhere else. This would explain why they were acting as one.
Angor wouldn’t be picky now. As long as he could get the hell out of this plane passageway and away from the eternal void, he would take another adventure inside the Nightmare Realm.
…
They traveled for a long time.
Angor had been keeping his eyes on the pocket watch. The hour arm had moved several rounds now. He didn’t know whether time here shared the same flow with the wizarding world, but at least, his watch suggested that it had been two and a half days since he fell.
Which meant the outside was the 3rd day of Month of Harvest.
Toby had some sleep during the period, while Angor also took a small nap. His spirit had recovered. Yet he was soon met with another problem: hunger.
He had placed all his valuables inside the space bracelet… but there was no food.
He had another choice though, which was to eat some of Toby’s dried fish.
Toby’s Snowy Feather was stuffed with his favorite fish slices, along with all kinds of strange clothes.
Under Toby’s doubtful gaze, Angor pretended to be having a good meal while he chewed the salty and odorous fish.
“This is nice. I’ll buy you more next time.”
Toby waved his wings twice: I want twice the volume.
Angor nodded. “I’ll give you five!”
He silently made up his mind that he would find a chance and stock some food inside his bracelet. Wizards could survive on their energy for years on end without eating, but he couldn’t do that kind of wonder yet.
Or maybe he could try to learn a Gourmet Spell called “Mana Bread”.
As an Illusionist apprentice though, it would take forever for him to learn a professional spell which wasn’t his expertise.
While he went over his random thoughts, the rainbow dragonflies had carried him near a real Bacabrado.
It happened pretty fast. The leading dragonflies suddenly strayed off the course of nightmare aura and headed toward somewhere below their direction.
Angor looked around, puzzled. He saw a giant lizard-like creature not far from him, who had been surrounded by the rainbow dragonflies. The lizard had a glowing “lantern” on its head like those of an anglerfish, which released bright white light.
“A Bacabrado?” Angor was shocked when he realized he just won the jackpot. Finding a monster inside a plane passageway was almost impossible.
He took a close look and saw the Bacabrado trembling badly. It seemed as if it was terrified of the dragonflies.
“Go. We come next time!”
… was what Angor sensed from the insects.
Next, he saw the Bacabrado becoming somewhat relived before it then swiftly traveled into the darkness, wiggling its lantern to and fro.
“Is that creature tamed by the dragonflies?” he wondered out loud.
After the beast completely disappeared, the biggest dragonfly in their rank approached Angor while carrying a small, green light spot.
It presented the green spot to Angor like a peasant who was sending a gift to a king.
“Hollow Weed… For me?” Angor already saw some of the plants around that Bacabrado. He didn’t take them since he saw the dragonflies feeding on them. These insects already gave him a “ride”. Even if the Hollow Weed was extremely valuable, he wouldn’t take their “fuel”.
But since the dragonflies meant to give him one as a gift, he didn’t reject it.
The green lump was as large as an egg. From a quick look, Angor took a guess that there had to be hundreds of Hollow Weed spheres congested together. Those 13 units he obtained last time got him a small habitat of around half cubic meter. Now with these extra ones, he could probably make his entire storage space liveable. With some to spare!