Chapter 81: The Rocky Reef

Chapter 81: Chapter 81: The Rocky Reef

The orb of light still hovered in mid-air, blinking continuously as if urging them to move forward. But Jeremy couldn’t be bothered to look at it anymore. He reached out to brace his hands against the edge of the rock, gathering his strength to push his soaking wet body ashore.

His clothes clung tightly to him, revealing the slender yet solid physique of a youth. After a long, grueling day of gambling his life, without a single drop of water or morsel of food to line his stomach, if he didn’t die of hunger and thirst, he was on the verge of collapsing from utter exhaustion.

Jeremy’s gaze swept over his four teammates. Just as expected, everyone’s face was deathly pale, their breathing tragically ragged.

Having fought side by side countless times, Jeremy knew the physical limits of each person very well. He spoke up, his voice slightly hoarse from fatigue: "Let’s rest for a bit. I’m completely out of breath."

That statement was like a pardon. Without needing to be told, the other four took turns dragging their heavy bodies onto the boulder.

Jeremy stepped back a few paces, chose a dry corner of the rock, and plopped down. The remaining four also immediately chose spots around him, leaning back-to-back and closing their eyes to rest. The orb of light spun in the air, and realizing that no one was paying attention to it, tactfully dimmed its glow and obediently lowered itself to rest quietly in a corner.

Night gradually fell.

The temperature difference between day and night in the wasteland was a death sentence. The days were blazing hot, while the nights were bone-chillingly cold. Moreover, they were currently surrounded by the sea; each gust of howling wind carried a freezing mist that cut like knives against their skin.

Jeremy crossed his arms over his chest, his muscles unconsciously tensing to fight off the cold. Hunger, cold, and fatigue intertwined. A heavy drowsiness crept in, but his vigilant nerves remained taut as a bowstring. Sweeping his gaze around, the sea surface was a pitch-black expanse without a single sign of land. He didn’t know to the ends of the earth that cursed light intended to lead them.

He slightly clenched his fists, clicking his tongue inwardly. He knew the environment was harsh, but he hadn’t expected this wasteland to be so barren that even the wild fruits carried mutant pathogens. The meager dry rations they brought had run out entirely three days ago.

"Grumble... grumble..."

A low, muffled sound broke the silence. But this time, it wasn’t the chirping of the orb of light, but... a protest from a stomach.

Jeremy frowned slightly and was about to rub his belly when he suddenly realized the sound hadn’t come from his own body. Jeremy’s gaze landed on Leon. The young man let out a soft, awkward cough and turned his face away, his tightly furrowed brows hiding his embarrassment.

Jeremy jutted his chin toward the sea surface: "Tell me, do you think there are any edible fish beneath this thick water?"

Lucius lazily lifted his eyelids. His indifferent gaze swept across the gloomy, bubbling water, and his deep voice rang out, tearing away the last shred of hope: "Ninety-nine percent of them are highly toxic."

The remaining one percent depended on how sturdy their internal organs were.

Jeremy gave a soft snort, resting his head against the rock wall. On the opposite side, Evelyn observed the silent expressions of her teammates. Her eyelashes lowered slightly, and after hesitating for a long time, she finally reached into her spatial ring and took out a coarse cloth bag.

She untied the knot. Inside were a few pitch-black loaves of bread with bumpy, uneven crusts, giving off a faint, pungent smell of rye bran.

Jeremy glanced over. He knew this type of bread. In his fragmented memories, this was the most bottom-tier ration, hard as a rock, meant only for the poorest classes who gritted their teeth to survive day by day. For just two copper coins, one could buy a loaf.

Evelyn pushed the cloth bag into the middle of the circle, her voice somewhat hesitant: "...I only have this. Can you guys make do with it?" She pursed her lips and added: "It will be a bit hard to swallow."

Driven to a dead end, Jeremy had no reason to act aloof. He leaned forward and decisively reached out to grab a loaf: "It’s better than nothing. Thank you, Evelyn."

It was just a loaf of bread; no matter how hard it was to eat, a few bites and he would be done. Thinking this, Jeremy brought the bread to his mouth and took a forceful bite.

A sharp jolt of pain shot through his jaw. The loaf of bread... didn’t even have a dent.

Jeremy froze. He frowned, applying even more force for a second bite. As a result, the loaf only flaked off a few tiny crumbs of bran, like dandruff on hair. Held in the hand, this thing was incredibly dense; throwing it out could probably smash a magical beast’s head open.

He silently lowered his hand, staring with a complex gaze at the "lethal weapon" masquerading as food. Evelyn’s words "a bit hard to swallow" were probably too light of a description.

Seeing Jeremy’s speechless demeanor, the curiosity of the other three men was also piqued. Leon, Phoenix, and Lucius consecutively nodded in thanks to Evelyn and took their shares.

The moment Leon took a bite, his facial muscles twitched. His Adam’s apple bobbed up and down; his instinct was to spit it out immediately, but catching a glimpse of Evelyn huddled in a corner from the corner of his eye, Leon gritted his teeth and swallowed the bone-dry thing tasting of sawdust and sand down his stomach.

Phoenix and Lucius were much more composed. Phoenix retreated into a hidden corner, calmly pulled out a flask of clean water, and poured it over his bread, patiently waiting for the water to soak in and soften the stiff crust.

Meanwhile, Lucius maintained his usual sharp, cold expression. He took small bites and chewed slowly, only his eating speed had decreased to the absolute minimum, as if he were chewing poisoned wax.

Watching their reactions, the corners of Jeremy’s lips curled up slightly to form a faint smile. He mimicked Phoenix, pouring water to soften this brick-like object before slowly bringing it to his mouth. Although the taste didn’t improve in the slightest, the gnawing sensation in his stomach was temporarily soothed.

Not a single person opened their mouth to press Evelyn on why an elegant noblewoman like her would stash rations belonging to the bottom tier of society. Throughout their years of wandering, they understood perfectly well that some secrets didn’t need to be laid bare. Silence, sometimes, was the greatest respect.

Evelyn had originally prepared herself mentally to face sharp questions or suspicious gazes. But the space only retained the murmuring sound of crashing waves. Her face revealed no emotion, but her fingers, which had been gripping the rye bread so tightly they turned pale, gradually loosened.

Over half an hour later, the makeshift meal finally ended. Jeremy glanced at his watch; the glowing hands had ticked past one in the morning.

Up until this moment, the sea surface remained submerged in a spine-chilling silence, without a single trace of a magical beast surfacing. The amount of toxins lingering in the air had also noticeably diluted. It was unclear whether this was the calm before the storm, or if the central area of this rift was inherently a zone of absolute safety.

But staying awake all night in an unfamiliar environment was a major taboo, no matter how powerful a mage one was. Jeremy adjusted his collar and cleared his throat: "We’ll take turns keeping watch. Rest and gather your strength, we’ll head out at dawn."

The four of them nodded in unison: "Alright."

—

Six hours passed.

The gloomy sunlight tore through the veil of night. The five adjusted their gear and continued to follow the orb of light. With natural light, the oppressive feeling lessened somewhat. Instead of struggling to swim to save magic power like last night, this time they decisively unleashed their Sacred Weapons, manifesting brilliant magic wings, and soared through the air.

After nearly an hour of flying, the orb of light led them straight into a sea area swallowed by a stark white fog.

The fog was as thick as milk, restricting their vision to the point where they could only vaguely see the silhouette of the person flying right next to them. Jeremy narrowed his eyes slightly, his fingertips hidden inside his sleeves lightly stroking the hilt of his sword.

A flash of doubt darted through the depths of his eyes, wondering if the decision to chase after this mindless thing had been a wrong move.