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Chapter 120
Awoooo!
In that moment, a wolf's howl echoed from somewhere far ‌‌‌‌away.
"Damn it."
I spun around urgently, only to see Silver Earthworm tilting her head at me with a bright, innocent expression.
I deliberated, glancing back and forth between Silver Earthworm and the dark ‌‌Underground Staircase below.
"I suppose heading down is the better ‌‌choice?"
Awoo!
At the wolf's howl that ‌‌‌‌followed, I stopped deliberating ‌‌‌and resolved to descend.
'I need ‌‌a torch.'
Scanning my surroundings, I picked up a ‌‌long wooden stick. Then I unwound ‌‌‌‌the bandage wrapped around my ‌‌forearm. Fortunately, the wound had stopped bleeding, so applying medicine ‌shouldn't cause any serious complications.
I set the bandage on the ground ‌‌‌and pulled out a lighter from my crossbody bag. I soaked the bandage with lighter fluid, wrapped it tightly around the ‌‌‌end of the wooden stick, then looked at Silver Earthworm.
"Silver Earthworm, a little fire, please."
At my request, Silver Earthworm breathed out a small flame the size of a fist. The bandage caught fire, and the torch blazed brilliantly.
I reached ‌‌‌out toward Silver Earthworm. She climbed up my arm as if she'd been waiting, settling comfortably on my shoulder with her head resting against mine. ‌‌‌‌
Slowly, I ‌‌descended the Underground Staircase. As I went down, I remembered to reach for the ‌‌wooden board at the entrance and close the door behind me.
Everything was pitch black, making it nearly impossible to distinguish anything. With only the torch's meager light, I carefully placed ‌one foot in front ‌‌‌of the other.
Tap. Tap.
Nothing but ‌‌silence accompanied my footsteps down the stairs, making it difficult to breathe. My shoulders had grown rigid with tension.
I had no idea what awaited me at the bottom of this staircase, but I desperately hoped it would be better than ‌‌the Monsters above ground. Desperately.
After descending for what felt like an eternity, the stairs finally ended, and solid earth met my feet.
Raising the torch to illuminate my surroundings, I found ‌‌‌an Underground Corridor so dark that ‌‌I could barely see ahead.
The corridor was extremely narrow and low-ceilinged—only someone with a small frame could pass ‌‌‌‌through.
Men with large builds like Enoch and Kaiden would likely be unable to pass. That fact made the place feel even more unsettling.
'Who could have built something like this?'
Could it be Jenath?
Perhaps it would be wiser to sit on the stairs ‌‌and wait for daylight to ‌‌return above rather than explore this suspicious space alone.
'But I can't pass through without properly investigating.'
Our knowledge of the Island was already desperately limited.
If there was any chance to gather even the smallest scrap of information, I had to seize ‌‌‌it actively.
Who knew if spaces like Jenas's Cabin might appear again?
I took a deep breath and moved forward.
The space was so cramped that I extended the hand holding the torch ahead of me and moved cautiously. The corridor, made of stone walls, was cool and damp.
Drip. Drip.
The sound of water droplets fell unusually loud. Feeling an ‌eerie chill, I walked forward but then turned the torch around to check behind me as well.
The path ahead showed no end, and having walked for so long, neither did the path behind.
I stood there uncertainly until ‌‌Silver ‌‌‌‌‌Earthworm, resting on my shoulder, lifted her head and rubbed ‌‌‌her scales against my cheek, bringing me back to my senses.
"Thank you."
After whispering softly to Silver Earthworm, I resumed walking.
* * *
The air grows increasingly thin, and I feel suffocated.
I found myself caught in serious deliberation—should I retrace my steps and head back outside?
'But how would I even find Enoch and Kaiden out there?'
I had no idea where they were.
Standing in the dim Underground Corridor, wrestling with indecision, I eventually pressed forward. The passage seemed to stretch endlessly into darkness.
Then Silver Earthworm, coiled around my arm, suddenly extended her head and fixed her gaze ahead, baring her sharp fangs.
Hisssss—
I ‌‌froze, every muscle taut with tension.
I stretched my torch-bearing ‌‌‌‌hand forward as far as I could, but ‌‌‌it illuminated ‌‌‌only a foot or so ahead.
And in that moment, I heard something approaching from far away.
Thud-thud-thud-thud-thud-thud—
It was an eerie sound, as if something massive were rolling toward me.
There's nowhere to hide here. The Underground Corridor was narrow and low-ceilinged.
Damn it. Whatever it is, am I really ‌going to die here so pathetically?
...No. That can't happen.
'I have to run—now!'
I spun around to retrace my steps, ‌‌but Silver Earthworm suddenly scrambled from ‌‌‌‌my shoulder up and over my head.
"Wait—Silver Earthworm!"
I called out in surprise, but she leaped upward without hesitation, vanishing into the darkness ‌‌above what should have been a sealed ceiling.
Startled, I raised my torch and saw wooden branches twisted together in a lattice pattern like an iron framework. Silver Earthworm hung suspended among them, flicking her tongue as she looked down at me.
Thud-thud-thud-thud-thud-thud-thud-thud—
The faint ‌‌‌sound grew steadily closer, making clear just how long this Underground Corridor truly was.
I quickly clenched the torch's shaft between my teeth, jumped up, and gripped the wooden branches firmly.
Then, like hanging from a horizontal bar, I bent my legs and wedged them between the branches, suspending myself from the ‌‌ceiling.
'Damn it, I'm going to fall.'
My hands trembled like aspen leaves as I hung there. I'd always been last in the horizontal bar hang during high school PE class. And now, with my arm already injured, the situation was even worse.
The torch clenched in my teeth threatened to touch the vines at any moment, making it harder still to maintain my position.
'The torch is making my face burn.'
But if I dropped it now, that would be far worse. I had to endure. I had to survive.
That desperate will to live summoned strength I didn't know I possessed.
Thud-thud-thud-thud—
The distant sound had drawn terrifyingly close. I'd thought it was a boulder rolling, but listening carefully, it seemed lighter than that.
Hanging upside down from the ceiling, I peered into the darkness below and saw something moving in the distance.
A ‌‌‌‌massive swarm of rats was rolling toward me in a writhing mass.
As they drew nearer, my skin crawled. I pressed my body flat against ‌‌the ceiling and waited for them to pass safely through the Underground Corridor.
Soon the ball of rats rolled beneath me and continued past.
Relief washed over me, and I exhaled—
Snap.
The vine I was gripping with my right hand snapped. Hearing that ‌‌‌sound, the swarm of rats that had been disappearing into the distance suddenly ‌‌stopped.
Snap. ‌‌‌Now the vine in my left hand gave way. My upper body tilted ‌‌‌‌downward.
'Damn it, damn it!'
I braced my legs to ‌‌‌‌keep from plummeting to the ground. Then I seized the torch I'd ‌‌‍been holding in my teeth, thrust it forward, and secured my line of sight.
The rats clustered like a ball in the distance suddenly scattered and rushed toward me.
I landed on the ground in a panic and waved the torch at them to keep them at bay, threatening them with the flames. As the firelight swept ‌‌through the air, the rats hesitated and retreated.
At that moment, Silver Earthworm descended from where it had been clinging to the ceiling.
The rats' reaction upon belatedly noticing Silver Earthworm was far from ordinary. They convulsed in a frenzy and ‌‌began fleeing, though some lingered nervously. It made sense—a predator Anaconda had appeared before them.
The problem was that these rats were Monsters too, which meant Jenath might have pinpointed my location through them.
'Damn.'
Silver Earthworm crawled toward me, glancing ‌‌‌sideways to gauge my reaction.
"Do as you wish."
The moment I gave permission, Silver Earthworm flicked its tail once and then opened its mouth wide.
As it inhaled, even the distant rats were swept up by the wind and sucked into Silver Earthworm's maw.
The violent suction sent wind howling through the narrow corridor, and the torch's flame flickered and nearly extinguished.
After a moment, ‌‌‌the wind ceased and Silver Earthworm's snout returned to its normal ‌size. Not a single rat remained in the corridor.
Silver ‌Earthworm looked up at me and stuck out its tongue. Then it let out a belch. Do snakes even burp?
Well, Silver Earthworm isn't really a snake anyway.
"Well ‌‌‌done."
At my praise, Silver Earthworm spun around happily. How adorable.
'That would have been bad without Silver Earthworm.'
Silver Earthworm truly is the best.
I picked it up, draped it across my shoulders, and resumed walking toward the end of the corridor.
In truth, this gloomy space was the kind of place where rats could burst out at any moment. From the way Silver Earthworm devoured them, they seemed to be rats with magical power.
I quickened my pace slightly. I needed to ‌‌discover what lay at the end of this corridor and then reunite with Enoch and Kaiden.
After walking for what felt like another thirty minutes, a faint glow of light wavered at the far end of the corridor.
I retrieved a flare I'd stored in my ‌bag, loaded it, and cautiously approached the light.

---------------
Brought to you by Valir Scans! To support our team and enjoy the latest releases, please read directly on our ‌‌‌official site: valirscans.org
---------------