The other shark, after finishing munching the last piece of meat, also went to chase the intruders in the water. But before it was halfway, Jack and Naomi already climbed out of the pool.
Naomi lay flat on the floor while panting. She tried to calm her heart rate down which was currently beating off the roof. She never liked water. That's why she never learned to swim. She had trauma after watching a shark movie when she was still a kid. What happened just now was like her nightmare came true.
Jack looked at Kramer's side. He was relieved to see Kramer was safe outside the water. He was surprised by Master's act, though.
"Congratulations, you have saved the sacrifice again today," Aglea's voice boomed from above. "Is this round too difficult? Is it too easy? Leave your comment in the box below."
'The f*ck is that b*tch on about?' Jack cursed within. He didn't voice it out of fear that Aglea might take his voice away again.
"Everyone can now rest. We will resume tomorrow," Aglea said.
They were then sent back to the prison dungeon.
Jack turned to Kramer beside him. "Are you okay?" He asked.
"Yes, Your Majesty. Thank you for your concern," Kramer replied.
"It is I who should thank you. If not for your actions, Naomi and I might not have escaped. You are very brave."
Kramer blushed at the compliment.
"Thank you both for saving my life," Naomi said to both Jack and Kramer.
Jack waved her off.
"Hey, what about us? We aren't exactly doing nothing," Stefan complained. "It is us who lures the sharks away."
"Yes, yes. Thank you, Stefan. Thank you, everybody," Naomi said.
Jack turned to Master and said, "Thank you for saving Kramer."
Kramer also followed suit, "Thank you for saving my life!"
Master snorted at them. "I'm sick of you people thanking each other. Just so you know, I save the kid because it doesn't pose any risk to me. If it does, I would have left him to die. Losing him means I have one less pawn to use during the end match. We don't know what this end match is yet. But considering the setup of these matches, it is safe to assume the more teammates we have, the more advantage it is for the team."
Jack turned back to Kramer and said, "There you have it. He is doing it for his own sake. There is no need for you to feel indebted to him."
"Oh… Okay…," Kramer said.
"Okay, everyone, rest. You all have been great today. As long as we work together, we will also beat tomorrow's round," Jack encouraged.
He then closed his eyes and pretended to sleep. He was eager to go meet Talia again.
As his incorporeal body came out into the space between worlds. He stopped and observed. Now that he had passed this space several times, he could better sense the links that connected the different worlds into the nexus world.
He wanted to go to Talia immediately but decided to stop and study these links further.
"This… I think if I can familiarize myself with the energy that forms these links. I can then use it to find the exit from each pocket world."
"It is not a real exit, though," Peniel said. "It will take you to the nexus world, not bring you out from this dimension."
"The real exit must be in that nexus world," Jack said.
"That's true," Peniel agreed.
Jack proceeded to let himself bathe in the mana that formed the link and became one with them. He could now easily interact with them. He should be able to use this link to transfer his body into the nexus world now.
"Too bad I'm currently chained. I can't move around to locate the exit. We will try it tomorrow during the sacrificial round when Aglea was not around," Jack said. "I feel bad about the one who is chosen for the sacrifice. I hope it is not a native. I sure hope it is Master."
"Highly unlikely," Peniel remarked. "His attributes are too high for him to lose to the others."
Jack didn't deny that. He would just act accordingly tomorrow. He now resumed his way to the nexus world.
Instead of penetrating the membrane wall of the nexus world as he did previously, this time he utilized the link between worlds and entered through the proper door. This way, he knew where he was when he used the link tomorrow. Using the proper door brought him to a fixed place instead of having him appear at random places within the nexus world like yesterday.
After using the link to go through the proper door, Jack came out into a garden. Jack believed this place should once be a very beautiful garden, but now it was filled with wilted flowers. Jack looked up and saw a blank sky. Beyond the garden was a huge mansion. It was still intact but appeared dilapidated.
Jack understood that the hallways he had traveled through yesterday in the nexus world should be inside that mansion. Talia also should be in that mansion.
Jack wanted to roam outside to see if he could find the main exit out of this dimension. But he had spent quite some time familiarizing himself with the links between worlds. If he wasted more time, he would have to delay speaking with Talia again and learn what happened to this faction.
So, Jack postponed the search for the main exit to tomorrow. He went toward the mansion. Around the garden were statues of children. They appeared to be playing. The statues were very lifelike.
Jack went inside the mansion through the main doors. Behind the main door was a huge lobby. It was also filled with statues of children. None of the statues was the same. Every statue depicted a different child in a different posture.
Jack didn't have the time to admire the craftmanship so he proceeded deeper into the mansion.
After roaming around for a bit, he came into a hallway that he remembered from yesterday. He followed yesterday's path and quickly came into the dungeon where Talia was.
When Talia saw him, she panicked and yelled, "No! You must leave!"
But it was too late. When Jack was still confused by her reaction, chains made of pure energy appeared around him. Jack couldn't move fast in his incorporeal state. These chains quickly coiled around him and bound him.
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