After 20 minutes of following the long, tube-like cave passage, I finally knew how being a tapioca ball felt. If I didn't protect my head, I'd be bald by now from all the scratching against the walls on every curve.
If I got claustrophobia at the end of this, I wouldn't be surprised.
After enduring pain for God knows how long, I finally exited into a wide space. It was so wide that my spot was over 200 meters away from the ground.
"Are you f*cking kidding me?!"
I shouted as I moved my hurting limbs. I wanted to use [Shadow Movement] to escape, but I still can't use it without a proper foothold. Each of my attempts ended in failure.
At the spot where I was about to land, I could see some sort of magic circle giving off a faint purple light. When I was almost at the bottom, I could feel a strong gust of wind offset my fall. Although my body endured over 12G of force when decelerating, it was better than turning into a goopy mess if I landed just like that.
As soon as I landed, I scanned the ones around me.
Mysterious-looking men and women covered in a full-body hoodies were standing around the glowing circle. The hoods covered their faces, leaving only their mouths visible to me.
"Uhh, hello?"
I tried greeting them, but they remained silent. They turned to each other as if talking, but no sound was released. In my eyes, I could see a string of energy connecting each of them in a complex network. I quickly noticed that it was similar to the telepathic connection of the taming system.
'Are they telepaths? Rather, what are they? Humanoid monsters, or humans?'
I pondered, but honestly, I can't tell. I tried to use appraisal but failed. This means that they're humans, at least.
"Excuse me? Can I know what this place is? And also, if you know how I can return above ground?"
However, as usual, no response was returned.
I waited a few minutes in awkward silence until one of them walked forward. He was using a long staff as a walking cane. As he came near the glowing magic circle, he raised his arms as if welcoming me.
"[Welcome, visitor from the surface. We welcome you with open arms.]"
His voice suddenly echoed inside my head, which honestly surprised me a little.
"Are you the one who's speaking in my head?"
I tried asking him to confirm, to which he nodded with a smile.
"..."
I don't know why, but I feel something sinister behind his smile. Still, without any information about this place other than the hole 200 meters right above my head, I know of no other exits. I should follow them for now.
"Can you lead me to the exit? I need to return to the surface ASAP."
Although I thought it would be futile, I still decided to ask. As expected, he diverted the topic immediately.
"[Oh, no, no, no. You need to first have an audience with our queen. Please, follow us; we'll lead the way.]"
As they claimed, they quickly vacated the small plaza. With the man with the cane in the lead, they headed toward what looked like a large Parthenon-style building.
Not only their attire, but their actions were even more suspicious.
Although I was already willing to run away right now, given the bad vibes I could feel in the air, they had the home-ground advantage. They would quickly catch up to me, even if I tried to escape.
Having no other choice, I followed the group from behind. There were about a hundred hooded figures, so it was hard to lose sight of them. We walked through complex pathways that made me lose my sense of direction.
The similar structure of the buildings around, like a chaotic city where houses were built atop one another, wasn't one where your eyes could find solace. Combined with the darkness of the underground, it feels like something lurks behind every shadow.
Beyond the windows of some houses, I could see red eyes staring at me as we passed through. The eyes were the only thing visible, as if they glowed in the darkness of its surroundings.
"..."
I felt shivers. If I add on the abnormal lack of all sorts of energy within the city, then the creepiness of the place just got two degrees higher.
After we got through the maze of houses, we finally reached a grand staircase about a dozen meters wide. It stretches far into the distance, easily reaching a thousand steps with a rough count.
With my acute vision, I could see a wide grin appear on the hooded figures' faces as soon as we arrived.
"[Visitor, please ascend these stairs. Waiting ahead, at the top, is our queen.]"
The group opened up a path leading to the stairs. The man with the staff gestured for me to head on. It seems like from here on, I will go alone.
Or so I thought, but after the 20th step, the others started following me from behind, taking up the entire length of the wide staircase. Are they there to block my escape?
For a while, only the rhythmic sound of synchronized steps was heard. Although I tried to stop midway, the man with the staff urged me to go forward.
When I tried getting obstinate, the others sent telepathic messages to me at the same time, saying "move" repeatedly, making me feel nauseous.
After all the delays, I managed to finally reach the top platform. Before me was a Pantheon-looking building with a gigantic throne in the middle. There, a large blob of meat spanning several meters was squirming. No, wait, is that a human? It looks so disgusting that I was about to hurl.
"[So you're the visitor from the surface?]"
The blob of meat sent a message to me telepathically. However, the strength of her telepathy was off the charts. Just receiving it, I felt like my mind was breaking.
"[O', Pedro, great work. I'll leave a leg for you and your underlings to share later.]"
Her telepathy echoed once more, sending extreme pain to my mind. In my peripheral vision, I could see the man with the staff kneeling down slowly in respect. Two streams of blood were dripping down his cheeks, probably coming from his eyes.
"Did she say... a leg?!"
Hearing that, I knew that my worries had come true.
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