There's No Love In the Deathzone (BL)
Chapter 513 - 506. Elemental Spirits

Chapter 513: Chapter 506. Elemental Spirits

Zein might call it ’luck’, but it was more than that.

No, it wasn’t a power boost that might cause addiction to Bassena, but he did feel his skill became more effective--especially after he tried to rush and struck the core directly before it could protect itself. A large crack appeared instantly, although it wasn’t enough to destroy the core completely.

Ah, well--Bassena didn’t think it would be that easy anyway.

But destroying the debris and wood coming at him in one strike was not a problem. Immediately, Bassena knew what the shards did; they injected some of Setnath’s energy--or should he call it a blessing? To put it simply, it gave Bassena an added attribute that was the most effective against miasmic beings.

Ah, truly...what a great luck.

"He’s having fun," Zein smiled inside the barrier. His words prompted the others to look in the direction of the lake.

Han Shin tilted his head while putting some potato chips into his mouth. "Ih hatz wai he hook zo long?"

"Eat first before you speak," Zein flicked the healer’s forehead.

It might look weird, but they were having a picnic in the middle of the meadow--or rather, on top of it. After getting used to the onslaught and knowing nothing could penetrate the shards’ barrier, they became relaxed and, after a while, even decided to have some rest and ate while watching Bassena fight. There was nothing they could do anyway, since the enemy was only one and jumping into the fight would only disturb Bassena--and they hadn’t had any rest since they left the main base that morning.

Han Shin swallowed the food inside his mouth and repeated. "So, why is he taking so long when he’s having fun?"

"He’s not having fun because it’s easy," Zein shrugged. "It’s because it’s a different kind of fight--kind of like obstacle race, see?"

"This one and that one...why does everyone enjoy fighting? Why not just enjoy the peaceful life of sleeping, eating, and gaming in a bright world?"

"Because to achieve that, we have to fight first?"

"...understandable," Han Shin nodded at the philosophical remark. "Anyway, I have a theory, so hear me out..."

Zein listened to the healer while scratching the surface of the shards--which the twins liked. Han Shin theorized that the creatures residing in the dungeon were elemental spirits, and when the Fallen Star came to the dungeon, some of them came out of the dungeon--either running away or driven away--which was the cause of the tornadoes outside. As for why the dungeon itself became a Specter...

"Mana deficiency," Han Shin said before biting on a chocolate stick. "When ’something’ absorbed the mana here, the balance between the mana to sustain the elemental spirits and the miasma became ideal to create a Specter. Perhaps that was why the Fallen Star--or whoever it was absorbing the mana--left the dungeon, no? Because it turned into a huge pit trap."

"Interesting," Zein nodded. "But I agree, that seems likely. Well...I don’t know if we can still have anything to be read later since we have to destroy the core."

"Wait..." Han Shin blinked. "If we destroy the core, are we going to get flung out? Or..." he swallowed. "We’re not going to be trapped here...right?"

"Don’t jinx it," Zein warned the healer, and just a second later, they heard a loud cracking sound. Together, they turned toward Bassena and the core and exclaimed softly. "Ah..."

While they were busy having a conversation, Bassena was busy attacking the core and succeded in the end, thanks to the added attribute granted by the twins. The crack in the core widened and spread like a spider web, before shattering.

Han Shin grabbed Zein in reflex, clinging to the guide while looking around waiting for something. And something did happen; shrieking sounds were filling the dungeon like the cries of countless ghosts. The trees and the ground and the river were writhing again.

Once more, it felt like they were inside a shaken bottle of terrarium. But this time, they could see that it went from chaos to calm. The twins even had gotten used to the chaos and cheered in the process. The humans, however, were also waiting for something unwanted to happen.

Seconds passed, and then minutes, and the dungeon returned to its state before the chaos. Suddenly, the platform they were in started to move--naturally, toward the one who controlled it. The twins laughed inside Zein’s head, and nothing alarming seemed to be happening.

Han Shin let out a breath of relief. "Phew--fortunately I’m not Zhan..."

The reason why nothing happened lay in Bassena’s hand. After they got down from the platform at the side of the lake, they met with Bassena who was no longer encased in black scales. In his hands were the remains of broken crystal, and in his other hand, a whole one.

"Wait...it’s not broken?"

"Only the outer shell," Bassena raised his left hand, and poured the broken crystal into Zein’s outstretched hand. "I think this one is still in the middle of transforming into a Specter. I don’t know if you can still peek into anything..."

Zein looked at the broken shell and tried to connect his consciousness to it. Perhaps because he did it right away, only minutes after the destruction, he managed to get in. His eyes immediately lost focus and Bassena caught the guide in time as his body turned slack

Again, the twins went into a panic and circled Zein worriedly. The guide looked fine, however, almost like he was sleeping. It wasn’t so different with the time he looked into a shard’s memory. Bassena calmed the twins down, telling them to remember the time in the underground system. They were finally calm enough to stop moving around and stayed on the guide’s chest instead.

Meanwhile, the scout decided to check the dungeon more and came back reporting that nothing seemed to be out of place. There were no beasts, and it might be nothing more than her feelings, but the trees seemed to be greener than before.

After the scout came back, it didn’t take long for Zein to regain consciousness. The twins immediately rubbed themselves on Zein’s cheeks, warming the guide with their energy. Without wasting more time, Zein immediately shared what he saw after gulping some water.

"You were right, Shin--the dungeon used to be home to elemental spirits," he explained. "Some of them ran away after the dungeon’s mana was getting depleted by an unknown source--surely they never thought the outside world would be lacking mana even more. The rest of the story is as we thought--it turned into a Specter when the mana kept decreasing while the miasma stayed still."

"So, the tornadoes are..." Han Shin muttered and rubbed his chin while thinking. "They used to be elemental spirits, desperately looking for mana. Even after they forgot about themselves, they still actively looked for it, which was why they activated when they felt movement from a living being."

Zein nodded. "Since a living being means a source of mana."

"So...is there any way to end the tornadoes outside, Young Master?"

"Well..." Zein turned toward the intact orb in Bassena’s hand. "We can try to call them back again."

Their attention was now on the glowing blue orb, whose presence was rather familiar. "It’s really a dungeon core, huh?" Han Shin tilted his head and poked the orb. "So...is the dungeon still persist because it turned into a Specter--not because it’s an eternal dungeon?"

"Perhaps," Zein shrugged. "But it also doesn’t seem to be dangerous if we just leave the dungeon as it is."

"Hmm..." Bassena gripped the dungeon core tighter. As the one conquering it, he had the right over the core itself, so he was the one who could call the original residence back.

As a precaution, they hid behind Bassena and Senan’s shield, while the twins were on stand-by to deploy the barrier should the situation call for it. They couldn’t see the entrance of the dungeon from the lake, but they for sure could hear the thundering sound of belting wind and crashing boulders. Gradually, they could see the tornadoes on the horizon, above the trees, coming toward the lake. Before they could feel the wind, however, the twins already put on a barrier around them.

"Hmm...do we have to fight that one too?"

"No, I don’t think so," Bassena said while gripping the core in his hand harder--as hard as he could without breaking it.

A scream--or rather, several of them--could be heard from the tornadoes. The movement seemed to be halted for a few seconds, before the scream stopped and the swirling wind...exploded. They shattered on their own, seemingly vanishing, but those with keen eyes could see tiny creatures scattering in the air and falling to the ground. One of them flew toward them, and Han Shin caught it.

"It’s a spirit," the healer said. "Doesn’t look good, though..."

The creature in his palm looked like a teeny tiny child wrapped in a deflated air bubble. Its eyes were closed and its expression looked miserable.

"It’s to be expected," Bassena loosened his grip. "But the dungeon is healing slowly, so they would be fine after some period of hibernation. More importantly; it seems our endeavor is a success then--there should be no more tornadoes out there."

Their expression brightened up for a bit, but no one made a premature celebration. There was still a bit of tension hanging in the air from an unanswered question. Bassena turned toward Zein and finally asked the guide something he had held since before.

"What did you mean by ’unknown source’? Was it not the Fallen Star?"

They fell silent once again and looked at Zein inquisitively. "I don’t know," the guide shook his head. "The Specter and the spirits did not see who it was. There was no one here, actually."

"What?! Then how could--"

"The perpetrator came from somewhere outside this dungeon, but..." Zein tapped on the core in Bassena’s hand. "It did not come from the gate we walked in through."

"I’m lost..." Han Shin blinked.

Zein lifted his gaze to look at Bassena’s eyes. "Remember that dungeons are a pathway to another dimension?"

Bassena’s eyes flickered for a second. "You mean...there’s another portal?"