Jenni retched, her stomach contorting as it attempted to expel the disgusting mushroom she had just eaten. It had appeared as a normal mushroom, smelling like one too. She found nothing wrong with it when she boiled it or even when she consumed it. However, it started acting strangely once inside her stomach.
Before the superior digestion process of her Iron Ranker body could commence, the mushrooms acted up, burning her intestines in fiery anguish. It left her questioning her decision to embark on this expedition.
In the end, Jenni had only herself to blame. Her participation in this journey to the Inheritance Ground was a last-minute decision. She had prepared nothing other than taking her Dimension Cube, assuming it would have everything she needed. Moreover, she had joined the Azalea Garden team, and those women were nothing if not trained for the worst.
She had thought she was in good company, but that was a couple of days ago. Jenni found herself teleported to the middle of nowhere, with a thick forest and vast expanse before her eyes. The absence of light made it far from ideal for habitation. There was no sun or source of light, and the atmosphere was gloomy and chilling.
As for her Dimension Cube... well, the only useful things she found within it were a couple of weapons and a winter dress. There were some food and leftovers of desserts she had stolen from Warden, but they were all gone. She devoured them all on the very first day, thinking she would meet someone else or a woman from the Azalea Garden.
It wasn't like she had never been to a subspace before; the moment would pass, and she would have her adventure and a carefree time away from her father's nagging.
Apparently, she was supposed to meet her supposed fiancé, who was more than five times her age. There was no way Jenni would even consider that, much less agree to the meeting.
The guy had already waited a hundred years; he could wait a bit longer, she had thought as she ran out of her house. She actually found Lady Cassandra Azalea outside, who had come to repair some of their equipment.
After Jenni requested this opportunity, Lady Cassandra only needed a moment to arrange everything. Cassandra compensated the person with a one-year VIP pass to Velvet Kiss, a foundation owned by Azalea Garden. This was more than enough to secure a spot.
Technically, it wouldn't even matter if Cassandra didn't acknowledge the person they left out, but she was very kind and professional in her approach.
"And very ladylike too," Jenni snorted. While she had no intention of ever acting in such a courtly manner, she couldn't help but admire the impossible poise Cassandra carried herself with.
Well, Jenni could be charming if she wanted, but what she desired was the confidence and competence to not give a damn about anything. Just like Captain Agnes.
If she had planned all this out, she would likely have joined Captain Agnes's team. However, she hadn't done so, and the captain would likely deny her. Besides, from what she had heard from the women of Azalea Garden, the twenty-fourth prince had taken over Agnes's team.
It's hard for Agnes as well, Jenni sighed and cast her gaze towards the endless expanse of darkness. It certainly had an ominous presence here, as if alive. More evident when she lit up a light construct. The darkness would always curl around the light, as if avoiding it.
Jenni didn't know the full story of it; perhaps none of the participants did, but one thing was certain—it ran deeper than her imagination could fathom. It wasn't some simple Intent.
Ravenous, she crept from her safe spot to find something better to eat than these burning acidic mushrooms. Hell, she wouldn't even mind if it were some cursed creature. Certainly, she could use some purifying construct to cleanse the taint, but with her condition, she was prepared to eat it raw if her situation escalated further.
"Goddammit!" she screamed. "Motherfu—"
Her curses were muted as she fell into the water. Yeah, she could live through that. It's water, after all. It's not like she couldn't swim, and...
An icy burning invaded her system, freezing all her energy instantly. Jenni couldn't even curse. It wasn't simply water.
---
They were on a slow walk through the desolate land of the outer layer. As Agnes had mentioned, there were hardly any creatures in this region, the reason being, it was the territory of a moonspawn. Other creatures didn't tend to survive around a moonspawn for long. Its tyrannical aura was already hard to bear, not to mention its murderous nature.
But considering they were on a mission to hunt a moonspawn, it was the right direction to take.
"So let me get this straight," Agnes said, sucking in a deep breath. "You're saying you have no clue about your past... The only memory you have is of the past couple of months?"
"Pretty much," Warden said. "Though I do have some ideas about my past... I got some visions a few times, though they are somewhat contrasting to what I am now."
"What are you now?" Agnes asked, furrowing her brows.
"A dashingly heroic adventurer," Warden winked at her, "a teacher, runesmith, and a chef."
She snorted to humour him. "Have you ever felt like you never belong, that you're better off—"
She stopped midway, feeling signs of disturbance from their rear.
"Ayee, was thinking who could be gossiping out in the open; turns out it's two humans," said a crackling voice, as many others joined in the laughter, their weapons raised. "Go capture them... Don't kill them, especially not the female... I had been some time I have personally tormented a human female."
Warden spun on his heels, his expression shifting to alert. But then, he relaxed, finding it was only goblins.
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Poor Jenni... Send your well wishes...