It was at this point that So Jiwoo noticed the small creature hanging around Nox's neck. The young man started, hand making an odd motion halfway before realizing Nox's calm composure. "Is that your ability?"
Surprised at So Jiwoo's belated observation, Nox looked at Kuna. In a way, Kuna was an extension of the main ability. Having the phantom familiar pose as his ability would save him the trouble of explaining. He got a headache just thinking about the long title.
"Yes."
"It's cute," Ari said, eyes staring fixedly at the large ears. Nox could swear he saw an excited gleam in the girl's usual sleepy eyes.
Kuna's ears flicked in interest, blinking owlishly at the small human. He tilted his head, swinging his attention to the man standing next to them.
Victor held himself stiffly, mouth twitching as the blood fox turned his attention to the stoic man. The blood fox was basically the size of his two fists put together, but the dark haired man still shuffled away from the small creature.
"Hey!" Wen called out, "Does anyone have something I can wrap my leg with?" His voice cracked slightly from the pain.
Li Daiyu scowled, gingerly pressing her fingers against the rising bump in her head. "I find it suspicious that you're so clear-headed after your leg got smashed."
"I gave him a healing item. Although it's slow acting, it should heal most of his leg and he should be able to stand," So Jiwoo explained.
Her mouth fell open in outrage, "Why didn't you give me- ahem." She cleared her throat awkwardly. "I mean, why would you be willing to help strangers? Wouldn't it be better to save it for yourself?" Her gaze turned strange as she observed the youth besides her.
So Jiwoo's voice turned a degree colder as he responded, "I gave him the item for my own benefit." No matter how much Li Daiyu questioned him, So Jiwoo deflected them and refused to say anything else.
Nox glanced at Wen's leg.
The wound couldn't be considered to be fully healed, but the man was able to brace himself against the wall and stand up.
From here, Nox could feel the odd tugging sensation when he saw the blood on the other man's leg. He frowned, petting Kuna's head with a hand. "Is that you?" he whispered down to the little fox. Originally, he had thought it was just a side effect of his ability. But seeing his familiar lick its muzzle, it seemed more like a byproduct of Kuna's hunger.
"Chii~" Kuna's tail wagged twice. Nox had a bad feeling about this.
"Uncle, can you come over here for a second?" Lei called. The teenager stood directly under the hole at the top of the cavern.
The light had all but disappeared, forcing Nox to watch his step in case he tripped over stray debris. The moles' hammers had caused quite a few loose rocks to scatter across the cavern floor.
Sword still in hand, Nox tried to understand what Lei was watching. All he could see was darkness. "What is it?"
She lowered her voice, "I said before that one round equalled a day but I don't think that's what it actually is. The time it took for the light to disappear was about half an hour." She showed him the timer running on her phone. The signal bar remained empty, as always.
Nox wondered what the others were doing right now.
He pulled out his own phone from his pocket. Even if their eyesight improved, it would still be impossible to navigate around a pitch-black cave unless they had night vision. He turned on the flashlight function, watching as the 63% immediately jumped down to 61%.
He was unconcerned about the battery drainage. If it ran out, he still had Lei here to act as a portable charger. "Let's rest up as much as we can, then."
The two rejoined the rest of the group, where So Jiwoo had turned on his own phone to use as a flashlight.
He addressed the whole group, "The best thing to do is to rest and wait for the second round."
Victor spoke up, "I'll take the first watch."
So Jiwoo shook his head, "I will be in charge of the first watch. I think out of everyone here, me and Nox have the most energy." He smiled when no one refuted his statement. "Then it's settled. Get some rest, everyone."
Wen slumped down against the wall, pushing as far into the corner as possible. Lei and Ari situated themselves away from Li Daiyu, who just grumbled and dusted the ground with a hand before lying down on her side.
Victor sat down and leaned against the stone pillar that created a separation between their little corner and the rest of the cavern. He moved around slightly before settling down, his large frame hiding Lei and Ari from the other two.
A few minutes later, the shuffling noises stopped and the cavern was silent.
Nox watched as So Jiwoo took out two talismans from his inventory, an invisible hand guiding them onto Li Daiyu and Wen's bodies. The two bodies slumped further, like puppets with cut strings.
"Just as a precaution," So Jiwoo assured Nox.
The corner of Nox's mouth lifted in amusement. "You didn't kill them did you?"
Kuna's tail swished against Nox's cheek as the little fox cracked open an eye to stare at So Jiwoo.
"Would I do that?"
"If it benefits you."
He knew that Victor wasn't truly asleep either- the other man was carefully monitoring their conversation. So Jiwoo clearly planned for them to have this conversation ahead of time.
So Jiwoo shrugged helplessly, "I'm not someone who can withstand a one on one fight. It's better to come up with other countermeasures."
Earlier, the other man had purposefully dodged around the mole's wide swings. Not once had he tried to attack.
Perhaps he had been waiting for someone to test it out instead.
Witnessing the calculating gleam in the young man's eyes, Nox could vaguely guess why So Jiwoo's role in Arcadia was an important counterbalance for Bai Yu's overbearing and downright tyrannical aura.
So Jiwoo could truly be considered as a crouching tiger.
Nox looked down, activating the skill Verita gave him, [Eye of Themis].
...Come to think of it, the reoccurring pain had disappeared. He discreetly pressed a hand against the wound to confirm as he glanced at So Jiwoo.
So Jiwoo's aura was a faint blue, circling his body in wisps of light.
"Would you like to know why I helped Wen with his leg?"
Nox didn't say the obvious reason. Instead, he stated, "You don't like to see people die in front of you." As calculative as he may be, So Jiwoo had a kind nature. It was the type that didn't set his nerves on the edge.
So Jiwoo paused, the half-smile hanging on his lips falling flat. The other man hadn't expected that answer. "... What makes you think that?"
"Little things here and there."
"You're a bit too observant, Nox."
"I could say the same about you, Jiwoo."
Kuna gave a sleepy grunt on his shoulder, large ears turned downwards to filter out their conversation. 'Little bastard,' Nox thought with amusement. All his familiar seemed to do was eat and sleep when he wasn't fighting.
So Jiwoo let out a helpless sigh. "I don't know if it's better or worse to have someone understand what I'm talking about. That power hungry old man only understands half of the time." He mumbled the last part under his breath.
Nox pretended he didn't hear the part about Bai Yu being insulted, offered his own olive branch, "It's a good thing that we're working together, or I would have the same problem."
"... Yes." So Jiwoo's hands curled into the sleeves of his sweater, returning Nox's knowing smile with one of his own.
Now that their tentative alliance had been firmly established, Nox didn't beat around the bush. "Your main reason for sparing Wen's life. It has to do with the 'Luck of Seven,' right?"
The curve of So Jiwoo's mouth rose again. "Being around smart people makes things easier after all." His eyes flickered over to Victor's unmoving body briefly before returning his attention to Nox. "Yes. There are seven of us, and seven moles. I was afraid that losing a member might negatively impact our group in some way."
Nox ran a hand along the edge of the Sword of Hearts, trying to get used to the unfamiliar weapon. The sword didn't seem to fit right in his grip no matter how much he adjusted his hand. "The trial mentioned being marked with a 'curse' if we're hit."
Wen had shown no abnormal symptoms yet.
So Jiwoo replied, "Maybe it will be triggered in the next round." His expression grew solemn as he checked the the holographic screen again. "Curses have the ability to be transferred through rounds. That will be a bit of a problem."
The light in the cavern started to shift during their conversation.
When they finished, So Jiwoo carefully removed the talismans plastered onto Wen and Li Daiyu. "These things have a thirty minute limit. Be careful about item restrictions," he warned Nox. "If you forget about them, it'll be troublesome."
Nox replied simply, "I'll keep that in mind." He didn't have enough items to worry about memorizing all of their effects yet. From the crystal hart trial, he had only gained a large number of points, a sword, and a puzzling skill from the White Queen.
[You have acquired 「White Legacy.」 You have gained the ability to change six probabilities of an impossible event. The White Queen says it's a shame you couldn't stay for the party.]
The bookmark from Rose and the golden egg remained in his inventory, untouched. Seeing those two items reminded him of Roxanne and brought back a sense of bitterness every time he saw them.
Nox watched as the cavern finally regained most of its lighting again, checking his phone. About two hours.
Ari woke up first, releasing a big yawn. She blinked in confusion, scanning her surroundings until she spotted Nox and So Jiwoo. She quietly moved past Lei and Victor. "Leader, Ari can take watch."
So Jiwoo shook his head, smiling at her fondly. "It's okay. Would you like something to eat?"
The little girl shoved a hand into the pocket of her jacket, taking out a pack of dry biscuits proudly. "I remembered."
As Ari sat down to eat, Nox and So Jiwoo continued an idle conversation.
So Jiwoo was actually younger than Nox by a year, fresh out of college due to an incident that pushed him back a semester. "If I knew that a degree wouldn't help me six months later, I wouldn't have gone back," he joked.
Nox smiled grimly, "A desk job isn't anything to look forward to."
So Jiwoo made a face, "Trust me, I heard all of the horror stories."
"At least with the Eclipse, life is more interesting."
So Jiwoo paused at the black haired man's statement, observing his expression with interest. "... Yes. It is definitely more chaotic."
So Jiwoo didn't think the other man knew that his dark eyes shone brighter when he said that line.
Half an hour later, everyone was awake.
Wen groaned in pain as soon as he awoke, grabbing onto his leg. "Why does it hurt so much?"
So Jiwoo observed his wound with a frown. "That healing item should have healed the majority of your leg."
"Forget about his leg, they're already here!" Li Daiyu panicked, stepping back in her heels.
Actually, Nox just noticed that the woman was wearing heels. How did people even run in them?
Lei slid up from behind Nox, purple lightning crackling on her fingertips. "Should I try the violent method today?"
"Just don't get cursed."
She gave him a two finger salute. "Roger that."
「Hey, the humans are still here!」
It was Number 5 talking. Nox noted with some relief that the wounds he inflicted on the mole had not healed yet.
「This time we will definitely catch them!」