Evreux wasn't sure if he was fortunate or unlucky. Everything that had happened to him in the previous hours had caused his mood to fluctuate.
To begin with, it is important to understand that he was deeply disappointed by the failed assassination of the eccentric prince. Evreux has always been successful in his endeavors. He never made a single mistake, no matter how difficult or life-threatening the tasks were. This newfound adversary left a rotten impression on his ego.
He could not fathom why he was unable to leave even a small scratch on that puny prince.
Second, he genuinely believed he was going to die. He is a native of this place, so he fully understands how deep the "deepest" abyss is. It should be noted that the Norbumin Kingdom possessed the world's deepest trenches, most of which remained unexplored.
He had trained as an assassin in the Dark Abyssal Cliff, which took only about 5% of the abyss's estimated depth. He had faced several terrifying beasts that could kill an entire nation during those days, so it's a wonder he didn't wind up in one of those monsters' lairs or bellies.
Fortunately, he had fallen into an area he was familiar with and was able to regain his footing. It's only that it had been a long time since he had visited this area of the abyss, and many things had changed from what they had been previously. This led to his recent predicament, stepping up to a trap left by a critter. He was unable to respond quickly when a strong vine abruptly wrapped around his ankle and dragged him up.
He was hanging upside down as a result of it.
He could only curse as he groaned in pain, the barbs of the vine biting into his flesh. The vine appeared to have its own consciousness, moving by itself, strengthening its grip on his ankle, as if intending to integrate with it. Evreux could feel the numbness climbing up his limbs. However, he remained calm.
In desperate situations, it is better to be logical and reasonable.
Evreux reacted instantly by drawing out the only knife left in his belongings, folding his body up to reach his ankles, and began cutting the vine. However, the rain made both his hands and the knife slippery, causing him to lose his grip, and the knife dropped to the ground with a dull thud. It even slashed at his cheeks, creating a thin line of cut with blood slowly seeping out.
He stayed silent for a few moments, listening to the pitter-patter of the rain. A lot of things flashed by in his head, both remorse and anger, but he only gritted his teeth and clenched his fist to keep his inner turmoil at bay. He doesn't have a weapon at the moment, so he'll have to figure it out with his hands to work it out.
With an inaudible cuss, he tried bending his body up again to grasp his ankles, clawing the vines with his fingernails in an attempt to tear them. But the vine is sturdy, thick, and has thorns, which only made him exhausted and more injured. He was already hurt from the fall, having broken a couple of bones in his ribs, so he couldn't keep the folded-up position for so long as it simply tormented his body.
But Evreux didn't give up, either. With a muffled groan, he persisted on his way up to his ankles, gasping for air every time he drew a fraction out of it, albeit with little progress. Sweat and blood mixed as he did his hardest.
At the height of his struggle, he heard a rustle.
As an assassin's senses were more acute than those of ordinary people, Evreux could still see well enough in the dark to distinguish the forms of the shadows. He came to a standstill and focused his attention on the figure arising behind a boulder. A silhouette of a two-legged creature figure emerged from the darkness, seemingly shaky.
Is it a monkey? Or maybe a standing bear?
The creature seemed to notice him as well, as it came to a standstill just below him. A brief flicker of flame appeared on the creature's hand, and it lifted it up. Under the lamp, Evreux was able to see the dumb appearance of the white-haired prince, who appeared to be squinting his eyes. The assassin was taken aback.
What the f—k? Why is this person still alive? Not even that fall killed him?
Chase, on the other hand, assessed the individual who was hanging upside down. He wasn't sure whether it was a human because he could only see the shadow, so he took out the expensive lamp he had saved from the remnants of the destroyed carriage and kept it in his spatial space. He hoisted it, hoping to get a better view. However, he did not need to do it at all anymore when the other person began speaking.
"How come you're still alive?"
The fall is dangerous. He sustained many injuries, enough to kill him in one strike, yet he discovered this foolish prince wandering around looking quite well? He had forgotten about his miserable state since seeing Chase was more startling.
Chase could feel the bitterness within the remark. He responded well to it, exclaiming, "What the hell? Who are you?"
Even in this very secluded place, someone wanted him dead? Is his reputation as an eccentric so terrible that it even reaches the depths of the abyss?
Wait for a second—Chase took his time evaluating the issue. It is impossible for humans to exist in this environment. Even with their high level of adaptability and resilience, the conditions in this place are terribly worse than hell.
He is certain that the man who is being hanged is human.
Chase wanted to examine the individual properly, so he swung the lamp high. The lamp was dim from all the moisture and the little fuel left, so he could barely catch a glimpse of the person's clothes and face. Actually, the face couldn't be seen clearly because of the covering, with only a pair of eyes flickering in the reflection of the flame.
Chase felt this person was familiar.
"Oh!" Chase exclaimed, remembering the reason he was here in the first place. He pointed to the dangling figure and said, "You were that assassin who wanted to kill me!"
Evreux glared at the prince. "Why are you still alive?"
"Why you say?" Chase scratched under his chin. "Just because."
He wasn't afraid of the assassin. Though he had been before, the situation has been reversed. The assassin had been hanging and could not escape. The assassin won't be able to reach him so easily, and perhaps the assassin will even need his help to go down.
Should he help him?
He wasn't a good Samaritan about simply helping someone who had previously attempted to kill him, but Chase understood the circumstances he was in. He was in an environment that could kill him nine times out of ten. Roaming around alone is simply suicide. It's better to have someone to help him fend off danger by half.
Chase had been considering his next move when he spotted a shiny object in the dirt. He squatted down to inspect it and discovered that it was a knife. He picked it up, weighed it in his palm, and knew it was an excellent weapon. His eyes shone brilliantly as he studied the knife. He'd been looking for a weapon he could use to fight beasts, or at the very least, for foraging. Even though it is simply a dagger, it is better than wandering into the wilderness barehanded.
This put him in a good mood. He stood up and confronted the assassin, saying, "You want me to help you down?
Evreux gave a snort. "Who needs your help? A foolish prince like you couldn't do any good."
Chase looked askance, condescendingly placing his hands on his hips. He mimicked the original Chase's sass towards the people he detested. With his nose held high, he responded arrogantly, "I am kindhearted enough to send you an olive branch, and here you are calling me names; is that how you respect your savior? Such disrespect!"
The assassin spat. "What savior? You're just a trash, and you don't deserve to be respected!"
Chase dodged the spit just in time. If it had been any other person, they would have been mad. But Chase's soul has been used in such situations before and just clicked his tongue to express his disgust. Although the eccentric prince had a horrible attitude, he wasn't terrible enough to deserve such inhumane treatment. With dissenting eyes, he glared at the assassin.
"You're calling me a trash? That's a lot for someone who was serving a monarch who got a whore for a daughter—a sycophant who would not hesitate to engage in debauchery."
"You!" Evreux yelled angrily, pointing towards Chase. "Take your words back!"
"Why would I? Isn't it true?" Chase flipped the knife skillfully in his hand. "At the very least, I am decent, unlike your second princess, who prostitutes herself and exploits the convenience of rumors to gain a foothold!"
The remarks enraged the assassin, who twisted his body up once again to remove the vines. He desperately wanted to go down and do something, even if it was just to strangle Chase to death. But all of his efforts were in vain because the vine remained firm.
Chase merely stood there, amused by the assassin, for a few moments before deciding to abandon such a vicious person. He began walking after pointing the lamp in the direction of the least danger indicated by the system.
"Well then, I don't have much time to waste. Do svidaniya!"
Evreux hastens his struggle while calling the white-haired prince insulting names, eyeing the shrinking figure until Chase becomes a shadow in his eyes. He grumbled in a rage as he continued to criticize the prince in his mind, wishing him ill luck. It continued for a few minutes until he panted in pain and lose air.
His energy had been dissipated.
He immediately stopped struggling and remained still, clearing his mind and calming himself. He won't achieve anything if he is consumed by his emotions. Evreux knows he won't be able to untangle the vine on his own. He needed someone's support to chop it.
Encountering a human in this place is impossible.
Well, he could just ask for some help from Chase, right?
But how could he? Just seeing the face of that eccentric prince made his blood boil. His hands were itching to reach the neck of that guy and snap him in half. Evreux wasn't the type that easily explodes. His many years of struggle allowed him to become cool-headed at all times. But Chase just happened to touch his inverse scales.
He could not tolerate him at all!
His relationship with the royal family is quite close. You could say that Evreux held an important position within the ranks. He had always treated the Norbumin Royalty with respect and especially loved the younger ones, whom he treated as his little siblings.
How could he let Chase, this motherfucking scumbag, slander the Norbumin Royalty so easily?
How dare such trash taint the royal name?
Don't ask for help!
The assassin snorted, not thinking about the eccentric prince anymore as he once again attempted to free the vine from his ankle with his hands. But, after ten minutes of struggling, he only became more tired and started to feel dizzy. The strain is causing his wounds to worsen, and the vine seems to carry some poison that is gradually rendering his body numb.
If this keeps on, he'll die of remorse.
Is it really the time to be stubborn?
Gritting his teeth, Evreux swallowed his pride and called out loudly. No matter what, he must return. Since he is alive, he has to go back to the kingdom. The assassin cried as loudly as he could with whatever energy was left in his body, bracing himself for the humiliation that would come later. But who cares?
Humility won't be able to keep him alive.
If he wants to survive, he has to bow down and eat shit.
"Hey, go back and help me! Can you still hear me? HELP ME!"
Chase stopped in his tracks and turned his head around. He looked at the assassin with an incredulous expression. The assassin, however, could not see it and continued calling out. Chase ignored the calls and continued walking until he met with a very tall wall made of mud. He glanced to the left, then to the right, and discovered that the wall extended indefinitely.
"It seems like a border," he murmured as he touched the wall. He attempted to climb, but the wall's texture was moist and slick. It's impossible to get to the top. He was thinking about how to create a ladder or something when Evreux's calls flitted past his ears.
"I know the way out! If you help me, I will show you the way!"
Chase's ears perked up. He knows the assassin is only using these methods to entice him into saving him, but he wasn't stupid enough to fall for such a ruse. It's an old-school method. Chase would not bother dealing with it until it was truly beneficial to him.
Though, he still chatted with the system, casually stating, "This person is smart and could bow down for the sake of survival. Well, that's not bad, but I'm someone who harbors resentments, so it won't be effective. System, what do you think? Can this guy truly help me in the future?"
The system does not understand human emotions or sarcasm, and it did not consider Chase's inquiry to be merely rhetorical. Who would have guessed that the system would begin calculating and presenting Chase with an interface displaying his likelihood of survival?
「Calculating - Obtaining the Assassin's support. Completed.」
「Helping the Assassin and getting his support will lessen Chase Laurier's burden, lowering the danger level by a difference of twenty to twenty-five percent chance. Final verdict: Befriending the assassin reduces the host's danger level up to 70% to 65%.」
Chase was only joking when the idea was thrown around with such a fact. Could helping the assassin reduce his danger level? But isn't this person the reason he had previously hit the 99.98% danger level? The system will never make an error in its calculation and has no reason to lie. Chase was at a loss for words.