Volume 1 Chapter 60: The Anticlimactic Ending of the Weird Opening
Unless both her heart and head were destroyed simultaneously, Pepper wouldn't be killed instantly due to her vampiric nature. However, the destruction of either of these vital organs would pose significant challenges for her. If her heart was damaged, she'd be unable to engage in any strenuous activities until it fully healed. Similarly, if her head suffered harm, she would be like a blind and deaf entity, unable to navigate properly without sight and hearing. It could lead to confusion, making her movements erratic, possibly even walking in circles while thinking she's heading straight.
Losing the entire head would be catastrophic for Pepper as a vampire compared to having a missing heart. While the loss of her heart might render her weak for a period of time until it heals, she would eventually recover. However, if her head is completely gone, it would have far more severe consequences since she would lose her ability to see, hear, and process information. The lack of sensory perception would greatly hinder her mobility and decision-making, making her vulnerable and reliant on others for survival.
But for a normal human, even a slight damage to both the heart and head can be life-threatening. Surviving such injuries would be a stroke of luck, but the road to recovery would be immensely challenging. The combination of injuries to vital organs like the heart and brain would severely impact their overall health and functionality, making day-to-day life incredibly difficult.
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Let's return to the current situation.
After transforming into a bat and stabilizing myself, I begin to fly back to the spot where I had started to fall.
After flying straight up, I spotted a very short tunnel, followed by a small circular room, and then another very short tunnel. However, I could only see the entrance of that tunnel as it appeared to be the limit of my current [Night vision Lv: 3]. Despite this, I am certain that's the path from which I entered.
Whatever was affecting my [Night vision Lv: 3] before I entered and during my fall seemed to have disappeared. Now, I can see normally, but from the opening I entered, it remains pitch dark, and I'm unable to observe what Master Carmilla and Eve are currently doing.
After carefully considering whether going back is a wise choice, I realize that I don't know if the darkness that affected me before I fell will return. It could potentially waste a lot of time if my vision gets blocked again.
So, instead of fixating on the exit, I decide to shift my gaze around and observe my surroundings.
Looking up, I find nothing except a plain and uninteresting rocky ceiling.
I no longer need to look down, as I have already experienced the terrifying near-fall into a bed of dense stone spikes, almost being impaled myself.
As I glance from left to right, all I can see is an unending expanse of dense spikes on the ground, and there is nothing else in sight.
The extent of what I can clearly see with [Night vision Lv: 3] is limited to just the dense spikes on the ground, and I am unable to perceive anything beyond that.
As I continue flying forward, that's when I spot a flat platform with a chest placed on top of it.
I intended to fly past it, wanting to observe the entire room without stopping, but I noticed that the time limit for my transformation was less than half of the remaining time limit.
Upon realizing the time constraint, I made the decision to land on the flat platform and end the bat transformation. Without giving much attention to the chest in the middle, I activated the bat transformation again and left the chest untouched for the time being.
Since the chest on the flat platform wasn't going anywhere, and there was no one else around to take it, leaving it for the moment seemed like a reasonable decision. I continued on, knowing I could come back to it later.
As I flew for a short time, I only encountered stone spikes on the ground and nothing else, even after reaching a dead end. The surroundings appeared to be monotonous and devoid of any other features or paths.
With no other notable features in sight besides the dense stone spikes on the ground and the dead end wall, I decided to fly back the way I came, retracing my path to explore other possibilities.
Returning to the flat platform, I landed and canceled the bat transformation, just as I had done the first time. Once again, I didn't pay much attention to the chest, swiftly transforming back to my bat form, and proceeded to fly towards the opening from which I had entered this wide cave.
After reaching the side wall where I entered, I start to look for the opening I came from since it's only have a size for one and a half adults human to walk in it and it also have the same length but that was still rather big for me since I'm quite small and short for that opening to be tight so I can still walk on it comfortably rather than an adult human with a standard height and build of an adult so that's how small and petite I am, since that opening can let a few people that have same build as I am walk on it comfortably.
Shaking my small bat head, I try to dispel those thoughts lingering in my mind.
After clearing my mind of those unnecessary thoughts, I began to fly around, searching for the opening. I found it quickly since it stood out like a sore thumb on the wall—it was the only one hole on the wall and it was quite large in size, making it easy to spot.
Approaching the wall, I decide to be cautious when entering the opening. I slow down my flight and approach it carefully, mindful of the sudden shift from normal vision to darkness that occurred when I first entered it.
As I enter the opening and land on the ground, still in my bat form, I realize that my vision remains normal and unaffected by the unknown darkness that previously blocked my sight. This discovery brings a sense of relief and curiosity as I proceed further into the darkness.
I waited for a bit, but since nothing happened, I canceled the bat transformation.
At first, I suspected that after returning to my human form, the unknown effect that caused my vision to be in complete darkness would start affecting me. However, after waiting for a short time, nothing happened, so I let down my vigilance, but not completely, as being suddenly plunged into darkness and not seeing anything even when you put your hand in front of your face is quite disturbing.
So no one can blame me for not letting go of my vigilance completely, and you can even call me a worrywart.
But I'm still glad that the unknown effect that affected my vision did not happen, and no darkness suddenly befalls me.
After walking for a few seconds, I started to see Master and Eve standing near the opening. However, it seemed that the darkness that affected the outside opening was also affecting the vision of Master and Eve. They should have seen me by now since I could already see them.