The sun gradually tilted westward above the tall tower, marking the afternoon of the day. Everyone was fully prepared and ready to depart, gathering near the teleportation point at the top of the tower.
If no unexpected events occurred, Germain had decided to perform two teleportations, splitting the five people present into two groups to transport them to the "Wilderness," where the "Immortality Disease" resided.
For the first teleportation, the one who would remain at the tower was Menchi.
This was a decision that placed significant psychological pressure on Menchi.
After Germain and the others left, if they encountered any special circumstances and Germain didn't return to pick her up, she would face an extremely dire situation.
At that time, she would be left alone in the tower, with no idea when—or if—she might be rescued. It was even possible she might never be rescued at all.
Even if Menchi wanted to save herself and leave the Dark Continent, her abilities made it nearly impossible. The chances of her even making it out of the "Ancient Labyrinth" were slim.
However, despite knowing this possibility, Menchi didn't say much, as she understood that if anything truly went wrong, the four people before her were the most likely to survive and return to pick her up.
For Menchi to replace any one of them, or to ask one or two of them to stay behind with her, would have been an irresponsible choice.
As a "Gourmet Hunter" who frequently ventured into towering mountains and dense rainforests, Menchi had faced her share of life-and-death crises. She had developed the resolve to face such situations.
Since she had decided to come to the Dark Continent, she couldn't afford to regret it now.
Menchi raised no objections, and the teleportation began.
Purple patterns gathered at the center of the teleportation point. The "Ancient Labyrinth's Teleportation Lantern" conjured, revealing four twisted, bloated messengers with leprosy-like faces.
These messengers, like the "Ancient Labyrinth's Teleportation Lantern," were unique. Unlike the usual wailing and screaming messengers, these ones stared blankly, their hollow eyes fixed unblinkingly on the group.
"They're so creepy," Bisky remarked, hugging herself as if she were cold and rubbing her arms.
Germain lit the lantern, maintaining a crouched position. From the shadow of his triangular hat, his dark eyes locked with the eerie messengers' gaze.
It was unclear whether the messenger imps had submitted or if they were naturally submissive. One of them crawled over, moving slowly like a baby learning to walk, swaying its body as it stood up.
It took the initiative to grab one of Germain's fingers, then tiptoed and kissed the tip of his finger with its cold lips.
Germain frowned—not out of disgust, but from a strange sense of pity that arose within him.
Was it this kiss that affected my mind, or did my subconscious notice something…
Seeing the unexpectedly "gentle" behavior of the messenger imps, the other three didn't want to waste more time. They stepped forward, crouched down slightly, and extended their fingers.
The remaining three messenger imps began to move as well. They crawled to the others, stood up as before, grabbed their fingertips, and gave a light kiss.
All four were now ready.
"Let's go," Germain said, suppressing the inexplicable emotions that had risen within him toward the imps. "Teleport us to the 'Wilderness.'"
The visible scenery twisted as usual, and darkness began to swallow everything.
In an instant, the world transformed.
Before them stretched a gray desert. Everywhere was shades of gray and white—stacked rock formations, sparse vegetation, sand particles floating in the air, and a polluted sky.
Everything in sight was gray and white without exception.
The teleportation point in the "Wilderness" was in a sunken pit, surrounded by raised gray-white rock formations. Thankfully, the worst-case scenario—being attacked immediately upon arrival—did not occur.
As the other three stood up from the teleportation point, curiously observing their surroundings, Germain remained crouched, staring at the four messenger imps.
Since the messenger ghosts looked almost identical, these four showed the same extreme numbness in their eyes. Germain couldn't tell if they had been replaced.
Deciding to let it go for now, Germain checked the cooldown time of the "Teleport Lantern." He discovered that as long as it pointed to one of the ten "special teleport lanterns," there was indeed no cooldown time.
He could return to the "Labyrinth" right now to bring Menchi over.
However, he didn't rush to do so. Instead, he checked his own condition first—and as expected, he had paid the anticipated price.
"Negative Trait · Target Deviation"
When Germain launches mid- or long-range attacks, the damage dealt will be reduced.
"Disease · Severe Cough"
All damage caused by Germain will be reduced.
His "Pressure" increased by 5 points, even though he had the "Champion's Aura -7 Stress." This means that without the aura, his stress would have risen by 12 points.
At the same time, almost the moment he noticed the "Disease · Severe Cough" trait, Germain seemed to receive a subconscious suggestion. His throat began to itch, and he couldn't stop himself from coughing.
"Cough, cough... cough, cough..."
At first, the other three only thought Germain was coughing because of the dust in the "Wilderness." But when his coughing persisted and grew worse, everyone realized something was wrong.
"What's wrong with you?" Shalnark walked over and asked.
"Cough, cough... cough, cough..." Germain couldn't respond, his coughing making his face and neck flush red.
While coughing, Germain fumbled around his waist and quickly pulled out a card box he always carried with him.
Noticing something was wrong, Shizuku crouched down, snatched the card box from Germain's hand, opened it, and took out a card. She unsealed the "Herbal Medicine for Curing All Diseases."
She lifted Germain's arm, inserted the needle of the syringe into his vein, and injected the medicine, then pulled the needle out and disposed of it.
They had enough decency to bring back things like used syringes and needles.
At this point, Ging and Bisky also gathered around. They thought Germain had been infected with the "Immortality Disease," so they nervously watched to see if the "Herbal Medicine for Curing All Diseases" would really work.
Gradually, Germain stopped coughing and regained his breath, his breathing becoming steady.
"I'm fine now," Germain said, checking his condition. Seeing that the "Disease: Severe Coughing" had been cleared, he turned to Shizuku. "Thank you, Shizuku."
"You're welcome," Shizuku replied. "Sanbica trained us for situations like this. If something happens, this is how we handle it. Whether it works or not, just give an injection first."
Germain smiled, then looked at the others and explained what had happened earlier.
Only then did they realize it wasn't the "Immortality Disease."
Bisky sighed. "As expected, there's no such thing as a free lunch. With frequent transmissions between the 'Special Lanterns,' it will only drag you into difficult situations."
"When they accumulate to a certain level, you'll feel their weight. They'll drag you down."
Germain shrugged. "Anyway, I still have to go get Menchi. I can't keep her waiting too long."
"Alright," Bisky said, with no better solution, he allowed Germain to continue with his near-self-destructive behavior.
Germain lit the lantern again, his goal to teleport back to the "Ancient Labyrinth."
********
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