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墨書 Inktalez
Seven suddenly felt someone following him. He turned around sharply, but there was nothing behind him—just emptiness.
He fully turned to face the back, scanning the area for a moment. His tense heart began to relax slightly as he turned back and continued forward.
After walking a few steps, he still felt something trailing behind him. Steeling himself, Seven prepared to find an opportunity to strike. He slowed his pace, gripping his dagger tightly. After a few more steps, he suddenly spun around with lightning speed, thrusting the dagger into the air—only to find nothing there.
"Dammit," he shouted into the void behind him. Ignoring it, he strode forward.
After about half an hour of walking, he could still hear faint rustling sounds behind him. He turned around several times without any results, and finally decided to ignore it for real this time.
Continuing on, he eventually followed the river's roots to find an exit—a hollow opening halfway up a hillside. A small stream cascaded down, resembling a waterfall. The mountain wasn't particularly high or grand, but what puzzled Seven the most was how a mountain had appeared in the Stone Forest.
He glanced back at the stone pillars standing tall behind him. Looking ahead again confirmed that he wasn't mistaken.
The water continued to pour from the opening above. Estimating its height at about 20 meters, Seven realized he had no climbing tools like ropes and had to abandon the idea of exploring that cave. The path ahead seemed completely blocked off. He decided to head back.
As soon as he turned around, Seven was startled. Behind him lay several massive Lizard creatures, with the largest estimated to be about one and a half meters long. Their bodies were covered in ugly scales, and their eyes bulged as if pressed by their own bodies. They gripped the ground with powerful limbs, their tails swaying slightly as they leaned forward in an aggressive stance.
Seven tightened his grip on the dagger and began to step back, his heart racing with fear. When did Lizard creatures get this big? And carnivorous at that?
He retreated further until his back pressed against the mountainside. The Lizards advanced cautiously; they seemed unsure whether this person in front of them was edible or not and were tentatively moving closer.
Seven shouted at them several times, causing them to halt momentarily before responding with hissing sounds that were both oppressive and grating.
After a few exchanges like this, it seemed the Lizards realized Seven was out of options and no longer feared him. They began to quicken their pace toward him. In a panic, Seven cursed under his breath—at such a critical moment, he had no weapon left! He immediately turned and scrambled up the mountainside; it was his only option.
The slope of the mountain was about 60 degrees, and Seven climbed using both hands and feet. Fortunately, there were no large plants growing on this mountain, allowing him some frantic progress.
The Lizards picked up speed as they pursued their fleeing prey. Seven overlooked a crucial detail: Lizards were adept climbers. Their robust claws seemed naturally designed for scaling heights. He heard commotion behind him.
Unable to resist glancing back, his heart nearly stopped when he saw one of the leading Lizards had already reached his heels. Its mouth opened wide, revealing sharp fangs and emitting a foul stench that made Seven feel nauseous.
He lifted his foot just in time to avoid its jaws and swung around with his dagger, plunging it into the Lizard's head with all his strength. To his dismay, only the tip of the blade penetrated its tough hide. Before he could turn away completely, the Lizard thrashed its tail in pain; these reptiles relied heavily on their tails for power—much like crocodiles do when hunting.
The dagger slipped from Seven's grip as he stumbled backward, nearly losing his balance and falling down the slope. Once steadied, he noticed that the other Lizards did not immediately attack; perhaps they recognized danger after suffering a setback and began to spread out in an attempt to encircle him.
Seeing this, Seven took off running upward without regard for his safety.
Fortunately, the basic structure of this mountain was made of stone, with protruding rocks everywhere, which made it easier for Seven to climb. Seizing the opportunity, Seven quickly approached the Outlet, feeling a surge of excitement that made him speed up despite the dozens of cuts and bruises on his hands.
Lizard also noticed the Outlet and began to show signs of unease, making noises. Seven glanced back and saw that the Lizards had stopped about two meters from the Outlet, while he was getting closer.
With one hand gripping the mountain, Seven shouted, "What's wrong? Scared of me?"
The Lizard showed no reaction to his taunt. Suddenly, the water flow from the Outlet surged dramatically, causing Lizard's bulging eyes to retract as it turned around and scurried back.
Watching several large Lizards fleeing as if for their lives eased Seven's anxious heart. However, at that moment, a burning pain shot through his palm. Lying against the mountain, he took a few deep breaths and pulled out a bandage from his backpack, wrapping it around his hand casually. He didn't think much of the minor injury but noticed that the Lizards were still guarding the foot of the mountain.
Taking a deep breath, Seven realized his escape route was blocked; he could only go up now.
As he climbed up to the Outlet, he found a buffer zone below that resembled a platform. Once he steadied himself, he panted lightly as his breathing began to normalize. After settling down, a refreshing breeze blew from behind him, making him feel comfortable, though it soon gave way to an eerie sensation. He turned his gaze toward the Outlet, where an opening about two meters high appeared before him—the source of that wind.
Approaching the Outlet, he saw a stream of water flowing outward. The water was shallow, about 20 centimeters deep, and with enough light outside, he could see the bottom. The opening itself was roughly two meters wide and irregularly shaped. He called out into the cave; after a long wait, an echo finally returned. He shouted a few more times but received no response.
The river occupied about two-thirds of the diameter of the Outlet, with gray and green stones piled both in and around it. Standing on the buffer zone and looking into the cave, he noted that light illuminated an area of about three meters; beyond that point would likely be pitch black.
Without any lighting tools or plans to enter just yet, Seven decided to wait until nightfall when those Lizards would leave before descending.
As night fell, Seven finished his lunch and felt hunger creeping back in. The Lizards' glowing eyes still circled below stubbornly refusing to leave; he found himself losing patience.
At night, only the sound of flowing water and the wind from inside could be heard. Seven began to feel cold from that breeze. He wanted to start a fire but quickly dismissed the idea due to a lack of suitable materials and concerns about attracting any terrifying creatures with flames.
Sitting down against a rock, a wave of fatigue washed over him as he slowly closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep. In his dream, voices emerged from within the Outlet.
Trying to listen closely in his dream state, he suddenly jolted awake. Rubbing his eyes, he indeed heard voices coming from inside the cave. Startled, he focused intently on listening but could only make out fragmented words: escape, death, life—spoken in broken phrases as if hindered by poor sound transmission conditions.
Leaning closer to hear better, just then the voices abruptly stopped. A curious itch stirred within him; humans naturally possess a desire for knowledge about the unknown.
Peering into the cave again, he realized it was completely dark outside now—almost nothing was visible. Looking down once more, he saw that the Lizards had not moved away. Even if they weren't looking at him directly, Seven decided he would enter the cave first thing in the morning.
The night passed without incident as Seven awoke peacefully under sunlight.
He glanced down again and couldn't help but curse under his breath. "Damn it! Is this going to be a waiting game?" Packing up his backpack and grabbing a quick bite to eat revealed that his dagger was missing; reluctantly, Seven took out his Shovel as a means of defense.
Then he searched for some easily combustible vegetation on this mountain and took off a piece of clothing to fashion a makeshift torch before boldly stepping into the Outlet.
The sound of water flowed continuously, as Seven stepped onto the stones by the riverbank and began to move forward. The water was still clear, but after walking four or five meters, the light began to dim, just as Seven had estimated.
After walking another five meters, darkness completely enveloped the area. Seven was no longer unfamiliar or afraid of the dark. Based on instinct, Third could tell that the water's surface was starting to widen and deepen; the speed and sound of the flowing water had changed.
Seven had no intention of lighting a torch just yet. Subconsciously, they touched the fire starter in their pocket. If it were to be lost, Seven would decisively turn back, risking everything to confront Lizard.
Because known dangers were always more reassuring than the fear of the unknown.
After advancing several dozen meters like this, Seven began to proceed with caution. The water had already reached their shoes, so they shifted to the side and eventually chose to walk along the wall. This way, they could avoid being submerged while ensuring their stability.
Continuing in this manner for several dozen more meters, Seven finally decided to light a torch. The flame instantly illuminated the surrounding space, but this kind of torch wouldn’t burn for long.
Seven observed that the environment around them was similar to what lay outside. Ahead seemed to stretch on endlessly, with the firelight only reaching two or three meters ahead.
As Seven moved forward, they didn’t pay attention to their feet and kicked something that rolled away for several meters. Startled, Seven lowered the torch and saw that it was a skull.
Realizing it was just a false alarm, Seven kicked the skull again, and it rolled into the darkness and disappeared. They chased after it but couldn’t find it again; it had vanished into thin air.
Seven paused for a moment but then dismissed it as perhaps having kicked it too hard earlier. They reassured themselves with this thought.
However, after a while, the skull rolled back on its own…
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