They then cleaned their weapons and rested for thirteen minutes.
Zaefal sat by the riverbank. He wiped the blade of his sword with a piece of wet cloth. He rubbed it slowly until the dried blood was gone and the metal gleamed again under the mushroom light.
Beside him, Rasie cupped cold water to her face. She rubbed her eyes, letting the freshness of the water rinse away the remaining drowsiness.
"I can... come on, I can!" Rasie patted her own cheeks, encouraging herself.
She rolled her shoulders, bounced lightly on her feet, letting the tension drain from her arms as she steadied her breath
"Are you feeling better, Cyhas?" Illya asked Cyhas. The girl’s face was no longer as pale as when they first arrived at this place.
Cyhas nodded. "Yes."
Fyar cleaned his katana in the river and loaded bullets into his pistol.
Zaefal stood up. He sheathed his sword with a soft click.
He rolled his shoulders once, loosening the stiffness in his arms as his boots crunched lightly on the moss.
"We move," said Zaefal. "Follow this river stream as far as possible."
Zaefal looked at his companions in turn. "Are you ready?"
Fyar, Rasie, Illya, and Cyhas nodded in unison.
They packed up their belongings. The mushroom bottles were fully filled.
They started walking.
The journey continued along the banks of the invisible river. The river current led them further away from the forest area.
Slowly, the scenery around them changed.
The dense giant mushroom forest began to thin out. The mushroom stalks became sparser. The blue light from the mushroom caps slowly faded and was left behind.
"I wonder if the leaves and mushrooms here can be sold..." said Fyar while walking. His eyes swept over the blue leaves and glowing mushrooms around him.
"What kind of silly question is that... obviously it’s stupid..." replied Rasie. She also looked at the leaves and mushrooms.
"Heeeh but they are a beautiful blue and look like they’re glowing... or maybe they are glowing?" said Fyar. He narrowed his eyebrows.
"But what would they be used for? Jewelry? Decoration?" asked Rasie while skipping slightly to avoid tree roots.
"Well... I think it would be quite nice to use mushrooms for decoration? Especially since the color is blue..." replied Fyar while shrugging his shoulders.
"What are you guys actually talking about..." said Zaefal who was walking at the very front.
"Would you use mushrooms for decoration?" Fyar asked Zaefal. His eyes looked serious, waiting for an answer.
Zaefal rubbed his chin, thinking. "Well... it depends... if it doesn’t smell and is durable... maybe it could be used for a lamp..."
"A lamp? But the light might depend on the roots, right? If pulled out, the light might die," Rasie shook her head.
Zaefal laughed lightly. "Oh right, you’re correct..."
"How about you, Illya?" Fyar asked Illya who was in front of him.
"Eh, me? Hmm." Illya placed her index finger on her mouth while walking leisurely through the forest.
"Well... maybe it’s possible. I plant them inside the house... and well... well... maybe it would be an interesting decoration..." said Illya. "Right, Cyhas? Do you think so?"
Cyhas nodded. "Yeaa... that’s quite nice I think..."
Fyar chuckled. "You really are my soulmate, Illya."
"Eh? Um, yes!" said Illya enthusiastically, her cheeks turning red.
"Tch, starting again..." Rasie sneered.
Fyar chuckled. "Heh, the idea of selling mushrooms for decoration doesn’t seem bad."
"Only weirdos would buy them I think..." Rasie sighed.
"And the size? Aren’t the mushrooms too big? And um..." Rasie looked at the giant mushrooms. "Well, the size."
"Just look for the small ones," said Fyar.
"Is there nothing else we can talk about?" said Zaefal. His eyes looked strangely ahead, listening to the conversation behind him.
Fyar looked at Cyhas. "Cyhas, do you have anything interesting to tell us?" Fyar paused to think. "Like... strange customer requests or something?"
Cyhas pondered. "Hmm interesting things... interesting things..."
She then remembered something. "Ah, maybe customers who owe money? Or sometimes there are many requests for strange artifacts in our shop..."
"Strange artifacts?" Rasie was curious.
Cyhas’s face turned slightly red. "Y-yes... sometimes... like um... many... who ask for medicine or strong medicine artifacts... for... in... b... bed."
Turns out cases like that exist in any world, huh... Fyar muttered internally.
"Ah... uhm... natural... that’s well... it’s called being human, natural..." said Fyar with a flat face.
"hah? that type? Bed? What’s natural about that, Purple Hair?" asked Rasie.
"Y-yes u-usually couples or h-husband and wife..." said Cyhas shyly.
Hearing the words husband and wife and couples, Rasie and Zaefal’s gazes instantly shifted to Fyar and Illya.
Fyar who understood their joke could only close his eyes and hold back a smile on his lips. He made an expression of holding back laughter.
"Too fast guys... too fast..." he muttered softly.
Illya looked confused for a moment before realizing the meaning. Her face then turned bright red. "Ah?! No, no! What are you thinking?! What are you thinkiiing!"
Instantly Zaefal, Cyhas, and Rasie burst out laughing.
Two hours passed. They reached the border of the territory.
The terrain beneath their feet changed. The soft blue moss disappeared completely.
Their feet now stepped on hard white sandy ground. The texture was rough and dense. The sound of their footsteps crunched softly when stepping on the sand mixed with gravel.
Fyar looked ahead. A new scenery stretched out widely.
A very massive open plain. The ground was pale white, reflecting dim light. In the distance, the silhouette of sharp black rock mountains towered high, piercing the sky.
The sky above them displayed a majestic sight. Auroras of purple, green, and blue swirled slowly, illuminating the eternal darkness of that place.
"This place... vast... no monsters? Very quiet..." said Zaefal observing. His eyes narrowed warily.
"I want to paint this scenery..." said Cyhas who looked slightly amazed.
While Illya just admired silently looking at the scenery in front of her.
"Want to marathon who gets there fastest?" said Rasie.
"You’re crazy bro," said Fyar shaking his head.
He looked back at the scenery in front of him.
This really doesn’t look like a dungeon... what does dungeon mean in this world actually... does it mean planet switching? Because this really looks like a planet... there are auroras... stars... hmm... the mystery of this world... quite interesting to study... Fyar muttered internally.
Wait, don’t tell me I’m in a game or novel world? But I’ve never read a world like this... or a game? Agh, no Fyar... no point thinking about that now. Fyar shook his head.
They continued walking towards the middle of the plain.
They continued walking until they reached a place where the white sandy ground was now overgrown with something. Thousands of clear rods grew from the ground as high as an adult’s waist. The shapes were pointed and sharp.
"Crystals," muttered Fyar.
He leaned forward slightly, narrowing his eyes as the light refracted against his face
"Is this some kind of... artifact?" muttered Zaefal.
"This could be sold... Zaefal, may I—" Rasie marveled.
"No. Don’t," Zaefal cut in briefly.
"Why not?"
"It might be dangerous.. we don’t know what happens if we pull them out.." said Zaefal, his eyes looking at the crystals.
"But that’s just a possibility.." said Rasie trying to convince.
"No.. I said no..." Zaefal emphasized.
"Tch okay okay" Rasie gives up
Illya approached and observed the white crystals in more detail. "B-beautiful..."
She then walked back to the front.
The expanse looked like a meadow made of glass. The aurora light from the sky reflected on the surface of the crystals, creating colorful sparkles across the entire plain.
Suddenly, the air pressure changed.
A strong wind blew from the direction of the black mountains ahead. The wind hit the crystal field.
The crystal rods swayed. Their sides touched and rubbed against each other.
Ting... kling... tring...
A soft chiming sound filled the air.
The sound was clear and echoing. Thousands of high and low notes united. The sound sounded like nature’s song or an orchestra of wind chimes played simultaneously.
They all stopped walking.
Fyar, Illya, Rasie, Cyhas, and Zaefal fell silent. They stood in the middle of the crystal field, listening to the music produced by the wind and glass.
Amidst the harmony of that sound, a giant shadow emerged from behind the mountains.
Fyar looked up.
A giant glowing whale glided out from behind the rock cliff. Its body was transparent, emitting bright blue light from inside its organs.
The whale "swam" in the air, right under the aurora layer. Its large fins paddled the wind.
The creature opened its mouth, swallowing the light mist in the sky. It let out a low humming sound that vibrated in harmony with the tinkling of crystals below.
Illya huddled her body close to Fyar. Her eyes were glued to the scenery above.
The wind blew, the crystals chimed, and the whale passed slowly over their heads.