Gauss observed carefully for a long time, and was very certain that the open field not far in front of him was the lowest point of the entire valley.
"Is it over there?"
Serdur looked in the direction Gauss pointed.
"Let’s move a bit farther away first."
Gauss knew well that in such an abnormal situation, it was impossible to just walk over directly.
He took out a climbing set, used Mage’s Hand to secure the rope to the top of the rock wall, and after tying it tightly, he and Serdur climbed to a higher point to look down at the open field from above.
With the tip of the White Bone Staff, a Magic Missile shot out, precisely striking the spot he had judged to be the lowest point.
In the next moment.
"Buzz!!"
A faint blue light suddenly emanated from the ground, then the ground began to sink and rotate, the Magic Missile plunged into the deep sand pit without making any noise.
There was a wave of magic!
From the moment he released the Magic Missile, Gauss kept his attention on that spot.
He certainly didn’t miss the mysterious blue light at the beginning.
So... it was not just simple quicksand, but a magical space involving magical phenomena.
There might be a hidden paradise underground.
After a brief sink, the ground quickly returned to calm, as if nothing had ever happened.
Gauss tested a few more times.
He found that the surrounding area was safer than he expected.
And only magic power could trigger reactions there; other disturbances like falling rocks or arrows shot from a crossbow made no change there, just like a solid open field.
"Let’s go down and have a look."
After roughly checking the situation.
The two came to the previous position, stepping on it a few times. The feeling underfoot was very solid.
So unless they were creatures that could control magic power, no amount of ordinary creatures passing by could trigger the previous phenomenon.
Gauss took out a sparrow that he had caught on the rock wall just now.
He tied a rope around its feet, focused for a moment, and then wrapped it in a layer of [Gauss Force Field] on its small body.
Bind the sparrow’s wings tied with the rope and throw it to the target position.
Soon, the blue light flashed, and the sand vortex reappeared.
The sparrow was quickly swallowed into it; once inside, the sand vortex did not disappear but kept on.
And the rope showed no abnormalities.
Gauss waited a few seconds before pulling the sparrow at the other end of the rope back up.
The sparrow, after coming out, stood numbly for two seconds, and then perhaps realizing its situation, suddenly began to struggle and bounce incessantly. Upon checking its body, no injuries were found, it seemed it was unharmed inside for now.
However, this was not an accurate conclusion either.
Even in extreme environments, like lacking air, typical creatures can endure for tens of seconds.
So, Gauss conducted a follow-up test with the sparrow that was still tightly bound.
...
Finally, he came to the conclusion that the space beneath the vortex was very deep and there was air, providing an environment that supports life signs.
Looking at the sparrow in his hand, quite frightened, Gauss gently comforted it a bit and untied it.
"Thank you for your cooperation, little guy."
The "escaped from the claws" little sparrow, once released, was eager and flapped its wings in his hand, ready to fly away.
But having been bound for so long, its body was a bit stiff, after two flaps, its body rapidly fell again.
Gauss, still kind-hearted, couldn’t bear to see it fall, so he caught it back.
After asking Serdur to perform a simple healing magic on it, they released the sparrow again. The rejuvenated little bird then flew towards the sky.
Disappearing from view at a rapid speed.
"What a pity."
Gauss sighed.
Originally, he wanted to cut a piece of "lantern fruit" for the little sparrow to taste a unique labyrinthine delicacy it would never have the chance to eat in its lifetime, but it was too timid to enjoy such a treat.
So he could only keep it for himself.
Just as well, since he had expended some spells for testing.
He needed to replenish some food to fill his body energy to full.
Once all the preliminary preparations were completed, Gauss was ready to officially enter and explore the wondrous underground space.
"Captain, why don’t I go down?" Serdur asked.
"No need, I’ll go down." Gauss waved his hand. "I’m more suitable than you."
After all the tests earlier, if there were any unforeseen crises in the cave, he was prepared to face them.
Moreover, the most important point is.
He can cast a shield on himself at any time, even if there’s an unusual attack inside, as long as the defense is not shattered in one hit, he can instantly cast another Gauss Force Field on himself.
The innate abilities of the [Creeping Species] also endowed him with tougher skin, regenerative abilities, and resistance to extreme environments compared to ordinary people.
Besides, having a "healer profession" put oneself at risk is unheard of.
To put it bluntly, in case something happens to him inside, Serdur can pull him out and provide medical aid anytime.
If something happened to Serdur, what could he do, just stand by and watch helplessly?
"If anything unexpected happens, I’ll pull the rope, then you can pull me up. Serdur, you stay outside, if I get hurt, you can provide treatment at any time." Gauss interrupted Serdur, who was about to say something more.
Serdur thought about it and realized that Gauss made sense.