The white light was a teleportation array leading to the ruins’ world. Ye Chui felt a wave of dizziness, vastly different from the sensation of entering the ruins’ world through Old Merlin’s portal last time. Instinctively, he gripped Debbie and Lesha tightly. After an indeterminate time, he felt the steady pull of gravity, his feet touching solid ground.
The once sweltering air turned cool and crisp.
Crouching, he panted heavily, his eyes warily scanning the surroundings.
They were in a thicket of waist-high shrubs, dotted with unfamiliar plants and occasional towering trees. Looking around, the shrubland stretched as far as the eye could see. Above, the sky was the same grey, tattered veil Ye Chui had seen before, with flashes of lightning flickering within.
This was indeed the Gods’ Ruins, fragments left from the collapse of the divine realm.
As he shakily stood, Ye Chui quickly checked on Debbie, Lesha, and Green, who were nearby, looking queasy from the teleportation. Windsor was not far off, steadying herself against a tree.
Godo and the chubby maid, however, were nowhere to be seen.
“When the teleportation began, Godo and the chubby maid were definitely pulled in. Were they sent somewhere else?” Ye Chui wondered, puzzled. After ensuring Debbie and Lesha were fine, he summoned his iPad grimoire and opened the Map Navigation. The map was a grey blur, showing only a few metres around them, with five red dots marking their group.
A prompt appeared: “New map pack detected. Spend 3300 points to unlock?”
“Three thousand points?” Ye Chui froze. The last ruins’ map pack cost only 300 points. This world must be ten times larger.
“There’s a sound!” Debbie said, alert. “It’s like voices!”
“Could it be Linda!?” Lesha exclaimed, her voice, clear and melodious, contrasting her disguised appearance. It was the first time Ye Chui’s group heard her speak.
“Be careful!” Ye Chui urged, leading Debbie, Lesha, Green, and Windsor toward the sound. Soon, figures came into view.
Multiple teleportation tokens could access the ruins’ world. The people before them were other adventurers who had arrived via different tokens, about twenty in total, all looking somewhat disoriented.
Ye Chui scanned them cautiously but saw no sign of Godo or the chubby maid.
“Where’s Randy? Why didn’t he come with us?”
“Lier? Lier’s missing!”
Shouts of alarm rang out.
Ye Chui frowned, puzzled. It wasn’t just their group; other tokens had missing members too.
Soon, the other adventurers noticed Ye Chui’s group. Perhaps because they were so young, they seemed out of place in such a high-stakes adventure, prompting wary looks.
Among them was the fourth prince in his lavish armour, with the mysterious armoured swordsman at his side. The swordsman’s eyes, hidden by his helmet, seemed to tremble upon seeing Ye Chui’s group, then fixed on the nanny—Windsor in disguise—behind Ye Chui, his body tensing.
“Who are you!?” a short, middle-aged mage roared, stepping forward. He wore a magical robe with a white ice emblem on his chest, already summoning an orange-covered grimoire. Since arriving in this world, Ye Chui had only seen two such grimoires: Old Merlin’s and this man’s.
“Where’s Abdul? Your token should have brought the Banyan Mercenary Guild, not you!”
“Abdul?” Ye Chui recalled the man who attacked them before teleporting. This short mage likely knew Abdul, perhaps allied for the adventure. Shocked to see Ye Chui instead, he smiled politely. “Abdul couldn’t make it. He sold us the token.”
In such a perilous place, it was wiser to stick with others until the situation was clear.
“Sold it? Impossible!” the short mage bellowed. Icy spikes formed before him, shooting toward Ye Chui’s group without warning. He was a rare ice mage, wielding fused wind and water magic.
“What!?” Ye Chui gasped, retreating.
Debbie instantly summoned Gilga, golden light flaring, sword aura slashing. The ice spikes shattered, falling to the ground. The golden swordswoman stood protectively before Ye Chui’s group, glaring coldly at the mage.
“Hey, why attack us out of nowhere?” Debbie shouted angrily.
“I planned to team up with Abdul here. He’d never casually hand over the token. You must have stolen it with underhanded means!” the mage said coldly, eyeing Gilga with surprise. He hadn’t expected these youths to summon such a powerful spirit, effortlessly blocking his Ice Strike spell.
He continued, “The teleportation went wrong, and it’s surely tied to these people! Let’s capture them!”
Spurred by the mage, other mages and swordsmen turned hostile, readying for attack. Most adventurers had met beforehand, planning their ruins strategy. Now, with several missing and Ye Chui’s group replacing Abdul’s, they linked the disappearances to them.
Among the adventurers were five believers—three men, two women—who recognised Lesha, whispering among themselves. An older believer, dressed in a black robe with gold trim and an odd pendant, stood out as a bishop.
“Your Highness!” the armoured swordsman hurried to the fourth prince, his hoarse voice low. “Things aren’t as we expected. We should avoid infighting. I know these kids; they’re from a three-star guild. Despite their age, their strength rivals four or five-star guilds. They could be valuable.”
The prince, initially observing, was swayed. Debbie’s summoning of Gilga had proven their capability. He stepped forward. “President Makenzie, the situation’s unclear. Let’s avoid conflict. For my sake, hold off on targeting them.”
“Your Highness,” Makenzie, the short mage, hesitated. The prince had organised this adventure, and defying him was unwise, especially with internal strife so untimely.
With a cold grunt, he shot Ye Chui and Debbie a warning glare and stepped back.
The prince chuckled, approaching. Raised in an imperial family, he was skilled at winning people over, hoping to recruit Ye Chui and Debbie. His gaze flicked to the nanny behind Ye Chui. He’d seen that face before, grimacing hideously, but now it only seemed vaguely familiar, not worth much thought.
With a courteous gesture, he began, “Greetings, I’m…”
“Hey, chubby, long time no see. You’ve really made something of yourself!” Debbie’s voice cut in.
Everyone froze. The petite girl strode forward, hands on hips, beaming at the prince. Only then did they realise she’d called him “chubby.”
“Debbie, what are you doing!?” Ye Chui exclaimed.
Debbie waved at him, winking: Trust me, I’ve got this! Turning back to the prince, “Don’t you recognise me? I’m your cousin Debbie, the little witch of the Anduin family. The one who chased you down the street!”
The prince’s face twitched, staring at the unfamiliar girl. “I don’t know any Debbie…”
“Debbie, you’ve got the wrong person,” Ye Chui said, pulling her arm, exasperated.
“No way!” Debbie huffed. “Sure, he’s taller and thinner after four years, but he still looks like chubby. And the fourth prince title can’t be wrong, right?”
The prince’s breathing grew heavy with anger. He knew the Anduin family but had no cousin named Debbie who’d chased him.
Chubby? He’d always been dashing and upright!
Trembling with rage, he said, “Miss, stop spouting nonsense.”
“Oh, still denying it? Should I tell everyone how you got caught peeking at maids bathing?” Debbie taunted, arms crossed, chin raised.
“Enough!” The prince drew his sword with a swish. “Kill them!”
His guards and other mages and swordsmen readied for battle. Makenzie smirked, flipping through his grimoire.
Debbie, startled, whispered to Ye Chui, “Is he trying to silence me for exposing him?”
Ye Chui: “…”
I think you just got the wrong person…
The tension, just calmed, threatened to erupt again.
The armoured swordsman shook his head, hand on his greatsword’s hilt: Being your ally is exhausting…
“Your Highness, I believe there’s a misunderstanding,” the bishop suddenly said, his kind face soothing. “May the gods calm your anger. Sister Lesha is a devout nun, and I trust her friends are good people. Please forgive this girl’s boldness. We’re in a dangerous world and need to work together.”
“He’s Bishop Talbot,” Lesha whispered to Ye Chui, her eyes on a blonde nun nearby.
The nun glared coldly at Lesha, who huffed. Talbot had received a token and chosen adventurers, including Lesha initially, but the blonde nun, disapproving of Lesha’s “scandalous” behaviour, had sabotaged her inclusion.
The prince panted heavily, struggling to quell his anger. Talbot, a powerful believer, was vital to the adventure, and his bishop title carried weight in the church. Offending him was unwise.
With a clang, the prince sheathed his sword, glaring at Debbie: Don’t let me hear more nonsense!
Debbie opened her mouth, but Ye Chui quickly covered it. Please, no more trouble… In this strange, dangerous world, far more perilous than their last ruins adventure, clashing with the prince’s group was foolish.
Rustle—
A sound came from the nearby bushes.
Swish—
A mercenary threw a dagger, and the grass stirred. Ye Chui saw a strange beast, black-furred, pig-like with tusks but smaller, with bony spikes on its back. It rolled once and lay still.
The mercenary retrieved his dagger, kicking the beast. “What’s this? Living creatures in these ruins?”
Others were puzzled. Such pocket dimensions rarely supported life.
The mercenary wiped his dagger with a cloth, eyes scanning warily.
But Ye Chui, Debbie, Green, and Lesha froze, noticing something—the dagger looked exactly like the one Cass had given to the old farmer not long ago…
