Villain : Nonchalant Greedy-Chapter 17: Follow The Roots

Both of them were panting heavily.

"Huff! Huff!"

"Damn it, Arsene! Your guesses and predictions aren't always right—what the hell was that thing chasing us?!" Sarl spoke quickly, his voice shaky.

"Huff! I don't know," Arsene replied, breathless. "But it looked like one of those mole rats or diggers... only this one was massive—ten times the size at least. Lucky for us, we took that narrow path."

Sarl asked, puzzled, "What is that?"

"Mole rats?" Arsene said. "They dig through the ground and live underground. Why?"

"No, not those diggers, you idiot! I mean look—what's that?" Sarl pointed to a corner.

They both had torches—Sarl had brought them beforehand, clearly prepared for this journey with all the right tools.

Arsene and Sarl moved toward the corner. There, they saw several massive roots fused to the cave wall. They looked alive—pulsing slightly, with visible movement inside them, like veins transporting something. They were gray, jelly-like in appearance, but firm—probably from that rhythmic pulsing and unstable movement.

Arsene grinned. "Maybe I was right after all."

He looked at Sarl. "Remember when that giant rat attacked us earlier? When you fell into that hole, something sticky got on your boot."

Arsene brought the torch closer to Sarl's boot. A sticky, white substance clung to it. "Ughh!" Sarl groaned, wanting to scrape it off against the cave floor.

But Arsene stopped him. He pulled out a glass vial from his storage ring—he clearly didn't want to touch the substance bare-handed. Then he pulled out a pair of gloves.

These gloves had been specially crafted for him by the academy due to his singularity. Arsene put them on, scooped up a sample of the white goo, and sealed it in the vial.

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After searching around for a while, he caught a small rat. Under Sarl's watchful gaze, Arsene applied some of the goo to its skin. The rat began to squeal shortly after as the goo dissolved and seeped through its pores.

Arsene felt something change. He quickly released the rat.

The rat began to grow—fast. It shot up to half Arsene's height and was still expanding. Sarl, startled, pulled out a dagger and stabbed the creature multiple times in the head before slashing its throat. Blood sprayed everywhere.

Arsene was impressed. Sarl didn't even flinch while killing the rat, despite the bloodbath. But it made sense—Sarl had grown up in a warrior tribe, endured hardship from a young age, trained hard, hunted, even worked with a blacksmith.

"What the hell was that?!" Sarl asked, stunned.

"I'm not sure yet," Arsene answered, "but I think it's related to what we saw on the surface—the withered trees and the black forest on the other side of the cliff. I think these living roots act as energy channels. They're transporting something."

He paused, recalling something from his past life—something about a person's life force.

"I suspect these roots might also be absorbing energy—or maybe even life force—from the creatures in the forest."

Sarl looked confused. "If the roots are absorbing and transferring energy like you said... where are they transferring it to? And why?"

Arsene and Sarl both stared down the direction the roots were traveling. They knew the only way to uncover the truth was to follow the roots to their source.

As they walked, Sarl asked, "Isn't energy supposed to be invisible? Like air? So why does it look like this... gooey stuff?"

Arsene had been wondering the same thing. How could energy take on such a tangible form—unless it wasn't energy to begin with?

Maybe it was raw material—something that later became energy? But how? Did it transform naturally? Or was there something inside the cave—some mechanism aiding its formation?

If the roots were pulling in energy from the forest canopy, maybe that's what caused the forest to wither. Maybe they were surrounded by aether... or radiation residue?

Or... were the roots draining the forest's life force?

Arsene didn't have the answers yet, but he was determined to figure it out. The best way? Follow the roots to their source.

The path was filled with holes, slick ground, and branching tunnels. To avoid getting lost, they scratched markings into the cave walls, hoping to trace their way back if needed—especially if the monster left and they had a chance to climb back out.

Better that than putting all their hopes into finding some unknown exit, only to end up lost with no way back.

"Man, this place is hot!" Sarl complained. "Hey... you think this could be a volcanic area? You know—that thing... that fire tube or whatever?"

Arsene calmed him. "Don't worry. This isn't a volcanic zone. The rock types don't match—no basalt, andesite, or even volcanic glass."

"Balaz-what? Azend-whatever?" Sarl asked, totally lost.

Arsene laughed. "You'll learn the names at the academy."

If they actually teach things like that, Arsene thought silently.

Eventually, they reached a circular area where all the roots converged, sinking into a massive pit.

Except... it wasn't a pit. It was a huge freshwater pool.

The roots were tangled together, pulsing like living things. Water trickled in through cracks in the cave walls, feeding the pool.

Sarl approached one of the water streams. He reached out to touch it but yanked his hand back instantly—maybe afraid it wasn't water at all. What if it turned into another horrible creature, like those rats?

Arsene noticed and laughed. "Relax, it's just water. Look."

He walked over to another stream, touched it, and stared at his hand.

Sarl froze, watching him anxiously. Did something happen to Arsene?

Sensing his friend's worry, Arsene smiled and said, "Don't worry. Nothing to fear. It's just water."

Sarl hesitated but finally touched the flowing water—then immediately pulled back.

"COLD! Damn, my hands are shaking—it's like my bones froze! What the hell is this water?! Even ice isn't this cold! So weird..."

Arsene understood—his own hand was still trembling. How could water be that cold without freezing?

He couldn't squeeze into the cracks to trace the water's source, but maybe it came from deep within the cliff?

Then Arsene looked at the roots in the pool's center and had an idea.

"Sarl! You said you brought a bundle of rope, right?"

Arsene gave him a mischievous smile. Sarl didn't get it at first—why the rope?

Then it hit him. "Why ME?! Why do I have to go down there?! This was YOUR idea! And why not send that dumb clone of yours? It hasn't helped us at all—in fact, it got us into this mess!"

Arsene smirked. "Nope. This task is perfectly suited for you, Sarl. Besides—you inspired me!"

"Remember when you said this place was hot? Maybe you were half-right."

He pulled out the vial with the goo and tossed it to Sarl, who caught it—then winced.

"It's warm?" Arsene asked knowingly.

"Back when I touched it, I didn't feel any heat. I was wearing those special gloves—probably heat-resistant."

Sarl was beginning to understand... kind of.

Arsene noticed his confusion. "We'll lower you down. I just need you to touch the surface of the pool. If I'm right, the cold water is cooling that gooey substance inside the roots."

"If the pool is only mildly cold, we can go in. I can already see cracks in the center with those roots, meaning there's another chamber we haven't reached yet."

"Got it?"

"...No. I don't get it," Sarl replied blankly.

"Damn it—just go! Didn't you say this was an adventure? Then act like it!" Arsene snapped, forcing him to comply.

Nervous, Sarl kept reminding them to hold the rope tight as they lowered him.

At the water's surface, doubt filled his expression. But he steeled himself—and touched it.

"To my surprise, it's just medium-temperature! You were right, Arse—"

SPLASH!

Arsene and his clone let go of the rope. Sarl plunged into the pool, nearly drowning before resurfacing, fuming.

Before he could even curse them out—two more splashes.

SPLASH! SPLASH!

"Cough, cough—Damn you both! I swallowed the water—ack, ack!"

Arsene was laughing... until Sarl suddenly shouted:

"HEY HEY HEY—guys, what the hell is that? It's coming straight at us!"

Something—like a fin—was slicing through the water from the center, heading their way fast.

"OH SHIT! A SHARK?!"

"The rope! WHERE'S THE DAMN ROPE?!"

There was none. It had fallen in with them.

We're screwed, Sarl thought.