The black sun hangs high

Chapter 107 Escape
Human beings do have their limits.

As long as one remains within the scope of the biological concept of "human," one will always be subject to different limitations in different fields.

Cognition, emotions, spirit... and the physical body.

Because of the power of magic, spellcasters have, to some extent, far surpassed ordinary people, but even so, they are still within the category of "human".

When she witnessed a terrifying scene beyond her comprehension, even Vilin, who had become a Lake-level mage, inevitably fell into a state of mental stagnation.

She felt her heart pounding, her breathing quickening uncontrollably, and her ears filled with that noisy, piercing sound. Even without turning her head, she could see the black waterfall made up of countless deformed rats out of the corner of her eye.

She knew these rats weren't as difficult to deal with as she'd imagined, but as she tried to calm herself and focus on casting her spell, she discovered that the magical power emanating from the surging magical creatures had somehow coalesced into a single entity.

The wave of countless deformed rats became the most terrifying source of magical interference.

Under the influence of these chaotic fluctuations and excited emotions, Vilin found that she was unable to cast spells normally as usual. The sounds that kept entering her ears seemed to be stretched into piercing noises that could tear her consciousness and mind apart. Whenever she finally managed to complete the construction of the magic runes, she would make huge mistakes due to momentary lapses in concentration and dazedness. These failed attempts, in turn, further interfered with her thinking.

In this situation, she was even unable to successfully cast the "Mind Inspiration" spell, which she could use to stabilize her thoughts and spirit.

Now, this spiral staircase, which had undergone a permanent extension ritual, has become a sealed, dead space.

Vera felt as if she were an ant desperately trying to escape by scrambling up the inside of a bottle, while someone kept pouring water into the bottle from the opening...

The squeals of the rats were already close at hand.

Just as Violet thought she was about to be engulfed by the dark waves chasing from behind, a burst of intense fire suddenly appeared in her field of vision.

It was a page of a magic book burning fiercely, and the magic engraved on it was none other than the Stream-level "Instantaneous Ignition".

The Touch of Karron appeared beside Shug, directly snatched the burning page, and sent it into the swarm of rats behind him!

The next instant, a large burst of blazing fire exploded in the darkness. Just as Verin had said when she first used this magic, the flames it produced were far greater than usual after being infused with an excessive amount of magic.

A bright wall of fire stood in front of the rat swarm, the intense heat radiating from behind, even scorching the hair that was tied back in Vivienne's head.

"too slow!"

Just then, Hugh's voice came from ahead. Before Vera could react, another cold tentacle reached out and wrapped around her waist.

Vera's scream was drowned out by the screams of the roasting rats. She felt as if she had been pulled into the air, and the next second, she was slammed hard into someone's arms.

Now, Veraine no longer had time to think about why Hugh's magic was undisturbed, because she found herself not only being carried horizontally, but also being moved forward at an extremely terrifying speed. This speed of movement, which was beyond Veraine's imagination, made her heart beat even faster. She could only grip Hugh's clothes tightly next to her while trying to clench her teeth to prevent herself from screaming.

Hugh's magic is being consumed relentlessly.

Faced with this sudden and terrifying situation, a large number of Calron's tentacles extended from behind him. At this moment, they finally truly became part of Hugh's body, just as their name suggests, and took on the most important functions of running and moving.

These incredibly strong tentacles continuously supported the walls and the ground, acting like springs to help Hugh and his companion run wildly down the stairs.

Sniggy, the sprinting rat that Hugh had sent to scout down the stairs, had also sent word to Hugh that the rats that had fallen down the stairwell had also gathered in groups at the bottom of the stairs and were surging up the walls and stairs.

But at the same time, it finally found a closed, heavy metal door in this seemingly endless spiral staircase, not far directly below Hugh!

Before one of the Karron's Tentacles could retract, it was overtaken by the surging horde of rats. These incredibly hungry predators completely ignored the hard keratinous shell attached to the Karron's Tentacle. They opened their mouths and began to tear at it without restraint, devouring the hard outer layer that was strong enough to withstand bullets and knives in just a few seconds.

Hugh decisively abandoned that tentacle and summoned a new one to maintain his speed.

As she distanced herself from the rats, Vera finally regained control of her magic. Gritting her teeth, she snatched the spellbook from Hugh's arms, then tore off three pages of "Instant Ignition," just like when she set fire to Ernst's old house. After infusing them with magic, she threw them forcefully.

When it comes to creating explosions, Veraine is clearly more professional.

Suddenly, large bursts of fire erupted upwards along the spiral staircase, and a suffocating odor, accompanied by the shockwave of the explosion, filled the cramped space. The rats that had been killed by the flames and explosion did not immediately dissipate into magic, but instead turned into ashes ignited by the flames. A considerable number of them even jumped into the bottomless, pitch-black well in a panic, and thus these "torches" successfully illuminated the vast darkness that was surging up from below.

"We're here! Unlock!"

At this moment, due to the rapid depletion of magic power, Hugh's control over the Touch of Karron also began to decline. So he stepped back onto the stairs, kicked away two deformed rats that had been blown away by the explosion, and then placed Verin in front of the heavy iron door.

A page was quickly torn off by Verin. At this moment, she no longer cared about the precise use of magic. Under the extremely rough injection of magic power, the "remove lock" spell originally engraved on the page showed an even more amazing "style" than Hugh's previous "rough lock breaking".

With a burst of magic and violent vibrations, the heavy metal door emitted a piercing hum before being forcibly pushed open by Hugh using the Touch of Karron.

A new, ancient corridor appeared before them, and the swarming sound of rats behind them became the biggest driving force. Without thinking too much, the two rushed into the corridor one after the other.

Strangely, the moment the two stepped into the corridor, the previously menacing swarm of rats seemed to fall silent.

However, Hughes did not dare to be careless. He immediately slammed the metal door shut and at the same time gave the order to disperse Sniggy, who was about to be swallowed up by his own kind.

The moment the door closed, the two worlds, inside and outside, were completely separated.

The maddening squeaking and running of mice could no longer be heard, and Vera's previously severely disrupted magic immediately resumed operation. For a moment, apart from their still rapid heartbeats and breathing, there was no way to prove that what had just happened had indeed occurred...

Vera glanced at Hugh, then raised her hand and snapped off a few strands of her hair that had been singed by the flames. Her feelings were now extremely complicated.

It wasn't because of the terrifying scene she had just encountered, nor because of the "special treatment" she had received, but because her pride in her composure and spellcasting abilities had been completely lost at some point due to interference from some force she couldn't understand.

For the caster, magic is a hammer that can be used to strike anything.

When the hammer suddenly disappears, the caster will naturally be at a loss.

"It's evil magic."

Hughes felt Vilin's gaze, took a couple of deep breaths, and very consciously offered an explanation: "I can sense that there is some subtle connection between those rats and the magical power I possess. Although I don't know exactly what it is, it seems that they cannot interfere with my magic power and magic at present."

"Um……"

Vera responded sullenly. Considering what had just happened, she instinctively wanted to open the magic book and tear off a few pages for later use. However, Vera then realized that the book in her hand was actually tied to Hugh's waist with a thin iron chain.

This is not her book.

"..."

A series of complex and indescribable expressions flashed across the female mage's face. To avoid embarrassing his teacher too much, Hughes straightened his face, reached out, and took his spellbook back from her, then hung it back on his waist.

While Verine fell silent, Hugh turned to look at both sides of the corridor.

His gaze first drifted to the nearest room, and it was then that Hughes noticed the sign affixed to the door that read "514".

"We went down three floors in one go? Now it's the fifth basement level?"

Hugh shifted his gaze in surprise. Sure enough, the other room numbers also started with "5". Clearly, the spiral staircase was not just a ritual that permanently extended space. Sniggy had investigated very clearly beforehand and there were indeed no other entrances or doors next to the staircase.

"It could be a hidden door disguised by magic, or it could be that there is a magical ritual in this stairwell that can interfere with our perception."

As Vilin spoke softly, she finally picked up her own magic book and tore out several pages. Judging from the shimmering crystalline powder and the extremely complex magic runes, the magic imprinted on these pages was very likely Vilin's "hidden treasure."

Light footsteps came from the other end of the corridor. The two, still shaken, immediately turned around. At this moment, Verine was filled with anger with nowhere to vent it, so she took a step forward. An invisible magic lifted up the pages of the book that were engraved with deadly magic. Under the stimulation of the magic, the dazzling magic patterns, lines and complex formulas all began to glow continuously.

A waiter wearing a black mask appeared at the corner of the corridor, but instead of attacking the two, he bowed very politely.

After that, he stepped back to the wall and spread out one hand, making a "this way please" gesture.

Hugh and the other exchanged a glance, both noticing the surprise on each other's faces.

At that moment, the two seemed to truly become guests entering a hotel, and the figure wearing the metal mask had indeed returned to his "original job"...

"It looks like someone has extended an invitation to us."

Hugh said softly. This time, he did not raise the revolver. Instead, he gently moved his right hand. After feeling a slight stinging pain in his wrist, Hugh felt a little more confident.

Even now, he has not revealed the "Hound's Fang," which he has been using as his trump card, to anyone, but now he is ready to use this special weapon.

The waiter truly had no intention of attacking. He maintained his inviting gesture until Hugh and Vera approached, at which point he slowly straightened up and took the initiative to lead the way.

However, when the waiter turned around, Hugh saw a scene that sent chills down his spine.

Several rats were found crawling on the back of the waiter's head and back.

These rats seemed to have used their fleshy tendrils to connect with the waiter's skin or flesh. They clung tightly to the waiter's body, appearing as if they were dead. However, when the waiter walked, the rats trembled slightly.

They are indeed alive.

After turning the corner, more figures appeared in front of the two. They were men and women. Some were still upright, while others had already undergone severe physical mutation. The uniforms they wore and the masks on their faces were also of different ages. One of the waiters, who had been mutated to an extreme degree, had even torn his clothes, but he still stood quietly at the edge, like a special sculpture.

Without exception, they were all covered in rats.

Or rather, they all "bonded" with some rats.

With a soft click, the door to room 508 slowly opened, and the waiter who was leading the way stood by the door and once again gestured for us to come in.

Light shone from the open doorway.

Yes, this room 508 is completely different from room 203 that Hugh and his companion broke into before; it even has lights inside.

However, these lights did not come from the table lamps or chandeliers that were originally set up in the room, but from a large number of magical lamps that had been disassembled and collected from who-knows-where. They filled the entire room, from the bed to the floor to the table... Some of these lamps were new and some were old. Some of them had dimmed or gone out completely, but the vast majority of them were still working.

This room is practically a warehouse for storing lamps.

(End of this chapter)