Chapter 401: Just Curious
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
The two Yabbas had fainted, but even so, they still seemed anxious.
Every now and then, they would shake violently. Their lips moved as if they were talking in their sleep, but their voices were unclear. Their faces changed between dark and pale. It was eerie.
After a few seconds, something even scarier happened. Mana started seeping out of Master Green's body.
When a Magician's life was at risk, they would lose control of their bodies. Things such as Mana leakage would occur. But Green was unhurt and uninjured right now.
Seeing these symptoms, Link thought of his past experiences in the game and had an idea. These two must have been hurt by the Void. He was fine because he had reached Level-10.
He brought the two unconscious Yabbas back. After around 1000 feet, Link couldn't feel the Void's aura anymore.
Now, he looked at them again and found that the Yabbas had calmed down. They laid there without moving. Master Green's body stopped leaking Mana as well. However, they still weren't okay. Their pallor kept changing, and their breathing was weak. It felt like they could die at any time.
They were at a corner with an indented platform by the side. It seemed to be where the Yabbas usually placed maintenance equipment.
The platform was very dry, so Link put the two Yabbas on it and sat to the side. He took out a bottle of green Spring City hard liquor from his dimensional storage gear and mixed in a bottle of medium-level medicine.
There was a sizzle. When the light red medicine came into contact with the liquor, it bubbled immediately. Link quickly put in the wooden stopper and shook it violently. Three minutes later, the liquor and medicine were mixed well, forming an amber-colored foam. It looked like beer from earth, but it was like a gel.
Link's actions may have seemed crude, but this was actually really effective. It was called "soul-retrieval gel" and was great at healing injuries caused by the Void!
When he was done, he took out a steel pot kept in preparation for surviving in the wild. After setting it up, he poured clear water into the pot, as well as an Araguan potato and a smoked rabbit leg.
He chopped up the potato and tore the rabbit leg into pieces, dumping it all into the pot. After adding some spices, Link took out one of the Yabba bombs. He carefully modified the activation rune on the outside.
After a while, it "exploded" gently in Link's hands. Actually, "exploded" was too much of an exaggeration. More accurately, it started burning like a piece of coal.
Link placed this burning "bomb" under the pot and started waiting patiently.
After around ten minutes, the water boiled and started bubbling. A bit longer, the smell of good food wafted out, growing thicker.
At that time, Master Green's finger twitched, and his head shook. A few seconds later, he gripped his head and moaned.
"What happened? My head hurts."
"Don't move. You're in pretty bad shape." As Link spoke, he helped Green up to rest against the wall. He poured some of the soul-retrieval gel onto his hand and gently rubbed it against Green's forehead.
Green was very weak. He allowed Link to do whatever without moving. After a few minutes of rubbing, Green realized with surprise, "Hey, my forehead feels warm, like a gust of heat going into my head. The headache is much better. Ah, it feels so nice."
Hearing that his voice was stronger, Link said, "Alright, do it by yourself."
On the other side, Lannie was awake too. Her situation was much worse than Green's. As soon as she woke up, she gripped her head and curled up, crying, "Ah, it hurts, it hurts! My head is gonna split open!"
Link walked over. He poured out some more gel and started rubbing for Lannie. She was much weaker than Green and was hurt more by the Void. It was a long while because she recovered and let out a long sigh, finally relaxing.
"Master Link, what happened?" Lannie asked weakly from the ground.
The meat broth was ready now. Link took out some bowls and spooned the thick potato rabbit soup. Giving them each a bowl, he explained, "I don't really know either. If I guessed correctly, it should be the Void's aura that seeped out of the node, and you were influenced by this."
The two Yabbas weren't listening to him at all. They were both slurping down the soup. Link's cooking skills were actually very basic, and this rabbit soup was far from a delicacy. But for some reason, both Green and Lannie ate dramatically.
Link's bowls were for humans and were very big to Yabbas. However, the two small Yabbas cleaned the giant bowl in seconds.
It still wasn't enough, and Lannie got another bowl. After finishing it all, she refilled it again. This time, she ate slowly. While eating, she asked, "Master, how did you make this? It's the most, most, most unforgettable dish I've ever had."
Master Green nodded as well. He was old and had bad teeth, so he ate slowly, but Lannie had said what he was thinking. He was more than 80 years old, but this was the most enjoyable meal he'd ever had.
Link chuckled and shook his head. "It's not that I have good skills. Your bodies just need it."
If someone was full, they wouldn't look at the food even if it was the most delicious thing in the world. But for someone who had starved for three days, even a piece of bread would be a delicacy.
"Not only will the Void eat away at your soul, but it'll also eat away at your body. During that short period, your bodies lost a lot of energy. This soup is the best at replenishing it. In reality, this is the universal anecdote towards damages by the Void… Alright Lannie, three bowls is enough. If you eat more, your stomach will explode."
After stopping Lannie from getting a fourth bowl, Link told Green, "Have similar things happened to the magic net node before?"
Green thought back and shook his head. "Never. The magic net node never had similar problems. Fortunately, you're here this time. I've heard that only those at the Legendary level can fend off the Void. Now I know it's true."
It has never happened before?
Link knitted his brows. A possibility flashed past his mind—the existence of the crack in Firuman. With the crack in the world, power from the Sea of Void would endlessly seep into Firuman. Firuman would be like a balloon and keep inflating. During this process, the Space Barrier would become thinner and thinner.
In places of low Mana density, the thinning would be unnoticeable at the moment. However, the Mana density was extremely high at the magic net node. This could make the Space Barrier even thinner, resulting in the Void's entrance.
Of course, this was just Link's guess. He had to check the node before he could know the details.
There was another problem with this guess. Even if the realm cracked, causing the Space Barrier to thin, the crack had only appeared a few months ago. The Mana density of Firuman hadn't been increasing that much either. The Space Barrier shouldn't have become so weak in such a short period.
After thinking, Link said, "Later, I plan to go check the magic net node. Wait here for me. If anything happens, I'll alert you two."
Master Green nodded. "During this, I'll make a basic surveillance statue. If the magic net node can be used, we can use the statue to contact the Magicians inside the wall."
"Good. Lannie, protect Master Green."
"Okay." Lannie gripped her musket tightly.
Link left the platform but still felt worried. Demons could come to a place like this at any time. He took out his magic sword and drew many spatial runes around the platform.
"This is a magic spatial door. Once activated, the platform will become invisible."
"I understand." Master Green added Mana into the runes one by one. After a few seconds, there was a hum, and the platform disappeared from Link's eyes. It became a plain wall.
Link continued towards the magic net node.
After a while, the light spots of Mana appeared in the air again. The Mana density was rising sharply, and the Void's aura was thicker as well.
Turning a corner, a long tunnel appeared before Link. Dozens of corpses lay in the middle—some were demons, some were ghouls, and some were Yabbas. They had all been killed by the Void's aura, while some had lost their minds and killed each other.
After the tunnel was a circular room. The center was a Mana pool. Inside the water, there were countless beams of light formed by magic runes. They extended and reached out until disappearing into the air.
This was the magic net node.
The Void's aura was becoming thicker in this room, especially around the Mana pool in the middle. The Void's aura was almost half of the level of the Sea of Void. The pale blue water in the Mana pool tossed as if something was trying to come out of it.
Link took out the Dragon King's Fury sword and carefully stepped into the room.
As soon as he entered, a smooth voice said, "Magician, I advise you to return. I do not wish for a conflict between us."
Link's heart jumped. Turning around, he saw a Yabba walk out of the corner. He had fiery red hair, a beard, and a pair of strange transparent eyes. Clear as water, the eyes looked at Link. "I am purely curious about this world. I mean no harm."