Chapter 75 (1/2)

Chapter 75: Through the Looking Glass

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio  Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

The Syndicate Hideout

…

After walking for a few hundred feet, Link and his comrades arrived back at the same hall where they first discovered the cursed magic formation.

“We are back here again. We will be trapped in here forever.” Fear and desperation were written all over Captain Jacques’ face.

After arriving back at the same hall for the third time, Jacques, the most emotionally volatile of the group, was already on the verge of collapse. The rest also felt discouraged, perturbed by their current situation.

“Let’s not jump to conclusions and take a rest.” Link’s voice was as calm as ever.

Link walked towards a rattan chair in the corner of the hall and sat down. A beam of light was then released from his wand, illuminating the table in front of him. When the blinding light dissipated, bread and water had appeared on the table top.

Naturally, this was taken from his dimensional pendant, however, in order to boost the morale of the squad, Link pretended to be able to create food out of thin air, “Do not worry! Even if we are trapped, we will not starve, we have ample time to figure out a plan.”

The amount of food in the dimensional pendant could last six of them for at least half a month. Link was confident that he could find a way out of this maze in that time. Even if the food ran out, he could still use Elemental Healing magic to replenish the energy of the squad.

In fact, there were spells that allowed Magicians to create food and water, except that Link did not bother to learn those superfluous spells. If needed, a Magician could stay alive simply by casting Elemental Healing on himself in replacement for food.

In other words, as long as Link had Mana, the six of them would not die of starvation or thirst.

Link was therefore calm.

Link’s words and the presence of food relieved the tension and negativity that was in the hall. After all, the lack of food and water was the greatest problem if they were going to be trapped. Everyone heaved a sigh of relief.

The fact that Link could create food and water with magic also went uncontested. In any case, magic could do almost anything, creating food and water was nothing unusual.

Jacker immediately sat down and took a bite of the bread. After chewing for a few moments, he exclaimed, “This bread tastes exactly like the ones John made! Delicious!

Link smiled. It was made by John.

The rest soon formed a circle to satisfy their growling stomachs after their long walk.

After a hearty meal, everyone was feeling a lot more enthusiastic. Even Jacques looked ready to continue despite his pale demeanor.

Link observed his surroundings.

This was indeed the hall where the cursed magic formation lay, marks of its destruction could still be seen clearly on the ground. However, if you continued walking straight after passing through the exit, you would end up walking back to this hall.

As for the exit that lead back to the canyon, it was nowhere to be found.

This was preposterous. It was understandable that Captain Jacques would be terrified. In fact, Jacker, Anderson, Lucy, and Gildern were also out of ideas and waited for Link to give instructions.

Link did not manage to find any clues. After some rest, he suggested, “Let’s try it once more but at a slower pace this time.”

The rest trudged their bodies along and followed Link.

Link carefully observed the changes in the corridors as they passed. When they reached the exit that was supposed to lead them out of the cave, Link stopped and set his sights on the path ahead of him.

It seemed normal enough, but there was something strange. Link was perplexed, he could not explain this eeriness. In fact, it was familiarity he was feeling.

Link stayed stationary for a long time, carefully observing the path ahead of him. He compared its details with all those that he painstakingly memorized on their way here.

Link had discovered the trick.

The path ahead of them was, in fact, a mirror image of the current path they were on!

A certain person or spell had placed a theoretical mirror in the location that was supposed to lead them out of the cave. You could walk through this mirror, and that caused them to walk in circles.

Previously, Link and his comrades had been walking again and again into the mirror and back to the hall.

This mirror magic was perfectly cast, even the gaps had been meticulously patched up. You couldn’t see any peculiarities in the walls of the cave or the contours of the ground—it looked natural.

It was lucky that Link was observant enough.