Unconscious

When Saine walked up to the attacker, the fellow was not dead yet.

In a crisis, Saine was not the only one with quick reactions. So did the Underground Subhuman before him.

However, the other party's luck was clearly worse than Saine's. The Corrosive Acid released by the Strong Acid Scepter had not pierced straight through him, but it had blasted a huge bloody hole through the left side of the subhuman's chest and abdomen.

The small body meant that a hole of the same size might only be a severe injury to a creature as robust as a Minotaur, but to a creature like this, it was a fatal wound.

Saine did not know whether the Corrosive Acid had seeped into its heart. He watched intestine-like organs spill out from the hole, along with all sorts of colorful fluids.

Saine forced himself to raise his left hand, and a Minor Fireball appeared.

The weakened subhuman's black eyes revealed pleading and a thirst for life.

But Saine's cold, emotionless eyes did not waver in the slightest. A Minor Fireball, somewhat smaller than usual, shot from his hand.

The subhuman's head, along with those black eyes filled with pleading, exploded into fragments.

After completely eliminating the threat, Saine staggered over, put away the subhuman's short dagger and the bundle it had dropped earlier, then slowly headed into the darkness.

Saine did not immediately make for the City of Mozhsuobula. In his current physical state, he could not support himself through another half day of walking.

Moreover, Saine strongly suspected that other threats might lurk along this "safe road," less than a day's journey from the City of Mozhsuobula.

He had to find a suitable safe place first, tend to his wounds, and only then consider anything else.

After walking for about half an hour, just as he was about to collapse from exhaustion, Saine finally found a small cave about half a person tall.

He bent over and squeezed inside with difficulty, then pushed several chunks of rubble in front of the entrance.

Only after finishing all that could Saine finally inspect and treat his injuries.

The subhuman who had attacked him was specifically known as a Gray Dwarf.

There were many Gray Dwarves in the Underdark, and this race even had many distinct branches.

In the Underground World, Gray Dwarves were synonymous with despicability and treachery.

This race had always occupied the bottom of the Underground World's food chain. Only through their enormous population and outstanding reproductive ability had they managed to gain a foothold in that harsh subterranean environment.

But every race had its outstanding few.

The Gray Dwarf who had attacked Saine earlier was probably strong enough to rival an Intermediate Apprentice, and a relatively powerful one at that.

If Saine had not carried the Strong Acid Scepter and successfully struck his opponent, he might truly have met his downfall this time.

That Gray Dwarf had been treacherous enough. It must have noticed the changes in Gray White Valley long ago, which was why it had lain in ambush halfway along the road, waiting for Saine.

Black Wizard Apprentices held a fearsome reputation in the City of Mozhsuobula, so these Underground Subhumans did not dare entertain any crooked thoughts.

But once outside the city, without the deterrence of Formal Black Wizards and with darkness providing cover, as long as they struck swiftly and left no loose ends, no one would guess that they had done it.

This was the true law of survival in the Underground World—where the weak were prey to the strong, and only the fit survived.

Underground Humans like those in Gray White Valley could only live off Saine's charity and goodwill, forever sinking at the bottom of the food chain.

"Fortunately, just as I expected, it was only coated with Blue Lichen Juice and had no other toxins." Saine turned the Gray Dwarf's dagger over a few times and quietly breathed a sigh of relief.

The wound on his neck was not large, but the troublesome part was that Blue Moss's paralytic toxin had already begun to seep into his body.

Blue Moss itself was not particularly toxic. Sometimes, Underground creatures would even smear it around wounds to slow bleeding and reduce the pain of tearing flesh.

But unlike usual, Saine had been injured on the neck this time.

Under the toxin's effects, Saine gradually felt that the right half of his body had gone numb.

That alone was enough to prove how dire his situation was.

Fortunately, Saine had brought potions he had gotten from Baus on this trip.

With great difficulty, his left hand pulled a red potion and a blue potion from his clothes. He bit off their stoppers and swallowed both potions in a single gulp.

A faint warmth and an unusual spiciness rose from Saine's abdomen. Before his mind gradually weakened and he fell completely asleep, only one sentence remained in his thoughts: This time, I truly owe Meili my life.

After an unknown amount of time, Saine awoke from the darkness and instinctively glanced around at his surroundings.

The academy mission in Gray White Valley and the subsequent attack—those memories came flooding into Saine's mind one after another, slowly making him realize the situation he was in.

The hunger from his stomach did not dampen his mood. Instead, it lifted his spirits.

Being able to feel hungry at least meant that he could still feel his own body.

Especially when he tried to control his body afterward, Saine discovered that although the right side was still somewhat numb, he could at least barely raise his right hand.

The faint vision provided by the Pale Mask in the darkness allowed Saine to gently push aside a small stone in front of him and inspect the surrounding environment.

This should have been a corner somewhere within the maze-like rock tunnels of the Underground World.

For him to find such a concealed crack in the rock, only half a person tall, could only mean that Saine was not fated to die.

Since he did not know how much time had passed, Saine's immediate priority was to replenish his strength and avoid further complications.

Saine bit off the stopper of his last Low-Level Recovery Potion and drank it in one gulp. The Low-Level Recovery Potion did more than restore injuries; it could also provide a certain amount of energy.

It was simply rather extravagant.

The dry rations at his waist had disappeared at some point, along with part of his gains from Gray White Valley.

There was nothing he could do about that. With his life under threat, it was already fortunate that Saine had managed to preserve his own life. How could he have spared attention for worldly possessions?

That included the hind leg of the Blue Jaw Feather King that had originally hung from his waist, which had long since disappeared as well.

Saine had deliberately discarded that monster leg before finding this crack in the rock.

He could not guarantee that a monster leg giving off the faint aroma of roasted meat would not attract something else while he was unconscious.

Let alone a Demonized Creature or magical beast, even an ordinary beast of the Underground World could have dealt with Saine in the state he had been in.

After looking around himself, Saine found that only four Blue Jaw Feather Eggs remained at his side.

With a light tap, a thumb-sized hole appeared.

Saine brought his mouth close and sucked.

A salty, fishy taste that was far from pleasant filled his mouth.

But at least in terms of filling his stomach, this Blue Jaw Feather Egg was more useful than that tiny Low-Level Recovery Potion.

As he sucked down the egg white, Saine thought that after this mission was over, he should learn from Senior Sister Fei'er how to make Nutrient Potions.

Although Nutrient Potions tasted terrible, they would surely still be better than the raw egg he was holding in his hands.