"Is it still alive?"
Vane crouched down and gingerly poked the shriveled, wilted Mandrake Flower on the ground.
The Mandrake Flower quivered faintly, looking utterly drained.
Gorth examined it with a guilty look and answered uncertainly:
"I think... it's a little dead..."
"You just left it in your shadow for seven straight days?" Vane stared at Gorth, speechless.
"You could've at least let it out for some air! It might be a juvenile boss, but it's still a plant at heart, right?"
"Sorry..."
Gorth scratched his head awkwardly, then hurriedly picked up a watering can.
"In games, pets follow you and replenish their stats automatically. I forgot about that."
As it absorbed the clear water, the Mandrake Flower's shriveled body plumped up slightly and twitched again.
Seeing this, Gorth simply picked it up and returned it to the now-empty flower-bud base where it had first been born.
The moment they touched, the Mandrake Flower's roots automatically connected to the base.
Its withered appearance gradually faded. It would still take time to recover fully, but at least it was no longer on the brink of death.
"Now I'm kind of curious what it's like inside your shadow..."
Rubbing his chin, Vane stared at the seemingly ordinary shadow beneath Gorth's feet.
"The Mandrake Flower is still a juvenile boss. Even without food or water for seven days, it shouldn't have wilted that badly... Is your shadow a vacuum that sucks out moisture or something?"
Gorth looked down at his shadow, then back up at Vane.
"Want to go in and have a look?"
As he spoke, the shadow beneath his feet writhed like sludge, poised to engulf Vane.
Vane hastily backed away two steps. Just imagining being swallowed by darkness made his scalp prickle.
"No way! There's no way I'm going in