Sometimes Magallan wondered if she really, as Lucas Reeve said, brought bad luck to those around her.
To be honest.
Even now, Magallan still didn't really believe it.
Until half a year ago.
News came from Kazimierz, claiming that near Dripsui Village in the north of Kazimierz, there was a tomb of the founding monarch of Kazimierz, the Knight King. It was said to be filled with countless gold and treasures, and finding just one item would be enough to live lavishly for the rest of one's life.
Of course.
Magallan didn't have much interest in gold and treasures.
Because she was no longer the poor-as-dirt Magallan of the past, but a Magallan who had met the *actual* richest person in the world. Having seen the world's number one billionaire, honestly, even if someone placed all the Knight King's treasures in front of Magallan now, she wouldn't be astonished.
She came purely because she heard that the Knight King's tomb was no ordinary tomb, but was like a labyrinth, its size rivaling that of a small Mobile City.
Magallan had seen many tombs, but a tomb that rivaled a Mobile City? Magallan hadn't just never seen one; she'd never even heard of one.
It was precisely because of these characteristics that it attracted explorers like Magallan and many bounty hunters.
However, after going inside.
Although she was amazed that the Knight King's tomb was truly as rumored, as vast as a city-state, she was even more amazed by the overly absurd traps. The explorers around Magallan all died under these traps. Not just the explorers, but even many bounty hunters all died under the traps. Only Magallan, while being chased by a giant metal ball, perhaps stepped on a trap, causing the floor to split open, and she slid all the way down into this stone room.
At this time, Magallan was having a dream.
A very strange dream.
She dreamed she was lying on an operating table. She wanted to resist, but Skadi, Laurentina, and Dusk were holding her body down, making her unable to move. Then, Lucas Reeve, dressed as a doctor, said to her with a chuckle:
"Congratulations, the surgery was a success. From now on, you're a boy."
Fuck!!!
Magallan was suddenly scared awake by this strange dream. The little penguin's eyes snapped open, as if she'd been startled. And the first thing she saw upon opening her eyes were several faces gathered around her, identical to the scene in her dream.
"I don't want to become a boy!"
Frightened, Magallan quickly recoiled, and the back of her head slammed into the wall. The pain made Magallan clutch the back of her head.
Everyone: "???"
"Did she get crushed stupid?"
Laurentina silently roasted.
"How does she seem even dumber than Skadi?"
Skadi, next to her, hadn't expected to get dragged into this, and she kicked Laurentina's thigh.
Dusk nodded: "A little. I played a game once that had something called a 'SAN value'. Generally, when a person stays in this kind of confined space for a long time, their SAN value will drop like crazy. When their SAN hits zero, they lose their Sanity. They might experience hallucinations or act erratically."
"Lost her Sanity? That's easy. Just munch on a High-Purity Originium. That stuff is crazy good at restoring Sanity."
Lucas Reeve replied reflexively.
For Lucas Reeve, the pure energy within High-Purity Originium was indeed a rare supplement.
Magallan rubbed her head.
Suddenly.
She realized a serious problem.
Pain?!
This isn't a dream?!!
She quickly looked up, meeting the gazes of Lucas Reeve and the others. At this moment, their eyes looked as if they were staring at an idiot whose Sanity had hit zero.
"This isn't a dream??"
Magallan found it hard to believe.
"What do you think."
Lucas Reeve said.
"No, no..."
Magallan shook her head again, unable to be sure: "This must be a dream. I remember Lucas Reeve was a translucent ghost. How are you solid, like a person? I must be trapped here and hallucinating that you all came to save me."
Lucas Reeve walked over and pinched Magallan's soft cheek.
"Does this feel like a dream?"
"Ow! Ow!!"
Magallan quickly struggled free and clutched her cheek, still in disbelief.
"It's really not a dream? Aren't you a ghost??"
"I've condensed a physical body."
Finally, Magallan pinched her own thigh again. After confirming it wasn't a dream, she excitedly rushed over and hugged Lucas Reeve and the others in turn, tears and snot practically streaming down.
"Wuwu! You're finally here! I thought I was a goner! Do you know how I've spent the last five-plus months? If I hadn't brought so many compressed biscuits, by the time you found me, I might have just been a pile of white bones!!"
"Alright, alright~"
Lucas Reeve gently patted Magallan on the shoulder.
"It's okay now. Let's go home."
Magallan was truly on the verge of collapse this time. Stuck in a stone room for nearly half a year, with no concept of time, no entertainment, and even her food being uniformly compressed biscuits... she couldn't even drink much water. Fortunately, as a professional explorer, Magallan's will was sufficiently strong. An ordinary person would have likely gone insane long ago. Seeing Lucas Reeve finally arrive, Magallan completely relaxed.
As her mind relaxed, the strength in her body seemed to drain away. She slumped weakly to the ground, too tired to move. This wasn't just physical fatigue, but mental exhaustion as well.
"Let's go home."
Lucas Reeve walked over and lifted Magallan onto his back.
"Huh? Isn't there a big door here? Why didn't you leave?"
Laurentina pointed to the stone door on one side of the room and gave it a push. It indeed moved.
Magallan's expression changed slightly: "There's a giant monster outside. It's always lying right by the door. I didn't dare to leave."
"Oh right, when I first entered this room, there was this thing placed in the center. Take a look and see what it is. Maybe it's a treasure? I reckon it could be worth a lot of money."
Magallan pointed to her bag.
Dusk took a metal object out of Magallan's bag.
"This??"
Dusk was surprised when she saw it.
Lucas Reeve quickly walked over, took the metal artifact, and examined it closely.
This...
Isn't this a crown?!!
Although it was covered in rust, Lucas Reeve was certain of one thing: this object was a crown. And, relying on his strong sensitivity to metal, he could confirm that this was no ordinary metal. It was the same special metal that Nian used to forge divine artifacts, a unique metal that human society was completely incapable of replicating. The rust was likely just an illusion.
"Fuck!! The Crown is in your hands!!"
According to Kazimierz legend.
The Knight King of that era possessed two ultimate treasures.
The Holy Sword, which represented the Knight King's power and military authority. Whoever could draw the Holy Sword could command all the knights of Kazimierz. And the Crown, which represented royal authority, benevolence, and wisdom.
By now, the Chamber of Commerce should have already found the Holy Sword.
I never thought...
The Crown would actually be in Magallan's hands.
This luck...???
It's simply too absurd.
The Chamber of Commerce sacrificed who-knows-how-many people to finally obtain the Holy Sword, yet Magallan somehow inexplicably obtained the Crown.
"What should we do with it, then?"
Dusk looked at Lucas Reeve.
Lucas Reeve thought for a moment and said, "Keep it safe."
"We're not giving it back to Kazimierz?"
Magallan asked in confusion, lying on Lucas Reeve's back.
"No. The Crown represents royal authority. Only a knight who can draw the Holy Sword *and* is recognized by the people is qualified to wear the Crown that represents kingship. Right now, no one in Kazimierz has that qualification. If the Crown is revealed, it could easily plunge Kazimierz into chaos. Unless someone truly draws the Holy Sword."
"Let's go."
The group pushed open the stone door on the side. Just as Magallan had said, a giant, lizard-like monster was lying in the open area by the door. Perhaps it heard the sound of the stone door, and its small head couldn't quite believe it, unable to figure out how these little specks had gotten in.
Just as the monster was preparing to attack, it suddenly noticed the Crown in Dusk's hand. The moment it saw the Crown, the lizard monster's aggression visibly disappeared. It prostrated itself obediently on the ground, like a guard respectfully welcoming its monarch.
"Huh??"
Magallan was stunned.
"Why... Why isn't it attacking?!!"
"Hmm..."
"This lizard monster is most likely responsible for guarding the Crown."
"Fuck!!"
Magallan's eyes widened, her gaze filled with shock and frustration.
"Th-this... doesn't this mean, if I had been holding the Crown, it wouldn't have attacked me either?"
"That's correct."
"..."
Magallan fell silent.
"So, basically... I could have walked right out of here, but instead, I stupidly stayed in this stone room for half a year??"
"You could put it that way. However, there are tons of traps outside. I feel that your probability of survival by staying here and waiting for rescue was considerably higher than if you had recklessly rushed out on your own."
Magallan thought of her explorer colleagues who had died miserably in all sorts of bizarre traps. Suddenly, Magallan felt that perhaps staying in the stone room wasn't so bad after all. At least... she was successfully rescued now. And who knew where the outside led? What if it was just another place full of traps?
Lucas Reeve carried Magallan on his back. Dusk stored the Crown in her painting world; there was no safer place than the painting world.
The group walked, one after another, across the massive plaza ahead, passed through the single pitch-black corridor, and headed continuously upward. As they walked, a glimmer of light, as if representing hope, appeared up ahead. Magallan had a very bad feeling in her heart. And when Lucas Reeve quickened his pace and passed through that light, Magallan's eyes widened, and she froze.
Because...
They had walked out of a cave...
Ahead of them was a green meadow and a cool breeze.
And this breeze, blowing on Magallan's face, seemed to be filled with mockery.
The atmosphere among the group instantly hit rock bottom. No one spoke. Including Lucas Reeve, everyone's gaze toward Magallan held nothing but pity and sympathy.
A strong gust of wind blew past, and the green grass on the meadow rustled. This sound seemed to be laughing at Magallan, causing Magallan's expression to grow darker and darker.
"Tell me... is there something wrong with my brain?"
After a long while, Magallan finally spoke quietly.
No one answered, because everyone was engaged in a challenge.
"Try Not to Laugh Challenge"
Finally, Laurentina couldn't hold it in anymore and burst out laughing. Laurentina was the first, Lucas Reeve was the second. Dusk also couldn't help covering her mouth and laughing. Skadi was the same. Even Surtr's lips were twitching, forcefully holding back her laughter.
Only Magallan's face grew darker and darker.
It turned out...
The exit was right ahead. All she had to do was walk straight.
And yet.
Magallan had actually, earnestly believed she was trapped, and stayed there for six months waiting for rescue.
It was lucky Lucas Reeve arrived when he did. If he hadn't, and Magallan had starved to death in that stone room, she probably would have risen from the dead upon learning the truth, climbing right out of her grave in sheer indignation.
This feeling was just like.
You're trapped in an escape room.
But the door in the room just won't 'push' open. Just as you're about to starve to death in despair, you suddenly discover...
The door isn't 'push,' it's 'pull.'
"Aaaaaaah!!"
Magallan screamed at the sky.
How she wished right now that there was a trap on the path behind them. Even just one trap. Then she could find any random reason to barely console herself.