"Strange, why has this place changed like this?"
"I remember when I came with the Archbishop last time, it wasn't this dark."
Herbert held an ancient lantern, looking at the darkness ahead with a visibility of less than one meter, and raised his eyebrows in some confusion.
At this moment, after attempting to raid Fremay, he passed through the Deep Water Prison of the Second Region and arrived at the Third Region of the Alien Race Prison.
The Prison of Darkness.
In this completely pitch-black space, two dangerous demons were imprisoned separately—a Dark Elf Grand Mage and a Vampire Prince.
Incidentally, Herbert hadn't seen these two monster girls last time.
For some reason, the Archbishop took him through here directly, without greeting the prisoners, and went straight to the Fourth Region's Molten Hell.
He didn't dare to ask why.
This time marked Herbert's first serious exploration here, only to discover that the situation might not be as simple as he thought.
He raised the lantern above his head, and the weak light barely dispelled the darkness within a meter's radius, beyond which the dense darkness obscured everything.
He couldn't see, hear, or smell—unable to perceive anything.
"Who turned off the light? Quick, get a Paladin to turn it on... Oh, wait, I am the Paladin."
Where the hell is the Holy Light?
Herbert tried all sorts of methods, only to find that the light emitted by the Holy Mark could dispel the darkness a bit more, but still only extended the range slightly.
Allowing a visibility distance of a staggering—two meters.
Utterly useless!
If it were just dark here, it wouldn't be enough to leave Herbert feeling bewildered.
But the problem he encountered now was—he was lost.
Not only could Herbert not find even a shadow of the two monster girls, but he couldn't even find the path to the Fourth Region!
He had been walking quietly with the lantern for over ten minutes, yet he still hadn't reached the end of the path.
That was still bearable; at worst, he could keep going, believing he would eventually reach the end someday.
But the issue was, he feared he might never reach the end.
Because as soon as he turned around, he could see the path he came from.
He... had been walking in place all along!
Click, after encountering the Pen Fairy Harmonious God, now I'm running into a ghost wall?
After being returned to the starting point for the third time, Herbert finally gave up trudging forward and began to seriously contemplate the situation before him.
"The laws here... seem to have changed?"
The realm of darkness, sightless.
One can only retreat, not advance.
Every prison in the Mist Monastery is, in fact, a specially segmented half-plane. Though seemingly meeting the prisoners' needs for living, they all have unique restrictive laws behind them.
For instance, the Deep Water Prison imposes extremely strict restrictions on Fremay, routinely draining all the water elements from the cage, reducing the magnificent Legendary Sea Siren to barely maintaining a water sphere just big enough to hold herself.
But it seems now the restrictions have shifted to target him.
Is that right?
The order is completely overturned.
Herbert narrowed his eyes, several thoughts flashing through his mind.
If his guess was correct, something unexpected might have arisen here.
But things hadn't reached the worst-case scenario.
Because if the other party truly could manipulate the laws, he would have already restarted.
The other party neither showed themselves nor engaged with him, as if nothing had happened at all.
"Are they trying not to alert the enemy and plan for me to back off understandingly?"
If they don't appear, would I think it's my problem?
Reasonable, indeed.
If Herbert were just a newly minted noble Paladin, encountering such a situation, he surely wouldn't force his way through, thinking it's due to his own inadequacy and withdrawing.
Herbert pondered for a moment, nodded, and turned around to leave without hesitation.
When unsure of what to do, retreat first!
There's no hurry; he can focus on raiding the Giant Dragon and the Mermaid for now.
He'll explore the areas ahead in the future!
But just as Herbert was about to cross the barrier back to the Deep Water Prison, his steps gradually slowed down and eventually stopped completely.
"... Tch."
He was a bit annoyed.
Although playing the role of a weak, helpless but capable individual was fashionable now, though he indeed couldn't beat the opponent.
Yet!
"I'm the Prison Director, while you're the prisoner."
Herbert turned back, glancing at the impenetrable darkness, frowning in displeasure.
"How is it reasonable to let you get on top of me?"
No way.
Even though his protest might not be effective, if he just left without a word, his mind wouldn't be at peace.
Even a hooligan knows to throw a couple of fierce threats before leaving.
As a Prison Chief, he ought to stir something up before leaving.
But what should he do?
"I can't just bite a lighter, can I? I don't have one either... Hmm?"
Herbert turned back to study the darkness before him, suddenly feeling an inspiration.
He placed the lantern on the ground, slowly walked to the edge of the border between darkness and light, squinting at the overly smooth boundary.
Herbert thought for a moment, then tentatively extended a finger, gently touching the border of light.
Nothing happened.
His finger didn't feel anything; nothing turned into a segment of white bone when he withdrew it.
"..."
After a moment of silence, he turned off the lantern, hesitating for a moment before also deactivating the Holy Mark.
In an instant, he felt himself passively blending into the darkness.
Engulfed by void.
Devoured by loneliness.
But peculiarly, aside from these sensations, Herbert didn't feel any discomfort.
This place was, in fact, no different from the outside world.
In the darkness, Herbert's eyes shone, vaguely covered with a faint layer of golden light.
Clearly, he still couldn't see anything, yet he vaguely "perceived" the path ahead.
Not only that, he also had a subtle feeling of being watched.
In the darkness, someone was continuously watching his every move.
Buzz—
The Holy Mark lit up instantly, and that sensation of being watched disappeared without a trace, as if the prior moment was merely an illusion.
But Herbert wouldn't be so naïve.
So when you gaze into the abyss, does the abyss also gaze back at you?
"I understand."
He curled his lips into a smile, facing the darkness with a cheerful grin, waved his hand, and said loudly:
"I will come back again."
After saying that, without waiting for any response from the other side, he picked up the lantern and left in long strides.
Shortly after he departed, the darkness returned to calm.
After a long while, a soft laugh echoed from the darkness.
"To think he left so decisively."
"Haha...Interesting fellow."
.
.
Understand what?
To be honest, Herbert didn't actually understand anything.
Regarding the changes in the Third Region, he was utterly unable to grasp any details, but that didn't matter.
He didn't need to figure out the reasons behind it, as long as he could confirm there was indeed an issue, it was enough.
So, what needed to be done next was already very clear...
"Report, it must be reported!"