In a clean, tidy room with the curtains drawn, Eldera and Eyjafjalla were pressed close together.
Eldera cradled Mr. Dolly in her arms, while Eyjafjalla held a notebook. The two of them studied the precious mineral laid out before them.
"Senior Eyjafjalla—on Terra, what would a rock of this grade be considered?"
"…This… it's a fairly rare volcanic-layer rock. I didn't expect to see it again in this world."
"This is something from Rhodes Island. It was brought over from Terra."
"If only this planet could still connect to Terra…"
Their conversation was warm and easy—until the sound of a door opening broke the atmosphere.
"We may need to head out."
Bai Ling stepped in naturally, holding two bottles of bottled tea, and gently pulled the curtains open.
"Senior Bai Ling."
"Senior."
"And that is—?!"
The instant the curtains parted, the gigantic Transdomain Rift hanging in the distant sky made Eldera's pupils shrink.
She had heard some noise earlier, but the Hub Center had been restoring equipment and rebuilding nonstop these past days, so she hadn't thought much of it.
As for Eyjafjalla—it was simply that her hearing wasn't good. She could only make out sounds from close range.
She'd assumed it was something minor. She hadn't expected something this terrifying.
"Such an unsettling color…"
Eyjafjalla noticed the dreadful tear in the distance too, unease written across her face.
"We're leaving now, Senior?"
"No time to waste."
What made Bai Ling want to move faster wasn't a sense of crisis—
It was the increasingly intense summoning pull rising from the Command Seal in his hand.
Something seemed to be trying to wake up, and he was the trigger.
Eyjafjalla noticed at once and began packing. Eldera sent a message to Qin Jiangchi. The three of them didn't hesitate—they immediately set off toward the route leading to the Power Highlands.
Because the Valley Passage route was unusable, they could only take the more remote Originium Research Institute route.
The road from the central Hub Zone to the research institute was smooth enough—guild personnel had already cleared it. But when they tried to push deeper, they couldn't continue.
"…Erosion? Why is it everywhere?"
Eyjafjalla stared at the flowing blood-red liquid that had nearly sealed the road completely, her expression heavy.
"It's a chain reaction caused by the Transdomain Rift. Erosion can occur anytime in any place where energy gathers. And a Transdomain Rift intensifies that, causing wider destruction, Senior Eyjafjalla."
"I see."
Beside them, Bai Ling studied the erosion phenomenon carefully.
The blood-red liquid flowed slowly, almost as if it were alive. Bai Ling reached out to touch it, but at the instant he was about to make contact, his entire body reacted with rejection—he pulled his hand back in time.
And in that moment, Bai Ling saw it clearly: the path of energy flow inside the erosion.
At the same time, a pop-up lit up inside his mind.
[Ability acquired successfully]
[Insight (C)]
In Bai Ling's vision, a whirlpool-like "node" appeared at the corner of the blood wall.
It wasn't big, but it was crystal clear—blatantly obvious. And the energy gathered inside it was massive and easy to identify.
"…Eldera. Try attacking this spot."
Even though she didn't understand why Bai Ling suddenly said that, Eldera instinctively moved in sync with him.
A peak burst of natural elements—dust and smoke billowing—
And the blood-red wall, which had been slowly flowing, instantly began to solidify… then turned into gray powder and scattered away.
"The erosion was destroyed…?"
Eldera stared at her staff, disbelief on her face. Then she turned back toward Bai Ling.
"…Did you find the key, Senior?"
Eyjafjalla stood quietly to the side, equally curious.
Just then, several people hurried up from behind them.
More precisely—three people and one machine.
Chen Qianyu, the Administrator, and Perlica—plus a slightly dazed-looking, adorable robot that used its display to make kaomoji faces.
"Teacher Bai Ling, why are you here? It isn't safe out there right now."
Chen Qianyu scratched her head, clearly worried, while scanning the surroundings for threats.
"For Endfield Industries, Valley No. 4's importance goes without saying. If we came down from the Dijang, and something this big happened here, we should contribute something, shouldn't we?"
"Quite right, Mr. Bai Ling, but…"
Perlica's ear-feathers trembled slightly. With one hand at her chin, she looked toward the now-open route leading to the Originium Research Institute.
"…The erosion here is gone? Did you handle it?"
"You mean those blood-flow walls just now?"
"Yes."
"I can see where their energy flow converges. If you destroy that convergence point, you can collapse the erosion in that local area."
While they spoke, the little penguin stood behind Perlica—but her gaze was fixed on Eldera and Eyjafjalla.
After returning to the Dijang, she had seriously looked up information.
Besides reviewing Bai Ling's profile, she also searched for Eldera's file.
Because Eldera was a "Re-traveler," Rhodes Island kept that information classified. Even with the highest clearance, it still took time to unlock everything—so she hadn't finished reading it all.
But what she had confirmed was this:
Eyjafjalla was Eldera before becoming a Re-traveler—someone from Terra over a hundred years ago, a Rhodes Island member, a diligent and outstanding geologist.
So… what kind of power could bring an existence from over a century in the past across time and space to here?
Just thinking about that made the little penguin pay even more attention to Bai Ling—more curiosity, more interest.
But she forced herself to bury those thoughts. What mattered most was the crisis in front of them.
The Transdomain Rift in the sky still hadn't been dealt with. If they failed here, there might not be any "afterward."
With a hint of regret, the little penguin lifted her head and refocused.
"In that case, Mr. Bai Ling—does your ability to see through erosion cores have any limits?"
"Other than being a bit harsh on the eyes, it shouldn't."
After all, being able to see the energy fluctuations he wanted to see was essentially a passive skill with no consumption.
"Do you need companions? The route probably won't be smooth—but having more people is always better."
Before Perlica could even speak, the little penguin had already extended her hand.
"…Mm."
-------
My : pat*eon*com/RuneA
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