Tanuki wasn’t attacked on his way out. The satis morale was so broken that it reflected on their already weak physical state. They gave the two outsiders disgusted looks, then returned to their holes.

However, there was one sati who approached them.

“Oy!” The sati stopped Tanuki by putting her large hand before the boy.

It was one of the satis who restrained from voting, the only one who left the courtroom immediately after it turned into a cesspit of bloody fantasies.

A large moss blanket covered her back, hanging down the sides of her face as the hood of a dark green cloak. A long black piece of cloth covered her left side eyes like a cheap eyepatch.

Tanuki remembered this sati, as he has noticed when she left the room. Thus, he was willing to stop for her, but only while keeping his guard raised to the maximum.

“You managed to survive the trial. Good.”

“What do you want?”

“You must have a lot of questions on your mind. Follow me. I’ll show you something.”

The sati turned and went inside her hole. But to her surprise, Tanuki didn’t follow. He stood at the same spot with a frown on his face.

“Ah, I see.” The sati sighed. “In that case, good luck climbing out of here.”

“What is that supposed to mean?”

“Nothing. But you look like a smart guy, surviving it back there. I’m sure a smart guy wouldn’t want to waste his time climbing for hours when he could just use a [ Waystone ] .”

Waystone? Tanuki has seen those before in fantasy games. They are obelisks that have the power to teleport people from one point to another.

“Do things like that really exist in this world?” He thought to himself, before addressing the sati. “What’s your name?”

“Samarah. Yours?”

“Hachiro.” He answered with a frown. “Remember this, Samarah: Lay a finger on me or my friend and I’ll break every bone in your body!”

The sati gazed at him for a few seconds, before turning back to her hole and letting out another sigh. However, this one was full of relief.

“Fingers, eh…” She crawled inside the hole. “Follow me!”

Maduka wasn’t sure about the scorpion, but before she could’ve said anything, Tanuki approached the hole. He didn’t let go of the goblin’s hand, so she had no other choice but to follow.

– – –

It was a smaller hole than the rest on the wall. A short tunnel led them into a kind of living space with only a small moss-bed and a stone table. Various tools lay on it, such as a hammer, a small knife, and lots of nails.

“Before we go anywhere, I want to give you something. Think of it as a token of my trust.”

She pulled aside her table and revealed a hidden stash of items. Tanuki knew some of them, but there were also many strange and unfamiliar objects.

Tanuki approached the small pile. Most of it was just shiny rocks and bird bones from above, which left him a bit disappointed. However, as soon as he got to the bottom of it he realized that those were there to misguide anyone who wasn’t meant to stumble upon its truth.

Because what hid below was equivalent to a treasure chest’s rewards.

[ Tear of Lazuli ]

[ Quality: Poor ]

[ Level: 0 ]

[ Mana Regeneration: 0,1 ]

[ The lazuli tear gives out a magical aura that replenishes some of the nearby creatures’ mana every second. ]

It was a brilliant stone that was less than half the size of one’s palm. When Tanuki brought his hand close to it, he felt something… calm. It had a comfortable aura that was good to be around.

Tanuki giggled while he handed the stone to Maduka.

“Doesn’t it feel good? Like it’s massaging your palm?”

She looked at the small stone in her hand with a blank expression.

“Maduka doesn’t feel anything.”

“Huh, weird.” Tanuki said before returning to observe the other goods.

[ Uncommon Orb of Weapon Creation ]

[ Quality: Uncommon ]

[ Level: 2 ]

[ Breaking the orb creates an uncommon weapon based on the user's personality and soul. ]

It was a stone orb with a transparent half. Blue light emanated from the inside.

Tanuki put it in his pocket after getting a good look at it. He already knew who will be the next to break it.

There was still one more item.

[ Gem of Awakening ]

[ Quality: Rare ]

[ Level: 5 ]

[ Placing it in the right place may cause spirits or possible spirits to awaken or come to life. Only those spirits with a level equal to or below the gem’s level may be awakened by it. ]

This one made the least sense.

“Spirits? Are there ghosts in this world? And what is that ‘possible spirits’ thing?”

Tanuki decided its best to put it aside for now. Still, he couldn’t get it out of his head.

“What could it mean?”

Samarah approached the wall opposite to the entrance.

“Don’t get scared, alright?” She said before she clapped her large orbs together, summoning an electric connection between her hands and tail. The way three lightning beams met each other in the form of a small electric bubble looked exactly the same as the one Soma used when catching that huge boulder.

Samarah leaned closer to the wall. The bubble of electricity connected to something. She pulled it aside and revealed a secret entrance inside the wall.

“Don’t tell anyone about this, alright?”

“Do you think anyone would trust us after the show I made back there?”

“I didn’t see it and I don’t care about it. You came to aid the old man with the pink infestation thing, right?”

“Truth be told, I don’t know. He wanted to show us what his problem was, but we never got to see it.”

“Ah, I understand.” She turned towards the secret door. “Then follow me. I’ll show you the truth.”