from the weakest hunter to the strongest SSS rank-Chapter 52 - Fifty-Two

Meryl tried to listen again, but the sounds were too faint for her to pinpoint their location, so she shook her head at Alvin.

As for Tulip, who still had his eyes closed, his hand moved slightly in several directions for a moment. "Bluebell says the sounds are coming from the ceiling," he wrote in the chat after opening his eyes.

Alvin stared at the high ceiling for a moment, and all he could see were the twinkling stars. He needed to get closer and take a better look, so he brought out the flying carpet and climbed onto it.

The glowing stars were actually crystals, resembling transparent pearls. What caught his attention even more—and made him lean in to get a clearer view—was something small trapped inside one of them.

Down below, the others were on edge. Meryl paced back and forth several times, trying to get a better view, but each time, she had to avert her eyes due to the intense glow.

Should she go up too? Elena seriously considered the idea, but Alvin's silence kept her from acting on it. His silence meant there was a problem.

"Alvin, what is it?" Meryl asked impatiently, unable to wait any longer as she saw the stunned expression on Alvin's face. What had he seen that left him so astonished?

The crystals were embedded in the ceiling, only half of them visible. Alvin tried to extract one, but despite his many attempts, it wouldn't budge.

As for Alvin, he didn't want to press too hard on it, fearing it might break. There was something inside, and letting it out might not be in their favor—especially since he wasn't sure if what he saw was real or just a hallucination his exhausted mind had conjured up.

"So?" Tulip asked curiously in the chat after Alvin descended and returned the flying carpet to the inventory.

"I'm not sure, but... I think there are souls trapped inside those crystals," Alvin replied with a doubtful tone, still unable to fully believe what he had seen.

The idea of monsters, parallel worlds, and immensely powerful beings calling themselves "planets"—all of that was fine. But the notion of a soul being trapped in a crystal? That was something Alvin struggled to accept.

Because, quite simply, the soul is untouchable—unlike the body. No, not just untouchable—it's invisible, beyond reach.

The soul is something outside the control of any creature, no matter how powerful they are. Alvin firmly believed in that.

"Maybe it's just an illusion meant to confuse us," Meryl said, her mind troubled by the dozens of thoughts and possibilities flashing through it at once.

That was certainly a valid possibility, but Alvin had already confirmed the presence of souls inside those crystals before he came down.

When he tapped the crystal with his finger, the soul inside recoiled in fear.

"Could they be the souls of people who came here in the past?" Tulip asked in the chat.

That possibility seemed logical, especially considering that the inhabitants of this place fed on the life energy of their victims. Maybe they imprisoned the souls here while disposing of the bodies. But... why?

Was it just to enhance the beauty of the place, to make it dazzling for new visitors? Or perhaps to make them feel at ease and let their guard down? Anything was possible, as long as they didn't know the real reason behind it.

"I wonder if we can talk to one of these souls and learn what happened to them—how they ended up here," Elena said quietly, her mind turning over the chances of finding an answer to her question.

—"I think what Tulip and I were hearing... were their voices. And they were probably so faint because the souls are trapped inside the crystals."

"Which means getting any answers from them is impossible," Tulip wrote in the chat.

Alvin looked up again at the glowing ceiling, his eyes half-squinting from the light, his mind clearly turning something over. And even though he wasn't sure if the solution he'd thought of was good or bad, he decided to go ahead with it anyway, hoping that it might just work.

—"Meryl, how are you feeling now?"

—"Much better than before."

Alvin nodded, then purchased several high-grade healing potions. He handed a few to Meryl and distributed the rest to Elena and Tulip. "Take good care of your health.

We'll be moving out soon, and that means we might face another time reset in the near future."

He then bought a large number of bombs, giving dozens to Elena and the same amount to Tulip.

He also handed them rings with oval-shaped tops that could be pressed. Then he purchased even more and stored them in his inventory.

"We'll now start planting these bombs—in the water, the ceiling, and the walls. The rings I gave you act as detonators."

Alvin looked at them for a moment before continuing:

"If any of us can't reach their own detonator, someone else should set it off."

"And what about me?" Meryl asked in confusion. Alvin had already handed her a ring while he was speaking, but he hadn't given her any bombs.

"You're going to rest until we reach the main site of these creatures. You need to conserve your strength for healing us later," he replied before throwing a few bombs into the river.

"Aren't they going to explode?" Tulip asked in surprise.

—"No. These bombs are waterproof. They won't go off even if you drop them from the top of a mountain. As long as you don't press the detonator, they'll remain inactive."

He then signaled Tulip to keep scattering the bombs along the river as they moved forward.

Meanwhile, Alvin took on the task of placing bombs in the ceiling. Elena was making holes in the wall, sized just right to fit the bombs, then placing them inside.

As they walked, Elena and Tulip were in the front, Meryl in the middle, and Alvin in the back.

The silence was constantly broken—by Elena digging into the walls, Tulip throwing bombs into the river, and occasionally the sound of Alvin's flying carpet.

"Guys, do you smell that?" Meryl asked anxiously, a growing sense of dread tightening in her chest.

"What smell?" Elena asked after placing a bomb in the wall. "I don't smell anything."

"I smell it too!" Tulip typed in the chat.

"Why do you two have stronger senses than the rest of us, even though we're all on the same level?" Elena grumbled.

Alvin descended from the carpet and began trying to detect any scent in the air.

Meanwhile, Meryl said, "I had a strong sense of smell even before all of this happened. It can be annoying sometimes, but it's useful in situations like this."

Alvin couldn't pick up the scent either, which only deepened his concern. Elena had a point—why were Meryl and Tulip's senses sharper, even though their levels were the same?

Alvin's thoughts were interrupted by a faint sound coming from behind. They all turned toward it with anticipation, their weapons ready for battle. freewёbnoνel.com

A small boat emerged from the darkness... it was the same creature as before.

Alvin looked at the system, and only now did he realize something—there was no information about these creatures! Normally, whenever a creature appears, the system provides at least some basic information about it.

Except for the monsters in the daily quests. But... this isn't a daily quest.

So, why is there no information about it?

As it drew closer, Alvin noticed something different about the creature this time...

"Hello, I'm Nai. I'll be your guide, dear tourists, on this journey... No... don't be shy... don't be... a... afraid... to... ask..."

This creature...