The thin black grass beneath the enormous flesh-colored mushroom made a surprisingly natural bed. Li had no idea what kind of plant it was, but at least it was one he’d never seen before.
He rearranged the black grass haphazardly, then carefully moved her into the middle of the thick patch and covered her with it bit by bit.
“That should just about do it.”
There weren’t many options here, and the black grass was very dry, like sun-dried straw. It also had a hard-to-describe smell.
Only after settling her in did he let out a sigh of relief.
The potion was already starting to take effect. After resting for a little while, Li planned to look around the area.
He glanced at her lying beside him but didn’t say a word. He simply closed his eyes and rested in silence, sorting through the situation.
He opened the system interface. His condition had improved somewhat, but he was still in terrible shape.
“If only I’d learned a little more beforehand... Even using it just once... I never thought this power would be so strong...”
Looking at his own power, which had turned into a string of question marks, Li let out a long sigh.
In the end, he’d detonated his own Authority...
That was how he’d beaten them...
Money makes the world go round; be too weak, and even a pig will run you down.
He still had to figure out how to control his power.
If he still had any power left...
...
The Abyss of the Underworld...
This was a hidden realm untouched by humans and every other race. Not a single person who’d come here had ever left...
The only thing that reassured Li was that this place was full of all kinds of herbs he knew. In fact, it was practically one enormous storehouse of medicinal plants, every single one of them incredibly rare in the outside world...
In the past, finding these herbs would’ve made him happy for ages. But now, even standing before plants that were almost impossible to find anywhere else, Li couldn’t bring himself to feel glad.
He had only two bottles left, and one of them contained a Pal Recovery Potion...
Li didn’t know whether he should use the Pal Recovery Potion or save it. It wasn’t difficult to make, but doing so here would be a challenge. This wasn’t his workshop, and he couldn’t just brew medicine whenever he wanted.
“Anyway, I should gather the essential ingredients first... Tsk...”
His bones groaned. He still couldn’t push himself too hard... His body couldn’t take any more recklessness, so he had to be careful...
Within arm’s reach were the plants he saw every night before going to sleep. Outside, they were the sort of things he could only hope to stumble across. Here, they were everywhere. He really had fallen into a treasure trove.
He couldn’t find any water, so he put a juicy vine in his mouth, chewed it a few times, then spat it out. It tasted awful, but it was excellent for his body.
He had no idea whether any magical beasts roamed this place. If there were, in his current condition, he definitely wouldn’t be able to...
He had to be careful.
Magical beasts had an incredibly keen sense of smell, but there were things they hated, just like any other creature that relied on its nose. Li crushed a pungent-smelling fungus, squeezed out its juices, and smeared them over himself. That would at least help keep the beasts from catching his scent. For someone like Li, who’d spent years venturing into remote forests to search for ingredients, it was already second nature.
Once he’d gathered just about everything he needed, Li took off his clothes, wrapped the herbs in them, and tied the bundle around his waist.
That was enough for today. If he went too far, he might run into trouble. He’d wait until his body recovered a little more before exploring elsewhere. For now, he’d head back.
She was waiting for him.
“Chloe.”
He’d originally set out to look for herbs for his younger sister, Chloe, but...
No matter the cost, he had to climb out of the depths of this abyss...
So he couldn’t die yet. He had to survive...
