?Sen lifted his wary eyes but Kyle walked away in another direction.
'Did I make a mistake?'
He watched his back with sweat trickling down his forehead.
'I probably did...'
With a shake of his head, Sen took a step back to stand behind Lucus. Kyle Ohan, the name was indeed familiar. Regardless, he was sure the person opposite him was just another rich young master.
Sen scoffed in his mind when Lucus glared at him. At first, after entering the realm he found the prince because they were supposed to stay together but the prince was just too useless. That's why when Seraphine left Lucus behind with the excuse of his injuries. He thought they finally got rid of the unnecessary baggage but how wrong he was. Someone just had to go out of his way and save Lucus.
In the distance, Kyle's brow knitted together into a frown. He grabbed another door handle and pushed it but no matter how much he tried the door did not open.
With a hum, he gazed back at the trio looking at him with different expressions. Seraphine looked very happy for some reason, Lucus grateful and Sen, he looked wary.
'It's not like I care.'
He walked back and stood in the middle of the barren land. Kyle's eyes wandered off to the trio.
"Do you have any idea what we need to do? What about the mechanical voice?"
Seraphine took the initiative to answer him with a beautiful smile.
"We heard nothing after we entered this place. Also, we tried to open a few doors but failed."
Kyle gave her a nod. He gazed up toward the ceiling with a frown.
"Maybe we need to wait..."
Still, unlike the trio, he roamed around the chamber. Inspecting every corner properly. At first, Seraphine tried to follow behind him, but she soon got tired and quietly went to sit beside Lucus and Sen.
Kyle's feet did not stop as he checked one door after another. Bai closed her eyes comfortably on his shoulder with a yawn. Still, her peace did not last for long because after quietly pushing the doors for a while, Kyle suddenly used his flames to freeze one of them.
The trio sitting in the distance stood up in shock. They stared at the surging cold flames that spread out to enclose the wooden door in a tight embrace.
Seraphine's eyes sparkled with awe. A barely visible smile tugged at the corner of her lips.
'I knew it he is the strongest!'
Without caring about her two teammates, she hurriedly went to stand behind Kyle obediently.
Opposite her, the cold flames vanished into thin air, leaving behind a thin layer of ice. In the next second, the ice crumbled into tiny particles that drifted away with the wind.
Lucus and Sen glanced at each other and staggered forward to stand behind Seraphine. No way, they wanted to be left behind.
Kyle's eyes narrowed when the ice vanished. He stepped forward. After the door crumbled, pitch-black darkness spilled out from the hollow surface.
Bia's eyes flickered.
-'I believe you are not going to jump inside, right?
Kyle let out a chuckle and before Bia could stop him, he jumped into the darkness. After all, moving forward was far better than being trapped in a single place.
After he vanished into the darkness, Haylee's loud cry rang out behind him.
"Wait!"
The boar's eyes widened when his claw grasped into thin air. He panicked and without caring about the scared and shocked trio around him, dived into the darkness behind Kyle.
At the same time, Kyle's vision blurred for a few seconds but before he could balance himself mid-air his feet touched a smooth surface. He blinked when he felt a strange wet sensation around his body.
A blinding light flashed in front of his eyes and a familiar mechanical voice echoed in the air.
"Welcome new participants to the '007' treasure land."
"Total new arrivals Two; A (B-)-Rank divine beast and a (??)-Rank human."
"Loading... unable to detect the rank of the human... Automatic rank would be assigned."
"Conclusion; Two new participants; A (B-)-Rank divine beast and a (F-)-Rank human."
"Please do your best to find zZ... "
"Loading... abnormal entry has been detected. To preserve the rules, the test would be changed to punish the participants accordingly."
"Please do your best to find the cure... in the '965' treasure land."
Kyle groaned when a sharp pain stabbed his head. For some reason, he staggered on his feet and stiffly dropped to his knees. Similar to him, Bia's eyes were also cloudy. She flapped her wings and shook her head to remove the haze but suddenly a suction force appeared behind them.
A visible tear materialized in the air but before the tear could suck them inside, Haylee grabbed Kyle from his shoulder and dragged him upward toward the place he fell from.
Kyle's eyes shot open when he was tossed above a hard surface. He flipped his body mid-air and tried to balance himself but his eyes dilated when he saw the size of his feet. With a startled cry, he crashed into the sand.
Bia's eyes widened when her mind cleared up. She flapped her wings but someone grabbed her neck tightly.
"Stop moving!"
Haylee coughed out and slowly dropped her to the ground. A trail of blood seeped out from his mouth, staining the pure white fur on his jaw red.
In the distance, Lucus, Seraphine, and Sen were still processing what was happening around them with wide eyes.
Bia settled her body and her eyes darted around to look for Kyle. She froze when she saw Haylee's grim expression.
-'What happened!?'
Haylee let out a pained sigh. His body trembled a little as he pointed toward Kyle.
"I am not allowed to help others. Especially the ones who broke the rules. It's punishment."
Bia followed his finger and her eyes almost popped out of their sockets when she saw Kyle's tiny figure crawling out from the sand.
Kyle's green eyes twinkled with a hint of annoyance when he patted his clothes. Only to notice that somehow they had gotten shorter on his body.
"Huh?"
He held out his palms and sucked in a shuddering breath. They were short, very similar to a five or six-year-old kid.
"What the fuck!"
A curse slipped out from his mouth as he wriggled inside the oversized clothes wrapped around his body.
"What the hell happened!? Bia!!"
He cried out with a perplexed expression. Bia immediately circled above his head with a familiar panicked expression.
The duo froze in their spots when Haylee's thunderous roar echoed in the chamber.
"Shut up! You two stay still for a second!"
Kyle glared at him with red eyes.
"How can I shut up in this situation?!"
He click his mouth shut when Haylee's sharp eyes pressed down at his small body. Bia landed on his shoulder but Kyle lost his balance and dropped on his butt because she was too heavy!
Haylee closed his eyes and massaged his temples. He couldn't help but wonder did the human also lost his intelligence with his size.
After a few minutes of panic, Kyle calmed his nerves. Still, inwardly he was crying. At first, he was worried his family would fail to recognize him due to his hair color and eye color. Now with such a tiny body would they even believe he was Kyle?
Haylee let out a scoff.
"Don't worry. It's just an illusion. You need to find the cure and you will return to your original appearance."
Finally, Kyle released a relieved breath. He almost thought he had to live as a child from now on! After closing his eyes for a minute, he stared at the boar with a deep expression.
"What cure? Where is it? And how can I find it?"
Haylee's eyebrow twitched a little. He suffered a few injuries when he forcefully dragged Kyle out from the tear.
"Kid, you should be grateful I grabbed you on time or else I don't think you would have seen another ray of light in this life."
Kyle gave him a quick nod.
"Thank you for saving my life. Now, please tell me where is the cure you are talking about... Wait I remember the mechanical voice said something when you dragged me out...."
"965 treasure island?"
Haylee narrowed his eyes. The thank you did not sound genuine.
"Yes, that's the place."
Kyle stood up and his large clothes dragged behind his body when he paced around with a serious expression.
"How can I leave this place as soon as possible?"
Haylee's gaze wandered around for a few seconds before he fixed his eyes on one of the doors.
"Just leave through that door. You have already broken the rules of this place. So, I don't think you need to complete the trial."
Kyle hurriedly walked to the door and pushed it open.
"Bia let's leave. Haylee come with us. You need to tell me the location of '965' treasure land."
The trio standing behind Haylee finally snapped out of their trance and glanced at each other.
Seraphine was the first to approach Kyle's short figure with a panicked expression.
"Wait, if you are leaving this place. I want to go together."
Kyle's mind was too occupied with his own problem to stop her. He and Bia immediately jumped in the door and left the castle. Behind him, Haylee gazed at Seraphine, Lucus, and Sen.
He waved his hand and a thin shield appeared around the trio's body. With a flick of his finger, the trio vanished into the door before he followed as well.
