"What do you think will happen to us if we are still in that old house when the world shrinks?" Stefan asked.
They were currently walking in the direction Jack remembered to be the place where they split up with Kramer and the rest. Without any vehicle, they could only walk slowly.
"I don't know. Probably we will get magically teleported to the edge of the barrier," Jack speculated.
"Or we get vaporized for being on the wrong side of the map or get trapped on the other side for all eternity," Spring Crown added.
"Can you be any more cheery?" Jack asked.
"This is my max version already," Spring Crown replied with a grin.
Stefan ignored Spring Crown and asked Jack, "Bro, I hear aside from being a king, you are also the leader of the number one guild in Themisphere? Do you mind accepting me and Naomi into your guild?"
"Sure. Once we are out of this accursed place, just sign up. I will take care of your applications," Jack said. "But do the guild tasks, okay? Don't expect any special treatment."
"You people are so optimistic we can be free of this place?" Spring Crown again ruined the mood.
"Look! You think that place might have tools?" Grace pointed to an abandoned accessory shop by the side.
"Maybe, that clothing store opposite from it also looks potential," Spring Crown replied. "I will take the clothing and you go to the accessory."
Grace nodded. "Everyone else, please watch the perimeter."
Jack followed Grace into the accessory shop. She could take care of herself but Jack still wanted to make sure she was close by if something bad happened.
"Last night, you were saying something about this faction before those creatures attacked," Grace spoke to Jack while she looked around for useful stuff. "You mentioned a possible way to escape this place?"
"Yes. As I said yesterday, this dimension consists of many pocket worlds that are linked together. This place we are in is just one of these pocket worlds. We can use these links to move into the nexus world. The exit to the outside world should be in that nexus world."
"How do we find this link?" Grace asked.
"I have interfaced with the mana that forms the link. If I can sense mana again, I will be able to sense the exit that allows me to connect to the nexus world."
"If…? Are you saying you lose your mana sense ability?" Grace asked. She stopped searching after learning about Jack's situation.
"Not just mana sense. My mana manipulation is also sealed. Euphosine considers it a fitting punishment for intruding into her nexus world. I guess I should be glad she didn't just obliterate me outright."
"She can do that?"
Jack shrugged. "She has the power of a Goddess in her hands."
"If so, even if you get your mana sense back, won't she just give you a more severe punishment if you intrude into her nexus world again?"
"She might be powerful, but she isn't privy to everything that happens in her worlds. Talia mentioned that Euphosine is not there a few hours after the matches. I think it is the same when the matches are in progress. So, as long as we can find the main exit before she is finished with whatever keeps her occupied, we should be able to escape."
"Here," Grace threw something at Jack. Jack caught it and found it to be another Skill-free stone.
"What about you?" Jack asked.
"Your skills are more powerful than mine. That stone is more useful in your hands. I also found an adhesive bandage here. Other than that, I don't think there is any more useful…"
"Enemies…!!!" A shout from the outside stopped their conversation.
They unsheathed their weapons. "Stay behind me!" Jack said as they headed out.
When they almost came out of the shop, they saw a huge fireball heading toward them. Jack instinctively grabbed Grace and jumped away. The fireball crushed into the shop and created a fiery explosion.
"It's that team again!" Grace exclaimed.
Four enemies were fighting the five from their teams. Tom was fighting Freddie, the old elven martial artist, while Spring Crown supported Tom from afar. Without access to skills, martial expertise became the deciding factor in the scuffle.
Tom's eagle claw style might be formidable, but he was not yet at the level of mana manipulation. Hence, Freddie held the advantage in the fight.
The others from Freddie's team had the advantage of tool-using. The fireball came from the ethereal woman who used the slingshot. She had the Elementalist class. She had used a skill-free tool to cast the exploding fireball, which missed hitting Stefan and ended up almost hitting Jack and Grace who happened to come out of the shop.
Another enemy was fighting Naomi. The enemy was a Weapon Master. He used a Skill-free tool to activate the Weapons Festival. Nine melee weapons floated around him and assaulted Naomi, who used the shortest-ranged weapon, a steel claw.
All Naomi could do was dodge. She was not a fast player but luckily she had the shield-protect stone. She used the stone and her shields didn't break even when the multiple weapons hit her body. She ran away during the five seconds when the protection was in effect. She kept a safe distance away from the weapon master, waiting for his Weapon Festival to end.
The one who was most in trouble was Windy. The native woman had to deal with an enemy who had transformed into a werewolf. That form should also only last one minute due to the tool's restriction but this one minute could decide life and death since the enemy only needed to hit her twice. Windy only had two shields left.
When Jack and Grace were about to head over to help, they heard the heavy sound of an engine. They looked back and saw the monster truck that used to chase after them. Finn was behind the wheel and he was driving the truck straight at them.
"Screw these people!" Jack cursed and used the skill-free stone that Grace had just given him.
Jack transformed into supreme dragon form and flew straight toward the car. He crossed his arms before him and rammed himself into the monster truck.
Finn was in disbelief when he saw the opponent charge toward him. His opponent might have used Beast Form but this was a huge truck, for goodness sake. No way this truck would lose, right?
He found the answer when the truck was stopped abruptly from the collision. He crashed into the windshield before flying out and falling onto the road's pavement.
