Chapter 1366: A One-Way Ticket?

But how could Luca not react in such a manner after learning that pirates had actually commandeered a dungeon, even daring to use it as a transportation hub?!

And things certainly didn’t improve as the man before them continued revealing information that only made their situation sound increasingly dangerous.

"What you’re holding now is what people have been using to enter," the pirate explained with an unreadable expression, angling his head toward the shard held gingerly in Luca’s hands. "Imbue it with enough spiritual energy, and you’ll be able to tear open space and get here."

"..."

The very prospect of people artificially inducing dungeon rifts was honestly as dizzying as it was maddening. Moreover, from the way this man was describing it, something so dangerous was being done over and over again?!

Worse, with such simple instructions, it almost sounded like an easy task, perhaps even coming off as a blessing to those who might immediately recognize the benefits of having access to such a convenient means of transportation.

But having just healed the pirate standing before them, Luca knew better than anyone that the word enough could easily cost someone their life.

Especially when the average person’s spiritual energy reserves were so alarmingly limited.

No wonder those other pirates ended up in such horrible states after having to completely exhaust themselves just to open the rift!

But before anyone could properly comment, the pirate continued, practically extinguishing whatever optimism his good brother might’ve managed to muster from those earlier words.

"But you’d better forget about using it to get out of here. Even if you take it from me, it’ll be pointless now that we’re already inside."

"...!"

One Oliver Mylor actually managed to keep his expression remarkably unreadable despite hearing such terrible news!

Regrettably for him, however, his hair antenna had apparently decided to betray him, making his innermost thoughts painfully obvious to everyone...

Then, as though consoling Ollie without even having to touch him, Kyle asked, "Then how is this supposed to be a transportation hub if it’s impossible to get out?" His tone was remarkably level, something he’d probably mastered after having to listen to all sorts of outrageous news.

He understood what this seemingly unassuming but definitely disguised pirate was saying, but considering everything they’d heard and experienced throughout the day, he was certain there had to be a way out if those idiots had been so willing to use this place in the first place.

But while Kyle already had a few hypotheses of his own, with so many people apparently trapped somewhere in the same dungeon, they couldn’t afford to test them based solely on what the pirates had said.

Not when those fools had already ended up in such terrible states after convincing themselves that nothing particularly bad would happen.

As expected—

"I only said it’s impossible to get out using that," the pirate replied evenly. "But I never said it was impossible to leave this place."

"..."

Admittedly, the pirate knew it was a rather cheeky answer, one that might’ve worked perfectly well on someone else.

But clearly not on these cadets, who seemed to be taking the situation far more seriously than most people he’d encountered.

The problem was that he didn’t particularly want to divulge everything.

Especially when doing so might encourage these youngsters to attempt something reckless and get themselves killed simply because they were confident enough to believe they could succeed.

He knew perfectly well that they weren’t ordinary cadets, nor could they even be compared to average soldiers. That much should’ve been obvious to anyone with even one functioning sensory organ, yet people seemed determined to overlook it simply because of their background and age.

And as someone accustomed to taking in people often referred to as strays, he knew better than to make such a mistake. If anything, that gave him even more reason to withhold certain information, partly because it was his crew’s private business, but also because he didn’t want to give these promising kids any dangerous ideas.

Especially when the situation in this place had already grown serious enough to warrant his personal intervention.

Apparently, however, that was just his own rather naive opinion.

Because when he looked at the cadets again, their exacting gazes made it abundantly clear that they weren’t about to accept another evasive answer. That white-haired cadet, for one... He’d been silent the entire time, but it was as though not even the slightest twitch could escape those imposing eyes.

"..."

Right. Definitely not a negotiation.

And definitely a group capable of dealing with something that almost killed him.

Fine.

"Someone from the outside needs to open it," the pirate finally confessed, reluctantly looking away. "And they have to keep it open until everyone inside manages to get out."

"What?!"

Ollie, who’d somehow managed to restrain himself until now, finally couldn’t hold it in any longer!

"First of all, shit!" the blonde exclaimed, looking utterly appalled. "But if that’s really how it works, then just how many of these shards are out there?!"

Ah.

It was right on the money.

Even though he hadn’t mentioned part of the reason he’d ended up entangled in that mess in the first place, they still managed to take a direct jab at it.

But that was just it. "I don’t know."

"What?! Y-you don’t know?!"

"Yes, I don’t. Because who knows just how many pieces they’ve broken each shard into?"

In truth, the pirate wanted to know the answer to that question himself. But he’d only managed to learn this much after tracking down and "interrogating" those who’d dared betray their group while he’d been on his deathbed.

Those traitors and deadbeats had stolen part of their crew’s heirloom, one that had been passed down through generations of Captains.

No wonder the previous Captains had left such strict instructions... Had the heirloom been stored as a single piece, the entire thing could’ve been stolen. Yet even with only a portion missing, it had already enabled far worse crimes to go unnoticed.

Ironically, those idiots had been mortified upon realizing that they could’ve made a much greater profit by breaking the stolen chunk into even smaller shards and selling them individually. Instead, they’d sold it as is, only for it to be broken into smaller pieces afterward, making their scattered whereabouts nearly impossible to trace without direct intervention.

And so, there he was, being pelted by questions like how to navigate the subterranean tunnels, how to predict where the spatial tears would appear, and who to expect on the other side.

But instead of answering any of that, what he said was, "Don’t you want to know what’s actually inside?"