Chapter 5: How Many Years Had It Been Since He Last Saw A Living Person

"I never imagined that this would really be a potato," mumbled the large tigerman sitting by the fire, munching on a roasted potato. "It's like a whole new world on the other side of the Desert of Burials. To think there are actually such strange things here."

Next to him was a half-person-deep pit. The young swordsman stood inside it, examining a small piece of root in his hands.

Several potatoes of different sizes were piled beside him, freshly dug from the earth judging by the dirt on them.

"Ah, you two are eating already?" Yaine approached. Seeing the tigerman's actions, she frowned. "Although it looks like a potato and even smells like one when roasted, but…"

"But it tastes like a potato too, so it must be a potato." The tigerman waved his hand dismissively. "Yaine, you're being too cautious. Even though we're beyond the desert, surely we don't need to be afraid of a potato, right?"

"Um… fine, I hope you don't end up poisoned and dying." Yaine crossed her arms in disbelief. "Otherwise, we'll be short of one laborer for building the house."

"Eh? Have we decided to build a house here?" The tigerman looked surprised.

"Yes. I've surveyed the area nearby, and we can build a temporary dwelling." Yaine nodded. "Whether we stay long-term is another matter, but at least when the others arrive, they'll have a place to get some solid rest."

"The others, huh…" The young swordsman gazed into the distance and sighed.

"Hey, brother, don't sigh." The tigerman slapped him on the backside. "Calidora is the strongest among the holy dragons of your race. They'll be fine."

"Mm, you're right." The young swordsman nodded. "I ought to believe in her, and that's all I can do. If something were to happen to her, I really don't know what I'd do…"

Suddenly, during their conversation, the young swordsman felt the ground beneath him start to tremble, and the pit was caving in.

"What's happening? An earthquake?" He was startled and quickly jumped out of the pit, only to find that the nearby ground was all sinking, and something seemed to be moving in the soil.

"Hey, hey, hey, what the hell is this?!" The tigerman also jumped in shock. He had been sitting on the ground eating a potato, and this sudden change caused him to sink into the soil, with the fire from the campfire tilting toward his crotch because of the collapsing ground. His straw trousers immediately began to emit a burning smell, causing him to panic as he frantically dealt with the fire crisis at his crotch.

Beside him, Yaine floated in the air, observing the scene and murmuring to herself, "Damn, I told you not to eat stuff randomly. What the heck is this…"

"What the heck is this? Help me, quick! I'm about to catch fire!" the tigerman screamed, struggling with the burning twigs at his crotch.

In the next moment, a large blob of liquid appeared out of thin air and splashed directly onto his crotch. Next, a bunch of soil floated up, supporting his armpits and lifting into the air like someone picking up a cat.

The tigerman glanced at his soaked crotch, about to say something, but was stunned by the scene unfolding before him.

In front of him, the ground within a radius of several hundred meters was collapsing, and in the center of the collapse, the three-meter-tall potato plant was shrinking.

"I-is this caused by that potato plant? What is it? Magic? Or is there something underground?" the tigerman rambled in bewilderment.

Given the scale of activity, if there really was something hidden underground…

The tigerman gulped.

"No. That's not it," the young swordsman suddenly spoke up. His eyes gleamed brightly, and his golden dragon-like pupils scanned the ground. "It's just… this thing, it's shrinking… My God, how vast must its root system be…"

"Shrinking? What do you mean shrinking? Are you saying that the potato's root system is shrinking?" the tigerman exclaimed in astonishment. "How is that possible? Plant fibers aren't like tentacles; they don't have that sort of elasticity!"

"How would I know? But it's just shrinking!" the young swordsman said as a nearby tree suddenly fell down, forcing him to dodge.

Yaine waved her staff, and another heap of soil floated up, lifting the young swordsman into the air as well.

By now, it wasn't only that one tree that had fallen. Many other nearby trees began to tilt and collapse due to the significant subsidence of the land, creating a terrifyingly large pit spanning several hundred meters.

At the center of the pit, the once over-three-meter-tall plant had shrunk by more than half, and the rate of shrinkage was still accelerating. Vaguely, it even began to take on a somewhat human shape.

"Th-this… Has the potato become a spirit? A potato person?" the tigerman wondered aloud. "Or is that a race that can turn into plants? Wood elves?"

"I've never heard of wood elves that turn into potatoes." Yaine frowned. "Stop your wild guesses. This is the other side of the desert, and nobody knows what might be here. Be prepared, but don't act rashly, and do not attack first."

"Ah, yeah. Even though you say that, hanging up here really saps my strength," the tigerman said as his body dangled limply, his face full of resignation.

While he was a large humanoid cat, he was still fundamentally a big cat.

The young swordsman beside him remained silent, his left hand resting on his sword sheath.

The three of them watched warily as the potato plant continued to shrink from three meters to two meters, and finally to less than one meter.

The green leaves gradually disappeared, revealing healthy, beige-colored skin.

The three could see clearly now that it was a person.

A person, half-buried in the soil.

This completely unclothed individual had the face of an ordinary human, a sturdy body, and long, flowing, emerald green hair.

Yes, emerald green hair. So vibrant it seemed as if it contained chlorophyll.

"Hey, Yaine, have you ever heard of a race with green hair?" the tigerman asked quietly. "I remember even wood elves only have green leaves growing on their hair, not the hair itself being green, right?"

"That's why I've been repeating myself so many times, this other side of the desert is a whole new world." Yaine rolled her eyes at him. "For all we know, this could just be what the natives here look like."

"Shh… Do you think he understands our common language?" the tigerman asked hesitantly.

Yaine ignored him.

She didn't bother to answer a question that seemed to only have "I don't know" as a response.

As the trio watched tensely, the strange person opened his eyes.

Then he shrieked, quickly covered his eyes again, and shouted loudly, "What the hell! It's so bright!"

He spoke clearly, but… the trio couldn't understand.

"Ha, I guess you got your answer." Yaine shrugged.

"Uh… Perhaps he speaks multiple languages?" The tigerman still wasn't letting up.

While the two were talking, the strange man with green hair, still shielding his eyes from the glaring sun, slowly managed to open his eyes.

He first looked down at himself, then around at his surroundings, and finally, his gaze landed on the three floating people above him.

And then, his mouth opened wide.

The trio were immediately startled, thinking that he was about to unleash some devastating magical attack from his mouth, and instinctively assumed defensive stances.

Of course, the attack they anticipated didn't come. Instead, they saw the strange man's mouth tremble, and two crystal-clear droplets rolled down from his eyes.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by Aunomay Read