Yarra's Adventure Notes-Chapter 104 - 27 Lina_1

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This place was a collection of underground fissures, much like a spiderweb. The same plane’s bedrock was filled with numerous wide cracks. These intersecting faults formed a natural maze. A normal human being would lose their way and become completely entrapped in just a few minutes.

Despite being underground, it wasn’t dark in the fissures. Plenty of noctilucent moss emitting faint light grew in between them, providing enough illumination for professionals like Lina and Pannis to see their surroundings. The ground was swarming with all kinds and sizes of insects and rats scurrying about in fright. These little creatures added a hint of life to the dark fissures.

"There are quite a lot of small animals here." After wandering aimlessly in the fissures for nearly an hour, Lina finally couldn’t help but ask, "Pannis, do you have any constructive suggestions?"

"Yes." Pannis was busy concentrating on a sheet of paper, "Keep moving."

"Thanks. Say something I don’t know. That’s not a constructive suggestion." Lina seemed displeased, "What have you been doodling since we got here?"

"Drawing a map, as you see," replied Pannis without lifting his gaze, "It’s easier to mark the places we’ve been through."

"Having an experienced explorer really is reassuring. At least we won’t get lost." Lina couldn’t help but praise him but immediately added, "However, aren’t you supposed to be keeping watch and making the way? Won’t the map-making....?"

"Relax, I got it under control." answered Pannis, "My ears and nose are enough to keep a lookout."

The underground fissures were connected in all directions, showing no signs of human activities. Since the beginning of time, this place seemed to have been forgotten by mankind. As human beings appearing here for the first time in thousands, perhaps tens of thousands of years, Lina and Pannis were certainly not welcomed by the local inhabitants. Throughout their journey, they were continually attacked by venomous snakes and unknown crawling creatures. It was evident, however, that these creatures could not cause any harm to them.

After walking for another hour or so, Lina couldn’t help asking, "The fissures are so complex, so are you sure we haven’t gone down the same path twice? I feel like we’ve passed some places multiple times."

"I’m sure," Pannis said without looking up, "Other than a few dead ends, we’ve nearly crossed no path twice. Your feeling is a common misconception because the environment is the same everywhere. As a result, you might feel that you’re repeatedly passing through the same spot. In reality, the more worried you are about getting lost or going down the same path over and over again, the more likely you are to have this misconception."

"Okay, you always make sense," Lina sighed, "If you’re not using the Crystal Energy Lamp, give it to me. I’m merely following your steps, might as well read a bit."

"You’re quite impressive." Pannis handed the lamp to Lina, "We’ve been walking here for three hours. The surroundings have been quiet, oppressive, narrow, and dark all along. It’s quite commendable that you managed to stay calm for three hours in such an environment."

"Have we been here for three hours already? I thought it was only two hours." Realizing that Lina had lit the lamp not to read a book but to give Pannis more light, Lina moved closer to Pannis, who was still busy sketching the map, "As for why I’m not restless, perhaps it’s because I have lived for ten years in a dim, quiet, and oppressive environment. I’m used to it."

Pannis lifted his head for the first time during his map sketching activities and looked at Lina in surprise. He opened his mouth to ask a question but instead, swallowed it. After a moment of silence, he carried on with his work. free𝑤ebnovel.com

"What, curious now?" Lina noticed Pannis’s reaction and said, "Want to know the details? Sure, but you’ll have to share your past in return, hehe."

"Hahaha, suddenly I’ve lost all interest," Pannis laughed loudly and insincerely.

"Really, how boring!" said Lina, disgruntled, "Fine, let’s exchange our true strengths instead of pasts."

"Thanks, but I’m not interested at all," Pannis refused Lina’s concession outright and returned to his map sketching world.

"Hey, do you know that stingy men are the worst? With this kind of attitude, no girl will ever like you," Lina stomped her foot in anger, pointing at Pannis, "Alright, let’s exchange our professions then. Can’t believe you’re so secretive about your profession when you say we’re companions."

"Hmm, profession, huh?" Lifting his head, Pannis grinned slyly, took a moment to compose himself, nodding, "We can exchange that, hehe, I’m a Magic Swordsman."

"Really?" Lina exclaimed, "You mean the profession everyone thinks is worthless? Magic Swordsman who wields both mana and aggression but isn’t proficient in either one?"

"Is it really okay to call it worthless in front of the person who has that job?" Pannis asked in disbelief, "Yes, you’re correct. It’s the Magic Swordsman you’re thinking of."

"Hehehe." Lina chuckled, changing the topic, "You’re a Magic Swordsman, but why does it seem like you know a little bit of everything? Don’t just brush me off with the smart genius excuse."

Pannis was silent for a moment before he answered, "Because of some reasons, I got used to learning new things continuously, so I picked up some skills and techniques of my previous companions."

"Alright, I’ll let it pass," As Lina walked beside Pannis, she bit her lip slightly, "About my past, you’re the third person I’ve told."

"Are the other two Catherine and Vivian?"

"It’s them," Lina nodded, "Do you remember I told you that there’s a demon called jealousy sleeping in my heart?"

"I remember," Pannis was still faithfully tracing the terrain as he drew the map, but his attention was now fully focused on Lina.

"I’m a twin. I have a twin sister. We were orphaned at a young age and taken in by The Church of the Earth Goddess," Lina’s voice was hesitant, often falling into silence as she was lost in her memories, only continuing after a while, "We both had exceptional talents, a strong affinity with the deity, and a devout faith in the Goddess from a young age. Therefore, we were personally nurtured by the Pope and considered as candidates for the next Pope."

"My sister and I both had similar priest talents, the same profound understanding of various scriptures, and the same love for the Goddess."

"Everyone in the church was extraordinarily excited about our existence. The only problem was that there were two such potential candidates."

"Even the Pope was very hesitant and found it hard to choose between my sister and me."

"But what the Pope didn’t know was that children are extremely sensitive. Even though we were not clear about such things as successors, we instinctively realized that once the Pope determined his choice, everything would completely change. The chosen one would be loved by all, while the unchosen one would lose everything and be treated like an ordinary person."

"Since then, though my sister and I remained the same, I had been consumed by worries."

"In my mind, my sister was better than me in every way. She was smarter, more diligent, more devout, and more obedient. Therefore, I was convinced she’d be the one to be chosen."

"From concerns, it slowly turned to jealousy, and then to hatred."

"I was jealous of my sister; I hated that she was better than me, that she would likely be chosen, and that she could receive the love of all adults."

"How wonderful it would be if my sister didn’t exist. If she wasn’t there, everything would be mine."

"Can you imagine, Pannis? I was not even eight years old at the time."

"Later on, one day, my sanity was entirely overwhelmed by jealousy. I went insane and lost consciousness. When I came to, I was holding a dagger, and my sister was lying in a pool of blood."

"When the adults came, my sister was injured but not in danger of losing her life. Even then, she was still trying to protect me, making excuses for me over and over again."

"I don’t know why the Pope did not punish me or even take away my status as a substitute for the successor. But I could not forgive myself. I couldn’t forgive a monster who hurt her own sister out of jealousy."

"So, when I was eight, I gave up everything. I marked myself with the Sinner’s Mark and exiled myself. I locked myself in the abandoned library of the Goddess Temple. Only one elderly priest was permitted in to deliver food each day, and I had no contact with anyone else."

"I was scared. I was afraid that the demon in my heart would jump out unexpectedly and cause harm to innocent people."

"It was an abandoned library. Most of the books had been transferred to the new library, leaving only many damaged novels of all sorts. From then on, my life only consisted of prayer, repentance, and reading."

"The library was dark, gloomy, and dead silent. I kept a single oil lamp for myself; the rest was shrouded in darkness. Whenever I was scared, I would pray, when I was sad, I would repent, and when I was restless, I would read."

"Days passed in this manner. I felt I could go mad at any moment, maybe insanity could be my salvation. However, slowly, I found some friends. Each day, whenever I opened a book, they would appear from its pages and stay with me, comforting me, enlightening me, looking after me."

"As I gained more friends and grew older, ten years passed this way."

"One day, ten years later, there was a fire near the library, which quickly spread into the library. Luckily, Katerina came out to warn me even before I opened any book, and I managed to escape in time."

"When I fled, I was only able to grab a few friends. Most of them, including Katerina, disappeared in the blaze, and I could never see them again."

"At that time, I felt utterly mad and left the church in a daze. My only thought was to find every one of my friends. Hence, I began roaming around, trying every possible way to get the same books again. Unfortunately, many of them had been out of print for hundreds of years, and I couldn’t find them no matter what."

"This search continued until I met Catherine. She brought me home. It was her who saved me. I can’t even dare to imagine how long I could have survived in that state if it weren’t for her."

"You know the rest. Living with her, I slowly started to live like an ordinary person again. It’s as if I was reborn."

"So, what do you think now, knowing about my past? Would you look down on this cruel woman who tried to kill her only kin out of jealousy?"