"How about you? Can you summon your bow?" I asked.


    "Yeah. I don''t know how our inventory works, but yeah. I can summon my weapon at any time. I don''t even know why the elves let us inside this prison with our weapons in the first ce. They didn''t even bother to confiscate them!" Ryoshi cried. "Don''t you think that this astral space is kinda overpowered? I mean, if you can store anything in here, can''t you contain any living creature inside that empty ce?"


    Ryoshi loved talking about theplex concept of the game. Because of his outstanding performance in school, he cared about the little things inside a game. It was the exact reason he had not levelled up in his ountpared to Fenrir, who became the top yer in the game.


    Despite our differences, he was an avid learner and gamer in these role-ying games. His knowledge mighte in handy soon on our journey. I could only depend on my experiences while ying this game.


    "I don''t know, Ryoshi," I eximed, and leaned closer to his face. "And I don''t care. We have an inventory, and I am thankful for that. Now, if you don''t want to be impaled by those arrows and be a walking kebab, I suggest we make a move right now. But you have a point about the elves. I''ll give you that."


    I also found it difficult to believe those long-eared creatures and their actions. If they nned on taking us in here, those elves could have stolen our weapons. But they did not. Instead, the elves locked us behind these bars, still armed and dangerous.


    "Probably because those elves thought we couldn''t escape their base. We are inside their territory, after all," I replied. "And those elves move because their script told them to. If they acted violently while kids were ying Code, don''t you think they would have banned this game in most countries?"


    Ryoshi nodded to himself and answered, "You have a fair point. I''ll give you that too"


    "Anyway, we need to get out of here right now for six hours. That''s the only time that the elves gave me. La Finta, the Grandmother of this ce, ced some kind of protection for me." I shifted the topic and directed my gaze at the staircase ahead of us. "Do you want me to st these bars away or bend them? We also need to bypass those elves once we are on the stairway."


    It was a long flight up the stairs upon arriving here in the dungeon. Ryoshi likely went through that punishment before I had set foot in this ce. He disliked those series of steps and cursed them whenever Ryoshi could. I can still remember the event when he gave up climbing up our ssroom and begged the principal to enter the elevator.


    "If we did that, you''ll alert the rangers!" Ryoshi retorted, whilst iling his hands. "And, yes! Of course, I know La Finta! I read about her once in the article before ying Code. But why would she protect you when there''s a death game against NPCs and yers? Shouldn''t it be the other way around? NPC that are trying to kill us, yers, because they have gone rogue?"


    "Yeah. That''s what I believe. I don''t know why on Earth La Finta would do that for no reason? I have one, but I will tell you once we''re out of this ce." I answered. "And do you have a better idea of escaping this prison? "


    "Blowing things up fixes nothing, Okami."


    It had been an hour since the time I had entered this ce and thirty minutes in the actual world. The two of us had been talking about various ways to get out of this prison. But that conversation ended when I sensed someone approaching our direction.


    As I looked ahead, an elf girl with blonde hair greeted my eyes. It was the same petite warden that sealed me inside this room. Beside the girl were two rangers guarding her sides. Their figure did not look happy at all.


    "Well, if it isn''t two idiots squabbling with each other," Elina stated, and insulted the two of us.


    The guards spared Ryoshi and me the frosty re. I, who did not care at all, just raised my head and met their gaze.


    We were two idiots in several aspects. I did not feel offended about it. If there was one thing that Ryoshi hated, it was someone offending his intelligence.


    "Hey! Listen here, you offish long-eared elf! Okami and I could crush you at any time!" Ryoshi said, and slipped my name away. "Whoops. I should''ve not said that."


    I bashed him with my bare hands. A "fumu" sound escaped from his mouth. I always told Ryoshi to avoid mentioning my name in the game. Countless yers wanted me dead. There was a bounty on my head, given that I was a yer killer in my prime time. Now that Code became a death game, and I was in my smurf ount, people could effortlessly present me to the adventurer''s guild.


    It was also why I wanted to avoid teaming up with Mer and Robin from before.


    "Shut up! If you could, you would''ve destroyed this ce a long time ago." The elf crossed her arms and red at me in the eye. "I will ask you again. What did La Finta say before she died in your hands?"


    "I have the right to remain silent," I answered, and sat on the ground.


    I knew these elves could never touch me within these six hours. Although the elves tied our hands up behind my back, they cannoty a finger on my body. They could only wait until the scheduled time.


    Elina did not utter a word and turned around. She might know that I would refuse to talk about their leaders, especially when I was behind their bars. If they would release the two of us, I could reconsider my decision about talking.


    Well, it was not like I was hiding something from them. I would trick Elina and use that opportunity to escape if these elves would take the bait.


    "So you have chosen to rot inside this ce?" Elina continued.


    "I speak whenever I want. Just like my friend here had said. I could take you all down within seconds."


    Elina gave a snicker and turned to face us for thest time. "I would love to see you try."


    After our exchange, the trio went back to the staircase. The elves'' stomps resonated throughout the dungeon. It was the only sound that we heard as we waited for them to arrive at the surface. It was a long walk; I was sure of it, since the stairway was approximately two hundred feet above the ground.


    "Well, there goes our chances," I eximed, andid my body on the ground.


    "I can''t believe you''re so casual about this." Ryoshi peered his head near my face and obstructed my view.


    "There was not a thing we could do about it," I answered. "And besides, someone is approaching our way."


    Ryoshi could only blink his eyes after hearing such a statement from me. He did not know what I was talking about. Since he did not have the Lycanthrope''s ability, Ryoshi was not aware of the army of yers marching towards Nirvana.


    "First things first, I go by the name Wolf. Second, there''s a guild that nned on taking this ce down," I eximed. "And I sure hope they save us first before destroying Nirvana."


    "Oh. Is that so?" Ryoshi said, and sat beside me. "Well, all we have to do now is wait for them to invade this ce."


    Another hour had passed by, doing nothing but to wait around this cell. A guard came by and monitored us. But as soon as she saw us idling around, the elf ranger fell asleep in her chair.


    I used this opportunity to use my [wolf walk] and reached out for the keys. Although this might be a useless move, I still wanted to escape from this ce. This key would be useful eventually if Ryoshi and I did not want to make this ce go kaboom.


    "Now that''s what I''m talking about," Ryoshi murmured, with his eyes still shut tight.


    Ryoshi knew about my past and how I became a crazed man killing people in Code. He was one of the few people who knew my identity and watched me on the news about the killing spree Imitted. He knew the reason behind my massacre, but Ryoshi wasn''t supportive.


    "Do you still see NPC as mindless characters inside the game," Ryoshi asked me a sudden question. He was usually like this every time we were together inside a room.


    After getting the keys from the guard, I nudged back and hid it inside my [astral space]. A notification alerted me, telling me I had got the key for the cell. ''Now, I don''t have to worry about making a sound if we want to escape this ce.'' I thought, and went to face Ryoshi.


    "No. I don''t want to be the person I was from before.." I answered.