This Text Adventure Game is definitely poisonous
Chapter 465 - 282: Phantom Thief’s Appointment Letter_1

Chapter 465: Chapter 282: Phantom Thief’s Appointment Letter_1

"Elder Elf..."

Mu You stroked his chin, an Elder Elf, locked up in an Underwater Prison, and seemingly for a long time now...

No matter how, there was no other path forward at this point, all he could do was go and see.

[You have arrived at cell number 3755.]

[The cell in front of you is empty. This is an unused cell.]

[You stand opposite the cell, step on the Octopus Statue and climb to the top of the wall.]

[With the help of the light from the Pumpkin Lantern, you see four bloodstained stones underneath the hay on top of the wall. The bloodstains had long dried up and faded due to their age, making identification difficult.]

There really are red stones!

Mu You hurriedly tried the approach mentioned in the Elf’s message.

[You strike the bloodstained stone above you three times with your magic wand. The stones remain unresponsive].

[You knock twice on the stone to your left...]

[You tap the stone below you four times...]

[You finally tap your magic wand on the stone to your right. The wall of stones in front of you suddenly begins to move, and a narrow passage opens up around the bloodstained stones, just wide enough for one person.]

[You crawl into the passage, with the entrance behind you automatically closing.]

[After passing through a deep passage, you enter into an underground grotto-like space. It is located between the third and fourth layers of the Underwater Prison, with a wide space filled with fluorescent plants lighting up the area.]

[Among the weeds, you find a stone path laid out by man.]

[You follow the stone path and eventually arrive at a gigantic mushroom tree.]

[You see the dry, ancient corpse of an elderly elf sitting under the tree, a glass bottle clutched in its frail hand.]

[As you approach, a pale blue light suddenly radiates from the glass bottle, eventually coalescing into a humanoid ghost, which looks exactly like the corpse of the elf.]

["Stranger, who are you?", the spirit in the bottle, upon realizing you are not a member of the Elf Clan, asks you warily.]

This spirit must be the elderly elf who left the message. As expected, he is already dead. Just like Vieri, all that is left is a fragment of his soul preserved within the bottle.

Mu You first explains his identity to the spirit.

[You show the old elf the badge of a peripheral member of the Forest Elf Ranger Troop.]

[Upon seeing your badge, the elderly elf lets out a sigh of relief, his face lighting up with joy.]

[Once your identity has been confirmed, the old elf, with tears streaming down his ancient face, relays his story to you.]

[Seven hundred years ago, he led a group of young elves on a maritime journey. During their journey through the Evil Spirit Sea Area, they were intercepted by the Octopus King.]

[The elves joined forces to fight the Octopus King but, sadly, were no match for him. Their ship was destroyed by the Octopus King, and all the elves were captured.]

[The Octopus King took pleasure in collecting peculiar creatures, regarding the elves as part of his collection and imprisoning them on the lowest level of the Underwater Prison. The elves were subjected to both physical and mental torment daily, in an attempt to tame them into slaves.]

[Many elves couldn’t endure the torture and committed suicide. The remaining elves, similarly subjected to great suffering, conspired to escape.]

[By chance, one of the elves discovered an escape route from the fifth level of the prison. However, the defenses of the Underwater Prison were solid, and despite the elves planning extensively, they could only manage to send one person through the route.]

[The Elves decided to put all their effort into sending out one elder. That elder was Harrington Hugh, the senior elder, also the old elf you’re seeing isn’t right now. Bearing all the elves’ hopes, he successfully escaped from the fifth level of the prison.]

[However, when he made it to the third floor via the passage, he found it filled with poisonous gas, making it impossible to proceed. The escape plan had been a mirage all along.]

[At that point, the Octopus Soldiers had realized someone had escaped and were conducting thorough searches within the prison. Unable to return, the elder elf had no choice but to seal off both entrances using magic.]

[Since then, he had been trapped in this cave, unable to proceed or retreat, staying alive by planting crops, and left a message in the third layer in the hope of being found by someone.]

[However, until he finally ran out of life and died 300 years ago, he had been unable to wait for a rescuer.]

[The elves at the bottom of the prison were still holding onto the hope of hearing good news from him, but his solitary struggle for survival in this place made him ashamed to face his elven ancestors. On the brink of death, this guilt-ridden elder elf preserved his spirit, continuing to wait for a savior.]

[After seven hundred years, he finally had a visitor with your arrival.]

So it turned out that it wasn’t just him, there were also a bunch of other elves locked up in this prison.

From the account given by the elderly elf, it seemed that this Octopus King wasn’t exactly a decent fish, taking a liking to capturing living creatures as figures in his collection.

No wonder there is a fifth layer in this prison, where prisoners serve an infinite sentence rather than being executed outright. The fifth layer was essentially the Octopus King’s personal figurine cabinet, and those locked inside were part of his private collection.

[The old elf, realizing that you were able to make it to this place unharmed, speculates that you have the ability to move freely through the prison. He implores you to go to the fifth level of the Underwater Prison to check if there are any members of the Elf Clan still alive, and if any are found, he hopes you will be able to rescue them.]