Ch 360: Choose One Out Of Five? I’ll Take Them All!

The next morning, Bal, at home, showered Philia with kisses, hugs, and lifts, a triple combo, before ruffling her head and saying,

“Good darling, wait for Father to come back tonight.”

“Yes! Philia will wait for Father at home obediently.”

After Bal instructed Xiaoyue on a few matters, everyone followed Miss Phia back to the empty cave from yesterday via teleportation.

“Ugh, we clearly cleaned up all the bats and their droppings, why is there still a smell of rotten eggs?”

Nia pinched her nose and complained as soon as she landed. Hearing about the rotten egg smell, Grey had an idea, so he went to the lake.

“The smell of rotten eggs is coming from this geothermal lake. This lake is probably formed by the accumulation of sulfurous hot spring water.”

“Sulfurous hot spring water… I remember learning that this stuff is good for the skin.”

Bal had just recalled a little bit of knowledge from school when he heard Yselle shouting while holding Nia.

“Nia! Calm down, you can’t take your clothes off here! Even if Mr. Grey and Mr. Bal are your relatives, it’s not allowed! Miss Phia, please help restrain Nia too!”

“Let go of me, Yselle! This is hot spring water, it’s good for the skin!”

“But this isn’t the time to bathe in a hot spring! Mr. Bal, please help too, why are you just watching?!”

Bal slowly walked to Nia’s side and lightly tapped her head.

“Oww, that hurt!”

Nia stopped making a fuss. She looked at Bal with resentful eyes.

“Violent maniac!”

“Hey, why are you talking nonsense? I didn’t use any force, a light tap and it hurts?”

“I don’t care, you hurt me anyway!”

“Alright, alright, let’s quickly find a way out.”

Phia finished watching the drama and came to the two. Her words sounded rather impartial, as if she were considering the overall situation, if her gaze hadn’t lingered on the hot spring.

“Fine, what a pity about this hot spring.”

Nia dejectedly left the hot spring and started searching for a way out with Grey. After seeing Nia calm down, Yselle also started looking for an exit.

Bal looked at Phia, he knew Phia had ideas about the hot spring.

“Want to bathe?”

Phia nodded and said,

“I do, but now is not the time. I can still tell the difference between priorities.”

Bal reached out and ruffled Phia’s head. The cat approached Bal’s arms and rubbed against him.

“My wife is amazing. I think we can bathe here tonight before going back. I’ll just bathe at home, Philia is waiting for me there, you girls bathe together.”

“Mm.”

Phia nodded slightly, then walked forward.

“Alright, no more chatting, time for serious business.”

“Roger that!”

Bal followed Phia forward to find a way out.

After a while, everyone gathered together.

“To put it simply, it’s multiple-choice time. We have found five exits, numbered from left to right. Each exit is very deep, and we can’t detect the end for now. So, what should we do?”

After Bal explained the current situation, he looked at everyone.

“Can’t each of us take a different path?”

Nia raised her hand and asked, and Bal immediately replied,

“It’s possible, but communication is a problem. You and Grey still have your communication bracelets, but Yselle doesn’t. If Yselle’s path is the right one, we won’t know if she doesn’t tell us.”

“Oh, then what should we do? Sister-in-law, can you make another communication bracelet?”

Nia looked at Phia, who looked a little troubled.

“I can make one, but the materials are hard to come by. The original magic stone has been used up, and using other magic stones doesn’t guarantee compatibility with the communication. Unless there’s a large magic stone or a similar magical ore to remake it, I can’t guarantee it.”

“Large magic stone… Can we use the Mad Dragon’s Magic Stone you gave us at our wedding?”

Grey looked at Phia, but she shook her head.

“No! That magic stone is too precious, and it’s your wedding gift. I don’t want it to be consumed like that. Besides, I spent a lot of time carving so many details on that magic stone.”

“Then what should we do? Choosing one out of five is too risky.”

Bal looked at the five cave entrances. He wished they had another communication item. Then, he suddenly had a flash of inspiration.

“You mean, as long as they are made from the same material, it will work, right?”

“Yes, that’s roughly the idea.”

“Then, let’s lend my bracelet to Yselle.”

“What about you?”

Faced with everyone’s questions, Bal drew his short sword.

“And this, don’t forget, Phia’s spear and my weapon are made from the same ore. As long as we engrave magic on my short sword and Phia’s spear, we can achieve two-way communication between Phia and me. Then, if anything happens here, Phia can relay the message for me.”

“Oh! Good idea! Sister-in-law, is that feasible?”

Nia looked at Phia, who already held her spear.

“I think we can try, give me your short sword.”

“Roger that!”

Bal handed over his short sword. Phia held the spear and short sword. A dazzling white light emitted from the metal parts of the two weapons, and everyone covered their eyes.

“So bright!”

“Then don’t look!”

Phia complained with her eyes closed. She didn’t need to look, after all, the magic needed for the inscription was already formed in her mind.

After half an hour, the white light finally extinguished.

“Alright, you can open your eyes.”

Phia looked at the few people chatting on the ground in the distance. She wanted to complain.

Bal was the first to run to Phia’s side, after all, it was his short sword. Seeing that there were no particularly exaggerated patterns on the sword, Bal was a little puzzled.

“Why does it look unchanged?”

“Because I etched the inside, don’t worry, it doesn’t affect the strength. Try it?”

“Mm.”

Bal walked away with the short sword, and he injected magic into the communication circuit inside the short sword, just like activating a bracelet.

“Can you hear me?”

Phia could clearly hear Bal’s voice, so she replied using the spear.

“I can hear you, how about you?”

“Mm, no problem.”

The experiment was successful, so Phia handed Bal’s bracelet to Yselle.

“Put it on. If anything happens, inject magic into this bracelet and speak towards it.”

“Okay.”

Yselle put the bracelet on her left hand. After confirming that there was no problem after testing it, everyone started choosing the cave entrance they wanted to explore.

Bal chose the middle one, number three. Phia was ready at entrance number four. Grey originally wanted to wait for Yselle and Nia to choose first, but they insisted that Grey choose first. Having no choice, Grey chose number two, so Nia chose number one to support Grey easily, leaving Yselle with number five.

“Is everyone ready?”

Bal looked at everyone.

“If you’re ready, let’s go. Remember, your safety comes first. Report anything immediately.”

“Understood!”

“Alright, let’s go!”

Everyone turned and entered the caves. They each lit their own illumination magic light sources and proceeded into the dark tunnels.