Rhode suspected he was now in Summoner's Rift, right in the middle of the river.
But he quickly didn't have time to think too much about it.
Because the River Crab in front of him seemed off. Not only was its color tinted purple, but it also looked fierce and menacing.
Rhode tried calling out to it twice, but the other party didn't respond at all, only charged at him.
Is this not my River Crab? Or is it not my Rift?
Or maybe it's poisoned?
The purple River Crab moved over the water like it was flat ground, and with a swoosh, it charged.
Rhode raised his hand to block it, but he was still knocked into the air, skipping several times over the water.
His arm hurt a bit, his chest felt clogged, and he had the urge to cough up blood.
This River Crab seemed much stronger than the two he had!
Under normal circumstances, just a River Crab, even without Magic, Rhode could have smashed its shell, even if it mutated.
But now his physical strength, Magic Power were almost drained, leaving him no strength to resist.
The mighty dragon is bullied by the dog when it falls to the plain.
When under someone else's roof, you must bow your head; a real man can bend and stretch, the one who understands the times is a hero...
Rhode convinced himself to change direction and move forward, half walking, half swimming, planning to avoid that unlucky crab, get ashore, and find a place to rest, and recover some Magic Power first.
But the purple River Crab seemed unwilling to let him rest, chasing after him all the way.
As soon as he entered the attack range, the purple River Crab charged without any hesitation.
In the water, without Magic, without physical strength, Rhode's speed couldn't match the River Crab's. His chest hurt, and he was knocked into the air again.
"Damn it!" When Rhode fell into the water again, he greeted the opponent's family warmly, threatening, "Once I recover, I'm definitely going to cook you!"
Maybe it was scared by the threat, or maybe it had gone out of its patrol range, this time the purple River Crab didn't follow him.
It seems the water was shallower, and Rhode rubbed his chest as he got up.
A gentle and lazy voice sounded from behind: "Why such a big temper?"
Rhode quickly turned around, only to see a Giant Dragon with a predominantly blue-green color lifting its head from the shallow water.
Rhode swallowed nervously, feeling a bit panicked inside.
If the Rift wasn't his, and the River Crab wasn't his, then was this Dragon his?
The Giant Dragon yawned as if just waking up, and continued, "Saying bad words isn't good, don't learn from the Purgatory."
Mentioning the Purgatory Sub-Dragon, it should be an ally, right? Rhode sighed in slight relief.
"Marine Sub-Dragon?"
The Marine Sub-Dragon looked at Rhode and asked, "Why are you so decisive with other Dragons, but so hesitant with me? Is it because my color should be something like Leaf Sub-Dragon?"
Before Rhode could answer, the Marine Sub-Dragon suddenly burst into laughter, "Hahaha... Leaf Sub-Dragon, hahaha, so funny..."
She pounded her wings on the water, creating quite an exaggerated wave even in the shallow area, almost knocking down the already weakened Rhode.
Rhode helplessly wiped the water off his face, not understanding what she found so funny.
The Marine Sub-Dragon seemed a bit puzzled too, "Eh? Why aren't you laughing at such a funny joke about Leaf Sub-Dragon?"
"..." Rhode didn't know how to respond, was that supposed to be a joke?
"Oh, right, you must have a lot of questions." The Marine Sub-Dragon quieted down, laid her body flat to look directly at Rhode, "Ask whatever you want."
"Where am I now? How are my companions? What about the Mountain Range, Purgatory, and Cloud Realm?"
"You asked a lot at once." The Marine Sub-Dragon seemed a bit troubled, she tapped her head with her claw tip, and replied slowly, "You're in Summoner's Rift now, the one you're familiar with, the Summoner's Rift you often sneak a peek at?"
Peeking... Rhode always thought he was using Spiritual Power to familiarize himself with his Magic, understanding the state of his Summoned Beasts...
Turns out, to them, this was peeking?
"The Mountain Range, Purgatory, and Cloud Realm were badly injured, now lying in their nests recovering. It'll take a long time for them to heal, and even when they do, they'll have to deal with the old man first, so you won't see them for a while."
"Old man?"
"That old guy who's been alive from a long, long time ago until now, they used to call him Giant Dragon, now everyone calls him Ancient Giant Dragon."
Rhode hurriedly asked, "Can the Ancient Giant Dragon defeat that Black Dragon?"
"Probably?" The Marine Sub-Dragon said somewhat bewilderedly, "I don't know, I'm not good at fighting."
A Dragon not good at fighting, is that even possible?
Rhode asked, "Then could we ask him to help deal with that Black Dragon?"
The Marine Sub-Dragon pointed to the pendant on his chest, "You can't open a passage wide enough for him to get through yet."
Rhode silently grasped the pendant, thinking that reaching the threshold of the Ten Wizard Saints should have given him enough security, but it was still far from enough.
"And your companions, you mean those hand in hand ones, right?" The Marine Sub-Dragon thought for a moment, "They're in a peculiar state now, time and space, both in 'frozen' state, so overall, they should be safe and sound."
This was the best news yet.
Rhode asked again, "How did I get here? Can they be brought over too?"
"You were sent by the Big Spider and the little Poro... uh, big Poro? Those two sent you here. The Magic you just used was very powerful, unless you go back now and undo it, you can't interfere with others."
"Poro? Warm?" Rhode wasn't surprised about the Throat of Dishonor, but Warm, when did he gain such power?
As for going back to undo the Fairy's Ball...
Not to mention even having that much Magic Power, even if he did, if the Black Dragon hadn't left yet, wouldn't it just be dragging his teammates into trouble?
The Marine Sub-Dragon continued, "Additionally, you being able to come in is an exception, others haven't established a connection with here, they can't come."
A connection means the necklace, right? Rhode was increasingly baffled, where exactly did Zhang Tatsuya, that B... site user, buy this thing from?
As things stand, it seems he could only rest here for now, recover some Magic Power and plan further. Hopefully, he could find a way to learn about the outside world, wait for the Black Dragon to leave, then go back out to undo the Magic...
"By the way, if I want to go back, what should I do?"
"Oh... well, this," The Marine Sub-Dragon said apologetically, "You might not be able to go back for the time being."
"Huh?"
"Here's the thing," The Marine Sub-Dragon thought for a bit, "Do you know Baron Nash?"
Rhode hesitantly nodded, "A little."
He knew of him, but what he knew was from the game, unclear about what kind of existence he was here.
"Simply put, you called so many helpers over there yet still lost the fight. Baron Nash was very angry, so he wants you to stay here for training.
"Until he thinks you can protect yourself enough, he won't let you leave. Oh, the old man agrees with him too."
"..." What is this? I'm despised by my Summoned Beasts and being kept under house arrest? Rhode took a deep breath, frustratedly asked, "Then what counts as having self-protection abilities?"
"Well..." The Marine Sub-Dragon pondered, "For example... if you beat him?"
"?"