Yarra’s Adventure Notes

Chapter 49 - 49 39 The Smell of the Corpse_1

?49: Chapter 39 The Smell of the Corpse_1 49: Chapter 39 The Smell of the Corpse_1 (The second installment is here as promised.

I appeal to passing friends to bookmark and recommend it.

After editing the PS, I saw it hadn’t fallen off the list this morning.

Is this a blessing from heaven?

However, looking at the first place in front, well, I decided not to think about advancing anymore.

But!

Even if we don’t go forward, please bury me in your recommendations and bookmarks, thank you!)

All eyes were instinctively drawn to the marks on the wall opposite the door.

Pannis, though momentarily distracted, quickly turned his attention back to the door set to be opened.

Hence, only he realized Vivian’s predicament.

“Watch out.” Pannis’s warning was cut short as the liquid fell rapidly.

However, Pannis was even quicker.

The moment he saw the liquid cascading, he sensed the danger and steered himself toward Vivian.

Without hesitation, he swept her into his arms, shielding her with his body’s height advantage, and hurled himself forward onto the ground.

The speed of his action was such that Vivian had no chance to react until she had fallen to the floor, letting out a yelp.

Despite his speed, Pannis failed to evade the liquid entirely, and some splashed onto his lower leg.

The rest landed on the metal floor.

A hissing sound filled the air as nasal-irritating white smoke emanated from the liquid on the floor, gnawing at the metal and creating a deep depression in it.

The half-meter-thick metal surface was completely corroded, revealing the rocks underneath.

As the white smoke was formed, Pannis grunted in pain, drew a dagger and deftly cut off a chunk of his leg flesh.

The excised tissue, which landed on the ground sizzling with stench, had already been mostly eaten away in mid-air.

“Lina, let’s go.” Despite the surprise, Catherine did not panic.

She jumped swiftly to the door, shielding it with her Falcon Shield and scanning the unoccupied corridor suspiciously.

Lina, who was closer to the door, entered the room first and stood back to back with Catherine, with one facing in and one out, so that no corner was out of their sight.

“Are you alright?” Catherine, trusting Lina’s ability, was oblivious to any potential danger coming from inside the room.

She inquired without turning her head.

“Just a minor cut, no big deal.” Pannis replied, nonchalantly, as if he was not the one who had lost a piece of flesh.

“What about Vivian?” Catherine, not hearing Vivian’s voice, grew anxious.

“I’m okay, sis,” Vivian, still in shock by the close call, sounded a bit shaky, “I’m perfectly fine, completely unharmed.

Let Lina treat Pannis.

He is still bleeding.”

Having confirmed no other threats other than the trap, Catherine put away her shield, her right hand clutching her chest as she nodded towards Rachel: “I’m sorry.”

Bewildered by the Catherine’s sudden apology, Rachel understood what it meant and shook her head smiling: “It’s alright, I understand.

We should always be alert to the possible dangers, it’s only normal.”

“Thank you.” Catherine stepped aside from the door, “Let’s all go in.”

When Catherine entered the room, Pannis was sitting on the floor with his leg stretched out.

Lina knelt in front of him, her right hand bathed in a soft glow, hovering over Pannis’s wound, stroking back and forth.

As the white light brushed across the wound repeatedly, the bleeding gradually stopped.

“This injury is a bit tricky,” Lina said, frowning, “There’s too much flesh lost, conventional healing spell won’t work.

I’ll try a more powerful one.”

“No need for now”, said Pannis, raising his hand to stop her, “The situation is still unclear.

Let’s not waste mana yet.

Make-due healing to stop bleeding and temporary wound sealing will do for now.

By the time we rest tonight, we can use the powerful healing spell.”

Lina hesitated for a moment, then nodded, “Okay, but until it’s fully healed you should avoid any major movements.

The wound can burst open any time.”

“I understand.” Pannis stood up leaning against the wall and moved around.

Finding that the wound sealing was effective and didn’t affect his movement much, he went over to the death trap that had nearly taken Vivian’s life, mumbling, “Vivian, your weight is not right, why are you so light?”

“It’s a secret.” Vivian turned her head and wagged her finger at Pannis, winking mysteriously.

“Okay, suit yourself.” Pannis sighed, “Have you found anything?”

“The simplest trigger trap,” Catherine pointed up at the door frame, “It’s a strong acid produced by a certain creature and most likely poisonous, contained in that crystal box above.

As expected, the crystal is the most resistant material in Yarran World, without any signs of corrosion.

Look here, a fine metal wire links the crystal box to the inner doorknob.

The trap is activated once the door opens to a certain angle.

This low-level trap should have been easily avoided but Vivian was a little careless, and everyone was distracted.”

“I’m sorry, I was careless,” Vivian admitted somewhat awkwardly, “Pannis, thank you.

If it wasn’t for you, I would have been dead by now.”

“I’m an explorer, not detecting the trap was my responsibility as well.

No need for thanks,” said Pannis, shooting a glance at Gaston standing alone in a corner, “What did you spot on the wall?”

“Danger,” answered Catherine, “The word ‘danger’ is written on the wall in tiny letters.”

“Ha!” Vivian, also just made aware of the writing, was upset enough to chuckle, “This is provocation!”

Pannis pondered for a moment before turning to Catherine, “Catherine, could you jump up and let me have a look at that box?

Never mind, I will step on a chair and take a look myself.

Let’s not touch it in case there’s any secondary trap.”

“Here’s your chair.” Hearing Pannis’s words, Lina casually grabbed a sturdy wooden chair and placed it by the door, “How is it going, any discoveries yet?”

“Nothing yet, so I need to take a closer look.” Pannis stood on the chair, gently examining the crystal box, after a moment, he jumped off the chair looking worried, “This is troublesome.”

“What’s the issue?” Noticing Pannis’s complexion change, Catherine grew anxious.

“According to the marks here, this box has been fixed on the wall for no more than a month.” Pannis walked out of the room, answering while examining markings on the wall, “It seems like there might have been other people here recently.”

“Are you certain?” Vivian asked with desperation, “According to the dust coverage, this place seems to not have accumulated any dust, it could potentially affect your judgment.”

“I know, I’m not basing my claim on the dust.” Pannis didn’t elaborate further, “I’m judging by the marks at the junction of the wall.

It’s difficult to explain, but I can be certain, it’s definitely not more than a month.”

Catherine bit her lip in agreement, “Perhaps, it’s the short, white-clothed person.”

Pannis didn’t conjecture further, instead he said, “It’s not necessarily.

Regardless of who it was, it indicates that there are other ways in and out of this place.

It also signifies that contrary to our earlier assumptions, we are not safe once we step in.

So, should we continue our exploration?”

“We continue.” Vivian interjected, “We’ve come this far now, there’s no way we are giving up.

After all, women are arguably the most vengeful creatures in the world.

I was almost killed by him, how could I not seek revenge?”

Pannis merely chuckled, wisely not provoking Vivian who was riddled with vengeance, “Lina, you rummaged around earlier, did you find anything?”

“Nothing.” Lina spread her hands out bluntly, “I think we can leave.

This place probably used to be empty, even the bed hasn’t any bedding.”

“Alright.

Let’s move on to the next room.” Pannis signalled everyone to get out of the room, shutting the door behind him.

The continuation of the journey was no longer as laid-back as before, everyone was on high alert.

They were extremely cautious while exploring each room.

Fortunately, there weren’t any traps set by enemies in hiding in the next six rooms that they investigated.

Unfortunately, even though there were no traps, there was also no valuable information obtained.

The subsequent six rooms yielded no results.

Just as Pannis opened the door to the eight room, he suddenly stopped in his tracks, “There’s something wrong here.”

Catherine craned her neck, peering into the room over Pannis’s shoulder, “I don’t see anything.”

“There’s a peculiar smell here.” Pannis took a deep breath, no longer obstructing the doorway but walked inside the room, “Even though the smell is faint, I’m certain that there’s a peculiar smell here.”

“What kind of peculiar smell?” Catherine also entered the room, followed by a careful sniff, “I can’t smell anything unusual.”

“Yes, the smell is faint and it’s hard to discern for most people.” Pannis began to pace around the room in search, “This is the smell of a dead body, there’s at least one age-old corpse here.”

“At least…

one body?” Lina, who had just entered, seemed puzzled by Pannis’s words.

“Yes, possibly two.” Pannis pointed around the room, “This room is noticeably bigger than the others, and the bed is a double bed.

The desks and chairs are also in pairs, and the cupboards are bigger than those in the other rooms.

Hence, this should be a room for two, presumably prepared for a couple who were both researchers here.”

“Alright, I understand now.” Lina said, “Let’s start searching then.

We’ve finally found a body here, it wasn’t easy.”

“No need to search.” Pannis, who had been pacing around the room, had now stopped beside the bed, “The smell is coming from here, the body should be under the bed.”

“Under the bed?” Vivian looked at the inch-wide gap between the bed and the floor, “With this narrow gap, it’s impossible to fit a body in there, unless the body has been flattened.”

“I am certain the smell is coming from here, let’s move the bed and take a look.” Pannis stuck to his conclusion, speaking to Gaston, “Help me move the bed to the side, I can’t exert much strength with my leg.”

“Me?” Gaston touched his nose.

“Of course, you are a man.

You wouldn’t expect a girl to do this heavy lifting, would you?” Pannis shot Catherine a careful glance as he stood in front of the bed.