Zach looked at the miner''s severed head, frozen stiff in shock and fear. He couldn''t move for what felt like hours as he locked eyes with the head. Eventually, he just nodded.
The Great Ugor''s totem lost its light.
Zach slumped in his chair and slid down until his back was on the seat.
''Fuck.''
Zach didn''t even know what to think other than that he was in deep shit. No, that didn''t even begin to describe it. He was in an impossibly sticky situation.
Zach held not only his life but also the lives of Dukiel and Julius in his hands. They probably weren''t dead since the Great Ugor wouldn''t have tried to use them as bargaining chips if they were. His lie would be exposed as soon as Zach asked to meet them if he epted the deal.
Zach frowned.
The Great Ugor had said their lives were also up to them.
''Does that mean he asked them to join the Underworld, too?''
Dukiel, he could understand. He was an A-rank summoner, after all. He was just one step below Zach. There was a noticeable difference between them outside the ranks, as well, considering the performance Zach had disyed so far during his time at the Academy.
But Dukiel was still a valuable asset.
However, Julius…
He was Zach''s friend so he wasn''t sure what to think. But Julius honestly wasn''t anything to poach from the surface''s side. He wasn''t bad, by any means. He was even performing well in the theoretical subjects.
But that was it.
Julius didn''t stand out, and he wasn''t a rare resource with his D-rank mannequin. If he was, it was because there were so few summoners with familiars as weak as him.
''Shit.'' Zach slid down even further until he sat on the floor below the table.
Julius was probably not in the process of being poached. It would be fortunate if he was still alive, regardless of what the Great Ugor had promised.
Once Zach made his choice, it would be toote to turn back, even if the Great Ugor had lied.
Zach sighed andy down on the cool stone floor to gather his thoughts.
After a few moments of not thinking, he got up. He nced at the table of food. Needless to say, he didn''t have much of an appetite anymore. But he still grabbed some of the food that was easy to eat while walking.
He used the chicken wing to point at the tasker.
"You. Can you give me a tour of this ce? Just show me any and everywhere I''m permitted. Before I make a choice, I need to know what kind of ce I''ll be joining. So far, I''ve only seen a prison, a severed head, a skull, and…beings I''ve never even heard of. It''s not a lot of things that make me want to devote myself to the Great Ugor."
The tasker had left his kneeling position as soon as the Great Ugor left. But he had remained silent and immovable like a statue until Zach spoke to him. He smiled and put one arm behind his back as he gave a slight bow.
"It is my honor to be your guide, Zacharia Evandiel."
Zach was unnerved by the sudden politeness but didn''t let it bother him as he gestured for the tasker to lead the way. First impressions and appearances aside, Zach was used to people doing things for him. He just had to pretend he was visiting a family acquaintance''s mansion or dungeon and treat it like a game.
Of course, it was a game with his life, Yanael''s life, and his friends and their familiars'' lives at stake.
The tasker showed Zach around the ce, but the most he was allowed to see were the entrances to various ces, such as the prison, the mine, the center—whatever that was—, the dorms, where the miners lived, the mess hall, and the entrance to the secondyer.
Zach figured hispanions were either in a different section of the prison than he had been or in the center. He was a little confused about why there was such a significant need for a prison. It didn''t speak well to the Underworld''s character and state of living.
"Hey, what''s the deal with these first and secondyers?" Unlike the prison or the center, Zach figured theyers were less suspicious to ask about.
The tasker didn''t even look back before answering.
"The Underworld is divided into differentyers. This firstyer is the one right below the surface. It is the weakestyer with the least amount of Underworld energy and the fewest and poorest resources. Below us is the secondyer.
And all the way down at the sixthyer is where the Great Ugor recides, protecting us from the overwhelming devastation of the world''s core." The tasker''s voice filled with reverence as he started talking about the Great Ugor.
Zach gulped. He wasn''t sure how big the world was or how deep it ran. But it sounded like the Great Ugor was far away, and he had still managed to connect with the totem tomunicate with him. It also looked like the Great Ugor had decapitated the miner and delivered his head to the dining room.
Of course, it could be that he had asked another tasker or whatever to do so, and that''s why he seemed a little absent from the skull.
But Zach didn''t make any assumptions.
"Wow, the Great Ugor is impressive. It sounds like he is very far deep down, yet he still managed to talk to me like he was in the room. I don''t know anyone who could do something like that." Zach tried to sound sincere. He wasn''t sure how well he did, but it seemed the tasker took it like honest praise toward the Great Ugor.
"Of course! The Great Ugor is the Great Ugor! There is nothing he can''t do!"
"Really? So, he''s even omnipotent and omniscient?"
"...Well, no. But he''s mighty and you shouldn''t underestimate him!"
"I won''t. I was just worried that I wouldn''t be able to go to the bathroom without him seeing me, you know?"
"There''s no need to tter yourself. Even if he could, the Great Ugor is too great to intrude on someone like you''s privacy."
"Even if he could?"
"...Well, the Great Ugor is a busy person. He can''t afford to waste energy keeping watch of everything. Not to mention how many totems that would require. But he has us! His trusty taskers to act as his eyes, ears, and limbs."
"Great. That''s great. Hey, do you think you can take me to the center again?"
"Even if you ask, you are not permitted beyond the entrance."
"I know, I know."