F-ranker Sword Saint: My Soulbound Sword is Secretly SSS-tier!-Chapter 349: The Hissing

Inside the burrow, Daru and Elara listened with grim hearts as the world hissed.

They didn’t know what exactly was happening outside.

However, the two were certain that it would have been their deaths.

The length of The Hissing was inconsistent. Sometimes, it would go for ten whole minutes, then stop, then continue for five, then stop again.

The entire thing, however, went on for more than an hour.

Daru and Elara were on edge in the first two dozen minutes, but after that, their worries began easing.

After an hour, their faces were still stern, but they were now certain of their safety.

These burrows...

They are indeed natural cavities, and they were formed for a reason. It was to balance out life in this zone of death. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝔀𝓮𝒃𝙣𝓸𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝒐𝒎

In these cavities, the life forms in this level of Yggdrasil would find safety, which is why the two took note that there would be more of these, and along with them, more dwellers.

One thing is for certain, though.

They must learn when the Hissing would happen.

If it threatened to occur when the two of them were somewhere far from safety, they were done for.

Daru and Elara were curious about what was really happening, true, but not enough to throw their lives away to learn it.

They were satisfied with surviving until they reached that Sovereign Sapling.

So, in the meantime, they just waited until, finally, the gray lid furled open, unsealing the entrance.

Daru placed a Dark Sentry close to the burrow entrance.

Only after confirming that there was no danger did he pick it up and peer out of the burrow.

There was...nothing out of the ordinary in the grim world of black, gray, and dark aquamarine.

He stepped out to look around further, Elara right behind him.

They learned nothing except that they survived a harrowing annihilation.

"Well, it seems like the burrows are safe, and we’ve already slain the dweller of this one, so let’s eat and rest here? Look, there’s even spider meat we c–"

"AHH! Don’t even finish what you’re about to say!" Elara interrupted, covering her ears while glaring at Daru, who shook his head in response, still unable to wrap his head around his comrade’s glaring flaw that she doesn’t even want to fix.

"Suit yourself."

Daru then remembered something, walking over to the Dark Sentry he had placed earlier.

It was still in one piece...

He sighed in relief, leaving the wiggly eye there and proceeding to plant the others in appropriate locations that would cover their safety from all directions.

Once done, he returned to the hollow, finding that Elara was grimacing as she pulled the corpse of the Rotblade Burrower.

"Ah, you’re back. Quick, help this princess..."

The two of them left the crawly’s corpse a safe distance away from their burrow before returning.

They noticed the viscous gray blood and gazed at it for a while — Elara with disgust.

But in the end, it was she who approached the small pool first, collecting some with a vial.

Her brows rose at the notification in front of her, then she turned to Daru.

"Quick, harvest some. This will help us..."

The item was termed Rotblood by the system, and it could be used to increase the lethality of their weapons for a period of time.

They just had to pour it over their Soulbound Swords, and the swords would "drink" the blood.

There were too many, though, so both harvested around seven vials each, then gathered strange leaves, twigs, and vines in the surroundings to cover the remaining blood.

Only then did they lay their sleeping bags out.

The burrow was a bit smaller than their cozy fir hollow, but it would do. Daru couldn’t help but wonder how the Rotblade Burrower was able to fit inside.

He stayed outside to keep watch while Elara cooked their meals separately, the reason for the extra effort being his choice to consume Volini Meat.

Around fifteen minutes later, the meal was ready, so Daru returned to the burrow to eat.

The gray lid...closed again while they were eating. The duo glanced at each other, then resumed chewing, seemingly deep in thought.

Only around thirty minutes or so had passed since the last "Hissing". Both took note of this interval.

The Hissing was still ongoing by the time they finished their meals, so Daru and Elara decided to just rest through it, fully entrusting their safety to the sentries.

The wiggly wards were reliable enough.

The two nestled into their sleeping bags, the slightly chilly air inside the natural burrow, along with the harrowing hisses outside cradling them to sleep.

Daru found it more and more difficult to ignore Elara’s scent, and he was greatly puzzled and frustrated due to this.

Falling asleep was not a problem for him in the past...

Still, steeling through, he caught up to dreamland, and by the time he woke up, Elara was gone.

He yawned, stretched a bit, then exited the burrow.

The skies were already dimming.

The strange, dark-aquamarine clouds remained steadfast, though.

Dusk in this strange level of Yggdrasil felt both chilling and mystical to him. A few meters away from their burrow, he found Elara.

She was sitting on the cold ground, as if meditating.

"What are you doing?" Daru approached and asked. The princess turned to look at him, faintly smiling.

"This princess is just studying The Hissing’s signs. But since you’re already awake, come and help me. Let’s study for the rest of the day so we can safely proceed tomorrow."

He nodded in agreement at the good plan.

But then, just when his behind had settled on the floor, they felt it, a faint, suffocating chill permeating the air.

This was it. The first sign of The Hissing.

Strangely, Elara’s eyes were frozen in front of her. A notification only she could see.

Daru’s brows rose in curiosity. However, before he could ask, his comrade had already stood up and walked closer to the burrow.

He naturally did the same.

The strange matter momentarily faded to the back of his mind as the two of them lingered around the mouth of their safe cavity, focusing on sensing everything they could.

How the feeling of death intensified. How the spawns in the distance scrambled. How the strange, deathly flora moved, curling as if in preparation for what was to come...until finally, it was too dangerous to continue.

Daru and Elara quickly hopped back into their burrow. Another round of The Hissing has begun.

The two discussed everything they’d noticed, and before an hour passed, the deathly phenomenon had stopped.

The duration was short this time...

Soon, the gray lid opened, and Elara immediately left, urging him to follow her.

"Come, let’s fetch a fool."