What came here? What is it? Why did it leave? Will it come again?
Zhao Lun couldn't help but admit that when he saw the shattered skeleton frame, his previously joyful mood was clouded by a shadow of fear.
Although he had only been in the underworld for less than a day, the events of this single day had already given him a clear understanding of the dangers here. Even though becoming a skeletal mage suited him perfectly and reduced his fear of the underworld, the repeated close calls outside had made him, subconsciously, a little more dependent on this cave. It had slowly turned into a life raft, the final line of defense for his survival.
This was why Zhao Lun was so rattled by the fact that some undead had entered his cave. However, despite his fears, Zhao Lun wasn't lacking in rationality.
"Wait a second, maybe I'm overthinking this. I thought that because the skeletal mage hadn't encountered any danger here, I'd be safe, but now I realize that's naive. The underworld has no truly safe place. The skeletal mage didn't encounter danger here only because of luck."
Thinking this, Zhao Lun's previously relaxed attitude shifted, and his vigilance returned. His pale eye flames scanned the cave.
"I used to think this cave was a good place, but now... it feels more like a deathtrap. The entrance is narrow, making it easy to defend, but if I'm surrounded, I'd be trapped here with no way out."
As he spoke, a chill ran down his spine. What once seemed like a cozy cave now felt like a cage closing in on him.
Thoughts scattered like weeds, growing rapidly, threatening to smother his sanity. Zhao Lun suddenly felt an overwhelming sense of panic. His legs grew weak, and with a sharp crack, he collapsed to his knees.
For a moment, he was filled with frustration: "Useless! I couldn't even defeat my own fear! What a failure! Why didn't I just die?"
Zhao Lun had always been a proud person, holding himself to high standards. He found it difficult to forgive himself for such a weakness.
After angrily cursing himself, Zhao Lun quickly got to his feet, determined to return to his cave. This was part of his nature: once his mind was set, there was no turning back. His fear had defeated him, and the only way to rid himself of the shame was to confront that fear head-on by returning to the cave.
Zhao Lun was now fixated on this one goal—overcoming his fear. Any potential danger didn't even register in his mind.
But soon, he encountered a problem—he had no idea where he was going.
"Damn it!"
After wandering for four or five hours, Zhao Lun had still failed to find his way back to the cave. Oddly enough, it felt like he was getting further and further from it.
Moreover, despite running for three or four hours, Zhao Lun didn't encounter a single skeleton, which made him even more frustrated since he had hoped to try out his new spell.
In the end, his obsession with overcoming his fear led him to abandon his original plan. He reluctantly found a cave that looked somewhat similar to his own and entered it.
Admittedly, Zhao Lun had an incredible ability to find his way. In the vast Bone Zone, he managed to locate a cave that was eerily similar to his original one—seven or eight parts identical. This even included a skeleton inside, and, remarkably, it was also a level 0 skeletal mage.
Zhao Lun stormed into the cave and immediately spotted the innocent skeleton frame. Perhaps sensing Zhao Lun's power, the level 0 skeletal mage instinctively took a step back in fear, then raised its staff to cast a spell.
"Chanting? Ha! You're so ugly I can't stand it! Go down!"
Zhao Lun had been itching for an outlet for his anger, and the skeletal mage was in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Without needing to use magic, Zhao Lun rushed up and kicked the skeleton's frame, sending it crashing to the ground. He interrupted the spell and immediately vented all his frustration on the unfortunate skeletal mage.
Fifteen minutes later, Zhao Lun stood up, feeling refreshed. The poor skeletal mage had been completely dismantled. Even its skull was torn off, and Zhao Lun held it in his hand.
However, the good news was that after releasing his pent-up anger, Zhao Lun's obsessive tendency began to subside. He started to wonder if it had been really necessary to find a cave exactly like his own.
But now that he was here, he might as well make the best of it. A lot had happened in the past couple of days, and Zhao Lun needed some time to process everything.
He placed the skull aside and sat down, reflecting on the past few days.
As he organized his thoughts, Zhao Lun realized that the experiences of his previous twenty years didn't even compare to the strange, surreal events of the last few days.
First, he had crossed into the underworld and became a skeletal mage. Although it had been sudden, Zhao Lun, being a fan of magic, didn't have much problem with it. But then came the encounters— the giant axe skeleton, the skeletal archer, the mysterious invader in his cave, and the recurring natural disasters that struck every forty-eight hours. All of these experiences served as reminders: the underworld was no place for relaxation. If he was to survive here, he needed to be ready to fight at any moment.
"No matter how it happened, it's done. I can't change that fact now. I don't need to overthink it. Just like before, I'll set a goal and work toward it. Whatever happens, I can only accept it and keep living my life the way I always have."
Zhao Lun admired his quick mental reset, but one couldn't help but wonder—would he really be able to stick to this attitude? After all, he had just been defeated by fear.
"Speaking of crossing over, I remember that I was installing some unknown software the day before I woke up here. I got hit on the head when the computer exploded. This is the classic scenario of a golden finger awakening! So... where is my golden finger? Didn't the gods send it yet?"