"So this is the mysterious fog. No wonder people went missing here..."

Xiao's voice trailed off as he and Iva stood at the edge of the Silent Jungle, the fog swirling like a living, breathing thing. It was so dense, it swallowed the landscape whole, reducing everything to an indistinct gray. He had heard stories, but seeing it in person...

Xiao had planned for the journey to take two days, but between the shifting habitats of beasts and monsters, they were now three days in, and no closer to their destination.

Iva trailed behind Xiao, her steps heavy, her eyes downcast. She hadn't spoken since they set out, and Xiao could feel the weight of her silence. He noticed her gloomy mood, but what could he say? He had to keep his focus on the path, on keeping them both alive. The fog wasn’t the only danger—wild wolves, roaming monsters, and other unknown threats lurked nearby.

Besides the pack of wild wolves, they also encountered a few more monsters that were in their way.

Every fight they encountered forced Iva to watch Xiao transform from the laid-back man in his home to something ruthless, cold, and calculated. Each battle was a brutal dance of survival, and it made Iva wonder who the real Xiao was.

Still, thanks to Xiao's cautiousness and instruction, they safely arrived at the end of the Silent Jungle, which was also the entrance of the Shadow Forest.

"Iva, do you feel anything so far? Like the path to your home or something like that?" asked Xiao.

Iva didn't answer. She just shakes her head in denial.

"I see, so you should be able to sense something if we go deeper into the forest, right?" Xiao asked again to confirm that Iva was shaking her head to deny her not sensing anything, not because she didn't want to return.

Iva stays motionless for a while, then she reluctantly nods her head because this will be the final phase of their time together.

Seeing Iva's reaction, Xiao took a deep breath to prepare himself.

"Alright, let's go."

The duo entered the fog, and as soon as they went inside, all they could see was fog everywhere, with the vague sight of trees around them.

("Here we are. The Shadow Forest. Why name it shadow anyway? Wouldn't it better to name it Fog Forest instead? Just look at how thick the fog is!")

The visibility was so bad that Xiao couldn't even see Iva clearly, who was just beside him.

"Stay close to me," says Xiao as he actively holds Iva's hand.

Iva didn't say anything, but she grips Xiao's hand hard in return.

Xiao looks around his surroundings and begins planning his next move.("Although the book has already stated about the fog, I never knew that it would be this bad, and we are still at the starting point. How are we going to travel with such low visibility?")

Xiao felt the air around him, which was cold but still bearable.

("Cold, low temperature. Guess this is why the fog formed.")

After some observation, Xiao concluded that they pass through the forest before nighttime because the fog will get even thicker and the temperature will get even lower. There was no way they could spend a night here.

Poor visibility and a bad temperature environment can literally cost their life. Not only will it raise the chance of getting into an accident, but they are also prone to get ambushed quickly.

Xiao made a quick decision to stick close to the forest’s edges—moving toward the center felt like walking blind into death’s grip. He glanced at Iva, hoping for some sign of reassurance, but her face remained as downcast as before, lost in her own thoughts.

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("How did she ever escape this place?")

He wondered, but now wasn’t the time to ask.

Xiao activates Gamer Eyes once in a while as he explores the forest to know his surroundings. He didn't spot anything unusual for the time being, but his guts tell him that something is definitely in here.

As they traveled deeper into the forest, they started to hear voices from all directions. The howling of animals, the cries of insects and the rustling from the trees, they were coming from everywhere.

Xiao barely can see what's in front of him. He tightens his grip as he holds Iva's hand while his other hand is placed at the hilt of his sword.

"You sense the way back home now?" asked Xiao. He was starting to get slightly anxious by the surroundings they were in.

"...not yet," Iva timidly answers while shaking her head.

Xiao was happy that she finally gave a verbal response, but it still didn't change the fact that they were in serious trouble right now.

("The book stated that we should move away from all sorts of sounds to locate the path to the Dark Elf place. Easier to say than done! I can't even tell where is my left or right!")

Xiao look left and right to determine their current position, and before he knew it, he had lost his sense of direction.

"Iva," Xiao broke the silence again, his voice quieter, as if afraid of the answer. "I know it’s late to ask this, but... how did you get out of here the first time?"

Iva looked up, blinking as if pulled from a distant memory. "I... I don't know. I’ve never left the village before. I passed out... somewhere in the forest. When I woke up, I was in the Goblin hideout."

Xiao frowned. "So you don’t know how you ended up there either?"

Iva shook her head, her uncertainty making Xiao’s stomach twist.

Iva pondered for a while as she tried to remember.

"The first thing I saw right after I regained consciousness was your mask," says Iva.

"...I see."

("So even if Iva didn't know the way out or in, then it must be the Goblin who carried her out here. Shit! I should have asked her this back at my home.")

Xiao blamed his own cowardice for not asking Iva more about her village and anything to do with her runaway. He was afraid that he would make her feel uncomfortable.

("She did say village, right? So her homeland is a village. And here I thought it would be a hidden city or something.")

Xiao's mind raced, replaying Iva’s words over and over, until the forest itself seemed to close in on them. Faint whispers—impossible to trace—crept through the thick fog, growing louder by the second. His gut twisted.

("We’re not alone.")

He tightened his grip on Iva's hand, the other moving instinctively to the hilt of his sword. They couldn’t afford to stay here much longer.

So he made up his mind to activate Gamer Eyes once more, and this time, he plans to keep his skill open until he finds or Iva senses the path. That was the only solution he could think of for now.

("I don't know how long my eyes can last, but it's better than letting Iva die here.")

In past experience, if Xiao lets his Gamer Eyes activate for too long, he will start losing the sense of his eyes.

Although Xiao has been careful skill duration, he once carelessly activates his Gamer Eyes for too long and experiences the side effect. It was such a terrifying feeling that made Xiao cautious about the duration ever since that experience.

But now was not the time to get all scared up. While Xiao was fine getting ambushed because he can't be killed, Iva doesn't even know how to fight.

Combining with how bad the visibility was and Xiao's fighting style, the situation literally spells doom to Iva if they encounter any monster now.

"Iva, I read it from the book that Dark Elf can sense their way back home when they're near, it's true, right?" Xiao asked, while also feeling ashamed that he didn't confirm with Iva much earlier.

He thought Iva wouldn't want to talk about anything related to bringing her back home, which was why he decided to do everything by himself.

But seeing now as it was beyond what he had expected, he has no choice but to be straightforward with Iva.

"...yes, I should be able to sense it when we are near the village," says Iva. She also felt Xiao's worries through how hard he was gripping her hand.

"Good. Alright then, we're gonna walk very fast now, ready yourself," says Xiao. Iva nodded her head in response.

Xiao took a deep breath as he steels himself from the fear of overusing his eyes.

Once Xiao opens his Gamer Eyes, he immediately pulls along Iva and starts running.

"Run! Iva, run!" Xiao shouted, pulling her along without waiting for a reply. Iva stumbled at first but quickly fell into pace, her hand gripping his as if it were her lifeline.

Xiao activated his Gamer Eyes, flooding his vision with data in a matter of seconds—too much data. His skin prickled with cold sweat.

("Damn it. Monsters. Shit tons of them. Everywhere.")