LUCK, BLACK LAYER.

Yuri and I are hidden in a burrow underneath a tree, catching out breath. It took us an hour, but we eventually managed to get the monster off our tails.

"We can't afford to get cozy like that again," Yuri said, turning in my direction to check my condition. I'd been dragging him the entire way without him resisting, so I suppose he understood the severity of the situation.

"There are things like that crawling all over the damn place. You're more experienced than I am, so do you have any ideas?" I turn to Yuri for answers. He's my senior, and he knows more about this place than I do, even if we're both new to the land.

Yuri goes silent, thinking about our situation, and after a few minutes, he speaks up. "Let's think about this like we're inside a dungeon. The strength of every monster we come across will fluctuate at random, but that isn't what we should concern ourselves with," Yuri places a finger on the tip of his nose, "we need to adapt, just like the monsters who've survived in this place for so long. Some of the creatures here seem relatively harmless, but that means that they've found ways to survive against the predators we're concerned about."

As I think about it, I decide that Yuri has a valid point. "So, you're saying there's a way to avoid or detect certain monsters, right?" It makes sense that the peaceful creatures of this place have learned to avoid stronger beasts skillfully. Their senses are likely even greater than the danger sense I previously had.

Yuri nods, pointing up at the hole above our heads. "We'll learn a new skill." The bluntness behind his words leaves me momentarily aghast. Learning a skill is difficult, even for me. The few moments where my skills actually came to fruition are when I've been in the heat of battle.

"Alright, you've got my attention. How do you plan on having us get this new skill?" Yuri has gained my undivided attention. I've become curious, truthfully. If he could learn such an ability, why hadn't he done so sooner? It'd be more convenient if we were able to become alerted of our surroundings much better than other people. Avoiding that monster will be our saving grace. I don't think I have what it takes to fight it head-on, even with my current list of skills.

Instead of answering me, Yuri closes his eyes, leaving us in what I'll say is the most awkward silence I've felt in a long time. "Uhm... Yuri? What am I supposed to do?" I repeated my question to him, assuming he must not have heard me when I asked the first time. Evidently, I was mistaken about this assumption. Rather than answer me with his words, his finger flicks a rock beside him directly into my forehead.

If I hadn't composed myself before I could shout and expose our location, we might've drawn the attention of that frightening monster from before.

Left in silence, I frustratingly stare at Yuri, who still doesn't say a word to me. He remains sitting there with his eyes closed, taking rhythmic, deep breaths. "O-Oh..." Upon realization, I can't help but feel a little silly with myself. It's obvious now that he's meditating. More specifically, I can only assume that he's trying to gain some kind of connection with the earth around him. I cannot say with confidence how this process works, but it's the brightest assumption I think I've made in a long time.

Shortly, my eyes close, coupled with a gentle breeze flowing in through the opening above us. Quickly, I turn to face the hole above my eye, concerned that something may be descending down upon me while my attention is drawn away.

When I look up, there is nothing at the opening. There is only the damaged soil from something digging this burrow beneath the tree. Yuri on the other hand remains composed, relaxed, and concentrated. It's like he fears nothing around him. I've seen something similar, somewhere. I think I have, at least. It's a strange, unexplainable sensation of nostalgia for something that I'm almost certain I've never experienced.

"How can you stay so calm in here?" Budging through his mental defenses, I finally speak up just loud enough for him to hear me. I'm not stupid enough to talk loud enough for anything that might be passing over us to hear. Well, I guess that'd be a matter of overestimating my own senses, in this case. "We could be hunted at any second, and we'll be caught in this..." I look around the small burrow before finishing. "We'll be caught in this death chamber."

Yuri nudges his eyebrow when he hears my voiced concern. Opening one of his eyes, Yuri leans closer in an attempt at maintaining what little quietness remained in our hideaway place. "Think of the bright side," he begins, "if we're caught, we'll almost certainly be killed. But if we aren't, then we'll be able to know when someone is coming, right?" While his words do make some sense, they only succeed at putting me more on edge than I'd been when we first jumped down here to hide from the creature sniffing around over our heads.

"Well, that's reassuring." Just the right dosage of sarcasm comes out to not draw Yuri's attention after he's repositioned himself with his eyes closed. 'Then I'm on my own with figuring out how to relax here, huh?' I'm certain that if I die, I'll probably come back to life. But, dying and making it back this far might be impossible for me. The only reason I managed to make it this far is because of the help of everyone around me. For all I know, dying here might cause Yuri to be hunted by that monster and eventually be killed with me.

I've no concern for Malison and Tachibana. They're both powerhouses who should be able to level a good portion of this island if they unleash their full power. Well, I can at least rightfully assume this much about Tachibana. Malison, I'm not sure myself. She's... an anomaly, much like myself. One of the Red Witches who've become notorious for being powerful.

If I were to fight another Red Witch, after my experience with Mind Khussa, I'd probably die. I don't have the courage to fight another one after experiencing their power first-hand. On paper, my abilities should be more than enough to fight one. With the ability to control both space and time, I should be a force to be reckoned with.

This might've been the case if Malison's performance didn't make it abundantly clear how far behind I am with this ability. Malison, who holds a superior grasp of the ability's fundamentals, is still seen as inferior to Tachibana and Toy. Both of these people have a gap in power that I've not yet been able to properly analyze. Is it really possible for Madam Tachibana to fight on equal grounds with Toy? I cannot say for certain, but if ranks alone were enough to dictate this, then Madam Tachibana should be the one coming out victorious.

'I need to remove these unnecessary thoughts first.' Thinking about all of this won't help me better understand my surroundings. I've been too focused on unimportant things; the stuff that doesn't matter. I can't concern myself with future issues, now I've got to think about the present.

Slowly, my consciousness slips away from me, but it is not due to me fainting or from exhaustion. The vice grip of my cordial thoughts is lost. I feel my body start to sink into the soil behind me, and it nearly breaks me out of my focus. Something keeps me relaxed, however. It might have something to do with my Beastkin Physiology. Relaxation in this setting comes to me naturally; frighteningly so.

'It feels like I'm being drained into the dirt...' The loosest impression I can make of this is my body being assimilated with the dirt around me. It feels like every molecule that makes up my person is expanding, becoming a shared existence with the earth around me.

While seeping in, I hear the first disturbance to my senses. Light pats reach my expanding senses, ivory waves flashing through my mind, akin to the scanner of a sonar. This mental sonar that I've forged in a brief amount of time focuses on the source of the stepping. The harsh outline of some kind of quadrupedal animal reaches my vision. It possesses small horns on its head, and generally, remains very small in size. I cannot make out the color of it, as it remains monochrome in this expanded sense of my sight.

I cannot accurately make out the terrain too well, but I can target the shift in the atmosphere around the creature and where it walks. With each passing step, I can perceive the blades of grass and the roots of nearby trees.

The sound of nearby footsteps cajoles me to draw my attention out of this expansive sight, but I refuse. I am infatuated with this newfound sense, one that I'd never experienced before. Even while floating in the void of death, I'd never felt more immersed in such a wide space. This feels natural, as though it was where I was supposed to be.

"Alright," I am finally torn from my focus when Yuri speaks up. "How far along are you? It's been about ten minutes." I am immediately alerted by the mention of how much time had passed. It'd felt like a meager twelve seconds has passed since then, but now he's telling me that ten minutes have gone by. "...Are you kidding me...?" Opening my eyes, I stare ahead of me at Yuri, who has not moved an inch since we began this meditation.

"It doesn't feel like a minute has passed, let alone ten!" Ranting, I lost control of my voice, which Yuri works quickly to rectify it. Much like before, I now find a rock striking my forehead. "Be quiet." Scolding, Yuri slowly pushes himself off of the dirt, although he still has to remain crouched thanks to our current abode.

"It sounds like your senses fully adapted to their surroundings. Actually, you probably adapted better than I ever could." Clutching his chin, Yuri stares at me skeptically. "Your consciousness slipped away from you. Notably, it expanded. It's like a sixth sense. You were neither hearing, sensing, nor feeling. I don't know how to explain it myself—you were."

My groan is merciless when it trudges from my mouth. I've rightfully become exhausted by these complicated explanations. "So, it's just a sixth sense? Meaning, you can do this too, right?" It's weird for him to be unable to explain it. If it's some kind of skill, he's presumably already learned it. I have not received a notification telling me about the skill that I've learned; or should've learned.

"Nope, my skill is the enhancement of all five of my senses. It's called [Enhanced Senses], actually. Yours is something completely different. I can only assume those ears on your head have something to do with it. You not being able to keep track of time just helped further my theory." Yuri's explanation after these words will probably leave me pondering once we've left here. "There've been some Awakeners who have reported their senses being naturally enhanced after the recent update. Many different kinds of classes have begun to appear. I've personally never seen one, besides you, so I was curious about whether or not you'd be able to do the same."

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It's not unfair to say that I was benighted by the other cases that were similar to my own. Clearly, there'd be others with special classes, but I'd never actually taken the time to do research and see if they all had special capabilities like myself. The closest thing that I can think about is the Succubus from Eryland. 'I never want to see her again.' As brave as I might be, I don't think I'd be able to fight her right now, not with my current amateur control over my abilities.

Furthermore, the restrictions that I have over some of my abilities are profound. What or who is responsible for restricting them? Anaphiel hasn't spoken to me in a while so I doubt that she has anything to do with it.

"Man..." I sigh. "Whatever, thanks for telling me what you know." I shouldn't be ungrateful about receiving at least a minute amount of information. It's hard to come by these days, especially from normal people outside of the realm of deity-like weirdos lingering inside of my soul.

"No problem." I thought that I saw a grin grow on Yuri's face, but once my eyes adjusted, I was confident that I was wrong. He doesn't seem like the kind of guy that'd smile for anything. By my observation, he's a nonchalant bastard, all the way down to his core. "Get up, we should keep moving. That monster from earlier isn't nearby, so we should keep hunting."

During our play of hide-and-seek, I'd completely forgotten why we were here in the first place. I'm supposed to become stronger while we're here. That fearsome beast was just an impermeable wall that stopped us from going any further. Now that we got around it, we had time to explore the vast expansion that is the black layer. Everything here is fantastical, but I can't help but be lethargic about the weakest creature here.

I can easily misattribute that small, horned animal from before as harmless judging by its small stature, but that'd just make me look stupid!

The smallest animals are always the most vicious... Look at chihuahuas! I've heard some foxes are usually dangerous! Hey! Koalas are even small and cute, but they can still tear your large intestines right out of your belly!

Once I snap out of my meaningless thoughts, there is only a wall of dirt in front of me. The space that Yuri and I once shared is now vacated by one person. "H-Hey!" I'm quick to leap through the hole over my head, crawling out from the burrow. Ahead of me, I see Yuri walking with his hand in the air, waving goodbye. He was just leaving me! "Come back here!" He's left me no time to get back to my feet, as he's quickly bursting into a full sprint away from me.

Jumping to my feet, there's no time wasting. I leave a trail of dust where I once was, quickly sprinting after my partner.

※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※

Hunting is difficult in this place. Every monster has some weird ability. One of the monsters that I attacked exploded into a patch of ooze that I couldn't get off of my without being set on fire! The worst part about it is that I wasn't set on fire on my own accord either! We were walking through a stream when one of the aquatic creatures bumped into my foot.

Being the gentle soul that I am, I nudged the little thing and pushed it out of the way! I quickly learned that this was a terrible decision. The fucker opened its gills up and shot fire at me! If I weren't already in the water, I'd have probably died there!

During all of my horrible experiences, Yuri remained quiet, watching from afar. 'He must be serious about letting me get stronger because he hasn't stopped in to help me once!' Even if I feel like audibly complaining, I know that Yuri will just pretend like he doesn't hear me. He's that kind of guy. I can't complain, to be fair. If he felt that my life was truly in danger, in a situation where there isn't room for me to act, he'd probably step in and help me.

"Has anyone told you that you're a dick?" While walking with my hair dripping some kind of effluent, I can't restrain my frustration. Many of the horrible experiences I'd undergone while we were walking and hunting could've easily been avoided if Yuri had actually just stepped in rather than letting me get covered in goop or get attacked by some ferocious critter. Don't even get me started on the flying cockroaches! They aren't even monsters from a dungeon, they're just disgusting! I hate them!

Yuri calmly retorts my claim. "Just because you're unobservant doesn't mean that I'm a bad person for not saying anything. Just don't put yourself in those situations." He nods his head, agreeing with his own statement. Curling my hand into a fist, it takes all of my willpower to not send my fist flying into the back of his head. If I were even lucky enough to get close to him, I don't doubt that Yuri would cut my hand off after finding out that I can regenerate.

I don't know how knowledgeable he is about my current list of abilities. I've been careful not to reveal too many of my cards to people, but if they are to check, I cannot confidently say what they'd see. A part of me doesn't even want to care. There's so much happening that I've started to feel like it wouldn't even matter. Nevertheless, I've maintained my secrecy for as long as possible.

"You're still pretty young, right? I guess I'll try to keep you more clean from now on. This is just the rough environment that most Awakeners have to get used to." Yuri goes on to explain the details and experiences of full-time Awakeners. "Most Awakeners go into dungeons with little information. It's difficult to acquire useful information on the dangerous ones. They're almost like soldiers going into a foreign land for the first time. They've got to crawl through the mud sometimes just to make it back to their families alive."

I've never gotten the full experience of an Awakener. All of the experiences that I've had with dungeons have been unique, besides the first one that I entered with my first part. Tulod, Zaiden, and Jade. I can still remember their names, but I'm not sure if I'll ever see them again. If I said my name around them, I don't even think that they'd remember me. I, Roshia Qinlen, was erased from existence. I guess it's fair to say that they won't remember me at all.

Contrary to my beliefs, however, even in that single dungeon, we were intercepted by a powerful Awakener who easily disregarded all of us. If Toy Cesta hadn't arrived, we'd have probably been killed while trying to save Tulod. 'I could probably take her now, I think.' I shake my head after this thought. If I'm not even confident that I can fight a random Succubus, I doubt that I'll be able to fight a Red Witch.

"So, why did you become an Awakener? You look like you could become a model." I divert my eyes to the auburn-haired man walking ahead of me. Yuri, while he is more experienced than me, doesn't look too old. I wouldn't doubt it if he told me he was in his mid-20s.

"Thanks for the compliment, but not even modeling agencies pay as well as some of these jobs. I can make a few thousand when clearing out a dungeon. I actually used to spend weeks inside of them." Someone dedicating their time to fighting inside of a dungeon just to receive a large sum isn't hard to believe. There are probably more than a healthy number of middle-aged men who spend their time going into the same dungeon just for a quick paycheck.

Yuri's next explanation, following a brief moment of silence, aches my heart to hear. "Believe it or not, I lost my parents when I was still in school. Senior year, right after prom. My mom was driving my old man back home after picking him up from work. That was the same day that the world went to hell." The story sounds very familiar to me. I was driving when the world went to shit.

"It was different for everyone. My parents were caught in the blast of some kind of volcano monster. Got them while they were still in the car... melted them right into the seats." Even though he was explaining it, I could not hear a tinge of pain or sorrow in Yuri's voice. "My sisters were home alone at the time, thankfully. Mom didn't need to drive far, so she thought that it'd be alright to leave them alone for a little while."

I can imagine the imagery in my mind. I can envision the smoke that would arise from the seats of the vehicle, with the melted corpses of a man and woman side-by-side in the flaming seats. The permanent expressions of horror that'd have covered their faces as the skin dripped from their bones.

"I was just getting home with something massive stood over the house. I'd never seen anything like it. I think it was a Cyclops or something. I know it was strong." The last part of his sentence piqued my interest the most. It was fair for people to assume that the otherworldly monsters were strong, but Yuri spoke with more certainty than just an assumption. "You fought it...?" I ask.

He answers without hesitance. "I killed it. I picked up a pole and shoved it into its eye. At the time, I didn't even notice that I'd awakened. My body was on autopilot. The only thing I cared about was protecting my family." The sound of our steps has been long since silenced when the atmosphere shifted into this more gloomy setting. "It wasn't until later—during that same night when everything was supposed to be cheery and joyful—that I found out about my parents dying. They barely recognized them. They used the license plate to find their information."

An awful silence fills the area after that. Yuri was clearly remembering the details of that day. "I'm... I'm sorry to hear that." I cannot think of a more appropriate response. Should I walk up and hug him? Yuri doesn't seem like the type who'd accept a hug from a child.

"Don't sweat it. After that, I waited a little while before registering as an Awakener. I started working hard to make sure that my little sisters did well in school. I actually went to college, believe it or not. Becoming an Awakener was one of the best things that ever happened to me. As long as I continued leveling up, I was able to do jobs that no human should've been able to do. Dungeons were just a side gig to me."

It's difficult for me to imagine what it'd be like doing all of this work for another person. So far, I haven't needed to work for other people. I've been fighting for my own life, in a particularly selfish manner. No one's been hurt by this selfishness, nor do I think it's possible for anyone to be hurt by this way of thinking. Somehow, it all revolves around me. Is it so wrong for me to think this way...?

"Your sisters, what are their names?" I ask. "April, May, June, and Summer. Oldest to youngest." It sounds like Summer got the short end of the stick. "You guys aren't Russian?" With his name being Yuri, I was almost certain that the name was of Russian origin. "Nope," he answers, "it was just my parents who decided to give me a unique name like that." Yuri's hatred towards his parents probably continued up until he was in middle school, at least. He doesn't have a bad name, but it's very deceiving.

"I imagine you've had your fair share of Russians come up to you?" My question seems to trigger an unexpected response from Yuri. He lifts a fist over his mouth and coughs, or at least, I'm assuming that laughing noise is a cough. "Yep..." He gulps, his head shaking in his hand. "Several."

After a few moments, it finally clicks that Yuri is laughing. He isn't bursting out and collapsing on the ground, but I could make out his shoulders trembling as he struggles to hold in his laughter. "Comrade Yuri!" I shout out, summoning the best accent that I can muster. "We will clear this land for our Motherland!" My small stature combined with my childish voice seems to send Yuri over the rail.

"Pffft! Aha!" He places a hand on his chest while we walk, his laughter becoming even louder. "Y-You have no idea how many times someone's said something I can't understand!" Even though he never turned to face me during our chat, the lightheartedness of this conversation was a breath of fresh air. "Someone once asked me if I'd ever had a pelmeni!"

"What's that?" My question only makes him laugh harder. "That was my exact reaction!" This time, I'm the one who can barely contain their laughter. Imagining the conversation was too amusing to not laugh about. Putting myself in Yuri's shoes, I think I'd be too annoyed by the constant mention of my name and the wrongful assumption of my nationality. Hearing it from his perspective made it more comical than annoying.

It takes us a few minutes before we finally manage to compose ourselves. We were lucky that none of the nearby creatures attacked us. Recently, it's been rather peaceful, besides the disgusting experiences I'd had before. Other than the monster that we ran from and the fog creature, nothing has been too overwhelming. I can only assume that we've gotten lucky, given the reputation of the Black Layer.

"Judging by how you're with Madam Tachibana, I'm guessing you don't have parents of your own, right?" This time, I'm the one being questioned. "Nope. None that I can remember. Some old man dragged me off the streets and sold me away. She just happened to be willing to buy me. I can only imagine what kind of shitty place I'd be living in if she threw me aside." By now, I'd have probably committed suicide after being sold to some greedy, repulsive pigs with a taste for children.

Yuri shrugs his shoulders. "Yeah, that's the kind of place Eryland is at night. You'd be surprised how many underground business functions beneath that city. Take what you think you know, and multiply it by 5. Then, you'll be able to get a rough estimate of the lowest number of downright horrendous businesses operating there." Insightfulness is certainly one of his specialties. Every time he speaks, Yuri provides me with new information that I didn't know of before.

"You got lucky for sure." Heh. I couldn't agree more. In this world, anything can quickly go wrong. My first meeting with Malison was a rough one, but I've at least grown to be able to trust her enough to watch my back during times of need. 'I wonder how many monsters she's killed by now. There's probably a mountain somewhere.'

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???, BLACK LAYER.

Lustful eyes gleam down upon the two walking through the forest. An attractive young man walked ahead, and a child with animal-like features accompanied him. "Lovely... delicious. I can't get enough of this sight..." Above the individual's head, the white fur of a tail moves to wrap around their eyes.

"I will have them! One of them! They will be mine!" They declare but are quickly alarmed by the sight of a bird flying off of the branch that they rested on. In a blur, the bird is slashed from the air, collapsing to the ground before it can make any noise in its flight. "Sleep, birdy." They shush the bird as it drops to the ground with a gentle thud.

"You cannot alert my prey." This unknown predator continues watching over the two as they walk, leaping from branch to branch without so much as a sound. Their presence was impossible to detect, even with the newfound senses of the Awakeners. "Strong humans like them taste the best, I've heard! They're the kind who rely on those 'status windows'! A bit unique, but they'll do!"

Luck and Yuri, who have only just begun their journey through the Black Layer, have only had a short amount of time to enjoy the peace offered by their conversations. Getting to know your ally is imperative when working together for the first time. Now, however, with their flaws revealed, will they be able to make it out of this place in one piece...? Only time will tell. Historia has seen the future, and has made her predictions. Now, it is time for the results to show themselves!

"Prepare yourselves, my prey! You will make a perfect first meal!" Now, the next problem comes with this newcomer... Who are they...?