Hazel was currently out of her shelter after taking a much-needed rest after everything that happened. According to the timer, it’s been nearly ten hours since Hazel healed Astrid. After saving her life, the mage worked on her spider hole and made it big enough for both her and the dark elf to sleep in.

At the time, Astrid was still unconscious, so Hazel was forced to carry her over to the spider hole. Once she was inside, the mage entered the hole as well. Then the pair slept in the shelter.

Now, Hazel was out of her spider hole, currently reading one of the books she took from the magic shop back in the Fractured Town. While reading, she occasionally scanned her surroundings to see if any monsters were nearby.

As Hazel continued to read, the cover from her spider hole slid open as Astrid sluggishly emerged from within it. The mage turned toward the shelter and quickly noticed the dark elf.

“Look who’s finally awake,” Hazel said, closing the book and standing up from her spot. “And here I thought you were going to be sleeping for a little longer.”

“What…happened?” Astrid asked with a groan, clutching her head as if she was experiencing the worst hangover ever.

“Well, you nearly died from your injuries last night,’ Hazel bluntly stated.

“…What?”

“Yeah, so it seemed that your wounds were too severe by the time I patched you up. And while we were talking, you passed out.”

Astrid stood stalk still for a moment. Her face was filled with shock and horror after being told that she could’ve died last night. Instead of saying anything, Hazel simply allowed the dark elf to process the information and waited to go on.

“H-how did you save me?” Astrid asked, her voice shaky.

“With this.” Hazel pulled out the empty Healing Potion and presented it to Astrid.

The dark elf’s eyes widened as soon as she saw the bottle. Which meant she knew what it was as well.

“Is that…a Healing potion?”

Hazel nodded. “Yeah. There was no other way for me to save you, so I gave you the last bottle.”

“You did that…?” Astrid muttered in confusion.

“Well, you were slowly dying from your injuries and didn’t know what else to do. I couldn’t just let you die, so I did what was necessary.”

“B-but you sacrificed such a valuable item! To a Stranger no less!”

Hazel shrugged. “It’s not that big of a deal.”

She was lying. It certainly was a big deal, but Hazel couldn’t just outright tell the dark elf how stressful it was sacrificing her only potion to save her life. She could imagine the type of guilt that Astrid would be feeling if she told the truth.

“Look, all that matters is that you’re alive, alright? If you had died, I’d be on my own again. That and your psycho childhood friend would likely blame me for your death and try and take revenge. And I’d rather not have to constantly look over my shoulder.”

Although she didn’t think about it at the time, if Hazel hadn’t saved Astrid back then, she would’ve had to deal with the wrath of the Yandere known as Dolk. If he knew about Astrid dying and that Hazel was there when it happened, he would’ve believed that she killed his childhood friend.

And knowing Yanderes, Hazel knew that Dolk would’ve chased her down to the ends of the Earth. There was no doubt about that. She had enough problems as it was. The last thing she needed was a Yandere wanting revenge.

“Anyway,” Hazel tried to change the topic. “How are you feeling anyway? Are you fully healed?”

Astrid examined her body, patting herself down as a way to see if she was hurting anywhere. She then raised her hand and repeatedly closed and opened it.

“Yeah, I feel fine. Better, even.” She smiled, thrilled at her recovery. Then her face fell after realizing how she managed to recover. “I’m sorry that you had to use such an item for me.”

“We’ve been over this, Astrid. It’s fine. It was either that or I let you die, and I already specifically stated that I did not want to be alone again.”

While Hazel managed to survive in this dungeon on her own, the lack of communication with another living being that wasn’t a Fractured was slightly getting to her. If she had a Familiar, then it wouldn’t have been much of an issue, but clearly, that wasn’t the case for her.

Even though Hazel had to use her last potion, losing the only person she could interact with at the moment was an even worse outcome for her.

“I will do what I can to make it up to you,” Astrid declared, making a stern expression like some soldier.

Hazel stared at the dark elf for a moment before sighing. “It’s fine, Astrid.”

“I insist.”

“Well, I don’t.”

“I’m sorry, but that isn’t up to you.”

“How?! I’m the one you owe a debt to!”

“Which is why I intend to repay you for saving my life.”

“I already said that it’s fine, alright?!”

“I insist.”

“You-!?”

Before Hazel attempted to go any further, she quickly realized that this argument was only going to continue if she didn’t let Astrid try and repay her. Just from her persistence during their conversation told Hazel that she wasn’t going to give up, nor was Hazel going to win the argument.

Knowing that she was bound to lose, Hazel let out a heavy sigh while pinching the bridge of her nose.

“Fine, fine, do whatever you want.”

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Hearing this, a small grin formed on Astrid’s face as she bowed her head.

“I will be sure to repay you for saving my life.”

“Yeah, yeah, whatever,” Hazel waved her hand dismissively. “Let’s just focus on our current issue, alright?”

Astrid moved her head to the side curiously. “And what is that?”

Hazel cocked an eyebrow. “What do you think, Ms. Ranger? The other dark elves! Don’t tell me you forgot your own people.”

The dark elf’s eyes widened upon hearing this as her face flushed red. That was all Hazel needed to see to realize that Astrid did, in fact, forget about her subordinates.

Not that Hazel could blame her since she did nearly almost die last night and just woke up having no idea what happened. Experiencing something like that, anyone would forget certain important matters at that moment.

Hazel stifled a groan and rubbed her temples. “Okay, so do you know where your base is?”

Astrid took a moment to collect herself before nodding. “Although I was running away, I made sure to watch the trees and the path to know my way back.”

Hazel tilted her head to the side. “How does that work? Did you like mark them or something?”

Hazel had very little experience when it came to Forest Exploration. It was one of the many reasons why she stayed close to her campsite when she went out to explore and hunt monsters. The entire area was like a maze to her, making it extremely difficult to know where she was going.

“I’ve been navigating my way through the forest long enough to know how to know the path from the group of trees and along other noticeable landmarks. So, yes, I know where it is.”

Hazel raised her hands defensively. “Just wondering. I don’t want us aimlessly wandering the forest and getting lost.”

“Don’t worry, we won’t,” Astrid said before pausing, then faced Hazel. “You know you don’t have to come with me right? I can do this on my own.”

What Astrid said was certainly true. Hazel didn’t have to go with her. But she wanted to. Not only because she already decided to stick with the dark elf, but also because by saving the other dark elves, she had more people to rely on.

As long as they weren’t prejudiced toward her. If they were, then Hazel might not have much of a choice but to solo the dungeon like before.

“Maybe,” Hazel shrugged. “but having me tag along will make things easier. Plus, I can use magic and help you defend against monsters.”

Astrid rubbed her chin, pondering over it. “Yeah, I guess you’re right.”

“Good, then let’s get going, then.” Hazel gestured to Astrid to lead the way.

The dark elf scoffed and walked forward, following a path that would lead them to her campsite. Hopefully, they weren’t too late and Astrid’s other members were still alive.

…

A little while passed by and the mage and dark elf seemed to be close to the base now. Their feet pressed against the firm yet soft dirt with each step as they walked over logs, bushes, and tree roots that protruded from the ground.

Astrid easily traversed through the forest like a natural-born explorer in some nature show, while Hazel struggled to keep up with her speed. The dark elf didn’t even look exhausted as she kept moving forward like a woman on a mission, and here Hazel was, slightly wheezing like she had run a mile.

Hazel wasn’t much of a physical activities type of person; though she also didn’t come off as an introvert. She had plenty of friends and went out sometimes to catch some fresh air or buy groceries. Still, walking through this forest was slowly but surely taking a toll on her stamina.

Because of the geography of this forest, the ground was incredibly uneven and presented the pair with slight to steep inclines along with slopes that a person could easily slide down if they weren’t careful. And that gave Hazel an even bigger problem since she had to both climb and carefully slide down the path.

But, their journey was about to pay off since it appeared that they were really close to their destination now.

“It should be up ahead,” Astrid stated, moving a little faster with her limp.

“Alright, then…” Hazel said hesitantly.

They thankfully didn’t run into any monsters while getting to the dark elf campsite, which was both a relief but also a concern. It was a relief since Hazel didn’t have to fight while also protecting Astrid, but the concern was a little more serious since the forest was crawling with monsters.

Even when the pair hid away just in case they heard a monster, neither of them spotted a single one during their trek. So, while getting closer to the campsite, Hazel was growing more concerned by this. Her eyes constantly darted around the forest, staying vigilant in case they ran into a Fractured creature or a group of them.

Despite there being no wind since they were in space, the leaves on the trees were quite lively and swayed back in forth as Hazel felt a slight breeze as well. She figured that it was because the floating island landmass they were currently on was floating and moving around in the void, thus causing a bit of a breeze to blow through the forest.

If they were goblins, Hazel should be capable of dealing with them on her own, but in case the pair ran into Orcs, then that would be the time for them to flee and come back when they escape. Hazel had no plans whatsoever to ever fight orcs like before. If anything, her previous confrontation with the Orcs was a complete accident, since the original plan was to ambush them while they were distracted after killing the Fractured Goblins.

Putting aside that fact, Hazel took a deep breath to collect herself. She was near the base now, so it shouldn’t take long before they got there. And hopefully, the people there are still alive and well.

Sadly, Hazel couldn’t have been more wrong.

“Okay, it’s right in front…of us…” Astrid sounded excited at first, but her tone then turned serious and fearful, as if she was witnessing something horrific.

And Hazel soon realized why when she eyed the campsite that the dark elves took residence in up ahead. And her eyes widened with horror and shock upon what she witnessed.

The campsite was completely destroyed, as if it endured some kind of natural disaster. Tree branches and limbs were scattered along the ground along with deep dirt craters that almost looked like they originated from tiny meteors. Even some of the trees around the area were slightly damaged with chunks of their bark carved out by something sharp or dull with pieces of wooden shrapnel laying across the dirt ground from whatever hit it. There were also weapons littered all over like arrows, daggers, and even throwing knives.

Astrid and Hazel walked further into the campsite, both of them bewildered by the devastation that occurred. Neither of them was incapable of looking away as their eyes were glued to the aftermath.

Hazel could already tell what could’ve caused such damage to this location, and that was the Orcs. She remembered that Astrid told her about Dolk luring Orcs to the campsite so the hulking green monsters could attack and kill the dark elves that planned to get in his way. And this was likely the result of their ambush.

Astrid moved toward what appeared to be the remnants of a moss bed. The moss was torn to shred and bore several footprints though each one was different than the last. There was a small one then a large footprint that looked like it came from Big Foot. Hazel concluded that those were the Orcs prints and the small ones were the dark elves.

Aside from the footprints, Hazel and Astrid soon came across something else that caught their attention. And that was the corpses of the dark elves that were part of Astrid’s group. There were three of them, lying on the ground next to a group of trees. Their bodies were riddled with injuries like slash marks from blades and bruises from either punches or kicks. The blood from all the bodies was pooled together, staining the green grass in a menacing crimson.

Hazel stared in horror. It was her first time seeing a dead body, and she was unlucky enough to come across three of them at once. Her heart pounded against her chest and her breathing was heavy.

A part of her felt a strong urge to throw up from the sight, but she managed to keep it down, willing the bile from building up in her throat.

As for Astrid, she was simply locked in place. After being face to face with the corpses of her people, her brain clearly couldn’t process the sight and shut down, almost like a defensive mechanism. But, that didn’t seem to last before she finally collapsed on her knees before the bodies.

“A-Astrid…!” Hazel exclaimed, reaching down to hold onto the dark elf.

The shock must’ve been too much for her after being confronted with this reality. Astrid continued to stare at the bodies of her people as tears began to build up in her eyes.

“T-they’re gone…” She muttered with a sob. “They’re all gone…” her head lowered in despair, as the truth finally set in.

Unable to control her emotions anymore, Astrid did the only thing she was capable of at that moment. She cried. Tears beaded down her face as the Dark Elf captain sobbed over the loss of her people, failing to save them before it was too late.

For a moment, Hazel was clueless about what she should do. She wasn’t good at consoling people and awkwardly stared at Astrid, struggling to figure out what her next move was. So, she simply held the dark elf while she mourned for her fellow dark elves.