I wake up with a gasp, but then I cry from the pain as my entire body protests against the sudden movement. My vision is blurry, my body is cold, I'm completely soaked, my head hurts, and I'm starting to get dizzy.

A horrible feeling wells up in my stomach, then it rises through my esophagus, and I puke.

I groan again as I fall on my side, trying to avoid the stinking puddle I just created.

I open my [Item Box], then I weakly move my finger towards the [Regeneration] magic tool and pull it out.

I press the small green gem against my forehead and feed it some mana. A mildly pleasant feeling starts to spread over my face, then it smoothly enters my skull and eases my headache.

I move my other hand and pull out one of Roxanne's Fast-Acting HP potions. Slight toxicity is worth stopping all this pain, and if even with [Pain Resistance], I can't endure this, then things must be pretty bad.

I uncork the flask and throw half of the glowing red liquid on my face while I eagerly drink the rest.

Ah, elderflower, tasty.

I sigh and focus inside my soul space.

"Wolfy, help-…" I stop my plea with a start as my whole body shivers in fear.

I can't reach Wolfy. I can't see the other wives through him. [Bind] is just not working.

The little "tunnel" I could use to enter the warm and cozy lake that's Wolfy's mind is gone.

No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no…

A deep seething hatred starts to well up inside me. It grows and grows and grows until it reaches a level that I've never felt before. I feel Wolfy's and Hana's draconic rage within me, filling my mind with red fury and driving a burst of strength into my muscles.

I growl, then I grab a handful of sand and violently throw it away. "KYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAaah…" I shriek until my throat hurts, then I collapse on my back and start sobbing.

I'll murder you, Arreira. I'll desecrate your rotten body, you… you… pretentious BASTARD!

I curl up and cry while the potion and [Regeneration] raise my HP back to 100.

I slowly open my eyes again and see a trail of faint crystal lights illuminating a path forward in the green sand. I finally notice that the whispering in my ears is actually the sound of waves running over the sand.

I sit up and turn around, and I see a dark river with a visibly strong current pushing broken planks down its length.

I recognize the color of the planks: they're from our ship.

Oh no… Wolfy's going to be so sad…

Blurry memories surface in my mind, and I sift through them. I understand that after the crash, we fell into the underground rapids and got separated, then I hit my head hard, and it gave me a concussion.

I cast [Spirit Light] to illuminate the area and look around. I'm in a dark green cave with nothing other than green sand and the river behind me. My blurry memories lead me to believe that I came through a tight tunnel with a strong current, so it's impossible for me to go back the way I came.

I have two options: follow the river down or the path of crystal lights. Considering that I won't escape this cave by going down, I decide to bet on the path left for me by the goblin of a Dungeon Master.

"Gify, you there?" I ask, but my question just echoes through the cave without a response.

She may be with Wolfy, then. At least, I hope so…

My [Sense Presence] gives me absolutely no hits, so there isn't a single living being nearby, not even a bug.

I groan as I get up, the padding of my armor loudly squishes and squirts from all the water it absorbed.

We fell in the water while fully armored… Lina and Ciel could've…

NO! THEY DIDN'T!

I take off my helmet and slap my cheeks to keep those dark thoughts away.

I need to find Wolfy as fast as I can.

He can't be dead. If he were, the feedback from [Bind] breaking would've made me go insane with grief.

I look into my "Status" and notice that the "Companions" entry still has everyones' names, though I can't find their positions through the fellowship bond either.

This means that nobody is dead, nobody is dead, nobody is dead, nobody is dead…

I pray to all of the Gods and beg for them to keep everyone safe. We can't lose anyone, not like this, and not after going through so much together.

But I need to survive, too…

I get up and activate [Breeze] to dry my armor. There are a few cracks in it, but the fibers are keeping the pieces together. It should last for at least a few more melee battles, even if I'm careless.

I spot my bow near me, by the river, but my quiver is gone, so I can only use [Mana Arrow]s now. I pick it up and inspect it. It's impressive that it survived the rapids.

I dry it until it's usable again, then I pull out the lithograph and emergency rings from my [Item Box]. I try to send all kinds of signals through them, but, predictably, I don't get a response. If something is blocking [Bind] and the fellowship bond, then a lithograph would most likely get blocked, too.

I'd only heard rumors that a dungeon could block the fellowship bond, but now I have actual evidence that it's possible. The dungeoneer that worked on this place must've been a genius, or perhaps it was just Arreira himself.

With a lonely sigh, I take my sword out of its scabbard, clean it, and reapply its oil. After that, I take off my armor and dry it properly.

I apply some anti-scent powder to myself and check my equipment one more time to make sure that everything's fine, then I follow the illuminated path while trying to keep my sanity from collapsing.

I start shivering, but not from the cold or the breeze. I feel lonely and vulnerable. Wolfy's presence was always there in my mind, a constant reassurance that we'd never be alone, that he'd be there to save us when danger appeared, that we were inseparable. But now, there's nothing but darkness in my soul space.

I hug myself, then I fall to my knees and cry. I've never felt so empty before.

After crying enough, anger flares up inside me again. I'm acting so pitifully, but Wolfy won't even be able to sleep without me. I need to find him before his curse fills his mind with darkness.

I get up and dry my cheeks, then I continue on with renewed determination.

Before long, a faint mist appears, and it only thickens as I continue walking forward. The ceiling of the cave creeps higher, and I gradually enter a nearly pure white realm reminiscent of the Misty Forest.

"I'm sure this isn't a coincidence," I bitterly talk to myself.

The sounds of the river fade away, replaced with the nothingness. I exert my [Quiet Steps] and [Quiet Action] to the max so that only the faintest of sounds are produced when I take a step. The elven armor is so well-padded that the scales don't jingle at all and the rubbing of the wooden plates is nearly imperceptible.

I breathe in deeply, trying to discern any odd smells, but I don't find any except my own and that of the green sand.

I sense something disturbing the mist. There's a "void" in it, slowly making its way towards me.

I get my bow ready and prepare a [Mana Arrow], then I abandon the illuminated path and wait in the darkness to ambush it.

I slow my breathing and clear my mind. I completely freeze every single muscle, becoming perfectly still, like a trap ready to be sprung. My body is still tired from the battle and the rapids, but this small amount of effort is nothing.

Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.

The presence comes closer and closer, but I still have no idea what it is. Only Yunia knows [Hide Presence], but I'm sure she isn't as skilled with it as the being coming this way. It must be a monster.

It eventually reaches the illuminated path, but the mist makes it impossible for me to see its outline.

Suddenly, it stops, then I hear a faint noise twice.

It takes me a second, but then I recognize what it was: sniffing.

I draw my bow and release the arrow. It whistles through the air, then I hear a high-pitched grunt followed by something falling on the sand.

I create another arrow and dash forward.

I quickly find the being, and discover that it's a humanoid-looking monster. It has an arrow sticking out of its chest, and it's wheezing as it gasps for air.

I sigh in relief, happy that I didn't hurt a humanoid, then I draw my bow and shoot an arrow through the monster's eye.

It twitches and dies, then I walk closer to inspect it.

What is this Godsdamned creature?

It's a naked, pale human-like creature without any features or a single strand of hair. There are only three completely black eyes, a mouth without lips and full of humanoid teeth, and two slits for nostrils. It doesn't even have any gender characteristics. Its body is thin, it doesn't have any kind of claws, and its limbs are long and bowed. It wields a nicely made hunting bow made of bone with a pouch full of small wooden arrows.

I grab one and pull it out of the pouch, then I immediately recognize the smell of poison.

I prick the skin of my wrist with the arrow and feel it starting to get numb. It's a paralyzing poison.

I take the pouch and secure it to my waist. The arrows are rather small for my weapon, but I can still fire them.

I realize that this creature would look rather ridiculous pulling on such a small bow. I pick it up, then I pull the string and immediately realize that it's as stiff as Wolfy's "sword." Its draw weight must be massive… like Wolfy's sword.

I snort and immediately hold it in.

Ugh… I have a problem: Hana is rubbing off on me…

The smell of blood might attract other things, so I sprinkle some anti-scent on the body and hide it under the sand. Now, it'll take a long time for any odors to escape.

I put my war face back on and continue following the illuminated path. The glowing gems look like they were just casually thrown about like one would to lay a trail towards a trap. A dungeon is already a trap by itself, though, so I guess willingly falling into this trap is just another monster for the Lord.

I continue for a while, then I stop for a quick meal. I still have a thick bar of chocolate, but I'll save it for emergency rations since Wolfy said that it's high energy.

I pull out the [Conjure Bland Meal] magic tool and produce a bar of very nutritious sawdust, not that I know what sawdust actually tastes like, it's just what I assume since it's so incredibly flavourless and uninteresting.

I have hot tea ready to drink, but its scent is too strong, so instead, I just conjure some water in my mouth to wash it down, then I resume my journey.

I ambush another one of the creepy monsters. This time I hit its throat, making it bleed profusely.

In desperation, the Faceless Man rips the arrow out of its throat, and now it really starts to bleed.

Dammit. He's taller than I expected.

It wheezes and gurgles, then it tries to draw its bow and fire at me, but due to its agony, it drops its monster version of [Hide Presence], allowing me to perfectly pinpoint its location.

I fire another arrow, and this time, I pierce its forehead.

I quickly bury it under the sand, too, but that clearly doesn't work because I soon meet another two coming from downwind.

I get in position again to fire and nearly groan from how the tension is hurting my muscles. I'm getting too tired for this.

I breathe in deeply and calm myself, ignoring the pain and fatigue as well I can.

Wolfy's love -and his huge sword…- really made me lazy, but I trained for this; I just need to shake the dust off my survival skills.

I remain closer to the glowing gems this time so that I can actually make out their outlines before I attack.

They quickly, yet silently, walk along the illuminated path. I can guess their posture through the "void" they create, and I believe their hands are hovering over their quivers, so they must be alert and ready to fight.

My heart beats rapidly, and a cold fear starts to grow inside me. I don't have [Gate] or [Bind] to pull me out if I need it. I either win, or I die. I can't afford to make a single mistake.

I nock an arrow and wait.

They get within range of my arrows, so I raise my bow and tense up, then I see the extremely faint shape of an outline taking form.

I cast [Mesmerizing Butterflies] at the same moment that I draw and release. Before I can fire a second arrow, [Battlefield Perception] triggers, and I use [Muscle Explosion] to dodge out of the way.

My muscles protest against the sudden movement, but then I hear the whistle of an arrow flying past me exactly where my head was just a split second ago.

I fire another arrow, then a third, and one last enemy arrow shoots towards me. [Muscle Explosion] hasn't recharged yet, and my "Speed" doesn't boost my [Dodge] enough, so I fail to fully evade it.

The thin arrow slams against me like a sledgehammer, then it sinks into my collarbone, cleaning stabbing through all of my armor.

I drop my bow and immediately use [Fox Transformation], then I make a mad dash towards the survivor.

[Mesmerizing Butterflies] finally does its job, and the surviving Faceless Man gets distracted. It only remembers that I exist when my claws sink deeply into its shoulders and my jaw crushes its head.

As soon as I feel it die, I release its body and carefully bite the arrow on my shoulder, then I pull it out and return to my humanoid form.

I drink an HP potion and an antidote, then I apply an anti-scent on my wound and run away as fast as I can.

My exhaustion stops my legs from working any longer, and I collapse on the sand.

I pull out the [Proximity Warning] crystals, activate them, and throw them in all four directions around me, then I close my eyes and immediately fall asleep.

I don't know how many days have passed while I've been following this path, but I'm starting to get the impression that this is truly a trap. It might be that I've just been walking around in circles, but I have no way to confirm it.

I wake up, conjure my sawdust, and eat it with a piece of chocolate, then I drink some conjured water and continue moving along the path. I avoid most of the Faceless Men and only kill the ones I can perfectly ambush. I keep going until I become too tired to walk, then I get some sleep and repeat it all again.

I don't have Wolfy's [Blessing Magic] or an enchanted shield to defend against them, and their arrows have such a strong penetrative power that even my armor isn't enough protection. It just isn't worth fighting them, so I won't make the same mistake twice.

Sometimes, they come when I sleep, but I'm so wary of them that I wake up even before the [Proximity Warning] triggers.

I can't tell when it's day or when it's night. I only know when it's time to walk and when it's time to rest, and there's nothing else for me to do here besides walking and fighting.

The Dungeon Master is trying to wear me down, to catch me off-guard, but I've trained for my whole life for this.

I crouch and wait for the small Faceless Man to come closer.

When Wolfy needs me the most, I won't disappoint him.

The Man seems to be moving rather aimlessly, almost stumbling around as he follows the illuminated path.

I'll fight until my body falls apart. I'll press on until I grind the stone into dust. I'll reunite with Wolfy one day.

I draw and release the arrow.

His sword will slam against m-…

"Hngh~…" The Faceless Man lets out a weird grunt, and I nearly gasp in surprise.

With a sinking feeling in my heart, I dash towards the collapsing figure.

The outline appears in my sight and gains a shape, and it's different from that of a Faceless Man.

The shape gains color, and I see dark brown with a pattern of lots of thin and parallel black circles all over it. That's our elven wooden armor.

They take their helmet off, and Wolfy looks at me with a pained face while clutching the arrow that's sticking out of his chest.

"NOOOOOO!" I shriek in horror and rush up to him.

I rush to his side and fall to my knees, then I start to madly apologize while tears stream freely down my face, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry…" I take off my helmet and desperately search for the [Regeneration] magic tool inside my [Item Box].

"Alissa…?" He whispers weakly, then he gives me a gentle smile that stabs at my heart.

"Y-yes, it's me. I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry…" I pull out the gem and press it against his chest while I search for the Fast Acting HP potions.

"The arrow…" He begs, his voice strained because of the pain.

I pull out the potion, then I grab the arrow and yank it out in one go. I immediately douse the wound with half of the potion and force him to drink the rest, then I activate [Regeneration].

I sniffle and dry my tears, then I question him, "Why are you using [Hide Presence]?"

"To hide… from the monsters," he grunts with less stress in his voice than before as the healing starts to take effect.

I frown in confusion. "And what about your [Heal]?"

"My mana organ… hasn't healed yet."

Right, he strained it during the battle.

I lean in closer to his face and give him a pained smile as I whisper, "You can stop using [Hide Presence] for now. There are no monsters around us."

He smells weird.

He nods weakly and grabs something, then [Battlefield Presence] activates, and I look down at his hand.

A long and thin dagger stabs me in the belly, right where a crack in the plate had opened up into a slit. The blade sinks through the padding, breaks through the dark dragon scale underneath, passes through even more padding, and pierces into my gut, then he twists the blade.

"Hghr…" I groan as I feel lightheaded from the pain.

Then he takes the blade out and tries to stab me in the shoulder.

[Pain Resistance] prevents me from passing out, then I use [Muscle Explosion] to grab his wrist.

He sits up and easily overpowers me, then he uses his leverage to push the blade down into my shoulder.

"Wolfy…?" I whisper and cast [Blinding Lights] on him.

Suddenly, he pulls the blade away and stands up, then he takes a step back.

"Alissa…?!" He gasps as if he just noticed that I'm wounded.

"Why…" I groan weakly and apply pressure to my belly while I use the [Regeneration] tool on myself.

[Battlefield Perception] activates again as he lunges forward at me. I cast [Mesmerizing Butterflies], and he stabs it with his dagger, breaking the spell.

I jump backward and grab my bow, then I draw a [Mana Arrow] and release. It hits him square in the chest, and he falls on his back, then grunts in pain.

"Alissa… I love you…" He coughs.

"No, no, no, no. Why… is this happening…?!" I shriek, then groan in pain.

He still hasn't stopped using [Hide Presence].

"Wolfy… stop using [Hide Presence]!" I angrily yell at him.

He looks around as if he's confused. "What…? I don't understand…?"

"Let me see your soul!"

He looks at me as his head trembles. "Soul…? My vision is blurry…"

I fall on my knees in pain, and I notice that my glove is now completely red with my own blood.

[Battlefield Perception] triggers again, and I instant cast [Earth Bullet] in front of me.

The spell hits Wolfy's beautiful face, making his head snap back violently. He collapses on the floor, and I can finally sense his presence.

This isn't Wolfy, this is a monster.

I draw another arrow and shoot it through its head, then it dies after a few more seconds. Wolfy's armor dissolves, revealing another Faceless Man.

DAMN YOU! DAMN YOU! DAMN, DAMN, DAMN, DAMN-…

I groan in pain, and my legs shake. I immediately drink another HP potion and continue using the [Regeneration] tool, but I'm bleeding so much that my head is starting to feel really light.

I walk onward with unsteady steps, trying to get as far as I can from the bleeding monster corpse.

I desperately [Clean] my hands and apply all the anti-scent I can on my armor and my wound. I won't let them catch me now after getting so far.

Before long, I discover that the illuminated path leads to a circular gray platform.

Is this… the end…?

Hope spurs me into one last burst of speed, but just as I step onto it, my knees fail me, and I collapse.

As my vision darkens, the platform starts to glow with a white light, then I pass out.