Muffled sounds drew his attention, but his mind was too discombobulated to process what was happening.

The light was similarly distorted, and he found himself unable to open his eyes. His mind was semi-conscious and was slowly recovering control over the body.

Then, similar to the sound of a racing car coming from afar, he could slowly feel pain intensify over every inch of his skin, flesh, bones, and organs.

Against his capability to do anything, his entire body began spasming and convulsing. The pain was so intense that his eyes and mouth opened wide, but there was no scream or sound he could produce.

Amidst his consciousness blurred by intense hurt, he noticed three pairs of footsteps approaching.

Before he could become alert, he realized that their weight and the way they stepped seemed different than that of the demons he kept fighting in the Nightmare Dungeon and relaxed slightly upon the realization that he might've already returned home.

His mind was a mess, and he couldn't piece together his most recent memories at all.

Furthermore, pain! There was such a distinct level of pain, unlike anything he had ever felt before, continuously corroding his mental state.

Even if it hurt to the point where his brain should automatically shut down the body's consciousness temporarily to avoid going into shock, something seemed to have disabled that option, making him unable to faint.

[He looks pretty bad...](Natalia)

[*Sigh* It could've been much worse without the herbal medicine you brought. At least now, we don't have to change his bandages hourly due to continuous bleeding.](Helen)

[His wounds have also scabbed already. He's still unresponsive to any sort of outside healing, but with the wounds closed, it should be only a couple more days until he can fully recover. The only problem is...](Mina)

[Pain...](Natalia)

[Mhm. Seeing how his body is twitching, he must've regained consciousness, even if partially. Michael. Can you hear me?](Helen)

The voices became much clearer, and even if he didn't have full control over his body, his eyes could track the origin of the sound.

Seeing the girls, the Necromancer tried to speak, but his voice became nothing but gargled babble, stunning the man.

[Your vocal cords were cut and still recovering, so you can't talk temporarily. I guess they were only slightly damaged since you could still speak upon your return, but they might've become inflamed since your body can't recover at normal speeds. How is it? I guess everything hurts, huh?](Helen)

Seeing Michael blink and try to nod, only to produce a wince and gasp due to an increased level of pain, Mina immediately approached and gently pushed a small pill into his mouth.

[Don't worry about anything; rest. Mina just fed you a very strong sedative. It should knock you out for at least two days. By the time you wake up, you should be much better. Sleep.](Helen)

Hearing the words and seeing Helen approach and gently kiss his lips, the Necromancer felt the pill melting slowly, sending a numbing wave over his entire body.

The pain was receding, but so was his consciousness.

Thoughts scrambled, and a strange notion popped up in his head.

'Why is everything so... clear?'

No. Rather than calling it clear, it was more like a resolution change on a YouTube video going from 360P to 4K.

'Details... But why?'

He immediately identified the change and recalled the three voices he heard upon waking up from his previous 'sleep.'

'The first was clear with cold undertones. The words were spoken with a slightly worried tone, but nevertheless, the general feeling of authority didn't change. The second was mellow, but it's easy to identify strong conviction behind every syllable. Furthermore, even if she tried to portray strong, cynical behavior, she couldn't hide her distressed emotions. As for the third... Mina is still the most 'girlish' among the trio, huh? Based on how tired her voice sounds, I guess she didn't get much rest lately.'

The more he sank into deep sleep, the more worried he got.

In his mental world, he turned around and saw the four walls containing 'it' show immense cracks. A sigh could be heard from within the walls.

'It looks like there's not much time left.'

While it would be a lie to say he wasn't distressed, he was aware of his role—a facade.

A temporary measure created to half-ass his life while dealing with work, society, and family.

But half-assing meant that there was no 'high-definition.'

No specific details.

That's why, if he were asked what the flowers at the entrance to the Pink Pavilion's garden looked like, he wouldn't be able to respond.

While he could provide a somewhat accurate description of Helen and Mina, he could only do so because of their intimate relationship and how that was REQUIRED socially.

Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.

As for the other girls... hair color and some outstanding features, maybe?

Sufficient to recognize them in a crowd but not enough to meet the standard of normalcy.

But now, he just identified the trio based on their voices. Nothing irregular there since he had plenty of conversation with each one of them.

But recognizing the voice and finding descriptive nuances in their words... that was beyond the capability of a mere facade.

Walking toward the cracked walls, he pressed his hand on one of them, and a door appeared.

Once it opened, an even deeper sigh echoed.

---------------------------

[Looks like he's back to sleep. The spasms also stopped.](Helen)

[I'll stay and look over him.](Mina)

[You should get some rest. It's been two days already, and you haven't slept a wink. I care about him just as much, but not sleeping won't help his current condition, and you know it.](Helen)

[But I...](Mina)

[No buts! His bleeding stopped, and the drug will keep him knocked out for two to three days. *Sigh*](Helen)

Slightly annoyed with his lovestruck sister, Helen took a Cleaning Marble and used it on the bed. All traces of blood and sweat disappeared, leaving behind clean sheets.

Gesturing to the bed, she motioned for Mina to get in.

[You take the right side. I'll also join after a slight conversation with big sis Natalia.](Helen)

[Okay...](Mina)

Seeing the smirk on Natalia's face, Mina blushed furiously and wanted to find a hole to hide herself in.

She didn't realize it before, but her actions and words betrayed the relationship she had with Michael.

Someone as brilliant as the Night Lord surely wouldn't miss such an obvious fact.

Surprisingly, Natalia remained quiet and headed toward the door with Helen, sparing Mina any further teasing.

Once outside the room, the duo joined the loud conversation happening in the pavilion.

Mira, Celeste, Beatrice, Aylin, and Connie were shouting and pulling at their hair, indicating their frustration.

Tia, Evelyn, and Neyrelle were slowly backing away, trying to make a run for it, only for Mia and Hella to stop them in their tracks.

[But we also want to go out and explore!!!](Tia)

[That's right, that's right! If we don't go now, there won't be any monsters left for us!](Evelyn)

[...](Neyrelle)

[So you were planning to go Dungeon diving!?](Mia)

[Uhm...](Evelyn)

[Eve!!!](Tia)

[Ugh... sorry...](Evelyn)

[*Sigh*](Neyrelle)

The chaos somewhat subsides upon seeing Helen and Natalia. Tia and Evelyn especially calmed down instantly when they saw their big sister menacingly approaching them.

Seeing two hands approaching their tiny heads, they cringed and closed their eyes, preparing for impact.

Surprisingly, they only felt light pats, prompting shocked looks to appear on their faces.

[I know you're excited and want to go out and explore, but please have a bit more patience. Neither the Dungeons nor the monsters would disappear, even if we all wanted nothing more.](Helen)

[[...]]

[It's only been three days since the new feature was added, so we're still gathering information about how it works and what changes it adds. There's no need to rush and make mistakes. Let others investigate properly first so we can take advantage of their 'trailblazing.'](Helen)

Seeing the three small heads nod in agreement, Helen returned to the table and grabbed some cookies from the bowl.

[How is he?](Mira)

[He just woke up, but we fed him the anesthetic drug. Sorry to keep you waiting when the situation is this urgent.](Helen)

[It's fine. Is not like those old farts can do anything about it, anyway.](Celeste)

[Are they pressuring you for the information on the Nightmare Dungeons too?](Natalia)

Seeing every Wanderer Representative nod with annoyed looks on their faces, Helen sighed.

It was she who proposed the idea, but only Michael had the actual details. Until he woke up and told them everything, they had nothing to offer to the veteran Wanderers.

[Thankfully, the Nightmare Dungeons are still temporarily closed. Otherwise, I'm afraid those idiots would've already gone in and died by the droves.](Beatrice)

[We've all seen Michael's state. It's safe to assume that the difficulty of clearing them increased considerably. It would be best to propose a partying system for Nightmare Dungeons once we get the full story from him. Otherwise, we'll incur heavy losses in our middle and high-level forces.](Natalia)

[I agree. But we all know how hardheaded those bastards can be. We don't have a way to enforce it. Furthermore, the Nightmare Sigils drop randomly. That's not something we can control either.](Mira)

[*Sigh* I guess we need to wait and see for now. What about the Region Progress? How is it on your end?](Aylin)

Looking at each other, five maps were placed together on the table. Even if they had the MAP function, a physical version was easier to use for convenience's sake.

Each map had around 18 red pins. Helen immediately recognized what those locations held since she was able to personally visit five of those locations in Fractured Peaks.

[The Altars of Lilith.](Helen)

[Mhm. Everyone is going insane right now because of that. There's one bastard that visited all altars in Kehjistan and the Dry Steppes already. He's been bragging about it in every goddamn inn he stopped for the night about his achievement.](Mira)

[No wonder the others can't stand still anymore. So? Did you confirm it?](Celeste)

[Yeah. I personally looked for him, and he confirmed. 26 Strength, 29 Intelligence, 22 Dexterity, 24 Willpower, 46 Obol Capacity, and 2 Paragon Points.](Mira)

Silence ensued, but everyone was inwardly shocked. The attributes were good, and the Obol Capacity was a decent gain.

The Paragon Points were unexpected, though.

[What about the Region Progress rewards?](Aylin)

[He had only reached the second tier in each of the two regions, but he indeed gained two skill points and two increased potions capacity. As for the increase in gold and experience, they weren't too exaggerated. Each two tiers provided around 13,000 gold coins and around 10,000 experience points.](Mira)

[I guess with running around daily, he hadn't had time to Dungeon dive or do Quests, huh?](Aylin)

[There is a big problem, though.](Beatrice)

[*Sigh* The Stronghold Events.](Helen)

[Yes. They increased considerably in number. However, everyone was so excited that we had five parties almost beaten to death in conflicts over priority for clearing.](Natalia)

[Ugh... We've had seven deaths so far. Fortunately, they all had revives left, but it sparked quite the debacle.](Mira)

Everyone had awkward looks on their faces. Among the ladies, Taissa kept silent and listened to their conversation while enjoying the cocoa milk and cookies offered.

She enjoyed her 'vacation' in the Pink Palace quite a lot during these past three days.

After Michael returned and passed out, she was offered to stay overnight. Unfortunately, due to the large number of cuts and traumas suffered during the Nightmare Dungeon, Michael has been out cold ever since.

Three days later - presently - the world was pretty much turned upside down.

She was quite interested in this young Wanderer who saved her, so instead of going back to Kehjistan and suffering in the hot, sandy terrain, she remained in the beautiful green garden and has been stuffing herself with plenty of delicious dishes for the past 72 hours.

[What about Dungeons?](Connie)

[Well... we tried regulating them as much as possible to avoid angering the demons to death, but in the end, we still had five fully cleared and going on a cooldown.](Celeste)

[Same here. We had eight.](Beatrice)

[We also had two. No retaliation so far.](Natalia)

[Ugh... we had 13.](Mira)

[[[[...]]]]

Sensing all eyes on her, even Mira's exotic complexion couldn't hide the blush on her cheeks.

As embarrassing as it was, the people of Kehjistan were more... wild.

Therefore, even if she tried controlling them, in the end, all she could do was avoid a worst-case scenario.

[Ahem! Well, it is good to keep an eye out for now. I doubt the demons will let this slide. What about casualties?](Aylin)

[We already had eight permanent deaths. Seven were from low-level Wanderers, but the last one was a high-level, which worries me quite a bit.](Beatrice)

[Hehe! Luckily for us, we had no permanent deaths.](Mira)

[[[[...]]]]

As crazy and bloodthirsty as the people of Kehjistan were, due to their nature, they were much more battle-tested than the rest of the Wanderers.

Therefore, it was understandable why nobody permanently died on their end.

However, not everyone was like that.

[We also had minimum casualties, and only in the low-level ranks. However, there is a problem. Our scouts have reported over two hundred deaths, out of which fifty were permanent. All of them were affiliated with the Cathedral of Light.](Celeste)