She remembered an eruption of flames. It broke through shattered stone and consumed the smoke. Then there was only light and heat, and when the wave of burning red rammed into her, she could do nothing but brace for the worst.

Rana blinked. She was not being burned alive in a fiery hell nor was she plummeting to her death in a blaze of foolish glory. She was flat on her back, cushioned between rough dirt and stiff grass. What was above her were not fuming clouds or storms of ash. Above her was a dome of vines latching onto jagged branches and dying petals. The vines concealed the light as if to shield the place from the outside world. The only illumination within was the glowing energy that flowed within the sickly green tendrils.

She pushed herself up, her body still stiff from the fight from before. They had won. She had no recollection of her victory, but her still being undead and not fully dead was proof of that. She scanned the area she was in for clues, but aside from walls of vines and some trees, there was nothing noteworthy. The only thing she was sure of was that she was still in the Dungeon.

There was rustling in the walls and a winged figure appeared from within. Rana was wondering where Alpheia was. She was glad they were both alive, but she was rather crossed with the moon-kin. Her memory was returning, but it was unlike when she first awoke to her undead state. When Alpheia launched her senseless attack, it was as if her mind went into purely reflex and instinct. She had no time to consider her actions, only that she felt it was the best possible approach at the time. It was upsetting. Her actions during that time were an afterthought, something she had no control over.

Rana remembered now. She was climbing, doing her best to be as close as possible to her companion. She had to be in range to trigger the Support Defend Talent. When the attack landed, the conditions were met and made time and space irrelevant. She found herself in front of Alpheia, readying her guard to shield the retreating moon-kin. The explosion was powerful, but at least her companion had the good sense to disengage and was fast enough to create some distance. Still, it took a double Support Defend boosted guard, the enhanced states of Dynamic Enhancement, the innate fire resistance of moon-kin mana, and the physical critical damage immunity from a zombie to survive the explosion.

It was far too close.

“You are awake,” Alpheia said. She approached Rana and perched herself on top of a tree. She sure liked tall places. “Do you remember who you are?”

“Why not?”

“Half your face was blown off,” the moon-kin said. It sounded like she was merely stating a fact despite the horrific nature of the news. It took some time for Rana to digest what was said, but when she realized what had happened, she wondered if her face could become any paler. “I fed you your last vial.”

Rana pinched the bridge of her nose. The news of running out of vials stung, but she was more concerned about the fact she survived losing half her head. She once again realized how utterly unreasonably powerful critical injury immunity was. Her health points did not reach zero, that was why she could still take the life essence within the vial, but now she wondered if it was possible to walk around with only half her head. It was an image she regretted visualizing.

Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

“I really want to yell at you right now,” Rana said. She stood up surveyed her surroundings again, finally realizing how large the area was. She then turned her gaze to her companion, who still had her head tilted, as if confused on why Rana needed to yell at the moon-in. “However, I’m too tired. Just tell me about our situation.”

“When the King Centipede fell, the vines brought us through the clouds above.”

Rana crossed her arms. She waited for the moon-kin to continue, but it seemed like her companion believed that the explanation was sufficient.

“So what happened afterward?”

“I healed us with the potions you provided, then I went to scout the area.”

“And?”

“I found nothing.”

Rana sighed. It seemed like trying to hold the moon-kin to her standards of scouting report was a futile effort. She might’ve been able to glimpse some insights if the moon-kin were to provide even the most minute of details, but the idea of wrangling it out of her companion made her head hurt. The bottom-line was, the moon-kin did not find anything noteworthy.

Rana paced around the area and looked around. There was nothing out of the ordinary at first, but soon there were several points of interest that held her attention. The ceiling of the room extended out of the walls as if it was a construct not part of the area they were in. The trees were also located in a way that reminded her of a pattern. She could not remember where she saw such a similar pattern, but she knew she had seen it before.

“Alpheia, can you fly up there and study the positions of the trees?”

Without a word, the moon-kin nodded and flew in the air. She soared above and circled the room. She was definitely using Rana’s request as an excuse to fly around. It was understandable. Of course, someone with wings would enjoy flying and preferably without the threat of being killed or needing to lug around another person.

“Can you show me where the trees were placed?” Rana asked when Alpheia returned. She pulled out the expedition log and turned to a blank page. The moon-kin then began to poke the page with her talons, scorching the pages lightly as an indicator. The location did not form a pattern Rana recognized, but there was something there. She knew there was. “Can you point them out where they are?”

Alpheia raised an eyebrow, but she did what she was asked without complaint. She began to point in the distance, rotating in a circle before completing her task. There was a rhythm to it. Was it really as simple as that?

Rana then instructed Alpheia to point from the furthest to the closest tree, then vice versa, then with random numbering. The moon-kin was initially irritated, and Rana was somehow prepared to be punted. However, she was so close, and soon the moon-kin also felt a pattern forming.

Then, she found it. Rana could not believe it, but it had to be true.

“I have it,” Rana finally said after pondering for some time, and even the moon-kin could feel her unease. Yet there was more to it. Rana did not just felt uneasy, she was also afraid of what was about to be revealed. However, there was one final challenge before she got to that point. “Alpheia, once I solve the puzzle to this room, we will face the actual guardian monster. The King Centipede was not it. There is another waiting and that is the true raid boss of the Dungeon.”

“Will we be able to defeat it?”

“Here’s the plan.”