The path back to the NPC village of Swansea, through the Lizardman's Well, was smoother than expected.

"Let's goooo!"

Tempah charged ahead, cracking a Lizardman warrior in half at the waist with a single blow. Then he grabbed the thing's tail and started swinging it around like a flail.

It was hard not to let out a laugh — a hollow one.

'Still a monster, no matter how many times I see him.'

After all, clearing Hell Difficulty in the Trial nexus was no small feat.

Becoming a player by punching out the first monster he laid eyes on, and dumping all his stat points into pure strength — just because he wanted to lift heavier at the gym — everything about Tempah was unconventional, absurd even.

His entire approach to the game world felt completely unbound by logic or rules.

Jhin had only powerged to best him in their previous fight because Tempah had no way to deal with magic at the time.

'But if he ever figures out how to counter magic…'

It would be hard to say who had the upper hand. Both of them — Jhin and Tempah — were monsters still in the middle of growing, and both had conquered Hell Difficulty.

' Millie too.'

Jhin's eyes drifted to her — riding on Rocket's back and firing off spell-bullets without pause.

Every bullet glowed red.

That meant they were all powered by Burn Blood. She hadn't once deactivated the skill, from Arc until now.

A permanent Burn Blood state…

After devouring a troll's heart, she'd gained regenerative abilities. As long as she didn't overstrain Burn Blood, there was little risk of side effects.

And since the skill steadily drained her HP, it provided a constant opportunity to train her "Regeneration" proficiency in the process.

A perfect two-birds-one-stone setup.

She had unlocked a fighting style where her strongest attack could be used continuously — and she grew stronger just by standing still.

Bang!

"Still hard to believe this guy's the Giant Horn Lizard, huh?"

Millie looked down at Rocket, still a bit skeptical. Rocket galloped forward on all fours, carrying her along.

Understandable. Just days ago, they'd been locked in a brutal battle to the death — now she was riding him like a mount.

Then, Jhin turned toward Tempah and called out, "Sorry about making you run alongside us."

"Don't sweat it. Even if I could ride, I'd say no."

Because of his size, Tempah couldn't fit on Rocket's back. Right now, the max capacity was three — including Jhin.

So Tempah had been running alongside them since they entered the dungeon.

As he hurled yet another Lizardman warrior through the air, he said:

"Get used to comfort, and you'll lose your gains."

So very Tempah of him.

"Anyway, are we close?"

"Yes. Just past that rock formation—"

Whoooosh!

A sudden shift in the wind made Jhin activate Soft skills. Tracing the trajectory — an arrow, aimed directly at Tempah's head.

[Skill: "Fireball (F)" activated.]

Fwoooosh!

The fireball incinerated the arrow before it could hit. Tempah immediately sprinted in the direction the arrow had come from.

"Go on ahead!"

"W—Wait!"

He leapt over the bushes, disappearing in an instant. The clang of weapons rang out soon after.

Jhin patted Rocket's head.

"Rocket. Let's pick up the pace."

Screee!

Rocket crashed through the brush, and they quickly reached a wide, open clearing.

People.

Lots of them — all standing in formation, guarding against a single figure.

At the center, Tempah stood grinning, blood covering his entire body.

"Great! You've all got guts! I love it!!"

"Wh-What kind of monster is this?!"

"Attack!!"

"He won't die! We're stabbing him and he won't die!!"

The surrounding warriors were the ones trembling now. Tempah kept grabbing people and tossing them or slamming them into the ground.

"Ha…"

Jhin let out a tired sigh, rubbing his forehead.

They were right near the rock formation — meaning the destination was close. So why was this happening?

"Hey! Lizardman—Lizardman sighted!!"

A shout came from the edge of the clearing. A soldier pointed straight at them.

Next to him stood a man—

"Wait a sec."

"Hmm…"

Jhin recognized him.

The man blinked at Jhin and Tempah for a moment, then his face turned beet red as he shouted:

"Stop! Everyone, STOP!!"

The warriors, who looked ready to kill Tempah at any second, froze.

Confused and breathless, they all turned to one man.

He raised his hands and called out:

"They're with our savior! Show some respect!"

"…Huh?"

Then, others in the group caught sight of Jhin.

Their faces all lit up with shock.

They knew who he was.

They were part of Karine the Priestess's faction.

As the swords lowered and the crowd began to part, Tempah stood in the middle, clicking his tongue in disappointment.

He looked genuinely bummed that the fight was over.

'…Did he know they were allies and just didn't care?'

A shiver ran down Jhin's spine.

Frowning, he followed the others — and so, they made it back to Swansea.

Swansea — a village nestled among bizarre stone formations and home to many NPCs.

Escorted by warriors of the Horn Tribe, they arrived to find a surprising number of people waiting for them.

News of their return had somehow gotten out.

Everyone looked exhausted, but their faces no longer bore the shadows of despair.

Jhin surveyed the village, taking it all in.

"It's changed a lot."

The village of Swansea — once left partially in ruins by the Company — had made a remarkable recovery in less than a week.

"That's thanks to the people from Arc."

Hearing that, Jhin gave a slight nod. The Arc players must've run quite a few quests here in the meantime.

'Gathering construction supplies… hunting Lizardmen…'

If Millie hadn't been injured, maybe Jhin would've spent that time grinding quests here himself.

With the Benefactor title, the EXP would've been solid. He probably would've built decent favor with the local NPCs too.

'But no regrets. If I'd stayed here, I wouldn't have been able to change classes.'

Could he have fought Lizardmen for twelve hours straight just to level up?

This place was far too dangerous for that.

To fight nonstop for twelve hours, you'd have to go up against massive waves of Lizardmen. Trying to repeat what he did in the Troll's Nest here would've meant facing death dozens of times.

'And even then, failure would've been more likely than not.'

Lizardmen weren't as durable as trolls, but still.

'Besides… if I hadn't gone back to Arc, it probably wouldn't even exist anymore.'

If Jhin hadn't returned…

Maybe Bellatris and Dean would've found some way to stop the dungeon sickness, the triggers, and the Extender.

But how many lives would've been lost along the way?

He didn't even want to imagine it.

"This way — where the Arc people are staying."

Led by Karl, a former bodyguard to Eve and one of Karin's subordinates, they arrived at a large inn called Wind's Rest.

There, as if the news had already spread, a crowd of players — including Captain Adonis — was waiting.

Adonis rushed over immediately.

"I heard the festival was a huge success!"

"…Excuse me?"

"We've been busting our asses here doing quests and hunting nonstop, and some people got to enjoy Millie's performance… Must've been real nice, huh?"

The bite in his voice was sharp. Petulant, even.

Like a thorn about to prick.

Jhin narrowed his eyes slightly.

"You don't look too miserable, though. Seems like you gained quite a few levels."

"…You noticed?"

"It's radiating off you. How much did you go up?"

"Ha! This place is a goldmine. I gained ten levels in just a week."

Adonis was now nearing level 110. Even for C-rank dungeon grinding, ten levels in a week was impressive.

It was almost enough to make Jhin jealous.

"That aside, Jhin — you came at the perfect time."

"Why's that?"

"We've detected some suspicious activity today."

Following Karl's lead, they stepped inside Wind's Rest. The first floor was a tavern built of warm, polished wood. The second floor housed the lodgings.

"Tell me the details."

"Right."

They gathered around one of the solid oak tables, and a server emerged from the back.

Unexpectedly, her face was familiar.

"…Eve?"

"You're Kyle, aren't you? It's an honor to meet my benefactor."

Eve — daughter of Chief Atlas, and once the key figure of a major quest — now stood in a white apron, serving food.

Why?

Adonis quickly explained.

"She insisted on cooking to repay the favor of having her life saved. And the chief gave his blessing, so we couldn't exactly refuse."

"I see."

"Besides, she's a fantastic cook."

Sure enough, the soup she brought out smelled incredible. The bread beside it steamed invitingly, fresh from the oven.

"I just made this. Please, try it."

Jhin, already starving, exchanged a glance with the others and took a spoonful. Beside him, Millie and Tempah clinked their utensils as they dug in.

Then — his goblin hat quivered.

"…Got it."

There was no need for words — the minds of Lykan and Rocket, bound to him, made their intentions clear. Jhin summoned them discreetly into a quiet corner of Wind's Rest.

"Oh, great king… an honor to serve you."

"That's enough. Eve? Would it be alright to feed these two as well?"

"Of course."

Eve soon brought out extra bowls of soup, which Lykan and Rocket gleefully buried their snouts into.

They didn't need food… but they definitely enjoyed it. Like Kimmy, they had their quirks.

Jhin let them be, and turned his focus back to Adonis.

"Sorry. Please continue."

"Right. Let me first update you on our quest progress."

While Jhin had been away in Arc, Adonis had been hard at work.

Leveling up was part of it, sure — but more importantly, he'd been gathering intel.

Their choices in quests and their completion rate would drastically affect the scenario's difficulty going forward.

"Chief Atlas's been very supportive. We even powerged to gather a sizable force of scattered Horn Tribe warriors."

Then, looking around carefully, Adonis lowered his voice.

"But the problem is — we haven't found a single trace of the players Nazoraltook with him."

"…What do you mean?"

"We think something's happened to the ones he brought along."

Jhin frowned, two possibilities coming to mind:

Either they chose to fight monsters and are out of reach… or they've already been wiped out.

Adonis continued.

"But today, we found something strange — apparently, there's a Lizardman prison where humans are being kept."

"You think Nazoral's team might be there?"

"I don't know. But it's worth checking out."

If both previous theories were wrong, the only explanation left was that Nazoral's team had been captured — which would explain why no word of them had gotten out.

And while Nazoral may have been a fake Kyle, his combat skills were very real.

'…Still, we can't be sure. They're not just up against Lizardmen anymore.'

The Company was in play now. And it was very possible they had players as strong as those from Heaven Beyond Heaven.

Adonis sighed.

"Also… there's word of an execution scheduled for tomorrow."

"…Convenient timing."

"Right. But the biggest problem is where it's happening."

He pulled a map from his pack — something easily bought at a Horn Tribe shop — and pointed at a spot in the southern corner.

"…A trap."

The scenario quest was unfolding to the north.

The execution? Scheduled in the far south.

It was obvious bait.

"There's no way we can get there and back in time. It's a full day's journey just to reach it."

In short — a textbook lose-lose dilemma.

Whichever they chose, they would be forced to sacrifice something.