When the flash faded and my vision returned—though I wasn’t even sure if I could call it “returned”—my eyes opened to a blurry, hazy scene.

Still, gathering all the sensory input I had from my body, I realized—

Whoooosh—

I was sinking underwater.

And fast.

Kwoong—!

As soon as I regained my senses, my body hit the maximum depth, sending a heavy vibration through me.

At the same time—

“Ah, that stings.”

A sharp pain blossomed in my shoulder.

Like something sharp had pierced it.

Startled, I quickly turned my head to check beside me, and saw a monster clinging tightly to my shoulder, biting down like a goby fish.

“...Uh, that thing is...”

A 5th-grade fish-type monster, a Hoppfish.

Even through my blurred vision, I recognized the monster biting my shoulder—and naturally realized where I was.

Because this monster only appears in two places:

The 6th floor sea, and the Dreamfall Waterfall in the 9th layer Stargrave.

No need to guess which it was.

「Character has entered a special zone.」

「Field effect — Dreamfall Waterfall applied.」

Additional info popped up, and the rough cause-and-effect situation formed in my head.

The Bone Dragon’s ‘Dispel’ succeeded in teleporting me.

But it was incomplete.

‘Looks like everyone else got teleported to random spots... and I alone ended up here...’

Suddenly, I worried about the others.

For classes like Ibaekho’s solo-ready type, maybe it’s possible—but for mages or priests, surviving alone on the 9th floor is almost impossible.

But...

‘That’s enough worrying.’

Right now, I should focus on surviving myself.

So I swung my arm and shook off the Hoppfish biting my shoulder.

Then...

‘Let’s go.’

I dragged my heavy body forward, still underwater.

Finding the right direction was easy.

The current in Dreamfall Waterfall always flows toward the center of the field.

If I just floated the boat on the water, it would inevitably drift toward the waterfall.

So if I walked in the opposite direction, I would eventually reach land.

Judging by the presence of the Hoppfish, the land wasn’t far.

Therefore...

Splash, splash.

I carefully stepped on the ground that swallowed me up to my ankles each time.

But unfortunately, obstacles kept appearing.

‘Seriously losing my mind here.’

Every step woke nearby monsters sleeping under the water, and they aggroed on me.

Fwoooosh—!

I tried swinging the Demon Crusher out of annoyance, but it didn’t help much.

Slowed by water resistance, hitting underwater monsters was too difficult.

Whoosh—!

They would nimbly retreat when I swung, then approach and bite me as if nothing happened.

‘Damn bastards...’

In the end, I gave up trying to shake them off and focused on moving forward.

Some clung to me, biting and gnawing, but I ignored them and just kept walking.

“Puhhaaaat!!”

Since it was still near where Hoppfish spawn, I soon reached land.

Well... sort of soon.

‘Whew, I really thought I was done for.’

Near the end, I almost suffocated underwater, but thankfully managed to get out just in time.

Now, it was time for revenge.

Crack! Crack! Crack!

I smashed the monsters that dared to follow me onto land with my hammer until they lay sprawled out.

“Haa, haa, haa...”

After fighting fiercely with the Bone Dragon and then struggling underwater, I was so exhausted I couldn’t even move a finger.

So I lay flat on the ground, taking a rest while organizing my thoughts.

As always, the most important question in a crisis:

What should I do next?

No deep pondering was needed.

‘First, I need to regroup.’

Alone, I had to cautiously explore the 9th layer and reunite with the scattered party members.

That was the top priority.

A secondary goal would be to find clues or a way to escape the Stargrave while doing so.

“Huff...”

Suppressing the urge to lie down and rest more, I forced myself to get up.

I was relatively advantaged at survival in the 9th layer, but everyone except Ibaekho wasn’t.

So as the easiest one to move, I had to try harder—

“...Huh?”

As I tried to take a step, I froze.

I had no idea why.

“...Jaina?”

I’d already found the first party member.

She was no more than five meters from where I had been lying.

‘Why didn’t I see her before?’

I thought that, but also understood why.

Honestly, I wasn’t in a state to notice.

Anyway, that wasn’t the important thing—

“Jaina!”

I ran quickly to check her condition.

From a distance, she looked like a corpse, but thankfully she was still alive.

At least for now.

Swiftly, I removed the thick coat she always wore tightly.

Underneath was her teal chest armor.

No. 2,578 Sky Breastplate.

Not an item that boosted stats, powers, or regeneration, but ranked highly in defense.

I always called it her “life jacket.”

‘That’s what kept her alive.’

Ironically, though, it was also causing her death at this moment.

The breastplate’s chest area was deeply dented, pressing hard on her lungs.

Judging by that, her ribs were probably all broken too.

‘Shit... how do I get this off?’

It was quite a tricky situation.

To treat her, I had to remove the armor first, but in her current state, that was impossible.

So...

“This is to save you. Understand.”

I told unconscious Jaina what I was about to do and asked for her understanding.

I slid my fingers into a small gap in the armor.

Then...

“Aaaaaaah!!!”

I pulled hard, °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° tearing the armor apart from both sides.

If the armor had been in normal condition, it would have been impossible, but since it had been severely crushed earlier, its durability dropped.

The armor slowly opened and then suddenly ripped apart.

‘Will it be repairable?’

That thought crossed my mind, but I chose not to care.

If not, I’d just buy a new one.

I looked like I had saved quite a bit of money.

Ciiiiiik—!

After removing the armor that would surely block healing, I immediately poured a potion on her.

Bubbles fizzed visibly.

Just seeing that made me feel the pain, but she was so close to death that she didn’t even react to the healing.

So I poured another potion and kept checking her condition nearby.

Ciiiiiik—!

Only the creepy sound of fizzing continued for a while.

“Ugh... uuh...”

Jaina seemed to regain some consciousness as faint groans escaped her lips, and she began to writhe.

Then I noticed—

‘She has a tattoo on her side.’

Tattoos on explorers aren’t unusual, but Jaina’s was somewhat unique.

First, it was very small.

About the size of a thumb.

It was crude, like drawn by an amateur, and the color had faded as if a long time had passed.

‘...Could she be from Noark?’

When I was in Noark, the slum’s pinnacle, I’d seen kids with such crude tattoos.

None were by their own will but forced by others—well, rather, by a moment of indulgence.

Like the tattoo under Amelia’s eye.

“Huff... huff... huff...”

About ten minutes passed as Jaina kept twisting her body and groaning roughly.

Then she started breathing heavily and muttering to herself.

“......”

Her voice was so soft and slurred at first I couldn’t understand.

It sounded like chanting in a dialect.

But the more I listened, the more I realized.

I still didn’t understand the words, but—

“uck......”

It wasn’t the language of this world.

‘...So she was an evil spirit after all.’

Maybe it was the ‘evil spirit language’ Ibaekho joked about daily, unconsciously slipping out.

But somehow, I doubted that.

“Huff... huff...”

After watching for a while, her muttering stopped, and her breathing gradually normalized.

From experience, it was now the right time to talk.

“Are you feeling a little better?”

I shook her shoulder lightly and her eyelids fluttered open weakly.

“What... what happened...?”

Wow, even upon waking she tried to understand the situation.

Usually, those types survive longer.

Maybe it’s because she’s from [Dungeon and Stone].

“What do you remember?”

“The boat... got hit... then I passed out...”

“You passed out, so the plan went as intended and the multiple teleport magic was cast.

But the Bone Dragon’s interference made the spell incomplete.”

“Incomplete...?”

“Seems like everyone was teleported randomly.

I landed in the middle of Dreamfall Waterfall, barely swam to shore, and found you unconscious.”

“That happened...?”

“How’s your body? Can you stand? We want to move soon, since we’ve been here too long.”

“Please... help me a little.”

I helped Jaina up, but she couldn’t stand, so I carried her.

“Oof...!”

“It’ll be easier if I just carry you.”

“......”

Staying in one place too long wasn’t good, so we started moving with Jaina on my back, talking as we went.

“Where are you headed?”

“To the Primordial Land. Since it’s central, everyone will likely wake up and head there.”

Besides, the Primordial Land connects every area, so depending on the situation, we can quickly get to the destination.

“Anyway, try to avoid fighting as much as possible.

When you regain strength, do some detecting.”

“...Sounds like some kind of tool.”

“If you don’t want to, just recover fast.

It’ll be easier for me, too.”

“......”

And so began the two of us traveling together.

Maybe because it was just the two of us, her speech was much more coherent than usual.

‘Maybe because she knows if I abandon her, it’s over.’

I don’t know, but she even gave me a somewhat humble thank you.

“...Thank you for saving me.”

“If you want to thank me, heal me well in battle later.

Looks like Aures gets more healing spells even though you’re both injured.”

“...That’s just your imagination.”

Hmm, I’m not so sure...

“By the way, you were an evil spirit too?”

I asked casually at a totally unexpected moment.

I felt her grip on my shoulder tighten.

“Guess that’s right.”

Hearing my muttering, Jaina stayed silent for a moment.

Then I chuckled.

“Why bother hiding it?

Just being with Ibaekho is enough to make you a traitor to the palace.”

Maybe that pushed her to admit.

“...How did you know?”

“I heard you muttering in ‘evil spirit language’ while you were unconscious.”

But her reaction to my proof was surprising.

“Me...? That can’t be...”

“Usually, people who talk in their sleep don’t know they do it—”

“No, that’s not it.

It just... doesn’t make sense.”

“Doesn’t make sense?”

She seemed confused.

After hesitating a long while, she spoke.

“I’m an evil spirit, but I have no memories of that other world.”

...Huh?

What was that supposed to mean?