“!”

  Somnu finally came to, finding himself staring at the cavern’s ceiling far in the distance.

  “Is he dead?!”

  “No, I got his heart working again, but…”

  “His eyes are still staring in one direction like he’s…”

  The smell of wet stone, the feeling of the humid cool air hitting his naked body, the dry taste of his mouth, and the voices of Lulu and Mathros around him.

  One by one, his senses returned to him, eventually reactivating his thoughts.

  I… survived. He thought, closing his eyes and embracing the moment devoid of all the pain and agony he had just experienced. I’m… alive.

  He so desperately wanted to sleep, to simply allow himself to give into a state of unconsciousness. He wanted, nay, needed a break.

  His mind needed a break.

  “Hey! His eyes are closed!”

  “What?”

  THUD!

  “Agh!”

  “Asshole! If you’re alive, say something!” Lulu bellowed as she kicked the survivor in the gut. “Do you even know how worried we were?! What even happened down there?! It was just chaos!”

  “Give me a break, Lulu…” Somnu muttered as he tried to sit up. “I was trying to enjoy the moment…”

  Raising his gaze, Somnu finally saw Mathros crouched down to check on him, and Lulu standing over him with her still torched arms on her hips. They were just a few dozen meters away from the cursed subterranean lake. And for some reason, the surface of the water was filled with floating pieces of weightless debris.

  “Don’t make me kick you again, it’s Lucy to you! And what moment is that, pervert?” She threatened, raising a long rabbit foot above his head. “Put some damn clothes on already!”

  “Ah…” Somnu flinched and tried to defend himself by raising his arms, but only his right one seemed to answer his call. “Right…”

  His left arm was devoured by the Dreadbeast.

  Let’s hope the next level up or rank up can do something about that… He encouraged himself, but he knew things couldn’t be resolved that easily.

  “...”

  Noticing his silence as he looked towards his missing arm, the other two frowned and looked away. Lulu glanced over at her captain briefly, arching a brow, but then looked away again.

  Sensing the almost palpable tension, Somnu scratched the back of his head and tried to put on a silly smile.

  “Hey, don’t tell me one of you had to do mouth to mouth?” He asked jokingly, finally noticing a slight soreness around his mouth.

  Looking down, Mathros’ cloak seemed to be covering Somnu’s dignity at the very least.

  “That’s what you’re worried about?” Lulu raised an eyebrow.

  “It’s a very important question. Did I let out all the water I swallowed or-”

  “I don’t think you swallowed any water…” Mathros finally spoke, turning his head back to face Somnu. “When I dove in and found you amongst the rubble, your outfit was wrapped around your mouth and neck to prevent that…”

  Grudgekeeper…? Did it do that when I summoned it at the end? The scarecrow wondered, then realized both Fala and Grudgekeeper were summoned but not around. Instead, he kept getting pop-up messages about slain Nightmare Creatures. Are they seriously out hunting now…? No, instead of worrying here, they went out to farm Terror Cores for me. I guess they understand that leveling up heals me… Even the little serpent is gone too.

  “... Mathros worked hard to get your heart beating again!” After darting her eyes around for a moment between the lizardman and Somnu, Lulu finally proclaimed. “You better be grateful for him.”

  “Yeah… I couldn’t have done this without you guys…” Somnu lowered his head slightly. “I really appreciate everything you’ve done.”

  And yet, despite his gratitude, the two in front of him seemed more conflicted than before.

  Somnu could guess the reasons why they were acting that way. It wasn’t that his feelings of disappointment weren’t there, but after what had just happened to him, a wave of calmness was enveloping him along with a sense of clarity.

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  Both Mathros and Lulu had their struggles too, and all three of them managed to do what they set out to do, all at a cost of one simple arm.

  And the way Somnu saw it right now…

  It was worth it… Everyone is safe and sound.

  A scarecrow would have gladly sacrificed an arm if it meant the crop would be protected and preserved.

  Somnu had nothing to complain about. Nothing at all.

  However, his current feelings and attitude only seemed to make matters worse.

  “You don’t need to defend me, Lulu.” Mathros got up and took a step back, still facing the one he saved. “This was my fault. I hesitated to come to your aid. I struggled to resist my compass… and I put you at risk after you so readily trusted me.” He slowly crouched down, tucked his tail close to his side, then laid flat on the ground, face down. “For that, I truly apologize to you. I will do my utmost to pay back this debt.”

  “...”

  Somnu opened his eyes a little wider. He guessed the gesture was supposed to be the Grodrans’ way of lowering their head, or bowing when apologizing.

  The many wounds on the lizardman’s body from the aging restriction, along with the darkening of his green scales were apparent. Somnu could see how worried the party captain had been about him, not having spared a moment to heal his wounds despite the newly obtained rewards he should have gotten by now.

  The scarecrow felt as though a half-assed answer would only disrespect Mathros’ efforts here.

  “I’ll be looking forward to seeing that then.” Somnu said with a hint of a smile. “And despite it all, we did it, and we are all safe. That’s what matters in the end.”

  “Thank you…” Mathros muttered,sitting back up with a slight wince.

  Next to them, Lulu let out a quick sigh, then curled up the corners of her mouth too.

  “?!”

  Then, the moment of bliss shattered once more.

  As if some kind of drug had finally worn out, Somnu was assaulted with a rush of striking pain, piercing through whatever calmness he had been feeling.

  His skin around his entire body was riddled with peeled patches and ripped hair, throbbing all over.

  His left shoulder that had been mostly calm thus far, suddenly grew hotter and hotter, as if it was going to melt the rest of his upper body.

  “AUGHH!!”

  “W-what is it?!” Lulu jumped up.

  “Shit, it must be the wounds! The lake’s effects must’ve worn off! Level up quickly!” Mathros rushed forward.

  Consume 10 Terror Cores!

  [You have consumed 10 Terror Cores.]

  [You have leveled up.]

  [Hollow Core Level: Level 100.]

  [Congratulations!]

  [Your Hollow Core has accumulated enough strength for a rank up!]

  [Would you like to rank up your Hollow Core now?]

  Yes.

  Not having time to properly check the rewards or any of the other details at the moment, Somnu immediately rushed towards healing his body.

  [Processing…]

  [ERROR!]

  [Unable to rank up!]

  Crow-Shit! Why not, damn you! Somnu cried out inwardly, fighting through the overwhelming burning sensation invading his body.

  [Sleeper is defective!]

  Again with that?! I thought we were over this… I got a System, didn’t I? The scarecrow gritted his teeth.

  [Recalibrating…]

  You do that…

  Somnu clenched his fists and tried to ride the pain until his System could figure out what was going on.

  This isn’t so bad… It doesn’t even begin to compare to-

  “?!”

  Before he could finish his thought, the pain increased again suddenly.

  It seemed to be ever-increasing.

  Dammit! What is going on?!

  [System has been temporarily shut down.]

  You can’t be serious…!

  [Affirmative.]

  If you do that, then…!

  Everything around Somnu was blurring, he couldn’t see or hear the other two around him.

  He knew what it meant if his System was taken down.

  He might have retained some of the physical upgrades he had received, but without the boosted natural abilities, his body returned to feeling pain at a much greater level than it had before.

  This was true pain that could rival his prior experiences.

  Soon enough, he was beginning to convulse again.

  “AGHHH!!”

  “What should we do!?” Lulu asked, the shaking voice leaking the panic she usually kept hidden.

  “I… I don’t know what’s going on!” Mathros cried out, reaching towards the convulsing body. “Somnu! Tell us what’s happening! Why aren’t you leveling up?!”

  “He clearly can’t tell you that! We need to think of something here! Maybe Almon-”

  “Almon is too far away now! I don’t think Somnu can hold out that long!” The lizardman bit his bottom lip, enough to draw blood.

  Somnu couldn’t think clearly, but there was only one thing that kept repeatedly popping into his mind.

  As much as he would have normally hated the idea, he once again had no other choice.

  The pain alone was going to send him into shock again soon, and then kill him for good.

  He couldn’t wait or rely on the unpredictable System any longer either.

  Instead, he reached out and grabbed onto Mathros’ collar.

  “You have to… do this… for me….” He said through gritted teeth, part of him still thankful the System at least left the translation ability behind. “Please…”

  “What is it?! What should I do?!” Mathros shouted readily.

  “The cursed lake… Give me its water…”

  “?!”

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