Caiden whispered to the dark nothingness he's currently in. It was dark and nothing can be seen, especially now that Caiden's visions are blurry and his head, dazy.

Trying to move, his limbs only twitched. Caiden could only barely move his muscles, but nevertheless, he decided and forced himself to stand up.

Standing upon his knees, he felt pain suddenly struck his head. From the pain, he instinctively put a hand on his head, and he felt an odd liquid coming out of it.

( ... )

It was definitely blood. That sticky viscous feeling of wet liquid was definitely blood.

( Tsk! )

[ Everyone! ] with a click of his tongue, he shouted, rolling then his head to all directions.

[ Everyone! Where are you guys!? ] he repeated.

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[ Alicia! Vlad-san! ] shouting his loudest, he called for his companions; never minding the blood that is flowing from his head.

But then suddenly -

SFX: Stumble!*

( Thi-This is! ) he stumbled to his feet.

His legs are shaking and he can't seem to be able to use them.

[ Tsk! How did this happen? ] with this question, he started to reminisce about what had happened -

It was that time in the odd room - Alicia fell for an obvious trap and Vlad had tried to stop him but she did not listen to him at all. Now, this is the result of her action: Everyone not just got separated, but also hurt.

[ That Alicia...! She got too carried away...! ]

His face twisted in both anger and pain as he shouted those words.

"How could she do this?", "This was clearly her fault.","If she only listened to Vlad-san!" - the words of anger and disappointment resounded inside his mind.

[ She's no different to Arthur...! ] he muttered, reminiscing what had happened to his other companion.

( Both blinded by something unnecessary... Just how stupid my companions are! ) with that shout of anger inside his head, he tried to stand up again, but this time, he used his hands to support his legs.

( Tsk! But I don't have the time to think about that now... Any more of my blood and I'll pa.s.s out. )

[ Whe-Where is it...? ] muttering so as he started to panic, he started to blindly search his body, particularly his armor, for the small bag he took with him.

The bag he was searching for is not more than a pouch. It's not Caiden's style to bring a lot of items, especially bringing a large bag with him that might hinder his movements.

( There...! ) after just a few seconds, he was able to find it, hidden on the waist part of his heavy armor.

He immediately opened the entrance of the pouch, and there, a piece of cloth and two bottles of potions with green liquid was found inside it.

He used the piece of cloth and wrapped it around his head to stop his bleeding, then, he opened the lid of one of the potions and drank the green liquid inside it.

[ Haah... The potion will take a while before it shows its effects... I need to rest for a while for now and think calmly... ] with those words, he tried to sit again and rest.

But as soon as he lays his backside to the ground, the room he was in suddenly lit up.

[ ...! ]

( Thi-This is...! ) shock run through Caiden as he saw the walls of the room he was in.

The walls to which Caiden thought was just rough stones and rocks, turns out to be made of st.u.r.dy-looking bricks with a yellowish color. The walls are also now filled with torches, in which Caiden thinks are imbued with magic.

( ... )

[ So this is why it's called ancient ruins, huh...? ] he muttered, still baffled.

He then turned his head up and saw an obvious hole that's now been covered up just above the ceiling. It's the hole he came from.

[ I hope everyone's still alive... ]

***

Sarah continued to walk to the bright corridor of the ancient ruins, or to be exact, the "Dungeon" as her master had called it.

Maybe because of her luck, Sarah landed safely on the ground, sliding on the slope of the walls, unlike her other companions.

[ I saw it... It seems everyone got separated... But like master had said, I need to keep calm in situations like this... ] she muttered to herself as she continued to walk with her guard up.

That was right. After her master ran towards Alicia, she too, followed, but before she could follow up behind her master, an earthquake came and shook the earth, splitting it into numbers Sarah was not able to count.

As the person who was in the middle, she was able to clearly see that everyone else fall into the ground like she, and none were left above the room they were in before.

[ I need to find everyone... ] taking the sword placed in her waist, Sarah made a very serious expression.

( If I was able to survive that fall, that means everyone else also did. I need to immediately find them. )

[ Master had already predicted a situation like this and gave us all kinds of items that will help us survive. As expected of master; always prepared for everything. I need to meet his expectations. ]

***

[ N-Nina! ] Lumi shouted, holding Nina's pale shoulders.

Nina and Lumi fell straight to the ground. But with Nina's support magic "Aura s.h.i.+eld", which she cast on both of them before falling down, she was able to minimize the damage they took and she was able to make a safe landing for the two of them.

But because of the large amount of mana her magic consumed, Nina fell limp on the ground, exhausted.

[ ThThat's right...! MMana potions...! Ju-Just like master had said... ] panicking, Lumi immediately went for Nina's bag on the ground.

Opening it, she took two bottles inside: one filled with red liquid, and the other with blue.

[ Master said the blue ones when exhausted...! ] saying so, she opened the lid of the mana potion and made Nina drink its content.

SFX: Cough! Cough!

[ Lumi-nee... ] immediately, Nina was able to open her eyes and she was now able to regain her lost energy, mana.

[ Haah... ] Seeing her finally regain her strength, Lumi sighed in relief.

[ Nina, are you feeling okay now? ]

[ Un. ] Nina nodded to her question.

[ Yos.h.!.+ Yos.h.!.+ Nina, now that you're okay, we need to immediately find Sarah and master! I can smell Sarah and Caiden-san nearby but I can't seem to track master's smell at all... ]

[ MMaster...!? Where is master!? Lumi-nee!? ] opening her eyes wide, she asked Lumi.

[ I... I don't know... But we need to find Sarah and Caiden-san first before we go to master... ]

There are many reasons why Lumi chose that plan rather than to immediately go search for their master -

[ It looks like master and Alicisan went far below the dungeon... That's why I can't track their smell... Master had already taught us what we should do when we're in this situation, right? We need to prioritize the closest people rather than the farthest ones... We need to prioritize Sarah and maybe Caiden-san. ] she said with a complicated look on her face.

Lumi is having second thoughts. She's been friends with Sarah for this past week, and between her and her master, Sarah is the easiest to reach, but her instinct and affection for her master are telling her to choose him.

( But master had said it himself... There's no chance that he will perish in this dungeon... And our team needs to prioritize each other... )

[ Nina, we need to follow master's orders. Let's go for Sarah and Caiden-san first. ]

Hearing her words, Nina also showed the same face Lumi has. She too wants to prioritize her master if possible. But still, as a slave and a disciple, she needs to follow the orders of her master.

[ Okay... Let's do it fast, Lumi-nee! Nina will support you! Find Sarah-nee first then we'll go to master! ]

[ Un! But we also need to search for Caiden-san too. ]

[ Caiden... san? ]

( ... )

[ Don't tell me you already forgot about him...? ]