Exhaustion slowly crawled its way toward me.
I was pretty sure that the others were probably panicking.
That didn't come to me as a fear of course... At least now, they are safe. They aren't facing dangerous monsters and I don't need to constantly keep an eye out for Nada if she was bleeding.
The last time I checked, she had a scratch along her leg.
It feels so guilty... My mind keeps repeating "I am sorry"...
Afterall, she had been guarding my back for so long...
Finally, I collapsed onto the ground beside my sword. My vision was quite blurry at the edges as the darkness threathened to catch up on me.
But I was too determined to fall asleep right now. So I gripped my sword and pushed myself up on my knees again.
Still, it didn't hurt to rest up for a while.
Leaning against the wall—and with my sword beside me—I finally got to relax and let my body recover from the intense battle I had just gone through.
As a first time-r, I am actually proud of myself. The way to fight wasn't always as easy as it seemed, and to have gotten so far as to have finished eight beasts in one round.
Or is it because of being a reader that I managed to go this far?
However, whether I was a reader or not—I should still be happy that I managed to face things worse then Earth and still survive.
But honestly...
...My mental illness was shut off all g a sudden. I heard nothing, my ears ringing and—as if it was after so long—my brain was silent.
No worry, no fear, no anxiety. Not even the trauma of having to feel the stings of the words coming out of my own mother's mouth.
...I wished I could pause time right there and come back to it whenever I felt like I needed its help.
Hah!
It didn't even last five minutes, and I suddenly heard footsteps approach me from the area leading to where the others were.
That reminded me of something.
Between the person who is first and the person who is last; the last would finish it first.
Whether it was good or bad, it didn't matter. But this was common for all things.
And then there is another quote, similar to this.
They say go first, get eaten by a tiger—but go last, win treasure.
I was wondering... Which applied to me.
Did I get eaten by a tiger for stepping in, or did I win a treasure—which I don't know.
But whatever the answer, I hope it never touches any one of my prized possessions...
As the steps grew closer, I slowly opened my eyes and looked up at the person directly standing in front of me.
Sasha.
"I was starting to worry whether you died or simply fell unconscious... It seems its neither," she said, while clasping her hands behind her and bending down so I won't have to look too high and strain my eye muscles.
"Why...?" My voice came out raspy. "Did you anticipate my death that much?"
"Ouch. That hurt," she theatrically held her chest, and made a sad face.
It made me laugh, as I watched her sit beside me on the ground.
"So... You made a new sword? And the blade is already about to break."
"I only had thirty minutes... So in that case... This is brilliant."
"Yeah? Whatever."
"And I will tone it up later on. I just need to find the time and energy to do it."
"When would that be?"
I leaned my head back and shut my eyes, letting out a deep breath that finally felt fulfilling.
"Firstly... Right after this dungoen, I will face a lot of problems with the faculty. Not only because I managed to make it out alive, I also suddenly turned a sword into a kitchen knife and had the entire beast horde killed. And I am not even injured...
"Besides—I had an argument with Avry. That woman is not easy to deal with and she expected that I enter without a thing to keep me safe.
"I have a feeling that I will be dragged through the 'fight in the cafeteria' conversation again along with it. They just... Hate me that much."
Explaining was easy, but going through them...
"I just wished I never thought about running away back then. I wish I just loved my previous life on Earth and found out someway to turn the bad things around."
...It was extreme, and as if I was walking directly on top of burning coal.
Sasha looked sideway at my face.
"You know... You should think about the good parts of this planet too," she suddenly said. Her voice was incredibly soft and soothing.
"How?" I asked back, tilting my head a bit to the side and offering her a smile.
"Because of certain circumstances, you were finally able to leave the abusive nature you grew up in," she smiled back. "Even though, going through dungeon fights will make it seem like abuse is better... You will find it so that fight beasts feels lighter then taking beating from people who love breaking you for no proper reasons."
I stared at her face, my expression faltered a bit as I processed what she just told me.
True... It did feel lighter.
So light... That my mind stayed silent for the first time in so long, right after that.
I looked away blankly, towards the patch of ground in front of me.
"Honestly, now that I think back. It would be totally understandable if one day, you woke up and chose to be a villain."
"Hm?"
"Besides... The way you took down these beasts and protected everyone... There is a reason you are my favorite character," Sasha lifted her hand, flicking me in the forehead. "You have an invincible mind. But you are your own destructor."
I rubbed my fingers against my forehead. "So... Was that an insult? Or an advice...?"
She giggled. "None, silly. It was a way to help you out of your thoughts."
Slowly, she stood up, then looked sideways and offered me her hand.
"Get up. You have your rest, now let's return. We can't alter the narrative as much as we want."
Slowly, I reached out, and let her haul me up.
"So..."
"Hm?"
"Aren't you going say which part of it was your favorite?"
"Of what?"
"The fight?" She raised an eyebrow. "When you cut down those beasts like it was nothing?"
"..."
It took me a while to understand what she meant. Then, "I think it was normal."
She looked disappointed. "Normal?! What about anything more then just normal?!"
"Average?"
"Seriously?!"
"I am not used to doing this. So... This is the start of the scale for now."
"Oh..."
"Besides that. How are the injured candidates doing?"
"They are holding up well for a while. Although... Given how we both fought at the cafeteria on the third day, they didn't even get half as injured as either of us."
"Stop comparing them to us!" I softly yelled.
She chuckled in response.
A moment of silence went by, until she opened her mouth again.
"So... What is your opinion to yourself after slaying those monsters?" She repeated.
I let out a sigh. "That I need to start working out."
"Hey! That is a better response, you know!"
As we walked, we spoke about many things.
And neither of us even bothered to check how much the narrative had moved because of our recent actions.
But I can say one thing...
Unlike in the novel, Nada isn't as badly hurt.
And if anything... I hope things don't go downhill for her. Even if... It were for me to replace them for her.
***
"It has been fourty-five minutes already. Do we we start going in?" A professor asked, checking his pocket watch while glancing at the dungoen entrance. At his other hand was a weapon.
"Wait. The more injured they are, it would result on our advantage," the department head answered, grinning. "They won't have any other choice but to succumb to our words. This is an experiment afterall."
The plan was, that they would sent them into dungoens, them rescue them at the end after nearly collapsing.
Manipulating them into believing the faculty truly wanted the good for them.
That was the case... Unless one person had been informed about it.
As soon as they were about to head back, the dungoen started to spit out the treasure stored inside.
Then, one by one, the participants started to exit.
"What...?" Someone asked.
Injured ones grabbed the shoulders of the half-injured ones. But neither looked like they had survived the beasts... Let alone finish them.
Then, the last few walked out.
Unlike their original expectations, Candidate fifteen walked out last. At her side was a bloodstained, chipped sword.
It didn't look anything like a dungoen treasure. But still...
The head professor signalled Avry and another.
They nodded before walking over to Aefia's place.
She was chatting with Candidate thirteen, when a shadow fell over her.
Her dark eyes narrowed down as she glanced at their faces, her face covered in stains—that hinted the answer they were looking for.
She was the reason the others made it out alive.
However... Per instructions—
"Candidate Fifteen," Avry smiled. "Seeing as how you entered the dungoen with a mere kitchen knife and exited with a sword—we are assuming that you stole... The artifact."
Aefia grit her teeth so hard, a muscle jumped at her jaw.
"We say that you return it... Or we can cease it... And interrogate you," the other one spoke. "Your previous case with Candidate thirteen is still unsolved. So let's find the answer to both cases at once."
What the absolute fuck?! She thought, her fist clenching at her sides—although she had predicted it enough. Out of dozen others... It is always me?!
Seeing her reaction, Avry reached out towards the sword.
But Aefia hid it behind her.
She raised an eyebrow. "Candidate—"
"Fifteen..." Aefia continued. "Candidate fifteen this. Candidate fifteen that... I am done. I am keeping this sword. Take me for interrogation."
Sasha looked surprised beside her. But she simply folded her arms and walked away. From the distance, she watched as Aefia volunteeringly walked towards a seperate room.
"Hm..." She breathed out. "I will leave her to deal with her own situations then..."
And as if hearing that—Aefia looked over her shoulder and glared at Sasha with eyes that spoke all words for her.
It made her shudder, her body visibly trembling from the intensity of it
Reluctantly enough, Sasha walked away.
***
Meanwhile...
Shring!
Aefia stayed pinned to an armchair with her wrists bounded to the armrest and her waist tied to the backrest. A blade held near her neck as she continued to stare with her pupils—which had turned slit like an aggressive animal's.
"You are quite calm... You know," Avry begin, smirking. "You may as well die...?"
Aefia's eyes stayed locked at the blank wall in between the two professors.
Avry deliberately poked the side of her face with her nails. "What is it? Candidate Fifteen? Does the wall look interesting to you?"
The nails digging into her skin was provoking her further.
"Have you got no shame?" She pushed further. Poking twice in a row. "Do I need to—"
"Just slit my throat if you want..."
Aefia finally lifted her eyes up at Avry's face. "I am not going to make a complain... Do it."
Avry turned silent, retracting her hand a bit. "Don't look at me in the eyes like that."
She smirked on return. "Why? Does it hurt you?" Her head tilting to the side.
"Besides... You seem like you really ain't going away without a fight."
Silence downed in the room. The atmosphere turning toxic.
Then—
Slap!
—Avry struck Aefia's face. With enough force to cause a loud crack to echo back and forth in the room.
"Tsk... Kids these days love to be rebellious," the other professor said. "Firstly, they don't respect their elders. Then they don't want to listen to warnings. Now... They also have a sharp tongue."
Aefia turned her head back straight to face forward.
"..."
"Anyways. Back to the main part," Avry finally said. "Since eyou came out uninjured, we assume you have external magic that helped you out. So now... Answer truthfully..."
She leaned down near Aefia's face.
"Did you make a contract with some sort of system or entity? You are unusually uninjured."
"..." She continued to glare.
Then, she bent forward and pretended to cough.
Blood splashed onto her knees from her mouth. She slowly lifted her head up with a smile, tilting her head mischievously.
"So... A slap can't result in that much blood. Could it be... I am injured afterall?"
*********************
First draft: 01.11.2025
Rewritten: 21.08.2026