After resting in a hole we were lucky to find, Ylya and I continued heading back. We managed to go back one wall, which was a huge stroke of luck, and then we rested in another hole.

After that, we started walking again and went back another wall, which changed the scenery. However, it's not better scenery. The current scene is a tropical forest with patches of sand and artificial lakes.

Fortunately, as soon as we entered this area and moved away from the red zone, Ylya started acting normally again. In other words, she went back to being the rebellious, complaining Ylya I met outside the dungeon.

This is better than the scared Ylya, since now she can actually be useful. I just hope she doesn't argue with me anymore.

"Evelyn, now that we've gone back two walls and reached a different area, are we still going to try to go back a third wall?" she asks while I'm pondering it.

"We are. I think going back one more is still useful, and it shouldn't be too difficult! We're also lucky since we haven't seen any monsters since that one in the cave..." I shut my mouth, embarrassed, as soon as I mention that.

It was the same monster that was the reason for our embarrassing, strange kiss. She also tenses up when she remembers it.

"...W-Well, Ylya, how about we take a bath? We smell horrible, like rotting meat and that uncomfortable sweetness from that area. That's bad because we're now in an area where that smell doesn't exist, so we'll attract predators," I suggest, looking at the various artificial lakes around us.

"...That makes sense. I guess we can do that. But aren't we too exposed and vulnerable if we do?" she raises an important point. We really will be vulnerable since we won't be moving or hiding.

"Yes... but it's much riskier to wander around with this current smell. And honestly, the stench of carrion is disgusting," I complain, waving my hand in front of my nose.

"So... we should..." she says, thinking the same thing I am. We need a bath to get rid of the smell from the other environment, but it's not safe to take too long, and we can't separate or the danger increases.

That makes the only option to bathe together, in the same place, at the same time, so we can finish quickly.

"...Ylya, look at me," I get her attention.

"I want to live. I refuse to be killed in this place! I have plans for the future! I want to accumulate power and wealth to help with my goals... and if I have to bathe with another girl, no matter how embarrassing it is, I'll do it."

"And you? Will you choose to risk wandering with this horrible smell of rotting flesh that can be smelled from miles away, or do you want to take a bath?" I exaggerate a little, but it's true we need to get rid of the smell.

In that other environment, the bad smell blended in, hiding our scent. But in this tropical forest area with sand, this smell makes us obvious targets.

"...Fine... but if you tell anyone, I'll kill you," she says rebelliously, walking ahead by herself towards one of the small artificial lakes. I follow her, wanting to finally get rid of the smell.

But of course, I'll take a security measure. I spread magical lines all around us, so if anything tries to sneak up close, I'll know and we can get out quickly.

'Is this what Eve wanted me to learn?' I wonder, remembering how Eve forced me to dissect the wolf. She wanted to show me that I need to learn things on my own and stop being afraid and disgusted.

And now, in this life-or-death situation, my desire to stay alive is helping me learn how to survive. Because of it, I'm being forced to learn to manipulate the magical lines with precision.

'This is so hard... When we get out of here, I really don't want to explore any dungeons for the next few days...' We both stop at a crystal-clear pond. Because it's clear, we know there are no monsters in the water, which is perfect.

I take off my dress, leaving only my bra and panties, and quickly get into the water, sinking in until only my head is above the surface. Ylya does the same. Obviously, we won't get completely naked near each other; that would cross a line for both of us.

"..." I start scrubbing my body to clean off the excess dirt and the disgusting smell, while Ylya does the same, all while staying alert to our surroundings.

'Damn, I forgot to check the water... Well, there shouldn't be anything.' I should have tested the water, but everything seems fine, and I'm mentally too tired to do it.

"This water... is quite pleasant," I murmur. The water is slightly warm from the tropical climate, but not too much; it has a pleasant, lukewarm temperature that feels good.

"I agree... the fruity smell too... it's nice," she says, and I inhale, noticing a fruity scent coming from the water.

"...Wait... a fruity smell?" I inhale more deeply, feeling that something is strange. In that red scenario, the smell of rotting flesh came from the environment itself, from the trees and the ground.

It was a "natural" smell of the scenario, even if it was horrible. But this fruity smell isn't logical, because only the water has it, and there aren't any fruits on the trees. And outside these small lakes, there wasn't any smell at all.

"..." I look around. It's empty, which is normal because the dungeon is in the elimination process.

"...Ylya..." I call her, and she looks at me while scrubbing her arm to remove the dirt.

"Something wrong?" she asks, not arguing with me. After I saved her, she decided to actually listen to my opinion, which is good.

"No... it's just strange. The water's smell is very fruity..." I say, running my hand through the water and scooping a little to taste.

"Hmmm... it tastes... like fruit..." I murmur, going back to scrubbing my body. Ylya also tastes the water and soon resumes cleaning herself.

'It's... getting kind of hot here...' I wipe my forehead, splashing water on my face. I look at my hand and see something strange.

"Vis... cous? Why is the water... viscous?" When I was washing my body, it didn't feel different from normal water, but looking at how it runs down my body and between my fingers, it's different from ordinary water. This sets off all kinds of red flags.

'...This... isn't water... but... what is it?' I look around. There are several of these small lakes.

'What's wrong?' I try to think what the problem is. I really want to get out of the water now. We're in pretty deep, and this could be dangerous.

Ever since I appeared in this dangerous world, I've always been on extra alert for strange things because I know it's a perilous world.

"Hey, Ylya... I... think we should... get out of here..." I finally notice something else. My speech is drawn out and syrupy. It's not by much, but I'm talking more slowly.

"Why? We still stink; we need more time," Ylya says normally, but it doesn't feel exactly normal now. First the fruity-smelling water, then the taste, now my slowed speech—all signs that together create suspicion.

'It's not poison... if it were poison, Ylya wouldn't be fine.' I'm a puppet, so even if it were poison, it wouldn't affect me much, which leaves me even more confused. Because I am suffering the effects, so it can't be poison.

"Ylya... listen to me... we have to get out. This lake... is strange..." I say, feeling hotter. My body feels like it's cooking, making me want to remove the only pieces of clothing I have left to cool down.

"...Evelyn... I feel strange... did you notice anything?" Ylya is red. Her face is flushed, and other parts of her are slightly reddish.

"Haaa... Haaa..." I gasp, feeling weird. I notice steam coming from my mouth, showing how hot my body is.

"It's... the water... I don't know what it is... but it's strange... I feel hot... so hot and slow..." I rise a little in the water, seeing that I'm also red, but not too much.

'Skin diseases shouldn't affect me... what is this...?' I feel hotter with every second. I try to swim out of the small lake.

"...Strange... was this lake always this big?" I ask, noticing how the edge of the lake seems distant, strangely far from the two of us.

"No... it wasn't... did it move away? Actually... since when is this lake so deep?" Ylya asks, and I look down, seeing that it seems slightly deeper than before.

"Y-Ylya, let's get out... now!" I say with some urgency, trying to swim out, but the water seems even more viscous now. Every stroke I take seems to make no difference.

I look at Ylya, who manages to swim over to me, but it's at a super slow pace too. I extend my hand, grabbing hers.

"Is it a trap?" Ylya asks, but I shake my head.

"No... at least not a dungeon trap... the dungeon doesn't make traps like this..." I murmur, pulling her with me. We both try to swim out together, but it's still horrible.

'Water... what could this be? Not a trap, not poison, not the dungeon... so...' I look at the sand, then at the other small lakes. Something they all have in common is that they are crystal-clear, small, and not very deep.

Just like this one was a few minutes ago, before it suddenly changed. I think about it quickly.

'A monster?' The only conclusion I reach is a monster, but I don't see anything near us or near the water. There's nothing in the water either.

"E-Evelyn... I feel strange... it's so hot..." Ylya now starts to speak in a drawn-out manner too, probably because she's stronger, so the effects took longer to appear on her.

"Ylya... it must be a monster..." I say, desperately trying to think of how to get out of the water. The water is the problem.

'The Water... water... what monsters use water? Sea monsters... liquid monsters and... nymphs... a nymph? A NYMPH?' This is the worst type of monster to face in our situation.

Nymphs are spirits, so to speak. There are various types, like dryads, who are nymphs of nature. There are also Naiads, linked to fresh waters—rivers, lakes, and springs.

Nereids, linked to the sea—these are bizarrely strong because they can literally cover huge areas of the marine environment. And Oreads, linked to mountains, who are also bizarrely strong depending on the size of the mountain they live on.

There are a few more types. Depending on the type, some are stronger or weaker than others.

Something common with this type of monster is that they don't attack their prey directly. Instead, they entice them with seduction, lust, wealth, and offers of power.

They are intelligent monsters that understand the language used by people and use that to try to make a person stay near them.

With the sole purpose of feeding on that being, not necessarily killing them—it depends on the type of nymph. For example, dryads attract people with offers and keep people with them until they starve to death and become fertilizer.

Most don't attack directly as long as you don't attack them, but not attacking directly doesn't stop them from attacking indirectly.

"Y-Ylya, the water... is a nymph..." When I say this, Ylya's eyes widen. The guild has a specific rule related to encountering nymphs: never get too close, or you'll be tricked.

And we unintentionally walked right into one's area. Probably the nymph is a Naiad and is inside the water, blended with the environment. She probably saw Ylya and me and thought to trap us here.

And the method for that is obvious. Ylya and I are lethargic and hot—clear signs of some kind of aphrodisiac, a very common approach considering the personalities of nymphs.

In the game, this "tradition" was given to nymphs because it was based on mythological nymphs, and mythologically, nymphs are beings linked to seduction and destruction, as beautiful but deadly forces of nature.

"We need to get out before we start doing something we shouldn't." Nymphs are curious beings; when they find more than one target, they like to observe them until they die.

She probably wants to incite Ylya and me to become sexually active with each other. But if we fall for that, we'll keep doing it until we die in the water.

Nymphs don't care about the pleasure of the person they capture; they only care about how interesting it is to observe the person. So if Ylya and I do anything here, we'll die.

I look at Ylya's face. It's becoming more and more attractive. I breathe heavily, feeling hot and a strange throbbing in my nether regions.

"W-We need... to get out of the water." I try to pull us out of the water, but it's so viscous it seems impossible to move.

"E-Evelyn... it's so hot..." Ylya uses her hand to try to remove her bra. I grab her, stopping her. This is exactly what the nymph wants. She wants to see us lose control and die over time.

"Stop... we have to get out of the water... s-she will kill us!" Nymphs are terrifying and far too dangerous for us to handle. The best choice is to get away from the water, since nymphs are bound to the area they command.

Although Naiads are scary, they have a limited range when they're in lakes. And around here, there are only lakes, so as long as we get back to the sand, we'll be relatively safe.

"No... I don't want to... I like the water..." Ylya says the dumbest thing possible. I slap her face.

"O-Ow..."

"Ylya, listen carefully... nymphs don't care about other beings! She's in the water, watching... she'll watch us starve and exhaust ourselves to death, and then she'll drain the minerals from our corpses!"

"The water... isn't good! SHE WILL KILL US!" I yell at her, and she regains a bit of her reasoning. She tries desperately to swim, and I help. If we both keep at it without losing control or stopping, we can get out of the water.

If we swim together, we can get out, because the Naiad in the water won't try to stop us directly; it's not their style.

For her, it's more fun to see if we can escape or if we'll fall for her trick.

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