Axel and Nina were clueless as to where they were. All they knew was that Fenrir had done her best, running deep into the Red Zone just so they could survive.

"And so... you think we can still return?" Axel asked Fenrir, who was sticking to him like glue.

"Of course, Master!" Fenrir's response contained no hesitation at all. "As I went in a straight line, as long as we confirm our bearing from last time, we can easily backtrack it!"

"You... really changed."

Axel couldn't help but comment.

He wasn't sure how it had happened, but where Fenrir had once been taciturn and cool, her current behavior was more girlish—flippant, energetic, and carefree. The gap between her before and after would make anyone wonder if a different soul had been placed inside her instead.

Of course, Nina had already confirmed that it truly was Fenrir, not a single fragment missing or mixed.

That meant her current attitude was merely her "real" face, one that had remained hidden under a mask of indifference. A change that kept bugging Axel nonstop.

"A single direction, huh..." he whispered. "Then how do we figure out which direction we were facing when we arrived here?"

"..."

Nobody was able to answer his question.

It had been two days since then, so the ground had already changed, with shifting dust and earth blown by powerful gusts of wind. As such, they couldn't even see the Humvee's tracks anymore.

And for Fenrir, even if she could still smell her own bloodstains on the ground, that alone wasn't enough to tell which direction they should be heading.

In short, the three of them were lost.

"No, wait!" Axel exclaimed. "The Red Zone is basically north on the map, right? So if we head south, we'll definitely get out of this place sooner or later!"

Furthermore, from the current time and the angle of the sun, it wasn't hard to determine which direction was south.

"As expected of Master!" Fenrir cheered, hugging him even tighter from behind.

"Then that means we'll be heading that way for a while, right?" Nina added. "Miss Fenrir, how far did we move into the Red Zone, anyway?" she asked to confirm.

"Huh? Distance...?" Fenrir tilted her head, humming in thought. "About... ten thousand kilometers?"

To escape from Surtr, she had pushed herself, using her dimensional jump ability countless times. That estimate was rough, based on what she could remember, and could be even farther in the worst case.

"Ah..."

Axel couldn't help but feel tired.

Even using the Humvee, that would be a full week of restless travel—assuming there were no monsters popping up along the way to slow them down.

"Don't we have any other options...?" Axel grumbled lightly.

However, he had already run out of registered Return Scrolls. Their only option was teleportation, but Fenrir's skill had a limited range. If she pushed herself, they could return in a day, but even that was still "too long" in Axel's mind.

"Uhm..." At that moment, Nina raised her hand with a suggestion. "Then what if we find a nearby fortress and fix it? Fortresses usually have teleporters, so we could use those..."

Axel paused, staring at Nina for a moment.

"...You're a genius."

He praised her, then turned to Fenrir behind him and gave a short command.

"Then, Fenrir! Go around and search for the closest fortress! You can do that much, right?!" he said. "If you find one, return immediately so we can head there!"

"Yes, Master!"

At his words, Fenrir moved at once.

She used her ability to move several kilometers at a time, surveying the few dozen kilometers around them. It didn't take her even a minute before she arrived at a certain location.

In a blink, her figure returned to Axel's side, hugging him from behind like a clingy girlfriend once more. "I found one, Master. It's 28.4 kilometers in that direction," she said. "Should I take you there at once?"

"That's quite close..."

Axel frowned, pondering what to do.

"Alright then. Do it." He decided to proceed.

As requested, Fenrir moved the two with her ability, crossing several dozen kilometers in one go. After the third jump, they finally arrived at their destination.

"This is..."

Nina opened her eyes wide upon seeing the "fortress."

It was quite different in structure from the ones they were familiar with. More specifically, the debris that remained wasn't made of materials Nina recognized as typical fortress construction.

"Blue... stones?"

Even Axel was doubtful.

Fortresses were usually built from stone or marble, so this blue material was a first for him. Curious, he picked up a fragment and placed it in his inventory, checking the item's description—and gasped in shock.

"This... is Mithril?" he whispered.

Fenrir, who stood right beside him, nodded. "Yes, Master. It's that rock those underground rats love to collect."

"Underground rats? What's that?" Axel asked.

"The ones who made these chains on me—those rats."

"Ah... the dwarves..."

As he nodded in understanding, Nina voiced her thoughts.

"I... read about this in one of the ancient books in the library," she began. "A fortress made of mythical metals, able to withstand even the strongest armies... The first fortress built by the dwarves for the witches, during the Age of Chaos..."

She gazed up, taking in the rubble before her, and declared:

"The Mythical Fortress of Hrimvaldr!"

Axel raised a brow at the unfamiliar term. "Hrim...?"

"It means Dominion of Frost, Master," Fenrir explained helpfully.

"Ohh... cool name." He nodded. "Then let's get started on repairing it, shall we?"

Of course, he didn't pay much heed to its history. It was a fallen fortress, no matter how grand its name sounded. Axel stepped forward and touched the rubble, commanding the Repair panel to appear.

[

Name: Allied Frontline Fortress (Major) Hrimvaldr

Repairable: True

Estimated Cost: 999 quadrillion Colts

Repair Cost: 999 quadrillion Colts

Repair Duration: 1 year

]

"What the fuck?!"

The cost made him reel in shock.

It went past trillions and straight into quadrillions.

Furthermore, even if he could somehow afford it, there was no way he could stay there for an entire year. This wasn't something he could fix right now.

"Shit..." he cursed. "I guess, at most, we could pinpoint the teleporter's location and repair only that?"

Even if the entire fortress was beyond him, as long as they could use the teleporter, their goal would be achieved. That was all they needed from this place.

Of course, at the time, they had no idea what they would end up finding instead.

Not until a few hours later, when a quest window popped up.

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