'Stay with me, Ced…'~~ Aika pleaded as she desperately dragged his unconscious body toward the surface of the water.

A few seconds ago, she had suddenly felt herself snapped out of the trance, as if she had been violently woken from a deep sleep.

The chilling thing was, she could remember everything that had happened while she was under the enthrallment, including Cedric desperately calling out for her.

She bit her lip, suddenly filled with crushing guilt for failing him. She couldn't help but feel that if Cedric were to die right now, it would be entirely her fault.

'Please, stay with me…'~~

A few more seconds later, she finally broke through the surface. Without slowing, she quickly pulled him along and began swimming frantically toward the shore, guided by the map that had appeared before her.

It didn't take long before she finally reached the shore, after which she hauled his unconscious body onto the green, welcoming grass.

Without even pausing for a breath, she immediately dropped beside him and began compressions on his chest.

After delivering several rapid pushes, she paused. Since her crushed jaw had healed somewhat following the health elixir and her time in the tattoo form, she bent over, putting her lips on his, and began to administer rescue breaths.

While this was happening, Celeste, who had been waiting nearby and crying, ran up to him and dropped by his side. She then raised a hand to cover her mouth when she saw the horrific wound on his arm.

After a few tense seconds, she asked, her voice trembling with concern, "Will he be okay?"

Aika took a few, tired breaths, and then continued her compression, completely ignoring Celeste.

A few rescue breaths later, and finally, Cedric coughed violently, arching his back as he spat out a sickening mixture of black water and blood.

Aika leaned back and exhaled in relief. She then immediately reached into the inventory, took out a health elixir, and reached out to Celeste. "Here."

Celeste looked at her, "huh?"

"Give this to him."

Celeste took the elixir, uncorked it, and began feeding it to Cedric.

While she did so, Aika quickly tore a long strip from the clean inner layer of her kimono-looking dress and began tying it tightly around Cedric's mangled arm as a makeshift bandage.

***

Cedric's POV

——

Some time later…

My consciousness slowly returned, and I woke up to a soft texture beneath my head, like a pillow. When my eyes fluttered open and my vision cleared, the first thing I saw was Aika's face.

"How are you feeling?" she asked softly.

I groaned, then replied, "Like shit."

Though the health elixir had sealed the worst of the gash, I still felt a deep, throbbing pain in my arm.

Just then, Celeste's worried face also appeared. "Brother? You're awake?"

Before I could even reply, she immediately reached out and hugged me close. "Thank goodness. When you told us to go, I was afraid that I wouldn't see you again."

Confused, I turned my gaze to Aika. 'W-what is her deal?'~

Aika simply shrugged.

I looked back at Celeste. She had been acting way too sisterly ever since the prison break. I sighed and tapped her gently a few times, signaling to her to get off me. "Yes… yes, I'm alive. Now ease up."

She slowly leaned away and began to wipe her tears with a relieved smile spreading across her face.

Looking away from her, I tried to sit up, groaning as every muscle felt deeply sore and exhausted.

That was when I saw Dion sitting on the ground just a few feet away from me, leaning against a rock. He looked much better now than he did before. When our gazes locked, he gave a large, grateful smile and waved.

But my gaze quickly flicked to the large black panther who had just left Dion's side and had begun walking up to me. I almost sprang up, but then it suddenly lowered its massive head and said in a familiar voice, "Thank you for saving us. Once again, we are in your debt."

'Ino?'

I relaxed, and after a brief moment, I exhaled and said, "It's no big deal. We are a party, after all."

My gaze then shifted to the large forest that began just a few meters away. "However," I continued, "…we need to keep moving. We need to find a safe place where we can all have a proper rest and recover."

I really needed a proper nap. And it wasn't just me; all of us did. We needed to rest.

Ino followed my gaze to the forest, then said in a troubled tone, "There is one crucial problem, though."

When I looked back at her, she added, "None of us have a Whisper-globe. Without it, we can't know which territory we are in at the moment. It's a good thing we haven't already been attacked by whatever is in this territory."

She paused for a bit before adding in an even more somber tone, "And worse, we won't be able to find the other cadets, or even the location of the bridges."

Everyone was quiet for a moment after she spoke with somber expressions.

I sighed and looked away from her to the side where my inventory window popped up.

Of course, her concerns weren't a problem for me because of my Gamer attribute, but I wasn't about to say that.

So, I reached into my inventory and took out a Whisperglobe.

Suddenly, everyone's eyes widened in unison.

Ino blurted, "Is that….?"

I nodded.

Just then, Dion whistled softly and he scrambled closer to Ino's side. "Woah, your bonded ability is amazing, dude."

"Uh… you are welcome?" I replied awkwardly, reaching out the Whisper-globe.

Right then, a gust of wind engulfed the panther, and its form shimmered and instantly changed back into Ino's human form.

She reached out and took it, looking at it intensely, like someone who had just been handed a lifeline in a desperate situation. Seeing the Whisperglobe, even Celeste quickly scrambled to Ino's side.

She rubbed her hand atop it, then poured mana into it while also giving mental instructions. In response, a magical holographic screen popped up with the name of the territory:

[Merdini's Burial Ground.]

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