I wake up trembling in fear and hyperventilating as if I was just having a nightmare, but it was all real, or at least, the nightmare isn't over yet.

"Wolfy…? Ciel…? Alissa…?" I ask for help inside my soul space, but my only answer is more silence.

The waves hit my face, and I groan, so I crawl off the shore, then I lethargically take my armor off. Somehow, I kept my enchanted hammer and shield with me even after passing out.

Did I really pass out?

I ignore those thoughts for now and look around. I'm in a damp, stuffy, and badly lit green cave. The ambient mana here isn't so bad, but it's still barely enough for my level five [Stonebody] to function.

My head starts to pound with a headache, so I take out an HP potion and drink it all down, then I open my "Status." My "Companions" entry tells me that everyone's seemingly alive, but we're also completely separated from each other.

I've never heard of something that can block the fellowship bond without removing them from the "Companions" entry.

There's no reason to think about this any further, so I warm myself up with a [Fireball] and simply stare at the dancing flames while my mind wanders.

 

I look towards the glowing crystal path in the green sand.

That seems like an invitation… a trial, perhaps?

I frown and hug myself in anger.

Why would you want to separate us? We're stronger together, and we can cover each others' weaknesses, so we don't need to be tested separately because we already know our failings.

God-Rulers have always been egotistical, high-handed, and imperious assholes. Of course, Arreira would come up with a stupid, pretentious test to judge our "worth." Our entire delve through this dungeon has been stupid test after stupid test, hasn't it?

The first three levels were about history and our knowledge of him; then some sort of teamwork or combat test with the lighthouse; then a piloting test with the tornadoes; then whatever he wanted to test with the Looping Winds Station; then another piloting test; then the test of nobility with the Chimeras; then the warfare test.

Now what? A test of courage? A test of competence? A test of loneliness? Or just plain torture?

That's right. This is TORTURE!

After being connected to Wolfy and the other wives for long, you just had to abruptly tear us apart? You don't even do that with a child! It took months for my parents to decide to sell me once things started to go really bad! MONTHS!

I clutch my chest and grit my teeth.

I'd forgotten how lonely it was to be so far away from the others. I'd forgotten how cold it felt to be without someone always watching over me. How empty everything seems without someone to share my feelings with…

Is THIS what you wanted to test? Our capability of staying away from each other without [Bind]? No, of course, it isn't, you're just testing our mental resistance for TORTURE!

I don't NEED to stay away from Wolfy and the wives, I don't WANT to stay away, and I'll NEVER need this sort of "resistance" that you might want to force on us! Together, we're INVINCIBLE, so there's no reason for us to EVER separate from each other!

WE DON'T NEED YOUR HELP, SO FUCK YOUR TEST AND FUCK YOU! I WISH THAT YOU'D GET RAPED BY BREEDER-TYPES FOR WHAT YOU'RE DOING TO US!

GIVE ME BACK WOLFY! GIVE ME BACK CIEL! GIVE ME BACK EVERYONE!

My jaw trembles, and my vision blurs from the tears, then I lay down on the sand and cover myself with my now dry clothes. Fuming with anger, I cry until my exhaustion pulls me into an uneasy slumber.

 

I wake up and gasp in fright. I forgot to set up a perimeter of [Proximity Warning] crystals.

I clutch my axe and jump up to my feet, then I shiver in fear when I notice that I haven't dressed myself yet.

I look around, but I don't find anything. I was just being paranoid.

But that was a big blunder… I don't even know if there are monsters nearby.

I grumble at myself and armor up, then I sit down and eat a conjured meal with my chocolate.

Ah… edible happiness.

The chocolate disappears so quickly from my hands that I almost ask myself if something didn't just steal it from me.

With a tired sigh, I get up and stretch. It's time to begin this trial.

Stupid pretentious idiot…

 

I cautiously follow the glowing path, wary of any sounds, but there's none I can hear besides my own.

The path abruptly ends in a green square corridor made of stone. There isn't any illumination, which forces me to cast my own [Spirit Light]. I didn't want to create a beacon of light that would reveal my position, but I don't have [Sense Presence], so whatever is out there will likely notice me before I notice them, anyway.

I take a look around the cave, but there's nowhere else to go, so I cautiously enter the corridor and follow it to wherever it'll take me.

The trial is starting.

I continue walking for a long time through the tall, wide corridor. It curves, bends, and weaves up and down, but I don't see anything except the smooth green stone. Not a light, not a sound, nothing.

My anxiety gradually deepens, and I feel my heart pounding inside my chest with every step. The clacking of my boots unnerves me as it echoes out, alerting whatever is listening that I'm coming, while I have no idea about what I might have to face in the trial.

Is there even anything here? This thought repeats inside my mind the longer I walk.

The tension lasts for so long that my muscles start to ache, so I massage my shoulders and try to think about other things to relax myself a little.

Is this an endurance test? Will you send monsters after me when I have my guard down? When I'm sleeping? When I'm relieving myself? Or is this just a way for you to play with my paranoia?

How much does the Dungeon Master know about me, anyway? Does he know about my anxiety? Does he know what I fear? Does he know my insecurities? He's only shown fragments of Earth knowledge, so it's not like he can literally read my thoughts, can he?

I nervously clench my fists.

I'm going to think myself to death if I continue like this. There's too little information to make any sort of assumptions. I'll just have to wait and see…

But I hate waiting…

I sigh tiredly.

I really want a plan I could use right now…

I hear something odd mixed in with the sound of my footsteps, so I stop to check my boots.

Or at least something to help me sco-…

I hear a single fleshy footstep after I stop. It came from right behind me.

I swing my axe as I turn, and I see a figure jump backward to dodge.

I immediately recognize it as a dark goblin-like monster. Its naked body is very thin and delicate, making it seem rather weak.

It's wielding a thin stabbing dagger that it promptly uses to silently attack me.

Fuck!

My axe has [Extend], so my reach allows me to safely sink the blade into its throat while its thin arms desperately try to stab me.

I dislodge the axe with a jerk, then I jump backward so that the bloodied Goblin Stalker can't stain me with its blood as it flops onto the floor.

It gurgles and chokes as it tries to crawl forward, but I finish it off with a chop into the back of its neck, paralyzing it.

It'll take a few more seconds for it to die from either blood loss or suffocation, but I don't want to wait here for that. I [Clean] my axe and quickly move on. This time, I keep looking behind me every few seconds.

 

I look back just in time to spot a Goblin Stalker jumping out of a hole in the floor. As soon as the monster lands, the hole shrinks down until it disappears in mere seconds.

I sink my axe into the goblin's head before it can even react, then I quickly finish it off and walk away.

This is terrible! Can they come up anywhere? If they can, then [Proximity Warning] won't work!

But why aren't they using these holes to make me trip? I'm pretty sure that I'd just walked over the spot where the previous hole appeared. They could've attempted hundreds of different ambushes with such abilities, so why haven't they?

Perhaps this is part of the trial. It's not to get the monsters to ambush and kill me, but just to wear me down with the constant threat o-…

I kill another Goblin Stalker coming out of a hole right beside me and hurriedly move on.

 

I stop to eat, and right when I conjure my meal, a Goblin comes out of a hole in the wall.

I grit my teeth in anger and crush its head with my hammer. Using an axe will spill too much blood, so it might be a better idea to use this form for now.

I won't get any sleep if this continues.

After eating, I hurry forward and rack my brains about how I can stay safe.

Perhaps I could use [Earth Wall] to build a closed room for me to sleep in, but if they can open holes wherever they want, then they might be able to get through my Wall. They could also try to suffocate me by closing all the breathing holes, or even just wait outside in massive numbers.

I'm in deep Skritter shit.

I turn a corner and immediately stop. I can see a small light far ahead floating in the air, and there seems to be someone under it.

"Who goes there?!" A female voice shouts, and I suddenly gasp.

"CIEL!" I scream her name and start running towards her.

"Lina?!"

I start crying as I'm overwhelmed with emotions.

That was cruel, Dungeon Master! Why did you separate us?! Why?! Why?! Why?! Wh-…

A hole opens up in front of me, and I almost fall into it. I have to activate [Wind Shield] to defend myself from the Goblin that leaps out of it, ready to stab me in the face.

I stop it in place with the enchantment, then I turn it off and bash the Goblin. I immediately follow up with a strike at its ribs, sending it flying off to the side due to how little it weighs.

I dash after it, then I nail the spike of my hammer into its head. I jerk it back out with a yank, then I continue running towards Ciel.

Behind her, I can see a small gray platform with Alissa, Roxanne, and Hana laying on it. They're all "sleeping."

"W-what happened?!" I yell as I get closer, my happiness of meeting Ciel again is snuffed out like a [Spirit Light].

"They're alive…" She reassures me, her face stern and slightly anxious.

I run past her and stop just before the platform. Alissa's armor is bloodied, Hana's body is naked and covered with nasty burns, but Roxanne looks like she's completely fine.

"But…?" I ask worriedly as I stop close to them.

She hesitates for an uncomfortably long second before nervously answering, "I don't know what's wrong with them… and I can't cast [Heal] because I'm completely out of mana."

I bite my lip and turn to her. "Do you need HP or MP potions? I still have nearly all of mine."

She shakes her head and immediately looks away. "I don't need it. I've already given them enough, so any more will just be toxic to them."

"Okay…" I lower my head sadly and fidget, but Ciel doesn't let me rest.

Her stern voice suddenly wakes me right up, "Lina! Keep your head up! There ar-… GOBLIN!"

I breathe in deeply and look towards where she's pointing. Past the platform, a Goblin Stalker is rapidly approaching.

"Protect them!" Ciel orders, and I immediately obey, making quick work of the weak monster.

I look at her and notice that she doesn't have a weapon.

"You'll have to protect me," she states, sounding very irritable, then she touches the platform, and it starts to float. "Let's move!"

I keep an eye out in every direction while she pushes the platform forward. The number of Goblin Stalkers coming out of holes increases, so I can't even spare a moment to relax and talk about what happened.

It's not like Ciel would know, anyway. She says that she found them all already like this.

What kind of trial is this…?

 

"Another! Get it!" Ciel shouts and points at a Goblin.

"Lina! Kill it!" She shrieks when another one comes too close.

"Another one! Get it!" She orders me to chase after one that's far away.

"What are you doing?! There's another one coming!" She jerks me out of my short rest.

"LINA! Over there!" She startles my tired body awake.

"LINA! Are you even paying attention?! Don't let them get close to us!" She chastises me for slacking.

"Y-yes!" I exclaim and shoot up immediately.

I finish the Goblin off and look at her, expecting to see her reassuring eyes, but they hold nothing but irritability and anxiety.

I lower my head and silently walk back to the platform. None of the sister-wives seem to have changed in the least, but at least their chests are still moving up and down.

I see that Hana's wounds haven't changed at all, so I frown and turn to Ciel. "W-why haven't Hana's wounds healed even slightly yet?" I shyly ask.

She huffs angrily and berates me, "I'm the healer here, Lina. Do you want to do my job?"

I look down in shame. "I'm just… asking…"

"I don't need you second-guessing me," she growls.

Her anger-filled words make my heart tighten with pain, and I become belligerent. "I'm not second-guessing! I just want to help."

"But you aren't!" She shouts, then she grits her teeth and pushes the platform harder. "We just need to get out of here before the Goblins can overwhelm us!"

Why is she acting like this? She hasn't smiled even once.

I grab the platform and easily push it against her, nearly making her tumble backward, then I confront her, "Hasn't your mana recovered even a little? You should try to at least heal Hana's smaller wounds. Look how wounded she is!"

It's light… the platform is so light…

"Get your hands off the platform! We have to keep moving!" She ignores me and shoves the platform forward.

I don't even need to use [Spirit of Gaia] to hold it back against her, but I still get out of the way and let her continue pushing it forward.

"Why aren't you trying to [Heal] them?" I insist.

She suddenly stops and turns to glare at me. "Because it doesn't work!" She shouts angrily, then she buries her face in her hands in frustration and groans. "Nothing works! I tried it until my mana ran out, but nothing works!"

"How…? I drank an HP potion for my headache, and it worked…" I frown and hold my chin in thought. "Can you test it on me, too?"

She shakes her head and resumes pushing the platform. "I'm not wasting any mana on you."

Why are you acting like this…?!

I steel my heart and interrogate her, "Ciel, it's been hours. Even I've recovered a lot of my MP during this time. What's wrong with you?"

She snorts and growls, "There's nothing wrong with me."

I press on, "Yes, there is. You're angrier than I've ever seen you before."

"That's because three of the wives are passed out, I can't heal anyone, I don't have a weapon, the Goblins won't stop coming, and you just keep pestering me all the time!" She throws her hands up in frustration, then she rests her head on the platform and goes quiet.

The fire in my heart is snuffed out by guilt and sadness, so I lower my head. "I'm sorry…" I whisper.

"Let's just continue moving forward," she gently responds with a sigh, but I can still sense that she's holding back her irritability.

I look at Hana's burned body and frown. Alissa is also wounded, but all the blood on her armor has dried, so at least there aren't any external wounds.

I get close to the platform and focus my single point in [Sense Mana] on Hana.

"What are you doing…?" Ciel asks with a dangerous tone.

I feel nothing coming from her. When someone's being healed by an HP potion, some particles of mana are emitted, and it's really noticeable with external wounds because half of the potion should always be poured on the wound.

Hana's wounds are completely dry, and there's no indication that a potion was ever used on her.

I turn to Ciel, and she just stares back at me in silence, her eyes slowly returning to their seriousness and anger from before.

There's something really wrong with you.

I open my [Item Box] and pull out a Fast-Acting HP potion.

"Lina…" Ciel threatens me.

I uncork it and bring the potion towards Hana.

Ciel grabs my wrist and pulls my hand away. "Do you want her to suffer from the toxicity?! I already told you: I gave them all HP potions!" She growls at me, her eyes trying to stab into me with their fury.

She's never been angry like this before. Not even when people blasphemed against the empire or the Gods.

I push against her hold on me and effortlessly pour part of the potion onto Hana. Ciel tries to stop me, but she's so weak that I can barely feel her trying to pull me back.

"You stupid…!" She scowls at me, barely containing her anger. "Why did you do that?! I told you that they're going to suffer from toxicity!"

I pull my hand away from her, and she immediately releases me, then I glare back at her and frown worriedly. "What happened to you? You're so weak, and you haven't fought the Goblins even once!"

"You expect me to fight without a weapon?! Without MP?!" She questions flippantly and snorts.

"What's wrong with your mana organ? Even I've recovered some of my MP."

"There's nothing wrong with my mana organ," she immediately replies.

"THEN HEAL THEM!" I angrily shout at her.

She raises her hand and slaps me. My helmet absorbs it entirely, so I barely even feel it.

I adjust my helmet and glare daggers at her, facing off with her scowl like a brat before a Lord. "There's something really wrong with you. You're unfit to lead," I firmly state.

She's taken aback for a moment, but then she starts chuckling, then laughing, and she keeps increasing in volume. It becomes a deep-bellied laugh, as if I'd just told her the funniest joke she'd ever heard.

She suddenly slams her gauntlets down on the platform in rage and scowls at me like an angry goblin. "And what will you do if I say 'no'…?" She hisses at me.

Her helmet is hiding most of her face, but it's clearly visible to me that she's as angry as a berserking dragonkin. I didn't even think it was possible for her to ever get this angry… especially at me…

But I won't let her trample over me, not when the safety of the harem is at risk. I straighten my posture, becoming steadfast, and face her as I return the glare, defiant against her insanity. "I'll force you to obey."

"You wouldn't dare…" She enunciates threateningly.

I grab my hammer and turn it into an axe, then I pull my gauntlet mostly off and slit my palm. I show her the wound that immediately starts to bleed, then I pour some of the HP potion onto my hand.

A characteristically-flavored mana immediately starts to be emitted from the wound as it slowly heals and closes up.

"There is something wrong with you! Admit it!" I yell, my voice almost breaking up from the pain I feel in my heart.

Her anger seems to cool off, leaving only a grim dread behind. "You'll get us all killed like this. You're going insane."

My mouth trembles in disbelief as my voice fully cracks. "Me? Me…? Insane…?"

She smiles triumphantly and crosses her arms. "That's right, you. You've been defying me all this time, you've ignored my orders, and you're compromising their health by carelessly throwing potions at them!" She gesticulates wildly and points to the wives.

I stare at Hana's skin, paying attention to her wounds. They're not healing, and neither is the potion taking effect.

I suddenly climb onto the platform, then I give Hana's leg a small cut. Ciel grabs me and throws me away from the platform.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING? HAVE YOU GONE COMPLETELY INSANE?" She bellows, and I even feel her spittle flying at me.

I quickly get back up and ignore her, then I look at the wound I made. It bleeds for a moment, then it starts to visibly heal and emit the same mana as my palm did when I cut myself.

I glare in distrust at Ciel and growl, "Are they really our sister-wives? Are you really Ciel?"

Her anger vanishes within a mere second again, returning to the cold and grim dread. "What kind of question is that?" She asks in a low, stern tone.

I brighten my [Spirit Light], and Ciel reflexively takes a step backward.

I grab the ball of light and fill it mana, then I throw it towards her and release the spell.

Ciel yelps and covers her face, then she falls back onto her ass and yells, "LINA, WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!"

I cast another [Spirit Light] and throw at her, making her scream in pain again.

"STOP!" She pleads, but I cast it once more and throw it at her, making her scream even louder.

"Monsters are weak to [Spirit Light]…" I mutter, then I see a single, hateful eye stare back at me from behind her hands.

I cast the spell one more time and throw it at the wives. They all suddenly scream in pain and jump off the platform.

I raise my axe and bury it into Hana's head, then I immediately cast multiple [Earth Bullet]s at each of the Sinne Ompia. They're a rare monster in Mountainhome that can copy someone's body and demeanor after drinking some of their blood.

I raise my axe and chop down repeatedly, the steel blade quickly stained red with monster blood.

YOU DARE TAINT THEIR IMAGE WITH YOUR ABHORRENT ACTING?!

YOU DARE TASTE THEIR NOBLE BLOOD WITH YOUR FILTHY, UNHOLY TONGUES?!

YOU FUCKING DARE USE THEM AGAINST ME?!

I'LL FUCKING KILL YOU! FUCK YOU! FUCK YOU! FUCK YOU…!

 

My rage gradually fades away, and with it goes my drive to ravage their bodies.

I [Clean] the blood off of my face, then I lean on my axe as I catch my breath.

I'm lucky that these faceless monsters weren't the Hunter sub-type. The one impersonating Ciel would have killed me the moment I turned my back to it.

I look around and wait, but no Goblin Stalker comes to take a bite out of the hellish landscape of carnage I just hacked together.

So… is the trial over? Did I pass?

Nothing seems to happen, so I turn my gaze to the floating platform.

What was the point of this? I doubt it's just a convenient tool to transport the Sinne that were pretending to be passed out.

I walk up to it, my boots making wet sounds on the way as they step in the partially-dried monster blood, but I don't care anymore. Whatever is still out there would've easily heard the horrific cries of agony from the Sinne. A "little" more blood on me doesn't change anything.

I touch the platform, then it glows, and I'm teleported away.