"Leila, did I hear you correctly? Are you referring to Iris? The one in the rankings who is at level 20,000 and supposedly devoured an entire world?!” Aurianna's voice trembled with disbelief as she shot Leila a wide-eyed stare.

"Yes, even though the dream we had was a bit foggy, I clearly remember those eerie black and purple crystal eyes. It's definitely Iris, check the rankings!” Leila stated and swiped her hand and the Gemaris rankings appeared before her.

[ Gemaris Ranking

1. Black and Purple Gemaris: Level 23,802: Iris

2. Golden Gemaris: level 5,679: Gilgamesh

3. Green Gemaris: Level 995: LuXie

4. White Gemaris: level 830: Leila

5. Blue Gemaris: level 723: Ciel

6. Yellow Gemaris: level 695: Huns

7. Orange Gemaris: level 531: Keira

8. Gray Gemaris: level 502: Jake

9. White Gemaris: Level 461: Aurianna

10. Brown Gemaris: level 418: Polyra

11. Red Gemaris: level 344: Kazuki

12. Violet Gemaris: level 326: Adam

13. Pink Gemaris: level 313: Yuli ]

"Wow, everyone has really leveled up and seemed to grow stronger," Aurianna thought, eyeing the rankings. Seeing her own position rise to number 9, she couldn't resist a smug grin.

Meanwhile, Leila wasted no time tapping on Iris's name, revealing a beautiful teenage girl with rich brown skin, one purple eye, and one black eye, both gleaming like jewels. Yet, there was a dull atmosphere to her expression, unsettling both Aurianna and Leila.

"She does look a lot like the girl from our dream, just older," Leila murmured, recalling those unforgettable eyes, which were clear in her mind.

"Yeah, it's hard to believe she's our sister. We must seem like insignificant ants compared to her," Aurianna sighed.

"True, I was shocked myself when I found out she's our sister," Leila nodded.

‘Wait, these girls have an older sister? I wonder what she's like,’ Carol wondered, eavesdropping on Aurianna and Leila's conversation as she flew.

"Hey, Leila, since our minds are connected, can't we talk to Iris?" Aurianna asked eagerly, her eyes shining with curiosity. "Even though I'm not interested in other people, I'm definitely interested in Iris. She's our big sister! We should definitely get to know her!"

[ DON'T DO IT!! ] The system's urgent warning, delivered with an unexpected hint of panic, that caught Aurianna and Leila off guard.

"The system doesn't sound robotic just now. It's..." Leila trailed off, eyeing the white screen displaying the warning.

"Why not? She's family, we have to reach out to her!" Aurianna protested, snorting in defiance.

[ No matter what, don't engage with Iris. She's too dangerous and unstable. If she finds out about you, those dark chains within you will only grow stronger. Speaking to Iris right now is a death sentence! ] the system explained, causing Aurianna and Leila to furrow their brows.

‘The system sounds genuinely scared. Just how terrifying is Iris?’ Leila wondered, her eyes fixed on the screen.

"Why is she so dangerous?" Aurianna inquired.

[ Just trust me, don't contact her if you want to stay alive. ] the system warned, prompting Aurianna to reluctantly conceding, "Fine, I won't."

"Me neither. If it scares you that much, she must be a real threat," Leila agreed with a nod.

"I remember Neil being terrified when he heard about her from us," Leila added, her hand on her chin. "Someone who holds the power of creation, chaos, and destruction in her hands…”

"She does sound terrifying," Aurianna agreed as she heard Leila's thoughts. "Jumping from level 10,000 to 20,000 in just a year? That's enough proof that she's extremely dangerous."

"Leila, I have a question," Aurianna blurted out.

"So ask."

"There's so much about our people and our past that we don't know. Even that dream didn't clarify everything nor provide enough answers," Aurianna frowned.

"It's surprising enough that we remember anything from when we were babies. But one thing's for sure— Iris saved us. If our mom wasn't scared of her, she probably would've killed us without hesitation," Leila said, clenching her fist.

"Yeah..."

"Is there really a place where people like us belong? It seems like wherever we go, trouble and misfortune follows," Aurianna sighed.

"If there isn't, then we'll create one for ourselves when we meet in the real world one day," Leila declared, prompting a smile from Aurianna.

"This is getting a bit cheesy," she chuckled.

"Well, you were the one asking all the heavy questions and sulking," Leila teased with a light laugh.

"I guess so. Sometimes, I just feel this overwhelming sadness and betrayal that hurts sometimes, but I've learned to numb it. Feeling sad won't change anything," Aurianna confessed, her gaze steady on Leila. “I really admire how strong you can be.”

"Strong? Well, ofcourse, I had a head start discovering the training grounds before you!" Leila boasted.

"That's not what I meant!" Aurianna snapped.

"Then what?" Leila inquired.

"I mean, how you manage to still care about people despite the state of your world," Aurianna said with a frown. "I don't have anyone like that."

"That's not true," Leila chuckled.

"It is!" Aurianna insisted.

"Remember, sometimes I catch glimpses of your memories. And guess who's number one on that list? Me and Eva," Leila said with a playful giggle.

‘How could I forget?’ Aurianna thought, eyeing Leila.

"But why would I need to protect Eva and you? You're both already strong enough," Aurianna questioned.

"True, but you’ll never know. The way the system and Eva are pushing us to get stronger hints that something bad might happen," Leila explained. "But don't worry, this big sister of yours would protect you!" she reassured with a thumbs up. "Though I'm sure someday you'll find people you want to protect too," she added.

"I'd rather not. They'd just be a liability and a weakness," Aurianna snorted.

"We're finally here!" Carol exclaimed, drawing Aurianna and Leila's attention to a vast, dark land filled with towering mountains, hills, and valleys, all shrouded in a gloomy darkness. Volcanoes could be seen bubbling with various colored liquids.

Aurianna observed it, she noticed that a bird monster flew over one volcano, only to be instantly killed by the toxic gas it released, plummeting into the molten poison lava below and quickly melted into nothing.

Shuddering, Aurianna observed giant monsters roaming the land and devouring beings in gruesome ways across the landscape.

However, Carol was indifferent to this and continued to fly towards a large mountain shaped like a skull.

After a while Carol finally landed and dropped the girls to the ground.

"Ouch!" Aurianna yelped as she noticed her clothes melting underfoot. "Eva's suit is melting, but it's not easily destroyed so how is it melting?"

Suddenly, a pungent smell in the air made Aurianna grimace. "Ugh, the air smells awful!" she complained, covering her nose.

"Well, you'll have to get used to it if you want to survive training here," Carol chuckled, leading the way forward with Aurianna and Leila following behind.

"Leila, aren't you bothered by this?" Aurianna asked as they walked.

"I am, but I'm more curious about these strange objects scattered around," Leila replied, gesturing to the strange objects lying around which both of them had never seen before.

As they passed through they'd notice the modern broken-down buildings, historical ruins all dripping with poison, and towering skeletons all facing in one direction.

"It's like they were fleeing from something," Leila remarked nervously.

"And we're about to meet him," Carol said with a cold smile as they pressed on.

After a while, they arrived at an area teeming with cute slimes hopping around, emitting adorable bobbing sounds.

"Ugh, walking in these is exhausting,” Aurianna complained and Leila nodded as they were both panting and sweating heavily, due to the weight of the Astral rocks on their bodies. It was extremely hard for them to even take steps forward.

"They're so cute!" Aurianna cooed, as she noticed one of the slimes and approached it.

"I wouldn't touch that if I were you," Carol warned, but Aurianna ignored her and reached out to touch it.

In an instant, her entire crystal arm melted, prompting Aurianna to recoil in shock, though the Astral rock remained unscathed.

"What the hell is that thing?" Aurianna pondered, staring at her missing crystal hand and materialized a new one. But the Astral rock suddenly reattached itself to her arm, weighing her down once more, causing her to grit her teeth in frustration.

"We're in a poison territory, so obviously, it's a poisonous acidic slime," Carol explained.

"I've never seen a normal slime this strong before," Aurianna remarked, her expression blank.

"Nothing about this place is normal, Aurianna," Leila chuckled, causing Aurianna to puff out her cheeks.

"I guess you're right," Aurianna conceded with a nod.

"Well, it's been a while, Carol," a cool voice suddenly chimed in, drawing Aurianna's attention to a man emerging from a nearby building with a bright smile.

"Gumura, nice to see you again," Carol greeted calmly.

‘Why does his body look like that?’ Aurianna wondered, observing Gumura. He appeared as a young man who stood tall up to 7 feet and was slender with purple skin and long black hair. His eyes had black sclera and light purple pupils, and his movements seemed fluid as he approached them.

"Boobs!" Gumura exclaimed happily, lunging towards Carol's chest, much to Aurianna and Leila's shock and he buried his face in them and hugged her.

"Don't touch me, you pervert!" Carol yelled, swiftly delivering a punch that Gumura effortlessly dodged.

"Still as harsh as ever. But, Carol dear, would you consider having children with me?" Gumura proposed, kneeling and taking Carol's hands.

"Oh, I see what's going on here," Aurianna whispered to Leila, who nodded in agreement.

"Don't misunderstand," Carol snapped, retracting her hand from Gumura's grasp.

"There's no misunderstanding," Gumura chuckled, prompting Carol to unleash a swift slash attack that demolished all the buildings behind him to little pieces, though he remained unscathed.

"So, who are these lovely children?" Gumura inquired, turning his attention to Aurianna and Leila with curiosity.

"Wait, you're not human!" he realized.

"They're not. Eva brought them here for training," Carol explained.

"Ah, that explains Eva’s time blessing on them," Gumura nodded. "Pleasure to meet you both. I'm Gumura, the Ruler of this domain. What brings you here?"

"Why the surprised looks?" Gumura wondered.

"Well, you're surprisingly nice compared to someone else we met here for the first time," Leila blurted out, and she and Aurianna glanced at Carol with judgemental eyes.

"Wait you're talking about me? I wasn't that bad," Carol protested, crossing her arms.

“Well Carol has always been the aggressive type so that's understandable,” Gumura nodded.

"If I may ask, what are you ladies doing here? It's rare for Carol to pay me a visit like this," Gumura said, as he appeared beside Carol, attempting to touch her, but she promptly slapped his hand away.

"He does seem a bit... lecherous. No wonder Carol would avoid him," Aurianna whispered to Leila who nodded in agreement.

"Wait, wait, don't get the wrong idea!" Gumura cried out, but Aurianna and Leila eyed him skeptically.

"I mean, if he wasn't so creepy, why is Carol giving him the death stare?" Leila rubbed salt on the wound as she whispered to Aurianna.

"Yeah, the only other person I've seen Carol glare at like that is Eva," Aurianna whispered back.

"Girls, wait," Gumura pleaded, slumping to the ground.

"Carol, are you sure he's the top poison monster?" Aurianna asked, eyeing the dejected Gumura.

"He's the most poisonous being here, so I believe so," Carol affirmed.

"What are you ladies talking about?" Gumura asked, straightening himself up.

"Well, first, introductions. The white-haired girl is Aurianna, and the redhead is Leila," Carol said, pointing to each of them.

"I see. Beautiful. Their eyes shine like gems. What beings are they?" Gumura wondered, his gaze fixed on Carol.

"They're called Gemaris, ancient beings, I suppose," Carol shrugged. "They've come here to learn poison magic."

"Oh, so you girls want to learn poison magic from me?" Gumura asked, his unsettling smile causing Aurianna and Leila to tremble slightly.

"Yes," they both managed to say.

"Well, I don't mind at all. But I can't teach you yet," he said with a slightly dejected expression.

"Huh, why?" Aurianna asked.

"Because your poison resistance is extremely weak," Gumura clarified.

"Let me show you an example," Gumura said with a smile, touching the tip of their noses with his finger for a second before retracting his hand. In less than a minute, Aurianna and Leila felt an excruciating pain, their bodies melting into dust.

"See, they can't even handle my weakest corrosive poison, so I can't train them," Gumura shook his head.

"What happened?" Leila asked, furrowing her brows as she and Aurianna revived, confusion evident on their faces.

"You girls couldn't survive my weakest poison, so I can't train you," Gumura stated, shaking his head.

"We died from poison?" Leila muttered.

"That's so cool! To be able to kill someone in such a short time with poison," Aurianna said with excitement, clasping her hands and looking at Gumura.

‘Well, she's enthusiastic. I'm more worried about the fact that we couldn't react enough to heal the poison that invaded our bodies. Even though our healing is great, it's nothing compared to his poison. This will be interesting,’ Leila thought, a smile playing on her lips.

"Then Aurianna, Leila, I guess you girls have to eat the hearts, bodies, and souls of poisonous monsters," Carol suggested, causing both Aurianna and Leila to scrunch up their faces and eye her suspiciously.

"Why are you both giving me such looks?" Carol wondered, raising an eyebrow.

"If normal monster hearts and flesh taste awful, imagine how bad poisonous monsters would taste," Leila whispered to Aurianna.

"Indeed, Leila, they would probably taste terrible," Aurianna whispered back.

"Have some guts!" Carol yelled.

"Ugh, my stomach hurts just thinking about it," Aurianna cried dramatically, slumping to the ground as if dead.

"Well, let's go fight some monsters!" Carol declared, dragging Leila by the collar and Aurianna by her legs.

"How unfortunate," Leila sighed.

"Wait, Carol, if you're looking for poisonous monsters, head to the east side of my territory. A lot inhabit the wetlands and desert regions, so I highly recommend going there," Gumura suggested.

"The west has stronger ones which only you and I can defeat," Gumura added.

"I see. Then, I'll collect some bodies and hearts from there and feed them to them," Carol nodded.

"Also, before I train both of you, you must become resistant to two beings in my domain," Gumura pointed out. Seeing that the conversation would take a while, Carol let go of Aurianna and Leila, and both girls stood upright to listen.

"Two beings?" Aurianna wondered.

"Aurianna, you must become resistant to Kisho’s poison, and Leila, you must become resistant to Dokgil’s poison," Gumura stated, but Aurianna and Leila looked at him as if he were speaking gibberish.

"Um, who are they?" Leila asked.

"Well, Kisho and Dokgil are poisonous intelligent slimes like me, and they used to be my students!" Gumura proudly declared.

"So they look like blobs?" Aurianna wondered, envisioning two blob monsters in her mind.

"They have a more humanoid appearance, like me," Chumura clarified.

"I see, I see. So, where can we find both of them?" Leila asked.

"Well, they both live on the east side, but Kisho resides in the swamps, while Dokgil inhabits the poison mountains," Chumura explained.

"Once you become resistant to their poison, I'll train you!" Gumura exclaimed enthusiastically, giving a thumbs up.

"So, I'll drop you girls off there. See you in a few years, Gumura!" Carol waved, her hand turning into wings as she immediately grabbed Aurianna and Leila with her harpy legs and took off into the sky.

"See you later, ladies," Gumura waved.

"Things have never felt so lively. Eva, if you have anything to say, do say it," Gumura stated, sitting on a chair near a building.

Eva suddenly appeared before him and handed him a futuristic tablet, similar to the one she gave Carol. "Here's the training manual for Aurianna and Leila's poison training."

"So, I must really teach these girls? I'm not a good teacher, you know," Chumura sighed.

"That's why I made this manual for you," Eva replied bluntly.

"Since you're here, Eva..." Chumura began, getting down on his knees and holding Eva's hand. "Would you like to bear my children?" he asked with a charming voice, but Eva gave him a death stare, causing him to shrink back.

"Don't try that with me," she spat, and Gumura nodded before she disappeared.

"So scary," Gumura whimpered. "Why doesn't any woman want to have children with me?"

"Because Master is extremely poisonous, remember?" said a monster woman with four eyes, four arms, and butterfly-like wings emerging from her back. Her skin was pink, and her hair was made of butterfly wings. With claw-like hands, she served Gumura a drink.