After telling Seth about Selena, the bearded prisoner and Theodora activated their Escape scrolls and vanished into wisps of aether, leaving Seth alone in the cell. As he turned around and stepped out, Nightmare threw two dull, gray beaststones at his feet.

Seth's gaze briefly landed on the mangled carcasses of the Guardian and Artificer, then moved to the horizon, where Gnolls were converging from all directions, some climbing the jagged, rust-eaten debris of the building he had collapsed.

'So, we're staying for that other prisoner?' Nightmare asked.

'Yeah,' Seth answered, filling Frog Shroud's grooves. For a moment, he recalled how Selena had looked down on him when he was barely Rank 6—haughty, carrying herself like a noble. And yet, without her, he would've been killed by that bandit. He owed her his life. 'She's the Rogue who saved me from the bandits right before Arthuri's selections.'

'Oh.'

Yeah, oh.

As Seth raised his fist, a dense mist emerged and engulfed the area, reducing the Gnolls' visibility to almost nothing. After depositing the two leaders' beaststones into his Endless Pouch, he slipped into Illusionary Emptiness along with Nightmare and crept to the side.

Numerous Gnolls howled in rage, flailing their crude weapons blindly through the fog, hoping to catch something by chance. As Seth and Nightmare stealthily weaved between them, the direwolf's crimson eyes darted from one foolish beast to another. 'Can I kill one or two before we escape?'

'No. We don't have time for that.'

'Oh, come on,' the direwolf grumbled as they navigated through the fog-shrouded chaos of the fortress. 'Not even a minute?'

'Nope,' Seth insisted, eyes on the hallway ahead. 'We have four other strongholds to raid.'

Over the next three days, Seth and Nightmare infiltrated the four other strongholds, scouring every cell, every shadowed corner, trying to find any trace of Selena, using Fog Shroud to aid in their search. But in the end, they only ran across three other humans: one man, whom they freed, and two dead women, whose decaying corpses were too large to be Rogue's.

As time slipped by, Seth's hope of finding her dwindled, which left only a growing frustration. The moment they left the fourth makeshift fortress, Seth decided he needed to take out all that anger—to Nightmare's enjoyment, a trio of roaming Iron Gnolls in the desert was the perfect outlet.

Seth and the direwolf descended upon them with unrivaled ferocity. Black tendrils ensnared two of the beasts while he and Nightmare joined forces to take out the third one in seconds, Shadow Bite, melting its neck's flesh and Phantom Punch crushing its chest.

Letting Nightmare finish that Gnoll off, Seth dashed to the next one with Huntbound Rush, his form blurring, each punch precise and lethal, shattering ribs upon contact. The last hyena-like beast tried to protect its comrade, but every club swing swished through nothing but air—the gap in their Agility, especially with Chains of Darkness, was simply too vast.

As the second Gnoll fell on its knees, gasping for air with a caved-in ribcage, the remaining one charged at Seth, roaring in fury and raising its large, spiked club. But before it could reach him, Nightmare sprung from its shadow and latched onto the back of its neck. In a cloud of dark smoke, he then ripped large chunks of melted muscles, causing the Gnoll to howl in agony.

'Keep it alive!' Seth mentally shouted, bashing his fist into the nearest Gnoll's face, sending it crashing to the ground. 'I need it for my Toughness!'

'Fine,' Nightmare growled before releasing his grip and stepping back.

Seth immediately activated his Protecting Belt, then, as he had done many times in the past two days, let the Gnoll recompose itself and hit him again and again—until the blue layer covering him flickered. The moment it did, black-horned stems sprang on the last Gnoll's limbs, restraining its movement, and Nightmare pounced at its already corroded back. Seth joined in, and together they finished it in seconds.

With a heavy sigh, Seth crouched beside the corpses, pulled out one of his daggers from his velvet pouch, and sliced their chest open to harvest the beaststones within. As he snatched the last one out, a flickering light in the endless dunes of yellow sand beyond the red-clay desert caught his eye. What the hell is that?

Tucking away the gray crystal in his pouch, Seth cast Illusionary Emptiness, out of habit making himself invisible to any prying eyes, then transferred Nightmare into his necklace to spare some aether—just in case.

Seth's caution intensified with every step, and soon he managed to spot six Gnolls trudging through the yellow desert, the curved swords and large axes on their back gleaming under the sun's rays. Narrowing his eyes, Seth crept closer and started trailing them from a safe distance. The group strode through the red-clay desert without an ounce of hesitation, heading toward the first stronghold Seth had infiltrated three days ago—where he had freed Theodora and the others.

Nightmare watched the scene through Seth's eyes. 'They might be the ones who bought that Rogue.'

'I know.'

Seth's gaze locked onto the distant fortress as memories flooded his mind. He hadn't had any classes with Selena, but he could still remember her haughty attitude just before the selections—yet he couldn't just abandon her. She'd saved him.

'We'll follow them back to their base.'

'Oh, really?' Nightmare replied with a chuckle inside the teardrops necklace while the six Gnolls stepped into the massive stronghold ahead. 'I thought the distorted fields of that part of the desert were too risky?'

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Seth sighed. 'It's different. We're going in there to save someone. Not to hunt a Desert Snake.'

A dozen minutes passed before the group of Gnolls finally emerged from the large fortress. Seth immediately followed them, keeping a safe distance, slipping in and out of Illusionary Emptiness whenever the terrain allowed to easily hide. As soon as he stepped into the sea of yellow dunes, the merciless sun bore down on him, its searing rays cooking him like a skewered fish over an open flame.

Still, he pressed on, tracking the shadowy figures across the vast, endless desert. An hour into the pursuit, a strange sensation rippled across his skin—the aether in the air shifted and began to vibrate with a weak, irregular pulse.

A distortion field, Seth realized.

Glancing down, he attempted to channel aether into his gauntlets, but the moment the energy left his body, it twisted, warped—then vanished entirely. Frowning, he tried the same with his teardrop necklace, and ended up getting the same result.

'Should I try coming out on my own?' Nightmare asked through their bond.

'No,' Seth answered, moving forward. 'I won't be able to move you back inside if you do.'

'Fine.'

Cautiously keeping the Gnolls in sight, Seth halted again as the group's leader raised an arm, signaling at the others to stop. Crouching down and turning invisible, Seth slowed his pace and observed them from afar.

In the distance, a spectacular yet terrifying scene unfolded: four gargantuan snakes spiraled in and out of the sand with an elegance that belied their size. They moved as if the desert were nothing more than water, their enormous bodies—long as several caravans put together—tearing through the dunes with ease. Each kick of their tails sent waves of sand billowing into the air while their brown scales glinted in the sunlight.

'No way we're hunting one of those,' Seth muttered. He couldn't help but stare at the enormous reptiles. Eight months ago, he'd been a mere commoner hunting rabbits for a living, and now he was standing a hundred yards away from snakes larger than freaking buildings.

Nightmare huffed loudly within his teardrop. 'I'm sure they aren't that strong.'

'Sure.'

As the group of Gnolls carefully navigated around the area, skirting the serpents' domain, Seth followed them, casting wary glances toward the horizon, where the colossal beasts continued to dance through the sand. The desert, which had been so desolate and boring before, had suddenly become quite frightening. The thought of these behemoths lurking just beneath his feet wasn't especially enjoyable.

At last, after enduring another two hours under the relentless sun, Seth saw a large stronghold of stones and rusty metal appear on the horizon, nestled right beside a towering monolith of stone that stretched beyond the fortress' walls. Atop the ramparts, five menacing arcane cannons stood sentinel—each surpassing the size of those he had seen in the red-clay desert.

Once the Gnolls disappeared through the wide-open gate, Seth circled around to the opposite side of the massive rock and began to scale it, infusing aether into his fingers so he could better grip its rugged surface.

Reaching the vantage point at the top, he deactivated Illusionary Emptiness and peered down into the stronghold. From this height, details were scarce—the Gnolls below were nothing more than tiny, shifting shadows. Still, he squinted against the blazing sun, remaining patient as he stayed in place and observed the base for nearly an hour.

Then, something caught his eye.

Among the ants-like figures were three that barely moved, standing almost in the exact same location—as if they were chained.

Prisoners, he thought, wiping the sweat trickling down from his brow and reaching into his Endless Pouch to grab some water—Shit.

His aether instantly evaporated into nothingness before it could reach the small, velvet bag. No water, and no food… at least for now, Seth thought, pressing his lips together.

He knew the distortion field wasn't permanent—it would fade once the Platinum-Tier beast that was causing it moved far enough away—but the problem was, he had no way of knowing when that would happen.

Hopefully, before I die of thirst.

Seth took refuge in the massive rock's shadow to avoid sweating too much and wasting some of his body's water while waiting for the distortion field to disappear. He had no idea if Detecting Pillars would still operate under these conditions, and it would be foolish to try it out. In a sea of sand like here, even if he hid in Illusionary Emptiness, they would still easily track his footprints—and he wouldn't be able to use his Swift Eagle Bracelet to run away.

As the sun finally began dipping below the horizon, casting red stripes in the sky, Seth suddenly felt a shift in the aether around him; the energy stopped vibrating and returned to its normal state. Wasting no time, he delved into his Endless Pouch and quickly pulled out half his food and water flasks, which he stashed in a narrow crevice between the gigantic rock and a boulder next to it—just in case that distortion field came back. After gulping down some water and devouring a piece of bread, he activated Illusionary Emptiness to blend into the surroundings and approach the stronghold.

Making sure to erase his footprints, he crept to the open gate where—to his surprise—two Gnolls stood guard.

Nightmare stood up within the beast-holder and stretched his legs. 'Looks like you'll need me.'

'I guess so,' Seth answered, rolling his eyes. 'Just make sure neither of them can howl.'

'It won't be a problem.'

Funneling aether into Phantom Punch's grooves, Seth stealthily moved closer until he could practically smell the two beasts' foul breath. Neither of the Gnolls exuded half the aura of the Guardian and Barbarian leaders, hinting that they were probably Peak Copper or Low Iron at best—easy to take out. After verifying that no beasts were watching from inside the fortress, Seth lunged.

The moment he appeared next to the left Gnoll, his gauntlet, clad by the giant skeletal fist, crashed into the beast's head with a bone-shattering impact. Almost in perfect sync, Nightmare sprang out of the necklace and pounced at the right Gnoll's throat, crushing its windpipe in a black flesh-eating cloud.

After a jerk of his head to snap his target's neck, the direwolf let the limp corpse fall to the ground and turned to Seth. 'Happy?'

'Yeah, yeah.'

Moving the direwolf back into his teardrop, Seth quietly tossed out Toren's second—and last—device to neutralize detecting wards. The moment the small cube stopped rolling next to the pillar and the faint hum faded, Seth immediately turned himself invisible and slipped inside the stronghold.

Moving in the shadows of weather-beaten metal towers lining the narrow streets, he walked past at least a few dozen Gnolls while heading where he'd spotted the three motionless silhouettes. The moment he'd finally caught sight of the human captives next to two flickering torches, a group of Gnolls unshackled the smallest among them. Red hair, a slim, almost childlike body: Selena.

They flung her in front of what seemed to be three young Copper Gnolls, then tossed her a spear and formed a wide circle around her. Almost immediately, all Gnolls in the adjacent tall dwellings howled and cackled, watching from their vantage point. They were all waiting for a spectacle.

Seth's hands rolled into tight fists. They're doing the same thing as the Fishlords.

Clutching the spear, Selena dashed forward, green aether flaring around her feet. She gracefully ducked under an ax swing, darted past two of the Gnolls, and thrust her weapon into the shoulder of the smallest one in the back. The beast let out a pained howl as she wrenched the spear free to parry the curved sword of another Gnoll.

Another two hyena-like beasts stepped forward from the spectating crowd to drag the wounded Gnoll away while a pair of new Warriors quickly replaced it. Her eyes burning with rage, Selena immediately switched her grip onto her spear and launched the weapon with all her might, impaling the small, injured beast. Blood spurted out of its maw as it collapsed, and almost instantly, four Gnolls swarmed the Rogue, throwing her to the ground before kicking and slashing her.

Gritting its teeth, Seth edged closer and his hand moved toward his Endless Pouch. 'We need to get in there right now and buy her five seconds so she can use an Escape scroll.'

'Umm, sure, but first, shouldn't we wait for them…'

Nightmare's answer trailed off as a now familiar—and quite irritating—sensation washed over Seth, aether shuddering against his skin.

The distortion field was back.

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