I was fairly confident Orin's attack could end this fight. By the time Orugg entered its third phase, its health should've been down to less than ten percent.

Especially now that it had activated False Serenity, a dead giveaway that it was on the brink of death.

"Orin, do you still have any useful items left?" Darwyn shouted, still panting from exhaustion.

"Nope. Used 'em all," Orin shook her head.

"Then that leaves you as our last hope," Darwyn turned to Muradin.

"Let's wait until Bastion Strike is off cooldown," Muradin replied.

"How long?" I asked.

"About ten more minutes."

"Alright. My Inner Beast should be ready by then too," I said.

We quickly shifted strategies.

Orin walked away from the battlefield and sat down to meditate, trying to restore her Mana. Darwyn stayed close, guarding her like a hawk.

[Rejuvenation cast]

Meanwhile, I focused on healing and keeping Muradin buffed as he bought us time, keeping Orugg busy.

"Come on, you slimy wart-covered freak! Hit me!" Muradin taunted.

Orugg tried to lash out with its tongue again, but its aim and speed had clearly dropped. It slapped the ground beside Muradin harmlessly.

"That's all you've got? Pathetic," Muradin laughed, then slammed a tired Shield Bash into the frog monster's tongue. He was clearly running on fumes too.

The boss yanked its tongue back, then fired a volley of acid eggs at us, but far fewer than before.

Muradin blocked them with ease, stepping back to keep a safe distance.

"Three minutes left," he called to me. I responded with a silent nod.

Our plan was simple: bait Orugg into swallowing Muradin again, and counter with Bastion Strike once the skill was ready.

Almost there…

"What are you doing? Move!" I shouted, dashing toward Muradin with Galestride, just in time to yank him away from a nasty Croak Leap.

The enemy landed not far from us, struggling to get back on its feet.

"Come on, eat me already. I won't fight back," Muradin said, lowering his shield and staring down the giant frog.

Orugg hesitated. It seemed to take a deep breath.

I was just about to trigger Inner Beast when I heard it.

"Wait… didn't you say it could only use that once?" Muradin yelled, panic rising in his voice as he clamped his hands over his ears.

I did the same, realizing too late that Orugg had calmed down again and begun unleashing that damn dreamlike croak, over and over.

"Fuck, fuck, fuck!" Muradin cursed, furious and helpless.

Our bodies froze, heavy and unresponsive. Our minds dulled, slipping away again into the void.

Darkness returned to my vision.

[Willpower exceeds 150. The recurring effect of False Serenity is greatly diminished.]

***

"Are you awake, sweetheart?" Mom's voice gently roused me.

I lay back down on the thick, comforting grass, reluctant to move.

"Let's have another match," Dad said with a grin, seated in a chair with a perfectly arranged chessboard in front of him.

I held my head. Unlike before, the memories were crystal clear this time. Orugg had used False Serenity again, something that should've been impossible inside Dreadspire.

I shot to my feet. There wasn't much time.

This dream world, as idyllic as it looked, wasn't fully formed. Black voids crept in along the edges, like dead pixels on a broken monitor. Even Mom and Dad's figures were becoming faint, almost see-through.

"I love you, Mom. I love you, Dad," I whispered. "It means the world to see you again… but there's someone I care about out there, someone I need to save."

"We understand," Dad said, voice calm and certain. "Go. Help your friend."

"No matter what happens," Mom added, "we'll always love you. We'll always be waiting."

"Hey, Dad," I said with a grin. "I'm the number one chess player now. You must be proud, huh?"

He gave me a warm nod just before vanishing from sight. The same went for Mom.

Yet, I was still trapped in the dream.

"AAAAAAAAAAARGH!" I screamed from the depths of my soul, half from heartbreak at having to part with them again, and half in an attempt to force my way out of this place.

I pinched myself. Shook my head. Jumped around like a madman. Anything, anything to wake up.

And I could feel it.

The dark spots in the air were multiplying.

I was almost free.

Like magic, the illusion shattered, and in an instant, I was back at Crystal Lake.

But unlike before, this time I woke up fully, no need for Mournbite Tonic at all.

The first thing I noticed was a massive dark shadow looming over Muradin, growing darker and closer by the second.

"Eryndor! Help Mister Bromir!" Orin shouted, sprinting toward us.

I rushed in and grabbed Muradin's body. I had no idea what was happening around me, my focus was on pulling him as far from the shadow as I possibly could.

KRAK-BOOOOOOM!

The shockwave sent me flying. I hit the ground and rolled, dazed by the force of Orugg's impact.

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"NOOOO!" Orin's scream pierced the chaos.

I hadn't been fast enough.

Muradin's right side was crushed beneath the giant frog's massive weight. The sound of bones cracking and flesh tearing was sickeningly clear.

Muradin didn't even make a sound. He lay there unconscious, his body twitching, blood pouring out of him.

[Tranquil Reversal activated]

Suddenly, a serene aura enveloped Muradin. Deep blue, purple, and orange light, like a twilight sky, flared outward from his body.

Orugg recoiled, visibly shocked, and the radiant energy blasted its enormous frame back.

It let out a thunderous croak before slowly dissolving into the light, its form vanishing completely.

Apparently, we had gotten the Somnus Tree's health down to less than sixty percent earlier.

Thanks to the passive skill Tranquil Reversal, Muradin had managed to convert the immense damage he'd taken into magical backlash.

It was insanely powerful, but it has a very long cooldown.

"Orin, help me!" I cried, pouring a high-rank healing potion into Muradin's bloodied mouth and casting Rejuvenation at the same time.

Without hesitation, Orin joined me, uncorking another potion and pouring it over Muradin's mangled right side, which lay crushed and twisted in the deep crater beneath him.

"W-What happened?"

Darwyn's voice. He was awake.

"Wait… what happened to Muradin?!" he shouted, horror dawning on his face as he sprinted toward us.

"The monster crushed him while he was still asleep," Orin replied, quickly pouring a potion over Muradin's wounds. "Luckily, Eryndor managed to pull him out in time, avoided the vital parts."

"And the frog monster? Where is it?"

"Dead. It got blasted away by some kind of energy that shot out from Mister Bromir's body," Orin answered, her voice laced with confusion. "I'm not exactly sure what that was… but it felt similar to the attack from the Silver Tree earlier."

"I'm guessing Muradin gained a skill from the tree. But we can figure that out later," I said, casting Rejuvenation again.

Muradin appears to have regained consciousness, although only slighty.

"Hey, dwarf, hang in there," Darwyn called out to his friend. Muradin's large black eyes were barely open. His thick beard was matted with blood, and his usually slicked-back hair looked like a blood-soaked mop.

"Look at me, don't close your eyes!"

Darwyn's emerald-green eyes glistened with emotion as he looked down at him.

"You're loud. Let me rest in peace," Muradin muttered, his voice faint as he closed his eyes.

"I'm not shutting up until I know you're okay," Darwyn sniffled, wiping his nose with the back of his hand.

"I'm fine. Just need a nap," Muradin mumbled, eyes still closed.

Orin and I spent the next hour patching him up while Darwyn went off to grab the loots and get the tent ready.

Once Muradin was stable, we carefully moved him to a safer spot, hidden behind a rocky cliff near the entrance, far from sight in case the Scavengers Clan decided to come sniffing around.

Only then did we allow ourselves to rest, finally letting exhaustion catch up to us as we tended to our wounds and caught our breath.

It wasn't the plan, but we had no choice. We'd have to stay in this place longer than expected.

***

"Hey… how long was I out?" he asked, trying to flex his right hand. "Did we get it?"

"It's been two days," I said. "Luckily, there was no ambush. And the Dripspawn hasn't respawned since we defeated Orugg."

"And yeah, we did," Orin chimed in, summoning the item into her palm before placing it in his left hand.

Muradin studied the item closely, turning it over in his hands before finally tucking it away.

"Let's head to the third floor right away, I can't wait to try this thing out," Muradin said with a weak grin, though his voice still trembled.

"That's the spirit," Darwyn replied. "But before we go charging in, how's our item stock looking?"

"No worries. We're fully restocked," Orin said proudly. She'd worked her tail off over the past two days to get us back in shape.

Of course, I helped too. Crafting potions wasn't exactly glamorous, but it kept us alive.

"Alright then. Erynd, how exactly do we get out of this place?" Darwyn turned to me.

"We just need to head toward that lake over there," I said. "And bring this little guy along."

I pulled out another item dropped by Orugg, a small, oddly-shaped orb with uneven bumps on its surface. It had a sickly greenish-yellow hue, like it had been sneezed out by something radioactive.

We quickly packed up our things and made our way toward the shimmering lake. Its surface was eerily calm, reflecting the surrounding cliffs and sky like a flawless mirror.

As we approached, I held the orb out toward the lake, where it suddenly began to tremble violently. At the same time, the water began to ripple, then churn, until a low rumble echoed through the air.

Bit by bit, the water parted, revealing a narrow path that carved its way toward the center of the lake. Towering walls of water rose on either side, held back by some unseen force.

"Are you sure this is safe?" Orin asked, eyeing the water walls warily.

"Only one way to find out," Muradin said with a smirk, stepping onto the gently sloping path.

"Alright, let's not waste any more time," I said, following close behind.

Orin and Darwyn fell in behind us, forming a loose line as we ventured deeper into the lake.

"This path's longer than it looks," Muradin muttered, limping slightly. His body still hadn't fully healed, despite the potions and rest.

We'd been walking for more than twenty minutes, yet the center of the lake still hadn't come into view.

Orin, clearly getting bored, reached out to the shimmering wall of water beside her and dipped a finger into it. "It feels kinda magical," she said with a gleeful grin.

A splash of water suddenly hit her face.

Darwyn.

He wore the guiltiest smirk in the world.

"Hey! You little—" Orin laughed and splashed back, catching him square in the face.

"Focus, you two," I called out from the front. "We don't know how long this water wall will hold."

A complete lie, but they didn't need to know that.

"Haha, sorry, Eryndor. Mister Gwydion here started it," Orin said, shooting Darwyn a mock glare.

"My bad, my bad," Darwyn replied, then sneakily flicked another splash at her. "Oops."

As we continued walking, we started talking casually about the rest of our route. There were still a couple of places we needed to visit on this floor before moving up.

"So we're heading to Whisperwillow Weald next, then the Fabled Sanctuary, and only then to the third floor?" Muradin asked, not even trying to hide his disappointment.

"Yeah, there are a few things we need from both areas," I explained.

"Then let's hurry it up already," Muradin said, picking up the pace, though he was still limping slightly.

"No need to rush. We're almost at the center of the lake," Darwyn said, pointing ahead.

Sure enough, a metallic statue stood before us, towering at least two and a half meters tall. It depicted Orugg the Blooming Glutton, surrounded by a group of small Dripspawn statues that seemed to be dancing around it. The whole thing gleamed as the sunlight bounced off its reflective surface.

We approached it cautiously and stood in front of it.

"Who would've guessed we'd find a statue like this at the bottom of a lake?" Darwyn said, eyes wide with admiration as he studied the fine craftsmanship.

At the base of the statue was a circular slot, clearly meant for something.

"Can I do it?" Orin asked excitedly, already reaching forward.

"Here," I said, handing her the orb that was still vibrating in my palm. "We should all take a step back, just in case."

We backed away as Orin carefully placed the orb into the slot.

The statue came to life.

The Dripspawn sculptures began to twitch, then hopped around Orugg in jerky little patterns, some even dove into the ground. Meanwhile, Orugg's massive jaws slowly creaked open, revealing a swirling core of dense blue energy pulsing with calm power.

"Is that the warp point you mentioned?" Darwyn asked, eyes locked on the glowing energy.

"Yeah. It'll save us a ton of time," I said with a nod.

"Then what are we waiting for? Let's go," said Muradin.

"Before it shuts and dumps the entire lake on our heads, yeah?" Darwyn added, already stepping into Orugg's open mouth.

The swirling blue energy hummed as Darwyn passed through it.

"Woah, that looked trippy!" Orin's voice echoed in front of me. "Alright, my turn!"

She bounced forward with her usual reckless excitement. "Let's go!"

And vanished.

Muradin limped up next, grumbling to himself. "Of course the door to progress is inside a giant monster's mouth. Totally normal."

He muttered a quick prayer to no one in particular and stepped through.

I was the last. I gave the statue one final glance, then looked up toward the distorted surface of the lake high above.

"Mom… Dad," I whispered with a sigh. "Please watch me from wherever you are."

I paused.

Then reached out and touched the orb in the slot, before stepping into the warp point.

It hummed softly as I passed through, like walking into a wall of cool mist. In an instant, the world blurred into streaks of light and sound, pulling me somewhere else.

The warp point pulsed one final time… then dimmed.

And just like that, the statue fell still, its mouth slowly closing.

The walls of water on both sides gradually flowed back into place, swallowing the path we had taken, along with the giant statue, once more hiding them beneath the shimmering lake.

Waiting, perhaps, for the next group of fools brave enough to wake it again.

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