Mark woke up to the light of dawn filtering through the tree branches.
He stretched inside his sleeping bag, feeling every muscle in his body protest after sleeping on the hard ground.
’Ow... I definitely miss my bed in the dungeon.’
Mark sat up slowly, rubbing his eyes and yawning.
The forest was quiet, with only the distant sound of birds singing and the soft whisper of wind through the leaves.
Mark looked around the clearing, but he didn’t see Yuki anywhere.
’Where is she?’
"Yuki," he called, his voice still hoarse from sleep. "Co here."
There was a mont of silence, and then, as if materializing out of nowhere, Yuki appeared at his side.
Mark nearly jumped in fright.
’Shit. I still haven’t gotten used to that.’
Yuki looked at him with her expressionless red eyes, standing beside him as if she had always been there.
"Good morning, Master," she said in her monotone voice.
Mark cleared his throat, trying to regain his composure.
"Good morning," he replied, pulling so food out of his inventory. "How was your watch?"
"It was quiet all night," Yuki reported. "There were no threats in the area. So small animals passed nearby, but nothing dangerous."
Mark nodded, biting into a piece of dry bread.
"Good. Thanks for watching over ."
Yuki remained silent for a mont, watching him eat.
Then, without warning, she spoke.
"Master, when you arrived at the dungeon entrance yesterday, you looked more tired than you should have," she said in her direct, straightforward tone. "Did you have sex with Cali before leaving with us?"
Mark choked on his food and coughed violently, pounding his chest as he tried to catch his breath.
’What? How the hell? Was it that obvious?’
Yuki watched him with her usual neutral expression, patiently waiting for his answer.
Mark finally managed to swallow and breathe normally.
’Shit. Well... Yuki is different from Ely and Aria. Maybe I can be honest with her.’
"Yes," he admitted at last, looking her in the eyes. "She asked and I... couldn’t refuse."
Mark expected so kind of reaction—jealousy, anger, disappointnt—but Yuki simply nodded.
"I understand," she said calmly.
Mark blinked, surprised.
"That’s it?"
Yuki tilted her head slightly.
"Master, you can do whatever you want," she explained in her calm voice. "Soone like you can have as many won as you desire. It is not for any of us to decide how many won can be with you. That is sothing only you can decide."
She paused briefly.
"So if you want Cali to enjoy having sex with you as well, I am fine with that."
Mark stared at her, genuinely surprised by how understanding she was.
’Wow. I wasn’t expecting that. Yuki really is different.’
"Thanks," he said sincerely. "I’ll keep that in mind."
Then he leaned forward a little, lowering his voice.
"But please don’t tell Aria or Ely about this," he asked. "I wouldn’t want them to react badly. I... I’ll find a way to tell them eventually."
Yuki nodded without hesitation.
"Understood, Master. I won’t say anything."
Mark let out a sigh of relief.
’Thank God. At least one of them is reasonable.’
He quickly finished his breakfast, packed his things, and stood up.
"Alright. Let’s keep moving."
Yuki nodded and began walking beside him as they left the clearing behind.
...
The second day of travel was similar to the first.
They walked for hours through the dense forest, stopping only occasionally so Mark could rest or drink water.
The terrain gradually began to change as the forest grew darker, the trees more twisted, and the air colder.
’We’re definitely getting closer.’
Mark occasionally asked Yuki random questions, more to break the silence than out of any real need for conversation.
"Do you think it’ll rain today?"
"No."
"Have you been to this part of the forest before?"
"No."
"Are you hungry?"
Yuki gave him a look that clearly said: I’m dead, Master.
Mark laughed.
"Right. That was a stupid question."
As they walked, Mark noticed that Yuki seed slightly less tense than in the previous days.
Her expression remained neutral, but sothing in the way she looked around made him think sothing had been bothering her.
"Yuki," he said finally. "Did you feel uncomfortable in the dungeon?"
She looked at him, surprised by the question.
"Why do you ask, Master?"
"I noticed you seed a bit thoughtful while we were there," Mark explained. "I just wanted to make sure you’re okay."
Yuki stayed silent for a mont, as if carefully considering her answer.
"Yes," she admitted at last. "Being in the place where I died made feel... strange."
Mark nodded with understanding.
’I figured. Dying in a place and then having to live there must be... weird.’
"I’ll think of sothing to make you more comfortable," he promised.
Yuki looked at him with sothing that almost resembled gratitude in her red eyes.
"Thank you, Master."
They continued walking in a comfortable silence until night began to fall again.
The sky turned shades of orange and purple, and the shadows of the forest stretched out around them.
Mark started looking for another place to camp when sothing caught his attention.
In the distance, between the trees, sothing seed to be lying on the ground.
’What is that?’
Mark narrowed his eyes, trying to see better in the growing darkness.
"Yuki, do you see that?" he asked, pointing ahead.
Yuki followed his gaze and nodded.
"Yes, Master. They appear to be corpses."
Mark frowned.
’Corpses? Out here?’
Mark approached cautiously, with Yuki following close behind.
As they got closer, the scene beca clearer and more disturbing. There were eleven bodies scattered across the forest floor.
n and won in armor and carrying weapons—clearly adventurers. But what caught Mark’s attention most was their appearance.
They were completely pale, their skin almost translucent.
Mark knelt beside one of the bodies, a middle-aged man in leather armor.
His face was frozen in terror, eyes wide open.
"They’re completely drained," Mark murmured, touching the cold skin of the corpse.
And then a thought crossed his mind.
’...Can I revive them? If I bring them back, maybe they could tell what happened.’
Mark extended his hand over the body and activated his "Awaken" skill.
Energy flowed from his palm into the corpse, surrounding it with a dark green glow.
But then... nothing.
The glow faded and the body remained motionless.
Mark frowned.
’What?’
He tried again, this ti pouring more power into the skill, but the result was the sa.
Nothing.
The body didn’t respond.
’Why isn’t it working?’
Mark stood up and moved to another corpse, trying to revive it as well.
But once again, his skill failed.
And again.
And again.
None of the eleven bodies responded to his reanimation skill.
It was as if sothing had left them completely empty—not just of blood, but of life force and even the possibility of being revived.
Mark stood in the middle of the corpses, looking at them with a mix of confusion and concern.
’This is really strange. I never thought my skill had limitations. So why isn’t it working now?’
He turned to Yuki, who was examining the bodies with her usual neutral expression.
"Do you have any idea what could have done this?" he asked.
Yuki knelt beside one of the corpses, inspecting the marks on the neck.
"They look like bite marks," she said finally. "But not from a common animal. They’re too precise."
She paused.
"And the fact that they’re completely drained of blood suggests it was so kind of monster."
A chill ran down Mark’s spine.
Sothing powerful enough to kill eleven adventurers—and not only that, but leave the bodies in a state where even he couldn’t revive them.
Mark looked around the dark forest, suddenly feeling as if they were being watched.
The silence of the forest was oppressive, as if everything was holding its breath.
’What the hell is in this forest?’
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