The couple was still in a state of shock from the recent incident. The scene they witnessed kept coming back to their minds. This bloodbath, where their doppelgangers beca victims, deeply wounded their consciousness. It was especially hard to see an almost identical corpse.
Overcoming fatigue and pain, they followed the stranger in silence. They had no idea what lay ahead, but they had no choice but to take the risk and trust him.
Soon, they ca to a small open space where the camp was set up. There were three more people in adventurer's clothes waiting for them: two won and one man.
Noticing Nemo and the couple, a woman with long green hair and pointed ears ca out to et them. She was dressed in adventurer's clothes in shades of green, as was her hair. Her expression was worried, but when she saw that the stranger was okay, she cald down. Then she turned her gaze to Idan and Arabel.
The woman's gaze was wary and laced with suspicion. Idan and Arabel felt as if their bodies were bound by a mysterious force, not allowing them to move.
The stranger remained silent all this ti. Approaching the woman, he just slapped her on the shoulder and shook his head. Only then did she calm down, and Idan and Arabel breathed a sigh of relief when the pressure eased.
"Who are you?" the stranger asked. At that mont, two more people appeared behind her. Both had short brown hair, and unlike the woman with green hair, they looked like ordinary people.
"My na is Idan, and this is my childhood friend and..." Idan suddenly stopped, as if hesitating to say sothing important.
"And?" the woman in green asked.
"... and she's my fiancee Arabel," Idan said in embarrassnt. Arabel blushed when she heard Idan call her his fiancee, but she quickly regained her composure.
This did not escape the attentive eyes of the woman in green. It was obvious that they were both embarrassed to admit it, but it seed like it was true.
"A few days ago, we found ourselves inside this forest and since then we have been wandering in search of a way out. We don't know where we are, and we've run into our doppelgangers. If it wasn't for him, we would have died. We are very grateful to him for saving us. It was he who brought us here," Idan continued his story. He had already guessed that this stranger was part of this group.
The woman did not imdiately believe their words that they were inside this forest. There has never been a case where soone found themselves in one of the forbidden places after they were "swallowed up".
However, after seeing their serious condition, their trembling body, and the wounds on their bodies, she believed that Nemo had saved the couple and brought them here himself. Usually, her youngest is not interested in many people, so she decided to believe them.
"My na is Eulalia. The guy who saved you is my youngest, his na is Nemo. And this is Ella and Radik," a woman nad Eulalia introduced everyone else.
"I see that you are injured and very tired. Rest for a while, and then we will discuss our business," Eulalia said, inviting them to her camp.
Idan and Arabel were happy to accept this offer. However, before agreeing, they exchanged thoughts and decided to take turns resting. Although the group seed friendly, and one of them saved their lives, they didn't want to let their guard down among strangers.
They were led to a vacant lot and offered blankets to rest on. The couple happily agreed. They didn't want to show that they had spatial storage until they were convinced of the good intentions of the locals. Besides, they didn't know how valuable such a storage facility was in the eyes of the local population.
As agreed, Arabel went to bed first to rest and sleep, while Idan stayed by her side on guard. She was so tired these days that she didn't object to his decision, but was grateful for his concern.
The group imdiately noticed this, but did not bother them. They also understood that the couple did not fully trust them.
Arabel, exhausted, fell asleep quickly. Idan sat down next to her and waited. He was also feeling ntally tired, and his whole body ached from his wounds. However, he tried to hold on, nodded off from ti to ti and almost fell asleep.
Eulalia and the others noticed how the guy fell asleep, then woke up and shook his head, trying to shake off sleep. Unable to bear to see his tornt anymore, Eulalia went up to him and cast so kind of spell. Defenseless, Idan found himself under the influence of magic, sinking into a deep sleep.
Snorting, Eulalia returned to her seat. Ella and Radik exchanged glances and smiled. Although Eulalia looked strict, she was caring and empathetic inside. They understood that she couldn't stand it and used sleep magic to ease the guy's suffering.
Nemo, anwhile, silently found his place, sat down and began to clean his sword and shield from blood, and then checked his equipnt.
When he finished checking his equipnt, Eulalia ca up to him and sat down next to him. She then cast a spell by shining a beam at his forehead. Nemo did not resist and calmly accepted this ray.
"Okay, now tell what happened?" he heard Eulalia's voice in his head. The spell she used was a telepathy spell, allowing her to establish a ntal connection with a person and communicate without words.
Nemo gave a detailed account of what had happened. He described how, while scouting, he ca across a couple and followed them. He then told how the couple had encountered their doppelgangers, and that he wanted to leave them for dead. If it wasn't for Izzy's request, he would have done just that.
"Are you saying that Izzy saw sothing in them?" asked Eulalia in surprise. Nemo confird her words. Eulalia looked at the couple with interest and started asking questions about who they really were.
If they were able to attract Izzy's attention, then they are not just adventurers as they seem at first glance. After all, to attract the attention of the spirit dwelling in Nemo is a real achievent. As an elf, Eulalia sincerely respected spirits, and the news that this seemingly ordinary couple was able to attract the attention of a spirit deeply impressed her.
Evening ca, and the sun began to sink below the horizon. The group decided to postpone their business and spend the night here to give the couple a break. A big role in this decision was played by what Eulalia learned from Nemo. She wanted to wait for Idan and Arabel to wake up and talk to them.
They built a bonfire and started cooking dinner. Unlike Idan and Arabel, they weren't afraid of the monsters living in this part of the forest, so the atmosphere was relaxed.
Soon, their surroundings were filled with the pleasant aroma of cooked food. Idan and Arabel, awakened by the alluring scent, felt their stomachs growl with hunger.
Seeing the couple wake up and hearing their stomachs rumble, the group laughed rrily. When Idan woke up, he realized that he had fallen asleep himself. He did not rember how Eulalia had cast a spell on him, and now he felt guilty for not being able to fulfill his role and succumbing to sleep.
"Co and join us," the young girl, Ella, suggested.
"Yes, let's join in!" a guy nad Radik supported her.
Idan and Arabel, glancing at each other, decided not to refuse their invitation and both joined the al. They started eating in silence, and the taste of the prepared dish amazed them. For the past few days, they had been eating only smoked at and dishes that Arabel was trying to cook. But it was completely different—so delicious that they couldn't even hold back their tears while enjoying the al.
Seeing their tears, the group smiled. According to them, they guessed that the couple had been wandering through the forest for several days and had not eaten normal food.
"Idan, Arabel, could you tell us in detail about your origins and how you ended up in this forest?" asked Eulalia when they finished eating.
Idan and Arabel were already ready for this conversation. During the al, they exchanged thoughts and decided to hide their true identity, and instead tell the legend they had made up for them in the identity card they had received in the adventurer's kit.
"We co from a small village on the continent of Ludelia. Since childhood, we dread of becoming adventurers, and finally our dream ca true — we ca to the continent of Labyrinths to try our luck, conquer dungeons and earn a living," Idan said sheepishly. He was overco with a sense of unease that he had so blatantly lied to his rescuers.
"And? How and when did you end up here?" asked Eulalia curiously. The others were also looking at them with interest.
"We fell into a spatial crack and ended up in this forest four days ago, without even realizing what had happened. We don't know where we are. Can you tell us?" Idan asked, asking the question that had been bothering them since they arrived at this place.
After hearing their story, the whole group was amazed. Idan and Arabel couldn't understand why they were looking at them so strangely.
"How is this possible?" blurted out Ella when she recovered from her surprise. But, noticing Eulalia's stern look, she quickly covered her mouth with her hands.
Eulalia glanced at Ella and turned to the couple.:
"I don't understand why you're lying to us after all we've done for you. One of us even saved your life."
The abrupt change in Eulalia's behavior startled Idan and Arabel.
"This place is called Limbo. It is a vast space, independent of the rest of the world. And all this space is a prison. The only way to end up here is to be engulfed by the dungeon on the Labyrinth continent if you don't manage to leave it before the "reset" mont. Locals claim that there is no way out of here. No one has ever managed to leave Limbo."
Silence fell after Eulalia's words. Idan and Arabel finally found out the na of the place they were in. As the System said, it was an independent space. But they could not even imagine that they would end up among the prisoners of the dungeon.
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