"I didn't force you to drink,'' Zane said between laughter as he dodged Viktor's attack.
"Wasn't I deceived by your words, you said mistress like it! And your expression too!" Viktor refuted and he swung his legs towards Zane's side in mock anger.
Zane burst out laughing again, dodging and running from Viktor's attack range, while mocking him for being so easily deceived.
Cyra watched them play around, a relaxed, doting smile curling on her lips, but her ears stayed alert for the slightest danger.
She could hear the heartbeat of monsters miles away and close by and was surprised that any creatures survived the disaster.
This suited her purpose perfectly. She wasn't running a charity by paying them high salaries—she needed them strong enough to handle tasks and free up her ti.
She leaned back in her chair, satisfied there was no danger nearby and turned to the open ground, wondering how long it would take them to get out.
anwhile, the won struggled—they had fallen countless tis without even climbing one-quarter of the journey.
Cyra made it look easy—but the mont they started climbing, reality hit them hard.
"Why did she leave these ropes for us? How are we supposed to use it?" One woman asked out loud, her voice thick with frustration and anger.
Other won looked at the rope and the tall height and felt it was impossible to climb.
"What kind of training is this? I ca here to work as a guard, not as a special soldier or sothing." A woman murmured in anger under her breath, thinking the boss was pushing them too far.
Her words sparked a wave of complaints from the crowd.
"Aristocrats are evil, we are like monkeys in a circus for her entertainnt."
"Our life ans nothing now we have signed that life contract."
"I quit, whoever wants to climb should do it."
"Is she even that strong? Maybe she hid sothing in her shoes to help her climb," a woman scoffed—conveniently forgetting how her body had tensed in fear under Cyra's presence.
As the complaints grew louder, Alia calmly scanned the crowd, looking for level-headed won among the chaos.
She stopped beside Erica, who was in a heated discussion with a small crowd of won.
"She told us to get out—but she never said we couldn't use our soul beasts," one woman pointed out, prompting the others to recall the boss's exact words.
"Yes! Why did I think about that, but...I don't have a flying soul beast." The woman's joy was short-lived due to the disadvantage of her land beasts.
"Mind if I join you?" Alia asked. Everyone turned to her and nodded with easy smiles.
Erica glanced at Alia's familiar face and nodded in recognition before they got back to their discussion.
"Does anyone have a flying beast? They could fly up and secure the rope for the rest of us," Alia suggested. The idea made sense—but no one had a flying soul beast.
Noticing everyone shaking their heads, Alia was disappointed but not giving up either.
"We can ask the others," Eric suggested as she turned to the other won scattered around the room.
But who would be willing to help secure the rope and not claim credit to get on the boss's good side?
C-C-Can a mole work?" A brown-haired woman stutters at suddenly being the centre of attention. She felt shy around people, and their gaze made her uncomfortable, but she had no choice but to speak.
Alia and Erica's eyes light up at her words.
"It's more than enough!"
"Can you dig out stairs through the wall?"
Erica and Alia spoke at the sa ti, and the other won's eyes lit up at their words.
"I-I can make stairs..." Arya said in a whisper, stiffening up under their hot gazes.
"Alright, let's go. Open the way!" The rest of the won exclaid happily, drawing gazes from other won around.
They watched curiously as Erica's group moved to the wall. So scoffed, already expecting failure.
But the gasps and chewing sounds threw their gazes back to the wall, their eyes widened at the sight of the mole drilling into the wall.
"Ah! We can use our soul beasts!" A woman's shout woke them from their stupor. So won in the crowd grinned and quickly summoned their beast, taking flight imdiately.
The other watched enviously at their swift actions, but they quickly followed after Alia and the rest.
Erica tied the rope around her waist and motioned for the others to do the sa; once everyone was done, they set off, with Arya taking the lead.
"Wait! You can't just take the rope from yourself!" They Ignored the woman's shout and crawled up the crude stairs the mole was able to create.
So opted for daggers, sinking them into the stairs as they moved up cautiously; any error and their life were gone.
Unknown to them, Cyra had heard every single curse and complaint from her seat and glanced indifferently to the won who ca up first.
The won glanced up at the sky and around them, their faces filled with shock, disbelief, and a dazed sense of unreality.
Their eyes shifted to Cyra, lounging calmly in her chair with a lazy expression. Quiet envy stirred in their hearts.
They had questions—especially about the sky—but none dared to ask. Instead, they stood silently off to the side.
Their gaze could not help but fall on the folding seat beneath Cyra, wondering how a seat could be here when she didn't bring any bag with her.
Since no sensible answer could co up in their minds, they assud the chair and had always been in this forest.
Zane and Viktor returned from their wanderings to find so won already gathered in the clearing.
"Are we really staying in this forest?" Viktor asked, suddenly rembering they'd be here for a week.
"No, it's too dangerous here," Cyra replied, sensing the breath of sleeping monsters deep in the inner forest—waiting for night to strike.
Zane nodded along at her words; he knew firsthand that the monsters in the inner section of the forest were no joke.
Their poisonous breath alone could wipe them out. It made him wonder how Cyra had managed to carry him into the center and still make it out alive.
"Let's wait for the rest and we set out imdiately," Cyra uttered, glancing up at the darkening sky, she shut her eyes to rest.
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