Selina flew through the air, slamming into a tree with a loud bang.
A sickening crack echoed through the air as her shoulders dislocated.
A branch pierced through her abdon, leaving a gaping wound as blood darkened her shirt and dripped onto the grass below.
A mouthful of blood splattered from her lips as her vision blurred with pain.
"Arghhh..." She was caught between screaming and tears. Agonizing pain shot through her body, making her wish for death.
Ahead, a battle raged as everyone fought the horned rabbits, unable to spare any attention for her.
Selina was gripped by painful regret. She could have learned to fight instead of latching onto powerful groups during dungeon raids.
Now she was left defenseless against anything and everything, with only her healing power keeping her alive.
At this mont, just a few fighting moves could kill these horned rabbits, but she was nearly beaten to death by them.
’So pathetic... I’m pathetic...’ she had a sudden realization.
Her vision blurred, and her head lowered slowly; her heartbeat slowed, indicating she was at death’s door.
Then a golden light flashed, cutting the branch lodged in her stomach and causing her to fall to the ground with a thud.
The force of her fall cleared her mind, and she quickly activated her healing power. A soft white light enveloped her, and her torn flesh knitted back together until her skin was smooth and unscarred.
"You’ve gotten much worse." Caiden’s indifferent voice ca from above.
He looked down at her, knowing that her power was still useful, which was why he had saved her.
With no dical assistance, a dwindling supply of potions, and the high fatality rate of serious injuries, having a healer was crucial to their survival.
Selina froze at the familiar voice. Her pale face turned even paler, and her body began to tremble with fear.
’Caiden. How is he here?!’ She scread inwardly as she looked up to et his two different-colored pupils, unobscured by his rimd glasses.
"I didn’t save you for free. You have to work as my healer until I set you free," Caiden said in a calm tone, which did not invite any disagreent.
He averted his gaze and turned toward the crowd locked in a fierce battle against horned rabbits.
He had encountered this beast before. Though they seed weak on their own, they were a different story when they moved in groups, but they were still no problem for him to handle.
He waved his hand slightly, and all the fallen branches his beetle touched turned to gold, rose into the air, and struck the rabbits’ weak points.
The crowd froze, watching as the rabbits were pierced with golden sticks.
Blood splattered onto their faces, and they turned toward Caiden, their gaze cautious; then their eyes widened in surprise when it dawned on them that they were eting another group of people.
"People from the Oasis City."
"So people are still alive."
Murmurs rang through the crowd, and seven pairs of eyes fell on Caiden and the three n behind him.
Almost making them feel self-conscious, they, too, were happy to see people like themselves.
The leader of the group glanced at Caiden; his eyes flickered with recognition.
He had watched the competition and rembered how Caiden had easily defeated his opponent before being defeated by Lord Ethan.
Who would have thought he would cross paths with such a strong individual? A wave of relief and security washed over him—with Caiden here, the burden on his shoulders would lessen. Having a dungeon conqueror fighting alongside them was like handing a weapon to a defenseless man.
"Lord Caiden, it’s nice to et you. I’m Larry, the leader of this group. Welco. Please lend us your assistance along the way," Larry said, a hint of fawning creeping into his voice as he faced Caiden.
Caiden’s gaze fell on the man. His face was etched with exhaustion, but his eyes remained clear and sincere as he looked at Caiden. In response, Caiden rely humd.
The three behind him stepped forward to get acquainted with the others. Since they would be traveling together, so basic interaction was necessary.
"She will beco my personal healer," Caiden added, nodding toward Selina, who leaned against the tree, her head lowered.
Larry’s gaze fell on her, and he nodded without much thought, feeling it was an easy matter and that Selina should be glad to work under a dungeon conqueror.
Selina, whose heart was filled with rejection, could only listen helplessly as she was handed over to this monster without her consent.
The image of that secret room beca vivid in her mind at the sight of Caiden. Her hands couldn’t help but tremble, as if he might sever both of them.
She knew he wasn’t physically attracted to her and only wanted her hands for his collection, so seducing him was out of the question.
’He still needed her healing powers and wouldn’t take her hand so soon.’ This thought eased her unease sowhat.
At least she wouldn’t go hungry or be forced to sell her body to survive.
Selina’s mind slowly adjusted; days of suffering had made her more adaptable.
Caiden had no idea what was going through her mind. Instead, he turned his attention to Larry and asked whether they had encountered an enormous monster along the way.
The thought that countless monsters like that might be roaming the surface sent a shiver down his spine and brought out a cold sweat on his back.
Larry’s expression changed when he listened to Caiden’s description of the monster.
"Fortunately, we didn’t encounter any monster like that, or we all would have died," Larry muttered, his tone filled with relief and fear.
He could sense the lingering fear in Caiden’s voice. Sothing that could scare a dungeon conqueror could massacre them with a slight gust of wind.
"How could such a colossal monster hide, given its size, and where had it gone?" Caiden mused to himself.
He could rember how that monster suddenly appeared, and the beasts in the valley were the first to notice and hide themselves.
The monster was wrapped in mystery, dangerous, and could appear without warning, given its enormous size.
Caiden suppressed his curiosity and turned to Larry.
"You can continue leading the group as you have been. I will only help during fights and nothing more."
Larry’s eyes flickered with surprise at his words. He hadn’t expected Caiden, the strongest mber of the group, to have no interest in taking the lead.
"Alright. I leave you to rest. You can send Selina to collect your share of at later." Larry responded, wisely leaving him to rest, not wanting to anger him by rambling further.
Caiden humd, then strode to a quiet corner.
He sat on the clean grass, leaning his back against the tree as he closed his eyes to rest.
....
Inside the spaceship, Aaron’s fingers flew across the holographic keyboard.
Green code scrolled across the screen, and he paused to eat a spoonful of rice before continuing.
He had been working for ten days without rest, hoping to crack even a small part of the database.
"If only I could understand this language," Aaron grumbled in frustration, pushing the keyboard aside slightly before slumping back in his seat with a sigh.
Stone witnessed this from the doorway, and the words on his lips were swallowed.
He had wanted to ask Aaron whether he had made progress, but it seems not.
He was about to turn on his heel and leave when Aaron called out to him.
"I know you’re there. Stop coming every two days to ask how it’s processing, or I will quit," Aaron muttered in a threatening tone, already fed up with seeing Stone’s face.
"Ahem... I was here to see if you’re done eating or if you need more food. I see you’re busy, so I won’t disturb you anymore. Bye."
Stone mumbled awkwardly, guilt written across his face, before retreating in long strides.
Aaron let out a cold scoff, not believing a word he said.
Stone nearly stumbled in embarrassnt at the sound. He couldn’t be blad; the spaceship was so tempting to pull apart and study.
"Sigh, geniuses are temperantal these days." He grumbled under his breath and strode toward another room on the spaceship.
anwhile, the rigs and foundations for the wall were being excavated.
So won were in charge of preparing their als, while the workers dug out sand with their picks or shovels.
While the tractors dragged the fallen trees and rocks to the side.
In a large, spacious tent, Grace, other administrators, and the heads of the hidden family sat.
They were engaged in a heated discussion about who would lead the expedition to search for natural resources on the island and across the ocean.
"I can be in charge of them. I have nothing to do here, and I’m curious what the surface beasts are like," Randall offered after much discussion. He sensed no powerful beasts on this island, and he was itching for a fight.
So he planned to try his luck beyond the ocean.
Since Randall had taken the position, no one argued with him, and Grace humd in response.
Then soone else spoke.
"Just send a few people to the other side of the ocean. The spaceship is too important to use for transportation; send soone with flying beasts instead."
"That reminds . The scientists and engineering group need to co up with an airborne mode of transportation. Not everyone owns a flying beast," one of the administrators chid in, noting that this issue should also be addressed.
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