Victor dragged Lucie's unconscious body by the arm, seating her against the wall of the small room.
He hesitated.
He knew he had to wake her up, but…
« A bucket of water or a slap? That's the question. »
He didn't have a bucket of water at hand.
He had always dreamed of waking someone up like that; it seemed hilarious to him.
And he knew this was a perfect opportunity.
« Decision made then… »
He rubbed his hands, preparing to wake the girl gently, but before he could make a move, she slowly opened her eyes, looking lost.
« What the… »
Victor sighed in disappointment. Still, he didn't despair, he knew he'd get another chance later, that much was certain.
Lucie nearly collapsed a second time when she realized she was still in the same room, surrounded by former acquaintances or even friends she had spoken to earlier that day.
She didn't faint this time, but her stomach betrayed her, and she vomited everything she had eaten that morning.
Lucie glanced at Victor, who was staring at her without a trace of emotion except for a slight disappointment. She thought it was because of her reaction to the blood and corpses, but she was far from the truth.
Although Victor's behavior was rather extreme, he wasn't stupid. He understood perfectly well that her reaction was completely normal; in truth, he was the one behaving oddly between them.
« Get up. We're just getting started. »
Lucie's pupils trembled at Victor's hoarse, effort-filled voice.
Looking at the bodies of the monstrosities behind him, she realized he had fought alone against four of these horrors—while she could have helped if she hadn't fainted.
She said nothing but thought every word.
Her gaze hardened, promising herself never to make that mistake again.
Unlike most others, she didn't expect anyone to come help them here.
The situation had surpassed the natural and entered the realm of the unknown and the supernatural.
And when humans face the unknown, they all react the same way.
Fear.
A primitive fear, ingrained in their genes.
That was why she had followed the boy whose name she still didn't know. Unlike the others, he didn't seem afraid.
To her, there could only be three explanations.
Stupidity — which she doubted given his behavior.
Him being not human but something else — which she doubted even more.
So there was only the third option.
The boy had already experienced this or worse or at least has knowledge about the situation.
What she didn't know, however, was that Victor was indeed afraid for his life. He knew every second could be his last, one wrong move or even bad luck could kill him.
But his desire for power outweighed his fear.
Without further discussion, they moved toward the next room, a putrid stench from too many corpses spreading throughout the building.
It was a very bad sign, according to Victor. This stench would undoubtedly attract predators, and he dreaded their first encounter, whatever they might be.
« Ready? »
She nodded with determination.
Before entering, Victor allocated his ten stat points, investing them all in Endurance, bringing the total to seventeen.
Immediately, he felt a soothing sensation spreading through his limbs and torso, strengthening his skin and hardening his muscles.
The physical fatigue he had felt seconds ago nearly vanished; only his breathing remained slightly uneven.
He glanced at his partner.
« You should assign your stat points if you haven't already. »
The blonde nodded, staring into space, eyebrows furrowed, clearly hesitant.
After a few seconds, she seemed to decide.
« Alright, I'm ready, let's go…»
« Victor. »
« Oh, so you're the…?»
« The what? »
« Nevermind. »
Victor shrugged, he wasn't particularly interested in what she wanted to say in the first place.
He opened the door gently this time, hoping to catch one or two fallen beings by surprise.
Fortunately, Lucie didn't faint but struggled internally against the strong nausea overtaking her.
The sight that greeted them was far from what they had imagined.
The room was completely empty—no furniture, no humans, no corpses.
A single structure stood in the middle.
A cube of absolute black, abyssal, about two meters tall, with small dark particles floating around it like orbiting satellites.
« What the heck is that thing? »
Lucie couldn't believe it. For the umpteenth time since that morning, she thought she was dreaming.
She glanced at the strange boy beside her, curious about his reaction, but when she faced his expression, her blood ran cold.
He was smiling.
A grin stretched to his ears—a twisted, sick smile.
Technically, it wasn't entirely his fault; the long wound along his mouth caused this appearance. But something in Lucie told her he would have worn that expression regardless.
« Victor? »
Her trembling voice brought Victor back, he still couldn't believe his luck.
This cube was far from normal. According to Belzébuth's information, it was some kind of trial which, if completed, would grant an exceptional reward—anything from items to skills, knowledge, or even levels.
Yet he hesitated. Would it be dangerous? Should he risk his life in an entirely unknown place? What if the air inside wasn't suitable for humans? What if the gravity reduced him to dust the moment he stepped in?
Too many worrying variables had to be considered.
« Wait for me a few minutes. »
Without waiting for her response, Victor approached the cube cautiously, maintaining a safe distance, curious to see if the system would manifest—but to his dismay, it didn't.
He finally decided to postpone exploring the place. Though he didn't know if it would remain indefinitely, he wasn't about to take such a reckless risk unless forced.
As a precaution, Victor moved some furniture from the previous room, barricading the door leading to the cube with minimal effort.
Once done, the two teenagers continued clearing room after room, stopping only for a few minutes to rest between encounters.
Fortunately, each room contained no more than five creatures, some having only two or three.
The sun began to set as they finished clearing the last room on the second floor. They decided to rest for the night.
They certainly wouldn't venture into the darkness, who knew what horrors would emerge for their nightly hunt?
They returned to one of the few unused rooms on the floor.
Both looked terrible, especially Victor, who had done most of the work.
Sweat clung their clothes to their skin, Lucie's hair nearly black from the blood splatters, Victor barely keeping his eyes open, fatigue threatening to overwhelm him at any moment.
But the most remarkable change was in the young woman's mindset, transformed completely in just a few hours.
Her gaze no longer shone with childlike naivety and innocence—it was sharp, yet dull.
In a sense, it was tragic. She had sacrificed part of herself to survive in a world where naivety had no place.
It was like willingly amputating a limb due to spontaneous and unexpected necrosis.
In some ways, it was even sadder than the countless corpses littering the floor.
At least they had died too quickly to become something other than human.
They sat side by side, at the back of the room, facing the door.
Silence reigned for several long minutes, broken only by their gradually calming, raspy breathing.
Lucie tapped her phone for the umpteenth time, hoping to call her family or friends, but nothing had changed, there was no signal.
« Hey… Victor? »
« Mmh? »
« Think we'll see our families again? »
Victor didn't respond immediately—or rather, he didn't know what to say. His human interactions had been limited to his sister and parents, if they could even be called humans.
But regardless of his social skills, he would have asked the question.
Tell the bitter truth? Or the gentle lie?
In the end, he chose the first option. It probably wasn't what the girl, who had fought back-to-back with him, wanted to hear—but his sister had always told him to be honest.
« Honestly, I don't know. They could be perfectly fine or they could… Well, don't worry. When we get out of here, we'll try to find them. »
This surprised Lucie; she hadn't expected Victor, whom she had taken for an extremely insensitive person, to tell her he would help.
She shot him a sly side-eye, smirking.
« Didn't think you had a soft side, huh? »
« Soft side? »
Victor raised an eyebrow, his voice growing increasingly tired with sleep.
« Good or bad, I only do what I want. If suddenly I feel like abandoning you, I will. If I feel the need to get rid of you, I won't hesitate. If I want to help you, I'll do it as best as I can. That's it. »
Lucie shivered. She wondered how a declaration like that could come from a boy her age.
But seeing the horrible scar she had already grown accustomed to, she knew that whatever this boy had experienced had transformed him into what he was today.
The corners of her mouth curved slightly.
« Hmph. Doesn't matter what you say, if you've decided to help me, that's all that counts. »
«…I suppose that's one way to look at it. But anyway, I'm exhausted, so take the first shif— »
Victor didn't get to finish before he felt a head rest on his shoulder.
Lucie had fallen asleep.
He sighed.
« Guess I'll take the first shift then…»
To pass the time, he summoned the system window.