I caught my breath as he stepped back, giving me some distance. It was just a friendly spar, nothing too serious.
I could tell he was strong, but not as strong as the Variant I'd fought or the expedition captain.
I calmed my breathing and tried to recreate that boiling sensation again. Then I charged. I threw a punch at his face, but he dodged to the side just in time.
Still, he was shocked. The attack had caught him off guard and threw off his balance.
In another instant, I hit him again, this time landing a solid strike to his gut.
He quickly retaliated, grabbing me and shoving me backwards. Space formed between us again. He spat out a bit of blood.
The air between us grew tense. He was clearly angered. My injuries from the last battle were starting to catch up to me.
As the others noticed, they quickly stepped in and ended the spar. He had probably been trying to prove he was stronger than me.
I was about to leave when she came up to me.
"I'm Serra. I hope we see more of each other."
A while later, I found a quiet spot on the left side of the camp to sit and try to sort through all the new information. It was hard to process.
As I stared into the dark abyss of this strange realm, I muttered to myself.
"The Waiting Room. Other realms. There's so much I don't know... and maybe so much I shouldn't know."
Then it hit me. All the stress I had buried began to rise. My muscles ached, my skin broke into a sweat. I got up quickly and returned to camp.
I managed to get a bit of sleep.
A few hours passed. Someone tapped my shoulder to wake me up.
It was Serra.
She told me it was time for the camp to move.
My vision was blurry at first, but I quickly snapped back to reality. I had no belongings, so I just stood up and wore my torn casual clothes.
As I stepped out of the tent, Serra retracted it into a small book-like box.
Ahead, through the darkness, I saw the expedition captain. He shouted, "We have to reach Trespasser's Land quickly."
The others responded in unison, "Yes, sir!"
We trekked for several hours, taking short breaks here and there. The walk was long. My body was burning out. We didn't see any Variants, but we did kill a few beasts along the way.
Still, something felt off.
Everything was going too smoothly.
Time passed. We kept walking. No beasts. No Variants. I wasn't the only one who noticed. Even the captain seemed on edge.
He finally said, "Everyone, keep your guard up. We might be walking into a trap."
We walked for a while longer. No ambushes. No signs of life. Nothing.
Maybe we were just overthinking it.
Then the captain looked down at something in his hand and said, "Just hold out a little longer. We're almost there."
As we closed in on the area, I was already exhausted.
We followed the captain until he suddenly stopped. Everyone else stopped right behind him.
I looked ahead.
Eight high-level transcendent beasts were standing in front of the transportation gate.
I turned to the captain. He gripped his sword tightly. His hands were shaking. Cold sweat ran down his face.
His voice trembled.
"Hold your weapons."
I stepped forward. The moment I did, I felt it.
The aura of those beasts alone was suffocating.