Hope watched Nefer's expression carefully.
There was a look of concentration on her face, as if she were thinking about something deeply.
Noticing it, Hope let out a quiet sigh.
"Seems I've said too much."
Nefer didn't confirm nor deny it.
Instead, she changed the subject.
"We believe there's a human settlement far east."
Hope raised an eyebrow.
"That's great news."
Finally, a direction.
A possible way out.
"So when are we leaving?"
Nefer's expression shifted into a grimace.
Not a good sign.
Hope's eyes narrowed slightly.
There was more to this.
"We would have left long ago… but it's guarded."
A pause.
Hope's grip on his makeshift dagger tightened slightly.
"Guarded by what?"
"I don't know yet."
Nefer glanced toward Massa's sleeping form.
"According to Massa, it's definitely guarded. But we don't know what's watching over it."
"One thing we do know… is that the gate to the human settlement is underwater."
Hope blinked.
"Underwater?"
Nefer nodded.
"We don't need to swim down. We just need to enter the water… and we'll be teleported inside."
Hope exhaled.
That was both good and bad news.
Good—because it meant there was a clear entrance.
Bad—because if something was guarding it, then it wasn't that simple.
"Do you know how to fight?"
The question came suddenly from Nefer.
Blunt.
Hope gave a small, dry chuckle.
"I'm not a seasoned fighter."
"But I fight on instinct."
A sigh escaped Nefer.
"Hmph… figures."
Hope ignored her disappointment.
Instead, he summoned something from his soul sea.
Three soul cores manifested in front of him, hovering slightly above his palm.
One from the crab-like fiend he had slain at the academy.
One from the giant ant.
And the last from the wolf-like beast he had killed in the Ashlands.
"See, I have these."
"But I don't know how to utilize them."
Nefer's gaze sharpened.
"You weren't taught in the academy?"
Hope sighed.
"I was."
"But it doesn't seem to work for me."
Nefer studied him.
Then, without another word, she lifted her own hand.
A soul core appeared—a deep, pulsating gem of power.
It was from the Carapace Scavenger she had killed.
Without hesitation, she crushed it.
The soul core dissolved into pure essence, flowing into her body.
A faint spark of light danced in her eyes for a brief moment before fading.
Hope mimicked her movements.
He grabbed one of his soul cores and crushed it in his palm.
Nothing happened.
His darkness fragment didn't stir.
Not even a flicker of power.
The core simply… disintegrated.
Nefer frowned.
Hope clenched his jaw.