Kyle opened the door and found her leaning against the wall.
Her eyes met his without surprise, lingering briefly before drifting over his frame. She noted the absence of any outward transformation; he remained as scrawny as ever.
Inwardly, she conceded that it was unreasonable to expect him to emerge with sculpted muscles, flawless skin, and a face miraculously rid of the marks of hardship.
His complexion was still pallid, his features drawn and corpse-like.
Yet there was something different.
His aura had undeniably grown more potent, though in her judgement he remained deficient in several other respects.
All the stats and improvements he might now possess meant nothing without genuine skill or martial knowledge; they were effectively useless.
With a sceptical expression, she remarked in a flat tone:
"...I suppose it worked. Good for you, then. Welcome back."
Kyle scoffed at her stiff attempt at courtesy, glancing away down the hall and noting its emptiness before replying:
"So, what about the... settlement?"
It was the first matter he raised, and it clearly carried more weight for him than anything else.
Her name or title scarcely mattered in comparison.
Na-Ri let out a weary sigh and lowered her gaze. Kyle instantly recognised it as confirmation that no progress had been made, and he silently chastised himself for asking.
Survival was the only priority now.
"There is nothing yet. Everyone remains oblivious, and if we were to begin announcing it, the move would almost certainly backfire... I suspect that is precisely why the settlement has chosen to keep the matter from them."
After a moment's consideration, Kyle found himself in agreement with her reasoning. There was no fault in what she had said.
If they began informing people, it would guarantee immediate panic.
The signs were already visible; anyone who had stepped beyond the walls had witnessed the migrating beasts and the shift in the atmosphere, far more pronounced than within the settlement.
Once awareness spread, the obstinate would insist on verifying the truth for themselves, and the curious would follow just as quickly.
The instant they stepped outside, they would be finished, for more than sixty percent of the settlement's population remained at the Foundation Purification Realm –Stage One.
As soon as even one group vanished, the rest would either riot or rush headlong into the same deathtrap. The sole reason the settlement remained intact was the illusion of safety.
The moment that illusion shattered, they would destroy themselves faster than the Trial Zone ever could.
Suddenly, Kyle recalled the other girl who had collected the Vitara pills alongside him. With a trace of curiosity, he asked:
"What about… Adela, I think? Is she awake as well?"
Na-Ri was taken aback by the question.
For a moment, she wondered whether he had finally developed some semblance of sympathy towards others, for in the few days she had known him he had hardly seemed the type.
The fact that he was suddenly inquiring after a girl he had met only the day before without even exchanging a word struck her as peculiar. The only bond between them was the shared secrecy of what they had uncovered.
Naturally, he was the newcomer. The other three were already accustomed to one another and were no doubt quite close.
...Was it possible he had fallen for her at first sight?
'Impossible.'
She chuckled at the notion.
After all, Adela was striking in her own right, and any man could be forgiven for being taken with her.
Kyle, however, was left puzzled, uncertain why she had suddenly broken into laughter.
...Had she already gone mad within three days, or did this place simply drive everyone insane by nature?
'What's wrong with her...?' Kyle wondered, raising a finger as though banishing an evil spirit.
"Sorry. Oh yes, about her? She has not woken yet, but do not worry, she is doing quite well," she replied with a taunting lilt.
Kyle blinked twice, shook his head, and prepared to head out to test a few things, remarking casually:
"Fine. I hope she does not die."
Na-Ri's playful façade shattered like glass as she realised how mistaken her earlier assumptions had been.
The young man remained as sardonic as ever, without the slightest sign of change. Her detached composure returned in an instant, as though she were a machine resetting its display.
"Well, since you have missed three full days of training and have already managed a breakthrough, making yourself somewhat more capable, would you like to learn martial arts?" she asked in a flat tone, already expecting him to refuse as per his character.
But, to her surprise, Kyle was in fact eager to acquire those skills for the sake of survival.
His pride had prevented him from requesting such instruction, but now fortune seemed to have favoured him.
She had chosen to extend the offer, and all he needed to do was accept it.
Moreover, the handsome youth she regarded as so infuriating had even suggested it himself once he awoke.
And thinking back to the Trial Zone, he was now certain they had only two or perhaps three days before the Breakout, depending on whether winter intensified, which it normally would since it was the season's peak.
A fragment of his mind drifted towards Adela.
For a moment, empathy intruded, prompting him to wonder whether she was truly all right...
Two possible problems arose if she failed to awaken before the Breakout.
Either she would perish before opening her eyes once, or she would become a burden should they manage to enter the Trial Zone at all.
In any case, even without her, stepping inside would mark the true beginning of their ordeal, and scarcely more than a fraction of a percent survived it.
And, of course, he still could not bring himself to trust the other three or anyone else.
In the darkest moment, a hidden enemy reveals the blade they have kept sheathed, and he was not prepared to gamble on surviving that moment.
Looking back at the beautiful stranger, about whom his curiosity extended in many directions, he responded curtly:
'...Yes, if we have the time.'