How should he describe this feeling?
The feeling of being saved while standing at the brink of despair.
Tami blankly stared at Elsa as she threw herself into battle. Because of his poor education, he simply couldn't think of any elegant words to describe what he was feeling.
The only thing he could think of was—
His heart was pounding wildly.
Come to think of it, there had been another time during a dungeon expedition when Captain Luluwo had saved him. The feeling back then had been pretty much the same as now.
When he asked Luluwo how exactly this feeling should be described, the man had directly shoved the Painted World "Wolf Knight" challenge into his face and said:
"Let Solaire save you a few times and you'll understand."
Even now, Tami still didn't dare recall those eight days trapped inside Oolacile. God knew how he had managed to escape in the end.
Thanks entirely to the full support of the Sun Warrior named "Solaire," he had finally managed to leave the Painted World. Without the Sun Warrior's help, he would have genuinely died trapped inside.
Now that he thought about it, aside from Solaire, many predecessors who entered the Painted World had also helped him through the "echoes" they left behind after dying there. Those echoes allowed him to avoid many dangers ahead of time.
Especially one guy named "Darrick." That bastard had left behind an absurd number of death echoes. Pretty much everyone who entered the Painted World had seen him at least once.
Actually, if Sein hadn't dynamically adjusted the difficulty for him back then, even two Solaires probably wouldn't have been enough to clear Oolacile.
Thanks to his experiences in the Painted World, Tami subconsciously imagined anyone who helped him as a "sun." Probably because Solaire was a Sun Warrior.
He had always wanted to collect a statue of Solaire, but unfortunately, the Bedford family never produced merchandise of that model. Since the Painted World "Wolf Knight" challenge was notoriously difficult, only a small number of people entered it, meaning Solaire's popularity remained limited to a niche circle.
What a shame.
If only he could meet Solaire again somewhere someday.
He really wished everyone could experience what it meant to Praise the Sun.
Wait, why the hell am I getting sidetracked? I'm literally in a life-or-death crisis right now!
Tami snapped back to reality.
He struggled to stand and help, but when he looked up, he realized Elsa had already slaughtered every single Carthus Warrior. Even the Humanity spirits chasing after them had been smashed apart by her giant sword.
She was basically a war god!
He had already lost count of how many times he'd been dumbfounded today.
Just then, he noticed Elsa—his "sun," who had saved him—walking toward him.
His injured leg throbbed painfully, causing his body to lose balance and fall backward.
Elsa immediately reached out a hand toward him!
Is she helping me up? What a kind girl. I think I might be a little in lo—
THUD!
The pain exploding from the back of his head instantly shattered his fantasy.
Tami sat there blankly.
Wait… wasn't she trying to help me?
He watched in disbelief as Elsa flipped open his coat and began rummaging through it wildly before pulling out the chocolate he had gotten from the pots.
The chocolate was already crushed, but the girl treated it like priceless treasure. Carefully pinching off a small piece, she placed it into her mouth and immediately revealed an expression of pure happiness.
"Huh?"
Tami stared blankly.
"Mm?" Elsa quickly shielded the chocolate protectively. Her eyes darted around guiltily before she finally pointed firmly at the chocolate and declared:
"Payment."
Tami slowly opened his mouth.
An utterly baffled sound escaped him.
Noisy voices suddenly echoed from above as several figures jumped down from the upper floor. They all wore standardized equipment bearing the emblem of a white hawk.
"Ags, are you okay? You're not hurt, right?" A smaller figure compared to the others hurried toward Elsa, anxiously checking her over from head to toe.
Another familiar face.
The long-disappeared third young master of the Bedford family—Sali.
Apparently, after leaving Bedford City, the two of them had gone through unknown experiences and somehow ended up joining the Light Eagle.
Elsa flexed her arm muscles proudly to show she was perfectly healthy, then handed the chocolate to Sali.
"Food? Where did you find this? We haven't found supplies for two days already."
Elsa pointed at Tami.
Only then did Sali look toward him.
At that moment, the injured boy had already been surrounded by several fierce-looking mercenaries. One of them grabbed his collar and barked:
"Kid, where the hell did you come from? How did you discover this dungeon? Why were you secretly following us?!"
Tami gritted his teeth and slapped the mercenary's hand away before wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth.
"I should be asking you people that! Don't you know the rules? Wait… don't tell me you're spies sent by another group?"
"What the hell are you talking about, group spies? I can't understand a damn thing this brat's saying. He's pissing me off. I'm gonna beat his ass—"
"Stop!"
Sali tightly grabbed the mercenary's arm, completely immobilizing the muscular limb that was thicker than his own thigh.
"Sa—" The mercenary's face briefly showed reluctance before he corrected himself. "Vice Captain, this brat's suspicious!"
"In your eyes, everyone outside the group is suspicious. How many times have I told you to stay calm? The moment you start throwing punches, any situation that could've been resolved peacefully turns into a mess!"
Sali glared at him.
The mercenary lowered his head and obediently stepped back.
"Who are you people?" Tami stared at Sali warily.
"I'm Sali, Vice Captain of the Light Eagle Vanguard Squad."
Sali revealed a friendly smile while taking out a healing potion and carefully pouring it over Tami's wounds. The nearby mercenaries looked visibly pained watching it happen.
So the bottles I picked up earlier really were theirs…
Tami thought silently.
But the Light Eagle…
That name sounded incredibly familiar.
Wasn't that the invincible mercenary corps that served directly under the king? Why were they here?
Before he could ask, Sali suddenly spoke first.
"You're an adventurer from Bedford City?"
"Yeah. Why?" Tami couldn't understand the question. To enter the Carthus Catacombs, one had to go through Sein Dungeon near Bedford City.
The moment Sali heard the word "Sein," his body involuntarily twitched.
Fortunately, he concealed it well and calmly replied:
"Then it sounds like Sein's portal somehow appeared near us. Dungeons really are impossible to understand…"
He fell silent briefly before continuing:
"But it's fine. Similar incidents have been recorded in history before. This level of abnormality probably isn't a big deal."
On the surface, he looked calm and composed, making Tami admire him greatly.
How enviable.
To remain this calm in such circumstances.
Outwardly smiling.
Internally?
Sali was screaming bloody murder.
FUCK, SEIN IS STILL CHASING ME!
The little person inside his heart was already clawing at his hair in despair.
Why had he left Bedford City in the first place?
Wasn't it specifically to escape Sein—the place that had left an irreversible psychological scar on him?!
And now look at this.
After finally finding a new place to settle down, Sein Dungeon had tracked him down all over again!
It had been fine before he knew the truth. But after learning from Tami that the Carthus Catacombs belonged to Sein Dungeon, Sali suddenly felt uncomfortable all over.
Everything felt wrong.
It was as if a Dragon Slayer Armor riding a storm drake might suddenly burst out from some random corner and cleave him in half with an axe at any moment—
Just like how it had killed his father, Philip.
"By the way, do you know how to leave this place?" Sali forced himself to maintain a smile even as his soul quietly shattered inside.
"No idea at all. My teammates and I—"
Tami suddenly stopped himself midway.
Glancing at the other mercenaries, he straightened his expression and said seriously:
"I'm an official member of the Skyrim Group. I entered the dungeon alongside Captain Luluwo. We got separated, but everyone should be searching for me right now."
He still needed to stay cautious.
Although Sali and "Guts" seemed easy to get along with, the other mercenaries made him uncomfortable.
His Danger Sense wasn't reacting, but it was still better to stay vigilant.
"Tch. This brat…"
The mercenary clearly understood the hidden meaning behind Tami's words and clicked his tongue.
"Well, this complicates things."
Sali stood up and dusted off his clothes.
"Our supplies are completely exhausted, and we're lost without knowing where the exit is. At this rate, we'll either starve to death or get killed by monsters."
"When you entered, didn't you rest at a bonfire?" Tami asked curiously.
Normally, there should've been a bonfire near the portal. If they died, they could simply resurrect there. In that case, getting lost and trapped shouldn't have been possible.
Hearing this, the mercenaries' expressions darkened even further.
"We never saw any bonfires at all," one of them muttered.
"And…" Sali sighed, "the teleportation crystals we hastily prepared were defective. We couldn't bring many heavy items."
"We couldn't bear to abandon our equipment… or our souls."
Got it.
After four days of exploration, they must've accumulated plenty of valuable loot. Naturally, they couldn't bring themselves to throw it away.
Silence settled briefly.
Finally, Sali asked again:
"Do you still have any food left? We can pay for it."
The earlier chocolate had already been evenly distributed among the mercenaries.
Well… maybe not that evenly.
Elsa had secretly hidden a small piece for herself.
"If it's food, there should be some over there."
Tami explained the situation with the pots.
Sali clicked his tongue in amazement.
"We passed through that area too, but we never found food in any of the pots."
After discussing it briefly, the group decided to try their luck together. They were completely out of food, and if they got any hungrier, they wouldn't even have the strength to fight monsters anymore.
Tami watched them silently.
After hesitating for a moment, he ultimately decided not to ask to travel together.
Compared to the horrors of the dungeon, he feared human nature even more.
That was a lesson life had taught him since childhood.
Sali understood what he was thinking and didn't invite him either. Instead, he said:
"If you plan to leave, you'd better do it quickly. Actually… we're cursed. We're being hunted. If you stay around us too long, then maybe you'll also—"
Before he could finish speaking, a notification appeared before Tami's eyes.
[Invaded by Red Phantom "Man-Eater Mildred"!]
"This is bad. We were a step too late."
Sali helplessly shook his head.
"You should run quickly. Hopefully she won't target you too."
An invader?
The new area had only just opened, and someone was already running invasions here?
Tami couldn't help admiring the dedication of these maniacs.
But he noticed the mercenaries' expressions looked unnatural.
"That damn woman…" one mercenary growled through clenched teeth. "No matter how many times we kill her, she just comes back. We can't shake her off!"
"She already ate my brother!"
Another mercenary slammed his fist against the wall and cursed furiously:
"It's all High Lord Wolnir's fault! And that damn Patches too!"
…Wait.
Wasn't there a strange name mixed in there somewhere?