"Mastry Slayer…?" Soryn muttered under his breath. His eyes were fixed on the strange window floating in front of him.
Footsteps suddenly echoed behind him.
Both Kai and Elina rushed outside.
"We should move fast," Elina said as she came to a stop beside Soryn, her eyes scanned their surroundings.
Kai shook his head slightly, his silver hair swaying over his eyes.
"We should wait for Kaiden to return first," he replied calmly.
Just then, from the front a figure appeared.
Kaiden was running toward them at full speed.
"We don't have time!" he shouted as he approached, his voice firm and urgent. "We don't have time to move toward your teammates, Soryn. We should move toward the area where the Mastry Slayer is."
He stopped directly in front of Soryn, leaning forward slightly as he took a deep breath. It looked like as if he had just finished fighting.
Soryn's gaze drifted toward Kaiden's sword which hung across his back. It was tied with a rough rope, without a sheath. The blade was still faintly stained with monster's blood.
"I killed every monster that was near us," Kaiden said, as he lifted his hand and pointing directly at Soryn.
His eyes looked at Soryn's eyes with a serious look.
"What will you do now, Soryn?" he asked. "We don't have time to go to your teammates."
As those words left his mouth, another window suddenly appeared in front of Soryn.
[Watcher Time is looking at you with amusement.]
"Watcher… Time?" Soryn muttered, his brows furrowed as confusion filled his face. "What does this even mean?"
"It is my Watcher," Kaiden said coldly, his sharp gaze locked onto Soryn's eyes.
Another message appeared.
[Watcher Time is staring at you, waiting for your reply.]
Soryn clenched his fists slightly.
His eyes slowly began to shine with determination.
"I will go where they are," Soryn said firmly. "You guys don't have to go with me. Just tell me where they are."
For a brief moment, silence lingered in the air.
Then another message appeared.
[Watcher Time admires your decision.]
"So… you have decided," Kaiden replied quietly.
He turned around and lifted his hand, pointing toward the north.
"Move three kilometers this way," he said. "You will find them there."
Without wasting another second, Kaiden shifted his body and began moving toward the south.
Far in the south, a massive red light glowed in the sky like a burning signal.
A bluish fog surrounded the area beneath it, forming faint glowing letters in the air:
Mastry Slayer's Area
"Let's go," Kaiden said to Kai and Elina without looking back.
Both of them followed him immediately.
But just before leaving, Elina slowed slightly.
She turned her head and looked back at Soryn, her eyes softening for a moment.
"Sorry about this," she said quietly. "But we all want to survive."
Kai stepped beside Soryn as he passed him and lightly slapped his back.
"Don't mind this," he said with a small smile. "We saved your life after all."
Then, without another word, all three of them continued forward.
Soryn remained where he stood, silently watching their backs as they moved farther and farther away.
Within a few seconds, their figures disappeared into the ruins. Vanishing completely from his sight.
And once again….
Soryn was alone.
Soryn started to run toward the north where his companions were waiting for him.
A small smile curved over his lips as he thought. All three of them are just like they were in my novel.
Then he tilted his head slightly and looked up into the gray sky above.
Is this really the world that I wrote in my novel… or not?
His steps slowed for a brief moment.
Then he suddenly jerked back into reality, shaking his head lightly as if forcing himself to focus.
"Whatever…" Soryn muttered under his breath, tightening his fists slightly as he kept running. "I will figure this out later. First, I need to go to Isaya and Serenya."
He exhaled slowly as he placed a hand over his side.
"Thanks to Elina… she gave me a painkiller," he murmured, glancing briefly at the bandages wrapped around his wounds. "That's why I'm not feeling much pain right now… but its effect won't last long."
His expression hardened.
"I need to hurry."
Just then, another message suddenly appeared in front of him.
[Watcher Golden is looking at you.]
Before he could react, another one appeared beside it.
[Watcher Harmes is looking at you.]
Soryn slowed his pace slightly, his brows knitting together as confusion crossed his face.
What is with them…? he thought, his eyes narrowing at the floating messages.
So… they want to make me their player?
He stopped running and stood still, staring directly at the messages in front of him.
Then he straightened his posture slightly and spoke confidently, crossing his arms loosely.
"So… you want to make me your player after looking at my outstanding performance with those spiders, right?"
A smirk slowly spread across his lips as he continued staring at the messages.
Another message appeared.
[Watcher Golden is looking at you with pity.]
Then another.
[Watcher Harmes is laughing at you.]
"Hey!" Soryn snapped, his smirk fading as irritation filled his face. He pointed a finger directly toward the floating messages.
"Why are you laughing?" he said angrily. "If you don't want to make me your player, then why are you wasting my time?"
Just then-
Soryn suddenly looked forward. His eyes widened slightly.
A smile instantly appeared on his face.
It was Serenya and Isaya.
Both of them were running toward him.
They looked much better than before. There were no visible injuries on their bodies that Soryn could see.
"Mister!" Isaya shouted loudly as he ran faster.
Without slowing down, Isaya rushed forward and hugged Soryn tightly.
"Thank God you are alright," Serenya said as she stopped in front of Soryn, her chest rising and falling slightly from running. Her eyes were filled with worry as she looked at him.
But then her gaze fell on the wounds covering Soryn's body.
Her expression immediately changed.
Without hesitation, she slowly moved her hands forward.
A soft greenish light suddenly appeared from her palms, glowing gently as it spread outward. The light wrapped around Soryn's entire body, encircling him completely.
"What is this?" Soryn asked, glancing down at the glowing light surrounding him.
Serenya didn't say anything.
But within a second, Soryn understood.
Slowly all the wounds on his body began to heal.
The cuts closed. The pain faded.
Within just a few seconds, his injuries disappeared completely.
"It is nice, right, mister?" Isaya said excitedly, stepping back slightly while looking up at him with a big smile. "It healed my wounds too!"
"But how did you get this?" Soryn asked, turning his head toward Serenya with curiosity.
"It was given to me by my Watcher," Serenya replied calmly as she lowered her hands back down to her sides.
"Your Watcher?" Soryn asked, his brows lifting slightly.
"Yeah," Serenya nodded lightly. "Its name is Golden. She brought me here."
"Golden…?" Soryn repeated.
Just then, another message appeared in front of him.
[Watcher Golden smirks as it looks at you.]
Soryn narrowed his eyes and stared directly at the message.
"Just shut up," he muttered quietly, irritation flashing across his face.
"I also have one!" Isaya suddenly said, raising his hand excitedly.
"Its name is Harmes. He is nice to me."
[Harmes is looking at its Player with a proud smile.]
Isaya's face was filled with a bright smile, and for a moment, it looked as if he had completely forgotten how dangerous the world had become.
Soryn glanced between the two of them, his expression turning thoughtful.
"But how do you know their gender in the messages?" Soryn asked slowly. "The messages only call them 'it.'"
"They told us," Isaya replied quickly, nodding his head.
"We can talk to them," he added.
Serenya stepped closer to Soryn and spoke calmly.
"We can talk to them personally in a separate chat," she explained, folding her hands lightly in front of her. "Unlike the messages that you are seeing."
She paused briefly before continuing.
"You can say that when we become players with a Watcher, we can have private chats with them. Even other Watchers can't see those messages."
"Hmmm…" Soryn murmured thoughtfully, lifting his hand and touching his chin as he fell into thought.
"It is interesting…"
Then suddenly a loud scream echoed from the south. It was so creepy and sharp that it sent chills through everyone's hearts.
Soryn's body stiffened slightly at the sound. A cold shiver ran down his spine as he slowly turned his head toward the south.
Isaya flinched beside him, his fingers tightening around Soryn's clothes.
Serenya's expression hardened as her eyes narrowed slightly, her gaze also shifting toward the same direction.
It is coming from where the Mastry Slayer is… Soryn thought. He swallowed lightly as uneasiness settled deep inside his chest.